AS3 vs AS2?

I learned to program in Flash using Actionscript 2. I've heard that AS3 doesn't allow you to put code on a movieclip, which is something I have used often.
What are the benefits of using AS3 instead of 2 and how hard is it to transition over to 3? Is there a list of things that need to be done differently in 3 vs 2?
Thanks.

Your wonderings are good ones, but the answers can lead to opening a can of worms depending who drops in... those who pursued AS3 and love it, those who trembled in trying and backed away, and all flavors in between.
You might go thru the following rather lengthy discussion. It may answer some of what you are wondering about: http://forums.adobe.com/message/1051265
As far as a list of differences, one resource is available by searching "ActionScript 2.0 Migration" in the Actionscript 3 section of the Flash help docs (appears in CS3 at least). This lists all the AS2 things that go away with AS3 and in some cases identifies what replaces them.

Similar Messages

Migrate existing code of AS3 to AS2 - URLRequest, URLLoader

Hi,
I have written code to read an XML file by using URLRequest and URLLoader in ActionScript 3.0. Code is pasted below. This runs well in AS3. Problem I am facing is because I wrote this in AS3, I am not able to use the DateChooser component in another part of the flash module because it seems like DateChooser component is not supported in AS3. So I want to migrate my below AS3 code back to AS2.
**** Code in AS3 (I need help in writing equivalent code in AS2) :-
var xmlText:XML ;
var xmlReq:URLRequest = new URLRequest("myFile.xml");
var xmlLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
xmlLoader.load(xmlReq);
xmlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,xmlLoaded);
function xmlLoaded(event:Event):void
xmlText = new XML(xmlLoader.data);
info_txt.htmlText = xmlText.someTag ;
**** I cannot use the above as is because, when I change the publish settings from AS3 to AS2, I get following errors -
The class or interface 'URLRequest' could not be loaded.
The class or interface 'URLLoader' could not be loaded.
The class or interface 'Event' could not be loaded.
Same works well in AS3. What should I do to make this work in AS2 or can anyone direct me in writing an equivalent in AS2.
Please assist.
Thanks in advance.
MG

parsing is done using the xmlnode methods and properties. how you parse an xml file (in as2) depends on its structure. but generally, you use firstChild, nextSibling, childNodes and nodeValue in the appropriate sequence to extact data. the flash help files have sample code. for tutorials, check google.
if you're trying to load a cross-domain xml file, you'll have a cross-domain security issue to deal with.

How do you convert this code from AS3 to AS2?

Hi,
I created some AS3 code that is working perfectly for us.
However now we need to convert it to AS2 so that it can be Flash
Player 8 compatible. If it could also be compatible for Flash
Player 7 that would be ideal but not a requirement.
Thanks in advance.

Are you wanting someone to do the conversion for you, or are
you asking for general tips for doing the conversion yourself?
i can give you tips:
have a look at the
ActionScript
2.0 Migration page.
In this you'll find the property conversions eg(going from
AS3 to AS2). y becomes _y, height becomes _height, scaleX becomes
_xscale, void becomes Void etc.
you'll find that events need to be converted, eg.
particle.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,
animateParticle);
becomes:
particle.onEnterFrame=animateParticle;
the onEnterFrame class doesn't pass an Event parameter to the
event listener. Instead, the event listener is automatically in the
scope of the event dispatcher, so instead of 'event.target' you
will be able to just target 'this'.
You'll need to use setInterval() instead of the Timer class.
You'll need to use attachMovie() instead of
addChild().

