Adobe Flash Professional CS6 Adobe Flash Professional CS6 Classroom In A Book | Page 229

Flash provides assistance in the following ways as you write scripts in the
Actions panel:
• Words that have specific meanings in ActionScript, such as keywords and
statements, appear in blue as you type them in the Actions panel. Words that
are not reserved in ActionScript, such as variable names, appear in black.
Strings appear in green. Comments, which ActionScript ignores, appear in gray.
• As you work in the Actions panel, Flash detects the action you are entering and
displays a code hint. There are two types of code hints: a tooltip that contains
the complete syntax for that action and a pop-up menu that lists possible
ActionScript elements.
• To check the syntax of a script you’ve completed, click the Check Syntax icon
(
). Syntax errors are listed in the Compiler Errors panel.
You can also click the AutoFormat icon (
) (which will also format the script
according to conventions to make it easier for others to read).
navigating the actions panel
The Actions panel is where you write all your code. Open the Actions panel by
choosing Window > Actions or by selecting a keyframe on the Timeline and click-
ing the ActionScript panel icon (
) on the top right of the Properties inspector.
You can also right-click/Ctrl-click on any keyframe and select Actions.
The Actions panel gives you quick access to the core elements of ActionScript as
well as provides you with different options to help you write, debug, format, edit,
and find your code.
The Actions panel is divided into several panes. At the top-left corner is the
Actions toolbox, which contains categories that organize all the ActionScript code.
At the top of the Actions toolbox is a pull-down menu that displays only the code
for the version of ActionScript you select. You should select ActionScript 3.0,
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Lesson 6
Creating Interactive navigation