The InteractiveObject class is the abstract base class for all display objects with which the user can interact, using the mouse, keyboard, or other user input device.

You cannot instantiate the InteractiveObject class directly. A call to the new InteractiveObject() constructor throws an ArgumentError exception.

The InteractiveObject class itself does not include any APIs for rendering content onscreen. To create a custom subclass of the InteractiveObject class, extend one of the subclasses that do have APIs for rendering content onscreen, such as the Sprite, SimpleButton, TextField, or MovieClip classes.

Events:

clear

Dispatched when the user selects 'Clear'(or 'Delete') from the text context menu. This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. If the object that currently has focus is a TextField, the default behavior of this event is to cause any currently selected text in the text field to be deleted.

click

Dispatched when a user presses and releases the main button of the user's pointing device over the same InteractiveObject. For a click event to occur, it must always follow this series of events in the order of occurrence: mouseDown event, then mouseUp. The target object must be identical for both of these events; otherwise the click event does not occur. Any number of other mouse events can occur at any time between the mouseDown or mouseUp events; the click event still occurs.

contextMenu

Dispatched when a user gesture triggers the context menu associated with this interactive object in an AIR application.

copy

Dispatched when the user activates the platform-specific accelerator key combination for a copy operation or selects 'Copy' from the text context menu. This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. If the object that currently has focus is a TextField, the default behavior of this event is to cause any currently selected text in the text field to be copied to the clipboard.

cut

Dispatched when the user activates the platform-specific accelerator key combination for a cut operation or selects 'Cut' from the text context menu. This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. If the object that currently has focus is a TextField, the default behavior of this event is to cause any currently selected text in the text field to be cut to the clipboard.

doubleClick

Dispatched when a user presses and releases the main button of a pointing device twice in rapid succession over the same InteractiveObject when that object's doubleClickEnabled flag is set to true. For a doubleClick event to occur, it must immediately follow the following series of events: mouseDown, mouseUp, click, mouseDown, mouseUp. All of these events must share the same target as the doubleClick event. The second click, represented by the second mouseDown and mouseUp events, must occur within a specific period of time after the click event. The allowable length of this period varies by operating system and can often be configured by the user. If the target is a selectable text field, the word under the pointer is selected as the default behavior. If the target InteractiveObject does not have its doubleClickEnabled flag set to true it receives two click events.

The doubleClickEnabled property defaults to false.

The double-click text selection behavior of a TextField object is not related to the doubleClick event. Use TextField.doubleClickEnabled to control TextField selections.

focusIn

Dispatched after a display object gains focus. This situation happens when a user highlights the object with a pointing device or keyboard navigation. The recipient of such focus is called the target object of this event, while the corresponding InteractiveObject instance that lost focus because of this change is called the related object. A reference to the related object is stored in the receiving object's relatedObject property. The shiftKey property is not used. This event follows the dispatch of the previous object's focusOut event.

focusOut

Dispatched after a display object loses focus. This happens when a user highlights a different object with a pointing device or keyboard navigation. The object that loses focus is called the target object of this event, while the corresponding InteractiveObject instance that receives focus is called the related object. A reference to the related object is stored in the target object's relatedObject property. The shiftKey property is not used. This event precedes the dispatch of the focusIn event by the related object.

gesturePan

Dispatched when the user moves a point of contact over the InteractiveObject instance on a touch-enabled device(such as moving a finger from left to right over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a mouseOver event and as a touchOver event.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseOver event or a touchOver event or a gesturePan event, or all if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the gesturePan event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

gesturePressAndTap

Dispatched when the user creates a point of contact with an InteractiveObject instance, then taps on a touch-enabled device(such as placing several fingers over a display object to open a menu and then taps one finger to select a menu item on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a combination of several mouse events, as well.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, and then provides a secondary tap, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseOver event and a click event(among others) as well as the gesturePressAndTap event, or all if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the gesturePressAndTap event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

When handling the properties of the event object, note that the localX and localY properties are set to the primary point of contact(the "push"). The offsetX and offsetY properties are the distance to the secondary point of contact(the "tap").

gestureRotate

Dispatched when the user performs a rotation gesture at a point of contact with an InteractiveObject instance(such as touching two fingers and rotating them over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Two-finger rotation is a common rotation gesture, but each device and operating system can have its own requirements to indicate rotation. Some devices might also interpret this contact as a combination of several mouse events, as well.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseOver event and a click event(among others), in addition to the gestureRotate event, or all if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the gestureRotate event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

When handling the properties of the event object, note that the localX and localY properties are set to the primary point of contact. The offsetX and offsetY properties are the distance to the point of contact where the rotation gesture is complete.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

gestureSwipe

Dispatched when the user performs a swipe gesture at a point of contact with an InteractiveObject instance(such as touching three fingers to a screen and then moving them in parallel over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Moving several fingers in parallel is a common swipe gesture, but each device and operating system can have its own requirements for a swipe. Some devices might also interpret this contact as a combination of several mouse events, as well.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, and then moves the fingers together, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a rollOver event and a rollOut event(among others), in addition to the gestureSwipe event, or all if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. If you choose to handle the rollOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the gestureSwipe event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

When handling the properties of the event object, note that the localX and localY properties are set to the primary point of contact. The offsetX and offsetY properties are the distance to the point of contact where the swipe gesture is complete.

Note: While some devices using the Mac OS operating system can interpret a four-finger swipe, this API only supports a three-finger swipe.

gestureTwoFingerTap

Dispatched when the user presses two points of contact over the same InteractiveObject instance on a touch-enabled device(such as presses and releases two fingers over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a doubleClick event.

Specifically, if a user taps two fingers over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a doubleClick event or a gestureTwoFingerTap event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the doubleClick event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the gestureTwoFingerTap event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

gestureZoom

Dispatched when the user performs a zoom gesture at a point of contact with an InteractiveObject instance(such as touching two fingers to a screen and then quickly spreading the fingers apart over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Moving fingers apart is a common zoom gesture, but each device and operating system can have its own requirements to indicate zoom. Some devices might also interpret this contact as a combination of several mouse events, as well.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, and then moves the fingers apart, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseOver event and a click event(among others), in addition to the gestureZoom event, or all if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the gestureZoom event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

When handling the properties of the event object, note that the localX and localY properties are set to the primary point of contact. The offsetX and offsetY properties are the distance to the point of contact where the zoom gesture is complete.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

imeStartComposition

This event is dispatched to any client app that supports inline input with an IME

keyDown

Dispatched when the user presses a key. Mappings between keys and specific characters vary by device and operating system. This event type is generated after such a mapping occurs but before the processing of an input method editor(IME). IMEs are used to enter characters, such as Chinese ideographs, that the standard QWERTY keyboard is ill-equipped to produce. This event occurs before the keyUp event.

