Flash CS3 Documentation

Using ActionScript 3.0 Components > Working with Components > Working with the display list

Working with the display list

All ActionScript 3.0 components inherit from the DisplayObject class and, therefore, have access to its methods and properties to interact with the display list. The display list is the hierarchy of displayed objects and visual elements in an application. This hierarchy includes the following elements:

• The Stage, which is the top-level container
• Display objects, which include shapes, MovieClips, and text fields, among others
• Display object containers, which are special types of display objects that can contain child display objects.

The order of objects in the display list determines their depth in the parent container. An object's depth refers to its position from top to bottom or front to back on the Stage or in its display container. The order of depth is apparent when objects overlap but it exists even when they do not. Every object in the display list has a corresponding depth on the Stage. If you want to change an object's depth by placing it in front of or moving it behind other objects, you need to change its position in the display list. The default order of objects in the display list is the order in which they are placed on the Stage. Position 0 in the display list is the object at the bottom of the depth order.

Flash CS3