User Guide

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Set the data types of component instances
Next you will assign data types to each of the component instances you dragged to the Stage
earlier in the tutorial.
ActionScript 2.0 uses strict data typing, which means that you assign the data type when
you create a variable. Strict data typing makes code hints available for the variable in the
Actions panel.
■ In the Actions panel, add the following code to assign data types to the four component
instances that you already created.
/* Data type instances on the Stage; other instances might be added at
runtime from the Cart class.*/
var problems_cb:ComboBox;
var products_dg:DataGrid;
var cart_dg:DataGrid;
var products_xmlcon:mx.data.components.XMLConnector;
Customize the appearance of components
Each component has style properties and methods that let you customize its appearance,
including highlight color, font, and font size. You can set styles for individual component
instances, or set styles globally to apply to all component instances in an application. For this
tutorial you will set styles globally.
■ Add the following code to set styles:
// Define global styles and easing equations for the problems_cb
ComboBox.
_global.style.setStyle("themeColor", "haloBlue");
_global.style.setStyle("fontFamily", "Verdana");
_global.style.setStyle("fontSize", 10);
_global.style.setStyle("openEasing",
mx.transitions.easing.Bounce.easeOut);
This code sets the theme color (the highlight color on a selected item), font, and font size
for the components, and also sets the easing for the ComboBox—the way that the drop-
down list appears and disappears when you click the ComboBox title bar.
NOTE
The instance names you specify here must agree with the instance names that you
assigned when you dragged the components to the Stage.