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160 Chapter 2: ActionScript Language Reference

Button.tabIndex

Availability

Flash Player 6.

Usage

my_btn.tabIndex:Number

Description

Property; lets you customize the tab ordering of objects in a SWF file. You can set the tabIndex

property on a button, movie clip, or text field instance; it is

undefined by default.

If any currently displayed object in the SWF file contains a

tabIndex property, automatic tab

ordering is disabled, and the tab ordering is calculated from the

tabIndex properties of objects in

the SWF file. The custom tab ordering only includes objects that have

tabIndex properties.

The

tabIndex property may be a non-negative integer. The objects are ordered according to their

tabIndex properties, in ascending order. An object with a tabIndex value of 1 precedes an object

with a

tabIndex value of 2. If two objects have the same tabIndex value, the one that precedes

the other in the tab ordering is

undefined.

The custom tab ordering defined by the

tabIndex property is flat. This means that no attention

is paid to the hierarchical relationships of objects in the SWF file. All objects in the SWF file with

tabIndex properties are placed in the tab order, and the tab order is determined by the order of

the

tabIndex values. If two objects have the same tabIndex value, the one that goes first is

undefined. You shouldn’t use the same tabIndex value for multiple objects.

Example

The following ActionScript is used to set the tabEnabled property for one of four buttons to

false. However, all four buttons (one_btn, two_btn, three_btn, and four_btn) are placed in a

custom tab order using

tabIndex. Although tabIndex is set for three_btn, three_btn is not

included in a custom or automatic tab order because

tabEnabled is set to false for that instance.

To set the tab ordering for the four buttons, add the following ActionScript to Frame 1 of the

Timeline:

three_btn.tabEnabled = false;

two_btn.tabIndex = 1;

four_btn.tabIndex = 2;

three_btn.tabIndex = 3;

one_btn.tabIndex = 4;

Make sure that you disable keyboard shortcuts when you test the SWF file by selecting Control >

Disable Keyboard Shortcuts in the test environment.