TypeError: Error #1007: Instantiation attempted on a non-constructor.

[grayle]

Hi guys, having a problem with a project I'm trying to convert a project from As2 to As3. This particular section of code is supposed to create a dynamic drop down menu. I keep getting this error:

TypeError: Error #1007: Instantiation attempted on a non-constructor.
	at experiment_2_fla::MainTimeline/frame1()

var menuButtons:Array = ["Male OPM", "Female OPM", "Male Foreign", "Female Foreign"];
var subMenu1:Array = ["Sponge Cola - Nakapagtataka"];
var subMenu2:Array = ["Kyla - I Don't Have the Heart"];
var subMenu3:Array = ["Nelly - The Champ", "Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up"];
var subMenu4:Array = ["Adelle - Someone Like You"];
var chosenMenu:Array = new Array();
var subMenuOpened:Boolean = false;
var whichSubMenu:Number = new Number();
var currentPosition:Number = new Number();
var i:int = 0;
var j:int = 0;
var k:int = 0;
var l:int = 0;

for (i=0; i<menuButtons.length; i++) {
    var menuButton:MovieClip = new "menu button"();
    stage.addChild(menuButton+i);
    this[menuButton+i].x = 351;
    this[menuButton+i].y = 42 +(23*i);
    this[menuButton+i].label_txt.text = menuButtons[i];
    var mainMenuColor:ColorTransform = new ColorTransform();
    mainMenuColor.color = (0xFFCC00);
    this[menuButton+i].bkgColor_mc.transform.ColorTransform = mainMenuColor;
    this[menuButton+i].onRollOver = function():void {
        whichSubMenu = Number(this.name.substr(-1, 1));
        currentPosition = this.x;
        if (!subMenuOpened) {
            subMenuOpened = true;
        openSubMenu(whichSubMenu, currentPosition);
        } else {
            parent.removeChild(this);
            openSubMenu(whichSubMenu, currentPosition);
        }
    };
}
function openSubMenu(whichSubMenu, currentPosition):void {
    chosenMenu = this["subMenu"+whichSubMenu+1];
    for (j=0; j<chosenMenu.length; j++) {
        var subMenuHolder_mc:MovieClip = new MovieClip();
        stage.addChild(subMenuHolder_mc);
        var subMenuButton:MovieClip = new "menu button"();
        subMenuHolder_mc.addChild(subMenuButton);
        subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].x = currentPosition+178;
        subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].y = 42+(j*23);
        subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].label_txt.text = chosenMenu[j];
        var subMenuStartColor:ColorTransform = new ColorTransform();
        subMenuStartColor.color = (0xFF00FF);
        subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].bkgColor_mc.transform.ColorTransform = subMenuStartColor;
        subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].onRelease = subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].onReleaseOutside=function ():void {
            this._parent._parent.Karaoke.gotoAndStop(this.label_txt.text);
            parent.removeChild(subMenuHolder_mc);
        };
        
subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].onRollOver = function():void {
    var subMenuRollOverColor:ColorTransform = new ColorTransform();
    subMenuRollOverColor.color = (0xFF6600);
    this.bkgColor_mc.transform.ColorTransform = subMenuRollOverColor;
};

subMenuHolder_mc[subMenuButton+j].onRollOut = function():void {
    var subMenuRollOutColor:ColorTransform = new ColorTransform();
    subMenuRollOutColor.color = (0xFF00FF);
    this.bkgColor_mc.transform.ColorTransform = subMenuRollOutColor;
};
}
}

Anybody have any ideas? I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with me using "menu button" as a class (in AS2 I used the linkage property to access the MC via menu button, I'm assuming it's the same in AS3.)

[wvxvw]

new "menu button"();

Did this ever work? I didn't know you could do things like that in AS2 This is the place that generates the error, but there will be more things you will need to fix too. The event model is different (no more onRelease / onRollOut etc.).

[grayle]

Thanks for the reply wvxvw! Yeah, it used to work in AS2, but the format it had was:

this.attachMovie("menu button", "menuButton"+i, this.getNextHighestDepth());

but since As3 got rid of attachmovie and getnexthighestdepth, I had to reformat it to it's current incarnation:

var menuButton:MovieClip = new "menu button"();
    stage.addChild(menuButton+i);

Did I translate it wrong? I assumed it was correct since I didn't get any errors at runtime. But this output error has me pacing the walls and ceiling!

Thanks for the heads up on the onRelease and Rollout thing, it'll give me a quick distraction before I have to come back to solving this problem again.

[henke37]

The new operator requires a Class, not a String. Since the symbol doesn't even change, you should just use the class name you set in the symbol properties dialog (no quotes) and be done with it.

It is considered poor practice to add items directly to the stage for no good reason. Please think twice about where in the display tree you want to add the object.