Change some code from as3 to as2

Hi, I want to use as2 because it compatible with my website.
I want to change some code from as3 to as2
/////////////////////////////image1//////////////////////////////// if(MovieClip(this.parent).imagetxt.text == "a") {     var imgurl:String = "C:/Users/Thái/Desktop/ls/cotton-1.jpg";     var myrequest:URL = new URL(imgurl);     myloader.scaleContent = true;     myloader.load(myrequest); } /////////////////////////////image2//////////////////////////////// else if(MovieClip(this.parent).imagetxt.text == "b") {     var imgurl2:String = "http://aloflash.com/images/upload/3.jpg";     var myrequest2:URLRequest = new URLRequest(imgurl2);     myloader.scaleContent = true;     myloader.load(myrequest2); }thank you for your support.

use:
var myloader:MovieClip=this.createEmptyMovieClip("loader_mc",this.getNextHighestDepth());
if (MovieClip(this._parent).imagetxt.text == "a") {
    var imgurl:String = "C:/Users/Thái/Desktop/ls/cotton-1.jpg";
    myloader.load(imgurl);
} else if (MovieClip(this._parent).imagetxt.text == "b") {
    var imgurl2:String = "http://aloflash.com/images/upload/3.jpg
    myloader.load(imgurl2);

Converting AS3 to AS2

Does anyone know how to translate this code into AS2? My client can't support AS3.
var exitTimer:Timer = new Timer(15000, 1);
exitTimer.addListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, jump);
function jump(event:TimerEvent):void {
gotoAndStop("Scene 1")
exitTimer.start();
Thank you!

I put the wrong script in. This is the one I'm trying to convert from AS3 to AS2. Do I still use the setTimeout function or is the getTimer function more appropriate?
var exitTimer:Timer = new Timer(15000, 1);
exitTimer.addListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, jump);
function jump(event:TimerEvent):void {
navigateToURL(new URLRequest("http://www.url.com"));
exitTimer.start();

Benefits of AS3 over AS2?

I would like to accomplish some very basic functionality in
Flash, such
as, creating buttons that link to other frames, scenes,
websites,
documents, turn on sounds, etc.
I would ideally like to do this using the built in Behaviors,
however,
these will only work with AS2.
1.) Is there any benefit to using AS2 over AS3?
2.) Is there a date that Adobe has announced where they will
no longer
support AS2?
Thanks.

nambo1,
First of all, the real hero is the Flash Player. The Flash
Player, the features it has, and the environments it runs in and
how it runs in those environments (particularly the web browser,
but as kglad pointed, it's very flexible and is used other places
as well) is what makes it so popular. ActionScript is simply how
you programatically use the Flash Player. ActionScript is an
ECMAScript language of which there are others, but it's the Flash
Player (and what you can do with it) that attracts people.
The Flash Player has been popular for awhile now. AS3,
however, is the latest and completely redone language for the Flash
Player. Because it's new and because there are significant
differences between AS3 and its predecessor (AS1 and AS2), there is
some adoption time required. Many people are still using AS2. You
can google to find out a lot more detail about the
advantages/disadvantages to AS3 vs AS2, if that's what you're
really looking for.

Likert Scale Quiz AS3 or AS2

Hi
I'm a realtively new user of Flash CS3 Pro and am trying to
figure out how to create a quiz that uses Likert scale questions
and answers (quiz-taker can choose from 5 answer choices for each
question/statement, based on their agreement or disagreent with a
statement, each choice having a different score from 1 to 5 points:
strongly disagree=1, disagree=2, neither agree nor disgaree=3,
agree=4 and strongly agree=5).
The quiz would have 8 questions/statements, each with their 5
choices and the total score would be the addition of all 8 choices
in terms of their point values (1-5).
As a newbie, this is beyond my AS skills, especially using
the newer AS3, though AS2 is also a significant challenge.
I would be grateful for any help, especially a sample script
that I can adapt to the task.
Kind Regards,
saratogacoach

OK so having had a play around it seems that a simple option is:
Use transparent buttons with a 3px stroke
Inside and under each transparent button put a green circle
Group the circles
Whenever a button is pressed hide the circle group then make the single green circle corresponding to that button visible
Clear and assign a variable with a value associated to that button
This seems quite simple. Provided I can capture the variable values using the captivate to google spreedsheet widget it will work for me.

