Flash Samples

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Contents

Chapter 1: Graphics. 7 Animated drop shadow. 7 Animation and gradients. 8 Chapter 2: Accessibility.11 Accessibility features.11 Chapter 3: Masking. 13 Device font masking. 13 Scriptable masks. 14 Chapter 4: Text. 15 Text sample. 15 Multilingual content. 16 Chapter 5: Behaviors. 17 Photo scrapbook. 17 Chapter 6: Components. 19 Component application. 19 Dial component sample. 20 Login component sample. 20 Tip calculator. 21 Components jukebox. 22 Chapter 7: ActionScript. 23 Custom Flash Player context menu. Filters with ActionScript. Animation with ActionScript. The Tween class, the TransitionManager class, and progress bars. ActionScript data types. Bitmap caching with ActionScript. 26 26
Drawing with ActionScript. 27 ActionScript arrays example. 27 Interaction between the browser and Flash Player. 28 Stage size control with ActionScript. 28 Text loading with ActionScript. 29 Formatted text with ActionScript. 29 FlashType sample. 29 Login sample. 30 String processing with ActionScript. 30 Image manipulation with the BitmapData class. 31 Text field manipulation with ActionScript. 31 Photo gallery with tree navigation. 32 Photo gallery with thumbnails. 32 File upload with the FileReference API. 33 XML blog tracker. 33 XML language picker. 34 XML menu. 34 Chapter 8: Data Integration.35 News reader. 35 WebServiceConnector component. 36 Data integration XML sample. 36 Flash and PHP integration. 37 Chapter 9: Extending Flash.39 Shape command. 40 Get and set filters command. 40 PolyStar tool. 41 Trace Bitmap panel. 41 Sample DLL. 42 Chapter 10: Flash Lite.43 Two-way navigation sample. 43 Four-way navigation sample. 44 Input text field sample. 44 Movie clip menu sample. 45 Simple button menu sample. 45 Soft keys example. 45 Animated cartoon. 46 Flash Lite news reader. 46 Strategy game. 47

Introduction

Macromedia Flash Basic 8 and Macromedia Flash Professional 8 provide everything you need to create and deliver rich web content and powerful applications. Whether youre designing motion graphics or building datadriven applications, Flash has the tools necessary to produce great results and deliver the best user experience across multiple platforms and devices. The samples in this book are designed to introduce you to Flash. As you explore the samples, you will see many of the basic techniques used in creating Flash applications. For additional samples see www.macromedia.com/go/flash_samples.
This book is not a comprehensive manual that details all of the features of Flash. For in-depth information about how to use Flash, see Using Flash and Learning ActionScript 2.0 in Flash.

CHAPTER 1

Graphics
Graphics samples are provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of each sample. This chapter contains the following sections:
Animated drop shadow. 7 Animation and gradients. 8

Animated drop shadow

This sample shows how to create a realistic-looking animated drop shadow by layering two instances of the same movie clip and adding a drop shadow filter to the lower layer. To re-create the process of constructing this sample, you first create the shadow effect for the dog by nesting the animation inside a movie clip. You then duplicate the movie clip instance and place it behind the original instance. (You can keep the duplicate on the same layer and arrange it behind the original instance, or paste it to a new layer below the original.) You then select the duplicate instance and, in the Filters tab of the Property inspector, select Drop Shadow from the Plus (+) menu. Next, adjust the strength level to around 45% and select Hide Object. This hides the movie clip object but reveals the drop shadow filter properties. You can make further adjustments by setting Quality to Low, Medium, or High, or modifying the amount of blur, the color, the angle, or the distance of the blur effect from the original graphic.

In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Graphics\AnimationAndGradients. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Graphics/ AnimationAndGradients.
This sample was developed by Chris Georgenes.

CHAPTER 2

Accessibility
An accessibility sample is provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of this sample. This chapter contains the following section:
Accessibility features. 11

Accessibility features

This sample shows how to use accessibility features such as tab ordering, components, and the Accessibility panel. In this sample, you can see how to use the new authoring tool features and user interface, which are geared toward building applications that contain the accessibility features. An arrow moves to indicate which element on the Stage has the focus. Explore the source code to learn more about how to take advantage of the Flash accessibility features. You can find the sample source file, AccessibleApplications.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Accessibility\AccessibleApplications. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Accessibility/ AccessibleApplications.

CHAPTER 3

Masking
Masking samples are provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of each sample. This chapter contains the following sections:
Device font masking. 13 Scriptable masks. 14

Device font masking

This sample explores Flash Player support for masking device fonts. The main features illustrated in the sample are device font masking, components, and scriptable masks. Newly added support in Flash Player for masking device fonts expands the possibilities for using scriptable masks on Flash content. Device font masking allows device fonts to be used inside components that mask their content, as well as custom masks that you create. This sample shows examples of both types of masking. You can find the sample source file, DeviceFontMasking.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Masking\DeviceFontMasking. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Masking/ DeviceFontMasking.

Scriptable masks

This sample shows how to dynamically mask Flash content at runtime using scriptable masks and components. Scriptable masking allows precise control over how masks behave at runtime, and allows the mask and the masked content to be dynamically changed at runtime. This sample shows different types of masks and masked content that are controlled by a user interface built with components. Explore this sample to learn more about masking and building interfaces with components. You can find the sample source file, ScriptableMasksPart2.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Masking\ScriptableMasksPart2. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Masking/ ScriptableMasksPart2.

