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.

See also

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var circle1:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle1.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle1.graphics.drawCircle(40, 40, 40);
circle1.buttonMode = true;
circle1.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clicked);

var circle2:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle2.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle2.graphics.drawCircle(120, 40, 40);
circle2.buttonMode = false;
circle2.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clicked);

function clicked(event:MouseEvent):void {
    trace ("Click!");
}

addChild(circle1);
addChild(circle2);

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

See also

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var circle:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(0, 0, 40);

var target1:Sprite = new Sprite();
target1.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
target1.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, 100, 100);
target1.name = "target1";

var target2:Sprite = new Sprite();
target2.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
target2.graphics.drawRect(0, 200, 100, 100);
target2.name = "target2";

addChild(target1);
addChild(target2);
addChild(circle);

circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDown) 

function mouseDown(event:MouseEvent):void {
    circle.startDrag();
}
circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, mouseReleased);

function mouseReleased(event:MouseEvent):void {
    circle.stopDrag();
    trace(circle.dropTarget.name);
}

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

import flash.display.Sprite;

var circle:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(40, 40, 40);
addChild(circle);

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.

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var circle:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(0, 0, 40);

var square:Sprite = new Sprite();
square.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
square.graphics.drawRect(200, 0, 100, 100);

circle.hitArea = square;
square.mouseEnabled = false;

circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clicked);

function clicked(event:MouseEvent):void{
    trace(event.target == circle); // true
    trace(event.target == square); // false
}

addChild(circle);
addChild(square);

Controls sound within this sprite.

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

See also

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.display.Loader;
import flash.events.IOErrorEvent;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
import flash.net.URLRequest;
import flash.text.TextField;
import flash.media.SoundTransform;

var container:Sprite = new Sprite();
addChild(container);

var ldr:Loader = new Loader;
var urlReq:URLRequest = new URLRequest("SoundPlayer.swf");
ldr.load(urlReq);

container.addChild(ldr);
ldr.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR, urlNotFound);
            
var tf:TextField = new TextField();
tf.htmlText = "<a href = 'event:Mute'>Mute / Unmute</a>";
addChild(tf);

var mySoundTransform:SoundTransform = new SoundTransform();
mySoundTransform.volume = 1;

tf.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, mute);

function mute(event:MouseEvent):void {    
    if (mySoundTransform.volume == 0) {
        mySoundTransform.volume = 1;
    } else {
        mySoundTransform.volume = 0;        
    }
    container.soundTransform = mySoundTransform;
}

function urlNotFound(event:IOErrorEvent):void {
    trace("The URL was not found."); 
}

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.

See also

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var circle1:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle1.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle1.graphics.drawCircle(40, 40, 40);
circle1.buttonMode = true;
circle1.useHandCursor = true;
circle1.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clicked);

var circle2:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle2.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle2.graphics.drawCircle(120, 40, 40);
circle2.buttonMode = true;
circle2.useHandCursor = false;
circle2.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clicked);

function clicked(event:MouseEvent):void {
    trace ("Click!");
}

addChild(circle1);
addChild(circle2);

Creates a new Sprite instance. After you create the Sprite instance, call the DisplayObjectContainer.addChild() or DisplayObjectContainer.addChildAt() method to add the Sprite to a parent DisplayObjectContainer.

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

See also

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var circle:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(0, 0, 40);

var target1:Sprite = new Sprite();
target1.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
target1.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, 100, 100);
target1.name = "target1";

var target2:Sprite = new Sprite();
target2.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
target2.graphics.drawRect(0, 200, 100, 100);
target2.name = "target2";

addChild(target1);
addChild(target2);
addChild(circle);

circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDown) 

function mouseDown(event:MouseEvent):void {
    circle.startDrag();
}
circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, mouseReleased);

function mouseReleased(event:MouseEvent):void {
    circle.stopDrag();
    trace(circle.dropTarget.name);
}

Lets the user drag the specified sprite on a touch-enabled device. The sprite remains draggable until explicitly stopped through a call to the Sprite.stopTouchDrag() 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.startTouchDrag() 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

See also

MySprite.addEventListener(TouchEvent.TOUCH_BEGIN, onTouchBegin);
MySprite.addEventListener(TouchEvent.TOUCH_END, onTouchEnd);

function onTouchBegin(e:TouchEvent) {
     e.target.startTouchDrag(e.touchPointID, false, bg.getRect(this));
     trace("touch begin");
 
 }
function onTouchEnd(e:TouchEvent) {
     e.target.stopTouchDrag(e.touchPointID);
     trace("touch end");
}

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.

