[Flex3] Error 1114: The public attribute can only be used inside a package.

[Matt Wells]

I have been writing some base classes in AS that handle a lot of the basic functinality across some common components. I have come across this error "1114: The public attribute can only be used inside a package." I will post snippits of the code that I think a causing the problem but I still don't understand what the problem is, most of the documentation I have found doesn't seem relivent.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<EditorBase xmlns="com.my.components.*" xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml">
  <mx:Panel title="My Panel">
    <!-- Lots of MXML here -->

    <mx:ControlBar>
      <mx:Button label="Save" activate="dispatchSave()"/>
      <mx:Button label="Close" activate="dispatchClose()"/>
    </mx:ControlBar>
  </mx:Panel>
</EditorBase>

The error happens on both the button's activate event. Both dispatchSave() and dispatchClose() methods are defined on the EditorBase class which looks like this:

package com.my.components
{
  import com.my.events.SaveEvent;
  import mx.containers.Canvas;
  import mx.events.CloseEvent;

  [Event(name="save",type="com.my.events.SaveEvent")]
  [Event(name="close",type="mx.events.CloseEvent")]
  public class EditorBase extends Canvas {
    public function EditorBase() {
      super();
    }

    // Lots more AS here

    public function dispatchSave():void {
      dispatchEvent(new SaveEvent(SaveEvent.SAVE, false, false, _dataProvider));
    }

    public function dispatchClose():void {
      dispatchEvent(new CloseEvent(CloseEvent.CLOSE));
    }
  }
}

Can anyone make any sergestions as to what might be wrong?
Thanks

[JeTSpice]

i think it's because your function is associated with the canvas package, and the button is trying to access it.

you might want to try extending the canvas in MXML. then the buttons that you put inside it will have access to the canvas' public functions for sure.

[Matt Wells]

I worked out what the problem was, I had left an opening brace inside an MXML attribute which I hadn't closed which caused the ActionScript to think everything was part of the function to run when the event was triggered.