User Guide

CHAPTER 1

About Components

Macromedia Flash components are movie clips with parameters that allow you to modify

their appearance and behavior. A component can be a simple user interface control, such as a

radio button or a check box, or it can contain content, such as a scroll pane; a component can

also be non-visual, like the FocusManager that allows you to control which object receives

focus in an application.

Components enable you to build complex Macromedia Flash applications, even if you don’t

have an advanced understanding of ActionScript. Rather than creating custom buttons,

combo boxes, and lists, you can drag these components from the Components panel to add

functionality to your applications. You can also easily customize the look and feel of

components to suit your design needs.

Components are built on version 2 of the Macromedia Component Architecture, which

allows you to build robust applications, easily and quickly, with a consistent appearance and

behavior. The version 2 architecture includes classes on which all components are based, styles

and skins mechanisms that allow you to customize component appearance, a broadcaster/

listener event model, depth and focus management, accessibility implementation, and more.

Each component has predefined parameters that you can set while authoring in Flash. Each

component also has a unique set of ActionScript methods, properties, and events, also called

an API (application programming interface), that allows you to set parameters and additional

options at runtime.

For a complete list of components included with Flash Basic 8 and Flash Professional 8, see

“Installing components” on page 12. You can also download components built by members of

the Flash community at the Macromedia Exchange at www.macromedia.com/cfusion/

exchange/index.cfm.

NOTE

When publishing version 2 components, you must set your publish settings to publish for

ActionScript 2.0 (File > Publish Settings, Flash tab). The version 2 components will not

run correctly if published using ActionScript 1.0.