CHAPTER 4

Text samples are provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of each sample. This chapter contains the following sections:
Text sample. 15 Multilingual content. 16

Text sample

This sample uses the many new text enhancements added to Macromedia Flash Basic 8 and Macromedia Flash Professional 8. The features highlighted in this sample are text styles, inline images, hyperlink improvements, and small text optimization. The text enhancements provide better and more precise control over text as it is entered in Flash Player. This sample loads an external HTML file named sample.html into a text field in the SWF file. However, you could use any text file that incorporates a tag-based format such as XML or HTML. New support for Cascading Style Sheets allows Flash to style the text in a given text field for each tag before displaying it. This sample uses a style sheet named style.css. Additionally, Flash Player supports the img tag, allowing inline images that your text wraps around. You can find the sample source file, TextEnhancements.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Text\TextEnhancements. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Text/ TextEnhancements.

In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\ Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Components\Login. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Components/ Login.

Tip calculator

This sample demonstrates how to perform event handling with forms and components. You can find the sample source files (TipCalculator.fla, TipCalculator1.fla, and TipCalculator2.fla) in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\ Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Components\TipCalculator. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Components/ TipCalculator.

Components jukebox

This sample demonstrates how to create a jukebox by using data types, general coding principles, and several components. You can find the sample source file, jukebox.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\Components\Jukebox. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Components/ Jukebox.

CHAPTER 7

ActionScript
Several ActionScript samples are provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of each sample. This chapter contains the following sections:
Custom Flash Player context menu. 24 Filters with ActionScript. 24 Animation with ActionScript. 25 The Tween class, the TransitionManager class, and progress bars. 25 ActionScript data types. 26 Bitmap caching with ActionScript. 26 Drawing with ActionScript. 27 ActionScript arrays example. 27 Interaction between the browser and Flash Player. 28 Stage size control with ActionScript. 28 Text loading with ActionScript. 29 Formatted text with ActionScript. 29 FlashType sample. 29 Login sample. 30 String processing with ActionScript. 30 Image manipulation with the BitmapData class.31 Text field manipulation with ActionScript.31 Photo gallery with tree navigation. 32 Photo gallery with thumbnails. 32 File upload with the FileReference API. 33 XML blog tracker. 33 XML language picker. 34 XML menu. 34

Custom Flash Player context menu
In this sample, you can see how to add custom options to the Flash Player context menu using ActionScript 2.0. This sample uses ActionScript to modify the context menu by adding cut, copy, and paste functionality that can be applied to the drawing objects on the Stage. The source includes the document file (.fla) and the ActionScript file (.as) that defines the ClipBoard class. Explore both files to learn more about the context menu and writing classes with ActionScript 2.0. You can find the sample source file, CustomizingContextMenu.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\ CustomizingContextMenu. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ CustomizingContextMenu.
Filters with ActionScript
This sample shows how to apply filter effects to images with ActionScript. You can apply different filters to several images, and then manipulate their properties at runtime. The ActionScript code shows how to apply filters and manipulate the filter properties using components. You can find the sample source file, Filters.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\Filters. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ Filters.
Animation with ActionScript
This sample provides an example of programmatic animation using ActionScript. It shows a simple game where instances are animated across the Stage at runtime. You create a custom mouse pointer, and you can tally scores by manipulating strings and using operators to write equations. You can find the sample source file, animation.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\Animation. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ Animation.
The Tween class, the TransitionManager class, and progress bars
This sample shows how to script animation using the Tween and TransitionManager classes, which provide an easy way to animate instances using code. It also shows how to create a progress bar using code. You can find the sample source file, tweenProgress.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\Tween ProgressBar. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ Tween ProgressBar.

In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\ExternalAPI. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ ExternalAPI.
Stage size control with ActionScript
This sample demonstrates how the Stage.scaleMode property affects the values of Stage.width and Stage.height when the browser window is resized. You can find the sample source file, stagesize.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\StageSize. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ StageSize.
Text loading with ActionScript
This simple sample shows how to load text into a SWF file at runtime using the LoadVars class. You can find the sample source file, loadText.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\LoadText. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ LoadText.
Formatted text with ActionScript
This sample shows how to load formatted text into a SWF file at runtime. You can find the sample source file, formattedText.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.

FlashType sample

This sample shows how to apply and manipulate anti-aliased text in an application. You use the FlashType rendering technology to create small text thats highly legible. This sample also demonstrates how text fields can scroll quickly and smoothly when you use the cacheAsBitmap property. You can find the sample source file, flashtype.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\FlashType. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ FlashType.