See also

import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var circle:Sprite = new Sprite();
circle.graphics.beginFill(0xFFCC00);
circle.graphics.drawCircle(0, 0, 40);

var target1:Sprite = new Sprite();
target1.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
target1.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, 100, 100);
target1.name = "target1";

var target2:Sprite = new Sprite();
target2.graphics.beginFill(0xCCFF00);
target2.graphics.drawRect(0, 200, 100, 100);
target2.name = "target2";

addChild(target1);
addChild(target2);
addChild(circle);

circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDown) 

function mouseDown(event:MouseEvent):void {
    circle.startDrag();
}
circle.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, mouseReleased);

function mouseReleased(event:MouseEvent):void {
    circle.stopDrag();
    trace(circle.dropTarget.name);
}

Ends the startTouchDrag() method, for use with touch-enabled devices. A sprite that was made draggable with the startTouchDrag() method remains draggable until a stopTouchDrag() method is added, or until another sprite becomes draggable. Only one sprite is draggable at a time.

Parameters

See also

MySprite.addEventListener(TouchEvent.TOUCH_BEGIN, onTouchBegin);
MySprite.addEventListener(TouchEvent.TOUCH_END, onTouchEnd);

function onTouchBegin(e:TouchEvent) {
     e.target.startTouchDrag(e.touchPointID, false, bg.getRect(this));
     trace("touch begin");
 
 }
function onTouchEnd(e:TouchEvent) {
     e.target.stopTouchDrag(e.touchPointID);
     trace("touch end");
}

1. Declare the size property (100 x 100 pixels) and the background color (orange) for later use in drawing the square.
2. The constructor then creates a new child Sprite object and uses it to add two event listeners and their associated methods: mouseDownHandler() and mouseUpHandler().
3. The child Sprite object is then passed to the draw() method, which draws the orange square.
4. The child is then placed on the display list by a call to the addChild() method.
5. The event listeners work as follows:
   • mouseDownHandler(): when the user clicks the Sprite object, this method adds a mouseMove event listener, the mouseMoveHandler() method, which processes the mouse moves. Then the startDrag() method is called, which allows the Sprite object to be dragged.
   • mouseUpHandler(): when the mouse button is released, the mouseMove event listener is removed and the stopDrag() method is called, which freezes the orange square in place.
   • mouseMoveHandler: as long as the left mouse button is being held down, this method instructs the player to continuously redraw the orange square.

Note: Each of the event listener methods declares a local sprite variable, which is assigned the target property of the event.

package {
    import flash.display.Sprite;
    import flash.events.*;

    public class SpriteExample extends Sprite {
        private var size:uint    = 100;
        private var bgColor:uint = 0xFFCC00;

        public function SpriteExample() {
            var child:Sprite = new Sprite();
            child.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDownHandler);
            child.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, mouseUpHandler);
            draw(child);
            addChild(child);
        }

        private function mouseDownHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
            trace("mouseDownHandler");
            var sprite:Sprite = Sprite(event.target);
            sprite.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, mouseMoveHandler);
            sprite.startDrag();
        }

        private function mouseUpHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
            trace("mouseUpHandler");
            var sprite:Sprite = Sprite(event.target);
            sprite.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, mouseMoveHandler);
            sprite.stopDrag();
        }

        private function mouseMoveHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
            trace("mouseMoveHandler");
            event.updateAfterEvent();
        }

        private function draw(sprite:Sprite):void {
            sprite.graphics.beginFill(bgColor);
            sprite.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, size, size);
            sprite.graphics.endFill();
        }
    }
}