Adobe® Flex® 4 Language Reference
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mx.core 
IContainer 
Packagemx.core
Interfacepublic interface IContainer extends IUIComponent , IFlexDisplayObject , IBitmapDrawable , IEventDispatcher
Implementors Container

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

IContainer is a interface that indicates a component extends or mimics mx.core.Container

See also



Public Properties
 PropertyDefined By
 InheritedaccessibilityProperties : AccessibilityProperties
The current accessibility options for this display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedalpha : Number
Indicates the alpha transparency value of the object specified.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedbaselinePosition : Number
[read-only] The y-coordinate of the baseline of the first line of text of the component.
IUIComponent
 InheritedblendMode : String
A value from the BlendMode class that specifies which blend mode to use.
IFlexDisplayObject
  buttonMode : Boolean
Specifies the button mode of this sprite.
IContainer
 InheritedcacheAsBitmap : Boolean
If set to true, Flash runtimes cache an internal bitmap representation of the display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
  creatingContentPane : Boolean
Containers use an internal content pane to control scrolling.
IContainer
  defaultButton : IFlexDisplayObject
The Button control designated as the default button for the container.
IContainer
 Inheriteddocument : Object
A reference to the document object associated with this component.
IUIComponent
  doubleClickEnabled : Boolean
Specifies whether the object receives doubleClick events.
IContainer
  dropTarget : DisplayObject
[read-only] Specifies the display object over which the sprite is being dragged, or on which the sprite was dropped.
IContainer
 Inheritedenabled : Boolean
Whether the component can accept user interaction.
IUIComponent
 InheritedexplicitHeight : Number
The explicitly specified height for the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedexplicitMaxHeight : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the maximum height of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedexplicitMaxWidth : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the maximum width of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedexplicitMinHeight : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the minimum height of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedexplicitMinWidth : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the minimum width of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedexplicitWidth : Number
The explicitly specified width for the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 Inheritedfilters : Array
An indexed array that contains each filter object currently associated with the display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
  focusManager : IFocusManager
[read-only] Gets the FocusManager that controls focus for this component and its peers.
IContainer
 InheritedfocusPane : Sprite
A single Sprite object that is shared among components and used as an overlay for drawing the focus indicator.
IUIComponent
  focusRect : Object
Specifies whether this object displays a focus rectangle.
IContainer
  graphics : Graphics
[read-only] Specifies the Graphics object that belongs to this sprite where vector drawing commands can occur.
IContainer
 Inheritedheight : Number
Indicates the height of the display object, in pixels.
IFlexDisplayObject
  hitArea : Sprite
Designates another sprite to serve as the hit area for a sprite.
IContainer
  horizontalScrollPosition : Number
The current position of the horizontal scroll bar.
IContainer
 InheritedincludeInLayout : Boolean
Specifies whether this component is included in the layout of the parent container.
IUIComponent
 InheritedisPopUp : Boolean
Set to true by the PopUpManager to indicate that component has been popped up.
IUIComponent
 InheritedloaderInfo : LoaderInfo
[read-only] Returns a LoaderInfo object containing information about loading the file to which this display object belongs.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedmask : DisplayObject
The calling display object is masked by the specified mask object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedmaxHeight : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the maximum height of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedmaxWidth : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the maximum width of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedmeasuredHeight : Number
[read-only] The measured height of this object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedmeasuredMinHeight : Number
The default minimum height of the component, in pixels.
IUIComponent
 InheritedmeasuredMinWidth : Number
The default minimum width of the component, in pixels.