In AIR, canceling this event prevents the character from being entered into a text field.

keyFocusChange

Dispatched when the user attempts to change focus by using keyboard navigation. The default behavior of this event is to change the focus and dispatch the corresponding focusIn and focusOut events.

This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. The related object for this event is the InteractiveObject instance that receives focus if you do not prevent the default behavior. You can prevent the change in focus by calling the preventDefault() method in an event listener that is properly registered with the target object. Focus changes and focusIn and focusOut events are dispatched by default.

keyUp

Dispatched when the user releases a key. Mappings between keys and specific characters vary by device and operating system. This event type is generated after such a mapping occurs but before the processing of an input method editor(IME). IMEs are used to enter characters, such as Chinese ideographs, that the standard QWERTY keyboard is ill-equipped to produce. This event occurs after a keyDown event and has the following characteristics:

middleClick

Dispatched when a user presses and releases the middle button of the user's pointing device over the same InteractiveObject. For a middleClick event to occur, it must always follow this series of events in the order of occurrence: middleMouseDown event, then middleMouseUp. The target object must be identical for both of these events; otherwise the middleClick event does not occur. Any number of other mouse events can occur at any time between the middleMouseDown or middleMouseUp events; the middleClick event still occurs.

middleMouseDown

Dispatched when a user presses the middle pointing device button over an InteractiveObject instance.

middleMouseUp

Dispatched when a user releases the pointing device button over an InteractiveObject instance.

mouseDown

Dispatched when a user presses the pointing device button over an InteractiveObject instance. If the target is a SimpleButton instance, the SimpleButton instance displays the downState display object as the default behavior. If the target is a selectable text field, the text field begins selection as the default behavior.

mouseFocusChange

Dispatched when the user attempts to change focus by using a pointer device. The default behavior of this event is to change the focus and dispatch the corresponding focusIn and focusOut events.

This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. The related object for this event is the InteractiveObject instance that receives focus if you do not prevent the default behavior. You can prevent the change in focus by calling preventDefault() in an event listener that is properly registered with the target object. The shiftKey property is not used. Focus changes and focusIn and focusOut events are dispatched by default.

mouseMove

Dispatched when a user moves the pointing device while it is over an InteractiveObject. If the target is a text field that the user is selecting, the selection is updated as the default behavior.

mouseOut

Dispatched when the user moves a pointing device away from an InteractiveObject instance. The event target is the object previously under the pointing device. The relatedObject is the object the pointing device has moved to. If the target is a SimpleButton instance, the button displays the upState display object as the default behavior.

The mouseOut event is dispatched each time the mouse leaves the area of any child object of the display object container, even if the mouse remains over another child object of the display object container. This is different behavior than the purpose of the rollOut event, which is to simplify the coding of rollover behaviors for display object containers with children. When the mouse leaves the area of a display object or the area of any of its children to go to an object that is not one of its children, the display object dispatches the rollOut event.The rollOut events are dispatched consecutively up the parent chain of the object, starting with the object and ending with the highest parent that is neither the root nor an ancestor of the relatedObject.

mouseOver

Dispatched when the user moves a pointing device over an InteractiveObject instance. The relatedObject is the object that was previously under the pointing device. If the target is a SimpleButton instance, the object displays the overState or upState display object, depending on whether the mouse button is down, as the default behavior.

The mouseOver event is dispatched each time the mouse enters the area of any child object of the display object container, even if the mouse was already over another child object of the display object container. This is different behavior than the purpose of the rollOver event, which is to simplify the coding of rollout behaviors for display object containers with children. When the mouse enters the area of a display object or the area of any of its children from an object that is not one of its children, the display object dispatches the rollOver event. The rollOver events are dispatched consecutively down the parent chain of the object, starting with the highest parent that is neither the root nor an ancestor of the relatedObject and ending with the object.

mouseUp

Dispatched when a user releases the pointing device button over an InteractiveObject instance. If the target is a SimpleButton instance, the object displays the upState display object. If the target is a selectable text field, the text field ends selection as the default behavior.

mouseWheel

Dispatched when a mouse wheel is spun over an InteractiveObject instance. If the target is a text field, the text scrolls as the default behavior. Only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.

nativeDragComplete

Dispatched by the drag initiator InteractiveObject when the user releases the drag gesture.

The event's dropAction property indicates the action set by the drag target object; a value of "none"

						 (`DragActions.NONE`) indicates

that the drop was canceled or was not accepted.

The nativeDragComplete event handler is a convenient place to update the state of the initiating display object, for example, by removing an item from a list(on a drag action of "move"), or by changing the visual properties.

nativeDragDrop

Dispatched by the target InteractiveObject when a dragged object is dropped on it and the drop has been accepted with a call to DragManager.acceptDragDrop().

Access the dropped data using the event object clipboard property.

The handler for this event should set the DragManager.dropAction property to provide feedback to the initiator object about which drag action was taken. If no value is set, the DragManager will select a default value from the list of allowed actions.

nativeDragEnter

Dispatched by an InteractiveObject when a drag gesture enters its boundary.

Handle either the nativeDragEnter or nativeDragOver events to allow the display object to become the drop target.

To determine whether the dispatching display object can accept the drop, check the suitability of the data in clipboard property of the event object, and the allowed drag actions in the allowedActions property.

nativeDragExit

Dispatched by an InteractiveObject when a drag gesture leaves its boundary.

nativeDragOver

Dispatched by an InteractiveObject continually while a drag gesture remains within its boundary.

nativeDragOver events are dispatched whenever the mouse is moved. On Windows and Mac, they are also dispatched on a short timer interval even when the mouse has not moved.

Handle either the nativeDragOver or nativeDragEnter events to allow the display object to become the drop target.

