Flash 8 Documentation

Learning ActionScript 2.0 in Flash > What's New in Flash 8 ActionScript > New in ActionScript 2.0 and Flash 8 > Additions to the ActionScript language

Additions to the ActionScript language

This section lists additions to ActionScript language elements and classes that are new or changed in Flash 8. The following classes and language elements are new additions or newly supported in Flash Player 8.

The following classes were added to ActionScript 2.0 in Flash 8:

• The BevelFilter class (in flash.filters package) lets you add bevel effects to objects.
• The BitmapData class (in flash.display package) lets you create and manipulate arbitrarily sized transparent or opaque bitmap images.
• The BitmapFilter class (in flash.display package) is a base class for filter effects.
• The BlurFilter class lets you apply blurs to objects in Flash.
• The ColorMatrixFilter class (in flash.filters package) lets you apply transformations to ARGB colors and alpha values.
• The ColorTransform class (in the flash.geom package) lets you adjust color values in movie clips. The Color class is deprecated in favor of this class.
• The ConvolutionFilter class (in the flash.filters package) lets you apply matrix convolution filter effects.
• The DisplacementMapFilter class (in the flash.filters package) lets you use pixel values from a BitmapData object to perform displacement on an object.
• The DropShadowFilter class (in the flash.filters package) lets you add drop shadows to objects.
• The ExternalInterface class (in the flash.external package) lets you communicate by using ActionScript with the Flash Player container (the system holding the Flash application, such as a browser with JavaScript, or the desktop application).
• The FileReference class (in the flash.net package) lets you upload and download files between the user's computer and a server.
• The FileReferenceList class (in the flash.net package) lets you select one or more files to upload.
• The GlowFilter class (in the flash.filters package) lets you add glow effects to objects.
• The GradientBevelFilter class (in the flash.filters package) lets you add gradient bevels to objects.
• TheGradientGlowFilter class (in the flash.filters package) lets you add gradient glow effects to objects.
• The IME class (in the System class) lets you manipulate the operating system's input method editor (IME) within Flash Player.
• The Locale class (in the mx.lang package) lets you control how multilanguage text appears in a SWF file.
• The Matrix class (in the flash.geom package) represents a transformation matrix that determines how to map points from one coordinate space to another.
• The Point class (in the flash.geom package) represents a location in a two-dimensional coordinate system (x represents the horizontal axis, and y represents the vertical axis).
• The Rectangle class (in the flash.geom package) lets you create and modify Rectangle objects.
• The TextRenderer class (in the flash.text package) provides functionality for anti-aliasing embedded fonts.
• The Transform class (in the flash.geom package) collects data about color transformations and coordinates manipulations that you apply to a MovieClip instance.

  NOTE

  Official support is added for the AsBroadcaster class in Flash 8.

New language elements, methods, and functions added to existing classes in ActionScript include:

