Adobe® Flex® 4 Language Reference
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spark.effects.animation 
Animation 
Packagespark.effects.animation
Classpublic final class Animation
InheritanceAnimation Inheritance Object

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The Animation class defines an animation that happens between the start and end values of a property over a specified period of time. The animation can be a change in position, such as performed by the Move effect; a change in size, as performed by the Resize effect; a change in visibility, as performed by the Fade effect; or other types of animations used by effects or run directly with the Animation class.

This class defines the timing and value parts of the animation. Other code, either in effects or in application code, associates the animation with target objects and properties, such that the animated values produced by Animation class can then be applied to target objects and properties to actually cause these objects to animate.

When defining animation effects, you typically create an instance of the Animate class, or of a subclass of Animate. This creates an Animation instance in the play() method. The Animation instance accepts start and end values, a duration, and optional parameters such as easer and interpolator objects.

The Animation object calls event listeners at the start and end of the animation, when the animation repeats, and at regular update intervals during the animation. These calls pass values which the Animation instance calculated from the start and end values and the easer and interpolator objects. These values can then be used to set property values on target objects.

Default MXML PropertymotionPaths

See also



Public Properties
 PropertyDefined By
  animationTarget : spark.effects.animation:IAnimationTarget
The IAnimationTarget object notified with all start, end, repeat, and update events for this animation.
Animation
 Inheritedconstructor : Object
A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance.
Object
  currentValue : Object
An Object containing the calculated values as of the current frame of the Animation.
Animation
  cycleFraction : Number
[read-only] The current fraction elapsed in the animation, after easing has been applied.
Animation
  cycleTime : Number
[read-only] The current millisecond position in the current cycle animation.
Animation
  duration : Number = 500
The length of time, in milliseconds, of the animation, not counting any repetitions defined by the repeatCount property.
Animation
  easer : IEaser
The easing behavior for this effect.
Animation
  interpolator : IInterpolator = null
The interpolator used by the Animation instance to calculate values between the start and end values of the property.
Animation
  isPlaying : Boolean
[read-only] If true, the animation is currently playing.
Animation
  motionPaths : Vector.<MotionPath>
The set of MotionPath objects that define the properties and values that the Animation will animate over time.
Animation
  playheadTime : Number
The total elapsed time of the animation, including any start delay and repetitions.
Animation
  playReversed : Boolean
If true, play the animation in reverse.
Animation
 Inheritedprototype : Object
[static] A reference to the prototype object of a class or function object.
Object
  repeatBehavior : String
Sets the behavior of a repeating animation.
Animation
  repeatCount : int
The number of times that this animation repeats.
Animation
  repeatDelay : Number
The amount of time, in milliseconds, to delay before each repetition cycle begins.
Animation
  startDelay : Number
The amount of time spent waiting before the animation begins.
Animation
Public Methods
 MethodDefined By
  
Animation(duration:Number = 500, property:String = null, startValue:Object = null, endValue:Object = null)
Constructor.
Animation
  
Interrupts the animation, jumps immediately to the end of the animation, and calls the animationEnd() function on the animationTarget.
Animation
 Inherited
Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined.
Object
 Inherited
Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified as the parameter.
Object
  
Pauses the effect until the resume() method is called.
Animation
  
Start the animation.
Animation
 Inherited
Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable.
Object
  
Resumes the effect after it has been paused by a call to the pause() method.
Animation
 Inherited
Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations.
Object
  
Stops the animation, ending it without calling the end() method.
Animation
 Inherited
Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions.
Object
 Inherited
Returns the string representation of the specified object.
Object
 Inherited
Returns the primitive value of the specified object.
Object
Property Detail

animationTarget

property
animationTarget:spark.effects.animation:IAnimationTarget

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The IAnimationTarget object notified with all start, end, repeat, and update events for this animation. A value of null indicates that there is no target to notify.

The default value is null.



Implementation
    public function get animationTarget():spark.effects.animation:IAnimationTarget
    public function set animationTarget(value:spark.effects.animation:IAnimationTarget):void

currentValue

property 
public var currentValue:Object

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

An Object containing the calculated values as of the current frame of the Animation. The values are stored as map values, using property names as the key.

cycleFraction

property 
cycleFraction:Number  [read-only]

The current fraction elapsed in the animation, after easing has been applied. This value is between 0 and 1. An animation 'cycle' is defined as a single repetition of the animation, where the repeatCount property defines the number of cycles that will be played.



Implementation
    public function get cycleFraction():Number

cycleTime

property 
cycleTime:Number  [read-only]

The current millisecond position in the current cycle animation. This value is between 0 and duration. An animation 'cycle' is defined as a single repetition of the animation, where the repeatCount property defines the number of cycles that will be played. Use the seek() method to change the position of the animation.