To determine whether the dispatching display object can accept the drop, check the suitability of the data in clipboard property of the event object, and the allowed drag actions in the allowedActions property.

nativeDragStart

Dispatched at the beginning of a drag operation by the InteractiveObject that is specified as the drag initiator in the DragManager.doDrag() call.

nativeDragUpdate

Dispatched during a drag operation by the InteractiveObject that is specified as the drag initiator in the DragManager.doDrag() call.

nativeDragUpdate events are not dispatched on Linux.

paste

Dispatched when the user activates the platform-specific accelerator key combination for a paste operation or selects 'Paste' from the text context menu. This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. If the object that currently has focus is a TextField, the default behavior of this event is to cause the contents of the clipboard to be pasted into the text field at the current insertion point replacing any currently selected text in the text field.

rightClick

Dispatched when a user presses and releases the right button of the user's pointing device over the same InteractiveObject. For a rightClick event to occur, it must always follow this series of events in the order of occurrence: rightMouseDown event, then rightMouseUp. The target object must be identical for both of these events; otherwise the rightClick event does not occur. Any number of other mouse events can occur at any time between the rightMouseDown or rightMouseUp events; the rightClick event still occurs.

rightMouseDown

Dispatched when a user presses the pointing device button over an InteractiveObject instance.

rightMouseUp

Dispatched when a user releases the pointing device button over an InteractiveObject instance.

rollOut

Dispatched when the user moves a pointing device away from an InteractiveObject instance. The event target is the object previously under the pointing device or a parent of that object. The relatedObject is the object that the pointing device has moved to. The rollOut events are dispatched consecutively up the parent chain of the object, starting with the object and ending with the highest parent that is neither the root nor an ancestor of the relatedObject.

The purpose of the rollOut event is to simplify the coding of rollover behaviors for display object containers with children. When the mouse leaves the area of a display object or the area of any of its children to go to an object that is not one of its children, the display object dispatches the rollOut event. This is different behavior than that of the mouseOut event, which is dispatched each time the mouse leaves the area of any child object of the display object container, even if the mouse remains over another child object of the display object container.

rollOver

Dispatched when the user moves a pointing device over an InteractiveObject instance. The event target is the object under the pointing device or a parent of that object. The relatedObject is the object that was previously under the pointing device. The rollOver events are dispatched consecutively down the parent chain of the object, starting with the highest parent that is neither the root nor an ancestor of the relatedObject and ending with the object.

The purpose of the rollOver event is to simplify the coding of rollout behaviors for display object containers with children. When the mouse enters the area of a display object or the area of any of its children from an object that is not one of its children, the display object dispatches the rollOver event. This is different behavior than that of the mouseOver event, which is dispatched each time the mouse enters the area of any child object of the display object container, even if the mouse was already over another child object of the display object container.

selectAll

Dispatched when the user activates the platform-specific accelerator key combination for a select all operation or selects 'Select All' from the text context menu. This event is dispatched to the object that currently has focus. If the object that currently has focus is a TextField, the default behavior of this event is to cause all the contents of the text field to be selected.

softKeyboardActivate

Dispatched immediately after the soft keyboard is raised.

softKeyboardActivating

Dispatched immediately before the soft keyboard is raised.

softKeyboardDeactivate

Dispatched immediately after the soft keyboard is lowered.

tabChildrenChange

Dispatched when the value of the object's tabChildren flag changes.

tabEnabledChange

Dispatched when the object's tabEnabled flag changes.

tabIndexChange

Dispatched when the value of the object's tabIndex property changes.

textInput

Dispatched when a user enters one or more characters of text. Various text input methods can generate this event, including standard keyboards, input method editors

						 (IMEs), voice or speech recognition systems,

and even the act of pasting plain text with no formatting or style information.

touchBegin

Dispatched when the user first contacts a touch-enabled device(such as touches a finger to a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a mouseDown event.

Specifically, if a user touches a finger to a touch screen, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseDown event or a touchBegin event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseDown event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchBegin event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchEnd

Dispatched when the user removes contact with a touch-enabled device(such as lifts a finger off a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a mouseUp event.

Specifically, if a user lifts a finger from a touch screen, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseUp event or a touchEnd event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseUp event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchEnd event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchMove

Dispatched when the user moves the point of contact with a touch-enabled device(such as drags a finger across a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a mouseMove event.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger across a touch screen, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseMove event or a touchMove event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseMove event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchMove event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchOut

Dispatched when the user moves the point of contact away from InteractiveObject instance on a touch-enabled device(such as drags a finger from one display object to another on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a mouseOut event.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger across a touch screen, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseOut event or a touchOut event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseOut event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchOut event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchOver

Dispatched when the user moves the point of contact over an InteractiveObject instance on a touch-enabled device(such as drags a finger from a point outside a display object to a point over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a mouseOver event.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a mouseOver event or a touchOver event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the mouseOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchOver event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchRollOut

Dispatched when the user moves the point of contact away from an InteractiveObject instance on a touch-enabled device(such as drags a finger from over a display object to a point outside the display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a rollOut event.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a rollOut event or a touchRollOut event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the rollOut event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchRollOut event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchRollOver

Dispatched when the user moves the point of contact over an InteractiveObject instance on a touch-enabled device(such as drags a finger from a point outside a display object to a point over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a rollOver event.

Specifically, if a user moves a finger over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a rollOver event or a touchRollOver event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the rollOver event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchRollOver event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

touchTap

Dispatched when the user lifts the point of contact over the same InteractiveObject instance on which the contact was initiated on a touch-enabled device(such as presses and releases a finger from a single point over a display object on a mobile phone or tablet with a touch screen). Some devices might also interpret this contact as a click event.

Specifically, if a user taps a finger over an InteractiveObject, the InteractiveObject instance can dispatch a click event or a touchTap event, or both if the current environment supports it. Choose how you want to handle the user interaction. Use the openfl.ui.Multitouch class to manage touch event handling(enable touch gesture event handling, simple touch point event handling, or disable touch events so only mouse events are dispatched). If you choose to handle the click event, then the same event handler will run on a touch-enabled device and a mouse enabled device. However, if you choose to handle the touchTap event, you can design your event handler to respond to the specific needs of a touch-enabled environment and provide users with a richer touch-enabled experience. You can also handle both events, separately, to provide a different response for a touch event than a mouse event.

Note: See the Multitouch class for environment compatibility information.

Constructor

new()

Calling the new InteractiveObject() constructor throws an ArgumentError exception. You can, however, call constructors for the following subclasses of InteractiveObject:

Variables

doubleClickEnabled:Bool

Specifies whether the object receives doubleClick events. The default value is false, which means that by default an InteractiveObject instance does not receive doubleClick events. If the doubleClickEnabled property is set to true, the instance receives doubleClick events within its bounds. The mouseEnabled property of the InteractiveObject instance must also be set to true for the object to receive doubleClick events.

No event is dispatched by setting this property. You must use the addEventListener() method to add an event listener for the doubleClick event.

focusRect:Null<Bool>

Specifies whether this object displays a focus rectangle. It can take one of three values: true, false, or null. Values of true and false work as expected, specifying whether or not the focus rectangle appears. A value of null indicates that this object obeys the stageFocusRect property of the Stage.

mouseEnabled:Bool

Specifies whether this object receives mouse, or other user input, messages. The default value is true, which means that by default any InteractiveObject instance that is on the display list receives mouse events or other user input events. If mouseEnabled is set to false, the instance does not receive any mouse events(or other user input events like keyboard events). Any children of this instance on the display list are not affected. To change the mouseEnabled behavior for all children of an object on the display list, use openfl.display.DisplayObjectContainer.mouseChildren.