AS3 to AS2 code

Hello, I have a problem with a small code.
I'm doing a photo gallery in as3 to insert into my website, the problem is that my site is made in as2 and when I insert the gallery into website the up and down buttons don´t work. Someone could tell me how to modify this code ? I need the code in AS2. Thanks
stop ();
var arriba = Boolean;
var abajo = Boolean;
//scroll
abajobtn.addEventListener (MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mover_abajo);
function mover_abajo (event:MouseEvent) :void {
abajo = true;
arribabtn.addEventListener (MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mover_arriba);
function mover_arriba (event:MouseEvent) :void {
arriba = true;
addEventListener (Event.ENTER_FRAME, mover);
function mover (event:Event) :void {
if (abajo == true) {
if (tiravip.y >= -965) {
tiravip.y -= 12;
if (arriba == true) {
if (tiravip.y <= 7) {
tiravip.y += 12;
abajobtn.addEventListener (MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, detener_abajo);
function detener_abajo (event:MouseEvent) :void {
abajo = false;
arribabtn.addEventListener (MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, detener_arriba);
function detener_arriba (event:MouseEvent) :void {
arriba = false;

Ned, thanks for answering.
I tried with this code and doesn´t work. Do you know why ?
stop ();
var arriba = Boolean;
var abajo = Boolean;
//scroll
abajobtn..onMouseDown = mover_abajo;
function mover_abajo () :void {
abajo = true;
arribabtn..onMouseDown = mover_arriba;
function mover_arriba () :void {
arriba = true;
addEventListener (Event.ENTER_FRAME, mover);
function mover (event:Event) :void {
if (abajo == true) {
if (tiravip._y >= -965) {
tiravip._y -= 12;
if (arriba == true) {
if (tiravip._y <= 7) {
tiravip._y += 12;
abajobtn..onMouseUp = detener_abajo;
function detener_abajo () :void {
abajo = false;
arribabtn..onMouseUp = detener_arriba;
function detener_arriba () :void {
arriba = false;

JavaScript alert in AS3 or AS2 to debug the external actionscript file

Hi,
Is there any way to debug the external AS file as i dont want to use "trace".
I have an idea to use the input text field the check the variable/function is working right but this is not enough so is there any process in AS2 or AS3.
Thanks in advance..

my mistake ..i have used there dynamic textfiled.
but i got a easy solution by using
getURL ("javascript:alert('Testing');");
but this is not the good solution
is there any way to import the alert contolls in AS2
like i have read somewhere
import mx.controls.Alert;
Please reply..

How Can I convert AS3 in AS2?

Hi,
I have following script in AS3 & I want it in AS2... is it possible?
Pls help.....
package
    import flash.events.Event;
    import flash.events.MouseEvent;
    import flash.display.MovieClip;
    import gs.TweenLite;
    public class Accordion extends MovieClip
        var speed:Number = 1;
        public function Accordion()
            tour_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, overHandler, false, 0, true);
            front_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, overHandler, false, 0, true);
            resta_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, overHandler, false, 0, true);
            inv_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, overHandler, false, 0, true);
            wd_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, overHandler, false, 0, true);
            fd_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, overHandler, false, 0, true);
        protected function overHandler(event:MouseEvent):void
            if(event.target == tour_mc)
                TweenLite.to(tour_mc, speed, { x:0, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(front_mc, speed, { x:610, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(resta_mc, speed, { x:640, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(inv_mc, speed, { x:670, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(wd_mc, speed, { x:700, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(fd_mc, speed, { x:730, y:0 } );
            else if(event.target == front_mc)
                TweenLite.to(tour_mc, speed, { x:0, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(front_mc, speed, { x:30, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(resta_mc, speed, { x:640, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(inv_mc, speed, { x:670, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(wd_mc, speed, { x:700, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(fd_mc, speed, { x:730, y:0 } );
            else if(event.target == resta_mc)
                TweenLite.to(tour_mc, speed, { x:0, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(front_mc, speed, { x:30, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(resta_mc, speed, { x:60, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(inv_mc, speed, { x:670, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(wd_mc, speed, { x:700, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(fd_mc, speed, { x:730, y:0 } );
            else if(event.target == inv_mc)
                TweenLite.to(tour_mc, speed, { x:0, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(front_mc, speed, { x:30, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(resta_mc, speed, { x:60, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(inv_mc, speed, { x:90, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(wd_mc, speed, { x:700, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(fd_mc, speed, { x:730, y:0 } );
            else if(event.target == wd_mc)
                TweenLite.to(tour_mc, speed, { x:0, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(front_mc, speed, { x:30, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(resta_mc, speed, { x:60, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(inv_mc, speed, { x:90, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(wd_mc, speed, { x:120, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(fd_mc, speed, { x:730, y:0 } );
            else if(event.target == fd_mc)
                TweenLite.to(tour_mc, speed, { x:0, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(front_mc, speed, { x:30, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(resta_mc, speed, { x:60, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(inv_mc, speed, { x:90, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(wd_mc, speed, { x:120, y:0 } );
                TweenLite.to(fd_mc, speed, { x:150, y:0 } );
Thanks in advance

