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Code snippets and AS3 enhancements

by Paul Trani

This tutorial takes you through the enhanced code snippets panel in Flash Professional CS5.5. With great new capabilities for those new to ActionScript, this enhanced panel helps you quickly understand and use code snippets as well as save your own custom code snippets for future use.

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When working with the Code Snippets panel, it is important to understand these fundamentals of Flash:

• Many of the code snippets require you to customize a few items in the code. In Flash Pro CS5, you do this in the Actions panel. In Flash Pro CS5.5, you can do this by dragging the cursor from code elements in the HUD to the object you want the code to control. Each snippet contains specific instructions for this task.

• All of the included code snippets are ActionScript 3.0. ActionScript 3.0 is not compatible with ActionScript 2.0.

• Some snippets affect the behavior of an object, allowing it to be clicked or causing it to move or disappear. You apply these snippets to the object on the Stage.

• Some snippets cause an action to occur immediately when the playhead enters the frame that contains the snippet. You apply these snippets to a Timeline frame.

• When you apply a code snippet, the code is added to the current frame of the Actions layer in the Timeline. If you have not created an Actions layer yourself, Flash adds one above all other layers in the Timeline.

• For ActionScript to control an object on the Stage, the object must have an instance name assigned in the Property inspector.

• In Flash Pro CS5, each code snippet has a tool tip that describes what the snippet does. In Flash Pro CS5.5, you can click the Show Description and Show Code buttons that appear when you select a snippet in the panel.

To add an action that affects an object or the playhead:

1. Select an object on the Stage or a frame in the Timeline.

   If you select an object that is not a symbol instance or a TLF text object, Flash converts the object to a movie clip symbol when you apply the snippet.

   If you select an object that does not already have an instance name, Flash adds one when you apply the snippet.

2. In the Code Snippets panel (Window > Code Snippets), double-click the snippet you want to apply.

   If you selected an object on the Stage, Flash adds the snippet to the Actions panel in the frames containing the selected object.

   If you selected a Timeline frame, Flash adds the snippet to just that frame.

3. In the Actions panel, view the newly added code and replace any necessary items according to the instructions at the top of the snippet.

To add an action that affects an object or the playhead:

1. Select the snippet you want to apply in the Code Snippets panel (Window > Code Snippets).

2. To display a description of the snippet, click the Show Description button that appears to the right of the selected snippet.

3. To display the code within the snippet, click the Show Code button to the right of the snippet.

4. If the snippet contains the text “instance_name_here”, drag from that text to the instance on the Stage that you want to the code to control. To drag-and-drop, the symbol instance must be a movie clip or a button.

   If the instance does not yet have a name, a dialog box appears to allow you to enter a name for the instance.

   You can also click the text and enter the instance name directly in the code. Use this method of you are working with a shape or graphic symbol instance.

5. If the snippet contains other colored text, select the text and enter the correct information according to the instructions inside the code snippet.

6. When you finish editing the code snippet, click the Insert button.

   Flash adds the code to the Actions layer. If no Actions layer exists, Flash creates one.

   If you selected an object on the Stage, Flash adds the snippet to the Actions panel in the frames containing the selected object.

   If you selected a Timeline frame, Flash adds the snippet to the Actions layer in just that frame.

7. (Optional) To view the inserted code, open the Actions panel (Window > Actions).

You can add new code snippets to the Code Snippets panel in two ways:

• Enter a snippet in the Create New Code Snippet dialog box.

• Import a code snippet XML file.

To use the Create New Code Snippet dialog box:

1. In the Code Snippets panel, choose Create New Code Snippet from the panel menu.

2. In the dialog box, Enter the Title, Tool tip text, and ActionScript 3.0 code for your snippet.

   You can add any code that is currently selected in the Actions panel by clicking the Auto-Fill button.

3. Select the Automatically replace instance_name_here check box if your code includes the string “instance_name_here” and you want Flash to replace it with the correct instance name when the snippet is applied.

   Flash adds the new snippet to the Code Snippets panel in a folder called Custom.

To import a code snippet in XML format:

1. In the Code Snippets panel, choose Import Code Snippets XML from the panel menu.

2. Select the XML file you want to import and click Open

To see the correct XML format for code snippets, choose Edit Code Snippets XML from the panel menu.

To delete a code snippet, right-click the snippet in the panel and choose Delete Code Snippet from the context menu.