No event is dispatched by setting this property. You must use the addEventListener() method to create interactive functionality.

needsSoftKeyboard:Bool

Specifies whether a virtual keyboard(an on-screen, software keyboard) should display when this InteractiveObject instance receives focus.

By default, the value is false and focusing an InteractiveObject instance does not raise a soft keyboard. If the needsSoftKeyboard property is set to true, the runtime raises a soft keyboard when the InteractiveObject instance is ready to accept user input. An InteractiveObject instance is ready to accept user input after a programmatic call to set the Stage focus property or a user interaction, such as a "tap." If the client system has a hardware keyboard available or does not support virtual keyboards, then the soft keyboard is not raised.

The InteractiveObject instance dispatches softKeyboardActivating, softKeyboardActivate, and softKeyboardDeactivate events when the soft keyboard raises and lowers.

Note: This property is not supported in AIR applications on iOS.

softKeyboardInputAreaOfInterest:Rectangle

Defines the area that should remain on-screen when a soft keyboard is displayed. If the needsSoftKeyboard property of this InteractiveObject is true, then the runtime adjusts the display as needed to keep the object in view while the user types. Ordinarily, the runtime uses the object bounds obtained from the DisplayObject.getBounds() method. You can specify a different area using this softKeyboardInputAreaOfInterest property.

Specify the softKeyboardInputAreaOfInterest in stage coordinates.

Note: On Android, the softKeyboardInputAreaOfInterest is not respected in landscape orientations.

tabEnabled:Bool

Specifies whether this object is in the tab order. If this object is in the tab order, the value is true; otherwise, the value is false. By default, the value is false, except for the following: For a SimpleButton object, the value is true. For a TextField object with type = "input", the value is true. * For a Sprite object or MovieClip object with buttonMode = true, the value is true.

tabIndex:Int

Specifies the tab ordering of objects in a SWF file. The tabIndex property is -1 by default, meaning no tab index is set for the object.

If any currently displayed object in the SWF file contains a tabIndex property, automatic tab ordering is disabled, and the tab ordering is calculated from the tabIndex properties of objects in the SWF file. The custom tab ordering includes only objects that have tabIndex properties.

The tabIndex property can be a non-negative integer. The objects are ordered according to their tabIndex properties, in ascending order. An object with a tabIndex value of 1 precedes an object with a tabIndex value of 2. Do not use the same tabIndex value for multiple objects.

The custom tab ordering that the tabIndex property defines is flat. This means that no attention is paid to the hierarchical relationships of objects in the SWF file. All objects in the SWF file with tabIndex properties are placed in the tab order, and the tab order is determined by the order of the tabIndex values.

Note: To set the tab order for TLFTextField instances, cast the display object child of the TLFTextField as an InteractiveObject, then set the tabIndex property. For example:

cast(tlfInstance.getChildAt(1), InteractiveObject).tabIndex = 3;

To reverse the tab order from the default setting for three instances of a TLFTextField object (tlfInstance1, tlfInstance2 and tlfInstance3), use:

cast(tlfInstance1.getChildAt(1), InteractiveObject).tabIndex = 3;
cast(tlfInstance2.getChildAt(1), InteractiveObject).tabIndex = 2;
cast(tlfInstance3.getChildAt(1), InteractiveObject).tabIndex = 1;

Methods

requestSoftKeyboard():Bool

Raises a virtual keyboard.

Calling this method focuses the InteractiveObject instance and raises the soft keyboard, if necessary. The needsSoftKeyboard must also be true. A keyboard is not raised if a hardware keyboard is available, or if the client system does not support virtual keyboards.

Note: This method is not supported in AIR applications on iOS.

Returns:

A value of true means that the soft keyboard request was granted; false means that the soft keyboard was not raised.

Inherited Variables

Defined by DisplayObject

@:keepalpha:Float

Indicates the alpha transparency value of the object specified. Valid values are 0 (fully transparent) to 1 (fully opaque). The default value is 1. Display objects with alpha set to 0 are active, even though they are invisible.

blendMode:BlendMode

A value from the BlendMode class that specifies which blend mode to use. A bitmap can be drawn internally in two ways. If you have a blend mode enabled or an external clipping mask, the bitmap is drawn by adding a bitmap-filled square shape to the vector render. If you attempt to set this property to an invalid value, Flash runtimes set the value to BlendMode.NORMAL.

The blendMode property affects each pixel of the display object. Each pixel is composed of three constituent colors(red, green, and blue), and each constituent color has a value between 0x00 and 0xFF. Flash Player or Adobe AIR compares each constituent color of one pixel in the movie clip with the corresponding color of the pixel in the background. For example, if blendMode is set to BlendMode.LIGHTEN, Flash Player or Adobe AIR compares the red value of the display object with the red value of the background, and uses the lighter of the two as the value for the red component of the displayed color.

The following table describes the blendMode settings. The BlendMode class defines string values you can use. The illustrations in the table show blendMode values applied to a circular display object(2) superimposed on another display object(1).

