OFFICIAL

CONSTRUCT 2
MANUAL
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2

Well done for choosing Construct 2, the HTML5 game

creator! No programming is necessary. This manual
provides a complete reference of all of Construct 2's
features.

The following pages will help you get installed and up

and running with Construct 2, so you can start making
your games as soon as possible. Later on the manual
will provide a deeper reference of everything you can do
with Construct 2. You might want to bookmark it and
check the relevant sections while using Construct 2 -
the manual may be able to answer questions you have
before you need to go to the forum or ask someone.

Construct 2 also has links to the manual in various

dialogs and menus to help you jump directly to the
relevant manual page for that part of the software.
Finally, dedicated users may want to read the manual to
learn about all the possible features you can take
advantage of. There may be many hidden gems you
didn't know about, but are documented here in the
manual.
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 Manual vs. Tutorials
The manual is designed to be a comprehensive
reference. If you would prefer to get going quickly with a
step-by-step guide, try the Beginner's Guide to
Construct 2 tutorial. There are no step-by-step guides in
the manual: it simply explains what each individual
feature does.

The tutorials in the Tutorials section on [Link]

have a separate purpose to the manual. Not only are
they good for step-by-step guides, but they also are
good at bringing together groups of related features and
describing how they can work usefully together. For
example, the tutorial on supporting multiple screen sizes
describes how the Fullscreen in Browser setting, layer
Parallax setting, Anchor behavior and some system
expressions can be used to smoothly support different
screen sizes for your game. The manual does not tell
you how to support multiple screen sizes. It does
describe each of those features individually in detail.
However, it would take some dedication and intuition for
the reader to find all those in the manual, read and
understand them, and then see how they can cooperate
to support multiple screen sizes. The tutorial saves you
this effort by describing them all together. So remember
the manual explains what things do, and tutorials explain
how to use things together. You should use both the
manual and tutorials to gain a good understanding of
how to use Construct 2.

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 Creative Commons license
The Construct 2 manual is licensed under Creative
Commons. You are free to copy, re-publish, adapt,
modify or otherwise use the material in the manual,
providing you correctly attribute its source.

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 INSTALLING
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/installing

In this section we'll get you set up to run Construct 2.

We'll look at downloading and updating Construct 2,
then the installation process, how to use your license if
you have bought one, and a reminder of the system
requirements.

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 GET CONSTRUCT
2
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/installing/construct

Downloading from the site

To download the latest release of Construct 2 you can
visit:

[Link]

This URL will always point you to the latest build.

We recommend you always stay up to date and use the

latest version of Construct 2. This will prevent you
encountering problems that have already been fixed.
There are three ways to be notified of new releases:

Update alerts in Construct 2

If you use Construct 2 on an internet-connected
computer, Construct 2 itself will alert you if a new
release is available. Usually this is a little slower - it may
be a couple of days after the release until Construct 2
notifies you of a new release this way. You can change
your update notification preference in the Preferences
dialog.

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 Social updates
We have a Facebook page and our Twitter account. If
you use any of these services you can follow or add us.
We post updates to these pages whenever we publish a
new release, as well as other news that might interest
you.

Beta updates
Beta releases of Construct 2 are not quite ready for
prime time, but are released sooner and more regularly
than stable releases. If you want to help test these
releases, at the risk of possible bugs or crashes, you
can find beta releases in the releases list or set
Construct 2 to tell you about beta updates in the
Preferences dialog.

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 INSTALLING
CONSTRUCT 2
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/installing/installing-construct

Once you've downloaded Construct 2, the Setup will

begin to install it to your computer. Click Next > to
advance through the steps.

Your browser or Windows may show a security warning

before running the setup. You should check the
publisher is listed as Scirra Ltd before running. This
helps ensure the setup is a genuine Construct 2 setup
from Scirra and not something malicious from a third
party.

Portable installation
Construct 2 can be used as portable software. In other
words, you can install it to a removable drive (like a USB
stick) and use it on any computer. If you want to do this,
set the install folder to a folder on your removable drive.

32-bit and 64-bit versions

There are both 32-bit (for older computers) and 64-bit
(for newer computers) versions of Construct 2. If you're
not sure you can leave the setup to auto-detect.
However, if you're installing to a removable drive, you
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 may want to specifically install the 32-bit version. This is
because the 32-bit version will run on both 32-bit and
64-bit computers, but the 64-bit version will not run on
32-bit computers.

Limited user accounts

Construct 2 can still be installed on limited user
accounts without administrative access. This is common
in workplaces, schools, universities, libraries and other
public access computers. You should still be able to
download and install Construct 2 on a limited user
account, as long as other restrictions are not in place. In
this case the setup cannot access the Program Files
directory. Instead it will install to a folder in your user
account. Other users may have to install the software
for themselves as well. Some systems will also uninstall
the software when you log out; you may need to reinstall
every time you log in.

If setup fails due to other limitations (e.g. not being

allowed to download EXEs from the internet), try a
portable installation instead. Install Construct 2 to a
removable drive on a computer you can run the setup
on, then try taking the removable drive to the limited
computer and running it from the drive.

Updates
If you already have Construct 2 installed and you're
installing an update, the setup will offer to remove the
last installed copy of Construct 2. You should always
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 remove the old version unless you have installed
Construct 2 twice (e.g. to the host computer and also to
a portable drive, in which case uninstalling may remove
the portable install).

Uninstalling
Construct 2 can be uninstalled via Add/Remove
programs (Windows XP) or Programs and features
(Windows Vista and newer) in Control Panel.

Site-wide installations
If you are installing Construct 2 to a lot of computers,
remember the installation is portable. This means it has
no dependencies outside its Program Files folder. You
can install it to multiple machines by installing it to one
machine and copying the installation folder (and any
shortcuts you want) to other computers.

You can also use the following command-line switches

to run the setup executable automatically, without
prompting:

[Link] /SP- /SILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES

By default this also adds an icon to the Start menu. You

can add /NOICONS to prevent this.

Using a site-wide license

To make sure Construct 2 finds your site-wide license,
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 simply place it in the install directory on each computer.
If that does not work, you can use the 'Load license file'
link in the About dialog to locate it. Normally this only
needs to be done once and then Construct 2 will
remember the location in the registry. However, some
networks revert any changes to the registry when the
user logs out. This will make Construct 2 keep forgetting
the license path. To ensure it is remembered, contact
your network administrator. The license path is stored in
the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Scirra\Construct2\License
Path

This must be a string with the full path to the license file,
e.g. C:\Path\To\[Link] . Your network
administrator must ensure this registry key is preserved
when logging out, and then the license should be
remembered permanently.

It may be desirable to hide the "View license" link in the

About dialog when using a site license. To hide it, set
the following registry key to the DWORD value 1:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Scirra\Construct2\HideLic
enseLink

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 USING A LICENSE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/installing/using-license

See also: Tutorial on How Construct 2 Licenses

Work

Construct 2 Free Edition

Construct 2 can be downloaded and installed to any
computer for free, including site-wide at non-commercial
institutions like schools. Without a license, it runs as the
Free Edition. This has the following limitations:

A maximum of 100 events in a project

A maximum of 4 layers in any layout
A maximum of 2 effects in a project
No folder organisation in the project bar
No event search
No configurations bar
No Families
No Preview on LAN
Not allowed to be used for commercial purposes
(however, it can be used in education and other non-
profit organisations)
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 Buying a license removes all of these limits. Licenses
can be purchased from [Link] or from Steam. Both
the Standard and Business licenses remove all the
above free edition limitations.

The Personal license

All the free edition limits are removed with a Personal
license. However, the rules for commercial use are
different for individuals and organisations.

Individuals may use a standard license for commercial

purposes up to a revenue limit of $5000. Once
revenues associated with creations made with
Construct 2 exceed $5000 (including associated
advertising/promotion) a business license must be
purchased. However, no business license is necessary
before that point.

Not-for-profit organisations like schools, libraries and

universities may use personal licenses to remove the
free edition limits. Bulk discounts are available.

Commercial organisations cannot purchase standard

licenses: they must purchase business licenses.

The Business license

Most individuals do not need a business license. It is
only necessary for:

Individuals who have already made over $5000 from

revenue associated with Construct 2 creations, and
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 Commercial organisations like businesses.

Not-for-profit organisations never need business

licenses - they may use standard licenses instead.

Purchasing from Steam

If you purchase from Steam, then Steam will manage
the license. If you want to install your copy of Construct
2 on another computer, just install Steam, log in and
download Construct 2 again. The rest of this section
applies to buying directly from our site, which involves a
license file instead of using Steam.

The license file: [Link]

If you've made a purchase directly from Scirra (rather
than from Steam), you will be sent a redeem key by
email. This is a special code you can enter to the Scirra
Store and get your license. If you want to buy a license
for someone else, you can give them the redeem key
and they can then get a license from the store with their
own name and email address on it. This also works if
you want to buy licenses for a number of people, e.g.
your employees or colleagues: you will receive a
number of redeem keys, which you can then give to
each individual.

Once you have redeemed your purchase from the

Scirra Store, you can download your Construct 2
license, which is a file called [Link]. You simply
need to copy this folder in to either the install directory
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 or My Documents. Restart Construct 2 and it should
launch as the licensed version: the purchaser name
should appear on the start page and About dialog, Free
edition should disappear from the title bar, and the free
edition limits should be removed. Alternatively, you can
place your license file wherever you like and locate it by
clicking Load license file in the About dialog.

Unless a license is purchased for an organisation, the

license is for the individual rather than their computer.
This means you can use your licensed copy of
Construct 2 on as many computers as you like, so long
as you are the only one using it. Other people must buy
their own license. Remember Construct 2 can be used
as portable software (see Installing Construct 2). You
can put your license file in the install directory on a
removable drive and take your licensed copy of
Construct 2 to any computer.

You must not modify the license file at all. It is protected

by a hash, and any modification whatsoever will cause
Construct 2 to reject the license and revert to the Free
Edition.

You must not share your license file! Keep it to yourself

like you do with serial numbers for other software. Also,
the license file contains some of your personal
information, so it is certainly preferable to keep it private.

If you lose your license file, such as if you format your

computer and forget to back it up, you can re-download
your license here:
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 [Link]

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 CONSTRUCT 2
SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/installing/system-requirements

The Construct 2 editor currently only runs on Windows.

Please see our FAQ for information on supporting other
systems.

Despite the fact Construct 2 itself only runs on

Windows, it makes HTML5 games which can run on a
wide variety of computers and devices. See the
Technology section for more information.

Minimum system requirements

Windows XP Service Pack 3 or newer
512 MB RAM
1 GHz Processor
A HTML5 compatible browser (see below)
The latest version of your graphics card drivers

Recommended system
requirements
Windows 7 or newer
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 2 GB RAM
2 GHz dual-core processor
A nVidia or AMD graphics card with latest drivers.
We recommend you avoid any hardware using Intel
graphics chips due to their poor performance,
stability, and feature set.

Really nice system requirements

You can get by fine without these, but if you can they're
nice to have.

Solid state drive (SSD) for OS and software

64-bit edition of Windows 7 or newer
4 GB of RAM or more
A large display or dual monitor setup
A nVidia or AMD graphics card with latest drivers, at
least 512 MB of dedicated video memory and support
for OpenGL 2.0+
A hi-speed broadband internet connection

HTML5 compatible browser

To preview your HTML5 games you need a modern
HTML5-compatible browser. Browsers are free to
download and install. HTML5 is also relatively new
technology, so it's important to also keep your browser
up to date to its latest version. Supported browsers are:

Internet Explorer 9+ (Windows Vista and newer only -

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 Windows XP users should use a different browser)
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
Opera

Scirra recommends Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

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 INSTALLING
THIRD-PARTY
ADDONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/installing/third-party-addons

Third party developers can extend Construct 2 with new

plugins, behaviors and effects (collectively referred to as
"addons") using the Javascript SDK. Many addons can
be found in the Addon Exchange.

Only install addons from developers you trust. Malicious

addons have the potential to compromise the security of
your project, or have hidden unwanted features like
surprise adverts or tracking users. Badly written addons
can also cause bugs or glitches in your game. While
addons can be useful, remain vigilant about them,
especially in regards to whether the developer seems
trustworthy and if they regularly maintain their addon to
fix problems that arise.

If you have problems with third-party addons, you must

report the issues to the developer who provided them.
Scirra cannot offer any support for third party addons
whatsoever.

Installing new addons (.c2addon

files)
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 Recently developed addons are installed from a file with
the extension .c2addon. Simply download the .c2addon
file, then drag and drop the file in to the Construct 2
window. Construct 2 will prompt to ask if you want to
install the addon. If you approve the install, you must
restart Construct 2 before the addon becomes available.

You can also drag-and-drop multiple .c2addon files in to

the Construct 2 window and you'll be prompted to install
each of them in order.

Installing older addons

Some addons were developed before Construct 2
supported .c2addon files. These are typically distributed
as a collection of files in a zip file. To install them, close
Construct 2 and copy the files to the appropriate place:

<install path>\exporters\html5\plugins for plugins

<install path>\exporters\html5\behaviors for behaviors
<install path>\effectsfor effects

Note that each plugin and behavior has its own

subfolder in the above directories; make sure you copy
the addon files to their own subfolder like the others in
that directory. Effects however are simply a .fx and .xml
file that all go in the same folder.

Restart Construct 2 and the addons should then appear

in the editor.

Addon management
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 When installing .c2addon files, Construct 2 will attempt
to copy the addons to two places: both the install
directory, and the AppData folder for the current user
(%appdata%\Construct2). This means even if you don't
have permission to write files to the install directory you
can still install addons.

If you use Construct 2 portably, addons may disappear

if they only exist in the AppData folder on the local
computer. To take your addons with you, either take a
folder with all your .c2addon files with you, or make sure
Construct 2 has permission to write to its install directory
when installing the .c2addon files by running it with
Administrator privileges.

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 OVERVIEW
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview

In this section a basic overview of Construct 2 is

provided, including the start page, interface, project
structure, the two different saving formats, exporting and
publishing, the technology behind your games and
some best practices and performance tips to remember
when using Construct 2.

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 THE START PAGE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/start-page

When you first start Construct 2 you should see the

Start Page, which looks something like this:

This gives you a useful starting point whenever you

launch Construct 2. It has some useful links such as
Create a new project, Newest tutorials on the website,
your recently opened projects, links to our Facebook,
Twitter and Google+ pages, and so on.

Beginner's tutorial
If you're new, you might want to check out the link to the
Beginner's Guide to Construct 2 tutorial. This is a step-
by-step guide to help get you going making your first
game in Construct 2.
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 Examples
If you like examining existing projects to see how
Construct 2 works, you can try opening the Space
Blaster or Ghost Shooter demos. These are advanced
examples so don't be put off by the math or complexity
of them. They're mainly to show off what Construct 2
can do in the hands of an experienced user.

There are many much simpler examples in Construct

2's Examples directory. Click Browse all examples to
see them. There are over 40 which go through things
like making a simple platformer and physics demos. It's
highly recommended to look at all the examples.
Commonly asked questions like "How do I set up
custom controls?" have examples showing how it's done
in the Examples folder.

Settings
You can change the Show start page on startup and
Close the start page when I click on something settings
in the Preferences dialog.

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 THE CONSTRUCT
2 INTERFACE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/interface

The following diagram highlights the important parts of

the Construct 2 user interface. An overview of each part
is provided below, and later the manual goes in to each
section in more detail.

1: File menu and Ribbon tabs

Construct 2 uses a ribbon interface, which is like a

tabbed toolbar similar to Office 2007 and newer. The
blue button with the drop-down arrow is the File menu,
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 and to the right of that are ribbon tabs which drop down
the ribbon bar with various buttons and options.

There's also the quick-access toolbar with the four most

commonly used commands: Save, Undo, Redo,
Preview and Debug. You can add and remove buttons
to this toolbar yourself: click the small drop-down arrow
to its right to customise it. If you want to have a lot of
commands in this toolbar you can also opt to have it
shown beneath the ribbon.

2: The Layout view

This is a visual editor where you place objects to design
levels, menu screens and so on. See The Layout View.

3: View tabs

These tabs allow you to switch between different layout

views and event sheet views, to define the event-based
logic of the game.

You can click and drag a tab in to one of the views to set
up a side-by-side split screen view.

4: The Properties Bar

In this bar you will see a list of properties depending on
what you have clicked on. You can view and change
properties for things like layouts, objects, layers and
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 more. See The Properties Bar.

5: Project Bar and Layers Bar

By default the Project Bar and Layers Bar are tabbed
here. The Project Bar contains an overview of
everything in your project. The Layers Bar can be used
to add different layers to a layout.

6: Project Bar/Layers Bar tabs

These allow you to switch between the Project Bar and

Layers Bar.

7: Object Bar
This contains a list of objects in your game. You can
drag and drop objects from here to place them in
layouts. The right-click menu has many options to filter
or display the objects differently. See The Object Bar.

8: Status Bar
At the bottom of the editor window is the Status Bar.
This shows:

what Construct 2 is currently doing during a long-

running task, like exporting or saving the project
how many events are in the project and its
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 approximate filesize
the current active layer, which is the layer new
objects are placed on to
the mouse position in layout co-ordinates
the current zoom level.

9: Top-right buttons

As well as the usual Windows minimise, maximise and

close buttons, there's also the Pin Ribbon button to
force the ribbon to always be showing, and the About
button to open the About dialog with information and
credits for Construct 2.

Customising
You can customise the interface to suit your tastes. Any
of the bars can be dragged and dropped to different
positions in the editor window. Also, you can auto-hide
bars to save room: click the pin icon on a bar and it will
shrink to a simple tab. Hover the tab to pop open the
bar.

Bars can be hidden and shown in the View ribbon tab.

You can create a split-screen view by clicking and

dragging one of the layout or event sheet tabs in to the
main view. This can be useful on large monitors.
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 PROJECT
STRUCTURE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/project-structure

Construct 2 projects consist of the following elements.

These can be accessed via the [Project Bar][1], which
contains a tree of all the elements in the project. Items in
the Project Bar can also be organised in to subfolders
(licensed version only) which is very useful for medium
to large projects. For more information, see the manual
section on Project Primitives.

Layouts
Levels, menus, title screens and other pre-arranged
layouts of objects. In other tools Layouts may be
referred to as scenes, rooms, frames or stages. See the
section on Layouts for more information.

Layouts also consist of multiple Layers, which can be

used to arrange objects in to background and
foreground layers. These are managed with the Layers
bar.

Event Sheets
A list of Events defining the game logic. In Construct 2,
Events are the alternative to programming or scripting.
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 Layouts have an associated Event Sheet for their logic.
Event sheets can be re-used between different layouts
with event sheet includes. Event sheets are edited in
the Event Sheet View.

For more information on events, see the manual section

on Events, especially the page on How events work.

Object Types
An Object Type defines a 'class' of object. For example,
TrollEnemy and OgreEnemy could be different object
types. Multiple instances of an object type can be
created. For example there could be three instances of
the TrollEnemy object type, and five instances of the
OgreEnemy object type.

It is important to be clear on the difference between

object types and instances: they will be referred to as
different things throughout the manual. For more
information, see the manual entries for Plugins, Object
Types and Instances.

Object Types can also be grouped in to Families.

System object
The System object represents built-in functionality in
Construct 2. It is the only object an empty project
contains. It cannot be added again or removed from a
project. There are no instances of the System object: it
is simply always present and provides access to the
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 built-in aspects of Construct 2's game engine. Its
conditions, actions and expressions are documented in
the System reference.

Sounds and Music

These are audio files used for sound effects and music
in the game. Sounds should be used for short-duration
sound effects that are played when events like collisions
and explosions happen. Music should be used for the
longer musical tracks. It is important to organise audio
files appropriately, because Sounds are downloaded
completely before playing, but Music is streamed. This
means if a Music track is accidentally put in the Sounds
folder, it would have to download completely (which
could take a couple of minutes) before it started playing.
However, audio in the Music folder can start playing
immediately since it is streamed from the server.

Both sound and music must be available in both the

Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) and MPEG-4 AAC (.m4a) formats.
This is because browser makers cannot agree on one
audio format for the web, so all audio must be in two
formats to support all browsers! Internet Explorer and
Safari use the .m4a files, and all other browsers
(Firefox, Chrome and Opera) use the .ogg files.
Construct 2 helps convert audio to both formats when
audio files are imported. See the Import Audio dialog
and Sounds & Music for more information.

Project Files
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 Any other external file can be imported to the project.
For more information, see Project Files.

Common units
In Construct 2, sometimes you need to enter values
such as angles, speeds or sizes. For consistency these
always use the same units in Construct 2, except where
noted by descriptions or tips shown in the editor. The
common units are described below.

Positions are in pixels. The origin (0,0) is at the top-

left of the layout, and the Y axis increments
downwards (as is often the case with game engines).
Sizes are in pixels
Angles are in degrees. 0 degrees faces right and
increments clockwise.
Times are in seconds
Speeds are in pixels per second
Accelerations are in pixels per second per second

Zero-based indexing
To be consistent with programming languages, all
features of Construct 2 using a number of an item in a
list (indices) start from 0 instead of 1. This might seem
odd at first and take some getting used to, but in many
cases it is actually much more convenient than 1-based
indexing.

Traditionally lists are numbered 1, 2, 3... but in

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 Construct 2 (and all other programming languages) they
are numbered 0, 1, 2....

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 SAVING,
SHARING AND
COLLABORATING
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/saving-sharing-collaboratin

Saving and sharing work

There are two types of project your work can be saved
to. These do not affect the functionality of the game at
all, but have different advantages and disadvantages
during editing. One of the types must be chosen when
creating a new project.

Folder projects
Projects can be saved to a folder. This stores different
parts of the project in different files. For example, each
layout is saved to a separate file in a Layouts subfolder.

Folder projects save and load quickly. This makes them

more suitable for medium or large projects.

Folder projects are good for collaborating within a team,

since it is easy for different people to work on the
different project files and later merge them. See the
section on collaboration below for more information.

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 The main project file in a folder project has the
extension .caproj. Note this does not contain the entire
project: it is simply a list of other files used in the project.
If you want to share a project, the .caproj file is useless
on its own - save to a single-file project (.capx) instead.

Single-file projects (.capx files)

Projects saved to a single file are often more convenient
for small projects. There is only one file to send, upload
or share. However, they save and load more slowly due
to Construct 2 having to pack and unpack the project
from one file. They also make collaboration more difficult
than if the project is saved as a folder.

.capx files are simply a ZIP of a project folder. You can

rename a .capx file to .zip and see the project files.

Converting between types

It's easy to convert a single-file project to a folder project
and vice versa inside Construct 2. Simply open a project
and choose File - Save As Project... to save it to a
folder project, or File - Save As Single File... to save it
to a single-file project.

Since .capx files are a ZIP of the project folder, they can
also be converted to a folder project by renaming them
to .zip and extracting the folder project contained within.
Similarly a folder project can be converted to a .capx file
by compressing it to a .zip file and changing the file
extension to .capx.
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 Collaborating on projects
Construct 2 does not contain any of its own
collaboration features, since there are already good free
professional-grade tools available which can work with
Construct 2 projects. Save your project as a folder, and
then you can use source control software to manage
contributions to the project. Since project data files are
XML-based, they already work with merging and diff
tools. For a tutorial on setting up a source control
system with a Construct 2 project on Windows with
SVN, see How to collaborate on projects with SVN.

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 TESTING AND
PUBLISHING
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/testing-publishing

Testing your game

To test your game during development you can preview
it by clicking the "play" icon in the quick access toolbar
or ribbon, pressing F5, or by right-clicking a layout in the
Project Bar and selecting Preview. This uses a local
server to preview your game on. You can change the
browser that you preview with using the Preview
browser setting in Project Properties.

If you have mobiles, tablets or other laptops/PCs you

want to test on, previewing over your local network (e.g.
Wifi) can make testing considerably easier. For more
information, see the tutorial How to preview on a local
network.

You can also hold shift and preview to do a continuous

preview. This saves the game, updates it, then loads
the previous state again. For more information, see the
tutorial How to use continuous preview.

The debugger can also be used to test your game with

additional information and tools available. Further,
breakpoints can be set in events to investigate how they
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 are working.

You must export then publish (i.e. upload) the project

before anyone else can play it. You cannot share the
URL during preview over the internet.