IUIComponent
 InheritedmeasuredWidth : Number
[read-only] The measured width of this object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedminHeight : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the minimum height of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
 InheritedminWidth : Number
[read-only] Number that specifies the minimum width of the component, in pixels, as the component's coordinates.
IUIComponent
  mouseChildren : Boolean
Determines whether or not the children of the object are mouse, or user input device, enabled.
IContainer
  mouseEnabled : Boolean
Specifies whether this object receives mouse, or other user input, messages.
IContainer
 InheritedmouseX : Number
[read-only] Indicates the x coordinate of the mouse or user input device position, in pixels.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedmouseY : Number
[read-only] Indicates the y coordinate of the mouse or user input device position, in pixels.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedname : String
Indicates the instance name of the DisplayObject.
IFlexDisplayObject
  numChildren : int
[read-only] Returns the number of children of this object.
IContainer
 InheritedopaqueBackground : Object
Specifies whether the display object is opaque with a certain background color.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedowner : DisplayObjectContainer
The owner of this IVisualElement object.
IUIComponent
 Inheritedparent : DisplayObjectContainer
[read-only] Indicates the DisplayObjectContainer object that contains this display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedpercentHeight : Number
Number that specifies the height of a component as a percentage of its parent's size.
IUIComponent
 InheritedpercentWidth : Number
Number that specifies the width of a component as a percentage of its parent's size.
IUIComponent
 Inheritedroot : DisplayObject
[read-only] For a display object in a loaded SWF file, the root property is the top-most display object in the portion of the display list's tree structure represented by that SWF file.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedrotation : Number
Indicates the rotation of the DisplayObject instance, in degrees, from its original orientation.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedscale9Grid : Rectangle
The current scaling grid that is in effect.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedscaleX : Number
Indicates the horizontal scale (percentage) of the object as applied from the registration point.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedscaleY : Number
Indicates the vertical scale (percentage) of an object as applied from the registration point of the object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedscrollRect : Rectangle
The scroll rectangle bounds of the display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
  soundTransform : flash.media:SoundTransform
Controls sound within this sprite.
IContainer
 Inheritedstage : Stage
[read-only] The Stage of the display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedsystemManager : ISystemManager
A reference to the SystemManager object for this component.
IUIComponent
  tabChildren : Boolean
Determines whether the children of the object are tab enabled.
IContainer
  tabEnabled : Boolean
Specifies whether this object is in the tab order.
IContainer
  tabIndex : int
Specifies the tab ordering of objects in a SWF file.
IContainer
  textSnapshot : flash.text:TextSnapshot
[read-only] Returns a TextSnapshot object for this DisplayObjectContainer instance.
IContainer
 Inheritedtransform : flash.geom:Transform
An object with properties pertaining to a display object's matrix, color transform, and pixel bounds.
IFlexDisplayObject
 InheritedtweeningProperties : Array
Used by EffectManager.
IUIComponent
  useHandCursor : Boolean
A Boolean value that indicates whether the pointing hand (hand cursor) appears when the pointer rolls over a sprite in which the buttonMode property is set to true.
IContainer
  verticalScrollPosition : Number
The current position of the vertical scroll bar.
IContainer
  viewMetrics : EdgeMetrics
[read-only] Returns an object that has four properties: left, top, right, and bottom.
IContainer
 Inheritedvisible : Boolean
Whether or not the display object is visible.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedwidth : Number
Indicates the width of the display object, in pixels.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedx : Number
Indicates the x coordinate of the DisplayObject instance relative to the local coordinates of the parent DisplayObjectContainer.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inheritedy : Number
Indicates the y coordinate of the DisplayObject instance relative to the local coordinates of the parent DisplayObjectContainer.
IFlexDisplayObject
Public Methods
 MethodDefined By
  