Square Number 1 Circle Number 2

BlendMode ConstantIllustrationDescription
BlendMode.NORMALblend mode NORMALThe display object appears in front of the background. Pixel values of the display object override those of the background. Where the display object is transparent, the background is visible.
BlendMode.LAYERblend mode LAYERForces the creation of a transparency group for the display object. This means that the display object is pre-composed in a temporary buffer before it is processed further. This is done automatically if the display object is pre-cached using bitmap caching or if the display object is a display object container with at least one child object with a blendMode setting other than BlendMode.NORMAL. Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.MULTIPLYblend mode MULTIPLYMultiplies the values of the display object constituent colors by the colors of the background color, and then normalizes by dividing by 0xFF, resulting in darker colors. This setting is commonly used for shadows and depth effects.
For example, if a constituent color (such as red) of one pixel in the display object and the corresponding color of the pixel in the background both have the value 0x88, the multiplied result is 0x4840. Dividing by 0xFF yields a value of 0x48 for that constituent color, which is a darker shade than the color of the display object or the color of the background.
BlendMode.SCREENblend mode SCREENMultiplies the complement (inverse) of the display object color by the complement of the background color, resulting in a bleaching effect. This setting is commonly used for highlights or to remove black areas of the display object.
BlendMode.LIGHTENblend mode LIGHTENSelects the lighter of the constituent colors of the display object and the color of the background (the colors with the larger values). This setting is commonly used for superimposing type.
For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xFFCC33, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDF800, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0xFFF833 (because 0xFF > 0xDD, 0xCC < 0xF8, and 0x33 > 0x00 = 33). Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.DARKENblend mode DARKENSelects the darker of the constituent colors of the display object and the colors of the background (the colors with the smaller values). This setting is commonly used for superimposing type.
For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xFFCC33, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDF800, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0xDDCC00 (because 0xFF > 0xDD, 0xCC < 0xF8, and 0x33 > 0x00 = 33). Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.DIFFERENCEblend mode DIFFERENCECompares the constituent colors of the display object with the colors of its background, and subtracts the darker of the values of the two constituent colors from the lighter value. This setting is commonly used for more vibrant colors.
For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xFFCC33, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDF800, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0x222C33 (because 0xFF - 0xDD = 0x22, 0xF8 - 0xCC = 0x2C, and 0x33 - 0x00 = 0x33).
BlendMode.ADDblend mode ADDAdds the values of the constituent colors of the display object to the colors of its background, applying a ceiling of 0xFF. This setting is commonly used for animating a lightening dissolve between two objects.
For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xAAA633, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDD2200, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0xFFC833 (because 0xAA + 0xDD > 0xFF, 0xA6 + 0x22 = 0xC8, and 0x33 + 0x00 = 0x33).
BlendMode.SUBTRACTblend mode SUBTRACTSubtracts the values of the constituent colors in the display object from the values of the background color, applying a floor of 0. This setting is commonly used for animating a darkening dissolve between two objects.
For example, if the display object has a pixel with an RGB value of 0xAA2233, and the background pixel has an RGB value of 0xDDA600, the resulting RGB value for the displayed pixel is 0x338400 (because 0xDD - 0xAA = 0x33, 0xA6 - 0x22 = 0x84, and 0x00 - 0x33 < 0x00).
BlendMode.INVERTblend mode INVERTInverts the background.
BlendMode.ALPHAblend mode ALPHAApplies the alpha value of each pixel of the display object to the background. This requires the blendMode setting of the parent display object to be set to BlendMode.LAYER. For example, in the illustration, the parent display object, which is a white background, has blendMode = BlendMode.LAYER. Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.ERASEblend mode ERASEErases the background based on the alpha value of the display object. This requires the blendMode of the parent display object to be set to BlendMode.LAYER. For example, in the illustration, the parent display object, which is a white background, has blendMode = BlendMode.LAYER. Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.OVERLAYblend mode OVERLAYAdjusts the color of each pixel based on the darkness of the background. If the background is lighter than 50% gray, the display object and background colors are screened, which results in a lighter color. If the background is darker than 50% gray, the colors are multiplied, which results in a darker color. This setting is commonly used for shading effects. Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.HARDLIGHTblend mode HARDLIGHTAdjusts the color of each pixel based on the darkness of the display object. If the display object is lighter than 50% gray, the display object and background colors are screened, which results in a lighter color. If the display object is darker than 50% gray, the colors are multiplied, which results in a darker color. This setting is commonly used for shading effects. Not supported under GPU rendering.
BlendMode.SHADERN/AAdjusts the color using a custom shader routine. The shader that is used is specified as the Shader instance assigned to the blendShader property. Setting the blendShader property of a display object to a Shader instance automatically sets the display object's blendMode property to BlendMode.SHADER. If the blendMode property is set to BlendMode.SHADER without first setting the blendShader property, the blendMode property is set to BlendMode.NORMAL. Not supported under GPU rendering.

cacheAsBitmap:Bool

All vector data for a display object that has a cached bitmap is drawn to the bitmap instead of the main display. If cacheAsBitmapMatrix is null or unsupported, the bitmap is then copied to the main display as unstretched, unrotated pixels snapped to the nearest pixel boundaries. Pixels are mapped 1 to 1 with the parent object. If the bounds of the bitmap change, the bitmap is recreated instead of being stretched.

If cacheAsBitmapMatrix is non-null and supported, the object is drawn to the off-screen bitmap using that matrix and the stretched and/or rotated results of that rendering are used to draw the object to the main display.

No internal bitmap is created unless the cacheAsBitmap property is set to true.

After you set the cacheAsBitmap property to true, the rendering does not change, however the display object performs pixel snapping automatically. The animation speed can be significantly faster depending on the complexity of the vector content.

The cacheAsBitmap property is automatically set to true whenever you apply a filter to a display object(when its filter array is not empty), and if a display object has a filter applied to it, cacheAsBitmap is reported as true for that display object, even if you set the property to false. If you clear all filters for a display object, the cacheAsBitmap setting changes to what it was last set to.

A display object does not use a bitmap even if the cacheAsBitmap property is set to true and instead renders from vector data in the following cases:

  • The bitmap is too large. In AIR 1.5 and Flash Player 10, the maximum size for a bitmap image is 8,191 pixels in width or height, and the total number of pixels cannot exceed 16,777,215 pixels.(So, if a bitmap image is 8,191 pixels wide, it can only be 2,048 pixels high.) In Flash Player 9 and earlier, the limitation is is 2880 pixels in height and 2,880 pixels in width.
  • The bitmap fails to allocate(out of memory error).

The cacheAsBitmap property is best used with movie clips that have mostly static content and that do not scale and rotate frequently. With such movie clips, cacheAsBitmap can lead to performance increases when the movie clip is translated(when its x and y position is changed).

cacheAsBitmapMatrix:Matrix

If non-null, this Matrix object defines how a display object is rendered when cacheAsBitmap is set to true. The application uses this matrix as a transformation matrix that is applied when rendering the bitmap version of the display object.

AIR profile support: This feature is supported on mobile devices, but it is not supported on desktop operating systems. It also has limited support on AIR for TV devices. Specifically, on AIR for TV devices, supported transformations include scaling and translation, but not rotation and skewing. See AIR Profile Support for more information regarding API support across multiple profiles.

With cacheAsBitmapMatrix set, the application retains a cached bitmap image across various 2D transformations, including translation, rotation, and scaling. If the application uses hardware acceleration, the object will be stored in video memory as a texture. This allows the GPU to apply the supported transformations to the object. The GPU can perform these transformations faster than the CPU.

To use the hardware acceleration, set Rendering to GPU in the General tab of the iPhone Settings dialog box in Flash Professional CS5. Or set the renderMode property to gpu in the application descriptor file. Note that AIR for TV devices automatically use hardware acceleration if it is available.