Exporting
To export your project, use the File menu, ribbon or
Project Bar to open the Export Project dialog.

If you are interested in the technical details of exported

projects, see the Technology section.

Construct 2 does a lot of work at export-time to optimise

your project. For more information, see the tutorial
Construct 2's export-time optimisations.

Some tips about exporting to commonly-used platforms

follow.

Publishing to the web

Choose the HTML5 export option to publish to the web.
Note the HTML5 export cannot usually be run from
disk. Your project must be uploaded to the web (for
HTML5 export) or otherwise published before it will
work.

If you control the web server you are publishing on,

make sure it supports the correct MIME types to ensure
all features work correctly.

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 It's possible to use fullscreen mode and orientation lock
in some mobile browsers. For more information, see
Fullscreen and orientation lock in browsers.

For more advice about publishing games to the web,

see the tutorial Tips on publishing HTML5 games to the
web.

Publishing to mobile
Choose the Cordova export option to publish to major
mobile platforms like iOS and Android. Cordova is a
cross-platform library for mobile publishing, so there are
no specific "iOS" or "Android" options in the Export
dialog; Cordova covers them both.

For more information about publishing mobile apps with

Cordova, see How to export to mobile with Cordova.
The exported Cordova application can be built as a
native mobile app with services like PhoneGap Build or
using Construct 3's mobile app build service. Advanced
users can also build mobile apps locally using the
Cordova CLI (Command Line Interface).

Publishing to desktop
Choose the [Link] export option to publish to desktop
platforms. This covers Windows, Mac and Linux. As
with Cordova there are not specific "Windows", "Mac"
and "Linux" options in the Export dialog; [Link] covers
them all.

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 For more information about publishing with [Link], see
Exporting desktop apps with [Link]. Note [Link] support
must be installed separately from [Link]/nwjs, but is
a free download.

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 MIME TYPES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/mime-types

When publishing a HTML5 game to the web, it is

important the server sends certain types of file with the
correct MIME type. For example, most servers are
correctly set up to send a .html file with the MIME type
text/html. However some server's defaults don't include
every MIME type your project might need to use. Also
some servers may be configured to send the wrong
MIME type, which may still cause some features to work
incorrectly. The list below should be used as a reference
of the correct MIME types to have set.

Configuring your server's MIME types depends on your

host. If you don't know how to do this, contact your host
for support, or ask them to set up the list below for you.

Having the wrong MIME type set can result in the file
either returning "404 Not Found" (which can result in
problems like audio not playing or AJAX requests
failing), or cause the server to send a corrupt file (e.g.
sending an audio file as a text file, causing it to fail to
load).

If you are exporting a native app such as via Cordova or

[Link], there is no need to set up any MIME types.

MIME types for HTML5 games

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 A server hosting a HTML5 game should have these file
extensions associated with these MIME types.

Basic MIME types:

.html files: text/html

.js files: application/javascript
.png files: image/png
.jpg files: image/jpeg
.jpeg files: image/jpeg
.css files: text/css

For audio to play correctly in all browsers:

.ogg files: audio/ogg

.opus files: audio/ogg
.m4a files: audio/mp4

For video to play correctly in all browsers:

.webm files: video/webm

.ogv files: video/ogv
.mp4 files: video/mp4

For offline support to work correctly:

.appcache files: text/cache-manifest

For web fonts to load:

.woff files: application/font-woff

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 For Spriter animations to load:

.scml files: text/xml

.scon files: application/json

For web app manifests to load correctly (e.g. for Firefox

Marketplace, or browser 'Add to homescreen' buttons):

.webapp files: application/x-web-app-manifest+json

.manifest files: application/manifest+json

Other formats to ensure AJAX requests or other

external resources load correctly:

.txt files: text/plain

.xml files: text/xml
.csv files: text/csv
.json files: application/json
.svg files: image/svg+xml
.pdf files: application/pdf
.zip files: application/zip

Any other binary file that is intended for download as

opposed to using in a browser (e.g. a Windows .exe):
application/octet-stream

Offline caching
If you find there is a problem with your MIME types after
exporting and then fix them, the problem may not appear
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 to be immediately corrected if the browser has cached
the previous server responses for offline support.

The easiest way to verify the problem is fixed after

correcting a server's MIME types is to change the URL
of the project, e.g. renaming the folder it was in on the
server. This prevents the previous offline cache being
used to load the game and it will start fresh with the new
MIME type configuration taking effect.

More information
For more reading, see the Mozilla Developer Network
(MDN) article on Configuring server MIME types.

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 TECHNOLOGY
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/technology

Construct 2 makes HTML5 games. These run online in

a web browser on a wide variety of different devices and
operating systems, including on mobile devices like
phones and tablets, ensuring your game is accessible to
as many people as possible. This section is a summary
of the technology involved. It is probably of more interest
to technically-minded people and can be skipped if you
are more interested in the details of how to use
Construct 2.

Despite the fact that Construct 2 games can be ported

to a variety of different platforms even as "native" apps,
the underlying technology is still a HTML5-based
engine.

HTML5
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. HTML
is the standard way web pages have been made since
the beginning of the internet. HTML5 is the fifth major
revision of the HTML standard, and it started to gain
widespread adoption in 2011. It introduces many new
features, but only a small number apply to games.
However, "HTML5" is still the most appropriate way to
describe the technology used for Construct 2's games.
Javascript is the standard programming language used
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 to program web pages, and this is also used to power
Construct 2 games.

Of particular interest in HTML5 is the newly introduced

<canvas> tag. This creates a rectangular surface in a
HTML web page where any images or content can be
drawn. This makes it ideal for games. All Construct 2
games use the HTML5 canvas to display the game.

HTML5 is comparable to Adobe's Flash technology

which dominated the internet for gaming prior to 2011.
HTML5 differs in being an industry-agreed standard,
rather than a product controlled by a single company
like Adobe. Flash also runs as a browser plugin, which
must be separately downloaded and installed, whereas
HTML5 is built in to the browser. This also means
HTML5 games can run on devices where there is no
Flash support, such as iPhones and iPads. Given its
advantages, HTML5 will eventually replace Flash on the
web.

Javascript
Javascript is the standard programming language for the
web. It allows web pages to become interactive and in
many ways work like traditional applications. It is also an
industry-agreed standard.

Javascript is not Java. These are two unrelated

programming languages which simply happen to have a
similar name. Java applets are another technology
which can run in a web page, but it is a totally different
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 technology to Javascript. Try not to get confused
between the two: games made in Construct 2 do not
need or use Java to run.

Modern browsers compile javascript to native machine

code (or CPU instructions). This ensures that web
pages (including games) using javascript run as quickly
and efficiently as possible.

Javascript is a garbage-collected language, which

makes games vulnerable to pauses or stuttering due to
garbage collection. Construct 2's game engine is
optimised to create minimum garbage, recycling objects
wherever possible. Even entire object instances are
recycled if an object is destroyed and later re-created.
This helps improve performance and ensure the game
runs as smoothly as possible.

Plugin and Behavior SDK

Javascript programmers can extend Construct 2 with
their own plugins and behaviors. See the Javascript
SDK documentation for more information.

Canvas renderers
The HTML5 <canvas> tag supports two different ways
to draw the game to the web page: a simple 2D context,
and the WebGL context, based on OpenGL ES.
WebGL is usually significantly faster than the 2D
context and has more features, including supporting
effects, but is not always supported. Construct 2
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 supports both technologies for rendering the game.
WebGL can be enabled or disabled for each game in
Project Properties. Generally it is advisable to have it
enabled, since the game will probably run a lot faster in
WebGL mode, and effects cannot work without it. If
WebGL is not supported by a user's computer or
device, or it is disabled, Construct 2 will fall back to the
2D context instead. In this case the game can continue
to be played, but it might run a bit slower and not look as
good. You can check which renderer is in use in the
game itself with the system expression renderer, which
returns either "canvas2d" or "webgl".

Obfuscation and minification

The javascript code to your game is minified and
obfuscated with Google's Closure Compiler. This
reduces the download size and makes it extremely
difficult for anybody to reverse engineer your game.

The game images are compressed in PNG format. They

are also further compressed when exporting to ensure
the download is as small as possible. For more
information, see this blog post on Image compression in
Construct 2.

Audio
Construct 2's game engine supports the Web Audio API
for reliable low-latency playback of sound effects. When
not supported the standard HTML5 <audio> tag is used
instead.
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 Offline support
Despite the fact HTML5 games run in a web browser,
Construct 2 games use Service Workers to allow them
to run offline as well. This is very useful for iOS web
apps and Chrome Web Store apps, since some users
may be offline when running the game. Also, the offline
support helps save bandwidth on servers which host the
games: the game files will only ever be downloaded
once, and every visit after that the game will be loaded
locally from disk (while checking for an update in the
background). See the tutorial on offline support in
Construct 2 for more information.

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 BEST PRACTICES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/best-practices

Back up regularly!
Neither the hardware nor software in your computer is
perfect. Computers fail and software can crash. Back up
your projects to protect yourself from losing work. It is
essential to also maintain off-site backups. If all your
backups are in the same computer or saved to disks all
in the same building, catastrophic events like fire,
floods, theft or simultaneous hardware failure can cause
you to lose all your work and backups together.

Construct 2 has built-in features to easily make

automatic backups, including off-site backups using
Dropbox. For more information see the tutorial Keep
your work safe with Construct 2's backup options.

This advice is not specific to Construct 2. It is vital to

adopt this practice for any work on a computer which is
important to you. Do not wait until you've lost work
before starting to do this. People lose work regularly
from having poor backup practices. Don't be one of
them!

Test on multiple browsers and

devices
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 It is highly recommended to test your game works as
intended in a range of different browsers. While HTML5
is a standard which in theory is implemented the same
by all browsers, in practice there are variations between
browsers (e.g. in performance, features, text rendering,
etc). You should install a range of browsers and test
with them all to ensure your game will work well for
everyone. Use the Preview browser property to test
desktop browsers and preview on a local network to
easily test mobile browsers.

Support touchscreen devices

Many users now browse the web with touchscreen
devices with no mouse or keyboard. If at all possible,
you should design your game to also support
touchscreen devices, perhaps with on-screen touch
controls. For more information, see the tutorial on touch
controls.

Recommended file formats

You may wish to prepare artwork and audio in other
software before importing to Construct 2. The best
formats to use are:

32-bit PNG (Portable Network Graphics) for images. Be

sure to select 32-bit if you are given a choice; the 8-bit
or lower versions will degrade quality. 32-bit PNGs are
lossless and fully support alpha-channel transparency.
Note the default Windows Paint does not support PNG
transparency. Use a different editor instead, like
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 [Link].

You can choose different export formats like JPEG

inside Construct 2 to reduce the size of your finished
project. However when importing you should still stick to
32-bit PNGs if possible, and leave Construct 2 to
recompress them when exporting. For more information
on how images are optimised for you see Construct 2's
export-time optimisations. It is unlikely that any third
party tools or services will be able to beat what
Construct 2 already does unless they degrade the
image quality, and remember there is no point optimising
images before importing them to Construct 2 since it
stores them in projects as 32-bit PNGs with default
compression settings.

16-bit PCM WAV for audio. These are typically .wav

files, but note that not all .wav files are 16-bit PCM.
Providing you are on Windows 7 or newer, importing a
16-bit PCM .wav file to Construct 2 will automatically
encode it to both AAC and Ogg Vorbis. These are the
two formats necessary to support audio in all browsers.
For more information see the manual entry on the
Import Audio dialog.

Security
Never, ever enter usernames or passwords in to events.
These will be visible in plain text in the exported
Javascript, and malicious users will very quickly be able
to take control of the account. If you need to connect to
something like a database, write a server-side script that
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 talks to the database, then connect to the URL of the
server.

Performance
There are a number of best practices in regards to game
performance (ensuring the game always runs fast).
Perhaps the most important is when developing for
mobile, test on the target mobile device from the start.
Your computer could be 10 or 20 times faster than your
mobile device, and something which runs fast on your
computer may be unplayably slow on the mobile device.
For more information see the section on Performance
Tips.

Memory use
Some designers are tempted to design entire levels from
lots of large image tiles. This method should be avoided
at all costs since it is extremely wasteful with memory,
and is not used by any professional game designers.
The subject is discussed in detail in the blog post
Remember not to waste your memory.

Effects
Remember effects require WebGL to display, which is
not always supported. Be sure to set up appropriate
fallbacks and test your project with WebGL disabled to
ensure it will appear correctly for users whose systems
do not support it.

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 Managing projects
If you are working in a team, you will probably find
source-control software like SVN very useful for
managing a folder-based project. It can merge changes
and highlight the changes each person has made.
There is also a history of all changes available and
rollbacks can be made at any time. Construct 2 saves
project data in XML format so it is well suited to this type
of management. For more information see the tutorial
How to collaborate on projects with SVN.

Working as an individual
If you are working on a project by yourself, it is probably
easiest to use single-file projects (.capx files). If the
project gets large over time, you may notice Construct 2
spends more time saving and loading projects with
Decompressing CAPX... or Compressing CAPX... in
the status bar. At this point it is probably useful to
convert to a folder project which skips these steps and
will make saving and loading faster.

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 PERFORMANCE
TIPS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/performance-tips

Mobile
Modern desktop computers are very powerful. Generally
the main problem with performance is getting your game
to run well on mobiles and tablets. It's more difficult to
get good performance on these devices because they
often have much weaker hardware: slower CPUs,
slower graphics chips, and less memory - often by a
factor of 10 or more compared to a desktop computer.

You must test on mobile from the start. Since your

computer may be well over ten times faster than your
mobile device, you may inadvertently design a game
that has no hope of running well on a mobile device and
not find out until later. To avoid surprises test regularly
on the intended device to make sure it is still running
fast enough. The Preview on LAN feature can make
this quick and easy. You should aim to design simpler
games for mobile devices to match their lower speed
and resources.

The following tips can help you achieve best

performance for mobile devices:

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 1 Make sure WebGL is enabled, since on devices that
support it, it usually significantly improves performance.
2 Avoid using too many objects or particles, since mobile
devices have lower limits to what desktop computers
can handle.
3 Place objects using the same blend modes or effects on
the same layer. For example, if you have a lot of objects
using the Additive blend mode (commonly used for
explosions, lasers and other effects), make sure all
those objects are placed on their own layer. Also make
sure they are created on that layer if the objects are
spawned or created at runtime. Switching between
effects can reduce performance, and doing this will
ensures all objects using the same effect are drawn at
the same time. This is described in more detail in the
blog post How the Construct 2 WebGL renderer works.
4 Avoid objects with large areas of transparency.
Transparent pixels still take up rendering time, even
though they do not visually appear. Crop all images you
use to remove wasteful transparent space. (Shift+Crop
in the animation editor will crop the entire animation.)
Splitting up large objects with large transparent areas in
to a series of smaller objects can also increase the
rendering performance and save memory. For example,
adding a window border using a screen-sized
transparent sprite with borders drawn at the edges will
perform poorly as it still has to fill a large transparent
area in the middle; splitting it in to four separate objects
for each edge is much more efficient.
5 Avoid large areas of overlap between objects. The
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 renderer works back-to-front, and if objects have a lot of
overlap, the overlapped area will have the pixels
rendered to over and over again. This can use up the fill
rate capacity of a mobile GPU pretty quickly.
6 If you have an opaque background, set Clear
background to No in Project Properties. This avoids
redundantly clearing the entire screen every frame
when it would be cleared anyway by rendering the
opaque background.

Common causes of poor

performance
Some of the most common things causing slowdowns
are listed below. This list is not exhaustive. There may
be other reasons your game is running slowly not listed
here.

No hardware acceleration

Usually even the slower Canvas 2D renderer is still

hardware accelerated by the GPU (Graphics
Processing Unit). However some devices have unstable
graphics drivers and browser makers turn off the use of
the GPU to avoid crashes (referred to as "GPU
blacklisting"). On very old devices GPU acceleration
may simply not be supported. See the section below on
Identifying GPU blacklisting in Chrome below for more
information.

Changing Text objects every tick

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 Change the size or text of a Text object every tick - even
just for an animation or transition - will likely produce
poor performance, especially on mobile devices. The
problem is even worse if the text object is large. Text
rendering is very fast as long as the object is not
changing, but upon changing the object must do a
relatively expensive redraw of the text and replacement
of the cached texture. Try to use small Text objects that
do not change regularly. If you must change text
regularly, consider using a Sprite Font instead, which is
fast even when it changes every tick.

Inappropriate usage of the Tilemap object

It is not appropriate to use the Tilemap object to display

large images. The tilemap object draws tile-by-tile, but
can optimise if there are areas of the same tile. This is
described in the blog post Tilemap tidbits. If you paste a
large image in to the Tilemap object, and then stamp a
grid of tiles to display the large image, every tile is
different. Therefore no optimisation is possible, and a
draw call must be issued for each tile. If the image
needs a 10x10 grid of tiles to display, then it will need to
issue 100 draw calls. A single sprite or Tiled
Background, by comparison, takes a single draw call
each. Therefore this type of use of the Tilemap object
can be hundreds of times less efficient than using
another object. The Tilemap object should only be used
for tile based games, where a single tile is a useful level
design block by itself, rather than part of a larger image.

Too many objects using Physics

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 The Physics behavior is very CPU intensive. Using too
many objects with the Physics behavior can cause
considerable slowdown. You should design your games
to use a few large Physics objects rather than many
small Physics objects.

Creating too many objects

While modern computers are very fast, they still have a

limited processing capacity. Creating over 1000 objects
will probably cause your game to slow down. Try to
design your game to use fewer objects. The system
expression objectcount can tell you how many objects
you are using.

Using too many effects

Effects are visually impressive, but can slow down the

game's performance considerably if over-used,
especially on mobile. Using an effect on objects with
many instances is especially slow - often it is much
more efficient to place all the objects with the effect on
their own layer, then apply the effect to that layer
instead. This allows the effect to process everything in
one go, rather than having to inefficiently re-run the
effect for a small object over and over again. Some
effects also have more performance impact than others:
blurs and glows tend to be the slowest, distortion having
a medium impact, and the color blends (like multiply and
screen) being the easiest for the GPU to process.

Unnecessary use of effects

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 Never use effects to process a static effect on an object.
For example, do not use the 'Grayscale' effect to make
an object always appear grayscale. This will degrade
performance when you could simply import a grayscale
image to the object and not use any effects at all.

Using too many particles

The Particles object can easily create hundreds of

particles. Each particle is like a sprite, so it can rapidly
use up available processing power. Avoid using more
than a couple of hundred particles if possible - generally
the lower the particle rate you can set, the better. Use
the ParticleCount expression to help count how many
particles you have created.

Using Sprites instead of Tiled Backgrounds

Creating too many objects can cause slowdowns, and a

common mistake is to use grids of Sprite objects instead
of Tiled Background objects. This is similar to using
tilemaps inappropriately. For example, a 20x20 grid of
sprites has 400 objects, which is a significant impact on
the object count. A single tiled background can replace
the grid of sprites and it only counts as a single object.
Tiled backgrounds are specially optimised for repeating
their texture so in this case it is literally 400 times more
efficient than the grid of sprites. Always use Tiled
Backgrounds instead of repeating Sprites wherever
possible.

Not placing all used objects in the layout

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 If objects are not placed in a layout but are created by
events, Construct 2 will load the textures for those
objects the moment you create them. This can cause a
momentary pause or "jank" and make the game feel
less responsive. This can be avoided by placing any
used objects in the layout. They can be placed off-
screen and destroyed on startup to avoid interfering with
the gameplay. Then Construct 2 will preload all their
textures when the layout starts, avoiding any "jank" as
they are created and destroyed at runtime.

Using too many loops

This is rarer, but using too many loops like For, For
Each and Repeat can cause the game to slow down.
Nested loops are especially likely to cause this. To test
if this is the problem, try temporarily disabling the
looping events.

Common misconceptions
The following things are often accused of affecting
performance (as in, the framerate at runtime), but
probably have little or no effect:

Off-screen objects are not still rendered. Construct 2

does not issue draw calls for objects that do not appear
in the window, and the GPU is also smart enough to
know not to render any content that appears outside the
window - even when a single image is only partially on-
screen.

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 Image formats (e.g. JPEG, PNG-8, PNG-32) affect the
download size but have no effect on runtime
performance or memory use (they are all decompressed
to 32-bit bitmap on startup).

Audio formats also only affect the download size but

have no effect on runtime performance.

Number of layers usually has no effect, unless most of

the layers have changed their opacity, have effects
applied, have a blend mode other than 'Normal', or use
'force own texture'. However typically there is no
performance impact from using multiple layers with
default settings.

Number of layouts also is unlikely to have any effect

other than the download size. The layout size also does
not have any direct effect; larger layouts do not use
more memory or require more processing, unless you
use more objects.

Angle or opacity of sprites/tiled backgrounds and

floating-point positions (e.g. positioning a sprite at X =
10.5) generally has no effect, since modern graphics
chips are very good at handling this, even on mobiles.
Very large sprites can still slow down mobile devices,
but on desktop they can often still be rendered just as
fast as smaller sprites.

More advice
For more information and advice on performance, see
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 the blog post Optimisation: don't waste your time. There
are also some useful tips about keeping your events
efficient in the blog post Common mis-used events and
gotchas.

Measuring and testing performance

From the start of your project you should use a
framerate indicator and keep an eye on performance,
particularly testing regularly on mobile devices. This
allows you to notice if a particular change you have
made has seriously affected performance on a weaker
device than your desktop development machine.

Test your project on as many devices and browsers as

possible.

If you think something is causing performance problems

in your project, it is usually easy to test the theory: back
up your project, delete the thing in question, and see if
the framerate has improved. If it improves, the thing you
deleted was the cause; if not, it must be something else.
Alternatively use the profiler tab of the debugger to see
if a disproportionate amount of CPU time is being spent
in one area of the game.

Always measure performance. Computer systems are

highly complex, and there are many unexpected or
counter-intuitive results in performance. The only way to
know what effect something has on performance is to
measure it. If you cannot measure a difference, it
probably has no serious effect on performance.
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 How to measure performance
The best way to see a breakdown of which parts of the
game are using CPU time is to look at the Profiler tab of
the debugger. If the game is bottlenecked on CPU logic
and not GPU rendering, then this should help you
quickly identify the part of the project that is using the
most CPU time.

There are three system expressions that are also

important for indicating performance:

fps - returns the current frames per second rate. Usually

the top speed is 60 frames per second, but it can
change depending on the system.

cpuutilisation - returns the current estimated utilisation

of the Javascript main thread. This is an approximation
of how much of the available CPU time for Javascript
processing is used. It ranges from 0 to 1, so the
expression round(cpuutilisation [] 100)* will return a
percentage. Despite the name this does not report the
overall system CPU usage, and can be inaccurate since
it's an estimation made from timing measurements in
Javascript, so don't rely too heavily on it.

renderer - returns either canvas2d or webgl depending

on the renderer in use. The WebGL renderer is usually
significantly faster than Canvas2D, but only if the
browser supports it and has not blacklisted the GPU.
For more information see the Technology section.

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 You can create an in-game display of these values with
a Text object to keep an eye on performance while
testing your game, using an action to update it Every
tick:

Set text to fps & " FPS, " & round(cpuutilisation [*] 100)
& "% CPU (" & renderer & ")"

This will display a string like 60 FPS, 30% CPU (webgl)

indicating the framerate, approximate CPU time and
renderer.

Identifying GPU blacklisting in Chrome

One of the most common causes of poor performance
is the GPU support being turned off due to unstable
drivers. This causes the game to revert to software
rendering, which can cripple performance on low-end
devices. The Google Chrome browser provides some
diagnostics you can use to check for this on Windows,
Mac, Linux and Android devices.

Hardware acceleration status

To view which features are hardware accelerated in
Chrome, visit chrome://gpu via the address bar. Under
Graphics Feature Status you should be able to see
whether Canvas (the canvas2d renderer) and WebGL
are hardware accelerated. It should say Hardware
accelerated in green if so, otherwise Software only or a
similar message about hardware acceleration being
disabled in orange or red.
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 Hardware-accelerated WebGL will provide best
performance. If WebGL is not hardware accelerated but
Canvas is, performance should still be good. If not even
Canvas is hardware accelerated, performance will likely
be poor on that device.

