The Effect class is an abstract base class that defines the basic
functionality of all Flex effects.
The Effect class defines the base factory class for all effects.
The EffectInstance class defines the base class for all effect
instance subclasses.
You do not create an instance of the Effect class itself
in an application.
Instead, you create an instance of one of the subclasses,
such as Fade or WipeLeft.
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.
This flag controls whether the effect, when run in a transition,
automatically applies the property values according to the end
state, as opposed to leaving values as set by the effect itself.
A flag containing true if the end values
of an effect have already been determined,
or false if they should be acquired from the
current properties of the effect targets when the effect runs.
Dispatched when one of the effect's instances finishes playing, either when the instance finishes playing or when the effect is interrupted by a call to the end() method.
Dispatched when the effect has been stopped, which only occurs when the effect is interrupted by a call to the stop() method.
Effect
Property Detail
applyTransitionEndProperties
property
protected var applyTransitionEndProperties:Boolean
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
This flag controls whether the effect, when run in a transition,
automatically applies the property values according to the end
state, as opposed to leaving values as set by the effect itself.
The default value is true.
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
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.
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.
Implementation public function get duration():Number public function set duration(value:Number):void
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():IEffectTargetHost public function set effectTargetHost(value:IEffectTargetHost):void
endValuesCaptured
property
protected var endValuesCaptured:Boolean = false
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
A flag containing true if the end values
of an effect have already been determined,
or false if they should be acquired from the
current properties of the effect targets when the effect runs.
This property is required by data effects because the sequence
of setting up the data effects, such as DefaultListEffect
and DefaultTileListEffect, is more complicated than for
normal effects.
The default value is false.
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.
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
instanceClass
property
public var instanceClass:Class
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
An object of type Class that specifies the effect
instance class class for this effect class.
All subclasses of the Effect class must set this property
in their constructor.
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
repeatCount
property
public var repeatCount:int = 1
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Number of times to repeat the effect.
Possible values are any integer greater than or equal to 0.
A value of 1 means to play the effect once.
A value of 0 means to play the effect indefinitely
until stopped by a call to the end() method.
The default value is 1.
repeatDelay
property
public var repeatDelay:int = 0
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Amount of time, in milliseconds, to wait before repeating the effect.
Possible values are any integer greater than or equal to 0.
The default value is 0.
startDelay
property
public var startDelay:int = 0
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Amount of time, in milliseconds, to wait before starting the effect.
Possible values are any int greater than or equal to 0.
If the effect is repeated by using the repeatCount
property, the startDelay is only applied
to the first time the effect is played.
The default value is 0.
suspendBackgroundProcessing
property
public var suspendBackgroundProcessing:Boolean = false
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
If true, blocks all background processing
while the effect is playing.
Background processing includes measurement, layout, and
processing responses that have arrived from the server.
The default value is false.
You are encouraged to set this property to
true in most cases, because it improves
the performance of the application.
However, the property should be set to false
if either of the following is true:
User input can arrive while the effect is playing,
and the application must respond to the user input
before the effect finishes playing.
A response can arrive from the server while the effect
is playing, and the application must process the response
while the effect is still playing.
The default value is false.
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
Constructor Detail
Effect
()
Constructor
public function Effect(target:Object = null)
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Constructor.
Starting an effect is usually a three-step process:
Create an instance of the effect object
with the new operator.
Set properties on the effect object,
such as duration.
Call the play() method
or assign the effect to a trigger.
Parameters
target:Object (default = null) — The Object to animate with this effect.
Method Detail
applyValueToTarget
()
method
protected function applyValueToTarget(target:Object, property:String, value:*, props:Object):void
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Used internally by the Effect infrastructure.
If captureStartValues() has been called,
then when Flex calls the play() method, it uses this function
to set the targets back to the starting state.
The default behavior is to take the value captured
using the getValueFromTarget() method
and set it directly on the target's property. For example:
target[property] = value;
Only override this method if you need to apply
the captured values in a different way.
Note that style properties of a target are set
using a different mechanism.
Use the relevantStyles property to specify
which style properties to capture and apply.
Parameters
target:Object — The effect target.
property:String — The target property.
value:* — The value of the property.
props:Object — Array of Objects, where each Array element contains a
start and end Object
for the properties that the effect is monitoring.
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:
Call the captureStartValues() method.
The effect captures the starting effect values.
Make changes to your effect targets, such as
adding/removing children, altering properties,
changing location, or changing dimensions.
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.
protected function effectEndHandler(event:EffectEvent):void
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Called when an effect instance has finished playing.
If you override this method, ensure that you call the super method.
Parameters
event:EffectEvent — An event object of type EffectEvent.
effectStartHandler
()
method
protected function effectStartHandler(event:EffectEvent):void
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
This method is called when the effect instance starts playing.
If you override this method, ensure that you call the super method.
Parameters
event:EffectEvent — An event object of type EffectEvent.
effectStopHandler
()
method
protected function effectStopHandler(event:EffectEvent):void
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Called when an effect instance has stopped by a call
to the stop() method.
