Subtitles of the Movie

In the previous movie, I covered behaviors which are prepackaged blocks of code that can be added to stage objects to accomplish simple tasks such as navigation control. Although behaviors are easy to use you'll still need to learn and use at least some ActionScripting to get your Flash project working. This is because the number of behaviors and their applications is really rather limited. The creation of most presentations, even presentations with limited interactivity requires the application of some ActionScript, many fundamental Flash functions such as stopping and restarting a movie or controlling audio or video can only be accomplished by writing ActionScript code yourself. ActionScript like behaviors can only be attached to a button instance, a movie clip instance or a key frame in the timeline. I have a file open here with a variety of ActionScript; all of it is located either on these key frames up here in the actions layer, notice that my script is here or in this move clip slider or in one of the play buttons or stop buttons on the stage. ActionScript can not be attached to an instance of a graphic symbol or to non symbol shapes on the stage. The actions panel here works in two modes, displaying a different interface for each mode. In normal mode you create ActionScript by choosing from the list of code found within the action panes. You can get into normal mode by clicking on the script assist button until that pane in the top there disappears. Now you're in normal mode. You can also choose your scripts for your actions from the plus button, the add a new item to the script. Here you have a pop up menu with all of the actions available to you. This menu and these series of folders, the telescope open and close are equivalent; you can also add actions by typing code manually into the script pane here. This requires that you write the correct syntax and any additional parameters required by the action statements, the other mode script assist can be entered by clicking on the script assist button in the upper right hand corner. In fact that's how you toggle between the two modes. With script assist notice that there's a area above this script pane, Flash assists you with the syntax. And the action parameters by letting you choose from options available in the text boxes up here if I click on this script here in my key frame. You can see better examples of the script assist and how little or no actual scripting is involved in this mode, only the selection from the various options available. When you click on the actions here in the actions pane, Flash will prompt you to fill in the parameters or arguments required and in some cases even provide the correct parameter selections all here in this area above the script pane. Also the actions window will change depending on what mode you're in, notice that when you leave script assist and you go to normal mode you get all these buttons at the top. Such as target, path, check syntax, auto format, collapse and expand selections and so on. With script assist notice that none of those options are available at the top. I usually recommend my students when their starting to start off in script assist mode and then gradually wean themselves off script assist. Once here in normal mode to start applying scripts using the actions that they can select from the navigation from the folders here or adding scripts from the pop up menu. And then eventually writing their own scripts. Now ActionScript is obviously a topic much too large for this single movie. Flash help notice devotes a full seven sections of topics related to ActionScripting, programming in ActionScript 3.0, ActionScript 3.0 language and components using ActionScript 3.0 components and then the equivalent folders for ActionScript 2.0. Notice that each of these has their own sub sections of learning material so for help with this huge topic of ActionScript the help area here in Flash is a great place to start.