Playing sound files in Actionscript 3

In this tutorial you will learn how to play internal sound files in Actionscript 3.0. This is an update from the previous ‘Create a sound button’ in Actionscript 2.0. The steps in AS3 are very similar to the AS2 version, only the code will look different. Below is a comparison of the two versions.

AS2

var my_sound:Sound = new Sound();
my_sound.attachSound("sound_id");
my_sound.start();

AS3

var my_sound:SoundId = new SoundId();
var channel:SoundChannel = my_sound.play();

As you can see above the Actionscript 3.0 version uses the sound and soundChannel classes to play sounds. This is different to the previous versions of Actionscript, but will give you more control when manipulating sounds.

You will need an audio file for this tutorial. I have used a free stock sound which is available from sounddog.com. Some knowledge of creating basic buttons is also needed for this tutorial.


Playing sound files in Actionscript 3

Step 1

Open a new Flash AS3 file.
Import your audio file in the library by selecting File > Import > Import to Stage. Choose your file and then click ok.



In the library right click on your audio file and select ‘Properties’. Then select the advanced button and add the name “SoundId” for the class value, and also check Export to Actionscript and Export in frame 1. If a warning message appears click ok.


Step 2

Create a basic button on the stage which will be used to trigger the sound file. I have used two buttons from the built in button library. You can alternatively create your own buttons using the shape tools.



Give your buttons the instance names: play_btn and stop_btn respectively. If you are creating your own buttons make sure your convert them into a symbol (F8).


Step 3

On the timeline create a new layer called “actions”. Select the first frame and hit F9 to open up the actions panel and enter the following code:

//1.
var my_sound:SoundId = new SoundId();
var my_channel:SoundChannel = new SoundChannel();

//2.
play_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, playSound);
stop_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, stopSound);

//3.
function playSound(event:MouseEvent):void{
my_channel = my_sound.play();
}

//4.
function stopSound(event:MouseEvent):void{
my_channel.stop();
}

Code:
1. This creates a new instance of the sound class which is needed to use sounds. A new instance of the soundChannel class is also created. This is needed to stop the sound as there are no methods for stopping sounds using the Sound Class.
2. This is two event listeners for the buttons with the click mouse event.
3. This function plays the sound file when the play button is clicked
4. This function stops the sound file when the stop button is clicked.


Step 4

Test your movie clip Ctrl + Enter.



You should now be able play sound files in Actionscript 3.0.