Login sample

This sample shows how to add simple login functionality to your websites using ActionScript 2.0. The sample uses ActionScript and components to create a small form in which you enter a user name and password and then click a button to enter a site. You can find the sample source file, login.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\Login. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ Login.
String processing with ActionScript
This sample demonstrates how to build a simple word processor that compares and retrieves string and substring selections. You can find the sample source file, strings.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\Strings. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ Strings.
Image manipulation with the BitmapData class
This sample demonstrates how to manipulate an image and create a transition using the BitmapData class. You can find the sample source file, BitmapData.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\BitmapData. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ BitmapData.
Text field manipulation with ActionScript
This sample demonstrates how to create and position a text field, manipulate its text, and control text selections. You can find the sample source files, textfieldsA.fla and textfieldsB.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\TextFields. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ TextFields.
Photo gallery with tree navigation
This sample is a photo gallery application with tree navigation. It provides an example of using components to control movie clips dynamically. You can find the sample source file, gallery_tree.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\Galleries. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ Galleries.
Photo gallery with thumbnails
This sample is a photo gallery application with thumbnails. It provides an example of using ActionScript to control movie clips dynamically. You can find the sample source file, gallery_tween.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.

File upload with the FileReference API
This sample demonstrates how to let users select a file on their hard disk and upload it to a server. After the local image uploads, it appears in the SWF file. You can find the sample source file, FileUpload.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\FileUpload. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ FileUpload.

XML blog tracker

This sample demonstrates how to create a web log tracker by loading, parsing, and manipulating XML data. You can find the sample source file, xml_blogTracker.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\XML_BlogTracker. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ XML_BlogTracker.

XML language picker

This sample demonstrates how to use XML and nested arrays to choose strings of different languages to populate text fields. You can find the sample source file, xml_languagePicker.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\XML_LanguagePicker. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ XML_LanguagePicker.

XML menu

This sample demonstrates how to create a dynamic menu with XML data. The sample calls the ActionScript XmlMenu() constructor and passes it two parameters: the path to the XML menu file and a reference to the current timeline. The rest of the functionality resides in a custom class file, XmlMenu.as. You can find the sample source file, xmlmenu.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
On Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ActionScript\XML_Menu. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ActionScript/ XML_Menu.

CHAPTER 8

Data Integration
Several data integration samples are provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of each sample. If you installed Flash Basic 8, you can view and explore these samples. However, you can reconstruct the samples only if you installed Flash Professional 8. This chapter contains the following sections:
News reader. 35 WebServiceConnector component. 36 Data integration XML sample. 36 Flash and PHP integration. 37

News reader

This sample provides an interface for reading the latest news on Macromedia DevNet at www.macromedia.com/devnet. The addition of the data-binding user interface in Macromedia Flash Professional 8 allows you to build interfaces that connect to, retrieve, and display remote data without writing any code. The new components have built-in data awareness, allowing several possible scenarios with web services, XML documents, and more. Explore this sample to see how these components are connected to a Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed on www.macromedia.com.
You can find the sample source file, DevNetNews.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\DataIntegration\NewsReader. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/DataIntegration/ NewsReader.
WebServiceConnector component
This sample demonstrates how to use the WebServiceConnector component. You can find the sample source file, tips.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\DataIntegration\MacromediaTips. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/DataIntegration/ MacromediaTips.
Data integration XML sample
This sample is an XML file that you can use in the Creating a simple application procedure in Using Flash. You can find the XML file (dinner_menu.xml) in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\DataIntegration\DinnerMenu. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/DataIntegration/ DinnerMenu.
Flash and PHP integration
This sample demonstrates how to use Flash and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) integration to create a guestbook. You can find the sample source file, guestbook.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\DataIntegration\Guestbook. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/DataIntegration/ Guestbook.

In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ExtendingFlash\TraceBitmapPanel. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ExtendingFlash/ TraceBitmapPanel.
For information on installing and running the sample, see Sample Trace Bitmap panel in Extending Flash.

Sample DLL

Advanced users can use the C-level extensibility mechanism to implement Flash extensibility files using a combination of JavaScript and custom C code. You define functions using C, bundle them in a dynamic linked library (DLL) or a shared library, save the library in the appropriate directory, and then call the functions from JavaScript using the JavaScript API. A sample DLL implementation is located in the following folder:
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\ Samples and Tutorials\Samples\ExtendingFlash\ dllSampleComputeSum. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Samples/ExtendingFlash/ dllSampleComputeSum.
For information about installing and using this sample, see Sample DLL implementation in Chapter 3, C-Level Extensibility, in Extending Flash.

CHAPTER 10

Flash Lite
Several Macromedia Flash Lite samples are provided when you install Macromedia Flash 8. This chapter contains a brief overview of each sample. This chapter contains the following sections:
Two-way navigation sample. 43 Four-way navigation sample. 44 Input text field sample. 44 Movie clip menu sample. 45 Simple button menu sample. 45 Soft keys example. 45 Animated cartoon. 46 Flash Lite news reader. 46 Strategy game. 47
Two-way navigation sample
This sample demonstrates two-way navigation in Flash Lite. In two-way navigation, the devices Up and Down arrow keys switch focus among buttons and input text fields on the Stage, similar to how the Tab and Shift+Tab keys function on a desktop computer. For more information about two-way navigation, see Modes of tab navigation in Developing Flash Lite Applications.

Strategy game

This Flash Lite sample shows how to create a Flash Lite strategy game similar to the popular games Tetris and Breakout. The game uses the handsets joypad to navigate blocks dynamically drawn on the screen. The joypad is the main input device for the game. Explore the source file to learn more, or customize it by creating your own strategy game. You can find the sample source file, FLStrategyGame.fla, in the Samples folder on your hard disk.

