Flash actions-frame tutorial

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Definition

Learning goals:

• Learn about using code snippets

Prerequisites:

• Flash CS4 desktop tutorial
• Understand symbols and basic drawing

Next steps:

The actions frame

To add interactivity to your flash animations, you need to add little scripts. To create scripts embedded in a FLA file, create a new layer called "Actions" then open the Actions panel (F9). The Actions panel consists of three panes: the Actions toolbox, which groups ActionScript elements by category; the Script navigator, which lets you move quickly between the scripts in your Flash document; and the Script pane, where you type your ActionScript code.

A. Script panel, B. Panel menu, C. Actions toolbox, D. Script navigator. Source: Adobe CS5 docs

Use context-sensitive help from the Actions panel

To select an item for reference, do any of the following:

• Select an ActionScript term in the Actions panel toolbox pane (on the left side of the Actions panel).
• Select an ActionScript term in the Actions panel in the Script pane.
• Place the insertion point before an ActionScript term in the Actions panel in the Script pane.

To open the Help panel reference page for the selected item, do one of the following:

• Press F1.
• Right-click the item and select View Help.
• Click Help above the Script pane.

Using code snippets

This feature only became available in CS5

Using Flash CS5 code snippets