Help with nav buttons please

Question

Hey there, i've recently been following a tutorial and I have come across a problem with the AS for the nav buttons,  http://www.flash-game-design.com/flash-tutorials/basic-flash-website-tutorial-6.html, the tutorial says to write:
btnabout.onRelease = function(){
    content.gotoAndStop("about")
btnport.onRelease = function(){
    content.gotoAndPlay("port")
btncont.onRelease = function(){
    content.gotoAndStop("contact")
I have done this and it came with an error saying needs to be in handler, so i re-entered this:
btnabout.on(release) = function(){
    content.gotoAndStop("about")
btnport.on(release) = function(){
    content.gotoAndPlay("port")
btncont.on(release) = function(){
    content.gotoAndStop("contact")
This code then came back with a Expected a field name after '.' operator.  btnabout.on(release) = function(){ can anyone please help me i'm starting to pull hairs out?!
Thanks
P.S it must be AS 2.0 as that is what my portfolio page uses.

Answer 1

The problem with the first attempt was not the code, but where you placed it.  That code needs to be placed on the timelinein the same frame as where the buttons are  (preferably in a separate 'actions' layer).  This approach is the better approach than trying to place the code on the objects because it keeps all code in a single easy to find location... the timeline.
For the second attempt, assuming you were still trying to attach the code to the buttons, you should change the code to....
on(release) {
    content.gotoAndStop("about")
on(release){
    content.gotoAndPlay("port")
on(release){
    content.gotoAndStop("contact")
but.... each of those needs to be attached to the button associated with it and not grouped together.  This is an older style of coding that is best avoided due to ending up with code hiding on objects.