Adobe® Flex® 4 Language Reference
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mx.effects 
IEffect 
Packagemx.effects
Interfacepublic interface IEffect extends IAbstractEffect , IEventDispatcher
Implementors Effect

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

The IEffect interface defines the base interface of all Flex effects. The IEffectInstance interface defines the base interface for all effect instance subclasses.

See also



Public Properties
 PropertyDefined By
  className : String
[read-only] The name of the effect class, such as "Fade".
IEffect
  customFilter : mx.effects:EffectTargetFilter
Specifies a custom filter object, of type EffectTargetFilter, used by the effect to determine the targets on which to play the effect.
IEffect
  duration : Number
Duration of the effect in milliseconds.
IEffect
  effectTargetHost : mx.effects:IEffectTargetHost
A property that lets you access the target list-based control of a data effect.
IEffect
  filter : String
Specifies an algorithm for filtering targets for an effect.
IEffect
  hideFocusRing : Boolean
Determines whether the effect should hide the focus ring when starting the effect.
IEffect
  isPlaying : Boolean
[read-only] A read-only flag which is true if any instances of the effect are currently playing, and false if none are.
IEffect
  perElementOffset : Number
Additional delay, in milliseconds, for effect targets after the first target of the effect.
IEffect
  playheadTime : Number
Current time position of the effect.
IEffect
  relevantProperties : Array
An Array of property names to use when performing filtering.
IEffect
  relevantStyles : Array
An Array of style names to use when performing filtering.
IEffect
  target : Object
The object to which this effect is applied.
IEffect
  targets : Array
An Array of objects that are targets for the effect.
IEffect
  triggerEvent : Event
The Event object passed to this Effect by the EffectManager when an effect is triggered, or null if the effect is not being played by the EffectManager.
IEffect
Public Methods
 MethodDefined By
 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
  
Captures the current values of the relevant properties on the effect's targets and saves them as end values.
IEffect
  
Captures the current values of the relevant properties of an additional set of targets Flex uses this function when a data change effect is run.
IEffect
  
Captures the current values of the relevant properties on the effect's targets.
IEffect
  
Creates a single effect instance and initializes it.
IEffect
  
createInstances(targets:Array = null):Array
Takes an Array of target objects and invokes the createInstance() method on each target.
IEffect
  
Removes event listeners from an instance and removes it from the list of instances.
IEffect
 Inherited
Dispatches an event into the event flow.
IEventDispatcher
  
end(effectInstance:IEffectInstance = null):void
Interrupts an effect that is currently playing, and jumps immediately to the end of the effect.
IEffect
  
Returns an Array of Strings, where each String is the name of a property changed by this effect.
IEffect
 Inherited
Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event.
IEventDispatcher
  
Pauses the effect until you call the resume() method.
IEffect
  
play(targets:Array = null, playReversedFromEnd:Boolean = false):Array
Begins playing the effect.
IEffect
 Inherited
removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false):void
Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object.
IEventDispatcher
  
Resumes the effect after it has been paused by a call to the pause() method.
IEffect
  
Plays the effect in reverse, if the effect is currently playing, starting from the current position of the effect.
IEffect
  
Stops the effect, leaving the effect targets in their current state.
IEffect
 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

className

property
className:String  [read-only]

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

The name of the effect class, such as "Fade".

This is a short, or unqualified, class name that does not include the package name. If you need the qualified name, use the getQualifiedClassName() method in the flash.utils package.



Implementation
    public function get className():String

customFilter

property 
customFilter:mx.effects:EffectTargetFilter

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

Specifies a custom filter object, of type EffectTargetFilter, used by the effect to determine the targets on which to play the effect.

Target filtering is only performed if you call the captureStartValues() method before playing the effect. Flex automatically calls the captureStartValues() method when the effect is part of a transition.

Use the filter property for simple filtering. If the customFilter property is non-null, the filter property is ignored.

The default value is null.



Implementation
    public function get customFilter():mx.effects:EffectTargetFilter
    public function set customFilter(value:mx.effects:EffectTargetFilter):void

See also

duration

property 
duration:Number

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

Duration of the effect in milliseconds.

In a Parallel or Sequence effect, the duration property sets the duration of each effect. For example, if a Sequence effect has its duration property set to 3000, each effect in the Sequence takes 3000 ms to play.

For a repeated effect, the duration property specifies the duration of a single instance of the effect. Therefore, if an effect has a duration property set to 2000, and a repeatCount property set to 3, the effect takes a total of 6000 ms (6 seconds) to play.

