Error Messages

Table of error messages

The following table contains a list of error messages returned by the Flash compiler. An explanation of each message is provided to aid you in troubleshooting your movie files.

Error message Description
'on' handlers may not nest within other 'on' handlers An on handler was declared inside another on handler. All on handlers must appear at the top level of an action list.
'onClipEvent' handlers may not nest within other 'onClipEvent' handlers An onClipEvent handler was declared inside another onClipEvent handler. All onClipEvent handlers must appear at the top level of an action list.
<token> Expected An invalid or unexpected token was encountered. For example, in the syntax below, the token foo is not valid. The expected token is while.do { trace (i) } foo (i < 100)
1 Classes may only be defined in package scripts.  
10 All member functions need to have names.  
11 This statement is not permitted in a class definition.  
12 A class or interface has already been defined with this name.  
13 Type mismatch.  
14 There is no class with this name.  
15 There is no property with the name ' '.  
16 A function call on a non-function was attempted.  
17 Type mismatch in assignment statement.  
18 The member is private and cannot be accessed.  
19 Variable declarations are not permitted in interfaces.  
2 Interfaces may only be defined in package scripts.  
20 Event declarations are not permitted in interfaces.  
21 Private members are not permitted in interfaces.  
22 Function bodies are not permitted in interfaces.  
23 A class may not extend itself.  
24 An interface may not extend itself.  
25 There is no interface defined with this name.  
26 A class may not extend an interface.  
27 An interface may not extend a class.  
28 An interface name is expected after the 'implements' keyword.  
29 A class may not imlement a class, only interfaces.  
3 Packages may only define class constructs.  
30 The class must implement method ' ' from interface ' '.  
31 The implementation of an interface method must be a method, not a property.  
32 A class may not extend the same interface more than once.  
33 The implementation of the interface method doesn't match its definition.  
34 This construct is only available in ActionScript 1.0.  
35 This construct is only available in ActionScript 2.0.  
36 Static members are not permitted in interfaces.  
37 The expression returned must match the function's return type.  
38 A return statement is required in this function.  
39 Attribute used outside class.  
4 The name used to define this class is invalid.  
40 A function with return type Void may not return a value.  
41 The 'extends' clause must appear before the 'implements' clause.  
42 A type identifier is expected after the ':'.  
43 Interfaces must use the 'extends' keyword, not 'implements'.  
44 A class may not extend more than one class.  
45 An interface may not extend more than one interface.  
46 There is no method with the name ' '.  
47 This statement is not permitted in an interface definition.  
48 A set function requires exactly one parameter.  
49 A get function requires no parameters.  
5 The specified package could not be loaded.  
50 Classes may only be defined in package scripts.  
51 Packages may only define class or interface constructs.  
52 The name used to define this class is invalid.  
53 The specified package could not be loaded.  
54 Interfaces may only be defined in package scripts.  
55 Instance variables cannot be accessed in static functions.  
56 Class and interface definitions cannot be nested.  
57 The property being references does not have the static attribute.  
58 This call to super does not match the superconstructor.  
59 Only the public attribute is allowed for interface methods.  
6 A class name was expected.  
60 The import keyword cannot be used as a directive.  
61 A class must have only one constructor.  
62 A constructor may not return a value.  
63 A constructor may not specify a return type.  
64 A variable may not be of type Void.  
65 A function parameter may not be of type Void.  
66 Static members cannot be assigned from instances.  
67 Multiple implemented interfaces contain same method with different types.  
68 There is already a class or interface defined with this name.  
69 Classes, interfaces, and built-in types may not be deleted.  
7 A base class name is expected after the 'extends' keyword.  
70 There is no package or class with this name.  
71 The keyword ' ' is reserved for ActionScript 2.0 and cannot be used here.  
72 The class being compiled, '<className>', does not match the class that was imported, '<className>'.  
8 A member attribute was used incorrectly.  
9 The same member name may not be repeated more than once.  
Case statements can only be used inside a switch statement Case statements must be used inside of switch statements.
Case statements must be terminated with a ':' Every case statement within a switch statement must end with a colon.
Case-insensitive identifier <identifier> will obscure built-in object <object name> Since ActionScript is case-insensitive, a case-insensitive identifier would obscure a built-in object.
Clip events are permitted only for movie clip instances A clip event handler was declared in a frame action list or a button instance's action list. Clip events are permitted only in the action lists of movie clip instances.