For example, the following code sends an untransformed bitmap representation of the display object to the GPU:

var matrix:Matrix = new Matrix(); // creates an identity matrix
mySprite.cacheAsBitmapMatrix = matrix;
mySprite.cacheAsBitmap = true;

Usually, the identity matrix (new Matrix()) suffices. However, you can use another matrix, such as a scaled-down matrix, to upload a different bitmap to the GPU. For example, the following example applies a cacheAsBitmapMatrix matrix that is scaled by 0.5 on the x and y axes. The bitmap object that the GPU uses is smaller, however the GPU adjusts its size to match the transform.matrix property of the display object:

var matrix:Matrix = new Matrix(); // creates an identity matrix
matrix.scale(0.5, 0.5); // scales the matrix
mySprite.cacheAsBitmapMatrix = matrix;
mySprite.cacheAsBitmap = true;

Generally, you should choose to use a matrix that transforms the display object to the size that it will appear in the application. For example, if your application displays the bitmap version of the sprite scaled down by a half, use a matrix that scales down by a half. If you application will display the sprite larger than its current dimensions, use a matrix that scales up by that factor.

Note: The cacheAsBitmapMatrix property is suitable for 2D transformations. If you need to apply transformations in 3D, you may do so by setting a 3D property of the object and manipulating its transform.matrix3D property. If the application is packaged using GPU mode, this allows the 3D transforms to be applied to the object by the GPU. The cacheAsBitmapMatrix is ignored for 3D objects.

filters:Array<BitmapFilter>

An indexed array that contains each filter object currently associated with the display object. The openfl.filters package contains several classes that define specific filters you can use.

Filters can be applied in Flash Professional at design time, or at run time by using ActionScript code. To apply a filter by using ActionScript, you must make a temporary copy of the entire filters array, modify the temporary array, then assign the value of the temporary array back to the filters array. You cannot directly add a new filter object to the filters array.

To add a filter by using ActionScript, perform the following steps (assume that the target display object is named myDisplayObject):

  1. Create a new filter object by using the constructor method of your chosen filter class.
  2. Assign the value of the myDisplayObject.filters array to a temporary array, such as one named myFilters.
  3. Add the new filter object to the myFilters temporary array.
  4. Assign the value of the temporary array to the myDisplayObject.filters array.

If the filters array is undefined, you do not need to use a temporary array. Instead, you can directly assign an array literal that contains one or more filter objects that you create. The first example in the Examples section adds a drop shadow filter by using code that handles both defined and undefined filters arrays.

To modify an existing filter object, you must use the technique of modifying a copy of the filters array:

  1. Assign the value of the filters array to a temporary array, such as one named myFilters.
  2. Modify the property by using the temporary array, myFilters. For example, to set the quality property of the first filter in the array, you could use the following code: myFilters[0].quality = 1;
  3. Assign the value of the temporary array to the filters array.

At load time, if a display object has an associated filter, it is marked to cache itself as a transparent bitmap. From this point forward, as long as the display object has a valid filter list, the player caches the display object as a bitmap. This source bitmap is used as a source image for the filter effects. Each display object usually has two bitmaps: one with the original unfiltered source display object and another for the final image after filtering. The final image is used when rendering. As long as the display object does not change, the final image does not need updating.

The openfl.filters package includes classes for filters. For example, to create a DropShadow filter, you would write:

Throws:

ArgumentError

When filters includes a ShaderFilter and the shader output type is not compatible with this operation(the shader must specify a pixel4 output).

ArgumentError

When filters includes a ShaderFilter and the shader doesn't specify any image input or the first input is not an image4 input.

ArgumentError

When filters includes a ShaderFilter and the shader specifies an image input that isn't provided.

ArgumentError

When filters includes a ShaderFilter, a ByteArray or Vector. instance as a shader input, and the width and height properties aren't specified for the ShaderInput object, or the specified values don't match the amount of data in the input data. See the ShaderInput.input property for more information.

@:keepheight:Float

Indicates the height of the display object, in pixels. The height is calculated based on the bounds of the content of the display object. When you set the height property, the scaleY property is adjusted accordingly, as shown in the following code:

Except for TextField and Video objects, a display object with no content(such as an empty sprite) has a height of 0, even if you try to set height to a different value.

read onlyloaderInfo:LoaderInfo

Returns a LoaderInfo object containing information about loading the file to which this display object belongs. The loaderInfo property is defined only for the root display object of a SWF file or for a loaded Bitmap(not for a Bitmap that is drawn with ActionScript). To find the loaderInfo object associated with the SWF file that contains a display object named myDisplayObject, use myDisplayObject.root.loaderInfo.

A large SWF file can monitor its download by calling this.root.loaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, func).

mask:DisplayObject

The calling display object is masked by the specified mask object. To ensure that masking works when the Stage is scaled, the mask display object must be in an active part of the display list. The mask object itself is not drawn. Set mask to null to remove the mask.

To be able to scale a mask object, it must be on the display list. To be able to drag a mask Sprite object(by calling its startDrag() method), it must be on the display list. To call the startDrag() method for a mask sprite based on a mouseDown event being dispatched by the sprite, set the sprite's buttonMode property to true.

When display objects are cached by setting the cacheAsBitmap property to true an the cacheAsBitmapMatrix property to a Matrix object, both the mask and the display object being masked must be part of the same cached bitmap. Thus, if the display object is cached, then the mask must be a child of the display object. If an ancestor of the display object on the display list is cached, then the mask must be a child of that ancestor or one of its descendents. If more than one ancestor of the masked object is cached, then the mask must be a descendent of the cached container closest to the masked object in the display list.

Note: A single mask object cannot be used to mask more than one calling display object. When the mask is assigned to a second display object, it is removed as the mask of the first object, and that object's mask property becomes null.

read onlymouseX:Float

Indicates the x coordinate of the mouse or user input device position, in pixels.

Note: For a DisplayObject that has been rotated, the returned x coordinate will reflect the non-rotated object.

read onlymouseY:Float

Indicates the y coordinate of the mouse or user input device position, in pixels.

Note: For a DisplayObject that has been rotated, the returned y coordinate will reflect the non-rotated object.

name:String

Indicates the instance name of the DisplayObject. The object can be identified in the child list of its parent display object container by calling the getChildByName() method of the display object container.

Throws:

IllegalOperationError

If you are attempting to set this property on an object that was placed on the timeline in the Flash authoring tool.

opaqueBackground:Null<Int>

Specifies whether the display object is opaque with a certain background color. A transparent bitmap contains alpha channel data and is drawn transparently. An opaque bitmap has no alpha channel(and renders faster than a transparent bitmap). If the bitmap is opaque, you specify its own background color to use.

If set to a number value, the surface is opaque(not transparent) with the RGB background color that the number specifies. If set to null(the default value), the display object has a transparent background.

The opaqueBackground property is intended mainly for use with the cacheAsBitmap property, for rendering optimization. For display objects in which the cacheAsBitmap property is set to true, setting opaqueBackground can improve rendering performance.