• The showRedrawRegions global function provides the ability for the debugger player to outline the regions of the screen that are being redrawn (that is, dirty regions that are being updated). The function has the player show what was redrawn, but does not let you control redraw regions.
• The blendMode property in the Button class, which sets the blending mode for the button instance.
• The cacheAsBitmap property in the Button class, which lets you cache the object as an internal bitmap representation of the instance.
• The filters property in the Button class, which is an indexed array that contains each filter object associated with the button.
• The scale9Grid property in the Button class, which is the rectangular region that defines nine scaling regions for the instance.
• The hasIME property in the System.capabilities class, which indicates if the system has an IME installed.
• The getUTCYear property in the Date class, which returns the year of this date, according to universal time.
• The isAccessible() method in the Key class returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the last key pressed may be accessed by other SWF files, depending on security restrictions.
• The onHTTPStatus event handler of the LoadVars class returns the status code that's returned from the server (for example, the value 404 for page not found). For more information, see onHTTPStatus (LoadVars.onHTTPStatus handler) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The attachBitmap() method of the MovieClip class, which attaches a bitmap image to a movie clip. For information, see the BitmapData (flash.display.BitmapData) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The beginBitmapFill() method of the MovieClip class, which fills a movie clip with a bitmap image.
• The spreadMethod, interpolationMethod, and focalPointRatio parameters of the beginGradientFill() method in the MovieClip class. This method fills a drawing area with a bitmap image, and the bitmap can be repeated or tiled to fill the area.
• The blendMode property of the MovieClip class, which lets you set the blending mode for the instance.
• The cacheAsBitmap property of the MovieClip class, which lets you cache the object as an internal bitmap representation of the instance.
• The filters property of the MovieClip class, which is an indexed array that contains each filter object that's currently associated with the instance.
• The getRect() method of the MovieClip class, which returns properties that are the minimum and maximum coordinate values of the specified instance.
• The lineGradientStyle() method of the MovieClip class, which specifies a gradient line style that Flash uses when drawing a path.
• The pixelHinting, noScale, capsStyle, jointStyle, and miterLimit parameters of the lineStyle() method in the MovieClip class. These parameters specify kinds of line styles you can use when drawing lines.
• The opaqueBackground property of the MovieClip class, which sets the color of the movie clip's opaque (not transparent) background to the color that the RGB hexadecimal value specifies.
• The scale9Grid property of the MovieClip class, which is the rectangular region that defines nine scaling regions for the instance.
• The scrollRect property of the MovieClip class, which lets you quickly scroll movie clip content and have a window viewing larger content.
• The transform property of the MovieClip class, which lets you make settings regarding a movie clip's matrix, color transform, and pixel bounds. For more information, see Transform (flash.geom.Transform) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The status parameter of the MovieClipLoader.onLoadComplete event handler returns the status code that's returned from the server (for example, the value 404 for page not found). For more information, see onLoadComplete (MovieClipLoader.onLoadComplete event listener) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The onLoadError event handler of the MovieClipLoader class is invoked when a file loaded with MovieClipLoader.loadClip() fails to load.
• The secure parameter of the SharedObject.getLocal() method determines whether access to this shared object is restricted to SWF files delivered over an HTTPS connection. For more information, see getLocal (SharedObject.getLocal method) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The sandboxType property of the System.security class indicates the type of security sandbox in which the calling SWF file is operating. For more information, see sandboxType (security.sandboxType property) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The antiAliasType property in the TextField class, which sets the type of anti-aliasing that you use for the TextField instance.
• The filters property in the TextField class, which is an indexed array that contains each filter object that's currently associated with the TextField instance.
• The gridFitType property in the TextField class, which sets the type of grid fitting that you use for the instance. For information on grid fitting and TextField.gridFitType, see gridFitType (TextField.gridFitType property) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The sharpness property in the TextField class, which sets the sharpness of the glyph edges for the TextField instance. You must set the antiAliasType() method to advanced if you use this property.
• The thickness property in the TextField class, which sets the thickness of the glyph edges in the TextField instance. You must set the antiAliasType() method to advanced if you use this property.
• The justify value for the align property of the TextFormat class, which lets you justify a specified paragraph.
• The indent property of the TextFormat class, which lets you use negative values.
• The kerning property in the TextFormat class, which lets you turn kerning on or off for the TextFormat object.
• The leading property of the TextFormat class, which lets you use negative leading, so the space between lines is less than the text height. This lets you put lines of text close together in your applications.
• The letterSpacing property in the TextFormat class, which lets you specify the amount of space that is uniformly distributed between characters.
• The _alpha property in the Video class, which is the specified amount of transparency for the video object.
• The _height property in the Video class, which indicates the height of the video instance.
• The _name property in the Video class, which indicates the instance name of the video.
• The _parent property in the Video class, which indicates the movie clip instance or object that contains the video instance.
• The _rotation property in the Video class, which lets you set the amount of rotation of the video instance in degrees.
• The _visible property in the Video class, which lets you set the visibility of a video instance.
• The _width property in the Video class, which lets you set the width of the video instance.
• The _x property in the Video class, which lets you set the x coordinate of the video instance.
• The _xmouse property in the Video class, which lets you set the x coordinate of the mouse pointer position.
• The _xscale property in the Video class, which lets you set the horizontal scale percentage of the video instance.
• The _y property in the Video class, which lets you set the y coordinate of the video instance.
• The _ymouse property in the Video class, which lets you set the y coordinate of the mouse pointer position.
• The _yscale property in the Video class, which lets you set the vertical scale percentage of the video instance.
• The onHTTPStatus event handler in the XML class returns the status code that's returned from the server (for example, the value 404 for page not found). For more information, see onHTTPStatus (XML.onHTTPStatus handler) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The localName property of the XMLNode class, which returns the full name of the XML node object (including both the prefix and the local name).
• The namespaceURI property of the XMLNode class, which reads the URI of the namespace to which the XML node's prefix resolves. For more information, see namespaceURI (XMLNode.namespaceURI property) in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.
• The prefix property of the XMLNode class, which reads the prefix of the node name.
• The getNamespaceForPrefix() method of the XMLNode class, which returns the namespace URI associated with the specified prefix for the node.
• The getPrefixForNamespace method of the XMLNode class, which returns the prefix associated with a specified namespace URI for the node.

Version 8

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