Using Components > Customizing component colors and text > Changing properties of a component instance |  |

Changing properties of a component instance

You can specify a `FStyleFormat` property for a specific instance of a Flash UI component using the `setStyleProperty` method available to all Flash UI components. Calling the `setStyleProperty` method to set a property overrides the setting for that property only. All other property settings are unchanged. It is recommended that you use a separate layer in the document Timeline to set properties.

It is not recommended to call the `setStyleProperty` method multiple times to set more than one property. If you want to change multiple properties, or change properties for multiple component instances, you should create a custom style format. See Changing the properties of specific components.

To set or change a property for a single component instance:

1 | Select the component instance on the Stage.
2 | Create a new layer in the Timeline and give it a name.
3 | Select any frame in the new layer.
4 | Open the Actions panel in expert mode.
5 | Use the following syntax to specify a property and value for the instance:
    componentInstance.setStyleProperty("property", value);
| For example, to make the arrow of the `grapeComboBox` instance purple:
    grapeComboBox.setStyleProperty("arrow", 0x800080);
6 | Choose Control > Test Movie to view the changes.