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Flash Developer Center

ActionScript and object-oriented programming

Clive Goodinson

Saving Flash graphics as image files at runtime


Learn how to programmatically generate static image files using the graphic content in a Flash project.

Lee Brimelow

Six reasons to use ActionScript 3.0


Find out about the benefits of using ActionScript 3.0 in your Flash projects.

Learning ActionScript 3.0

Learning ActionScript 3.0 excerpts: OOP overview, display list, and programmatic motion


Begin using ActionScript 3.0 for practical, everyday projects by reading these three chapters from O'Reilly Media.

Adobe

Adobe technology platform ActionScript reference for RIA development

Use this guide both as an API reference and a tool to learn about the ActionScript APIs available within Adobe AIR, Flash Player, and the Flex framework.

Flash samples

New Flash ActionScript 3.0 samples

Learn about Flash by doing: These samples demonstrate features common in Flash development. Investigate how each was constructed, explore the graphics and timelines in the FLA files, and examine the ActionScript code in the associated AS files.

Tom Green

Using ActionScript to pause and loop the timeline in Flash


Learn two practical uses for ActionScript 3.0: pausing the main timeline for a certain amount of time, and looping a movie a number of times before stopping at the end.

James O'Reilly

Creating liquid GUIs with Flash and ActionScript 3.0


Build dynamic RIA user interfaces that size themselves intelligently to the screen's dimensions.

Colin Moock

Notes from the "ActionScript 3.0 from the Ground Up Tour"


Download the notes handed out at Colin Moock's international ActionScript 3.0 tour covering the fundamental skills needed to program for Flash Player and Adobe AIR.

David Stiller

Handling cue points for audio files in ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0


Create a custom Sound class that makes it easy to use cue points for internal sound assets or external MP3s in Flash or Flex apps. (Updated for CS3)

Craig Simmons

Using ActionScript 3.0 to retrieve MySQL data using a server-side ASP script


Discover how you can build a Flash application that pulls data from a MySQL database using XML and a server-side ASP script.

Jamie Kosoy

ActionScript 3.0 for developers and designers – Part 1: Creating a preloader

Build a simple, multipurpose preloader in Flash CS3 that both designers and developers can easily reuse and reskin.

Jeff Kamerer

Creating ActionScript 3.0 components in Flash – Part 1: Introducing components


Get an overview of Flash components, including how they are structured and how they can be deployed to the Components panel.

ActionScript 3.0 Design Patterns excerpt: Factory method and MVC

ActionScript 3.0 Design Patterns excerpt: Factory method and MVC

Download two complete chapters from this hands-on introduction by William B. Sanders and Chadima Cumaranatunge to learn how reusable design patterns solve common problems in Flash and Flex applications.

Colin Moock

Essential ActionScript 3.0 excerpt: Display and interactivity

Download two complete chapters from this updated reference by Colin Moock to learn about the core of the ActionScript 3.0 language, as well as the new Flash Player API.

Ben Pritchard

Creating movie clips with reflections in ActionScript 3.0


Apply reflections to movie clips in your Flash projects and modify them using a custom ActionScript 3.0 class.

Peter Elst

Object-oriented programming with ActionScript 3.0

Learn about the concept of classes and how ActionScript 3.0 helps you write more portable, reusable code for your web applications.

Andrew Muller

Filtering XML data in Flash applications using ECMAScript for XML


Build an application that utilizes E4X to parse and display multilingual captions from an XML source for a video.

Matt Chotin

Tips for tuning ActionScript 3.0 performance for Flex and Flash developers

Learn about the Flash Player architecture and AVM2, and improve performance through typing and data binding in your Flex and Flash application development.

ActionScript

New to ActionScript 3.0?

Freshly updated from the ActionScript team and community, these new articles and videos show you how to get started, migrate your Flash applications, and drill down into ActionScript 3.0.

Dan Carr

Formatting text for localized Flash projects using CSS, HTML, and ActionScript

Dan Carr (June 18, 2007)
Learn how to create Flash applications that display multiple languages using ActionScript and text formatting techniques.

Valerio Virgillito

Examining the Puzzle Game sample application


Learn about the differences between the ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0 versions of this sample Flash application.

Dan Carr

Deconstructing the ActionScript 3.0 Flash video gallery application


Examine the inner workings of an application designed to display a collection of FLV files with thumbnails for easy navigation and playback.

Trevor McCauley

Introduction to event handling in ActionScript 3.0

Use the new EventDispatcher class to track mouse interactions and create your own custom events when building applications in Flex or Flash.

Jen DeHaan

Creating animation in ActionScript 3.0


Learn how to programmatically create motion effects to move, resize, transition, and fade movie clips easily in your Flash projects.

Flash and ActionScript components learning guide

Learning Guide

Learn how to use the data and media ActionScript 2.0 components included with Flash CS3 as well as the new user interface and video ActionScript 3.0 components.


ActionScript 3.0

Introducing the ActionScript 3.0 debugger


Take a tour of the new debugger in Flash CS3 Professional and learn how it greatly simplifies troubleshooting issues with ActionScript 3.0 classes and frame scripts in FLA files.

Building an image-viewing widget with ActionScript 3.0

Migrate an image viewer app from ActionScript 2.0 to 3.0 to explore the new capabilities of ActionScript 3.0.