Here is a basic outline of how you could proceed. I do not include the class nomenclature nor all of the buttons.
tour_mc.onRollOver = front_mc.onRollOver = overHandler; // add in the rest of the mc's
function overHandler(){
   if(this == tour_mc){
       trace("do tweens for tour_mc");
   } else if(this == front_mc){
       trace("do tweens for front_mc");
   } // and so on for the rest of the mc's

Mixing as3 and as2 objects

I'd just like to check something. When I was trying out a bit
of as3, I tried having as3 objects, but as2 code on the timeline,
so I'm guessing that you can't nest or load as3 objects inside as2
movieclips because it probably treats everything like it's as2, so
as3 objects don't work..
But does it work the other way around? To have as3 objects
nesting as2 "objects" or loading as2 swfs?
Or is it either-either, no mixing whatsoever?

you can load as2 swfs into as3 swfs. to communicate between
the two, use the localconnection class.

Help! Need help translating AS3 to AS2!

Good afternoon. I have a very simple roll over animation that
I want to use in Captivate 3. However, all of my experience with
Flash is with AS3 which is not recognized by C3. Attached is my
code snippet for the event that is not being supported. Would
anyone be willing to tell me where to start to make this into AS2
(or 1)?
Thank you in advance for any assistance.

MrFrankZ,
Here's the code from your first post, and I understand you'd
like to
convert it to ActionScript 2.0 (or even 1.0):
>>> gotoAndPlay("notRolled");
>>> rollBox.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER,
onRoll);
>>>
>>> function onRoll(event:MouseEvent):void
>>> {
>>> gotoAndPlay("rolled");
>>> }
>>> stop();
To that, someone replied this:
>> It's using AS 2. Can you display all of the code?
... which turns out to be incorrect. The code you're showing
is indeed AS3.
Telltale signs include the MouseEvent class reference, the
MOUSE_OVER event
constant, and the lowercase :void reference.
> The compiler is "The class or interface 'MouseEvent'
could not be
> loaded."
That makes sense for a FLA file configured for AS2, because
AS2 doesn't
have a MouseEvent class. Fortunately, this is a simple
scenario, so let's
break it down.
The first line doesn't change at all:
gotoAndPlay("notRolled");
That does the same thing in either AS2 or AS3; namely, it
invokes the
MovieClip.gotoAndPlay() method on a particular MovieClip
instance (happens
to be the timeline in which this code appears) and sends that
movie clip's
timeline to a frame labeled "notRolled".
Wiring up the event handler is your biggest change. AS2 does
support
the addEventListener() method, but only for components. In
AS2, there are
(bewilderingly) five different ways to assign event handlers,
and the one
that's going to work here -- and feel most this AS3 version
-- looks like
this:
rollBox.onRollOver = onRoll;
In principle, it's doing the same thing. I'm assuming
rollBox is a
movie clip symbol, so to see what functionality has has
available to it,
you'll look up the MovieClip class in the ActionScript 2.0
Language
Reference. When you do, you'll see headings for Properties
(characteristics
of the object), Methods (things the object can do), and
Events (things the
object can react to). A mouse-over is something the movie
clip will react
to, which makes it an event. What I've shown in my sample
suggestion is the
MovieClip.onRollOver event, as associated with your rollBox
instance.
The syntax is different from AS3, but the basic
functionality is the
same: "rollBox, when the mouse rolls over you, perform the
onRoll()
function."
And now for that function:
function onRoll():Void {
gotoAndPlay("rolled");
Only two small changes: a) drop the event:MouseEvent
parameter and b)
change :void to :Void.
Here it is altogether:
// AS2
gotoAndPlay("notRolled");
rollBox.onRollOver = onRoll;
function onRoll():Void {
gotoAndPlay("rolled");
And to make this work in AS2, all you have to do is drop the
strong
typing (in this case, the :Void):
// AS1
gotoAndPlay("notRolled");
rollBox.onRollOver = onRoll;
function onRoll() {
gotoAndPlay("rolled");
David Stiller
Co-author, The ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide
http://tinyurl.com/2s28a5
"Luck is the residue of good design."

