Calling MovieClip(root) from a dynamic MovieClip instance produces error 1034

Question

NINJA EDIT: For some reason, the same code works now, without any problem at all. I don't know what happened, or why, but I no longer have this problem

Here's the original post:

To put simply, I created a MovieClip, put it with addChild() to stage, and when I tried to call this piece of code:

MovieClip(root).someFunction();

It throws Error #1034: Type Coercion failed: cannot convert flash.display::Stage@4034f71 to flash.display.MovieClip.

I really can't figure out why this piece of code won't work. The object itself works perfectly, as I can call functions within it (that line of code is actually within a function). It's just that piece of code that is problematic

Can someone tell me where I went wrong?

EDIT: To better illustrate the situation, here's my pieces of code:

in a MovieClip, I have this function:

function bombReset():void
{
    bBombIsDropped = false;
    tCarpetBombTween.gotoAndStop(0);
    this.visible = false;
    MovieClip(root).carpetBombAttack(iPosition);
}

And on Scene1(root, the outermost parent) I have this function:

function carpetBombAttack(position:int):void
{
    damagePlant(15,vTileOccupant[(position-1)]);
}

If I create a MovieClip instance via addChild and call bombReset in it, Flash will throw an error

If I manually drag the MovieClip onto stage, when I call bombReset, it will work fine

Jacksonkr Jacksonkr · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-14T06:21:02

Your error means that the compiler doesn't know how a MovieClip and a Stage can be the same thing. Also, I'm not certain, but I believe the compiler will whine about someFunction not existing on the stage even if you casted the stage (aka root) correctly.

The proper way to solve this is by assigning a document class to your project and make someFunction a public method (class function).

The lay-mans solution (which I sometimes use when I'm being lazy) is the following

Object(this.stage).someFunction();

That works because you are type-casting this.stage in a way that makes the compiler think it's an Object instead of a Stage. Objects can have any number of undocumented properties and functions, thus allowing you to call items on the Object whether they are part of a class definition or not (and even ones that don't exist - which is where you can get yourself into trouble).

Calling MovieClip(root) from a dynamic MovieClip instance produces error 1034

Here's the original post:

2 Answers