User Guide

Behaviors 367
For example, to define the property movement as an integer that can be set to a value from 1 to 10
and whose default value is 5, use a phrase similar to this:
#movement: [#default: 5, #format:#integer, ¬
#comment: "Set motion to the right:", #range: [#min:1, #max:10]]
• #movement is the property’s name. A symbol (#) operator must precede the name in the
property definition. A colon separates the name’s definition and the list of parameters.
• #default specifies the property’s default value. This example sets 5 as the default.
• #format specifies the property’s type. This example sets the type as an integer. Some other
possible types are Boolean, string, cast member, event, and sound. For a complete list of
possible values for
#format, see on getPropertyDescriptionList in the Lingo Dictionary.
• #comment specifies a string that appears next to the parameter in the Parameters dialog box.
This example makes “Set motion to the right” the comment that appears in the Parameters
dialog box.
• #range specifies a range of possible values that the user can assign to the property. Specify the
possible values as a list.
To specify a range between a minimum and maximum number, use the form [
#min:minimum,
#max:maximum
]. The example sets the range from 1 to 10. When the range is between a
maximum or minimum number, the Parameters dialog box provides a slider that sets the value.
To specify no range, omit the
#range parameter. If the property’s definition doesn’t include
#range, a text entry field appears for the user to enter a value in the Parameters dialog box.
To specify a set of possible choices, use a linear list. For example, the list
[#mouseUp,
#mouseDown, #keyUp, #keyDown]
makes these four events possible choices for a parameter.
When you specify values in a linear list, the choices appear in a pop-up menu in the
Parameters dialog box. (For this example list, you need to specify
#format: #symbol for
the list to display correctly.)
As another example, this statement defines the property
whichSound:
addProp description, #whichSound, [#default: "", #format:#sound, #comment: ¬
"Which cast member"]
The value #sound assigned to #format provides a pop-up menu in the Parameters dialog box that
includes every sound cast member available in the movie.
If the behavior includes a command that plays a sound, this property can be used to specify a
sound cast member to play. For example, if the user selects Growl from the pop-up menu in the
Parameters dialog box, the statement
puppetSound whichSound would play the sound cast
member Growl.
Creating an on getPropertyDescriptionList handler
To build a list of properties for a behavior, add each property to the list that the
on getPropertyDescriptionList handler returns. Then use the return command to
return the list.