Note browser makers maintain their blacklists

separately. Just because Chrome isn't using hardware
acceleration doesn't mean other browsers will follow
suit. Switching to an alternative like Firefox can provide
better performance if it can use GPU acceleration.

Forcing hardware acceleration

enabled
If a device cannot use hardware acceleration, it's
possible to force it enabled to test the full performance
capability of the device's hardware. Note however that
browser makers usually blacklist devices for a good
reason, and forcing it enabled can result in crashes,
hangs, or even device lockups (which on mobile mean
you must remove and replace the battery to reset it).

To force hardware acceleration enabled in Chrome, visit

chrome://flags via the address bar. Near the top should
be an item called Override software rendering list.
Press Enable. Note that your changes will not take
effect until you press the Relaunch now button that
appears at the bottom of the screen after changing the
option.

After relaunching, the device should be able to make full

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 use of GPU acceleration, including with WebGL
support. This allows you to test the realistic hardware
capabilities of the device without suffering poor
performance due to the blacklist.

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 MEMORY USAGE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/overview/memory-usage

Managing the amount of memory used is important to

ensure a wide range of hardware can run your project.
This is particularly important on mobile where limited
memory is available. Reducing memory use can also in
some cases improve performance.

Images
Usually object images (including sprite animations) are
the most memory-consuming part of a project. For this
reason Construct 2 estimates the memory use from
images and displays it in the status bar. You should
keep an eye on this number while developing your
project, but it should only be regarded as a rough
estimate since export-time optimisations could change it.
Remember this is based only on images, so your project
will need at least that much memory to run. The blog
post Remember not to waste your memory has advice
on how to best design games to minimise memory use,
and common memory-consuming mistakes.

The estimated memory use is based on only the single

layout with the largest memory requirement, because
only images for one layout are loaded at a time. In
Construct 2 this is called layout-by-layout loading.
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 Layout-by-layout loading
Construct 2 only loads the images for the current layout.
This avoids loading the entire project in memory which
would be slow and consume a great deal of memory.
When starting a layout, all images for the objects placed
in the Layout View are pre-loaded. This includes all
frames in all animations of any Sprite objects. (In other
words, Sprites are either fully loaded in to memory, or
not at all - they are never part-loaded.) When the layout
ends, all images that are loaded but not used on the
next layout are released from memory.

If an object is not placed in the layout view, but events

create it at runtime, its images are not pre-loaded. The
Construct 2 engine is forced to load the object images at
the moment of creation, which can cause a momentary
pause in the gameplay, or in extreme cases a constant
stuttering (also known as "jank"). In order to avoid this,
simply place any objects that will be used by the layout
in the layout view. If they are not immediately needed
then they can be destroyed in a Start of layout event.
They will then not exist when the layout starts, but
Construct 2 will still have pre-loaded their images,
ensuring that they can later be created at runtime
without any jank.

Calculating image memory use

First of all it is important to note the image format has no
effect on memory use. You can save on your project's
download size by setting some images to PNG-8 or
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 JPEG format in the image editor. However this does
nothing to memory use: compressed images cannot be
directly rendered, so upon loading all images are
decompressed in to a 32-bit ARGB bitmap format. This
means each pixel takes four bytes for the alpha, red,
green and blue channels.

Consequently, the approximate memory use of an

image is simply its number of pixels multiplied by 4. For
example a 100x100 image would use 100 x 100 x 4 =
40000 bytes, or about 39kb. A HD-sized image at
1920x1080 would take 1920 x 1080 x 4 = 8294400
bytes, or about 7.9mb. Therefore a good technique to
minimise memory use is to use smaller images. As the
Remember not to waste your memory blog post
highlights, using lots of large images will quickly add up
to a huge memory requirement and should be avoided.
Export-time spritesheeting and power-of-two restrictions
in some GPUs mean the actual memory use per image
can vary, but this calculation serves as a good rule of
thumb.

It is also important to note that the memory use is based

on the source image - that is, as it appears in the image
editor. If the object is stretched in the layout view or at
runtime, it does not use any more or less memory. It is
simply rendering the source image in memory (which is
always at its original size) at a different size on to the
screen. A good way to create memory-efficient fills or
gradients is to have a very small image (e.g. 32x32) with
a fill and then stretch that very large in the layout view.

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 Don't mis-use 'Downscaling
quality'
When exporting, Construct 2 runs several optimisations
including spritesheeting to save memory. Setting the
Downscaling project property to 'High quality' forces
spritesheeting to pad out all sprites to power-of-two
sizes, negating the memory saving of spritesheets. This
can significantly add to the memory requirement of your
project. Since 'High quality' mode exists only to address
two relatively minor rendering issues (edge fringing on
sprites, or altered quality on the last animation frame), it
should not be used unless one of these rendering
issues has been specifically observed and the issue is
resolved by choosing this option. Otherwise your project
will be paying a very high price in memory usage for no
reason.

Audio
Usually images take up the most of a project's memory
use. However it's worth noting how audio is loaded in to
memory.

It's important to categorise audio between the sound and

music folders because they are loaded differently and
therefore have different memory usage.

Sounds
Audio in the 'Sounds' folder is fully decompressed in to
memory. This allows sound effects to be played
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 instantly without any latency from having to first load or
decompress the audio, ensuring sound effects are
heard at the appropriate time. Like with images, the
compressed size helps reduce the download but does
not reduce memory use: the sound will be
decompressed in to PCM wave buffers.

By default the project 'Preload sounds' property is set to

'Yes', meaning all sounds are downloaded and
decompressed while the loading bar is showing. As a
result all sounds in the project will be decompressed in
to memory on startup. With a common playback
configuration of 16-bit samples at 44.1 KHz, one
second of single-channel audio will use 88000 bytes
(about 86kb), and double that for stereo (about 172kb).
For one minute of audio, that is about 5mb for single
channel and 10mb for stereo. This is the primary reason
music tracks should not be categorised as "sound": if
you have 15 minutes of stereo music, that will consume
150mb of memory. On some platforms, decoding a full
music track can also be quite slow, adding a lot to the
startup time.

If 'Preload sounds' is set to 'No', sounds are not loaded

during startup and the game can start quicker. However
the first time each sound is played may be delayed
since it must first download and decode it in full. Using
the 'Preload' action in the Audio object can help mitigate
this. However Construct 2 never releases sounds once
loaded to ensure they can always be played again
quickly in future. Therefore setting 'Preload sounds' to
'No' will not save memory if the player plays through the
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 game and every sound effect is heard; it will still
accumulate over time to the same memory use that
preloading everything would have had. For this reason
turning off sound preloading should not be used as a
way to save memory.

Audio in the 'Sounds' folder should be short, latency-

sensitive sound effects. Consider cutting down any very
long duration sound effects - or, if playback latency is
not important, consider categorising it as 'Music'.

Music
Contrary to sound effects, music is streamed. Generally
this means the audio engine will have a small playback
buffer of a fixed length, and while the audio is playing it
is loaded, decoded and played in small chunks that
connect together seamlessly. This means the memory
use is low regardless of the length of the track, and it
can even start playing the audio before it has finished
downloading. This is why music is not pre-loaded while
the loading bar is showing - there's no need to wait for it
to finish downloading before starting the game. However
playback cannot always start immediately, since it may
need to wait for the download to finish buffering, or for
the first chunk to load and decode. In terms of memory
use, the main consideration is simply to make sure long
audio tracks (typically in-game music) is categorised as
music and not sound.

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 INTERFACE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface

This section covers the Construct 2 user interface. For

an at-a-glance summary, be sure to see the Interface
Overview from the previous section.

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 FILE MENU
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/file-menu

Construct 2's File menu is accessed by clicking the blue

button in the top left of the ribbon.

Recently opened projects are listed on the right hand

side of the drop-down menu.

New Opens the Start dialog.

Open Open an existing project from disk.
Save Save the current project to disk.
Save As Project and Save As Single File Save to a
different folder or file. See Saving and sharing
projects.
Export project Export to a HTML5 game ready for
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 distribution. See Exporting and Publishing.
Close Tab Close the currently open tab. Tabs can
also be closed by middle-clicking them.
Close Project Close the currently open project,
prompting to save changes if any.

Along the bottom are four additional buttons:

Help Opens this manual.

About Open the About dialog with information about
your computer, the Construct 2 version, and so on.
Preferences Open the Preferences dialog with
settings for the Construct 2 editor.
Exit Close Construct 2.

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 THE RIBBON
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/ribbon

The Ribbon is the name given to the tabbed toolbar at

the top of the editor window, similar to the design used
in Office 2007 and newer.

By default the ribbon is hidden until you click one of the

ribbon tabs. You can toggle permanently showing the
ribbon by clicking the Pin/toggle ribbon button in the top
right.

Keyboard shortcuts can be identified either by hovering

a button on the ribbon, or pressing Alt which will show
keyboard shortcuts on-screen.

The Home tab

The Home tab has the standard functions common to

most software: Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo and Redo.

The Delete, Select All and Select None buttons affect

the current selection in either the Event Sheet View or
Layout View.

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 Configurations allow you to set up different versions of
your project without having to save multiple projects to
disk. Active configurations sets which configurations are
currently being edited. Since only one configuration can
be displayed in the editor at a time, this is chosen with
the Display configuration, which must also be an active
configuration.

The Online section contains some web links you may

find useful.

The Preview section has buttons to preview or debug

the project and export a game ready for publishing.

The Go section allows you to bring up the Start page if

you closed it.

The View tab

The Bars section allows you to show or hide the various

user interface bars in the Construct 2 editor by clicking
the checkboxes. See the Interface section for more
information about each bar.

The Zoom section can be used to zoom both the Layout

View and Event Sheet View.

The Grid options and Grid size sections only apply to

the Layout View. By enabling Snap to Grid, moving and
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 placing objects will snap them to an invisible grid with
the given cell sizes. The grid can optionally also be
shown in the Layout View.

The Theme allows you to choose different visual styles

for the Construct 2 user interface. This is purely
cosmetic and does not affect any functionality of the
editor.

The Display section also only affects the Layout View.

Show collision polys will render outlines of each
object's collision polygon in the Layout View itself if
enabled. The color of the collision polygon lines can be
changed in Preferences. The Translucent inactive
layers mode will show all layers apart from the active
one (selected in the Layers Bar) at 33% opacity. The
translucent layers are also locked so objects on them
cannot be selected. This can be a convenient mode for
editing individual layers.

The Events tab

The Events tab only applies to the Event Sheet View. If

a Layout view is open all its buttons will be disabled.

The Add buttons in the Events section provide quick

ways to add a new event, condition, action, sub-event,
event group, global or local variable, event include or
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 comment. If you have something in the event sheet
selected, the new item will be added next to the
selection.

Disable allows you to toggle conditions, actions or entire

events on and off. A disabled event appears crossed
out, and is effectively deleted - it will not run or affect the
game in any way. However, you can bring it back at any
time by clicking Disable again. This can be useful for
testing.

The Bookmarks section allows you to toggle bookmarks

on the selected event, and navigate to the next and
previous bookmarks in the project. These can also be
viewed with the Bookmarks Bar.

The Breakpoints section allows you to toggle

breakpoints on events, conditions and actions, or
remove all breakpoints from the project.

The Search section allows you to filter all the events in

the current event sheet by a phrase. If an event
contains the search text anywhere inside it, the event
remains in the view, otherwise it is removed. This can
be very useful to locate events related to a particular
object, or to find something in a long event sheet. The
Clear Search button (or pressing Escape) shows all
events again.

The Show 'Add action' links can be used to hide or

show the Add action link in every event. These provide
a quick way to add new actions. However, they can
significantly increase the vertical height of the event
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 sheet making it a little harder to read or find events. If
you want to review an event sheet you might find it
useful to turn these links off. Actions can still be added
to events even when the links are hidden by the Add
action button in the ribbon or right-click menu.

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 THE PROJECT
BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/project-bar

The Project Bar shows an overview of everything in

your project. See Project Structure for a summary of the
different elements that make up a project, or the manual
section on Project Primitives for more detail.

The project name appears with an asterisk by it (e.g.

Space Blaster[*]) if it has unsaved changes.

Organising projects
The Project Bar can be used to arrange your project in
to subfolders (licensed edition only). Subfolders can be
added by right-clicking a folder and selecting Add
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 subfolder. Then, you can drag and drop folders and
items to organise them in to folders.

Managing the project

Right-click any item in the Project Bar to show a list of
options. Most items can be renamed and deleted. Right-
clicking a folder also has the option to add a new item to
that folder, such as a new layout or event sheet. Objects
are more commonly added in the Layout View, but you
can still add them from the Project Bar too.

Right-click the name of the project at the top to close,

export or open the project's folder in Windows Explorer.

Deleting objects
Deleting from the Layout View will not remove an object
from the project completely. The only way to fully
remove an entire object type from the project is to delete
it from the Project Bar.

Importing audio
Right-click either the Sound or Music folders and select
Import to open the Import Audio dialog. This allows you
to pick audio files from your computer and import them
to the project. Construct 2 will convert them to the
necessary formats to support all browsers. To play back
audio, make sure you add the Audio object to the
project.

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 Importing files
You can import additional external files to the project.
For more information, see Project Files.

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 THE PROPERTIES
BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/properties-bar

The Properties Bar is a vital part of the interface. It

displays a list of all the settings you can change on
whatever is selected. In the picture below, a layout is
selected, so the layout's properties are showing.

There are too many properties in Construct 2 to list

here. Instead, properties for different parts of the project
are documented in the relevant manual section. For
example, layout properties are defined in the Layout
section.

Properties are organised in to categories which can be

expanded and collapsed with the + button. There are
many kinds of properties, including number fields, text
fields, dropdown lists and clickable links. The property
name appears in the left column, and the editable value
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 appears in the right column.

Whenever something in the project is clicked or

selected, its properties display in the Properties Bar. For
example, selecting objects in the Layout View or clicking
items in the Project Bar shows the relevant properties in
the Properties Bar.

Things with properties

The following project elements have properties:

Projects
Layouts
Layers
Object instances
Animations

Many behaviors have their own properties - see the

Behavior reference

Many plugins have their own properties - see the Plugin

reference

Many objects also support effects and have properties

for them as well.

See the relevant manual sections for documentation on

the properties that are shown. There is also a Help link
displayed at the bottom of the properties that will take
you to a relevant manual section.

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 Property descriptions
All properties also have a description which provide
additional information about what the property is used
for. This is displayed in a panel at the bottom of the
Properties Bar. It is worth keeping an eye on this since it
can contain useful hints and tips. An example is shown
below.

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 THE OBJECT BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/object-bar

The Object Bar is most useful in the Layout View. It

displays a filtered list of objects with large icons. Objects
can be dragged and dropped in to the layout to place
them. This makes the Object Bar useful for showing just
the objects you're interested in placing, which is
sometimes quicker than using the Project Bar (which
lists everything in the project).

See also the manual section on Objects

The Object Bar also provides another way to access

object's properties. Selecting an icon in the Object Bar
shows the object's properties in the Properties Bar. If a
Layout View is currently open, it will also select every
instance of that object type in the layout.

Browsing objects
By default the Object Bar shows the project objects
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 organised by folders. Double-click a folder to show that
folder's contents. Click the green Up arrow to navigate
back to the parent folder.

Selecting a folder in the Project Bar also displays that

folder's contents in the Object Bar.

Objects can also be organised by dragging and dropping

them to folders in the Object Bar, but you may find the
Project Bar more convenient for this.

Display options
The text at the top of the title bar shows the current filter
or folder if any. By default it shows just the objects on
the current layout (e.g. All 'MyLayout' objects). This
means it will not show objects only on different layouts,
nor project objects like Mouse or Keyboard. These
objects can be accessed via the Project Bar, and also
dragged and dropped in to the layout from there.
Alternatively, the filtering options can be set to display
all project objects in the Object Bar (see below).

Right-click a space in the Object Bar to show its display

options.

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 Up to parent folder
A shortcut for the green Up button at the top of the
Object Bar.

Up to root
Return to the root (bottom-level) object folder, as if
clicking Object types in the Project Bar.

Insert new object

Add subfolder
Shortcuts for the organisation functions in the Project
Bar.

Show path toolbar

Show or hide the text and Up button at the top of the
Object Bar.

Filter objects
Set to Current layout objects to only show objects
which are in the current layout (the default), or All
project objects to show all objects in the project (like
the Project Bar).
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 View as
Set to Folder structure to display objects organised
by their subfolders (the default), or Simple List to list
all objects regardless of their folder (there are no
subfolders in this view).

Icon style
Change how the icons are displayed in the Object
Bar, including which direction the bar scrolls in if
there are lots of objects. This can be useful if you
dock the Object Bar somewhere else in the editor,
e.g. along the top or bottom.

Icon size
Change the size of the icons. Smaller icons lets you
fit more icons in the window, but larger icons makes it
quicker to identify objects.

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 THE LAYERS BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/layers-bar

The Layers Bar is used to add, edit and remove layers

in a layout. A layer is like a sheet of glass objects are
painted on to. This allows easy arrangement of which
objects display in front of other objects, for example
showing foreground objects in front of the background
sprites. It also allows for interesting depth effects like
parallax, and layers can be individually scaled and
rotated as well.

Layers can be dragged and dropped in the Layers Bar

to change their order. Layers at the bottom of the list are
displayed at the back (e.g. background objects), and
layers at the top of the list are displayed at the front (e.g.
HUD objects).

Selecting a layer displays its properties in the Properties

Bar and also sets it as the active layer which new
objects are inserted in to. See the Active layer property
in layout properties for more information.

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 The Layers list
Each layer in the list has the following:

A checkbox to toggle whether the layer is visible in

the editor (this does not affect the game when
previewing or exporting)
A padlock icon. Clicking this toggles the layer's
locked status. If a layer is locked, objects on that
layer cannot be selected in the editor. This is useful
to prevent accidental selections on rarely-used layers
like backgrounds.
A number to the right. This is a zero based index of
the layer (the first layer is number 0, not 1). If you
need to enter a layer number in the event system,
this is the corresponding number. (You can also enter
layer names in the event system which might be
more convenient if you regularly reorder layers.)

The Layers Toolbar

The icons along the top provide shortcuts for editing
layers. Layers can be added and there are alternative
options for layer visibility and locking. There is also a
Rename and Delete button (F2 and Delete on the
keyboard respectively). Layers can also be renamed by
single-clicking a selected layer, like renaming files in
Windows Explorer. Finally, there are Move up and Move
down buttons, which provide an alternative to dragging
and dropping to reorder layers.

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 Object Z ordering
To modify the Z order (front-to-back order) of individual
objects on a layer, use the Z Order Bar.

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 Z ORDER BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/order-bar

The Z Order Bar allows precise control over which

objects appear in front of others. Although Construct 2
is a 2D engine, the term Z order is used to refer to the
display order of each individual object.

The Z Order Bar is not available in the Free edition of

Construct 2.

To open the Z Order Bar, either right click in the layout

view and select Z order -> Edit Z order..., or tick the Z
Order Bar checkbox in the View tab of the ribbon.

The Z Order list

If no objects are selected, the Z Order Bar displays all
objects in the layout. Group markers appear identifying
each layer from the Layers Bar. The Z Order increases
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 upwards in the list, meaning objects at the bottom of the
list are displayed at the back, and objects at the top of
the list are displayed at the front.

If any objects are selected from the Layout View, the list
is filtered down to only those objects and any other
objects overlapping them. The objects selected from the
Layout View are also shown in bold. This makes it
convenient to see the relative Z order of a small area
without having to take in to account the rest of the
layout.

Identifying instances
With lots of the same instances in the list, it can
sometimes be difficult to tell precisely where a particular
instance occurs in the list. To help identify each
instance its UID appears after its name, e.g. Player 41
(meaning a Player instance with UID 41).

Instances in the list which were selected in the Layout

View are also highlighted in bold. Selecting instances
from the Z Order Bar itself will also select objects in the
Layout View and show their properties, but will not affect
the filtering of the list.

Sprite objects which have a different initial image set by

changing the Initial frame or Initial animation properties
also display an icon for that initial image in the Z Order
list.

Finally, instances can be double-clicked to make them

flash briefly in the Layout View. Alternatively an
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 instance can be right-clicked and then Flash instance
selected. This helps visually identify the instance in the
layout.

Editing the Z Order

Using the Z Order bar is very simple: to move an object
in the Z Order, simply drag and drop it in the list. You
can also move objects to other layers this way. You can
also select multiple objects by holding Control or Shift
and drag them all as a block to another layer or location
in the Z Order. When doing this, the relative order of the
selection is also preserved.

If you want to add, remove or reorder layers themselves,

use the Layers Bar instead.

View options
You can right-click the Z Order Bar and select Show
active layer only. This further filters down the list to only
display objects on the current active layer (the selected
layer in the Layers Bar), which can be useful when
working with a single layer.

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 TILEMAP BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/tilemap-bar

The Tilemap Bar allows tilemaps in the Tilemap object to

be edited from within the layout view. It provides a
toolbar with various tools and options, and a view of the
current tileset image.

Basic usage
To add a tilemap and start editing it, follow these steps:

1 Add a Tilemap object to the layout and make sure it is

selected
2 Choose the Pencil or Rectangle tool from the Tilemap
bar's toolbar
3 Select a tile in the tileset showing in the Tilemap bar
4 Click inside the Tilemap object to start drawing the
selected tile

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 You can hold shift and right-click a tile to pick that tile to
draw with. You can also hold shift and drag the right
mouse button over a range of tiles, and the tilemap bar
will also select that range of tiles as a patch you can
stamp out.

To stop editing the tilemap's tiles and return to normal

layout editing, click the mouse cursor on the Tilemap
bar's toolbar to restore normal layout view selection.
This also allows you to move and resize the entire
tilemap object.

If you have multiple tilemap objects, only the selected

tilemap is edited. It is often useful to layer tilemap
objects directly on top of each other, in which case the
tilemap to edit can be most easily selected using the Z
Order Bar or hiding/locking layers with the Layers Bar.

If you are dealing with small tiles, you can also right-
click on the tilemap and select a zoom level from the
menu.

Toolbar tools
The Tilemap bar's toolbar has the following options:

Normal layout view selection

Stop editing tiles and select the Tilemap object like
any other object.

Pencil tile tool

Draw tiles with the mouse. You can also select an
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 area of tiles by dragging across several tiles in the
displayed tileset, and then use this tool to stamp that
region of tiles in to the tilemap.

Rectangle tile tool

Draw a rectangular area of tiles by clicking and
dragging in the tilemap object. You can also select a
3x3 area of tiles in the displayed tileset, and the tool
will automatically nine-patch the tiles. This also works
for drawing single rows or columns with smaller
selections such as 1x3 or 3x1, where the first and
last tile are the first and last in the selection, and the
rest are the middle tile repeated. Larger selections
can also be used, such as 4x4, and the middle tiles
will be alternated along the rectangle.

Erase tile tool

Erase tiles from the tilemap so they appear as
transparent space. Larger areas can be erased by
selecting a larger area of tiles in the tileset. A shortcut
for erasing single tiles is to right-click while another
tool is selected.

Edit tile collision polygon

With a single tile in the tileset selected, click this
button to edit that tile's collision polygon. Alternatively
double-click a tile in the tileset. When testing for
collisions with the tilemap object, the collision polygon
will be used wherever that tile appears in the tilemap.
If a collision polygon has set (and it is not the default
bounding box), the collision polygon will be outlined in
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 red while hovering the mouse over that tile in the
Tilemap bar.

Flip placing tile horizontally

When using the Pencil tool, tiles will be placed flipped
horizontally. Alternatively use the X keyboard
shortcut. If an area of tiles is selected in the tileset,
the entire patch is also flipped.

Flip placing tile vertically

When using the Pencil tool, tiles will be placed flipped
vertically. Alternatively use the Y keyboard shortcut.
If an area of tiles is selected in the tileset, the entire
patch is also flipped.

Rotate placing tile anticlockwise/clockwise

When using the Pencil tool, click to keep rotating the
tiles to be placed. Alternatively use the Z keyboard
shortcut. If an area of tiles is selected in the tileset,
the entire patch is also rotated.

