Using Objects in ActionScript > Using a text field as an object

 

Using a text field as an object

You can use a text field as an object in your movie, and use ActionScript to control the text field in the same way you would control a movie clip or other object. Text field objects support the same properties as MovieClip objects, with the exception of the _currentframe, _droptarget, _framesloaded, and _totalframes properties. You can get and set properties and invoke methods for text fields dynamically.

The Debug > List Variables command in test mode supports text field objects. The following conventions are used in displaying text field objects in the Output window:

If a property is not found on the object, it is not displayed.

No more than four properties are displayed on a line.

A property with a value that is of type String is printed on a separate line.

If there are any other remaining properties defined for the object after the built-in properties are processed, they are added to the display using the rules in the second and third bullet points above.

Color properties are displayed as hexadecimal numbers (0x00FF00).

The properties are displayed in the following order:

1. variable, 2. text, 3. htmlText, 4. html, 5. textWidth, 6. textHeight, 7. maxChars,
8. borderColor, 9. backgroundColor, 10. textColor, 11. border, 12. background,
13. wordWrap,14. password, 15. multiline, 16. selectable, 17. scroll, 18. hscroll,
19. maxscroll,20. maxhscroll, 21. bottomScroll, 22. type, 23. embedFonts, 24 restrict, 
25. length,26. tabIndex, 27. autoSize

The Debug > List Objects command in test mode supports text field objects. If an instance name is specified for a text field, the full target path including the instance name is displayed in the Output window in the following form:

Target = "target path"

For more information on the List Variables or List Objects commands, see Using the Output window.

 
To use a text field as an object:

1

Select a text field on the Stage.

2

In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), enter an instance name in the Instance Name text box, directly below the Text Type pop-up menu on the left side of the inspector.

The instance name must conform to identifier naming conventions. The first character must be a letter, underscore (_), or dollar sign ($). Each subsequent character must be a letter, number, underscore, or dollar sign.