Implementation
    public function get cycleTime():Number

duration

property 
public var duration:Number = 500

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The length of time, in milliseconds, of the animation, not counting any repetitions defined by the repeatCount property.

The default value is 500.

easer

property 
easer:IEaser

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The easing behavior for this effect. This IEaser object is used to convert the elapsed fraction of the animation into an eased fraction, which is then used to calculate the value at that eased elapsed fraction.

A value of null means no easing is used, which is equivalent to using a Linear ease, or animation.easer = Linear.getInstance();.

The default value is Sine(.5).



Implementation
    public function get easer():IEaser
    public function set easer(value:IEaser):void

interpolator

property 
public var interpolator:IInterpolator = null

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The interpolator used by the Animation instance to calculate values between the start and end values of the property. By default, the class uses the NumberInterpolator class or, in the case of the start and end values being arrays or Vectors, by the MultiValueInterpolator class. Interpolation of other data types, or of Numbers that should be interpolated differently, such as uint values that hold color channel information, can be handled by supplying a different interpolator.

See also

isPlaying

property 
isPlaying:Boolean  [read-only]

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

If true, the animation is currently playing. The value is false unless the animation has been played and not yet stopped (either programmatically or automatically) or paused.

The default value is false.



Implementation
    public function get isPlaying():Boolean

motionPaths

property 
public var motionPaths:Vector.<MotionPath>

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The set of MotionPath objects that define the properties and values that the Animation will animate over time.

See also

playheadTime

property 
playheadTime:Number

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The total elapsed time of the animation, including any start delay and repetitions. For an animation playing through its first cycle, this value will equal that of cycleTime.



Implementation
    public function get playheadTime():Number
    public function set playheadTime(value:Number):void

playReversed

property 
playReversed:Boolean

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

If true, play the animation in reverse. If the animation is currently playing in the opposite direction to the specified value of playReversed, the animation will change direction dynamically.

The default value is false.



Implementation
    public function get playReversed():Boolean
    public function set playReversed(value:Boolean):void

repeatBehavior

property 
repeatBehavior:String

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Sets the behavior of a repeating animation. A repeating animation has the repeatCount property set to 0 or to a value greater than 1. This value should be either RepeatBehavior.LOOP, meaning the animation repeats in the same order each time, or RepeatBehavior.REVERSE, meaning the animation reverses direction for each iteration.

The default value is RepeatBehavior.LOOP.



Implementation
    public function get repeatBehavior():String
    public function set repeatBehavior(value:String):void

See also

repeatCount

property 
repeatCount:int

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The number of times that this animation repeats. A value of 0 means that it repeats indefinitely.

The default value is 1.



Implementation
    public function get repeatCount():int
    public function set repeatCount(value:int):void

repeatDelay

property 
repeatDelay:Number

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The amount of time, in milliseconds, to delay before each repetition cycle begins. Setting this value to a non-zero number ends previous animation cycle exactly at its end value However, non-delayed repetitions may skip over that value completely as the animation transitions smoothly from being near the end of one cycle to being past the beginning of the next. This property must be a value >= 0.

This property is used for the first repetition after the first animation cycle. To delay the first cycle of the animation, use the startDelay property.

The default value is 0.



Implementation
    public function get repeatDelay():Number
    public function set repeatDelay(value:Number):void

See also

startDelay

property 
startDelay:Number

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

The amount of time spent waiting before the animation begins. This property must be a value >= 0.

The default value is 0.



Implementation
    public function get startDelay():Number
    public function set startDelay(value:Number):void
Constructor Detail

Animation

()Constructor
public function Animation(duration:Number = 500, property:String = null, startValue:Object = null, endValue:Object = null)

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Constructor. The optional property, startValue, and endValue parameters define a simple animation with a single MotionPath object with two Keyframes. If either value is non-null, startValue becomes the value of the first keyframe, at time=0, and endValue becomes the value of the second keyframe, at the end of the animation.

Parameters
duration:Number (default = 500) — The length of the animation, in milliseconds.
 
property:String (default = null) — The property to animate.
 
startValue:Object (default = null) — The initial value of the property.
 
endValue:Object (default = null) — The final value of the property.
Method Detail

end

()method
public function end():void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Interrupts the animation, jumps immediately to the end of the animation, and calls the animationEnd() function on the animationTarget.

pause

()method 
public function pause():void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Pauses the effect until the resume() method is called. If stop() is called before resume(), then the animation cannot be resumed.

play

()method 
public function play():void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Start the animation. If the animation is already playing, it is stopped first, then played.

resume

()method 
public function resume():void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Resumes the effect after it has been paused by a call to the pause() method.

stop

()method 
public function stop():void

Language Version: ActionScript 3.0
Product Version: Flex 4
Runtime Versions: Flash Player 10, AIR 1.5

Stops the animation, ending it without calling the end() method. The animationStop() function on the animationTarget will be called.