Adds a child DisplayObject instance to this DisplayObjectContainer instance.
IContainer
  
Adds a child DisplayObject instance to this DisplayObjectContainer instance.
IContainer
 Inherited
addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false, priority:int = 0, useWeakReference:Boolean = false):void
Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener receives notification of an event.
IEventDispatcher
  
Indicates whether the security restrictions would cause any display objects to be omitted from the list returned by calling the DisplayObjectContainer.getObjectsUnderPoint() method with the specified point point.
IContainer
  
Determines whether the specified display object is a child of the DisplayObjectContainer instance or the instance itself.
IContainer
 Inherited
Dispatches an event into the event flow.
IEventDispatcher
 Inherited
getBounds(targetCoordinateSpace:DisplayObject):Rectangle
Returns a rectangle that defines the area of the display object relative to the coordinate system of the targetCoordinateSpace object.
IFlexDisplayObject
  
Returns the child display object instance that exists at the specified index.
IContainer
  
Returns the child display object that exists with the specified name.
IContainer
  
Returns the index position of a child DisplayObject instance.
IContainer
 Inherited
A convenience method for determining whether to use the explicit or measured height
IUIComponent
 Inherited
A convenience method for determining whether to use the explicit or measured width
IUIComponent
  
Returns an array of objects that lie under the specified point and are children (or grandchildren, and so on) of this DisplayObjectContainer instance.
IContainer
 Inherited
getRect(targetCoordinateSpace:DisplayObject):Rectangle
Returns a rectangle that defines the boundary of the display object, based on the coordinate system defined by the targetCoordinateSpace parameter, excluding any strokes on shapes.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inherited
Converts the point object from the Stage (global) coordinates to the display object's (local) coordinates.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inherited
Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event.
IEventDispatcher
 Inherited
Evaluates the bounding box of the display object to see if it overlaps or intersects with the bounding box of the obj display object.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inherited
hitTestPoint(x:Number, y:Number, shapeFlag:Boolean = false):Boolean
Evaluates the display object to see if it overlaps or intersects with the point specified by the x and y parameters.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inherited
Initialize the object.
IUIComponent
 Inherited
Converts the point object from the display object's (local) coordinates to the Stage (global) coordinates.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inherited
Moves this object to the specified x and y coordinates.
IFlexDisplayObject
 Inherited
owns(displayObject:DisplayObject):Boolean
Returns true if the chain of owner properties points from child to this UIComponent.
IUIComponent
 Inherited
Called by Flex when a UIComponent object is added to or removed from a parent.
IUIComponent
  
Removes the specified child DisplayObject instance from the child list of the DisplayObjectContainer instance.
IContainer
  
Removes a child DisplayObject from the specified index position in the child list of the DisplayObjectContainer.
IContainer
 Inherited
removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false):void
Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object.
IEventDispatcher
 Inherited
setActualSize(newWidth:Number, newHeight:Number):void
Sets the actual size of this object.
IFlexDisplayObject
  
Changes the position of an existing child in the display object container.
IContainer
 Inherited
setVisible(value:Boolean, noEvent:Boolean = false):void
Called when the visible property changes.
IUIComponent
  
startDrag(lockCenter:Boolean = false, bounds:Rectangle = null):void
Lets the user drag the specified sprite.
IContainer
  
Ends the startDrag() method.
IContainer
  
Swaps the z-order (front-to-back order) of the two specified child objects.
IContainer
  
swapChildrenAt(index1:int, index2:int):void
Swaps the z-order (front-to-back order) of the child objects at the two specified index positions in the child list.
IContainer
 Inherited
Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type.
IEventDispatcher
Property Detail

buttonMode

property
buttonMode:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies the button mode of this sprite. If true, this sprite behaves as a button, which means that it triggers the display of the hand cursor when the pointer passes over the sprite and can receive a click event if the enter or space keys are pressed when the sprite has focus. You can suppress the display of the hand cursor by setting the useHandCursor property to false, in which case the pointer is displayed.

Although it is better to use the SimpleButton class to create buttons, you can use the buttonMode property to give a sprite some button-like functionality. To include a sprite in the tab order, set the tabEnabled property (inherited from the InteractiveObject class and false by default) to true. Additionally, consider whether you want the children of your sprite to be user input enabled. Most buttons do not enable user input interactivity for their child objects because it confuses the event flow. To disable user input interactivity for all child objects, you must set the mouseChildren property (inherited from the DisplayObjectContainer class) to false.

If you use the buttonMode property with the MovieClip class (which is a subclass of the Sprite class), your button might have some added functionality. If you include frames labeled _up, _over, and _down, Flash Player provides automatic state changes (functionality similar to that provided in previous versions of ActionScript for movie clips used as buttons). These automatic state changes are not available for sprites, which have no timeline, and thus no frames to label.



Implementation
    public function get buttonMode():Boolean
    public function set buttonMode(value:Boolean):void

creatingContentPane

property 
creatingContentPane:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Containers use an internal content pane to control scrolling. The creatingContentPane is true while the container is creating the content pane so that some events can be ignored or blocked.



Implementation
    public function get creatingContentPane():Boolean
    public function set creatingContentPane(value:Boolean):void

defaultButton

property 
defaultButton:IFlexDisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

The Button control designated as the default button for the container. When controls in the container have focus, pressing the Enter key is the same as clicking this Button control.



