| Package | starling.display |
| Class | public class DisplayObjectContainer |
| Inheritance | DisplayObjectContainer  DisplayObject EventDispatcher Object |
| Subclasses | Button, Canvas, Sprite, Sprite3D, Stage, TextField |
A container does not a have size in itself. The width and height properties represent the extents of its children. Changing those properties will scale all children accordingly.
As this is an abstract class, you can't instantiate it directly, but have to use a subclass instead. The most lightweight container class is "Sprite".
Adding and removing childrenThe class defines methods that allow you to add or remove children. When you add a child, it will be added at the frontmost position, possibly occluding a child that was added before. You can access the children via an index. The first child will have index 0, the second child index 1, etc.
Adding and removing objects from a container triggers non-bubbling events.Event.ADDED: the object was added to a parent.Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE: the object was added to a parent that is
connected to the stage, thus becoming visible now.Event.REMOVED: the object was removed from a parent.Event.REMOVED_FROM_STAGE: the object was removed from a parent that
is connected to the stage, thus becoming invisible now.ADDED_TO_STAGE event is very helpful, as it allows you to
automatically execute some logic (e.g. start an animation) when an object is rendered the
first time.
See also
| Property | Defined By | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | alpha : Number The opacity of the object. | DisplayObject | |
| base : DisplayObject [read-only] The topmost object in the display tree the object is part of. | DisplayObject | |
| blendMode : String The blend mode determines how the object is blended with the objects underneath. | DisplayObject | |
| bounds : Rectangle [read-only] The bounds of the object relative to the local coordinates of the parent. | DisplayObject | |
| filter : FragmentFilter The filter that is attached to the display object. | DisplayObject | |
| height : Number The height of the object in pixels. | DisplayObject | |
| is3D : Boolean [read-only] Indicates if this object or any of its parents is a 'Sprite3D' object. | DisplayObject | |
| mask : DisplayObject The display object that acts as a mask for the current object. | DisplayObject | |
| name : String The name of the display object (default: null). | DisplayObject | |
| numChildren : int [read-only] The number of children of this container. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| parent : DisplayObjectContainer [read-only] The display object container that contains this display object. | DisplayObject | |
| pivotX : Number The x coordinate of the object's origin in its own coordinate space (default: 0). | DisplayObject | |
| pivotY : Number The y coordinate of the object's origin in its own coordinate space (default: 0). | DisplayObject | |
| requiresRedraw : Boolean [read-only] Indicates if the object needs to be redrawn in the upcoming frame, i.e. | DisplayObject | |
| root : DisplayObject [read-only] The root object the display object is connected to (i.e. | DisplayObject | |
| rotation : Number The rotation of the object in radians. | DisplayObject | |
| scale : Number Sets both 'scaleX' and 'scaleY' to the same value. | DisplayObject | |
| scaleX : Number The horizontal scale factor. | DisplayObject | |
| scaleY : Number The vertical scale factor. | DisplayObject | |
| skewX : Number The horizontal skew angle in radians. | DisplayObject | |
| skewY : Number The vertical skew angle in radians. | DisplayObject | |
| stage : Stage [read-only] The stage the display object is connected to, or null if it is not connected
to the stage. | DisplayObject | |
| touchable : Boolean Indicates if this object (and its children) will receive touch events. | DisplayObject | |
| touchGroup : Boolean If a container is a 'touchGroup', it will act as a single touchable object. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| transformationMatrix : Matrix The transformation matrix of the object relative to its parent. | DisplayObject | |
| transformationMatrix3D : Matrix3D [read-only] The 3D transformation matrix of the object relative to its parent. | DisplayObject | |
| useHandCursor : Boolean Indicates if the mouse cursor should transform into a hand while it's over the sprite. | DisplayObject | |
| visible : Boolean The visibility of the object. | DisplayObject | |
| width : Number The width of the object in pixels. | DisplayObject | |
| x : Number The x coordinate of the object relative to the local coordinates of the parent. | DisplayObject | |
| y : Number The y coordinate of the object relative to the local coordinates of the parent. | DisplayObject | |
| Method | Defined By | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Adds a child to the container. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
Adds a child to the container at a certain index. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function):void [override] Registers an event listener at a certain object. | DisplayObject | |
| alignPivot(horizontalAlign:String = center, verticalAlign:String = center):void Moves the pivot point to a certain position within the local coordinate system
of the object. | DisplayObject | |