The X and Y coordinates match the registration point, which is the upper left corner of this movie clip symbol.
Type 0 into the X text box, and type 0 into the Y text box. Typing these values in sets the X and Y coordinates both to 0, as shown in the following figure.
Set the X and Y coordinates using the Property inspector. Set the X and Y values to 0.
Setting new coordinates moves the upper-left corner of the image to the upper-left corner of the Stage. You can drag the bitmap image around the Stage using the Selection tool instead of changing coordinates in the Property inspector. Use the Property inspector when you need to set a specific position for an object, like you did in this step.
Select File > Save to save the document before you proceed to the next section (Introducing layers and the timeline).
You can also import sound files into your FLA files. This isn't covered in this tutorial, but you can find out more information Chapter 12, Working with Sound.
Introducing layers and the timeline
The Timeline is above the Stage in the Flash workspace. The Timeline, which contains layers and frames, helps you organize assets in your document, and also controls a document's content over time. Flash documents can play over a length of time, like movies or sound, which is measured using frames. Layers are like transparencies that stack on top of one another, and each layer can contain images, text, or animations that display on the Stage. You'll learn more about frames and the Timeline in Part 2 of this tutorial, Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 2 on page 43. The FLA file you're working on has one layer (Layer 1) with contents on a single frame (Frame 1). This is the default way that a Flash document opens. In this exercise, you lock and rename Layer 1. Often you'll want to place objects in a particular position on the Stage. To help you keep those objects in place, Flash enables you to lock layers, so you cannot select the items on a layer and accidentally move them.
In this section, you will complete the following tasks:
Creating a new layer on page 38 Importing to a layer on page 39 Select Layer 1 in the Timeline and click the dot below the lock icon, as shown in the following figure.
Lock a layer so its contents arent accidentily moved or deleted from the Stage. You can also prevent inadvertently adding other assets to that layer. With your only layer locked, you need to add new layers before you can add any other objects to the Stage. You cannot add new objects to a locked layer.
Select the Selection tool in the Tools panel, and double-click the name Layer 1. When you double-click a layer name, you can modify the name of the layer.
Type background into the layer name to rename the layer. Then save your file. When you start building projects with many layers, layer names like Layer 1 and Layer 14 don't help you determine what's on that layer. Giving layers a descriptive name is a good practice to adopt.

Open the Library panel (Window > Library). The image you just imported to the Stage also appears as an asset in the library. Even if you import an asset directly to the Stage, Flash always stores the assets you import in the library as well.
Click the Selection tool in the Tools panel. Move the star.png file on the Stage to just above the gnome's head in the image, as shown in the following figure.
Move the star.png image just above the gnomes head.
Select File > Save to save your document before moving on to Test the application.

Test the application

To finish, you can test your document using Flash. Doing so tests the SWF file in Flash Player. For example, you can see how your code works in Flash Player, how animations play on the Timeline, test user interactivity, and more. It's much faster than uploading your work to a server each time you want to see the SWF file in action.
Select Control > Test Movie from the main menu. The test environment opens and plays your document in Flash Player. You can now see the compiled SWF file version of your FLA file. You will often use the Test Movie command to view your progress when you work on an FLA file.
Click the close button of the window that contains the SWF file to return to the authoring environment. Find the folder on your hard disk where you saved banner.fla at the beginning of this tutorial in Creating a new document. When you open this folder, you should see an additional SWF file called banner.swf. This is the compiled version of the banner.fla file. When you want to create a finished version of your file to upload, you'll want to make additional publish settings in Flash before you compile your SWF file. You'll look at these settings in Part 3 (Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 3 on page 63) of this tutorial.
If you want to compare your results to the tutorial source file, open the banner1_complete.fla from the FlashBanner/Part1 folder that you saved on your hard disk in Open the authoring document on page 163.

Select Brightness from the Color pop-up menu (the following figure).

10. Change

the slider value to 75% (see the following figure).
Change the brightness of the movie clip instance. The brightness changes for the instance on Frame 15. The instances on Frames 1 and 30 do not change. This means that you can now add a motion tween that animates the brightness value between Frames 1 and 15, and then from Frames 15 to 30. After playing Frame 30, the playhead loops back to Frame 1 and the animation starts again.
You could also change the alpha or tint values using the same procedure. Alpha tweens are more processor intensive than tweens that change the brightness or tint of your animation. Try to avoid processor-intensive procedures whenever possible. 11.
Select the instance on the Stage at Frame 15 again, and then select the Free Transform tool in the Tools panel. Select the lower right handle and drag it towards the center of the image to make it smaller (see the following figure).
Resize the instance using the Free Transform tool. As shown in this figure, you can also rotate the image using the Free Transform tool.
You can create several kinds of animation in an FLA file, such as motion tweens, shape tweens, and frame-by-frame animation. In this tutorial, you will create a motion tween. A motion tween is an animation where you define properties such as position, size, and rotation for an instance at one point in time, and then you change those properties at another point in time. In this animation, you change the brightness and size of the instance.
12. Select any frame between Frames 1 and 15, and then select Motion from
the Tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector. The span of frames changes color and an arrow appears between Frames 1 and 15 (see the following figure). Notice how the options in the Property inspector are different when you select a frame compared to when you select a movie clip instance.
Create a motion tween between Frames 1 and 15 on the movie clips timeline.
You can also right-click (Windows) or option-click (Macintosh) the frame and select Create Motion Tween from the context menu instead. 13.