Implementation
    public function get defaultButton():IFlexDisplayObject
    public function set defaultButton(value:IFlexDisplayObject):void

doubleClickEnabled

property 
doubleClickEnabled:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies whether the object receives doubleClick events. The default value is false, which means that by default an InteractiveObject instance does not receive doubleClick events. If the doubleClickEnabled property is set to true, the instance receives doubleClick events within its bounds. The mouseEnabled property of the InteractiveObject instance must also be set to true for the object to receive doubleClick events.

No event is dispatched by setting this property. You must use the addEventListener() method to add an event listener for the doubleClick event.



Implementation
    public function get doubleClickEnabled():Boolean
    public function set doubleClickEnabled(value:Boolean):void

dropTarget

property 
dropTarget:DisplayObject  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies the display object over which the sprite is being dragged, or on which the sprite was dropped.



Implementation
    public function get dropTarget():DisplayObject

focusManager

property 
focusManager:IFocusManager  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Gets the FocusManager that controls focus for this component and its peers. Each popup has its own focus loop and therefore its own instance of a FocusManager. To make sure you're talking to the right one, use this method.



Implementation
    public function get focusManager():IFocusManager

focusRect

property 
focusRect:Object

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies whether this object displays a focus rectangle. It can take one of three values: true, false, or null. Values of true and false work as expected, specifying whether or not the focus rectangle appears. A value of null indicates that this object obeys the stageFocusRect property of the Stage.



Implementation
    public function get focusRect():Object
    public function set focusRect(value:Object):void

graphics

property 
graphics:Graphics  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies the Graphics object that belongs to this sprite where vector drawing commands can occur.



Implementation
    public function get graphics():Graphics

hitArea

property 
hitArea:Sprite

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Designates another sprite to serve as the hit area for a sprite. If the hitArea property does not exist or the value is null or undefined, the sprite itself is used as the hit area. The value of the hitArea property can be a reference to a Sprite object.

You can change the hitArea property at any time; the modified sprite immediately uses the new hit area behavior. The sprite designated as the hit area does not need to be visible; its graphical shape, although not visible, is still detected as the hit area.

Note: You must set to false the mouseEnabled property of the sprite designated as the hit area. Otherwise, your sprite button might not work because the sprite designated as the hit area receives the user input events instead of your sprite button.



Implementation
    public function get hitArea():Sprite
    public function set hitArea(value:Sprite):void

horizontalScrollPosition

property 
horizontalScrollPosition:Number

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

The current position of the horizontal scroll bar. This is equal to the distance in pixels between the left edge of the scrollable surface and the leftmost piece of the surface that is currently visible.



Implementation
    public function get horizontalScrollPosition():Number
    public function set horizontalScrollPosition(value:Number):void

mouseChildren

property 
mouseChildren:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Determines whether or not the children of the object are mouse, or user input device, enabled. If an object is enabled, a user can interact with it by using a mouse or user input device. The default is true.

This property is useful when you create a button with an instance of the Sprite class (instead of using the SimpleButton class). When you use a Sprite instance to create a button, you can choose to decorate the button by using the addChild() method to add additional Sprite instances. This process can cause unexpected behavior with mouse events because the Sprite instances you add as children can become the target object of a mouse event when you expect the parent instance to be the target object. To ensure that the parent instance serves as the target objects for mouse events, you can set the mouseChildren property of the parent instance to false.

No event is dispatched by setting this property. You must use the addEventListener() method to create interactive functionality.



Implementation
    public function get mouseChildren():Boolean
    public function set mouseChildren(value:Boolean):void

mouseEnabled

property 
mouseEnabled:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies whether this object receives mouse, or other user input, messages. The default value is true, which means that by default any InteractiveObject instance that is on the display list receives mouse events or other user input events. If mouseEnabled is set to false, the instance does not receive any mouse events (or other user input events like keybaord events). Any children of this instance on the display list are not affected. To change the mouseEnabled behavior for all children of an object on the display list, use flash.display.DisplayObjectContainer.mouseChildren.

No event is dispatched by setting this property. You must use the addEventListener() method to create interactive functionality.



Implementation
    public function get mouseEnabled():Boolean
    public function set mouseEnabled(value:Boolean):void

numChildren

property 
numChildren:int  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns the number of children of this object.



Implementation
    public function get numChildren():int

soundTransform

property 
soundTransform:flash.media:SoundTransform

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Controls sound within this sprite.