Import TMX
Import a .tmx tilemap as used by Tiled. All the tiles in
the object are replaced with tile data from the TMX
file. In Construct 2 a Tilemap object represents a
single layer of tiles, so if the TMX file has multiple
layers you will be asked which layer to import. To
import all layers, create a different tilemap object for
each layer and import them separately. Optionally the
tileset image can also be replaced with the image
from the TMX file.
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 Export TMX
Export the current tiles and tileset image in to a .tmx
file as used by Tiled. Note that Construct 2 does not
support all of Tiled's features, so importing then
exporting a TMX may lose some data, such as terrain
definitions. Also since in Construct 2 a Tilemap
object represents a single layer of tiles, the exported
TMX file will also only ever have one layer.

The Tilemap object

For more information on how to use tilemaps, see the
manual entry on the Tilemap object.

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 BOOKMARKS
BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/bookmarks-bar

The Bookmarks Bar shows an overview of all the

bookmarks in the project. Bookmarks are a way of
marking and quickly moving between events in the
Event Sheet View. In the Event Sheet View, bookmarks
can be toggled with Ctrl+F2, and navigated between
with F2 and Shift+F2 (see Keyboard shortcuts).

The Bookmarks Bar is not available in the Free edition

of Construct 2.

As with all bars, the Bookmarks Bar can be docked

anywhere in the user interface or left floating as an
individual window.

Bookmarks are listed in the order they occur in the

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 project: first by event sheets in the order they appear in
the Project Bar; then by their sequence within the event
sheet. Each bookmark listed shows a description by it, if
possible. For example a bookmarked group will show the
title of the group, a bookmarked variable will show the
name of the variable, and a bookmarked event will show
some text from the first condition of the event. If the
bookmark position has an event number, it is also
shown, and the event sheet the bookmark belongs to is
also listed.

Double-click a bookmark to navigate to it. Right-click to

show a menu where bookmarks can be removed
(alternatively by pressing Delete), or clear all bookmarks
from the project.

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 THE LAYOUT
VIEW
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/layout-view

The Layout View is a visual designer for your objects. It

allows you to set up a pre-arranged layout of objects,
such as a game level, menu or title screen. In other
tools, layouts may be referred to as scenes, rooms,
frames or stages. See also the manual section on
layouts.

The dotted rectangle in the top left indicates the window

size in the layout.
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 Adding, modifying and deleting
objects
Double-click a space in the layout or right-click and
select Insert new object to add a new object type. This
will bring up the Insert New Object dialog.

To create new instances of an existing object type,

another object can be control + dragged, copy and
pasted, or dragged and dropped from the Project Bar or
Object Bar. (Make sure you're clear on the difference
between Object Types and Instances as described in
Project Structure.)

A shortcut for importing image files as Sprite objects is

to drag and drop image files from Windows Explorer to
the Layout View. This automatically creates a new
Sprite object type with the dragged image. If multiple
image files are dragged, the Sprite is assigned an
animation with the dragged images as animation frames.

Instances can be moved by dragging and dropping them

with the mouse. Hold shift to axis-lock the drag to
diagonals. Alternatively they can be nudged 1 pixel at a
time with the arrow keys (hold shift to nudge 10 pixels),
or co-ordinates can be typed in directly to the Properties
Bar.

The Delete key or right-click Delete option deletes

instances. Deleting all instances of an object does not
remove the object type from the project. To entirely
remove an object from the project it should be deleted
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 via the Project Bar.

Click objects to select them. Objects cannot be selected

if their layer is locked. Hold control while clicking to
select multiple objects, or click and drag a selection
rectangle to select all objects in an area. The Properties
Bar displays properties for all currently selected objects,
so changing a property sets it for every selected object.

When a single object is selected it appears with resize

handles around it:

Click and drag the resize handles to stretch the object.

Hold shift to proportionally resize the object. The size of
the resize handles can be changed in Preferences.

Rotatable objects like Sprite also have an angle handle

originating from the object's origin. This can be clicked
and dragged to change the object's angle. Alternatively
an angle can be entered in to the Properties Bar.

Using tilemaps
If you are designing a tile-based game, you can insert
the Tilemap object and edit tiles in the Layout View. To
find out more, see the manual entry on the Tilemap Bar.

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 Scrolling and zooming
There are three ways to scroll in the Layout View:

The vertical and horizontal scrollbars at the edges of

the view
Hold the middle mouse button and drag the mouse
Hold space and move the mouse (useful for laptops
with track pads)

On desktop systems, middle-mouse dragging is

probably the most convenient way to move around the
layout.

Zooming is useful to focus on a small area or see an

overview of the entire layout. There are several ways to
zoom:

The Zoom buttons on the ribbon in the View tab (hold

shift while clicking to adjust the zoom amount)
Hold control and scroll the mouse wheel. Hold both
Control and Shift to zoom in integer steps (e.g.
100%, 200%, 400%...)
+ and - on the num pad (hold shift to adjust zoom
amount)

The current zoom is displayed in the Status Bar. Press

Control + 0 to return to 100% zoom.

Selection wrapping
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 If you select two or more objects, you can wrap the
selection by pressing Enter or right-clicking and
selecting Wrap selection. This allows you to rotate and
stretch the selection as a whole.

Wrapped selections appear with a red selection box

rather than blue, as shown below:

By using the red resize handles the entire arrangement

can be made bigger:

The red rotate handle can also be used to rotate the

entire selection around the mid-point of the selection. If
you click an object while the selection is wrapped, the
rotate handle moves to the clicked object's origin. This
allows you to then rotate the entire selection around that
object, instead of just around the mid-point.

Other
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 To go to the associated event sheet, press Ctrl + E or
Ctrl + Tab or right-click and select Edit event sheet.

The Z order of objects within a layer can be adjusted by

right-clicking and selecting Z Order - Send to top of
layer or Send to bottom of layer. You can also choose
Edit Z Order... to open the Z Order Bar for advanced
control.

Objects can be snapped to a grid for tile placement, and

the collision polygons of the displayed objects can also
be outlined. The View tab of the ribbon provides these
options.

The right-click menu in the layout view also provides

some alignment tools under the Align sub-menu. These
allow you to quickly space objects equally or align
objects along their edges. When aligning, the objects
are aligned to the particular object you right-clicked.

The image or animation editor can be brought up by

double-clicking objects with images or animations like
Tiled Background and Sprite.

Effects previewing
Effects will be displayed in the layout view if WebGL is
enabled in project properties. If WebGL is disabled, the
layout view will preview as it would at runtime, without
displaying any effects, and using any fallbacks that
have been set up.

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 THE EVENT
SHEET VIEW
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/event-sheet-view

The Event Sheet View is where events can be added,

viewed and edited in an event sheet using Construct 2's
non-programming event system.

The event system has a lot of features, so the event

system has its own section of the manual. This section
will simply cover the basics of using the Event Sheet
View.

Diagram of an event

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 Events are made up of three major sections:

1 The event block, which contains the conditions. Notice

the margin to the left of the condition which allows you
to select the entire event.
2 The conditions, which are each listed inside the event
block.
3 The , which are listed to the right of the event block.

actions, which are listed to the right of the event block.

Conditions and actions can be selected by clicking on

them. The entire event can be selected (which also
selects all its conditions and actions) by clicking the
event margin, or the bottom part of the event block. The
event margin can also be right-clicked to access a menu
allowing things like adding sub-events.

As with the Layout view, multiple selections can be

made by holding control and clicking different items.
However, you can only have either events, conditions or
actions selected at a time (e.g. you can't have both a
condition and action selected at once). You can also
hold shift and click an event, condition or action to
select all the items in a line between the selection and
clicked item.

Creating events
There are a number of ways to add a new event:

Double-click a space in the event sheet

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 Click the Add event link which comes after the last
event
Right-click and choose an item to add in the menu
Use the Events tab on the ribbon

When you add a new event, the dialog that appears is

for adding the first condition (see Add Condition dialog).
To add more conditions to an event, right-click the
margin or an existing condition and select Add another
condition.

Actions can be added by clicking the Add action link (if it

has not been hidden in the ribbon), or right-clicking the
margin or an existing action and selecting Add another
action. See also Add Action dialog.

Modifying events
Double-click or select and press Enter on condition or
action to edit it.

Events, conditions and actions can be dragged and

dropped around the event sheet. Holding control and
dragging will duplicate the dragged event, condition or
action. Event items can also be cut, copied and pasted.

You may find it convenient to organise events in to

Event Groups, which can also be activated and
deactivated as a whole.

Press R or right-click and use the Replace object option

to quickly swap objects referenced in the selection. Note
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 that objects with references to instance variables or
behaviors in the selection can only be swapped with
other objects with the same instance variables and
behaviors which have the same names and types.

Scrolling and zooming

There are several ways to scroll in the Event Sheet
View:

The vertical scrollbar to the right of the view

Scrolling the mouse wheel
Hold the middle mouse button and drag the mouse
Hold space and move the mouse (useful for laptops
with track pads)

Use the zoom buttons on the ribbon in the View tab or

hold control and scroll the mouse wheel to zoom. Press
Ctrl + 0 to restore 100% zoom. The event sheet font
can also be set in Preferences.

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 THE IMAGE AND
ANIMATIONS
EDITOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/image-animations-editor

Construct 2 has a built in image editor, and the Sprite

object extends it with additional windows that allow you
to create animations.

To open this editor, double click an object with an image

or animations in the Layout View. Alternatively, right-
click the object in the Project Bar or Object Bar and
select Edit image or Edit animations.

The image editor

The image editor is used to edit Tiled Background
images and Sprite animation frames.

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 The buttons along the top modify the entire image:

Clear image
Resets the image to all transparent.

Open
Import an image file from disk in PNG, JPEG, BMP,
TIF, GIF or WMF format. PNG is recommended
since it is lossless, usually compresses well, and
supports alpha transparency.

Save
Export the image to a file on disk in PNG, JPEG,
BMP, TIF or GIF format. PNG is recommended since
it is lossless, usually compresses well, and supports
alpha transparency.

Set export format

Opens the Image Format dialog, allowing you to set
the format on export to PNG-32, PNG-8 or JPEG.
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 Open in external editor
allows the current image to be edited in a different
image editing tool. The tool can be set in
Preferences.

Link to original source file

Open a file chooser dialog to review or change the
original source path for this image. This can be used
to easily re-import the image from its original location.

Reload from original source file

Replace the current image with the image file at the
original source path. Construct 2 automatically tracks
the original source paths of any images that are
imported, but if the original source is not known, the
option is disabled. The Animation Frames bar has
options to reload the entire animation or all
animations from the source paths in one go.

Mirror
Mirror the image horizontally. Hold shift to mirror an
entire animation.

Flip
Flip the image vertically. Hold shift to mirror an entire
animation.

Rotate 90 degrees clockwise/anticlockwise

rotates the image. Hold shift to rotate an entire
animation.
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 Crop
removes spare transparency at the edges of the
image, making the canvas as small as possible while
still fitting the image. This is recommend to save
memory and make collisions more accurate and
efficient. Hold shift to crop an entire animation.

Resize
Adjust the image canvas size, with options to center
align the image, top-left align or stretch to fit.

Zoom buttons
Zoom the image. Alternatively, hold control and scroll
the mouse wheel .

Toggle background brightness

Switch the background from a light shade to a dark
shade. The dark shade may be more useful for
editing bright images like light spots, clouds, etc.

The image editor view can also be scrolled by holding

the middle mouse button and dragging.

The buttons down the left are the following tools:

Rectangle select
Select, delete, cut, copy and paste rectangle sections
of the image.

Eraser
Erase sections of the image.
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 Pencil
Draw individual pixels or drag 1px-size lines.

Brush
Draw with a colored round brush.

Line
Draw colored lines.

Rectangle
Fill an area with a color.

Fill
Flood fill an area with a color.

Color picker
Pick the primary or second color from the image.
Note holding control and clicking with another tool is
a shortcut for this.

Set origin and image points

Opens the Image Points dialog. This allows you to set
the image's origin (its point of rotation) and place
image points at focal points in the image such as at
the end of the gun. Image points can be accessed in
the event system to create objects from and such.
Some objects, like Tiled Background, do not use an
origin or any image points.

Set collision polygon

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 Set the collision shape for the image or frame. By
default Construct 2 guesses a collision shape, but it
is not always accurate. Click and drag the points of
the collision polygon to alter its shape. Right-click to
display a menu of additional options for the collision
polygon, such as adding and deleting points. Some
objects, like Tiled Background, do not use collision
polygons.

Animations Bar
The animations bar is where multiple animations can be
created for Sprite objects.

Right click a space to add a new animation or add a

subfolder to organise animations. Right click an
animation and select Preview to preview how the
animation will look in the game.

When selecting an animation, the Properties Bar

displays settings for the animation. These are the
following:

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 Speed
The number of animation frames shown per second.
For example, if set to 5, each animation frame lasts
for 1/5th of a second. Set to 0 if you do not want the
animation to play (e.g. if a tile set is used with a
different tile in each frame).

Loop
Restart the animation after it finishes.

Repeat count
If not looping, the number of times to repeat the
animation.

Repeat to
The zero based index of the animation frame to
repeat back to if looping or repeating.

Ping-pong
Play the animation alternately forwards and
backwards.

Animation frames bar

The animation frames bar displays a list of the animation
frames in the current animation.

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 Select an image to switch the Image Editor to editing the
clicked animation frame. Animation frames can also be
dragged and dropped to adjust the sequence.

Right-click a space in the animation frames bar for the

following options:

Add frame
Add a new blank animation frame to the end of the
sequence.

Duplicate last frame

Make a copy of the last animation frame and add it to
the end of the sequence.

Reverse frames
Reverse the order of all the frames in the animation.

Import frames - from files...

Opens a dialog to select one or more image files from
disk. All the selected image files are added as
animation frames.

Import frames - from sprite strip...

Import a sprite strip or tileset, where a single image
contains a number of animation frames aligned to a
grid. This is done with the Import Sprite Strip dialog.

Reload files from - project folder (for this

animation)
Reload all the images from the project folder. This is
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 useful if you have edited the images in the project
folder while Construct 2 is open and want Construct
2 to recognise the changes. (This option is disabled if
you're not using a project folder.)

Reload files from

animation/all - original sources (for this
animations)
Re-import the images at the original source paths for
all frames in the current animation or entire object
(across all animations). This allows for conveniently
reimporting images from the location they originally
came from.

Thumbnail size
Adjust the size of the thumbnail icons of each frame
in the bar.

Selecting an animation frame shows a single property in

the Properties Bar: Frame speed, which is a multiplier
for the amount of time to spend on the frame. For
example, a frame speed of 2 will spend twice as long on
that animation frame, 0.5 half as long, etc. relative to the
current animation speed.

Original source paths

When importing images to Construct 2, it will remember
the original source path where the image came from.
The Reload from original source file button in the
image editor, and the Reload files from - original
sources (for this animation/all animations) options in
the animation frames bar, allow the images to be easily
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 reimported from their remembered original locations.
This can be useful if you are working with an artist who
places their assets in a separate folder instead of
directly in to the project. Just remember if you move the
original paths, or transfer your project to a different
computer, none of the original paths will be found any
more and Construct 2 won't be able to reload anything.
Also note that reimporting images from their original
sources replaces what you already have, so if you have
made changes like cropping or flipping from within
Construct 2, then these changes will be reverted.
However the collision polygons, origins and image
points will be preserved.

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 DIALOGS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs

This section lists each dialog in the Construct 2 editor.

You may not need to use all of these dialogs, depending
on the features you use. Each dialog has a link to its
relevant help page in this section. You may prefer to use
these links when you need to rather than read through
this section.

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 ABOUT DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/item

If you're looking for general help on Construct 2, try the

manual front page. This page describes the About
dialog.

The About dialog contains the following information:

Release number
(e.g. Release 70) Construct 2 does not use the a.b.c
version numbering system. Instead, the version is
simply a number which increments by 1 every time a
new release is published. You should stay up to date
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 with the latest version for the most features, best
performance and most reliable stability.

Release architecture
(32-bit or 64-bit) This determines whether you are
using the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Construct 2. If
you're using a 64-bit computer it's recommended to
install the 64-bit version, unless you are using a
portable installation. See Installing Construct 2 for
more information.

Release type
Following the release number and architecture may
optionally be the word checked. Checked builds are
generally for testing and you may occasionally see
check failure dialogs which indicate a possible bug or
problem. You should report any such issues to
Scirra. If the word checked does not appear, it
indicates a release version of Construct 2, which is a
stable build intended for day-to-day usage.

Build timestamp
The date and time the Construct 2 executable was
compiled by Scirra is included. This is occasionally
used by Scirra for diagnostic purposes.

OpenGL information
This section outlines your graphics card and its basic
capabilities. It is important to keep your graphics card
drivers up to date. Many common display glitches
(e.g. objects not appearing or having sections cut off)
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 are caused by buggy, out of date drivers. Updating to
the latest version released by your graphics card
vendor often fixes these problems. If you haven't
done before since installing Construct 2, we
recommend you click the Check for driver update link
and try updating your drivers. You may need
administrator permissions and have to reboot your
computer.

License information
This contains the license information if a license has
been purchased. See Using a license for more
information.

Credits page
Lists all the individuals and organisations whose work
has been involved in the creation of Construct 2.

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 ADD BEHAVIOR
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/add-behavior

The Add Behavior dialog allows you to add a new

behavior to an object type. Some behaviors can only be
added once and will not appear in the dialog if the object
already has them. It can be opened from the Object
Behaviors dialog. For documentation on each behavior,
see the Behavior Reference section of the manual.

Simply double-click the behavior you wish to add. Select

a behavior to see a brief description beneath the icons.
The available behaviors can be filtered by name by
typing in to the search box in the top right.

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 ADD
CONDITION/ACTION
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/add-conditionaction

The Add Condition dialog and Add Action dialog are

very similar so they are both documented here. These
dialogs allow you to add or edit a condition or action in
an event sheet.

Adding a condition or action takes three steps:

1 Choose the object that has the condition or action

2 Choose the condition or action in that object
3 Enter parameters, if any, such as the X and Y co-
ordinate for Set Position.

The Next and Back buttons can be used to move

forwards and backwards through these steps.

Step 1: Choose the object

In this step a list of all the object types in the project is
shown. The System object (which represents built-in
functionality) always appears first, and the rest of the
objects are sorted alphabetically.
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 Double click an object to choose it. Typing in the search
box in the top-right can quickly filter the list if there are
many objects.

The conditions and actions each object contains is

related to the kind of object it is (e.g. Sprite, Keyboard or
Audio). For example, to locate the Play sound action in
the Add Action dialog, first double-click the Audio object.
Remember the System object contains some conditions
which can be used for any object, such as Pick random
and For Each.

Step 2: Choose the condition or

action
In this step a list of all the conditions or actions in the
chosen object is displayed. They are arranged in to
related categories. Below a list of the System object's
conditions is shown.

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 Double click a condition or action to choose it. As
before, typing in the search box can help quickly locate
a condition or action in the list.

For more information on each condition or action, see

the Plugin reference. If the chosen object has any
behaviors, they may add extra conditions and actions in
to the dialog as well.

Some conditions and actions require parameters. For

example, the Set position action for a Sprite requires
the X and Y co-ordinates to be entered. This is done in
the Parameters dialog in the next step. However, some
conditions and actions do not use any parameters, such
as the Destroy action. In this case once the condition or
action is chosen the process is complete.

Step 3: Enter parameters

If the chosen condition or action requires parameters,
the Parameters dialog appears for the parameters to be
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 entered in to. Click the link for more information on the
Parameters dialog.

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 ADD
CONFIGURATION
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/add-configuration

The Add Configuration dialog is used for the

Configurations feature, which is deprecated. Do not use
this feature since it has been removed in Construct 3.

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 THE EFFECTS
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/effects-dialog

The Effects dialog allows you to add or remove effects

for objects, layers and layouts. It can be opened from
the Properties Bar when the properties for an object
supporting effects, a layer, or a layout are showing.

Effects can be added with the toolbar at the top or by

right-clicking and selecting Add effect. This opens the
Add Effect dialog. The toolbar and right-click menu also
allow you to rename (F2) or delete (Del) effects.

Effects can be reordered by using the Up and Down

buttons on the toolbar, or by dragging and dropping
them. The order of effects is important since it defines
the order in which the effects are processed, which can
alter the visual result. For more information, see the
manual section on Effects.
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 ADD/EDIT EVENT
GROUP DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/event-group

The Add/Edit Event Group dialog contains settings for a

group of events.

Name
A name identifying this event group, displayed in
large lettering in the event sheet. When enabling or
disabling event groups, the name identifies the group.

Description
(optional) An optional description summarising what
the events in the group do, for your organisational
purposes. This is displayed in smaller lettering
beneath the group name.

Active on start
Determine whether or not the event group is enabled
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 when the project begins. If this is unchecked, the
event group is disabled, and none of the events
inside it will run until it is enabled by the Set group
active system action. Events which are inactive on
start are displayed with a faded out font in the title.

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 ADD/EDIT EVENT
VARIABLE
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/event-variable

The Add/Edit Event Variable dialog allows you to set the

name, type and initial value of a global or local variable
in an event sheet.

The Name identifies the event variable. This is typed in

to expressions to retrieve the value of the event
variable. Some names cannot be used, like the names
of system expressions, since they would conflict when
entering an expression.

The Type specifies what kind of value the variable

holds. An event variable can store either a Number or
Text (also known as a string). The type of an event
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 variable does not change - you can't store text in a
Number variable and vice versa.

The Initial value is the initial number for a Number

variable, else the initial text for a Text variable. Initial text
can be empty. The initial text entered here does not
need double quotes around it. In other words, Hello is a
valid entry, and if you enter "Hello" the initial string will
include the double quotes. Note this is different to
entering strings in expressions which require the double
quotes.

The Description is an optional comment you can use to

briefly describe what the variable is used for. It is
displayed next to the name in the editor to help remind
you what to use the variable for.

The Static checkbox only applies to local variables. By

default, local variables reset their value to the initial
value every tick. However, if Static is checked, the local
variable's value will persist permanently, like a global
variable. Static local variables differ from global
variables in that they can still only be used within their
scope. Global variables always hold their values
permanently so the Static option does not apply to them.
For more information about local variables, see Event
Variables.

The Constant checkbox makes a variable read-only.

You will be able to compare and retrieve the variable, but
not change its value using any actions. This is useful for
referring to a number like the maximum number of lives,
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 without having to repeat the number in your events. If
you want to change the value, there is only one place
you need to change, which is a lot easier than having to
hunt down the multiple places you entered a particular
number in your events. According to programming
convention, the names of constants are displayed in
upper case, e.g. MAX_LIVES.

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 THE EXPORT
PROJECT
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/export-project

The Export Project dialog exports your project in a

format ready for publishing. See Exporting and
Publishing for more information.

If you're looking for tips on ways to publish your game,

see the tutorial Publishing and promoting your
Construct 2 game.

If you are interested in the technical details of exported

projects, see the Technology section.

Folder for files

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 All the exported files are generated in this folder.
They can include a variety of HTML, Javascript,
PNG files and more, but this varies depending on the
chosen platform. It is highly recommended to use a
new, empty folder. The default folder can be chosen
in Preferences.

Subfolder for images

All the project's images and animation frames will be
placed in this subfolder. Leave it empty to export
images to the export folder. For some platforms this
option is disabled because no subfolders are used.

Subfolder for project files

All the project's files (sound and music) will be placed
in this subfolder. Leave it empty to export files to the
export folder. For some platforms this option is
disabled because no subfolders are used.

PNG recompression
The exported images are in PNG format and can be
recompressed losslessly to reduce their filesize even
more. However, this can slow down the export time
considerably. Use None to skip this - the exported
files will be larger, but the export process will be
quicker. Standard is recommended to ensure the
download size is as small as possible. Brute can be
used if you have an extremely large project or it's
essential to save as much bandwidth as possible, but
the export process can take a very long time in this
mode so it is not recommended. For more information
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 on the recompression techniques Construct 2 uses,
see this blog post on Image compression in
Construct 2.

Minify script
The exported Javascript code can be compressed
with Google's Closure Compiler to reduce the
download time. This is called minification. At the
same time the code is obfuscated to make it
extremely difficult to reverse-engineer your project.
For this reason it is highly recommended to always
minify your script on export. Minification requires
Java to be installed. (Note that Java is a different
technology to Javascript.)

