Adding Actions to Buttons

You can assign an action to a button or a movie clip, make an action execute when the user clicks a button or rolls the pointer over it, or when the movie clip loads or reaches a certain frame. You assign the action to an instance of the button or movie clip; other instances of the symbol aren't affected.

To display the Actions panel in normal mode:

1. Select Windows / Actions.

2. Do one of the following:

Click the arrow in the upper right corner of the Actions panel to display the pop-up menu, and choose Normal Mode.

Click anywhere in the Actions panel. Then press Control+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Shift+N (Macintosh).


To view a description of an action, do one of the following:

Click a category in the Actions toolbox to display the actions in that category, and click an action.

Select a line of code in the Script pane.

The description appears at the upper right of the Actions panel.
To add an action to the Script pane, do one of the following:

Click a category in the Actions toolbox to display the actions in that category. Then either double-click an action, drag it to the Script pane, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) and select Add to Script.

Click the Add (+) button and select an action from the pop-up menu.

Press Escape and a shortcut key. For example, Escape+st adds a stop action. (To view a list of shortcut keys, select View Esc Shortcut Keys in the Actions panel pop-up menu; select this option again to hide the list.)

To delete an action:

1 Select a statement in the Script pane.

2 Click the Delete (-) button or press the Delete key.

When you assign an action to a button or a movie clip, Flash automatically assigns a special action called a handler—the On Mouse Event action for buttons or the On Clip Event action for movie clips. A handler manages an event in a certain way and contains groups of ActionScript statements that run when a specific event occurs. Each handler begins with the word on or onClipEvent followed by the event to which the handler responds.

Events are actions that occur while a movie is playing—for example, a movie clip loading, the playhead entering a frame, or the user pressing a key on the keyboard. You can specify the mouse event or keyboard key that triggers the action; see Setting mouse event options. You can also specify the clip event that triggers the action; see ActionScript Help.

Once you've assigned an action, it's recommended that you test whether it works. Only simple frame actions such as Go To and Play work in editing mode.

The following instructions describe how to set actions for objects using the Actions panel in Normal Mode.

To assign an action to a button or movie clip:

1. Select a button or movie clip instance and choose WINDOW / ACTIONS.
   If the selection is not a button instance, a movie clip instance, or a frame, or if the selection includes multiple objects, the Actions panel will be dimmed.
   
2. In the Toolbox list on the left side of the panel, click the Basic Actions category to display the basic actions.
   For a description of the actions you can add, see Using basic actions for navigation and interaction.
   
3. To assign an action, do one of the following:
   Double-click an action in the Basics Actions category.
   Drag an action from the Basic Actions category on the left to the Actions list on the right side of the panel.
   Click the Add (+) button and choose an action from the pop-up menu.
   Use the keyboard shortcut.
   If you selected a movie clip, Flash automatically inserts the On Clip Event action and the action you selected in the Actions list. If you selected a button, Flash automatically inserts the On Mouse Event code to trigger any selected action.
   
4. To display the Parameters pane, click the triangle in the lower right corner of the Actions panel. Select the action and enter new values in the Parameters text boxes to change parameters of existing actions.
   Parameters vary depending on the action you choose. For example, the default On Clip parameter is Load. See Using basic actions for navigation and interaction for information on parameters for the most commonly used actions.
   
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to assign additional actions as necessary.