Loader (Need help to convert from AS3 to AS2)

Since I know this code works fine and that I use it into one of my AS3 flash, I need it in one of my AS2 flash and I don't know how to adapt it. I've searched in over 100 threads and I can't find something similar... Thanks to help me get it to work in AS2! Since I need it in AS2, I thought it would be the right place to post it.
I posted all the loading process code, but I would need help mostly with the Loader part. How to do it in AS2? Thanks!
var img = 0;
var image_total = 0;
var myImages_array:Array = new Array();
var myBitmaps_array:Array = new Array();
function Init();
// Images urls are loaded into an array before this call
LoadImage();
function LoadImage()
    if (img < myImages_array.length) // img is the current image index and myImages_array is my array of URLs
// I need help with this part please
      var loader:Loader = new Loader();
// returns the image full path and load it
        loader.load(new URLRequest(my_site_url + myImages_array[img]));
        loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, imageLoaded);
    else
        if (count == 0)
// When everything's loaded, I'll start loading my Bitmaps into a small slideshow
            count += 1;
            init_slideshow();
function imageLoaded(e:Event):void
    var image:Bitmap = e.target.content;
// Bitmap manipulation here (removed)
    image_total = myBitmaps_array.push(image);
    if (img < myImages_array.length)
        img += 1;
// Call next image
        LoadImage();
function init_slideshow():void
// Reserts the current index for the first one
    img = 0;
// Start the slideshow since everything's loaded
    animate_slideshow();

If you look at the Flash help documentation for the addListener metod of the MovieClipLoader class, there is an erxample there that you should hopefully be able to work from. It will be better if you get your stuff coded into AS2 before you pursue more help with it. IT is difficult to tell you how to fix something if you don't show what you are using.