The opaque background region is not matched when calling the hitTestPoint() method with the shapeFlag parameter set to true.

The opaque background region does not respond to mouse events.

read onlyparent:DisplayObjectContainer

Indicates the DisplayObjectContainer object that contains this display object. Use the parent property to specify a relative path to display objects that are above the current display object in the display list hierarchy.

You can use parent to move up multiple levels in the display list as in the following:

this.parent.parent.alpha = 20;

Throws:

SecurityError

The parent display object belongs to a security sandbox to which you do not have access. You can avoid this situation by having the parent movie call the Security.allowDomain() method.

read onlyroot:DisplayObject

For a display object in a loaded SWF file, the root property is the top-most display object in the portion of the display list's tree structure represented by that SWF file. For a Bitmap object representing a loaded image file, the root property is the Bitmap object itself. For the instance of the main class of the first SWF file loaded, the root property is the display object itself. The root property of the Stage object is the Stage object itself. The root property is set to null for any display object that has not been added to the display list, unless it has been added to a display object container that is off the display list but that is a child of the top-most display object in a loaded SWF file.

For example, if you create a new Sprite object by calling the Sprite() constructor method, its root property is null until you add it to the display list(or to a display object container that is off the display list but that is a child of the top-most display object in a SWF file).

For a loaded SWF file, even though the Loader object used to load the file may not be on the display list, the top-most display object in the SWF file has its root property set to itself. The Loader object does not have its root property set until it is added as a child of a display object for which the root property is set.

@:keeprotation:Float

Indicates the rotation of the DisplayObject instance, in degrees, from its original orientation. Values from 0 to 180 represent clockwise rotation; values from 0 to -180 represent counterclockwise rotation. Values outside this range are added to or subtracted from 360 to obtain a value within the range. For example, the statement my_video.rotation = 450 is the same as my_video.rotation = 90.

scale9Grid:Rectangle

The current scaling grid that is in effect. If set to null, the entire display object is scaled normally when any scale transformation is applied.

When you define the scale9Grid property, the display object is divided into a grid with nine regions based on the scale9Grid rectangle, which defines the center region of the grid. The eight other regions of the grid are the following areas:

  • The upper-left corner outside of the rectangle
  • The area above the rectangle
  • The upper-right corner outside of the rectangle
  • The area to the left of the rectangle
  • The area to the right of the rectangle
  • The lower-left corner outside of the rectangle
  • The area below the rectangle
  • The lower-right corner outside of the rectangle

You can think of the eight regions outside of the center (defined by the rectangle) as being like a picture frame that has special rules applied to it when scaled.

Note: Content that is not rendered through the graphics interface of a display object will not be affected by the scale9Grid property.

When the scale9Grid property is set and a display object is scaled, all text and gradients are scaled normally; however, for other types of objects the following rules apply:

  • Content in the center region is scaled normally.
  • Content in the corners is not scaled.
  • Content in the top and bottom regions is scaled horizontally only.
  • Content in the left and right regions is scaled vertically only.
  • All fills (including bitmaps, video, and gradients) are stretched to fit their shapes.

If a display object is rotated, all subsequent scaling is normal(and the scale9Grid property is ignored).

For example, consider the following display object and a rectangle that is applied as the display object's scale9Grid:

display object image
The display object.
display object scale 9 region
The red rectangle shows the scale9Grid.

When the display object is scaled or stretched, the objects within the rectangle scale normally, but the objects outside of the rectangle scale according to the scale9Grid rules:

Scaled to 75%:display object at 75%
Scaled to 50%:display object at 50%
Scaled to 25%:display object at 25%
Stretched horizontally 150%:display stretched 150%

A common use for setting scale9Grid is to set up a display object to be used as a component, in which edge regions retain the same width when the component is scaled.

Throws:

ArgumentError

If you pass an invalid argument to the method.

@:keepscaleX:Float

Indicates the horizontal scale (percentage) of the object as applied from the registration point. The default registration point is (0,0). 1.0 equals 100% scale.

Scaling the local coordinate system changes the x and y property values, which are defined in whole pixels.

@:keepscaleY:Float

Indicates the vertical scale (percentage) of an object as applied from the registration point of the object. The default registration point is (0,0). 1.0 is 100% scale.

Scaling the local coordinate system changes the x and y property values, which are defined in whole pixels.

scrollRect:Rectangle

The scroll rectangle bounds of the display object. The display object is cropped to the size defined by the rectangle, and it scrolls within the rectangle when you change the x and y properties of the scrollRect object.

The properties of the scrollRect Rectangle object use the display object's coordinate space and are scaled just like the overall display object. The corner bounds of the cropped window on the scrolling display object are the origin of the display object(0,0) and the point defined by the width and height of the rectangle. They are not centered around the origin, but use the origin to define the upper-left corner of the area. A scrolled display object always scrolls in whole pixel increments.

You can scroll an object left and right by setting the x property of the scrollRect Rectangle object. You can scroll an object up and down by setting the y property of the scrollRect Rectangle object. If the display object is rotated 90� and you scroll it left and right, the display object actually scrolls up and down.

@:betashader:Shader

BETA**

Applies a custom Shader object to use when rendering this display object (or its children) when using hardware rendering. This occurs as a single-pass render on this object only, if visible. In order to apply a post-process effect to multiple display objects at once, enable cacheAsBitmap or use the filters property with a ShaderFilter

read onlystage:Stage

The Stage of the display object. A Flash runtime application has only one Stage object. For example, you can create and load multiple display objects into the display list, and the stage property of each display object refers to the same Stage object(even if the display object belongs to a loaded SWF file).

If a display object is not added to the display list, its stage property is set to null.

@:keeptransform:Transform

An object with properties pertaining to a display object's matrix, color transform, and pixel bounds. The specific properties - matrix, colorTransform, and three read-only properties (concatenatedMatrix, concatenatedColorTransform, and pixelBounds) - are described in the entry for the Transform class.

Each of the transform object's properties is itself an object. This concept is important because the only way to set new values for the matrix or colorTransform objects is to create a new object and copy that object into the transform.matrix or transform.colorTransform property.

For example, to increase the tx value of a display object's matrix, you must make a copy of the entire matrix object, then copy the new object into the matrix property of the transform object: var myMatrix:Matrix = myDisplayObject.transform.matrix; myMatrix.tx += 10; myDisplayObject.transform.matrix = myMatrix;

You cannot directly set the tx property. The following code has no effect on myDisplayObject: myDisplayObject.transform.matrix.tx += 10;

You can also copy an entire transform object and assign it to another display object's transform property. For example, the following code copies the entire transform object from myOldDisplayObj to myNewDisplayObj: myNewDisplayObj.transform = myOldDisplayObj.transform;

The resulting display object, myNewDisplayObj, now has the same values for its matrix, color transform, and pixel bounds as the old display object, myOldDisplayObj.