10. Select

Go to the directory to which you published the banner's SWF file. Check the file size of the document (it's called banner3.swf). As discussed previously, file size is not a great concern because you're not submitting the banner to an advertising service. If you need to or want to reduce the file size of your banner, you can go to the Publish Settings dialog box again (File > Publish Settings) and click the Flash tab. You can reduce the quality of the bitmap image you use in the background by changing the JPEG quality to a lower number.

12. Move

the slider to 60, and click Publish.
When you check the SWF file again, the file size is smaller. There are other ways to reduce the file size of a SWF file. If you need to design a file to a specific maximum file size, make sure you publish your work regularly and check the current file size. Bitmap images, sounds, and video quickly increase a SWF file's size. If you don't have Dreamweaver installed, then the tutorial series ends with this section. If you dont have Dreamweaver, you can return to the Publish Settings dialog box from this exercise, and make sure you select the HTML option under the Formats tab. When you publish the document, an HTML file exports with the SWF file. You can open this file, copy the HTML code, and paste it into your website. Notice that this file contains some extra tags that you won't need if you have an existing website, such as head and body tags. The tags you need are both the object and embed tags, which contains the information both Internet Explorer and Mozillabased browsers need to display the SWF file. If you have Dreamweaver installed, continue to the next page. In the following exercises, you place and edit the banner in a web page.
Inserting Flash on a Dreamweaver site
You might have a web page already created for a banner. We have created a page for you to use for the purposes of this exercise, which is ready to have a banner of this size placed on it. Make sure that you have the FlashBanner/Part3 directory available (see Open the finished project), and find the website folder inside this directory. Inside the website folder are the documents that you need to edit in Dreamweaver. You will modify the gnome.html web page in the following exercise.

To create a tab order in this lesson, use one of the following procedures. To create a reading order along with a tab order, follow the procedure to control the tab order and reading order using ActionScript. If you have Flash Professional 8, you can follow this procedure to create a tab order using the Accessibility panel:
With the Accessibility panel open, select the logo_mc instance at the top of the Stage. In the Accessibility panel, enter 1 in the Tab Index text box. Continue to select each instance on the Stage and enter a tab order number in the Tab Index text box, using information from the following table:

Instance name

logo_mc dealers_btn orders_btn research_btn text4_txt (the text above the Overview button that reads TRIO ZX2004) overview_btn powerplant_btn news_btn safety_mc text8_txt text9_txt bevel_mc (the bar along the bottom of the Stage)
Enter the following number in the Tab Index text box
If you have Flash Professional 8, follow this procedure to view a tab order:
Select View > Show Tab Order. The tab index number that you entered appears next to the instance on the Stage.
A tab order created with ActionScript, rather than the Accessibility panel, does not appear when Show Tab Order is enabled.
Follow this procedure to control the tab order and reading order using ActionScript:
In the Timeline, select Frame 1 of the Actions layer. In the Actions panel (Window > Actions), view the ActionScript that creates the tab index for each instance in the document. If youre using Flash Basic 8, or if youre using Flash Professional 8 and you did not create the tab index using the Accessibility panel, delete the /* and */ in the script to uncomment the script:
this.logo_mc.tabIndex = 1; this.dealers_btn.tabIndex = 2; this.orders_btn.tabIndex = 3; this.research_btn.tabIndex = 4; this.text4_txt.tabIndex = 5; this.overview_btn.tabIndex = 6; this.powerplant_btn.tabIndex = 7; this.news_btn.tabIndex = 8; this.safety_mc.tabIndex = 9; this.text8_txt.tabIndex = 10; this.text9_txt.tabIndex = 11; this.bevel_mc.tabIndex = 12;
About testing your document with screen readers
You already know the importance of regularly testing your Flash document as you create it to ensure it performs as expected. Frequent testing is even more important when you design a document to work with assistive technologies such as screen readers. In addition to testing tab order in your SWF file, you should also test your tab order in various browsers; some browsers differ in how the user tabs to or out of Flash content. For information about resources to test your document with a screen reader, see Testing accessible content in Using Flash.

In the Library panel (Window > Library), select the background graphic symbol and drag it to the Stage. Because the Background layer is above all layers except the Mask layer, objects on that layer appear over objects on lower layers.
Change the order of layers
Obviously, you dont want the background to cover the other objects on the Stage. Normally, the background layer is the bottom layer on the Timeline. Youll move the Background layer you just created.
In the Timeline, drag the Background layer from the top position to the bottom position. All objects on the Stage now appear on top of the background. With the Background layer still selected, in the Property inspector, enter 0 in the X text box and 72 in the Y text box. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh) to precisely position the Background layer on the Stage.
Organize layers in a folder
You can create layer folders to organize layers and reduce Timeline clutter. The Timeline contains two layers that contain navigation objects: one for navigational buttons and another for navigational art. Youll create a layer folder, named Navigation, for both layers.
In the Timeline, select the Buttons layer. Click Insert Layer Folder, which is below the layer names.
If the Property inspector shows properties for the frame rather than for the movie clip, click the Background movie clip on the Stage. 3. 4.
Double-click the layer folder name and rename the folder Navigation. Drag the Navbar layer and the Buttons layer to the Navigation folder. The layers appear indented to indicate that theyre within the folder.
You can click the expander arrow to expand and collapse the folder and included layers.

