after6ix

Declaration of stage instances

For ActionScript 2.0, whenever you are writing a class for a movieclip that contains other child movieclips, to obtain references to these movieclips, declarations for the child movieclips would typically be done within the parent class code.

class SampleApp extends MovieClip{
	private childClip1:MovieClip; //instance child mc
	private childClip2:MovieClip; //instance child mc
	...
}

However with the ActionScript 3.0 in Flash CS3, this can be done automatically without a manual declaration as shown in the class code above. To have this done automatically, under File > Publish Settings > Flash > ActionScript 3 settings, check on "Automatically declare stage instances".

By doing this, you should not be declaring any of the child movieclips as members of the parent movieclip class. They will automatically be accessible via their instance name.

However, if you are like me who prefers to have more control and more verbose declaration of members in a class, you can choose not to opt for this automatic declaration. The child movieclips can be declared in the same manner as per the way done in ActionScript 2.0.

One thing to note is that the access modifier would have to be set to "public" else the compiler would complain that it cannot create the property. If you think about it, the access modifier has to be public since the child movieclips can be accessed anywhere via the dot notation.

class SampleApp extends MovieClip{
	public childClip1:MovieClip; //instance child mc
	public childClip2:MovieClip; //instance child mc
	...
}