| setProperty( ) Global Function | Flash 4 |
| assign a value to a movie clip property |
An expression that yields a string indicating the path to a movie clip. In Flash 5 and later, this may also be a movie clip reference because movie clip references are converted to paths when used in a string context.
The name of the built-in Flash 4 property to which value will be assigned. Must be an identifier, not a string (e.g., _alpha, not "_alpha").
The new data value to be assigned to the specified property of movieClip.
The legacy setProperty( ) function assigns value to one of movieClip's built-in Flash 4 properties. It cannot be used to set the value of custom (i.e., user-defined) properties or properties added to MovieClip in Flash 5 or later. In Flash 4, setProperty( ) was the only means to assign movie clip property values; as of Flash 5, the dot and [ ] operators are the preferred means of setting both built-in and custom movie clip properties.
// Flash 4 syntax: Rotate the main movie by 45 degrees:
setProperty("_root", _rotation, 45);
// Flash 5 and later syntax: Also rotates the main movie by 45 degrees:
_root._rotation = 45;
getProperty( ); "The `Objectness' of Movie Clips," in Chapter 13; Appendix C