broadcastEvent(event:Event):void Dispatches an event on all children (recursively). | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
broadcastEventWith(eventType:String, data:Object = null):void Dispatches an event with the given parameters on all children (recursively). | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
contains(child:DisplayObject):Boolean Determines if a certain object is a child of the container (recursively). | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| dispatchEvent(event:Event):void Dispatches an event to all objects that have registered listeners for its type. | EventDispatcher | |
| dispatchEventWith(type:String, bubbles:Boolean = false, data:Object = null):void Dispatches an event with the given parameters to all objects that have registered
listeners for the given type. | EventDispatcher | |
dispose():void [override] Disposes the resources of all children. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
getBounds(targetSpace:DisplayObject, out:Rectangle = null):Rectangle [override] Returns a rectangle that completely encloses the object as it appears in another
coordinate system. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
getChildAt(index:int):DisplayObject Returns a child object at a certain index. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
getChildByName(name:String):DisplayObject Returns a child object with a certain name (non-recursively). | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
getChildIndex(child:DisplayObject):int Returns the index of a child within the container, or "-1" if it is not found. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| getTransformationMatrix(targetSpace:DisplayObject, out:Matrix = null):Matrix Creates a matrix that represents the transformation from the local coordinate system
to another. | DisplayObject | |
| getTransformationMatrix3D(targetSpace:DisplayObject, out:Matrix3D = null):Matrix3D Creates a matrix that represents the transformation from the local coordinate system
to another. | DisplayObject | |
| globalToLocal(globalPoint:Point, out:Point = null):Point Transforms a point from global (stage) coordinates to the local coordinate system. | DisplayObject | |
| globalToLocal3D(globalPoint:Point, out:Vector3D = null):Vector3D Transforms a point from global (stage) coordinates to the 3D local coordinate system. | DisplayObject | |
| hasEventListener(type:String, listener:Function = null):Boolean If called with one argument, figures out if there are any listeners registered for
the given event type. | EventDispatcher | |
hitTest(localPoint:Point):DisplayObject [override] Returns the object that is found topmost beneath a point in local coordinates, or nil
if the test fails. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| hitTestMask(localPoint:Point):Boolean Checks if a certain point is inside the display object's mask. | DisplayObject | |
| local3DToGlobal(localPoint:Vector3D, out:Point = null):Point Transforms a 3D point from the local coordinate system to global (stage) coordinates. | DisplayObject | |
| localToGlobal(localPoint:Point, out:Point = null):Point Transforms a point from the local coordinate system to global (stage) coordinates. | DisplayObject | |
Removes a child from the container. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
removeChildAt(index:int, dispose:Boolean = false):DisplayObject Removes a child at a certain index. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
removeChildren(beginIndex:int = 0, endIndex:int = -1, dispose:Boolean = false):void Removes a range of children from the container (endIndex included). | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function):void [override] Removes an event listener from the object. | DisplayObject | |
| removeEventListeners(type:String = null):void [override] Removes all event listeners with a certain type, or all of them if type is null. | DisplayObject | |
| removeFromParent(dispose:Boolean = false):void Removes the object from its parent, if it has one, and optionally disposes it. | DisplayObject | |
[override] Renders the display object with the help of a painter object. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
setChildIndex(child:DisplayObject, index:int):void Moves a child to a certain index. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| setRequiresRedraw():void Forces the object to be redrawn in the next frame. | DisplayObject | |
sortChildren(compareFunction:Function):void Sorts the children according to a given function (that works just like the sort function
of the Vector class). | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
Swaps the indexes of two children. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
swapChildrenAt(index1:int, index2:int):void Swaps the indexes of two children. | DisplayObjectContainer | ||
| numChildren | property |
Hide Inherited Public Properties
Show Inherited Public PropertiesnumChildren:int [read-only] The number of children of this container.
public function get numChildren():int| touchGroup | property |
touchGroup:BooleanIf a container is a 'touchGroup', it will act as a single touchable object. Touch events will have the container as target, not the touched child. (Similar to 'mouseChildren' in the classic display list, but with inverted logic.)