Duplicate in event list An on handler was specified with a duplicate event.
'else' encountered without matching 'if' An else statement was encountered, but no if statement appeared before it. You can use else only in conjunction with an if statement.
Error opening include file:file not found There was an error opening a file included with the include directive. The file was not present.
Event expected An on(MouseEvent) handler was declared, but no event was specified, or an unexpected token was encountered where an event should appear.
Expected a field name after '.' operator You must specify a valid field name when using the object.field syntax.
Function declaration not permitted here Cannot use a named function when declaring it in an assignment.
Function name expected The name specified for this function is not a valid function name.
Hexadecimal digits expected after 0x The sequence 0x was encountered, but the sequence was not followed by valid hexadecimal digits.
Identifier expected An unexpected token was encountered in place of an identifier. In the example below, 3 is not a valid identifier.var 3 = 4;
Initializer list must be terminated by <terminator> An object or array initializer list is missing the closing ] or }.
Internal error An internal error occurred in the ActionScript compiler. Please send the FLA file that generated this error to Macromedia, with detailed instructions on how to reproduce the message.
Invalid key code The specified key code does not exist.
Invalid mouse event specified The script contains an invalid mouse event in a handler. For a list of valid mouse events, see the On(MouseEvent) entry in the online ActionScript Dictionary.
Invalid movie clip event specified An onClipEvent handler can only accept load, enterForm, unload, mouseMove, mouseDown, mouseUp, keyDown, keyUp, or data events.
Key code identifier expected You need to specify a key code. See Appendix B for a list of key codes.
Left side of assignment operator must be variable or property An assignment operator was used, but the left side of the assignment was not a legal variable or property.
Malformed #include directive An include directive was not written correctly. An include directive must use the following syntax: #include "somefile.as"
Mouse events are permitted only for button instances (Message appears for Flash 5 format) A button event handler was declared in a frame action list or a movie clip instance's action list. Button events are permitted only in the action lists of button instances.
Multi-line comment was not terminated A multi-line comment started with /* is missing the closing */ tag.
Operator <operator> must be followed by an operand An operator without an operand was encountered. For example, x = 1 + requires an operand after the + operator.
Parameter <parameter> cannot be declared multiple times A parameter name appeared multiple times in the parameter list of a function declaration. All parameter names must be unique.
Parameter name expected A parameter (argument) name was expected in a function declaration, but an unexpected token was encountered.
Property <property> does not exist A property that does not exist was encountered. For example, x = _green is invalid, because there is no _green property.
Property name expected in getProperty The getProperty function was called, but the second parameter was not the name of a movie clip property.
Scene name must be a quoted string The scene argument of a gotoAndPlay, gotoAndStop, or ifFrameLoaded action was of the wrong type. The scene argument must be a string constant.
Statement block must be terminated by '}' A group of statements was declared within curly braces, but the closing brace is missing.
Statement must appear within on handler (Message appears for Flash 5 format) In the actions for a button instance, a statement was declared without a surrounding on block. All actions for a button instance must appear inside an on block.
Statement must appear within on or onClipEvent handler (Message appears for Flash MX format) In the actions for a movie clip instance, a statement was declared without a surrounding on or onClipEvent block. All actions for a movie clip instance must appear inside an on or onClipEvent block.
Statement must appear within onClipEvent handler (Message appears for Flash 5 format) In the actions for a movie clip instance, a statement was declared without a surrounding onClipEvent block. All actions for a movie clip instance must appear inside an onClipEvent block.
String literal was not properly terminated A string literal started with an opening quotation mark (single or double) is missing the closing quotation mark.
Syntax error This message is issued whenever a nonspecific syntax error is encountered.
The JavaScript 'void' construct is not supported A JavaScript construct that is not supported by ActionScript was encountered. This message appears if any of the following JavaScript constructs are used: void, try, catch, or throw.
Trailing garbage found The script or expression parsed correctly but contained additional trailing characters that could not be parsed.
Variable <variable> cannot be declared multiple times A variable name appeared multiple times in a var statement. All variable names in a single var statement must be unique.
Wrong number of parameters; <function> requires between <low> and <high> A function was called, but an unexpected number of parameters were encountered.