The default value is 500.



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

effectTargetHost

property 
effectTargetHost:mx.effects:IEffectTargetHost

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

A property that lets you access the target list-based control of a data effect. This property enables an instance of an effect class to communicate with the list-based control on which the effect is playing.



Implementation
    public function get effectTargetHost():mx.effects:IEffectTargetHost
    public function set effectTargetHost(value:mx.effects:IEffectTargetHost):void

filter

property 
filter:String

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

Specifies an algorithm for filtering targets for an effect. A value of null specifies no filtering.

Target filtering is only performed if you call the captureStartValues() method before playing the effect. Flex automatically calls the captureStartValues() method when the effect is part of a transition, or part of a data effect for a list-based control.

Use this property for simple filtering. Use the customFilter property for more complex filtering. If the customFilter property has a non-null value, this property is ignored.

You can use the following values for the filter property:

  • A value of "add" plays the effect on any targets that are added as a child to a container.
  • A value of "addItem" plays the effect on the item renderer for any list items added to a List or TileList control.
  • A value of "hide" plays the effect on any targets whose visible property changed from true to false.
  • A value of "move" plays the effect on any targets that changed their x or y properties.
  • A value of "remove" plays the effect on any targets that are removed as a child of a container.
  • A value of "removeItem" plays the effect on the item renderer for any list items removed from a List or TileList control.
  • A value of "replacedItem" plays the effect on the item renderer for any list items replaced in a List or TileList control by a new item.
  • A value of "replacementItem" plays the effect on the item renderer for any list items added to a List or TileList control that replaces an existing item.
  • A value of "resize" plays the effect on any targets that changed their width or height properties.
  • A value of "show" plays the effect on any targets whose visible property changed from false to true.
  • A value of "" specifies no filtering.

The default value is null.



Implementation
    public function get filter():String
    public function set filter(value:String):void

hideFocusRing

property 
hideFocusRing:Boolean

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

Determines whether the effect should hide the focus ring when starting the effect. The effect target is responsible for the hiding the focus ring. Subclasses of the UIComponent class hide the focus ring automatically. If the effect target is not a subclass of the UIComponent class, add functionality to it to hide the focus ring.

Set this property to true to hide the focus ring during the effect.

For subclasses of Effect, the default value is false. For subclasses of MaskEffect, the default value is true.



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

isPlaying

property 
isPlaying:Boolean  [read-only]

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

A read-only flag which is true if any instances of the effect are currently playing, and false if none are.



Implementation
    public function get isPlaying():Boolean

perElementOffset

property 
perElementOffset:Number

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

Additional delay, in milliseconds, for effect targets after the first target of the effect. This value is added to the value of the startDelay property.



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

playheadTime

property 
playheadTime:Number

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

Current time position of the effect. This property has a value between 0 and the total duration, which includes the Effect's startDelay, repeatCount, and repeatDelay.



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

relevantProperties

property 
relevantProperties:Array

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

An Array of property names to use when performing filtering. This property is used internally and should not be set by effect users.

The default value is equal to the Array returned by the getAffectedProperties() method.



Implementation
    public function get relevantProperties():Array
    public function set relevantProperties(value:Array):void

relevantStyles

property 
relevantStyles:Array

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

An Array of style names to use when performing filtering. This property is used internally and should not be set by effect users.

The default value is equal to the Array returned by the getAffectedProperties() method.



Implementation
    public function get relevantStyles():Array
    public function set relevantStyles(value:Array):void

target

property 
target:Object

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

The object to which this effect is applied. When an effect is triggered by an effect trigger, the target property is automatically set to be the object that triggers the effect.



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

targets

property 
targets:Array

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

An Array of objects that are targets for the effect. When the effect is playing, it performs the effect on each target in parallel. Setting the target property replaces all objects in this Array. When the targets property is set, the target property returns the first item in this Array.



Implementation
    public function get targets():Array
    public function set targets(value:Array):void

triggerEvent

property 
triggerEvent:Event

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

The Event object passed to this Effect by the EffectManager when an effect is triggered, or null if the effect is not being played by the EffectManager.



Implementation
    public function get triggerEvent():Event
    public function set triggerEvent(value:Event):void
Method Detail

captureEndValues

()method
public function captureEndValues():void

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

Captures the current values of the relevant properties on the effect's targets and saves them as end values.

