Introduction to ActionScript Tutorial > Control the flow of the movie > Write a conditional statement |  |

Write a conditional statement

You've already used an operator to show and hide a movie clip. Now you'll use an `if` statement to create logic that shows and hides the `piece numbers` movie clip. For the sake of learning, this example uses a different ActionScript element to achieve the same result.

1 | If necessary, choose File > Open and choose the version of the mypuzzle.fla file that you last saved.
| Note: You can also browse to your Flash MX application folder and open Tutorials/ActionScript/Finished/puzzle5.fla. If you do use the puzzle5.fla file, save the file with a new name in your My_Puzzle folder to maintain an unadulterated version of the original file.
2 | On the Stage, click the Show/Hide Piece number matrix button. If the Actions panel isn't open, choose Window > Actions. In the Actions toolbox, choose the Actions > Conditions/Loops category.
3 | Double-click the `if` action. The following code appears in the Actions panel:
    on (release) {
        if (<not set yet>) {
        }
    }
4 | With the line of code that contains the `if` action selected, double-click the `else` action in the Actions toolbox.
| The code looks like the following:
    on (release) {
        if (<not set yet>) {
        } else {
        }
    }
5 | Select line 3, which begins with `if`, and with the insertion point in the Condition text box, click the Insert Target Path button. Select the `piecenumbers` movie clip, Dots, and Absolute, and click OK. The following code appears in the Condition text box:
    _root.piecenumbers
6 | With the insertion point in the Condition text box, enter ._visible after `_root.piecenumbers`.
7 | From the Actions > Miscellaneous Actions category in the Actions toolbox, double-click the `evaluate` action to add an empty line of code.
8 | Enter _root.piecenumbers._visible = false in the Expression text box.
| You can use the Insert Target Path button or type the code manually. The code now looks like the following:
    on (release) {
        if (_root.piecenumbers._visible) {
            _root.piecenumbers._visible = false;
        } else {
        }
    }
| When the movie plays, Flash evaluates the expression inside the condition parentheses. The expression must equal one of the Boolean values: `true` or `false`. This example uses the condition of the `if` action to check if the `piecenumbers` movie clip is visible on the Stage. If the `_visible` property is `true`, ActionScript runs the code inside the curly brackets and sets the `_visible` property to `false`, which hides the movie clip on the Stage.
9 | In the Script pane, select the line of code with the `else` action and double-click the `evaluate` action.
10 | Enter _root.piecenumbers._visible = true in the Expression text box.
| The final ActionScript code looks like this:
    on (release) {
        if (_root.piecenumbers._visible) {
            _root.piecenumbers._visible = false;
        } else {
    			_root.piecenumbers._visible = true;
        }
    }
11 | Choose File > Save As and enter a new filename. Use a consecutive naming scheme so you can revert to earlier versions of the file if necessary.