Creating interaction with ActionScript overview

In simple animation, Macromedia Flash Player plays the scenes and frames of a SWF file sequentially. In an interactive SWF file, your audience uses the keyboard and mouse to jump to different parts of a SWF file, move objects, enter information in forms, and perform many other interactive operations.

You use ActionScript to create scripts that tell Flash Player what action to perform when an event occurs. Some events that can trigger a script occur when the playhead reaches a frame, when a movie clip loads or unloads, or when the user clicks a button or presses a key.

A script can consist of a single command, such as instructing a SWF file to stop playing, or a series of commands and statements, such as first evaluating a condition and then performing an action. Many ActionScript commands are simple and let you create basic controls for a SWF file. Other actions require some familiarity with programming languages and are intended for advanced development.