Add a mask layer

Using a mask layer provides a simple way to selectively reveal portions of the layer or layers below it. Masking requires making one layer a mask layer and the layers below it masked layers. Youll use the rectangular shape on the Stage to mask part of the road graphic and animation so that the animation fits better on the Stage.
On the Stage, with the Selection tool selected, click the rectangular shape below the road. Drag the shape straight up and align the left edge of the shape with the left edge of the road. Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the Mask layer in the Timeline and select Mask from the context menu. The layer converts to a mask layer, indicated by a blue diamond-shaped icon. The layer immediately below the layer is linked to the mask layer. The masked layers name is indented, and its icon changes to a blue layer icon.
In the Timeline, drag the Road layer to the Mask layer, placing it below the Car layer. The mask layer and the layers it masks are automatically locked. To view the mask effect, select Control > Test Movie. When you finish viewing the mask effect, close the SWF file window to return to your document.

Copy input and dynamic text fields. 99 Name text fields. 99 Add and name a Button component. 100 Declare variables and values for the prices.101 Specify values for input text fields. 102 Write a function. 103 Write an event handler for the component. 104
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Tutorial Assets\Basic Tasks\Create an Application and double-click calculator_start.fla. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Tutorial Assets/Basic Tasks/Create an Application and double-click calculator_start.fla.
The Create an Application folder contains completed versions of the tutorial FLA files for your reference. 2.

NO TE NO TE

Select Window > Workspace Layout > Default to set up your workspace for taking lessons. The form already includes an input text field in the QTY column and a dynamic text field in the Price column. Youll copy the text fields for the Shocks and Cover rows.
Copy input and dynamic text fields
Youll use input text fields to create a form.
Click the input text field where users enter the quantity of CD players. Press Alt and drag the copy of the field down to the Shocks QTY area.
Alt-click the input text field that you just dragged; then drag the new copy of the field to the Cover QTY area. Alt-click the dynamic text field for the CD players price; then drag the copy of the field to the Shocks price area. Alt-click the field that you just dragged; then drag the copy to the Cover price area.

Name text fields

Before you can specify values for the text fields in ActionScript, you first need to give each text field an instance name in the Property inspector. Appending the instance name with txt identifies the object as a text object.
Click the top input text field in the QTY column. In the Instance Name text box of the Property inspector (Window > Properties), type qty1_txt. Follow the previous procedure to name the middle and bottom input text fields qty2_txt and qty3_txt, respectively. Click the top dynamic text field in the Price column. In the Instance Name text box of the Property inspector, type price1_txt. Follow the previous procedure to name the middle and bottom text fields in the column price2_txt and price3_txt, respectively.

View the workspace rulers Use guides to align objects Change the Stage size Resize objects to match the Stage size Align an object using the alignment guides Snap objects to each other Align objects using the Property inspector Use the grid and arrow keys to align objects
For more information about design topics in Flash, take another lesson from the Basic Tasks series.

CHAPTER 9

Basic Tasks: Create Symbols and Instances
A symbol is a reusable object, and an instance is an occurrence of a symbol on the Stage. Repeatedly using instances does not increase the file size and is a good part of a strategy for keeping a document file size small. Symbols also simplify editing a document; when you edit a symbol, all instances of the symbol update to reflect the edits. Another benefit of symbols is that they allow you to create sophisticated interactivity. You can print this tutorial by downloading a PDF version of it from the Macromedia Flash Documentation page at www.macromedia.com/go/ fl_documentation. In this tutorial, you will complete the following tasks:
Create a graphic symbol.119 Duplicate and modify an instance of a symbol. 120 Modify a symbol.121 Create a movie clip symbol. 122 Assign an instance name to the movie clip. 122 Add an effect to the movie clip. 123
In Windows, browse to boot drive\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash 8\Samples and Tutorials\Tutorial Assets\Basic Tasks\Create Symbols and Instances and double-click symbols_start.fla. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Tutorial Assets/Basic Tasks/Create Symbols and Instances and double-click symbols_start.fla.
The Create Symbols and Instances folder contains completed versions of the tutorial FLA files for your reference.
The document opens in the Flash authoring environment.
Select File > Save As and save the document with a new name, in the same folder, to preserve the original start file. As you complete this lesson, remember to save your work frequently. Select Window > Workspace Layout > Default to configure your workspace.

About creating symbols

When you create a symbol, you specify one of the following symbol behaviors:
Graphic Movie clip Button
In this lesson, youll work with graphic and movie clip symbols. For a lesson about button symbols, select Help > Flash Tutorials > Basic Tasks: Add Button Animation and Navigation.

Create a graphic symbol

A graphic symbol is well suited for repeated use of static images, or for creating animations associated with the main Timeline. Unlike with movie clip and button symbols, you cannot give instance names to graphic symbols, nor can you refer to them in ActionScript. Youll take vector art on the Stage and turn it into a graphic symbol.

