Lingo in a Nutshell

Mouse Tasks

Table 9-7 shows the handler(s) and scripts(s) used to accomplish common tasks related to the mouse. The trick is to place the correct type of handler in the correct type of script, so that it will be called when the event of interest occurs. For the purposes of this table, I’ve made up the following short-hand notations:

• "Mouse click handlers" include on mouseDown, on mouseUp, on rightMouseUp, on rightMouseDown, and on mouseUpOutside.

• "Mouse rollover handlers" include on mouseEnter, on mouseLeave, and on mouseWithin (new in D6). In D5 use the rollover() function or the rollover property instead).

• "Frame handlers" include on exitFrame, on enterFrame, on idle, and on prepareFrame.

Note that the effect of these handlers depends on the script in which they are placed.

Table 9-7. Common Mouse Tasks

To Detect This Event or System Property:	Use This Type of Handler, Property or Function:	In This Type of Script:
Mouse clicks on all sprites using a particular cast member	Mouse click handler	Cast member script
Mouse clicks on a sprite	Mouse click handler	Sprite script
Mouse clicks ignored by all sprites in a frame	Mouse click handler	Frame script
Mouse clicks throughout the entire movie otherwise ignored by other scripts	Mouse click handler	Movie script
All left mouse clicks before they are passed to individual sprites	the mouseDownScript or the mouseUpScript	Movie script
Rollovers on all sprites using a particular cast member	Mouse rollover handler	Cast member ...