Note: This property does not affect HTML content in an HTMLControl object (in Adobe AIR).



Implementation
    public function get soundTransform():flash.media:SoundTransform
    public function set soundTransform(value:flash.media:SoundTransform):void

tabChildren

property 
tabChildren:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Determines whether the children of the object are tab enabled.

Note: Do not use this property with Flex. Instead, use the UIComponent.hasFocusableChildren property.



Implementation
    public function get tabChildren():Boolean
    public function set tabChildren(value:Boolean):void

See also

tabEnabled

property 
tabEnabled:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies whether this object is in the tab order. If this object is in the tab order, the value is true; otherwise, the value is false. By default, the value is false, except for the following:

  • For a SimpleButton object, the value is true.
  • For a TextField object with type = "input", the value is true.
  • For a Sprite object or MovieClip object with buttonMode = true, the value is true.



Implementation
    public function get tabEnabled():Boolean
    public function set tabEnabled(value:Boolean):void

tabIndex

property 
tabIndex:int

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Specifies the tab ordering of objects in a SWF file. The tabIndex property is -1 by default, meaning no tab index is set for the object.

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 includes only objects that have tabIndex properties.

The tabIndex property can 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. Do not use the same tabIndex value for multiple objects.

The custom tab ordering that the tabIndex property defines 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.

Note: To set the tab order for TLFTextField instances, cast the display object child of the TLFTextField as an InteractiveObject, then set the tabIndex property. For example:

	 InteractiveObject(tlfInstance.getChildAt(1)).tabIndex = 3;
	 
To reverse the tab order from the default setting for three instances of a TLFTextField object (tlfInstance1, tlfInstance2 and tlfInstance3), use:
	 InteractiveObject(tlfInstance1.getChildAt(1)).tabIndex = 3;
	 InteractiveObject(tlfInstance2.getChildAt(1)).tabIndex = 2;
	 InteractiveObject(tlfInstance3.getChildAt(1)).tabIndex = 1;
	 



Implementation
    public function get tabIndex():int
    public function set tabIndex(value:int):void

textSnapshot

property 
textSnapshot:flash.text:TextSnapshot  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns a TextSnapshot object for this DisplayObjectContainer instance.



Implementation
    public function get textSnapshot():flash.text:TextSnapshot

useHandCursor

property 
useHandCursor:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

A Boolean value that indicates whether the pointing hand (hand cursor) appears when the pointer rolls over a sprite in which the buttonMode property is set to true. The default value of the useHandCursor property is true. If useHandCursor is set to true, the pointing hand used for buttons appears when the pointer rolls over a button sprite. If useHandCursor is false, the arrow pointer is used instead.

You can change the useHandCursor property at any time; the modified sprite immediately takes on the new cursor appearance.

Note: In Flex or Flash Builder, if your sprite has child sprites, you might want to set the mouseChildren property to false. For example, if you want a hand cursor to appear over a Flex <mx:Label> control, set the useHandCursor and buttonMode properties to true, and the mouseChildren property to false.



Implementation
    public function get useHandCursor():Boolean
    public function set useHandCursor(value:Boolean):void

verticalScrollPosition

property 
verticalScrollPosition:Number

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

The current position of the vertical scroll bar. This is equal to the distance in pixels between the top edge of the scrollable surface and the topmost piece of the surface that is currently visible.



Implementation
    public function get verticalScrollPosition():Number
    public function set verticalScrollPosition(value:Number):void

viewMetrics

property 
viewMetrics:EdgeMetrics  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns an object that has four properties: left, top, right, and bottom. The value of each property equals the thickness of the chrome (visual elements) around the edge of the container.

The chrome includes the border thickness. If the horizontalScrollPolicy or verticalScrollPolicy property value is ScrollPolicy.ON, the chrome also includes the thickness of the corresponding scroll bar. If a scroll policy is ScrollPolicy.AUTO, the chrome measurement does not include the scroll bar thickness, even if a scroll bar is displayed.

Subclasses of Container should override this method, so that they include other chrome to be taken into account when positioning the Container's children. For example, the viewMetrics property for the Panel class should return an object whose top property includes the thickness of the Panel container's title bar.