In the Tools panel, click the Selection tool. On the Stage, drag around the car to select it.
Select Modify > Convert to Symbol. In the Convert to Symbol dialog box, enter CarGraphic as the name and select Graphic as the behavior. The Registration grid uses a small black square to indicate where, within the symbol bounding box, the registration point is located. A registration point is the axis around which the symbol rotates, and the point along which the symbol aligns. Click the upper-left square on the grid to select the registration point location, and click OK. The car on the Stage is now an instance of the CarGraphic symbol. The Property inspector shows properties for the graphic symbol instance.
Open the Library panel (Window > Library) to view the symbol. Youll find the CarGraphic symbol in the Library panel. Flash stores symbols in the library. Each document has its own library, and you can share libraries between different FLA files.
Duplicate and modify an instance of a symbol
After youve created a symbol, you can use instances of it repeatedly in your document. You can modify the following instance properties for an individual instance without affecting other instances or the original symbol: color, scale, rotation, alpha transparency, brightness, tint, height, width, and location. If you edit the symbol later, the instance retains its modified properties in addition to acquiring the symbol edits. Youll now duplicate the instance of the car, and change the tint for the duplicate.
On the Stage, select the car. Press Alt and drag the car up to create another instance.
With the duplicate selected, select Tint from the Color pop-up menu in the Property inspector. In the RGB area, enter 0 in the Red Color pop-up menu, 0 in the Green Color pop-up menu, and 255 in the Blue Color pop-up menu. Then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh). The duplicate instance turns blue, but the original instance remains unchanged.
120 Basic Tasks: Create Symbols and Instances

Modify a symbol

You can enter symbol-editing mode by double-clicking any instance of a symbol. Changes that you make in symbol-editing mode affect all instances of the symbol.
Do one of the following to enter symbol-editing mode:
On the Stage, double-click one of the car instances. In the Library panel, double-click the CarGraphic symbol.
Next to Scene 1 toward the top of the workspace, the name of the symbol appears, which indicates that youre in symbol-editing mode for the named symbol.

In the Tools panel, select the Free Transform tool and drag around the bottom car to select the entire car. In symbol-editing mode, the car is a graphic, within a symbol, that you can manipulate as you would any other vector graphic.
Drag the middle-right sizing handle of the Free Transform tool slightly to the right to stretch the symbol.
Click Scene 1, above the Timeline, to exit symbol-editing mode. Both instances of the symbol reflect the transformation.
Create a movie clip symbol
A movie clip symbol is analogous in many ways to a document within a document. This symbol type has its own Timeline independent of the main Timeline. You can add movie clips within other movie clips and buttons to create nested movie clips. You can also use the Property inspector to assign an instance name to an instance of a movie clip, and then reference the instance name in ActionScript. Youll convert the tire on the Stage into a movie clip.
With the Selection tool, click the tire on the Stage to select it and select Modify > Convert to Symbol. In the Convert to Symbol dialog box, enter MCWheel as the name, and select MovieClip as the behavior. In the Registration grid, this time select the center square as the registration point, so the center of the movie clip becomes the axis around which the symbol rotates. Click OK. The image on the Stage is now an instance of the MCWheel symbol in the library.
Assign an instance name to the movie clip
To refer to an instance in ActionScript, and as a general best practice, always assign instance names to buttons and movie clip symbols. (You cannot assign an instance name to a graphic symbol.)
In the Property inspector, with the instance of MCWheel selected on the Stage, enter wheel_mc in the Instance Name text box.
122 Basic Tasks: Create Symbols and Instances
Add an effect to the movie clip
You can create an animation within a movie clip Timeline, in symbolediting mode, that plays independent of the main Timeline. Youll add an effect to the MCWheel symbol that will cause all instances of the symbol to spin.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

With the Selection tool, double-click the wheel_mc instance to enter symbol-editing mode. Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the symbol and select Timeline Effects > Transform/Transition > Transform. In the Transform dialog box, enter 60 in the Effect Duration text box to specify that the effect spans 60 frames in the Timeline. In the Spin text box, enter 1 and verify that 360 populates the Rotate text box. Click Update Preview to view a preview of the effect and click OK. The effect spans 60 frames in the movie clip Timeline. Click Scene 1 above the Timeline to exit symbol-editing mode. Select Control > Test Movie to view the animation.

If the Screen Outline pane is not visible, select Window > Other Panels > Screens.
The Screen Outline pane displays a thumbnail view of each slide in the presentation, and the presentation hierarchy. When you select a screen in the Screen Outline pane, the screen appears in the Document window. When you select multiple screens, the content of the first screen selected appears in the Document window.
View the screen hierarchy and screen Timelines 137
In the Screen Outline pane, select the presentation screen. All slide screen documents contain a presentation screen, which is at the top level of the screen hierarchy. Think of the presentation slide as a master slide: content on the presentation slide can appear in all slides in your document.
You cannot delete or move the presentation screen.
138 Basic Tasks: Create a Presentation with Screens (Flash Professional Only)
The four slides that appear indented beneath the presentation slide in the pane represent nested, or child, screens, and the presentation slide is the parent.
Open the Timeline, if its not already open (Window > Timeline). Select another slide in the Screen Outline pane to view the Timeline for that screen. Each screen has its own Timeline. The main Timeline for a document with screens, however, is never visible.

