Adobe Flash CS4: ActionScript

Objectives

ActionScript has developed into a full object oriented programming language. Learn how to control complex interactivity in your dynamic rich media applications using ActionScript 3


Pre-requisites:

Delegates should be familiar with creating animations within the Flash timeline. Any experience of basic scripting in Flash, or exposure to another programming language, such as Javascript, would be useful but not essential.


Course Includes:

A comprehensive set of reference notes covering course topics, follow-up telephone support and, for training on Transmedia premises, lunch and refreshments.


Course Outline


Controlling Visual Objects


· Customising Actions/Output Panels
· Declaring Variables and default values
· Data Types: Number, String, Boolean
· new data types/Converting data types
· Using the trace() global function
· Assigning instance names to objects
· Naming rules & conventions; best practice
· Using code comments
· Code Statements; ending statements
· Concatenating strings of text
· Changing visual object properties
· Using the with operator
· Math operators: + - / *
· Interacting Input&Dynamic text fields


Using and Writing Functions


· Using global functions
· Writing a custom function
· Understanding variable scope
· Loading external content into movies
· Creating new instances of Library symbols
· Using addChild() to display objects from the Library


Using Text, Data and Maths


· Creating instances of visual & non visual classes
· Creating new TextFields
· Formatting text with TextFormat class
· Retrieving and displaying the system date and time using Date class
· Creating a custom date format
· Using compund operators for string concatenation
· Generating random numbers & integers within specific ranges






Understanding and Handling Events


· Actionscript 3 Events
· How event handling works
· Adding an event Listener
· Writing an event Handler
· Passing data out of Flash using URL parameters


Managing Colour, Sound and Data with Classes


· Creating and Using arrays
· Importing Classes
· Using the Transform & Color Transform classes
· Importing sound files
· Using the Sound Class


Making Decisions & Repeating yourself


· Loop Statements
· Using for and while loops
· Conditional statements
· Logical operators
· Using if then statements
· Using conditional statements to toggle the visual state of a MovieClip


Animating with ActionScript


· the ENTER_FRAME Event to animate
· Creating draggable movieclips
· Collision detection with hit TestObject


Using XML


· ECMAscript for XML/Loading XML files
· Accessing XML Nodes and attributes
· Looping through XML nodes


Object Orientated Programming


· Classes, Methods and Properties
· Inheritance
· Structure of a class
· Creating and using a custom class