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 THE
EXPRESSIONS
PANEL
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/expressions-panel

The Expressions Panel is a dictionary of all the

expressions available in your project. It is shown floating
next to the Parameters dialog. By default it is
semitransparent so it does not distract you while
entering parameters. The Expressions Panel can be
hidden or shown by pressing F4.

The search box in the top right can be used to quickly

filter the object list.

Double click an object to list all its expressions.

Descriptions are also shown next to each expression to
help indicate what value will be retrieved. Double click
one of the listed expressions to insert it to the current
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 expression in the Parameters dialog. Press Escape or
click the Back button to return to the object list.

Behavior expressions are also shown for objects with

behaviors. The System page also lists all system
expressions, global variables and local variables which
are in scope (see Event Variables).

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 IMAGE FORMAT
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/image-format

The Image Format dialog is opened in the

Image/Animations editor to set the file format for an
image when the project is exported.

Images in the project are always saved in PNG-32

format. This is the only format that exactly preserves an
image with an alpha channel. The settings here are only
used when the project is exported. They are mainly
used to reduce the image file sizes so the game
download is smaller.

Images in either PNG format are also recompressed on

export to further reduce the filesize without affecting the
image quality. For more information on the
recompression techniques Construct 2 uses on export,
see this blog post on Image compression in Construct 2.
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 The Image Format dialog has the following options:

Format
The format of the image when exported. In brief, the
formats are as follows:
PNG-32 (default) can store true color images
losslessly (perfectly, without any quality loss) with full
alpha channel transparency. However, it usually also
produces the largest file.
PNG-8 is a 256-color version of PNG. It supports
alpha channel transparency, but within the 256 colors
only. Retro or low-color images should look exactly
the same in PNG-8. Images with more than 256
colors have to be reduced to only 256 colors which
can degrade the image quality. However, Construct 2
uses an advanced dithering algorithm (PNGNQ) to
achieve this color reduction. This means many
images still look almost identical. PNG-8 files are also
often much smaller than PNG-32 files, so using
PNG-8 is a useful way to reduce the download size
of the game.
JPEG is an image format designed for photographic
or highly detailed images. It does not support
transparency at all, so it is not suitable for images
which have any transparent areas or alpha channels
(they will appear as if on a black background).
However, JPEG can achieve the smallest files of all,
depending on the quality setting. This is generally
best for minimising the size of large background
images.
For more information on these formats see the
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 Wikipedia articles on PNG and JPEG.

Quality
The quality setting when using the JPEG format.
JPEG quality ranges from 0 (worst quality, smallest
file) to 100 (best quality, largest file). Quality settings
above 85 are often difficult to distinguish from the
original. 75 is recommended as a compromise
between quality and reducing the file size as much as
possible.

Apply this setting to

Allows you to set the same image format for many
images at once. This frame or This image applies the
image format only to the currently viewed image or
animation frame. This animation (Sprite only) applies
the image format to all the frames in the current
animation. All animations (Sprite only) applies the
image format to the entire object - all its frames in all
its animations. Entire project applies the image
format to every single image in the entire project. Use
this with care, since it overwrites every single other
object's image format settings, and cannot be
undone.

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 IMPORT AUDIO
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/import-audio

The Import Audio dialog allows audio files to be added to

the project from disk. It is accessed by selecting Import
Sounds or Import Music from the right-click menu of the
Sounds or Music folders in the Project Bar. Be sure to
add the Audio object to your project to play back sounds
and music.

Before the dialog appears, you will be prompted to select

some audio files from disk. You can select more than
one file. The files are listed in the Import Audio dialog
before importing, with tips about whether the format is
supported or not. You can also click Add more files... on
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 this screen to add some more files to the list.

Click Import to begin importing the listed files to the

project. This may take a while with long audio recordings
(e.g. music tracks); a progress bar may appear during
the processing. Only files which are in a supported
format are imported. Once importing has finished, the
list will show the results of which files were successfully
imported. Click Done to close the dialog. Note that
importing audio with the same name as audio files in the
project will cause those files to be replaced.

It is highly recommended to import PCM .wav files,

since they are commonly supported and Construct 2
can encode them to both Ogg Vorbis and MPEG-4 AAC
(only on Windows 7+).

Two audio formats are required

Browser makers have not been able to agree on a
common audio format for the web. Internet Explorer and
Safari use the proprietary MPEG-4 AAC (.m4a) format,
and all other browsers (Firefox, Chrome and Opera)
support the free Ogg Vorbis format.

For audio playback in all browsers, your audio must

therefore be in both formats. Construct 2 helps you by
encoding any uncompressed audio you import to both
.m4a and .ogg for you automatically. However due to
licensing restrictions around the proprietary MPEG-4
AAC format, Construct 2 will only encode .m4a files on
Windows 7 and newer. Users on Windows XP and
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 Vista must encode .m4a files on their own. The file
extension must be .m4a. Free encoders are available;
try searching the web for an AAC encoder.

The Ogg Vorbis format can be encoded on any system.

Construct 2 favours the Ogg Vorbis format. When

choosing a sound in the event system, only .ogg files
are listed. A .m4a file is considered a back-up to the
.ogg file for browsers which do not support Ogg Vorbis.
This also means if you import a .m4a file with no
corresponding .ogg file, it will not be listed in the event
system. This is by design.

Construct 2 will not trans-code .m4a files to .ogg nor

.ogg files to .m4a; it is recommended to import PCM
.wav files which Construct 2 can encode itself. Trans-
coding also degrades the quality to worse than if
uncompressed audio was encoded once.

Categorise audio files correctly

It is important to organise audio files appropriately,
because audio files in the Sounds project folder are
downloaded completely before playing, but files in the
Music folder are streamed. This means if a Music track
is accidentally put in the Sounds folder, it would have to
download completely (which could take a couple of
minutes) before it started playing. However, audio in the
Music folder can start playing immediately since it is
streamed from the server.

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 Supported audio formats
There are many audio formats and many of them have
different levels of support. Also, many formats have
sub-formats, and not all sub-formats are always
supported. This makes describing the audio support
complicated. A best effort is made below to summarise
the supported audio formats but this is not guaranteed
to give you results. Instead, it is highly recommended
you only import PCM .wav files, which are widely
supported and can be encoded to both .m4a and .ogg
by Construct 2. Note there are different types of .wav
file other than PCM: Construct 2 will try to display the
type of .wav file in the Import Audio dialog (in the picture
above, PCM files were used), but types other than PCM
may not import. Any good audio codec software will be
able to convert to PCM .wav. Try to avoid using "lossy"
formats before importing to Construct 2, else the quality
will be further degraded when Construct 2 encodes the
lossy .ogg and .m4a files.

The following formats are listed by their file extension,

and whether Construct 2 can encode them to Ogg
Vorbis (.ogg) and MPEG-4 AAC (.m4a).

.wav (PCM or PCM float format): Both

.flac (FLAC): Both
.ogg (Ogg Vorbis): Imported but not converted to
.m4a
.m4a (MPEG-4 AAC): Imported but not converted to
.ogg
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 .aif, .aiff, .aifc (AIFF): .ogg only
.aac (MPEG-4 AAC): .m4a only
.mp3 (MPEG-1 layer 3): .m4a only
.wma (Windows Media Audio): .m4a only

MIME types
When publishing a HTML5 game to your own server,
you must set up the correct MIME types. If the server
sends the wrong MIME types, audio may not play in
some browsers.

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 IMAGE POINTS
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/image-points

The Image Points dialog allows you to set the object

origin (the point of rotation) and image points (arbitrary
points that can be accessed by events) on an image. It
is accessed via the Image and Animations editor.

The Origin is a special kind of image point defining the

center of the object, or its point of rotation. It has a
different icon, colored red. The term image point usually
means "image points including the origin". Image points
have a zero based index, and the first image point
(number 0) is always the origin. The origin cannot be
renamed.

Image points are useful to create spawn points for other

objects. Since you can create objects at image points in
events, it is often useful to place an image point in
places like the end of the player's gun in the image.
Image points can also be given a name, and referred to
in events by this name.

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 Below, an image point is placed at the end of the player
graphic's gun. Notice the indicator there.

Select an image point in the list and a corresponding

point should appear on the image. Left click to place the
point under the mouse. The arrow keys can also nudge
it 1 pixel in each direction.

An image point can be quickly placed using the num

pad, e.g. 1 for the top-left corner or 5 for centered.
Alternatively the image point can be right clicked in the
Image Points dialog and an option chosen from the
quick assign menu.

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 Right clicking an image point in the Image Points dialog
also provides an Apply to whole animation option. This
sets the image point in the same relative place in all
frames in an animation. If an image point does not exist
in all frames in the animation, this option also creates it.
Holding shift while placing the image point is a shortcut
for this.

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 IMPORT SPRITE
STRIP DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/import-sprite-strip

This dialog allows you to import an image containing an

entire animation in a grid. It is accessed via the
Animation Frames bar. After choosing the Import sprite
strip... option, a dialog appears to select the image file.
After a file has been chosen, this dialog appears to tell
Construct 2 how many animation frames are in the
image.

For example, the following image has 7 horizontal cells

and since they are all on one row, only 1 vertical cell:

The following image is in a grid, so has 4 horizontal cells

and 4 vertical cells:

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 In both cases Construct 2 will separate each cell in the
image to a different animation frame.

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 INSERT NEW
OBJECT DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/insert-new-object

The Insert New Object dialog typically appears after

double clicking a space in a Layout View. It allows you
to choose the kind of object to insert (each kind is
known as a plugin). Inserting a new object creates a
new object type. See Project Structure for a description
of the difference between object types and instances.
Also see the Plugin Reference section of the manual for
documentation on each plugin.

Plugins are categorised in to related groups. Within

each group they are arranged alphabetically. Selecting
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 an item will display a brief description summarising what
the plugin does in the Description field at the bottom of
the dialog. Typing in the search box in the top right can
quickly filter down the list to help you find what you are
looking for.

The Name when inserted indicates what the name of

the object type in the project will be after you insert it. By
default this will be a numbered version of the plugin
name e.g. Sprite2, Sprite3 etc. It is a good idea to give
objects descriptive names so you don't get confused
when working on your project. You can enter a
descriptive name in this field which the object will use
when inserted, but if you don't you can still easily
rename objects via the Properties Bar or Project Bar.

Double click an item to insert it. If the object can be

placed in a layout and a Layout View is open, the cursor
turns to a crosshair for you to place the first instance of
that object. For objects with images or animations (like
Sprite), after you have placed this instance the
Image/Animations editor will appear to design the image
or animations for the object.

Other kinds of object (like the Keyboard and Audio

object) do not need placing in a layout. After inserting
one of these objects, the dialog closes but there is no
need to place it anywhere. Instead, a notification bar
appears indicating that they are available to the entire
project. This type of object can only be inserted once,
and will disappear from the list if the dialog is brought up
again.
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 ADD/EDIT
INSTANCE
VARIABLE
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/instance-variable

The Add/Edit Instance Variable dialog allows you to set

the name, type and initial value for an instance variable
in an object type. It can be opened from the Object
Instance Variables dialog.

The Name identifies the instance variable. This is typed

in to expressions after the object name (e.g.
[Link]) to retrieve the value of the instance
variable. Some names cannot be used if they conflict
with the names of the object's other expressions or
behaviors.

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 The Type specifies what kind of value the variable
holds. An instance variable can store a Number, Text
(also known as a string) or a Boolean (a simple on or off
value, sometimes also known as a flag). The type of an
instance variable does not change - for example, you
can't store text in a Number variable.

The Initial value is the initial number for a Number

variable, the initial text for a Text variable, or true or
false for a Boolean. Initial text can be empty. The initial
text entered here does not need double quotes around
it. In other words, Hello is a valid entry, and if you enter
"Hello" the initial string will include the double quotes.
Note this is different to entering strings in expressions
which require the double quotes.

The Description is an optional comment you can use to

briefly describe what the variable is used for. It is
displayed next to the name in the editor to help remind
you what to use the variable for. It is also displayed in
the Properties Bar description panel when the instance
variable's property is selected.

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 THE NEW
PROJECT
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/new-project

Note: Recent versions of Construct 2 have replaced this

dialog with the Start dialog.

The New Project dialog appears when creating a new

project. It allows you to choose between the different
project types.

Choose between a single-file project or folder project.

See project types for more information.

A single-file project can be created immediately, but a

folder project requires the project folder to be created
before starting. Single-file projects are generally more
convenient for small projects, and folder-based projects
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 more convenient for large projects. The type can be
changed at any time by choosing Save as project or
Save as single file in the File menu.

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 THE OBJECT
INSTANCE
VARIABLES
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/object-instance-
variables

The Object Instance Variables dialog lists all the

instance variables an object type has. It can be opened
from the Properties Bar while the object's properties are
showing, or from right-clicking the object in the Project
Bar or Object Bar and selecting Instance variables....

Instance variables can be added with the toolbar at the

top or by right-clicking and selecting Add instance
variable. This opens the Add Instance Variable dialog.
The toolbar and right-click menu also allow you to
rename (F2) or delete (Del) instance variables. Double
click an instance variable in the list to edit it.

Instance variables can be reordered by using the Up

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 and Down buttons on the toolbar, or by dragging and
dropping them. The order of instance variables is just for
organisation - it does not affect how they actually work.

If all instances of the object type have the same initial

value for an instance variable, it is displayed in the Initial
value column. However, different instances can have
different initial values set via the Properties Bar. If there
are different initial values across the instances, the
Initial value column will display <varies>. Editing an
instance variable with varying values and changing the
initial value from the Edit Instance Variable dialog will
set a new initial value for all the instances, overwriting
the previous value for all of them.

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 THE OBJECT
BEHAVIORS
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/object-behaviors

The Object Behaviors dialog lists all the behaviors an

object type has. It can be opened from the Properties
Bar while the object's properties are showing, or from
right-clicking the object in the Project Bar or Object Bar
and selecting Behaviors.... For documentation on
individual behaviors, see the Behavior Reference
section of the manual.

Behaviors can be added with the toolbar at the top or by

right-clicking and selecting Add behavior. This opens
the Add Behavior dialog. The toolbar and right-click
menu also allow you to rename (F2) or delete (Del)
behaviors. The behavior is referred to in the event
system by its name.
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 Behaviors can be reordered by using the Up and Down
buttons on the toolbar, or by dragging and dropping
them. The order of behaviors is just for organisation - it
does not affect how they actually work.

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 THE
PARAMETERS
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/parameters

The Parameters dialog appears after the Add condition

or action dialog, or when editing a condition or action. It
allows you to enter parameters such as the X and Y co-
ordinate for the Sprite object's Set Position action
(shown below). It does not appear for conditions or
actions which do not use any parameters, such as the
Destroy action. Expressions can be entered for
parameters, which can be anything from a simple value
to a sophisticated mathematical calculation.

The Expressions panel appears next to the Parameters

dialog providing a list of all the expressions you can
enter. By default the Expressions panel is faded out
unless you hover the mouse over it. It can also be
hidden or shown by pressing F4.

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 Use the Expressions panel to locate system
expressions, object expressions, behavior expressions,
global and local variables and instance variables.
Alternatively you can use autocomplete: just start
typing, and a list of all the options appears. Additionally
if you type as far as the dot in an object expression (e.g.
Sprite.) a list of all the object's expressions appears,
shown below. This also appears after the dot when
entering a behavior expression (e.g. Sprite.8Direction.).
Use the Up and Down arrows to pick an item in the
suggestions list, and press Enter to insert it. This can
help you enter expressions much more quickly.

Some expressions also show tips to help you remember

how to use the expression, shown below. This appears
when you type the open bracket ( for the expression.
This is most useful for System expressions which tend
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 to have multiple parameters.

Press Tab to move to the next parameter or Shift + Tab

to move to the previous. Enter is also a shortcut to press
Done (you may have to press Enter twice if
autocomplete is showing: once to choose the
autocomplete entry, and again to close the dialog).

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 PREFERENCES
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/preferences

The Preferences dialog contains settings for the

Construct 2 editor. It can be opened from the File menu.
Settings are organised in to five tabs: General, HTML5
exporter, Backup, Misc and Colors.

General
This section contains general settings for the Construct
2 editor.

Resize handle size

Change the size of the resize handles in the Layout
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 View. The default is Small.

Event sheet font

Change font used in the Event Sheet View. The
default is Segoe UI, 9pt.

Show start page on startup

If checked, the Start Page appears when starting the
Construct 2 editor. If disabled a blank screen is
shown on startup instead.

Close the start page when I click on something

If checked, the Start Page will close as soon as you
click on one of the links (e.g. a recent project).
Otherwise, the Start Page's tab is left open.

Update checking
Choose one of: Don't for updates: Construct 2 will
not access the Internet to check for new versions.
This is not recommended, since new versions often
contain significant improvements. Check for beta
updates: Check online for new testing releases from
Scirra. Check for updates: Check online for new
releases from Scirra which have already been tested
by people checking for beta updates.

Reset dialogs
Click this button to reset all dialogs and bars in the
user interface to their default position and size. A
prompt will appear to confirm this, then you must
restart Construct 2 for the change to take effect. This
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 is useful if you want to get the default UI back. Also,
if for any reason dialogs appear glitchy or no longer
appear when you try to open them, resetting them
with this option can bring them back.

HTML5 exporter
This section contains settings for Construct 2's HTML5
exporter, as well as the local server used for previewing.

Default preview browser

Choose the Preview browser setting for new
projects. This does not affect any existing projects.

Custom browser
Choose any executable file on disk to be launched
for previewing when the Preview browser is set to
Custom. For example, you may want to install a pre-
release (beta) browser alongside the stable release,
and have the option to also preview in the pre-release
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 browser. Alternatively, Construct 2 sometimes cannot
detect the traditional browsers even when they are
installed, so you can manually specify a browser
here.

Default export folder

Choose the default folder for exporting to in the
Export Project dialog. In this path <project name> is
replaced with the name of the project, or the name of
the project is appended to the path if it is not present.
The default is to your desktop.

HTTP server port

The port to use when previewing. By default this is
50000 . You should not change this unless you know
there is something else using port 50000 on your
computer. Construct 2 will also try the next 100 ports
if the chosen one is in use. You must restart
Construct 2 before any changes to the port take
effect.

Preview on LAN address

Enter the IP address of your computer on your local
area network (LAN) to enable sharing preview with
any device on your LAN. Click the button to the right
to see a list of possible IP addresses for your
computer. To use this feature, you must also allow
the HTTP server port inbound through your firewall,
and Construct 2 must be running with administrator
permissions. Alternatively, entering localhost only
previews on your computer, and does not require
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 administrator permission. More information on how to
set up and use this feature is in the tutorial How to
preview on a local network.

Autosave
This section contains settings for making autosaves.

Enable autosave
If enabled, Construct 2 will automatically save the
project to a .[Link] file in the same folder on
a regular interval (as determined by Autosave
frequency). In the event of a crash, power failure, or
even just accidentally closing and not saving, the
project can be recovered from the last autosave by
renaming the file with the .[Link] extension
to just .capx and opening it again. This should
minimise the amount of work lost. It is strongly
recommended to keep backups to separate backup
folders using the Backup tab in addition to this, since
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 disasters such as fire or disk failure could still result
in lost work if the entire storage media becomes
unusable.

Autosave frequency
How often to make autosaves, if autosaving is
enabled. Note that autosaves cannot be made in
some circumstances, such as when modal dialog
boxes are showing. If an autosave is due in such
circumstances, the autosave will be made as soon as
possible afterwards. The autosave frequency is a
trade-off between possibly being irritating if made
very frequently with a large project (since autosaves
could take a while to complete), versus losing a lot of
work if autosaves are made very infrequently and
there is a crash or power failure. You can also set
autosaves to happen after preview, so once the
browser has loaded the preview for testing then
Construct 2 will make an autosave in the
background, which could be a less intrusive option.

Backup
This section contains settings to help you set up
automatic backup for your work. This is essential to
ensure your work is safe even in the event of
catastrophes like hardware failure, theft, fire or floods.
For more information, see the tutorial Keep your work
safe with Construct 2's backup options.

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 Auto-backup
Save single-file (.capx) backups in the same folder as
your project whenever pressing 'Save'. These have
the file extension .[Link]. For example, if 3
auto-backups are enabled, [Link].backup1 is
the last save, [Link].backup2 is two saves ago,
and [Link].backup3 is three saves ago. By
default Construct 2 keeps one auto-backup file,
allowing you to recover your project in the event
software or hardware failure causes your main project
to become corrupt. However, in many scenarios you
can lose your auto-backups at the same time as your
main project; for this reason, it is highly
recommended to also set up a scheduled backup to
an off-site location.

Backup folders (scheduled backup)

To ensure your work is always safe, it's vital to also
back up your project to off-site locations, or at least
on a different computer or hard disk. (Backing up to a
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 Dropbox folder is specifically recommended as a free
and straightforward off-site backup.) To help you do
this, Construct 2 can save your project to different
folders at regular intervals. You can choose up to
three backup folders and the time interval that
backups should be made. Files are saved as single-
file (.capx) projects with some random text appended
to prevent two identically named files in different
folders overwriting each other's backups (e.g. myfile-
[Link] and [Link]). Note:
backups are only made when pressing the 'Save'
button. Simply opening a project that somebody has
sent you will not make a backup for it unless you
modify it and click 'Save'.

Misc
This section has miscellaneous settings.

Help links
Construct 2 comes with an offline manual, which you
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 can use if your computer has no internet connection
or has temporarily lost connectivity. However, the
online manual's content is likely to be more up to
date, so it is recommended to use the online manual
where possible. Note not all help links are included in
the offline manual, such as some tutorials or other
online resources; these will be opened online
regardless of the setting here. The options in this tab
are as follows: Auto-detect - automatically open the
online manual if Construct 2 detects there is an
internet connection; otherwise open the offline
manual. This is the recommended option since you
will see the most up-to-date content in the online
manual, but automatically fall back to offline content if
your connection is lost. Note this option is only
available on Windows Vista and newer. Always use
offline manual - help links will always launch offline
content, if the content is in the offline manual. Always
use online manual - help links will always launch
online content, regardless of whether an internet
connection is present.

External image editor

Choose the path to another image editing tool to
launch when selecting the Open in external editor
option in the Image Editor.

Cache icons in editor

For very large projects, the icon cache may cause
Windows to run out of memory. Turning off this
option may allow the editor to continue to work in this
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 case, at the cost of reduced editor performance.

Colors
This section allows you to customise the color theme
used in the Event Sheet View and Layout View.

You can choose an existing theme by selecting one

from the Choose theme dropdown and clicking Load
selected theme. Note this loses your current settings, so
you may want to save them first. The themes listed in
the dropdown are "Default" plus any theme XML files in
the install directory themes subfolder. To add a new
entry, use the Save as new theme option.

Click Edit colors to bring up a dialog where you can

change all the current colors used throughout the editor.
This does not modify the selected theme - only the
colors that you are using right now. After making
changes, you will need to reopen any editor tabs that
are currently open for all the changes to take effect.
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 Click Save as new theme to save the current colors
chosen with Edit colors to a theme XML file. If this is
placed in the install directory themes subfolder, the
theme will subsequently appear in the Choose theme
dropdown for easy access in future.

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 THE START
DIALOG
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/dialogs/start-dialog

The Start dialog appears when creating a new project. It

allows you to choose a template to start working from, or
an example or demo game to learn from.

The list of templates, examples and demos can be

searched with the box in the top right. Templates can
offer a convenient starting point for projects aimed at
certain platforms, with useful settings and objects
already set up.

When you create a new project, it is always set up as a

single file (.capx) project. To save as a folder-based
project, which is more suitable for large projects or
collaboration, use the File menu Save as project option.
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 For more information, see Saving and sharing projects.

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 CONSTRUCT 2
KEYBOARD
SHORTCUTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/keyboard-shortcuts

General
Ctrl + X Cut

Ctrl + C Copy

Ctrl + V Paste

Ctrl + Drag with mouse left button Duplicate

Ctrl + Z Undo

Ctrl + Y Redo

Ctrl + A Select all

Ctrl + N New project

Ctrl + O Open project

Ctrl + S Save project

Alt + F4 Close Construct 2

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 You can also press Alt to navigate the ribbon. When
you press it, some tooltips should appear indicating the
keys to press for each option.