If you override this method, ensure that you call the super method.
Parameters
event:EffectEvent — An event object of type EffectEvent.
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.
filterInstance
()
method
protected function filterInstance(propChanges:Array, target:Object):Boolean
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Determines the logic for filtering out an effect instance.
The CompositeEffect class overrides this method.
Parameters
propChanges:Array — The properties modified by the effect.
target:Object — The effect target.
Returns
Boolean — Returns true if the effect instance should play.
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.
getValueFromTarget
()
method
protected function getValueFromTarget(target:Object, property:String):*
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Called by the captureStartValues() method to get the value
of a property from the target.
This function should only be called internally
by the effects framework.
The default behavior is to simply return target[property].
Effect developers can override this function
if you need a different behavior.
Parameters
target:Object — The effect target.
property:String — The target property.
Returns
* — The value of the target property.
initInstance
()
method
protected function initInstance(instance:IEffectInstance):void
Language Version :
ActionScript 3.0
Product Version :
Flex 3
Runtime Versions :
Flash Player 9, AIR 1.1
Copies properties of the effect to the effect instance.
Flex calls this method from the Effect.createInstance()
method; you do not have to call it yourself.
When you create a custom effect, override this method to
copy properties from the Effect class to the effect instance class.
In your override, call super.initInstance().
Parameters
instance:IEffectInstance — The effect instance to initialize.
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.
Dispatched when one of the effect's instances finishes playing,
either when the instance finishes playing or when the effect
is interrupted by a call to the end() method.
The EffectEvent.EFFECT_END constant defines the value of the
type property of the event object for an
effectEnd event.
The properties of the event object have the following values:
Property
Value
bubbles
false
cancelable
false
currentTarget
The Object that defines the
event listener that handles the event. For example, if you use
myButton.addEventListener() to register an event listener,
myButton is the value of the currentTarget.
effectInstance
The effect instance object
for the event.
target
The Object that dispatched the event;
it is not always the Object listening for the event.
Use the currentTarget property to always access the
Object listening for the event.
The EffectEvent.EFFECT_START constant defines the value of the
type property of the event object for an
effectStart event.
The properties of the event object have the following values:
Property
Value
bubbles
false
cancelable
false
currentTarget
The Object that defines the
event listener that handles the event. For example, if you use
myButton.addEventListener() to register an event listener,
myButton is the value of the currentTarget.
effectInstance
The effect instance object
for the event.
target
The Object that dispatched the event;
it is not always the Object listening for the event.
Use the currentTarget property to always access the
Object listening for the event.
Dispatched when the effect has been stopped,
which only occurs when the effect is
interrupted by a call to the stop() method.
The EFFECT_END event is also dispatched to indicate that
the effect has ended. This extra event is sent first, as an
indicator to listeners that the effect did not reach its
end state.
The EffectEvent.EFFECT_STOP constant defines the value of the
type property of the event object for an
effectStop event.
The properties of the event object have the following values:
Property
Value
bubbles
false
cancelable
false
currentTarget
The Object that defines the
event listener that handles the event. For example, if you use
myButton.addEventListener() to register an event listener,
myButton is the value of the currentTarget.
effectInstance
The effect instance object
for the event.
target
The Object that dispatched the event;
it is not always the Object listening for the event.
Use the currentTarget property to always access the
Object listening for the event.
Examples
SimpleEffectExample.mxml
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
(the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
-->
<!-- Simple example to demonstrate the Effect class. -->
<s:Application xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009"
xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark"
xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx">
<fx:Script>
<![CDATA[
import mx.controls.Alert;
// Event handler for the effectEnd event.
private function endEffectHandler():void {
Alert.show("Effect Ended!");
}
// Event handler for the reset button.
private function resetHandler():void {
expand.end();
img.width=30;
img.height=60;
button1.enabled=true;
}
]]>
</fx:Script>
<fx:Declarations>
<mx:Resize id="expand" target="{img}" widthTo="100" heightTo="200"
duration="10000" effectEnd="endEffectHandler();"/>
</fx:Declarations>
<s:Panel title="Resize Effect Example" width="100%" height="100%" >
<s:VGroup left="20" right="20" top="20" bottom="20">
<s:Label width="100%" color="blue"
text="Use the Button controls to control the Resize effect."/>
<mx:Image id="img" width="30" height="60"
source="@Embed(source='assets/Product1.png')"/>
<s:Button id="button1" label="Start" click="expand.play(); button1.enabled=false;"/>
<s:Button label="Pause" click="expand.pause();"/>
<s:Button label="Resume" click="expand.resume();"/>
<s:Button label="Reverse" click="expand.reverse();"/>
<s:Button label="End" click="expand.end();"/>
<s:Button label="Reset" click="resetHandler();"/>
</s:VGroup>
</s:Panel>
</s:Application>
flash.events.EventDispatcher
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