The default value is false.
public function get touchGroup():Boolean public function set touchGroup(value:Boolean):void| addChild | () | method |
public function addChild(child:DisplayObject):DisplayObjectAdds a child to the container. It will be at the frontmost position.
Parameters
child:DisplayObject |
DisplayObject |
| addChildAt | () | method |
public function addChildAt(child:DisplayObject, index:int):DisplayObjectAdds a child to the container at a certain index.
Parameters
child:DisplayObject | |
index:int |
DisplayObject |
| broadcastEvent | () | method |
public function broadcastEvent(event:Event):voidDispatches an event on all children (recursively). The event must not bubble.
Parameters
event:Event |
| broadcastEventWith | () | method |
public function broadcastEventWith(eventType:String, data:Object = null):voidDispatches an event with the given parameters on all children (recursively). The method uses an internal pool of event objects to avoid allocations.
Parameters
eventType:String | |
data:Object (default = null) |
| contains | () | method |
public function contains(child:DisplayObject):BooleanDetermines if a certain object is a child of the container (recursively).
Parameters
child:DisplayObject |
Boolean |
| dispose | () | method |
override public function dispose():voidDisposes the resources of all children.
| getBounds | () | method |
override public function getBounds(targetSpace:DisplayObject, out:Rectangle = null):Rectangle Returns a rectangle that completely encloses the object as it appears in another
coordinate system. If you pass an out-rectangle, the result will be
stored in this rectangle instead of creating a new object.
Parameters
targetSpace:DisplayObject | |
out:Rectangle (default = null) |
Rectangle |
| getChildAt | () | method |
public function getChildAt(index:int):DisplayObjectReturns a child object at a certain index. If you pass a negative index, '-1' will return the last child, '-2' the second to last child, etc.
Parameters
index:int |
DisplayObject |
| getChildByName | () | method |
public function getChildByName(name:String):DisplayObjectReturns a child object with a certain name (non-recursively).
Parameters
name:String |
DisplayObject |
| getChildIndex | () | method |
public function getChildIndex(child:DisplayObject):intReturns the index of a child within the container, or "-1" if it is not found.
Parameters
child:DisplayObject |
int |
| hitTest | () | method |
override public function hitTest(localPoint:Point):DisplayObjectReturns the object that is found topmost beneath a point in local coordinates, or nil if the test fails. Untouchable and invisible objects will cause the test to fail.
Parameters
localPoint:Point |
DisplayObject |
| removeChild | () | method |
public function removeChild(child:DisplayObject, dispose:Boolean = false):DisplayObject Removes a child from the container. If the object is not a child, the method returns
null. If requested, the child will be disposed right away.
Parameters
child:DisplayObject | |
dispose:Boolean (default = false) |
DisplayObject |
| removeChildAt | () | method |
public function removeChildAt(index:int, dispose:Boolean = false):DisplayObjectRemoves a child at a certain index. The index positions of any display objects above the child are decreased by 1. If requested, the child will be disposed right away.
Parameters
index:int | |
dispose:Boolean (default = false) |
DisplayObject |
| removeChildren | () | method |
public function removeChildren(beginIndex:int = 0, endIndex:int = -1, dispose:Boolean = false):voidRemoves a range of children from the container (endIndex included). If no arguments are given, all children will be removed.
Parameters
beginIndex:int (default = 0) | |
endIndex:int (default = -1) | |
dispose:Boolean (default = false) |
| render | () | method |
override public function render(painter:Painter):voidRenders the display object with the help of a painter object. Never call this method directly, except from within another render method.
Parameters
painter:Painter — Captures the current render state and provides utility functions
for rendering.
|
| setChildIndex | () | method |
public function setChildIndex(child:DisplayObject, index:int):voidMoves a child to a certain index. Children at and after the replaced position move up.
Parameters
child:DisplayObject | |
index:int |
| sortChildren | () | method |
public function sortChildren(compareFunction:Function):voidSorts the children according to a given function (that works just like the sort function of the Vector class).
Parameters
compareFunction:Function |
| swapChildren | () | method |
public function swapChildren(child1:DisplayObject, child2:DisplayObject):voidSwaps the indexes of two children.
Parameters
child1:DisplayObject | |
child2:DisplayObject |
| swapChildrenAt | () | method |
public function swapChildrenAt(index1:int, index2:int):voidSwaps the indexes of two children.
Parameters
index1:int | |
index2:int |