F4 Preview project from first layout

Ctrl + F4 Debug from first layout

F5 Preview current layout (hold shift for continuous

preview)

Ctrl + F5 Debug current layout

F6 Export project

Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Up or Num pad + Zoom in

Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Down or Num pad - Zoom out

Add shift to adjust the zoom distance.

Ctrl + 0 Return to 100% zoom

Middle mouse button drag or Hold space and move

mouse Pan the view

Delete Delete selected item(s)

F2 Rename selected item

Ctrl + click Add or remove clicked item from selection

Shift + click As with Ctrl, but in Event Sheet View this

selects everything in between the last selected item and
the clicked item.
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 Escape Cancel drag or placement or event search

Ctrl + Tab Go to next tab to right

Ctrl + Shift + Tab Go to next tab to left

Layout view
See also: Layout View

Ctrl + E or Shift + Tab Go to associated event sheet

Arrow keys Nudge selected objects 1 pixel - hold Shift to

nudge 10 pixels

Hold Shift while resizing objects for proportional resize

Hold Shift while rotating objects to lock to 5 degree

increments

Hold Shift while dragging objects for axis-lock (move

along diagonals only)

Hold tab and click a selected object to select the next

object underneath in the Z order

Hold alt while moving selection to temporarily disable

grid snapping while held

Hold control while resizing selection to resize relative to

the center of the object

Ctrl + D Unselect all

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 Ctrl + Shift + Up Send to front of layer

Ctrl + Shift + Down Send to back of layer

C Center horizontally in window

T Align to top of window

Enter Wrap selection (to rotate or stretch the selection

as a whole)

W Select container and wrap. For example, select one

object in a container of eight objects, press W, then all
eight objects are selected and wrapped.

To paste objects in-place (so they paste at their original

positions, instead of relative to the mouse), hold Shift
while placing a paste. The full process is: Ctrl + C to
copy an object; press Ctrl + V to turn the mouse to a
crosshair, hold Shift and click, all objects paste at their
original positions (instead of by the mouse) and the
mouse returns to a normal cursor.

When editing tilemaps using the Tilemap Bar:

1 Set normal layout selection

2 Set pencil tile tool

3 Set rectangle tile tool

4 Set erase tile tool

X Flip horizontal
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 Y Flip vertical

Z Rotate 90 degrees clockwise

Shift + right click Select a patch of tiles from the tilemap

Event Sheet View

See also: Event Sheet View

Ctrl + L or Shift + Tab Go to associated layout (if any -

event sheets only used via includes have no associated
layout)

Ctrl + F Open 'Events' ribbon tab and focus the event

search field

Ctrl + Home Go to top of sheet

Ctrl + End Go to bottom of sheet

Ctrl + F2 Toggle bookmark at selected event

F2 Go to next bookmark in project

Shift + F2 Go to previous bookmark in project

F3 Toggle breakpoint

F8 Copy a screenshot of the selected events,

conditions or actions to the clipboard

In the new condition/action dialog or parameters dialog:

Alt + Left Back/Cancel

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 Alt + Right Next/Done

Up arrow key and Down arrow key Move the selection

up and down the event sheet

Left arrow key and Right arrow key Move the selection
sideways between Events, Conditions and Actions

Enter Edit selected item

Escape Clear event search

A Add action

B Add blank subevent

C Add condition

D Toggle selected items disabled

E or Num pad + Add event below

Shift + E or Num pad - Add event above

G Add group

I Invert selected conditions

N Add include

R Replace object

Q Add comment

S Add subevent
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 V Add variable

X Add 'Else' event following selected event

Y Toggle 'Or' block

Parameters dialog
The parameters dialog is where you enter expressions,
e.g. the X and Y co-ordinate for Set position.

F4 Toggle the floating expressions panel visible. This

shows every expression you can use.

Tab Next parameter

Shift + Tab Previous parameter

Escape Cancel

Enter Done

Image and Animations editor

See also: Image and Animations editor

Quick assign origin and image points:

Num pad 1 or End Bottom left

Num pad 2 Bottom

Num pad 3 or Page down Bottom right

Num pad 4 Left

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 Num pad 5 Center

Num pad 6 Right

Num pad 7 or Home Top left

Num pad 8 Top

Num pad 9 or Page up Top right

Arrow keys Nudge 1 pixel

Hold Shift to apply the origin/image point to the entire

animation. Shift + Click also applies that positioning to
the entire animation.

Shift + Crop button Crop entire animation

Shift + Mirror button Mirror entire animation

Shift + Flip button Flip entire animation

Shift + Rotate Clockwise button Rotate entire animation

clockwise

Shift + Rotate Anticlockwise button Rotate entire

animation anticlockwise

Animations only:

Ctrl + Left or - Previous animation frame

Ctrl + Right or + Next animation frame

P Preview animation
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 THE DEBUGGER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/interface/debugger

Bugs refer to software defects - things not working as

you expected in your game or app. Debugging refers to
the process of fixing these issues. The Construct 2
debugger is a tool to help you find and fix bugs in your
game.
Note: the debugger is available in the Free edition of
Construct 2, but the 'Watch' and 'Profile' tabs, the
ability to edit values, and the ability to use breakpoints,
are unavailable.

How to run the debugger

The debugger can be run from the ribbon Home tab, the
quick-launch bar, by right-clicking a layout or project in
the Project Bar, or by using the keyboard shortcut
Ctrl+F5.

The debugger works much like an ordinary preview,

except that an extra panel appears alongside the game
in the browser showing lots of information and some
useful controls.
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 When in debug mode, the address in the browser also
ends with /debug, e.g. [Link]
You can also switch between normal preview and the
debugger by going between these URLs. You can even
run the debugger on a mobile device using preview over
Wifi and adding /debug to the end of the preview URL
as well, e.g. [Link]

Customising the debugger panel

The debug panel in the browser can be resized by
pulling the gripper that appears in the grey titlebar of the
debugger (to the left of where it says Inspector). This
allows you to pull it out to see more information, or
collapse it down to just its tools and a summary of the
performance information.

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 The debugger can also be popped out in to its own
window. This is especially useful on multi-monitor
setups. The game will show using the full browser
window, and a separate browser window displays the
debug panel. Click the pop-out button indicated below to
do this. Clicking it again, or closing the popup window,
will restore it to the main browser window again.

The main debugger commands

Alongside the pop-out button are some other useful
tools. They are as follows:

Pause
Pause the game so it is no longer progressing. This
is useful to spend a while inspecting some
information at a particular moment. When paused it
turns in to a Resume button; click it again to resume
running.

Step
can only be used when paused. It advances the
game by a single frame. Delta-time (dt) is set as if the
game were running at 60 FPS. This can be useful to
inspect a moment frame-by-frame and watch how an
event like a collision is handled.

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 Save
and Load make a temporary savegame, allowing you
to quickly save the state of the game and then
restore back to that state at any time later on. This
can be useful for repeatedly running the same part of
a game over and over again. As with ordinary
savegames, the state is stored persistently in the
current browser. So the savegame will not be
available in a different browser, but will be available in
the same browser even after closing and reopening it,
rebooting, etc.

Restart
will simply refresh the game, loading it from scratch
again.

Performance summary
Some details about the performance of the game appear
in a light grey. For more advice on performance, see
Performance Tips. The displayed values are, reading
from left to right:

The object count

(e.g. 500 objects): how many objects are currently
created. Using too many objects can degrade
performance. This value corresponds to the
objectcount system expression.

The framerate
(e.g. 60 FPS): how many frames per second the
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 game is running at. Most system's displays update at
60 Hz, so the game should run at 60 FPS for optimal
rendering. This value corresponds to the fps system
expression.

The estimated CPU time

(e.g. 20% CPU): an estimate of how much CPU time
is being spent in the logic of the game. This is not
always accurate, especially since it only takes in to
account time spent on the main javascript thread, and
should only be considered a ballpark figure. The
profiler can break this down in to how much time is
being spent in each area of the game, and is
described in more detail later on in this guide. This
value corresponds to the CPUUtilisation system
expression.

The estimated image memory use

(e.g. 32.5mb images): an estimate of how much
memory is being used by the currently loaded images
in the game. This is only available in WebGL mode.
Images typically use up the most memory in a game,
but note this value excludes everything else, such as
memory required to run the logic of the game, and
memory required to play music and sound effects.
See the blog post Remember not to waste your
memory for more advice on image memory use. This
value corresponds to the ImageMemoryUsage
system expression.

The renderer
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 (e.g. webgl): whether the game is rendering in
canvas2d or webgl mode. WebGL mode is faster and
supports shader effects. This value corresponds to
the renderer system expression. Some additional
performance details appear in the Performance
section of the System object's inspector view, which
is displaying by default:

Collision checks/sec
(e.g. 1144 (~22 / tick)): how many times in the last
second the engine had to test for a collision between
two objects. Collision checks are invoked by the On
collision or Is overlapping sprite conditions, and
many behaviors perform additional collision checks
automatically. In brackets, the average checks per
tick is also shown. For example if there were 600
collision checks in the last second and the framerate
is 60 FPS, the estimated checks per tick will be 10.
This tells you on average there were about ten
collision checks per frame, although the actual value
will often vary frame-by-frame.

Poly checks/sec
(e.g. 60 (~1 / tick)): most collision checks are very
fast, and the engine can tell trivially that two objects
are not overlapping (by verifying that their bounding
boxes do not overlap). However if two objects'
bounding boxes are overlapping, the engine must do
a more expensive check where the collision polygons
of each object are tested against each other. This
value tells how many checks of this kind were made
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 in the last second, as well as with the average per tick
as with the Collision checks/sec value. Usually the
Poly checks/sec value is considerably smaller, but if
it is high, it indicates a possible performance problem.

The 'Inspector' tab

The debugger has three tabs: the Inspector, the Watch,
and the Profile tabs. The Inspector tab is used to view
and edit values .

The Inspector view is divided in to two sections: on the

left appears a list of all the object types in the project,
including the System object, and on the right appears a
list of tables of values relating to the selected object,
similar to the Properties Bar.

The object list

Click the name of an object type in the object list to
expand it. The number of instances of that object type
appears in brackets after the object name. If the object
type only has one instance, or is a global object like the
System object or Audio object, it will immediately start
inspecting the object. Otherwise it expands a dropdown
with a list of all the object instances sorted by their index
ID (IID). Clicking a particular instance will then inspect
just that instance.

The values view

As with the Properties Bar, the values view shows a list
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 of categorised tables displaying all the information about
the currently inspected object. The displayed values
depend on what is being inspected; for example the
Sprite object displays information about its current
animation frame, the Audio object displays information
about currently playing sound and music, and the
System object displays information about the engine,
layout, and layers. Most often these values correspond
to object properties from the Properties bar, as well as
the object's expressions.

Instance variables and behavior values are also shown

if the selected object has any.

It is often useful to view these values while running the

game. However, they can also be edited. As with the
Properties Bar, simply click on a value and type in a
new value to change it. Edited values appear in bold.
Not all values are editable - those with a light grey
background are read-only. This can be an excellent way
to experiment with how your project works.

The eye icon to the right of values can be used to add

the value to the Watch tab. This is described in more
detail later on.

The Tools section gives you the ability to destroy the

inspected object. By default the inspected object is also
outlined with a dotted red rectangle in the game. If this is
distracting, uncheck the Highlight checkbox.

Objects in a container also provide a list of links to

inspect the other instances in the container with the
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 currently inspected object.

The 'Watch' tab

The inspector only allows you to view one object at a
time, and often also includes a great deal of information,
most of which you may not be interested in. Clicking the
eye icon beside values in the Inspector adds that single
value to the Watch tab. This allows you to combine
different values from different objects in to a single
space, as well as reduce the displayed values to just the
ones you're interested in.

In the Watch tab, values can be edited as with the

Inspect tab.

The Watch tab shows crosses instead of eyes to the

right of the values. Click the cross to remove the value
from the watch. Note if you are watching a value from
an object and the object is destroyed, the watch value
will automatically be removed.

Category headers also have their own eye or cross

icons. Clicking them will add or remove the entire
section to or from the watch.

The 'Profile' tab

The Profile tab provides a more detailed breakdown of
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 the estimated CPU usage. The game must be running
continuously for the profiler to be able to collect and
display information. It then displays a breakdown of the
estimated CPU time spent in each part of the game
logic. It updates once a second and the values shown
are for the previous second only.

It must be noted that the overall CPU usage is an

estimate to begin with, and all other values are therefore
estimates. The details shown in the profiler only relate to
the main javascript thread, and the CPU could be busy
with other tasks, such as processing audio or running
pathfinding calculations. Additionally the time for the
GPU to render the game is not taken in to account at all
by the profiler. It is entirely possible the framerate is
limited by the speed at which the GPU can render, but
the profiler is not able to directly identify this. It can be
inferred if the framerate is low but the CPU usage is not
high.

Despite the above caveats, the profiler can be used to

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 identify "hot spots" which would be good candidates to
attempt to optimise first if there is a performance
problem. For more performance advice, see
Performance Tips. Note that optimisation is often not
necessary and is a waste of time if the game is already
running fast enough. For a deeper discussion of the
subject, see the blog post Optimisation: don't waste your
time.

Profiler breakdown
The profiler shows nested tables identifying how much
CPU time has been spent in each part of the engine,
down to individual event groups. The top-level items are:

Events
A breakdown of how much time was spent running
event logic in the event sheets used by the layout.
This is first broken down in to each event sheet (in
case includes were used), and then further down in
to groups and nested groups of events. This can help
identify the most CPU-intensive events which you
may want to optimise.

Physics simulation
How much time has been spent processing the
Physics behavior. Physics simulation can be very
CPU-intensive. If this value is high, consider using
fewer physics objects.

Draw calls
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 How long it took the CPU to issue rendering calls, not
including the time for the GPU to complete them. In
some cases, rendering calls can be quite CPU
intensive, especially when very large numbers of
objects are on-screen. Some browsers also forward
all draw calls to another thread to be processed in
parallel, in which case the Draw calls measurement
will likely be an underestimate.

Engine
The remaining time spent in the Construct 2 engine,
which is the overall estimated CPU with the events,
physics and draw calls times subtracted away. This
includes processing behaviors and other engine
housekeeping.

Breakpoints
When running the debugger, it's possible to set
breakpoints to pause execution of an event sheet on a
specific event, condition or action. For more information,
see the manual entry on breakpoints.

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 PROJECT
PRIMITIVES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives

This section outlines the primitives (i.e. basic elements)

of projects. These primitives provide the building blocks
which complex games can be built from. For an at-a-
glance summary, see Project structure from the
Overview section.

Construct 2 uses a programming-free event system to

design games. If you are new to the event system, the
section on How events work is highly recommended.

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 PROJECTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/projects

A project is a complete game or app made in Construct

2. Projects contain every element making up the game,
ranging from events to sound files. An overview of the
project is shown in the Project Bar where elements can
be added, renamed, removed and arranged in to folders
for organisation. See Project structure for a summary of
the elements making up a project. The rest of this
manual section goes in to more detail about each part of
a project.

Projects can be opened, closed and exported from the

File menu. See also Saving and sharing projects and
Exporting and Publishing. If you are interested in the
technical details of exported projects see Technology. It
is recommended to follow some best practices while
working on projects.

Project properties
The properties for a project can be edited in the
Properties Bar after selecting the name of the project in
the Project Bar, or using the Project Properties shortcut
in Layout Properties.

The Name, Author and Description properties are used

for some of the export options, so be sure to fill them out
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 accurately for any important projects.

Name
The name or title of the project.

Version
The version of the project, which conventionally is
four numbers in descending importance (e.g.
[Link]), where the first number is the major version
and the last number is the revision number. This is
also used by several exporters to assign the version
to your published app. It is good practice to increment
this each time you export your project.

Description
A sentence or two giving a short summary of the
project. Several exporters also use this as the
description for your published app.

ID
An ID uniquely identifying your application. This
should be in reverse domain format, such as
[Link]. Some exporters use this
as the ID for your exported app, so try to ensure it will
be unique.

Author
The name of the individual or organisation developing
the project.

Email
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 A support or contact email address for the project.
Some exporters use this to fill out the Email field of
the published app.

Website
A link to the author's website or other related web
address. Some exporters use this to fill out the
Website field of the published app.

First layout
Select which layout is the first to appear when the
project is exported. When previewing in the editor
usually a specific layout is previewed, so this setting
has no effect until export.

Use loader layout

Use First layout as a special layout which shows
while the rest of the layout is loading. The
loadingprogress system expression returns the
current progress from 0 to 1 (e.g. 0.5 for half
completed). For more information, see the tutorial
how to make a custom loading screen.

Pixel rounding
By default Construct 2 objects can be drawn at sub-
pixel positions, e.g. (100.3, 200.8). If the browser is
using linear filtering, this can make fine pixel art
appear blurry. If Pixel rounding is set to On,
Construct 2 objects round their position to a whole
number before drawing, e.g. (100, 201). This
prevents any blurring, and can also prevent "seams"
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 appearing on grids of objects. Note this does not
affect their actual X and Y co-ordinates, which can
still be between pixels - it only affects where they are
drawn on the screen.

Preview effects
Whether or not to display effects and blend modes in
the Layout View. If enabled, WebGL must also be
enabled for the effects to appear. If disabled, WebGL
effects are not rendered in the editor, and all objects
are drawn as if they have Normal blend mode.

Window size
The size, in pixels, of the viewport in to the game. It is
only used if Fullscreen in browser is Off. A dashed
line indicating the window size appears in the Layout
View.

Preview browser
Choose which browser is launched when previewing
the project. All major browsers for Windows are
listed. Note Microsoft Edge is only available on
Windows 10+. Use (default) to launch the system
default browser. Use Custom to launch a custom
browser set in Preferences. It is highly recommended
to test in multiple browsers before releasing your
project. It is also possible to choose [Link], which is
essentially a standalone version of the Google
Chrome browser used for desktop publishing; in this
mode, the [Link] plugin also works and can be tested
in preview.
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 Fullscreen in browser
Instead of showing the project in a rectangle in a web
page (with this option Off), the display can take up
the entire browser window. There are several
variations; for more information see the tutorial on
supporting multiple screen sizes.

Fullscreen scaling
Only has an effect when a fullscreen mode is in use
(when Fullscreen in browser is not Off). High quality
mode renders at the full resolution of the screen. Low
quality mode first renders at the project Window
Size, and then simply stretches the result to fill the
screen. Low quality mode often improves
performance on low-end systems and is often
suitable for retro-style pixellated games with Point
sampling. However text, downscaled sprites and
WebGL shaders appear with better quality and detail
in high quality mode.

Use high-DPI display

Some devices have a much higher resolution display,
with more dots per inch (DPI) than other devices.
Setting this property to Yes will use the full resolution
of the device for maximum display quality, although
this can sometimes reduce performance. Setting to
No will treat the display like a traditional low-
resolution display, which reduces detail but can
improve performance.

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 Orientations
Whether to lock the orientation on mobile devices.
Any allows the display to switch between portrait and
landscape automatically; choosing either portrait or
landscape will attempt to lock the orientation to
prevent it changing. Not all browsers or platforms
support orientation locking, and in some browsers it
must be in fullscreen mode (using the Browser
object's Request fullscreen action) before orientation
lock takes effect.

Enable WebGL
Enable the faster and more powerful WebGL
renderer where supported. The canvas 2D renderer
will be used instead if WebGL is not supported. See
the Technology section for more information on
renderers. If WebGL is enabled, effects will also be
previewed in the layout view.

Sampling
Choose between linear (smooth) and point
(pixellated) sampling when resizing images. Linear is
recommended for modern games with hi-res
graphics, and point is better suited to retro games
with blocky pixel art.

Downscaling
Adjusts the tradeoff between rendering quality and
memory use when resizing images to smaller than
their original size (downscaling). The options are:
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 Low quality: mipmaps are disabled (reducing memory
use), but downscaled sprites may appear blocky or
pixellated Medium quality: mipmaps are enabled.
Downscaling sprites generally looks better. High
quality: mipmaps are enabled and the spritesheet
after export pads out all images to power-of-two sizes.
This can significantly increase memory use, but can
resolve two minor rendering issues: light fringing that
can sometimes occur along the borders of
downscaled objects, or a quality change in the last
frame of an animation. Do not use this mode unless a
rendering artefact is specifically observed and
selecting this mode can be observed to resolve it: the
increased memory usage can be very significant, and
is not a cost that should be added for no reason. For
more information see Memory usage.

Physics engine
Choose which engine will power the Physics
behavior. It is strongly recommended to use the
Box2D [Link] engine for best performance. The
Box2D web engine is kept only for backwards
compatibility reasons and is no longer being actively
maintained.

Loader style
Change the default loader which is shown while the
game is loading, or while the loader layout is itself still
loading. Note the Free edition can only use the "C2
splash" style. See the tutorial how to make a custom
loading screen for more information.
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 Preload sounds
Whether to download and decode sounds before the
game can start. If Yes, then sounds will be
downloaded while the loading bar is showing. If No
then sounds will be downloaded on-demand as the
game runs, which can add a delay on the first time
they are played, but it also means there is less to
download before the game can start. Note this option
does not preload music, which will still be streamed
as the game runs.

Pause on unfocus
If set to Yes, the preview will pause when the browser
window loses focus, e.g. when switching back to work
in Construct 2. This can be useful for certain
workflows such as using continuous preview. If set to
No the preview will continue to run even without
focus, but note switching to another browser tab or
minimising the browser window will still pause (as it
does with published projects).

Clear background
Skip clearing the screen to transparent black at the
start of every frame. This is useful to improve
performance on mobiles (see Performance Tips).
Every tick, the frame is firstly cleared to transparent
black, then secondly the background colour of the
bottom layer is filled in (if not transparent), then finally
objects are drawn. 'Clear background' sets whether to
do the first clear. The layer 'transparent' property sets
whether to do the second clear. If all layouts have
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 opaque layers in them, you can safely set 'Clear
background' to 'No' since a layer background will
always clear the screen. If all layouts are completely
obscured by sprites or other objects, you can also set
all layers to transparent to skip both clears every tick.
However, in this case, any areas not covered by
objects will appear glitchy or full of garbage pixel data.

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 LAYOUTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/layouts

A layout is a pre-arranged layout of objects. It can

represent a game level, menu or title screen. In other
tools layouts may be referred to as scenes, rooms,
frames or stages. They can be added, renamed and
deleted from the Project Bar. Layouts are edited in the
Layout View. Every layout has an associated event
sheet which defines how the layout works.

Layouts contain a stack of layers. Objects that appear

on the screen do not belong directly to a layout - they
always sit on one of the layers in the layout.

Layouts do not have a background color. To set a

background color, make the bottom layer opaque and
set its background color. This can be done in the Layers
Bar.

Layouts can also have effects applied, which affects all

content appearing in the display.

Adding and removing layouts

To add a layout, right-click a layout folder (such as the
root level Layouts) in the Project Bar and select Add
layout.

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 To rename or remove a layout, right-click the layout
itself in the Project Bar and select Rename or Delete.

Layout properties
The properties for a layout can be edited in the
Properties Bar after clicking a space in the layout or
selecting the name of the layout in the Project Bar.

Name
The name of this layout.

Event sheet
The associated event sheet that defines how this
layout works. Event sheets can be shared between
layouts using includes if you have a lot of similar
events between layouts.

Active layer
This is the layer new objects are placed on to. It is
also set by selecting a layer in the Layers Bar. The
active layer is displayed in the status bar and is also
shown as a tooltip when inserting a new object. All
newly inserted objects are added to the active layer.

Unbounded scrolling
By default the game window cannot scroll past the
edges of the layout. Set this to Yes to allow unlimited
scrolling in any direction, even past the edges of the
layout.

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 Layout size
The size, in pixels, of the layout area. If Unbounded
scrolling is On, this still affects how much of the
layout area is shown in the Layout View.

Margins
The size, in pixels, of the margins. The margins are
the grey areas outside the layout area. This only
affects the Layout View and has no effect when
previewing.

Project properties
A shortcut to view the project's properties.

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 LAYERS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/layers

A layer is like a transparent sheet of glass that objects

are painted on to. Layers can be used to show different
groups of objects in front or behind each other, like the
foreground and background. Layers belong to a layout
and can be added, edited and removed in the Layers
Bar. Layers can be scrolled at different rates for parallax
effects, and also individually scaled and rotated, which
makes them a powerful way to make interesting visual
effects in games.