Note that AIR for TV devices use hardware acceleration, if it is available, for color transforms.

visible:Bool

Whether or not the display object is visible. Display objects that are not visible are disabled. For example, if visible=false for an InteractiveObject instance, it cannot be clicked.

@:keepwidth:Float

Indicates the width of the display object, in pixels. The width is calculated based on the bounds of the content of the display object. When you set the width property, the scaleX property is adjusted accordingly, as shown in the following code:

Except for TextField and Video objects, a display object with no content(such as an empty sprite) has a width of 0, even if you try to set width to a different value.

@:keepx:Float

Indicates the x coordinate of the DisplayObject instance relative to the local coordinates of the parent DisplayObjectContainer. If the object is inside a DisplayObjectContainer that has transformations, it is in the local coordinate system of the enclosing DisplayObjectContainer. Thus, for a DisplayObjectContainer rotated 90� counterclockwise, the DisplayObjectContainer's children inherit a coordinate system that is rotated 90� counterclockwise. The object's coordinates refer to the registration point position.

@:keepy:Float

Indicates the y coordinate of the DisplayObject instance relative to the local coordinates of the parent DisplayObjectContainer. If the object is inside a DisplayObjectContainer that has transformations, it is in the local coordinate system of the enclosing DisplayObjectContainer. Thus, for a DisplayObjectContainer rotated 90� counterclockwise, the DisplayObjectContainer's children inherit a coordinate system that is rotated 90� counterclockwise. The object's coordinates refer to the registration point position.

Inherited Methods

Defined by DisplayObject

getBounds(targetCoordinateSpace:DisplayObject):Rectangle

Returns a rectangle that defines the area of the display object relative to the coordinate system of the targetCoordinateSpace object. Consider the following code, which shows how the rectangle returned can vary depending on the targetCoordinateSpace parameter that you pass to the method:

Note: Use the localToGlobal() and globalToLocal() methods to convert the display object's local coordinates to display coordinates, or display coordinates to local coordinates, respectively.

The getBounds() method is similar to the getRect() method; however, the Rectangle returned by the getBounds() method includes any strokes on shapes, whereas the Rectangle returned by the getRect() method does not. For an example, see the description of the getRect() method.

Parameters:

targetCoordinateSpace

The display object that defines the coordinate system to use.

Returns:

The rectangle that defines the area of the display object relative to the targetCoordinateSpace object's coordinate system.

getRect(targetCoordinateSpace:DisplayObject):Rectangle

Returns a rectangle that defines the boundary of the display object, based on the coordinate system defined by the targetCoordinateSpace parameter, excluding any strokes on shapes. The values that the getRect() method returns are the same or smaller than those returned by the getBounds() method.

Note: Use localToGlobal() and globalToLocal() methods to convert the display object's local coordinates to Stage coordinates, or Stage coordinates to local coordinates, respectively.

Parameters:

targetCoordinateSpace

The display object that defines the coordinate system to use.

Returns:

The rectangle that defines the area of the display object relative to the targetCoordinateSpace object's coordinate system.

globalToLocal(pos:Point):Point

Converts the point object from the Stage(global) coordinates to the display object's(local) coordinates.

To use this method, first create an instance of the Point class. The x and y values that you assign represent global coordinates because they relate to the origin(0,0) of the main display area. Then pass the Point instance as the parameter to the globalToLocal() method. The method returns a new Point object with x and y values that relate to the origin of the display object instead of the origin of the Stage.

Parameters:

point

An object created with the Point class. The Point object specifies the x and y coordinates as properties.

Returns:

A Point object with coordinates relative to the display object.

hitTestObject(obj:DisplayObject):Bool

Evaluates the bounding box of the display object to see if it overlaps or intersects with the bounding box of the obj display object.

Parameters:

obj

The display object to test against.

Returns:

true if the bounding boxes of the display objects intersect; false if not.

@:value({ shapeFlag : false })hitTestPoint(x:Float, y:Float, shapeFlag:Bool = false):Bool

Evaluates the display object to see if it overlaps or intersects with the point specified by the x and y parameters. The x and y parameters specify a point in the coordinate space of the Stage, not the display object container that contains the display object(unless that display object container is the Stage).

Parameters:

x

The x coordinate to test against this object.

y

The y coordinate to test against this object.

shapeFlag

Whether to check against the actual pixels of the object (true) or the bounding box (false).

Returns:

true if the display object overlaps or intersects with the specified point; false otherwise.

invalidate():Void

Calling the invalidate() method signals to have the current object redrawn the next time the object is eligible to be rendered.

localToGlobal(point:Point):Point

Converts the point object from the display object's(local) coordinates to the Stage(global) coordinates.

This method allows you to convert any given x and y coordinates from values that are relative to the origin(0,0) of a specific display object(local coordinates) to values that are relative to the origin of the Stage(global coordinates).

To use this method, first create an instance of the Point class. The x and y values that you assign represent local coordinates because they relate to the origin of the display object.

You then pass the Point instance that you created as the parameter to the localToGlobal() method. The method returns a new Point object with x and y values that relate to the origin of the Stage instead of the origin of the display object.

Parameters:

point

The name or identifier of a point created with the Point class, specifying the x and y coordinates as properties.

Returns:

A Point object with coordinates relative to the Stage.

Defined by EventDispatcher

hasEventListener(type:String):Bool

Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event. This allows you to determine where an EventDispatcher object has altered handling of an event type in the event flow hierarchy. To determine whether a specific event type actually triggers an event listener, use willTrigger().

The difference between hasEventListener() and willTrigger() is that hasEventListener() examines only the object to which it belongs, whereas willTrigger() examines the entire event flow for the event specified by the type parameter.

When hasEventListener() is called from a LoaderInfo object, only the listeners that the caller can access are considered.

Parameters:

type

The type of event.

Returns:

A value of true if a listener of the specified type is registered; false otherwise.

willTrigger(type:String):Bool

Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type. This method returns true if an event listener is triggered during any phase of the event flow when an event of the specified type is dispatched to this EventDispatcher object or any of its descendants.

The difference between the hasEventListener() and the willTrigger() methods is that hasEventListener() examines only the object to which it belongs, whereas the willTrigger() method examines the entire event flow for the event specified by the type parameter.

When willTrigger() is called from a LoaderInfo object, only the listeners that the caller can access are considered.

Parameters:

type

The type of event.

Returns:

A value of true if a listener of the specified type will be triggered; false otherwise.