Implementation
    public function get viewMetrics():EdgeMetrics
Method Detail

addChild

()method
public function addChild(child:DisplayObject):DisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Adds a child DisplayObject instance to this DisplayObjectContainer instance. The child is added to the front (top) of all other children in this DisplayObjectContainer instance. (To add a child to a specific index position, use the addChildAt() method.)

If you add a child object that already has a different display object container as a parent, the object is removed from the child list of the other display object container.

Note: The command stage.addChild() can cause problems with a published SWF file, including security problems and conflicts with other loaded SWF files. There is only one Stage within a Flash runtime instance, no matter how many SWF files you load into the runtime. So, generally, objects should not be added to the Stage, directly, at all. The only object the Stage should contain is the root object. Create a DisplayObjectContainer to contain all of the items on the display list. Then, if necessary, add that DisplayObjectContainer instance to the Stage.

Parameters

child:DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance to add as a child of this DisplayObjectContainer instance.

Returns
DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance that you pass in the child parameter.

addChildAt

()method 
public function addChildAt(child:DisplayObject, index:int):DisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Adds a child DisplayObject instance to this DisplayObjectContainer instance. The child is added at the index position specified. An index of 0 represents the back (bottom) of the display list for this DisplayObjectContainer object.

For example, the following example shows three display objects, labeled a, b, and c, at index positions 0, 2, and 1, respectively:

b over c over a

If you add a child object that already has a different display object container as a parent, the object is removed from the child list of the other display object container.

Parameters

child:DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance to add as a child of this DisplayObjectContainer instance.
 
index:int — The index position to which the child is added. If you specify a currently occupied index position, the child object that exists at that position and all higher positions are moved up one position in the child list.

Returns
DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance that you pass in the child parameter.

areInaccessibleObjectsUnderPoint

()method 
public function areInaccessibleObjectsUnderPoint(point:Point):Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Indicates whether the security restrictions would cause any display objects to be omitted from the list returned by calling the DisplayObjectContainer.getObjectsUnderPoint() method with the specified point point. By default, content from one domain cannot access objects from another domain unless they are permitted to do so with a call to the Security.allowDomain() method. For more information, related to security, see the Flash Player Developer Center Topic: Security.

The point parameter is in the coordinate space of the Stage, which may differ from the coordinate space of the display object container (unless the display object container is the Stage). You can use the globalToLocal() and the localToGlobal() methods to convert points between these coordinate spaces.

Parameters

point:Point — The point under which to look.

Returns
Booleantrue if the point contains child display objects with security restrictions.

contains

()method 
public function contains(child:DisplayObject):Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Determines whether the specified display object is a child of the DisplayObjectContainer instance or the instance itself. The search includes the entire display list including this DisplayObjectContainer instance. Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on each return true.

Parameters

child:DisplayObject — The child object to test.

Returns
Booleantrue if the child object is a child of the DisplayObjectContainer or the container itself; otherwise false.

getChildAt

()method 
public function getChildAt(index:int):DisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns the child display object instance that exists at the specified index.

Parameters

index:int — The index position of the child object.

Returns
DisplayObject — The child display object at the specified index position.

getChildByName

()method 
public function getChildByName(name:String):DisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns the child display object that exists with the specified name. If more that one child display object has the specified name, the method returns the first object in the child list.

The getChildAt() method is faster than the getChildByName() method. The getChildAt() method accesses a child from a cached array, whereas the getChildByName() method has to traverse a linked list to access a child.

Parameters

name:String — The name of the child to return.

Returns
DisplayObject — The child display object with the specified name.

getChildIndex

()method 
public function getChildIndex(child:DisplayObject):int

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns the index position of a child DisplayObject instance.

Parameters

child:DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance to identify.

Returns
int — The index position of the child display object to identify.

getObjectsUnderPoint

()method 
public function getObjectsUnderPoint(point:Point):Array

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Returns an array of objects that lie under the specified point and are children (or grandchildren, and so on) of this DisplayObjectContainer instance. Any child objects that are inaccessible for security reasons are omitted from the returned array. To determine whether this security restriction affects the returned array, call the areInaccessibleObjectsUnderPoint() method.

The point parameter is in the coordinate space of the Stage, which may differ from the coordinate space of the display object container (unless the display object container is the Stage). You can use the globalToLocal() and the localToGlobal() methods to convert points between these coordinate spaces.