Flex automatically calls the captureEndValues() method when the effect is part of a data change effect.

captureMoreStartValues

()method 
public function captureMoreStartValues(targets:Array):void

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

Captures the current values of the relevant properties of an additional set of targets

Flex uses this function when a data change effect is run.

Parameters

targets:Array — Array of targets for which values are captured

captureStartValues

()method 
public function captureStartValues():void

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

Captures the current values of the relevant properties on the effect's targets. Flex automatically calls the captureStartValues() method when the effect is part of a transition.

Use this function when you want the effect to figure out the start and end values of the effect. The proper usage of this function is to use it in the following steps:

  1. Call the captureStartValues() method. The effect captures the starting effect values.
  2. Make changes to your effect targets, such as adding/removing children, altering properties, changing location, or changing dimensions.
  3. Call the play() method. The effect captures the end values. This function populates the EffectInstance.propertyChanges property for each effect instance created by this effect. Effect developers can use the propertyChanges property to retrieve the start and end values for their effect.

createInstance

()method 
public function createInstance(target:Object = null):IEffectInstance

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

Creates a single effect instance and initializes it. Use this method instead of the play() method to manipulate the effect instance properties before the effect instance plays.

The effect instance is created with the type specified in the instanceClass property. It is then initialized using the initInstance() method. If the instance was created by the EffectManager (when the effect is triggered by an effect trigger), the effect is further initialized by a call to the EffectInstance.initEffect() method.

Calling the createInstance() method does not play the effect. Call the startEffect() method on the returned effect instance.

This function is automatically called by the Effect.play() method.

Parameters

target:Object (default = null) — Object to animate with this effect.

Returns
IEffectInstance — The effect instance object for the effect.

createInstances

()method 
public function createInstances(targets:Array = null):Array

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

Takes an Array of target objects and invokes the createInstance() method on each target.

Parameters

targets:Array (default = null) — Array of objects to animate with this effect.

Returns
Array — Array of effect instance objects, one per target, for the effect.

deleteInstance

()method 
public function deleteInstance(instance:IEffectInstance):void

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

Removes event listeners from an instance and removes it from the list of instances.

Parameters

instance:IEffectInstance

end

()method 
public function end(effectInstance:IEffectInstance = null):void

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

Interrupts an effect that is currently playing, and jumps immediately to the end of the effect. Calling this method invokes the EffectInstance.end() method.

The effect instance dispatches an effectEnd event when you call this method as part of ending the effect.

If you pass an effect instance as an argument, just that instance is interrupted. If no argument is passed in, all effect instances currently spawned from the effect are interrupted.

Parameters

effectInstance:IEffectInstance (default = null) — EffectInstance to terminate.

See also

getAffectedProperties

()method 
public function getAffectedProperties():Array

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

Returns an Array of Strings, where each String is the name of a property changed by this effect. For example, the Move effect returns an Array that contains "x" and "y".

Every subclass of Effect must implement this method. The EffectManager uses this method to ensure that no two effects are trying to animate the same property of the same object at the same time.

Returns
Array — An Array of Strings specifying the names of the properties modified by this effect.

pause

()method 
public function pause():void

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

Pauses the effect until you call the resume() method.

play

()method 
public function play(targets:Array = null, playReversedFromEnd:Boolean = false):Array

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

Begins playing the effect. You typically call the end() method before you call the play() method to ensure that any previous instance of the effect has ended before you start a new one.

All subclasses must implement this method.

Parameters

targets:Array (default = null) — Array of target objects on which to play this effect. If this parameter is specified, then the effect's targets property is not used.
 
playReversedFromEnd:Boolean (default = false) — If true, play the effect backwards.

Returns
Array — Array of EffectInstance objects, one per target, for the effect.

resume

()method 
public function resume():void

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

Resumes the effect after it has been paused by a call to the pause() method.

reverse

()method 
public function reverse():void

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

Plays the effect in reverse, if the effect is currently playing, starting from the current position of the effect.

stop

()method 
public function stop():void

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

Stops the effect, leaving the effect targets in their current state. Unlike a call to the pause() method, you cannot call the resume() method after calling the stop() method. However, you can call the play() method to restart the effect.

The effect instance dispatches an effectEnd event when you call this method as part of ending the effect.

For mask effects, the mask is not removed automatically when the effect is stopped. Running further mask effects on the same target(s) without first removing the mask can produce unexpected results.