AS3 to AS2 communication

I have a SWFLoader in my AS3 application and into my AS3 SWFLoader, I load a AS2Shell.
In this AS2 Shell, I load a movie in an empty MovieClip that I created.
Try as I might, I am not able get the movie (thatt is loaded within AS2) to stay within my AS3 SWF Loader width and height. Below in my AS3 SWF Loader definition and my AS2 Shell code. Does someone know how to get this to work. By the way, setting Stage.scaleMode in my AS2 Shell does not seem to fix the problem.
AS3 SWF Loader def:
        <mx:SWFLoader id="swfPlayer"
            right="22" left="22" top="18" bottom="18"
            scaleContent="false" maintainAspectRatio="true"
            horizontalAlign="center" verticalAlign="middle"
            enabled="true">
        </mx:SWFLoader>
===========================================
AS2 code
import mx.utils.Delegate;
function init()
    //Stage.align         = "TL";
    //Stage.scaleMode     = "showAll";
    var LC_IN_NAME:String    = "_JXLFlashProxy_IN";
    var LC_OUT_NAME:String    = "_JXLFlashProxy_OUT";
    // Flex talks to me
    in_lc = new LocalConnection();
    in_lc.playVideo = Delegate.create(this, playVideo);
    in_lc.stopVideoPlayer = Delegate.create(this, stopVideoPlayer);
    in_lc.gotoNextFrame = Delegate.create(this, gotoNextFrame);
    in_lc.gotoPrevFrame = Delegate.create(this, gotoPrevFrame);
    // the underscore prefix gets around domain restrictions
    in_lc.connect(LC_IN_NAME);
    // I talk to Flex
    out_lc = new LocalConnection();
function playVideo(fileName:String):Void
    var __vid:MovieClip;
    var __vidMCL:MovieClipLoader;
    if(__vid == null)
        __vid = createEmptyMovieClip(__vid, 0);
        __vid._lockroot = true;
        __vidMCL = new MovieClipLoader();
        __vidMCL.addListener(this);
        __vidMCL.loadClip(fileName, __vid);
        out_lc.send(LC_OUT_NAME, "onPlayVideoResult", true);
    else
        out_lc.send(LC_OUT_NAME,
                    "onPlayVideoResult",
                    false,
                    "ERROR: Video already playing.");
function gotoNextFrame():Void
    __vid.nextFrame();
function gotoPrevFrame():Void
    __vid.prevFrame();
function onLoadInit():Void
    out_lc.send(LC_OUT_NAME, "onVideoPlayerLoaded");
function stopVideoPlayer():Void
    if(__vid != null)
        //__vid.videoPlayer.stop();
        __vid.removeMovieClip();
        delete __vid;
        out_lc.send(LC_OUT_NAME, "onStopVideoPlayerResult", true);
    else
        out_lc.send(LC_OUT_NAME, "onStopVideoPlayerResult", false, "ERROR: Video player already stopped.");
init();

I'm in the process of documenting a process I developed on
creating a
Flash-wrapper to launch/control/track Captivate and
Presenter-based files.
It's based on the same component I build (and documented)
here:
http://www.connectusers.com/tutorials/2009/02/certificates/index.php
The current article is about creating custom Flash-based
certificates in
Presenter/Captivate. The component will be the same, but I
just realized in
the last day or so, that I'll have to provide an update to
better support
funcitonality required in the Flash shell (but the component
can be used for
both purposes).
Keep an eye out on ConnectUsers.com for more articles and
interesting
tidbits, I will be documenting.
Regards,
Andrew

Please help with this script, AS3 to AS2(preloader)

Hi. Ive made a flash banner for my client. It have two scenes, preloader (with percentage and animation (in 100 frame)) and the main scene. Preloader uses AS3. I need this convert to AS2. How to do this? The code:
import flash.events.ProgressEvent;
function update(e:ProgressEvent):void
var percent:Number = Math.floor( (e.bytesLoaded*100)/e.bytesTotal );
if(preloaderMC is MovieClip){
preloaderMC.gotoAndStop(percent);
preload_txt.text = String(percent) + "%";
if(percent == 100){
play();
loaderInfo.addEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, update);
// Extra test for IE
var percent:Number = Math.floor( (this.loaderInfo.bytesLoaded*100)/this.loaderInfo.bytesTotal );
if(percent == 100){
nextFrame();
stop();
The full FLA: http://www.agroinvent.eu/briklis.fla, if someone can repair(make) it, pls send me the corrected fla file.
BIG THANKS. BEST REGARDS. Zolee

use:
var tl:MovieClip=this;
function update():Void
var percent:Number = Math.floor( (tl.getBytesLoaded()*100)/tl.getBytesTotal() );
preloaderMC.gotoAndStop(percent);
preload_txt.text = String(percent) + "%";
if(percent == 100){
clearInterval(preloadI);
tl.play();
clearInterval(preloadI);
preloadI = setInterval(update,100);
stop();

AS3 vs AS2?

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