Layers are also important to add non-scrolling interfaces

(or HUDs or UIs) to scrolling games. A layer with its
parallax set to 0, 0 will not scroll at all, so any objects
placed on this layer will always stay in the same place
on-screen.

A common arrangement for layers might be:

HUD (top layer - health bar, UI info etc.)

Foreground (main game objects)

Middleground (a parallaxing background layer)

Background (bottom layer - the background)

Layers can also have effects applied, which affects all

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 content appearing on the layer.

Global layers
Sometimes many layouts in a project have the same
content on a particular layer, such as for interface or
HUD overlaid on to the game. Changing this content
then becomes a chore since changes must be repeated
on every layout. Global layers are aimed at solving this
problem.

If a layer's Global property is set to Yes, then every

layer in the project with the same name is overridden by
that layer. The initial objects, as well as its properties,
are used instead of the other layer's own content and
properties. Then changes can be made once to the
original global layer, and the changes will be applied
project-wide.

The layer with the Global property set to Yes is where

all changes must be made from. On other layers in the
project with the same name, the Global property will be
read-only and display (yes, overridden) to indicate it is
being substituted by a different layer. It will also not
display in the layout view on other layouts, although its
contents will appear when previewing the project.

Layer properties
The properties for a layer can be edited in the Properties
Bar after clicking the layer in the Layers Bar. Note this
also changes the active layer - see the active layer
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 property in Layout properties for more information.

Name
The name of the layer, which can be used to refer to
the layer in the event system.

Initial visibility
Whether or not the layer is initially visible when
previewing . This is different to the Visible in editor
property which only affects the Layout View.

Background color
The background color for the layer. It is ignored if
Transparent is Yes.

Transparent
Ignore background color and make the layer have a
transparent background.

Opacity
Set the opacity (or semitransparency) of the layer,
from 0 (invisible) to 100 (opaque).

Force own texture

Force the layer to always render to an intermediate
texture rather than directly to the screen. This is
useful for some kinds of effects. However, it slows
down rendering, so it should be set to No unless
specifically needed.

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 Use render cells
Optimise the rendering of this layer for extremely
large layouts with a large number of static objects
spread out across this layer. This is not normally
necessary except for certain types of large game. If
this is used incorrectly, it can actually make rendering
less efficient, so make sure you can measure a
performance improvement before using it. For more
information, see the blog post How render cells work.

Scale rate
Change the rate at which the layer zooms if scaling is
applied to the layer or layout, a bit like parallax but for
zoom. A scale rate of 0 means the layer will always
stay at 100% scale regardless of the scaling applied.
A scale rate of 100 means it will scale normally.

Parallax
Change the rate at which the layer scrolls in the
horizontal and vertical directions. A parallax rate of
100, 100 means ordinary scrolling, 0, 0 means it will
never scroll (useful for UIs), 50, 50 means scrolling
half as fast, etc. Also useful for multi-layer parallaxing
backgrounds.

Global
See the section above on Global layers. If Yes, it will
override every other layer in the project with the same
name with its own contents and properties.
Overridden layers display this property read-only as
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 (yes, overridden). If No its contents and properties
are unique to itself.

Visible in editor
Whether or not the layer is showing in the Layout
View . Note this is different to the Initial visibility
property which only affects previewing. This setting
can also be accessed via the Layers Bar.

Locked
Whether or not the layer is locked in the Layout View.
Objects on locked layers cannot be selected. This
setting can also be accessed via the Layers Bar.

Parallax in editor
If enabled, the parallax properties will also be applied
to the Layout View, allowing you to preview what the
effect will look like.

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 OBJECTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects

In Construct 2 objects perform most of the useful work

in a project. Most of the things you see in a Construct 2
game are represented by objects, and there are also
hidden objects for other purposes (e.g. audio playback).

When inserting a new object, typically you first choose

the plugin in the dialog (e.g. Sprite). This then creates
an object type (e.g. TrollEnemy). When the mouse
turns to a crosshair this allows you to place the first
instance, and you can duplicate the instance to create
more of them.

Understanding the differences between them is

essential to use Construct 2 effectively, especially
object types and instances. Objects consist of the
following parts, summarised below. There are also
manual sections that go in to more detail on each part.

Plugins

Plugins define a kind of object. For example, a Sprite

is a kind of object, and the Audio object is a different
kind. These are defined by the Sprite plugin and
Audio plugin respectively.
Javascript programmers can make new plugins (and
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 behaviors) using the Javascript SDK.

Object types

Object types define a 'class' of an object. For

example, TrollEnemy and OgreEnemy could be
different object types of the Sprite plugin. They have
different animations and events can be applied
separately to make them look and act differently,
despite the fact they are both Sprite objects.

Instances

Using the previous example, if there were four

TrollEnemy objects in a layout, these are instances
of the TrollEnemy object type. There is only one
TrollEnemy object type no matter how many
instances are created. Instances all share the events
and artwork for TrollEnemy. Similarly, there could be
multiple instances of the OgreEnemy object type.

Instance variables

Instance variables are added to an object type and

store numbers or text per instance. For example, if
you want monsters to all keep track of their own
health counter, you could add a health instance
variable. This is essential for making interesting
games - instance variables are very useful for making
instances work independently of each other.

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 Behaviors

Behaviors can be added to object types to add pre-

packaged functionality. For example, the 8 direction
behavior can be added to a Sprite, and it can
instantly move around with the arrow keys. This
helps speed up development and increase
productivity. Behaviors are not intended to do
everything in your game for you: the event system is
where the majority of your game logic will be defined.
Behaviors are essentially time-savers and shortcuts.
Most behaviors can be replicated with events, but it
simply is far more time consuming to do so.
Behaviors are very customisable, but if a behavior
isn't doing quite what you want it to, you can usually
resort to reproducing it in a customised way with
events.
All instances of an object type use its behaviors. You
cannot add a behavior to only some of the instances -
they all use the behavior - although you may be able
to enable or disable the behavior for individual
instances.

Effects

Effects change the visual appearance of an object.

Effects do not work on all platforms, because it
requires WebGL support. However, fallbacks can be
set up so everything still appears reasonably when
WebGL is not supported. Note effects are separate to
the blend mode which is supported on all platforms.
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 Families

Families are groups of object types. This can help

avoid repeating events for different object types in
large projects.

Containers

Containers are an advanced feature for picking a

group of instances at the same time in events. This is
useful for building composite objects (objects made
from multiple objects, such as a tank made from a
base sprite and a turret sprite).

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 PLUGINS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/plugins

Plugins define a kind of object. For example, a Sprite is

a kind of object, and the Audio object is a different kind.
These are defined by the Sprite plugin and Audio
plugin respectively. See the Plugin reference for more
information on individual plugins.

Javascript programmers can make new plugins (and

behaviors) using the Javascript SDK.

Most plugins define their own properties in the

Properties Bar. To see a full list, locate the plugin in the
Plugin reference.

There are three main kinds of plugins:

Visual plugins (e.g. Sprite) appear in the layout and

draw something to the screen.

Hidden plugins (e.g. Array) are placed in a particular

layout, but do not draw anything to the screen.

Project-wide plugins (e.g. Mouse, Audio) are added to

the entire project, and can only be added once. There
cannot be more than one object type or instance of a
project-wide plugin. They simply enable a new capability
(such as being able to take mouse input). They are most
useful used in the event system.
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 Construct 2 is designed modularly. That means not
much functionality is built in: you must insert a plugin
before you can use the related features. For example,
you cannot play back any audio before adding the Audio
plugin to a project. This might seem unnecessary, but
there are many project-wide plugins and it is unlikely
every project will need to use all of them. For example, if
the Audio plugin was automatically included with every
project, even projects which do not need Audio support
must pay the cost of performance penalties, larger
download sizes, and so on. So remember if you do not
add a plugin, it is not at all included in your project, and
this helps your projects remain lean and efficient when
exported.

Installing third party plugins

Third party developers can create and distribute their
own custom plugins using the Javascript SDK.
Remember that Scirra cannot support you if you have
issues using third party plugins - you should contact the
plugin developer for help, support or new feature
requests.

To install a third party plugin:

1 Close Construct 2
2 Copy the plugin's folder to <install
path>\exporters\html5\plugins. You'll see each plugin
has its own folder here, so to add a new plugin create a
new folder and add the plugin's files inside it. For
behaviors, copy to <install
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 path>\exporters\html5\behaviors instead.
3 Launch Construct 2 and the plugin or behavior should
be available from the editor.

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 OBJECT TYPES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/object-types

Object types are a central part of game design in

Construct 2. Object types define a 'class' of an object.
For example, TrollEnemy and OgreEnemy could be
different object types of the Sprite plugin. They have
different animations and events can be applied
separately to make them look and act differently, despite
the fact they are both Sprite objects.

There can be multiple instances of an object type in a

project. For example, you may wish for there to be four
TrollEnemy objects awaiting the player in a game.
These four instances share the same animations,
images, behaviors, instance variables and events. (In
the case of instance variables, each instance stores its
own unique value, e.g. for health, and behaviors work
independently for each instance too.)

Object types do not themselves have a position, angle

or size. These are properties of the instances of the
object type. The Project Bar and Object Bar display the
object types in the project, but not the instances. You
can also add, rename and delete object types from
those bars.

Events are made to apply to an object type. The event

then filters the instances that meet the condition. For
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 example, the event "Bullet collides with Alien" is an
event that applies to all instances of the Bullet and Alien
object types. However, when the event runs, the actions
only apply to the specific instances involved in the
collision. For more information see How events work.

Object types can also be grouped together in to

Families. This can help avoiding repeating the same
events for different object types.

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 INSTANCES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/instances

Object instances are the actual objects you see in a

game: an instance of an object type. For example, if
there are four TrollEnemys in a layout, those are four
instances of the TrollEnemy object type.

It is instances which have a position, angle and size in

the layout. Object types do not have these properties -
they simply define a 'class' of object.

Instances can be created at runtime in the event system

(typically by the System Create object action and the
Sprite Spawn an object action). They can also be pre-
arranged in layouts with the Layout View to design
levels, menus and title screens.

Selecting an instance in the Layout View shows its

properties in the Properties Bar. These are a mix of
properties in common with all (or most) objects, and
plugin-specific properties. The common properties are
described below, and plugin-specific properties are
described for each plugin in the Plugin reference.

Common instance properties

The following properties are common to all or most
objects, depending on their capabilities.
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 Name
The name of the associated object type.

Plugin
(read only) A reminder of the plugin (kind of object)
this object is based on.

Global
By default, all instances are destroyed when the
layout ends (e.g. when going to the next layout). If
Global is Yes, none of the instances of this object
type will be destroyed when switching layouts.

Layer
The layer the instance is placed on.

Angle
The angle in degrees the instance is oriented at. This
can also be altered with the angle handle in the
Layout View.

Opacity
The instance opacity (or semitransparency), from 0
(transparent) to 100 (opaque).

Position
The X and Y co-ordinates in the layout in pixels. This
is measured to the object's origin (see image points).
This can also be altered by moving the instance in
the Layout View.
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 Size
The width and height of the instance in pixels. This
can also be altered by dragging the resize handles in
the Layout View when one instance is selected.

Edit variables
Open the Object Instance Variables dialog.

Edit behaviors
Open the Object Behaviors dialog.

Edit effects
Open the Effects dialog.

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 INSTANCE
VARIABLES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/instance-
variables

Instance Variables are added to object types but store

numbers, text or booleans (on/off flags) individually for
each instance. This makes them ideal for things like
health counters, since each instance tracks its own
value. Instance variables are added to object types with
the Object Instance Variables dialog, and the initial
values for each instance can be set from the Properties
Bar.

Instance variables can also be used to help control

instances independently of each other. For example, a
Boolean instance variable could be used to determine if
an enemy is hunting down the player (true) or running
away (false). If instances all have different values, the
condition Is boolean instance variable set can be used
to apply actions to enemies hunting down the player.
Inverting the condition (picking instances with the value
being false) can then be used to apply actions to
enemies running away. The end result is a number of
instances of the same object type acting independently:
some chasing and others running away. This is a simple
example - much more complex methods can be made.

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 In other words, an instance's state can be controlled
using instance variables.

Instance variables can also be added to Families. All the

object types in the family then inherit the instance
variable.

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 BEHAVIORS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/behaviors

Behaviors add pre-packaged functionality to object

types . They can be added with the Object Behaviors
dialog. See the Behavior reference for more information
on individual behaviors.

An example of a behavior is the 8 direction behavior.

This instantly allows an object to be moved around with
the arrow keys. This helps speed up development and
increase productivity. Behaviors are not intended to do
everything in your game for you: the event system is
where the majority of your game logic will be defined.
Behaviors are essentially time-savers and shortcuts.
Most behaviors can be replicated with events, but it
simply is far more time consuming to do so. Behaviors
are very customisable, but if a behavior isn't doing quite
what you want it to, you can usually resort to
reproducing it in a customised way with events.

All instances of an object type use its behaviors. You

cannot add a behavior to only some of the instances -
they all use the behavior - although you may be able to
enable or disable the behavior for individual instances.

Some behaviors add their own properties to the

Properties Bar. See the Behavior reference for each
behavior's properties
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 Some behaviors also extend the objects they are added
to with their own conditions, actions and expressions.
These are shown alongside the object's own conditions,
actions and expressions in the Add Condition or Action
dialog and Expressions panel.

Behaviors can also be added to Families. All the object

types in the family then inherit the behavior.

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 EFFECTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/effects

Effects change the visual appearance of objects. They

can be added with the Effects dialog. Effects can also
be added to layers and layouts, although effects which
blend with the background cannot be used on layouts.
Effects are also sometimes referred to as shaders or
WebGL shader effects, since this refers to the
underlying technology that makes the effects possible.
Below is an example of the Water effect on an image.

Construct 2 provides a library of over 70 stock effects.

Adding effects also displays them in the Layout View if
WebGL is enabled in project properties. (If WebGL is
disabled for a project, the layout view will display as if
WebGL is not supported, not showing any effects.) A
number of examples of effects are provided in Construct
2's Examples folder.
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 Multiple effects can be applied to a single object, layer
or layout. In this case the effects are chained. The result
of the first effect is processed by the second effect, then
the result of that is processed by the third effect, and so
on.

Support
Effects require WebGL support in order to display. See
the Technology section on Canvas renderers for more
information about WebGL. In short, not all platforms or
computers support WebGL. Effects cannot display on
these platforms. To ensure your project still appears
correctly when WebGL is not supported, see the section
on Fallbacks.

Whether or not effects are supported can also be tested

with the Effects are supported system condition.

Blend mode
The Blend mode property works on all platforms, since
it is also supported by the Canvas 2D renderer. It is only
effects that require WebGL support and fallbacks to be
set up.

The Blend mode provides a simple set of pre-defined

ways to blend the object with the background. For an
example of how blend modes work, see the Blend
[Link] example in Construct 2's examples folder.

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 If multiple effects are used, the blend mode is applied
only to the last effect. For example with three effects,
the effect chain is processed normally, and the blend
mode is only used to blend the result of the third effect
with the background.

Fallbacks
If WebGL is not supported, you can specify what to do
using the Fallback property in the Effects category in
the Properties Bar.

The Fallback property does not appear if no effects are

added, because there is no need to worry about any
effects not being supported.

By default the Fallback property changes the Blend

mode to Normal if effects are not supported.
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 (Remember the Blend mode property always works on
all platforms and computers.) This will result in the
object looking as if it had no effects added at all when
WebGL is not supported.

The other fallback options allow you to change the

Blend mode property to something else. For example
when using the Screen effect, a similar result can be
achieved by using the Additive blend mode, so Fallback
could be set to Set 'Additive' blend. If WebGL is
supported, the object will display with its Screen effect. If
WebGL is not supported, it will not run the Screen effect
but then also switch to Additive blend mode, so the
object always blends reasonably with the background.

Finally, the fallback allows you to set the object to be

destroyed (or the layer to be hidden). This can be used
for optional objects with solely cosmetic effect, so if the
effects cannot run the content will simply not be
displayed at all.

Testing
Be sure to test with WebGL both enabled and disabled
in project properties to ensure your fallbacks work
properly and the content always displays reasonably.
You cannot assume all your users will have WebGL
support, even if they use a browser which supports
WebGL, because old hardware or out of date drivers
may result in WebGL being disabled. Proper testing is a
best practice.

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 Changing effects at runtime
Objects supporting effects provide common actions to
enable or disable effects, or set an effect parameter.
This allows you to switch effects or adjust effect
parameters at runtime, allowing for greater possibilities
and creative uses. To enable or disable layout or layer
effects, or change their parameters, use the relevant
system actions.

Performance
Using too many effects can cause poor performance,
especially on mobile devices. Try to only use effects
when it is important to the appearance of the game.

Creating many instances of an object using effects can

be very inefficient, since the effect must be processed
repeatedly for small areas. If many instances need to
use an effect, often it is more efficient to place all the
instances on their own layer, and apply the effect to that
layer instead. This can improve performance whilst
producing the same visual appearance.

Never use effects to process a static effect on an object.

For example, do not use the 'Grayscale' effect to make
an object always appear grayscale. Instead apply the
grayscale effect in an image editor and import a
grayscale image to the object, without using any effects.
This has the same visual result, and avoids
performance-degrading effect processing. Effects like
'Grayscale' should only be used for transitions or
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 making objects only occasionally appear grayscale.

For more information, see the manual section on

performance tips.

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 FAMILIES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/families

In Construct 2, Families are groups of object types. All

the object types in a family must be from the same
plugin, e.g. all Sprite objects (and not a mix of Sprite and
Tiled Background objects, for example).

Families can help you avoid repeating events. For

example, instead of having the same events for the
Enemy1, Enemy2 and Enemy3 objects, you can add
them all to an Enemies family and make the events
once for the family. Then, the events automatically
apply to all the object types in the family.

The [Link] example in Construct 2's Examples

folder demonstrates the advantage of this. There are
seven kinds of enemy, and they all need to be
destroyed when the laser hits them. Without families,
seven separate events are necessary, as shown below:

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 Using families all seven events can be replaced with a
single event:

This makes it far easier to create and maintain projects

with lots of objects that need to work in similar ways.

How to create a family

Right-click the Families folder in the Project Bar and
select Add family. The Edit Family dialog appears:

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 Objects on the left are the objects in the project that can
be added to the family. Objects on the right are the
objects already in the family. Double-click an object to
transfer it to the other side. You can select multiple
objects by holding Control and clicking several objects,
then clicking one of the buttons in the middle to transfer
them.

When done, click OK and the family will appear in the

Project Bar. It can be expanded to show all the objects
in the family as well:

The family, and the objects in the family, can be edited

by right-clicking them and choosing options from the
menu, like Remove from family or Edit family.
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 Objects can be added to multiple families. All events for
the object's families will apply to the object.

Family instance variables

Instance variables can also be added to a whole family
by right-clicking the family name in the Project Bar and
selecting Family instance variables.

If you add an instance variable to a family, all the object

types in the family inherit the instance variable. For
example, adding the instance variable health to the
family Enemies in the above example will mean
BladeEnemy, BugEnemy, CrescentEnemy,
FighterEnemy, SaucerEnemy, ScytheEnemy and
SlicerEnemy all gain a health instance variable. It will
also appear in the editor alongside each object's own
instance variables. However in the Event Sheet View
the family will only show its own instance variables
(those added directly to the family). This means any
instance variables you want to be available to the
family's events must be added to the family, and not to
the objects in the family.

If an object type belongs to multiple families, it inherits

every family's instance variables.

Family behaviors
Behaviors can also be added to a whole family by right-
clicking the family name in the Project Bar and selecting
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 Family behaviors.

As with family instance variables, if you add a behavior

to a family, all the object types in the family inherit the
behavior. The behavior will appear in the events for all
the objects in the family and the family itself. For
example adding the Bullet behavior to a family called
Bullets means the bullet's Set speed action is available
to every object in the family, as well as the family itself.

If an object type belongs to multiple families, it inherits

every family's behaviors.

Family effects
Effects can also be added to a whole family by right-
clicking the family name in the Project Bar and selecting
Family effects.

As with family instance variables and behaviors, if you

add an effect to a family, all the object types in the
family inherit the effect. This can be useful for quickly
applying effects to a number of different object types.

If an object type belongs to multiple families, it inherits

every family's effects.

Picking families in events

Families pick instances in the event sheet
independently of the object types in the family. For
example, consider Family1 consisting of SpriteA and
SpriteB. Conditions for Family1 will never affect which
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 SpriteA and SpriteB instances are picked. It will only
affect which instances are affected when running an
action for Family1. Likewise, conditions picking SpriteA
and SpriteB instances will never affect which instances
are picked in Family1. In other words, in the event sheet
families are treated like an entirely separate object type,
which just happens to have instances from other object
types. This can be taken advantage of if you need a
single event to pick two separate lists of instances from
the same object type.

Upgrading ordinary objects to

families
If you make a lot of events forgetting to use a family and
want to replace them, it's possible to use the Replace
Object feature to save you re-doing every event. The
process is described in the tutorial How to upgrade an
object to a family.

Summary
Families are a very powerful feature which are essential
to help keep large projects simple. Instance variables
and behaviors added to families are inherited by every
object in the family, which allows for sophisticated logic
to be easily applied to many object types at once.

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 CONTAINERS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/objects/containers

Containers are an advanced feature to make it easy to

build composite objects - that is, elements of your game
made from multiple objects. For example, a tank in a
strategy game might be composed of two parts: a sprite
for the tank base, and a different sprite for the tank
turret. This allows them to rotate independently. Adding
them both to a container then allows events to treat both
objects as if they were one, because they are always
picked together.

It is essential to be familiar with how events work in

order to understand how containers work.

Creating a container
To add an object to a container, select one of the
objects you want in the container and click the Create
link in its properties (which appears under the Container
category next to the label No container). A dialog opens
allowing you to choose the object to add to the
container.

Further objects can be added to a container by clicking

the Add object link in the Container category again.
Objects can be removed by clicking the Remove link.

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 What containers do
Placing objects in a container has the following effects:

1 If one object in a container is created, every other object

in its container is also automatically created.
2 If one object in a container is destroyed, every other
associated object in its container is also destroyed.
3 If a condition picks one object in a container, every other
associated object in its container is also picked.

The first two points basically guarantee that there is the

same number of instances for all the objects in a
container. In other words, containers are created and
destroyed as a whole. Using the tank base and turret
container example, it is impossible to create a tank base
without also automatically getting a new turret for it as
well.

The third point is the main purpose of containers.

Containers are also picked in events as a whole. This
makes events treat containers as if they were one
object. For example, if a condition picks a tank base
instance, it also automatically picks the base's
associated turret.

Examples
In the following events, assume both TankBase and
TankTurret are in a container.

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 In the above event, a TankTurret instance is also
created since it is in a container with TankBase. It might
also be useful to add an action to set the position of the
TankTurret to make it appear on top of the base.

In this event, the associated TankTurret instance is also

destroyed since it is in a container with TankBase.

In this event, when a bullet hits the tank base, only its
associated turret flashes. If the objects were not in a
container, all the turrets in the game would flash, as per
the rules of how events work (since no turret was
referenced in the conditions, the action applies to all of
them). However, since the objects are in a container,
when the TankBase that was hit by a bullet is picked, its
associated turret is also picked. This makes the event
work as intended, and the event treats both objects as if
they were one. This is the crux of containers, and for
some uses like strategy games, there will be a large
number of events taking advantage of this type of
picking to ensure objects work as units and don't
accidentally affect other instances.
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 Placing container objects in a
layout
In the Layout View, it's possible to create an instance in
a container by itself. This appears to break rules 1 and 2
under What containers do, since objects in a container
must always create and destroy together. However, the
editor does not enforce this. Instead, any missing
objects are created automatically when the layout starts.
It is a good idea to make sure you create enough
objects anyway so you can edit the object's position,
instance variables, and other properties from the Layout
View.

Data storage objects in a

container
It's possible to add data storage objects like Array and
Dictionary to a container with another object. Despite
the fact these objects are invisible, a separate instance
of the object is still created for each container. This
allows you to have a dedicated Array or Dictionary for
each instance of an object. This can be very useful as
an advanced substitute for instance variables, such as if
a very large number of variables is necessary, or if
variables need to be dynamically added and removed.

