Key down, Key up, Key code problems

Question

I've been having problems putting a key down handler
together, which is weird because it's pretty basic.
on keydown
if (_key.keycode = 4) then baOpenFile( the moviepath &
"help\help.pdf" , "maximised" )
end keydown
doesn't seem to do anything, key up the same. I know this is
a pretty basic thing, and in MX 2004 which is the Director version
I'm using, they've done it a little different but I can't seem to
see why it's not working.
help?!

Answer 1

Key functions operate in several different ways in Director.
If you have
an editable field or text member, then you can attach a
behavior to that
field or text sprite and include an on keyDown me and/or on
keyUp me
function. Because there is an editable sprite on the stage,
Director
will route key events to that sprite. If there is a function
to handle
the event, then something will happen. This sort of thing is
usually
done if you need to read and/or filter the user's input. You
don't need
a behavior at all if you just want the user to input
something.
If you are using key events for some other action, like
navigation or
game element control, then you need to tell Director to pay
attention to
the keyboard input. This is done by assigning a function as
the
keyDownScript or the keyUpScript. The assignment may be done
in a movie
event function, like startMovie, or it may be done in a
behavior.
Here's one example in a movie script window:
on startMovie
the keyDownScript = "readKeys"
end
on readKeys
case the keyCode of
4: baOpenFile(the moviePath &
"help\help.pdf","maximised")
end case
end
Here's an example in a behavior:
property thisSprite
on beginSprite me
thisSprite = me.spriteNum
the keyDownScript = "readKeys"
end
on endSprite me
the keyDownScript = ""
end
In the second example, the behavior could be attached to any
sprite that
will be available when you want the key events to be
interpreted.
Setting the keyDownScript to "" will stop Director from
paying attention
to key events.
Rob
Rob Dillon
Adobe Community Expert
http://www.ddg-designs.com
412-243-9119
http://www.macromedia.com/software/trial/