Flash MX 2004 Games : Art to ActionScript

Flash MX 2004 Games
pressed. Code execution should halt and the debug window will look like the one shown in
Figure 11.8.
Figure 11.8 Debugging ‘Examples\Chapter11\debug16.fla’
Once the code is halted you can use the debug window to examine the state of every variable
that is currently available in Flash. Move through the different clips and levels using the list box
at the top left of the debugger. Clicking on the ‘_level0.Cat’ level allows you to examine the
‘properties’ of this clip. Some of the properties can be altered by entering a new value: try altering
the ‘_x’ property as you move the debugger, and the cat will jump to a new location across the
screen. Moving the debugger window is necessary in order to force Flash to repaint itself, when
halted at a breakpoint Flash is not running any code and so no repainting is occurring. Other
properties are read only and cannot be altered by the developer; these properties are greyed out so
that the value can be read but not altered.
The variables tab lists the variables that are set in the clip. In this example this is just the ‘action’
and the value for ‘moveX’. A right-click on the variable allows you to add this to the ‘Watch’
panel. To avoid moving through several movie clips and layers, you can add certain variables to
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