View screen properties

You can view different properties for a slide, depending on where you select the slide.
In the Screen Outline pane, select the presentation thumbnail. The Property inspector allows you to change the instance name, which is also the name of the screen as it appears in the Screen Outline pane.
Select the actual presentation slide, not the thumbnail. The Property inspector now displays the same controls youre probably used to when working with the Stage and document properties.
Add content to a presentation slide
Youll add navigation buttons to the presentation slide so that the buttons appear on each slide in the presentation.
In the Screen Outline pane, select the presentation slide thumbnail. In the Timeline, select Frame 1 of the Navigation layer. From the Library panel, drag the NextBtn symbol to the screen, placing it within the black band at the bottom of the screen. In the Property inspector, with the button still selected, enter 280 in the X text box and 165 in the Y text box to place the button.

Create a transform gradient with a shape
In this section, you will create a gradient and then use the Free Transform tool to change its shape.
Select the Shadow layer in the Timeline. Select the Oval tool in the Tools panel. Hold down Shift and then drag on the Stage with the Oval tool to draw a circle approximately 150 pixels square. This should be about the same diameter as the eight ball. In the Color Mixers Type menu, select Radial. Move the left gradient color swatch all the way to the left. You should have one swatch all the way to the left and one all the way to the right. Double-click the left swatch and select the color black (#000000) in the Color Picker. Double-click the right swatch to display the Color Picker. Select the color black (#000000). In the Color Picker, drag the Alpha slider down to zero. This creates a gradient from black to transparent, allowing the green background to show through the edge of the circle you just drew. the Gradient Transform tool from the Tools panel and drag the Focal Point control of the gradient back to the center of the circle. Select the Free Transform tool and scale the circle along the y (vertical) axis by dragging the top-center handle downward as shown in the following illustration.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

The gradient is transformed along with the shape transformation.
186 Creating Graphics: Applying Gradients
the Selection tool from the Tools panel. outside the Stage to deselect the shadow.
Drag the shadow shape under the eight ball with the Selection tool. Select File > Save to save your FLA file.
Apply the finishing touches
To complete the illustration, you will apply two more linear gradients: one to the white circle on the eight ball and one to make a highlight on the top of the eight ball.
Apply a gradient to the white circle on the eight ball
Next you will add a gradient to the white circle on the eight ball graphic.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Select the Selection tool from the Tools panel. Double-click the eight ball group to edit the group. Double-click the white circle group. Select the white circle shape. In the Color Mixer panel, assign the white circle shape a linear gradient by selecting Linear from the Type menu. Select Nonrepeating from the Overflow menu. Drag the left gradient color swatch all the way to the left and doubleclick it. Select the color white (#FFFFFF) from the Color Picker. Set the Alpha value for the white color swatch to 100%. the right color swatch all the way to the right and double-click it. Select the color black (#000000) from the Color Picker.

Click Add again and then select the goto() function from the Global Functions > Timeline Control option.
Adding the function that is triggered when the event occurs The goto() function is added as the action of the on event handler. In other words, when the Home button is pressed (the on handler) and released (the release event), the goto() action is executed. When the Home button is clicked, the movie clip should move to and stop at the Home frame of the Timeline. To do this, you use Script Assist mode to modify the default parameters of the goto() function.
In the Script Assist panel, select the Go To and Stop option. Set the Type to Frame Label by selecting it from the Type pop-up menu.
216 ActionScript: Use Script Assist mode
the Frame text box, enter home.
Modifying function parameters to complete the script The changes you made with Script Assist mode are displayed in the ActionScript editor. Youve just created a script without manually writing code in the ActionScript editor. When you test the application, clicking the Home button will display the title Home in the Title movie clip, indicating that the Home frame is currently displayed.
Clicking the Home button displays Home in the Title movie clip. You could repeat this process for the About, Products, and Contacts buttons. However, for these buttons youll use an alternative and preferred method for creating scripts. In each case, you want to display the related frames on the Timeline when each of the buttons are clicked; therefore, you will set the frame target of the gotoAndStop() function to the About, Products, and Contacts frames, as youve just done for the Home button.
Add a script to a button by using Script Assist mode 217
Add frame scripts to the Timeline by using Script Assist mode
Rather than adding scripts to individual objects, and acting on objects directly but also dispersing code in many different places in your Flash document, place the scripts in a frame in the timeline instead. This section demonstrates how you add scripts to a timeline.
On the main Timeline, select Frame 1 of the Actions layer. In the Actions panel toolbar, click Script Assist to display the Script Assist window. From the Actions toolbox, select ActionScript 2.0 Classes > Movie > Button > Events and locate the on(release) event handler. Double-click the on(release) event handler to insert it into the ActionScript editor.
Using the Actions toolbox to insert functions into the script Youll notice that code placed on a timeline behaves differently than code placed on objects. In the previous example, you had to specify the target object for the on(release) event handler. This is because youre not adding the script directly to the object, but rather, youre referring to it from the code in the timeline. It also explicitly uses the function keyword to declare a function. Youll see how to use Script Assist mode to handle these in the following steps.