Creating a video player using the state design pattern and ActionScript 3.0


Learn about design patterns from this simple state machine that starts and stops a video, and then adapt it to run on Flash Media Server 2 by adding more states and player controls.

Tips for migrating your Flash applications to ActionScript 3.0


Apply these 15 helpful tips to avoid common pitfalls when building your first Flash application using the latest version of ActionScript.

ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook excerpts: From custom classes to the rendering model

Download five complete chapters from this coding how-to book from O'Reilly Media to get the most out of this new programming language.

Understanding the changes in the display API in ActionScript 3.0

Take this guided tour through two code samples to learn how the display API differs from ActionScript 2.0 to 3.0.

Handling cue points for audio files in ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0


Create a custom Sound class that makes it easy to use cue points for internal sound assets or external MP3s in Flash or Flex apps. (Updated for CS3)


ActionScript 2.0

Code reuse with movie clip naming conventions and ActionScript 2.0 classes

Save unnecessary code duplication and debugging efforts by linking a movie clip to a class.

ActionScript 2.0 Best Practices


Comment, optimize, and format your code consistently across teams to simplify debugging and maintenance.

Debugging ActionScript 2.0 Code: Lifting the Blindfold


Learn the ins and outs of debugging SWF files when variables and properties may change over time or in response to user input.

Essential ActionScript 2.0: The Model-View-Controller Design Pattern

Colin Moock shows how to plan and build efficient, scalable Flash applications using MVC architecture.

Creating Events Using the EventDispatcher Class

Handle Flash events more efficiently in your code by using the event listener object model.

ActionScript in Flash MX and Flash MX 2004

Find out how ActionScript 2.0 improves the way you code in Flash MX 2004.

Using the New mx.utils.Delegate Class

Learn about this new class, which returns a delegate function for proxying event calls.

Object-Oriented ActionScript

Colin Moock explains ActionScript code structure in this excerpt from Essential ActionScript 2.0 from O'Reilly.

Creating 3D Classes with ActionScript 2.0

Create 3D scenes in Macromedia Flash using a class-based programming model and quaternion math for fast, efficient transformations.

Examining the ActionScript 2.0 Language (Component Architecture)

Read about the new features in ActionScript 2.0 in this article about the new code and component architecture.

Handling cue points for audio files in ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0


Create a custom Sound class that makes it easy to use cue points for internal sound assets or external MP3s in Flash or Flex apps. (Updated for CS3)

Introducing the Image API in Flash 8

Learn to use the new BitmapData class in Flash 8 to create and manipulate 32-bit images at runtime with ActionScript.

Building Preloaders and Progress Bars in Flash

Learn how to build snappy and impressive preloaders that will help set the mood for your site.

Converting from ActionScript 1.0 to ActionScript 2.0

Find out what's new and different in this chapter from the Enhanced ActionScript Dictionary.

Using Components with ActionScript 2.0

Find out how to use listeners to handle Flash component events in this Colin Moock chapter.

Creating Movie Clip Subclasses in ActionScript 2.0

Follow the bouncing ball to learn how easy ActionScript 2.0 makes it to create movie clips with predefined behaviors.

The Nature of an Object (OOP in Director and Flash)

Learn about the relationship between classes and objects in this illustrated article on object-oriented programming.

Using the Tween and Transition Classes in Flash MX 2004

Add eye-catching transitions and animations to your SWF files with these classes—even if you're not an ActionScript expert.


ActionScript 1.0 (Flash MX)

Object-Oriented Programming in Director and Macromedia Flash

Get the basics on object-oriented programming and learn how to create objects in Director and Macromedia Flash.

Blueprints and Foundations

Branden Hall explains how to build a solid application from the foundation up.

Get Your Data in Shape

Branden Hall gives you the lowdown on maximizing your use of data structures in ActionScript.

The Pitter-Patter of Little Patterns

Find out why patterns might be the solution to your software problems.

Macromedia Flash MX Event Model

Create interactivity by capturing and handling events (such as mouse and keyboard input) with new event methods.

Introduction to Macromedia Flash MX Drawing Methods

Draw like a pro; use ActionScript rather than the drawing tools.

Michael Williams: ActionScript Coding Best Practices

The foundation of a good application is good code. Learn how to standardize your ActionScript code in this white paper.
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Using Objects in Macromedia Flash MX

Movie clips in a custom class? Instances of buttons and text fields as objects? It’s the enhanced object support in Macromedia Flash MX.

Using Timelines to Manage Application States

Take control of Macromedia Flash MX application states.

Creating Movie Clip Subclasses

Movie clips meet object-oriented programming. Follow the bouncing ball to learn how to use subclasses in this tutorial.

Locking Down Macromedia Flash

Branden Hall explains the how and why of security with Macromedia Flash.

Macromedia Flash MX Undercover

Branden Hall discusses his favorite features of Flash MX.

Advanced Drawing Methods in Macromedia Flash MX

An in-depth look at using the more advanced features of the Flash MX Drawing API.

Creating Forms with Components in Macromedia Flash MX

Learn how to apply the new LoadVars ActionScript object to power form elements in this tutorial.

Macromedia Flash MX Sample Files

The quickest way to learn is to study the code.

Local Connection Objects

Create Macromedia Flash movie-to-movie communication with local connection objects.

Making and Playing Asteroids

Recreate a classic arcade game completely with ActionScript and the Macromedia Flash drawing API.


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