Parameters

point:Point — The point under which to look.

Returns
Array — An array of objects that lie under the specified point and are children (or grandchildren, and so on) of this DisplayObjectContainer instance.

removeChild

()method 
public function removeChild(child:DisplayObject):DisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Removes the specified child DisplayObject instance from the child list of the DisplayObjectContainer instance. The parent property of the removed child is set to null , and the object is garbage collected if no other references to the child exist. The index positions of any display objects above the child in the DisplayObjectContainer are decreased by 1.

The garbage collector reallocates unused memory space. When a variable or object is no longer actively referenced or stored somewhere, the garbage collector sweeps through and wipes out the memory space it used to occupy if no other references to it exist.

Parameters

child:DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance to remove.

Returns
DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance that you pass in the child parameter.

removeChildAt

()method 
public function removeChildAt(index:int):DisplayObject

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Removes a child DisplayObject from the specified index position in the child list of the DisplayObjectContainer. The parent property of the removed child is set to null, and the object is garbage collected if no other references to the child exist. The index positions of any display objects above the child in the DisplayObjectContainer are decreased by 1.

The garbage collector reallocates unused memory space. When a variable or object is no longer actively referenced or stored somewhere, the garbage collector sweeps through and wipes out the memory space it used to occupy if no other references to it exist.

Parameters

index:int — The child index of the DisplayObject to remove.

Returns
DisplayObject — The DisplayObject instance that was removed.

setChildIndex

()method 
public function setChildIndex(child:DisplayObject, index:int):void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Changes the position of an existing child in the display object container. This affects the layering of child objects. For example, the following example shows three display objects, labeled a, b, and c, at index positions 0, 1, and 2, respectively:

c over b over a

When you use the setChildIndex() method and specify an index position that is already occupied, the only positions that change are those in between the display object's former and new position. All others will stay the same. If a child is moved to an index LOWER than its current index, all children in between will INCREASE by 1 for their index reference. If a child is moved to an index HIGHER than its current index, all children in between will DECREASE by 1 for their index reference. For example, if the display object container in the previous example is named container, you can swap the position of the display objects labeled a and b by calling the following code:

container.setChildIndex(container.getChildAt(1), 0);

This code results in the following arrangement of objects:

c over a over b

Parameters

child:DisplayObject — The child DisplayObject instance for which you want to change the index number.
 
index:int — The resulting index number for the child display object.

startDrag

()method 
public function startDrag(lockCenter:Boolean = false, bounds:Rectangle = null):void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Lets the user drag the specified sprite. The sprite remains draggable until explicitly stopped through a call to the Sprite.stopDrag() method, or until another sprite is made draggable. Only one sprite is draggable at a time.

Three-dimensional display objects follow the pointer and Sprite.startDrag() moves the object within the three-dimensional plane defined by the display object. Or, if the display object is a two-dimensional object and the child of a three-dimensional object, the two-dimensional object moves within the three dimensional plane defined by the three-dimensional parent object.

Parameters

lockCenter:Boolean (default = false) — Specifies whether the draggable sprite is locked to the center of the pointer position (true), or locked to the point where the user first clicked the sprite (false).
 
bounds:Rectangle (default = null) — Value relative to the coordinates of the Sprite's parent that specify a constraint rectangle for the Sprite.

stopDrag

()method 
public function stopDrag():void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Ends the startDrag() method. A sprite that was made draggable with the startDrag() method remains draggable until a stopDrag() method is added, or until another sprite becomes draggable. Only one sprite is draggable at a time.

swapChildren

()method 
public function swapChildren(child1:DisplayObject, child2:DisplayObject):void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Swaps the z-order (front-to-back order) of the two specified child objects. All other child objects in the display object container remain in the same index positions.

Parameters

child1:DisplayObject — The first child object.
 
child2:DisplayObject — The second child object.

swapChildrenAt

()method 
public function swapChildrenAt(index1:int, index2:int):void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 3
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1

Swaps the z-order (front-to-back order) of the child objects at the two specified index positions in the child list. All other child objects in the display object container remain in the same index positions.

Parameters

index1:int — The index position of the first child object.
 
index2:int — The index position of the second child object.