# Drag and drop help for beginner

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/drag-and-drop-help-for-beginner/296406>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [September 14, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/drag-and-drop-help-for-beginner/296406 "2009-09-14T19:16:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Navarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Navarone](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Navarone)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/drag-and-drop-help-for-beginner/296406/1 "2009-09-14T19:16:38Z")

</div>

I have been working with a very simple tutorial over at [http://monkeyflash.com/tutorials/flash-drag-and-drop/](http://monkeyflash.com/tutorials/flash-drag-and-drop/), where you drag objects onto a target movieClip.

My question is this, how do you target a movieClip inside a movie clip?

What I have are 4 color squares that I want to drag and drop onto a pattern\_mc. I put the target mc’s with in the pattern\_mc. In the tutorial the target mc’s are not in a movie clip.

I put my target mc’s in a movieClip because I want to use the pattern\_mc as a material, and I thought this was the correct way to this. Maybe it’s not. Anyway I could use some help.

```auto

//record objects starting position
var startX:Number;
var startY:Number;

//activate objects to be moved
square1mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickUp);
square1mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropIt);
square2mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickUp);
square2mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropIt);
square3mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickUp);
square3mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropIt);
square4mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickUp);
square4mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropIt);

//assign drag and drop functions to red square
function pickUp(event:MouseEvent):void {
    event.target.startDrag(true);
    //set depth of object higher so when draging it appears over all items
    //stacking order
    event.target.parent.addChild(event.target);
    //capture starting positions
    startX = event.target.x;
    startY = event.target.y;
}

function dropIt(event:MouseEvent):void {    
    
    event.target.stopDrag();
    //identify target we just dropped
    var myTargetName:String = "target" + event.target.name;    
    var myTarget:DisplayObject = getChildByName(myTargetName);
    
    if (event.target.dropTarget != null && event.target.dropTarget.parent == myTarget) {
        //remove event listeners when object is correctly placed
        event.target.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickUp);
        event.target.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropIt);
        event.target.buttonMode = false;
        //make sure the objects position is correctly placed
        event.target.x = myTarget.x;
        event.target.y = myTarget.y;        
        
    } else {
        //reset position if object is dropped on incorrect placement
        event.target.x = startX;
        event.target.y = startY;
    }
}

square1mc.buttonMode = true;
square2mc.buttonMode = true;
square3mc.buttonMode = true;
square4mc.buttonMode = true;

```