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 EVENTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events

Events are Construct 2's main feature: instead of

complicated scripting or programming languages with
fiddly syntax and difficult errors, you can define how the
game works using a logical block system. The blocks
are collectively referred to as events, although there are
several kinds of block making up an event sheet.

Construct 2's event system is likely to be unfamiliar to

new users. Read How Events Work for a summary of
how to use them. Events are not cookie-cutter blocks
that limit what you can do. Instead they are designed to
provide the basic tools you need to create sophisticated
games.

The basic concept of events is that conditions filter the

instances meeting the condition, then the actions run for
those instances only. This allows you to control
instances independently, especially when used with
instance variables. A common misconception is that all
instances of an object type must act the same. That is
simply not the case: the fundamental way events work is
to filter out individual instances, and run actions on just
those that met the conditions.

Events are edited in the Event Sheet View using the

Add Condition/Action dialog, the Parameters dialog and
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 Expressions panel.

A diagram of a simple event is shown below. (This does

not include every feature of events - the rest are
explained in this section.)

The parts that make up events are summarised below.

Check each relevant manual section for more
information on each. See How events work for a
summary of how to use events.

Events typically consist of conditions that must be met,

actions that run if so, and optionally further sub-events
that test more conditions, run more actions, etc. For
example if the condition Bullet collides with alien is met,
the action Destroy alien may run, and the Destroy
action affects only the instance involved in the
condition.

Conditions test that certain criteria are met. They filter

the instances meeting the condition.

Actions make things happen. They only affect the

instances that were filtered by the event's conditions.

Expressions can be sums to work out values, or retrieve

values from objects, such as a Sprite's X co-ordinate.

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 Sub-events follow after other events, appearing
indented in the event sheet. Their conditions can further
filter instances and run more actions.

Groups can be used to organise events. Groups can

also be enabled and disabled as a whole.

Comments allow you to write notes and descriptions for

events. They usually are placed above the event they
are describing. This is essential to help keep a large
project well-organised and maintainable.

Includes can share event sheets between layouts. This

saves you from having to copy-and-paste all your
events for every single layout. Adding an include is
effectively an automatic copy-paste of that event sheet's
content in to another event sheet.

Event Variables can store numbers and text either

globally (for all layouts) or locally (for a specific range of
events).

Event sheets are a list of events. These can be

assigned to a specific layout, or included in to other
event sheets.

Scripting
Construct 2 uses the event system exclusively and
does not support any scripting in the editor at all. This is
because the event system is powerful enough to replace
scripting completely. However, if you are a programmer,
you may be interested in extending Construct 2 using
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 the Javascript SDK.

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 HOW EVENTS
WORK
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/events-work

If you're new to Construct 2's events, this section will

outline how they work. This is essential reading for
beginners! You will be able to make much better and
more reliable games with a thorough understanding of
how events work.

To learn how to add and edit events, see Event Sheet

View.

Events are designed to be easily readable and to

intuitively "just work". However, they have specific, well-
defined ways of working which is described here.

Events work by filtering specific instances that meet

some conditions. The actions then run for those
instances only. For example, consider the following
event:

In this example, when a Bullet collides with a Monster

the event condition is met. The specific instances of
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 Bullet and Monster that collided in the game are
"picked" by the event. Actions only run on the "picked"
instances. If there are other instances of Bullet and
Monster in the layout, they won't be affected by the
Subtract 1 from health and Destroy actions. It would be
very difficult to make good games if every bullet hurt
every monster!

Another way to think about an event is "If all conditions

are met then run actions on the instances meeting the
conditions".

Multiple conditions
Adding more conditions to an event progressively filters
the instances to run actions on. For example:

This event runs like this:

1 First all Monsters that are on-screen are picked.

2 Then, of those on-screen, it is reduced to those with
less than 5 health.
3 The action makes all monsters that are both on-screen
and have less than 5 health look directly at the player.
Monsters that are off-screen or have 5 or more health
are not affected.

Therefore, using multiple conditions you can run actions

on just the instances meeting several criteria. Users
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 from programming languages or other tools might
recognise this as a logical "AND". All conditions of an
event must be met for the actions to run. If no monsters
are on-screen or none of those on-screen have less
than 5 health, the actions do not run at all.

Unreferenced objects
Have a look at the following event:

If the user presses Spacebar and the Player's

PowerupEnabled boolean is set, the action does
Monster: Destroy. Note that there aren't any conditions
that filter or pick Monsters in this event. In this case, all
Monster instances are destroyed. In other words, if an
event doesn't reference an object in its conditions,
actions apply to all the instances of that object.

Think of conditions as starting with all instances being

picked, and progressively filtering them from there. If
there were no conditions, there are still all instances
picked, so the action affects all of them.

Picking resets between events

After an event ends, the next event begins from scratch.
Its conditions will start picking from all instances again.

On the other hand, sub-events (which appear indented)

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 carry on from where its parent event left off. A sub-
event will further filter the instances left over by the
event that came before it. If an event has two sub-
events, they both pick from the same set of instances
the parent left - the second sub-event is not affected by
the first. In other words, events at the same indentation
level always pick from the same set of instances, and
events at a lower indentation level are always working
with the instances handed down from above.

The System object

In Construct 2 the System object represents built-in
functionality. It has no instances. This means most
system conditions do not pick any instances: they are
either true or false. If they are false the event stops
running, otherwise the event continues without the
picked instances having been changed. There are
exceptions, though: if a system condition uses an
object, such as Pick random instance, that will affect
the picked objects.

System actions do not run on any picked objects: they

simply run if all of the event's conditions were met.

Events run top to bottom

The order of events is important. Every event is
checked once per tick (about 60 times a second on
most computers), and they are run from top to bottom in
the event sheet. The screen is drawn once every event
has been run, then the process starts again. This
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 means if one event does something and the next event
undoes it, you'll never see that anything happened.

The same applies within events: conditions are checked

from top to bottom, and the actions run from top to
bottom.

However, triggers are an exception. See the green

arrow to the left of Keyboard: On Space pressed from
the previous example:

This indicates the event is triggered. Rather than

running once per tick, this event simply runs (or "fires")
upon something actually happening. In this case, the
event runs when the user hits the Spacebar key on the
keyboard. It is never checked any other time. Since
triggers run upon an event happening, they aren't
checked in top-to-bottom order like other events. This
means the ordering of triggers relative to other events is
not important (except relative to other triggers of the
same type, since triggers still fire top-to-bottom).

There can only be one trigger in an event, because two

triggers cannot fire simultaneously. However, multiple
triggers can be placed in 'Or' blocks (see the next
section).

'Or' blocks
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 As mentioned before, all conditions have to be met for
an event to run. This is called a 'Logical AND', because
"condition 1 AND condition 2 AND condition 3..." etc.
must be true. However, you can change an event to run
when any condition is true. This is called a 'Logical OR',
because the event will run if "condition 1 OR condition 2
OR condition 3..." are true.

Normally blocks work as 'AND' blocks. To make an 'OR'

block, right-click the block and select Make 'Or' block. It
will then display with - or - between each condition, as
shown below.

Note that because OR blocks run if any condition is

true, it's possible the event will still run if some
conditions were false and did not pick any instances. In
this case the actions will still run, but possibly with zero
instances picked for any objects where no instances
met the condition. If any actions are run for objects with
no instances picked, nothing happens.

Also note normally you can only put one trigger in an

event, but you can put multiple triggers in an 'Or' block,
and the event will run if any of triggers run.

You can combine the block types by using sub-events.

This allows you to build up more advanced logic, such
as an 'Or' block followed by an 'And' block.
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 Looping conditions
Some events loop, which simply means they repeat their
actions many times. Note the green circular arrow in the
below example to indicate this.

This means when the layout starts, the Create object

action repeats 10 times. The end result is 10 monsters
are created at random positions in the layout on startup.

There can also be more conditions following the Repeat

condition. These are tested on each of the repeats as
well, and must be true for the actions to run. There can
even be more than one loop in an event, but this is rare.

Families and containers

Note families pick their instances entirely separately
from any of the object types in the family. For more
information, see the section Picking families in events
in the manual entry on Families.

Containers are an advanced feature that can also make

groups of instances always be picked together. For
more information see the manual entry on Containers.

Summary
Using this event system it's possible to make
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 sophisticated logic for games quickly and easily. It is a
very powerful alternative to scripting or programming
languages but much easier for non-technical people to
use.

Although this section has described the essential parts

of the event system, it still has not covered everything.
The rest of the Events section covers more features
you can use in events. The Behavior reference, Plugin
reference and System reference also cover all the
conditions, actions and expressions in Construct 2.

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 EVENT SHEETS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/event-sheets

Event Sheets are simply lists of events. They are edited

in the Event Sheet View. All the event sheets in a
project are listed in the Project Bar.

Adding and removing event

sheets
To add a new event sheet, right click an event sheet
folder in the Project Bar (such as the root level Event
sheets folder) and select Add event sheet.

Event sheets can be renamed or deleted by right-

clicking the event sheet itself in the Project Bar and
selecting Rename or Delete.

When adding a layout, Construct 2 will prompt to ask if

you'd also like to create an event sheet for that layout.

Sharing events between layouts

Layouts have an associated event sheet to define how
the layout works. However it is often useful to use one
event sheet for multiple layouts to prevent having to
duplicate all your events. There are two ways to share
events between layouts:

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 1 Set several layout's Event sheet property to the same
sheet.
2 Make a separate event sheet with all the common
events on it, then include that event sheet on other
event sheets.

The second option is usually preferable since you are

not forced to use exactly the same events for different
layouts - you can add a few extra events to customise
how it works depending on the layout.

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 CONDITIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/conditions

In events, conditions filter instances that meet some

criteria. They appear to the left of the event. All
conditions in an event must be met by at least one
instance for the actions to run. The actions then only
apply to the instances that met the conditions.

System conditions do not pick any instances: they are

simply either true or false, unless they specifically
reference an object, such as with Pick random
instance.

There are three kinds of conditions: normal conditions,

triggered conditions, and looping conditions. You can
also create OR blocks which run if any condition is true,
rather than all the conditions. See How events work for
more information.

Adding and editing conditions

When you add a new event, you are taken through the
process of adding the first condition for the event. This
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 is described in more detail in the Event Sheet View
entry.

You can add multiple conditions to an event block. To

add another condition, right-click either an existing
condition or the event margin and select Add another
condition. All conditions must be met for the event to
run, unless you set the event to be an OR block, in
which case any condition can be true for the event to
run. To set an OR block, right-click the event margin
and select Make 'Or' block.

To edit a condition, double-click it. You can also right-

click it and choose Replace or Delete.

Inverting conditions
Conditions can be inverted, which flips the thing they
test. For example, the condition Monster is overlapping
Player is true whenever a monster is touching the
player. However, if inverted, it appears with a red invert
icon and means Monster is not overlapping Player.

Not all conditions can be inverted (e.g. triggers can't be,

because the event doesn't make sense inverted in that
case).

Breakpoints
It is possible to place a breakpoint on a condition, to
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 pause execution when it is reached. For more
information, see breakpoints.

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 ACTIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/actions

In events, actions do something, such as create an

object or go to another layout. They appear to the right
of the event.

Actions only affect the instances that met the event's

conditions. See How Events Work for more information.

To add an action to an event, click the Add action link

that appears beside the event underneath any existing
actions. For more information on adding and editing
events, see Event Sheet View.

Breakpoints
It's possible to place a breakpoint on an action, to pause
execution when it is reached. For more information, see
breakpoints.

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 EXPRESSIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/expressions

In events, expressions are used to calculate sums or

retrieve information from objects, such as a Sprite's X
co-ordinate. Expressions are entered in to the
Parameters dialog when adding or editing a condition or
action which has parameters. The Expressions panel is
also shown at the same time and provides a dictionary
of all the system and object expressions available in a
project.

Some examples of expressions, which can range from a

simple number to a complex calculation, are below:
0

random(360)

Sprite.X

(Player1.X + Player2.X) / 2

[Link]

Sprite.X + cos([Link]) [] [Link] [] dt

Numbers
Numbers are simply entered as digits with an optional
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 fractional part separated by a dot, e.g. 5 or 1.2.

Text (strings)
Text is also known as strings in programming, and
Construct 2 also sometimes uses this naming
convention. Text in expressions should be surrounded
by double-quotes, e.g. "Hello"

The double-quotes are not included as part of the text,

so setting a text object to show the expression "Hello"
will make it show Hello, without any double-quotes. To
include a double-quote in a string, use two double-
quotes next to each other (""), e.g. "He said ""hi"" to me"
will return He said "hi" to me.

You can use & to build strings out of mixed text and
numbers, e.g. "Your score is: " & score

To add a line break to a string use the system

expression newline, e.g. "Hello" & newline & "world"

Operators
You can use the following operators in expressions:

+ (addition)

- (subtraction)

[*] (multiplication)

/ (division)
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 % (modulo, remainder after division)

^ (raise to power, e.g. 5 ^ 2 = 25)

& (build strings, e.g. "Your score is: " & score)

There are also comparison operators =, <>, <, <=, >, >=
for comparing values. They return 1 if the comparison is
true or 0 if false.

& can also be used as logical AND, and | is a logical OR

operator. These are useful combined with the
comparison operators, e.g. score < 0 | health < 0, which
also return 1 if true and 0 if false.

?: is a conditional operator, which allows you to test

conditions in expressions. This is especially useful
when used with the comparison operators and logical
operators. It takes the form condition ? result_if_true :
result_if_false

e.g. health < 0 | score < 0 ? "Game over!" : "Keep

going!".

The condition counts as true if it is non-zero, and false if

it is zero.

Object expressions
Objects have their own expressions to retrieve
information about the object. These are written in the
form Sprite.X (the object name, a dot, then the
expression name). The Expressions panel lists all the
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 available expressions in the project, and they are further
documented in the Reference section of the manual.

The expression Self can be used as a short-cut to refer

to the current object. For example, in an action for the
Player object, Self.X refers to Player.X.

You can add a 0-based object index to get expressions

from different object instances. For example Sprite(0).X
gets the first Sprite instance's X position, and
Sprite(1).X gets the second instance's X position. For
more information see index IDs (IIDs) in common
features. You can also pass another expression for the
index. Negative numbers start from the opposite end, so
Sprite(-1).X gets the last Sprite's X position.

Behavior expressions
If an object has a behavior with its own expressions,
they are written in the form [Link],
e.g. [Link].

System expressions
The built-in system expressions are listed in the
reference. These include some basic mathematical
functions like sqrt (square root).

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 SUB-EVENTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/sub-events

Sub-events appear indented beneath other events.

They carry on picking instances from where the "parent"
event left off. They run after the parent event's actions
have finished. An example is below.

This event runs like so:

1 Test if any Monster instances are overlapping Player. If

so, the instances involved are remembered.
2 The top event's actions would run next, but it doesn't
have any.
3 The second event (note it is indented) then tests if the
Player's ShieldEnabled instance variable is set. If so, it
subtracts 1 from the health of the Monster overlapping
the player.
4 The third event (also indented) tests if the Player's
ShieldEnabled instance variable is not set (see inverting
conditions). If so, it subtracts 1 from the health of the
Player.
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 In other words, monsters hurt the player when they
touch, unless the player has ShieldEnabled in which
case the monsters are hurt instead.

This works because the objects picked by the top event

are remembered and also used for sub-events. If the
second and third events were not sub-events (not
appearing indented) the second event would subtract 1
from the health of all Monsters, because it was not
referenced in the event. (See Unreferenced objects in
How events work for more on this.)

Sub-events can have other sub-events too, which

makes sub-events very powerful and flexible for setting
up advanced game logic.

Note sub-events run after the actions only if the actions

run - in the above example, if no monsters are
overlapping the player, neither the actions of that event
nor its sub-events run at all.

Triggers in sub-events
If a trigger is in a sub-event all of its parent event's
conditions must be true at the time the trigger fires,
otherwise the event will not run.

There can also only be one trigger in a single branch of

sub-events. In other words, one of the events above a
trigger cannot also contain a trigger.

Adding and removing sub-events

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 To add a sub-event, right-click the event margin and
choose Add sub-event. Alternatively use the Events tab
on the ribbon, or press the S keyboard shortcut.

Adding and editing conditions to sub-events works

identically to ordinary events. You can also create more
deeply nested sub-events by adding a sub-event to a
sub-event.

To delete a sub-event, select it by clicking in the event

margin, and press Delete.

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 EVENT GROUPS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/groups

Groups of events are mainly for organising events. They

can be collapsed and expanded using the + or - button
in the title. They are edited with the Event Group dialog.
To add an event group, right click an event or empty
space in the event sheet and select Add group.
Alternatively use the Events tab on the ribbon or press
the G keyboard shortcut.

Events can be dragged and dropped in to and out of

groups (be sure to drag from the event margin, and not
from a condition or action). Entire groups can also be
enabled or disabled with the Set Group Active system
action, which is useful for situations like pausing the
game.

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 COMMENTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/comments

Event comments are simply notes to help you remember

how events work and what they do. They are very
important to help you remember how things work in
large projects! Comments have a yellow background
and appear above the event they are describing.

To add a comment, right-click on an event or an empty

space in the event sheet and select Add comment.
Alternatively use the Events tab on the ribbon or press
the Q keyboard shortcut. Comments can be edited by
double clicking on them. You can make a comment with
a line break by holding shift and pressing Enter.

If you use Construct 2 a lot, you will find comments

essential to help yourself organise and understand large
projects. Coming back to a project after a few months
with no comments at all can be very difficult, so don't
underestimate the importance of comments.

Comments do not affect how anything works at all. They

are solely for your information. Nothing typed in to
comments is exported to the game whatsoever.
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 EVENT SHEET
INCLUDES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/includes

Event sheet includes allow you to include an event

sheet on another event sheet. They are a sort of
automatic copy-paste of one sheet's contents to
another. This is useful for sharing events common to
multiple layouts. For example, you can use different
event sheets for different parts of your game logic. You
could have event sheets called Player input, Enemy
control, Effects, and so on. Then each level of the game
can include these common event sheets in the layout's
own event sheet. This allows you to share the same
events between multiple layouts, without having to copy
and paste all your events over and over again.

Includes can be added from right-clicking an empty

space in the event sheet and selecting Include event
sheet. Alternatively you can use the Events tab on the
ribbon or press the N keyboard shortcut.

Construct 2 automatically prevents cyclic includes. If

two event sheets both include each other, Construct 2
will use both event sheets but not include either more
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 than once.

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 EVENT
VARIABLES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/variables

Event Variables are number or text values which are

either global to the project or local to a range of events.
They are modified using the Event Variable dialog. To
add an event variable, right-click on an event, another
variable, or an empty space in the event sheet, and
select Add global variable or Add local variable.
Variables at the root level of the event sheet (not
indented beneath anything else) become global
variables, whereas variables in groups or sub-events
become local variables.

Event variables are modified with the system actions in

the Global & local variables category. They can be
retrieved by simply using their name in expressions.

Global variables
Global variables show a globe icon. They are always at
the top level of an event sheet - they are not sub-events
or inside any groups.

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 Global variables store their values between layouts.
Events in any layout can access any global variable,
even if it was created in a different event sheet that is
not included.

Global variables can be moved to another event sheet

by cutting and pasting them. After being cut, references
to the global variable will disappear because it has been
removed; this is normal and nothing to worry about.
When you paste the global variable, the references that
disappeared will reappear again.

Local variables
Local variables are variables placed nested under other
events, or inside a group. They also show with a
different icon to global variables.

The main difference between global and local variables

is local variables can only be accessed in their scope. A
local variable's scope is its level of sub-events. All other
events at the same level of indentation, or lower levels,
can access the local variable. Events above it (less
indented) cannot access the local variable.

For example, if an event variable is in a group of events,

it becomes a local variable. Then, it will only appear as
an option for a variable in events inside that group. In
other groups or in other event sheets it does not appear
at all and cannot be accessed. This makes the variable
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 local to the scope in which it is placed.

Local variables convenient for temporarily holding

variables over a short range of events, such as to
calculate an average value (where a temporary 'sum'
variable may be necessary). It also helps keep the
project simple, since it prevents the need to create more
global variables, which appear everywhere in the project
even if they are not needed everywhere.

The scope of local variables is designed to mimic how

the scope of variables works in real programming
languages.

Static and constant variables

By default, local variables reset to their initial value
whenever entering their scope (usually every tick), like
local variables in programming languages. If the variable
is marked static in the Event Variable dialog it will
persist its value permanently, like a global variable.

Both global and local variables can be marked constant.

This makes them read-only: they can be retrieved and
compared, but not changed.

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 BREAKPOINTS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/events/breakpoints

Breakpoints are an advanced feature that allow you to

pause execution of the event sheet on a specific event,
condition or action when running in the debugger. This
can be a significant aid to debugging, since the full
capabilities of the debugger can be used while stepping
through events, conditions and actions one-by-one.
Note: breakpoints are not available in the Free edition.

Setting a breakpoint
Breakpoints can be toggled on and off for the selected
event block, condition or action by right-clicking on
them, using the Events tab of the ribbon, or pressing the
F3 keyboard shortcut. Breakpoints can also be toggled
while debugging.

When a breakpoint is set on an event, condition or

action, a breakpoint icon appears beside it.

Pausing on a breakpoint
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 When running the debugger, the game will automatically
pause just before it runs an event, condition or action
with a breakpoint.

For events, this means it pauses just before it tests the

first condition. This means a top-level event with a
breakpoint will pause every tick, since the event engine
reaches it every tick to test its conditions. It is usually
more useful to place event breakpoints on sub-events,
since they will only pause when the parent events have
been run. When paused on a breakpoint, the event has
a dashed outline and the icon changes to an arrow.

For conditions, this means it pauses just before it tests

the condition. Since the condition has not yet been
tested, the debugger does not know whether the
condition will return true or false; you must resume
execution to be able to tell. Note that Construct 2 bails
out of events early if any condition is false. This means
a breakpoint on the second condition won't pause the
game if the first condition is false, since Construct 2 will
immediately skip to checking the next event. When
paused on a condition, it is also indicated with a dashed
outline, green arrow and also a changed background
color.

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 For action, this means it pauses just before the action
runs. Placing a breakpoint on the first action in an event
is often more useful than placing a breakpoint on the
event itself, since it will only pause when all the
conditions have been met and before any actions have
run, as opposed to just before it starts checking any
conditions. When paused on an action, it is indicated
similarly to a condition.

Continuing execution
When paused on a breakpoint, the debugger can be
used as normal to inspect or edit values. However the
Pause and Step buttons change in to Continue and
Next.

Pressing Continue resumes until the next breakpoint is

hit. Remember you can still toggle other breakpoints
while paused on a breakpoint.

Pressing Next will step to the next event, condition or

action in sequence in the event sheet. Alternatively,
press F10 with the browser window focused. This is
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 useful for stepping through an event action-by-action
and watching what happens in the debugger's inspector.

Limitations
Unfortunately due to the architecture of the Construct 2
engine, breakpoints cannot be placed in the following
locations:

Anywhere inside a triggered event, including any

sub-events to a triggered event
Anywhere inside a looping event (such as Repeat or
For each), including any sub-events to a looping
event

In other words, only non-looping events which are

checked every tick can have breakpoints set on them,
or be stepped in to.

Using breakpoints
Breakpoints can be incredibly useful to learn more about
how your own events work and to help track down
problems. They may take some getting used to in order
to get the most out of them, but once familiar they can
be indispensable.

It is especially useful to have a multi-monitor setup

when using breakpoints, or with the debugger in
general. This allows you to have Construct 2 showing
which event it has reached on one screen, and the
game running on another screen.
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 PROJECT FILES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/files

Any external files can also be imported to your project

via the Project Bar. This is useful for including any other
resources your project might need, such as videos,
additional images, JSON data, XML data, text data,
documents, or other general files you might want to let
the user download.

For ideas on uses for project files and possible

workflows, see the tutorial Using project files in
Construct 2.

Files can be imported by right-clicking the Files folder in

the Project Bar and selecting Import Files.

By default you can add any kind of file to the project, but
you can also set the file filter to only show text-based
files if those are the kinds of files you are looking for.

Importing project files has the following effects:

1 The file is copied to your project folder, or stored inside

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 the .capx file. (It is not referenced from its current
location on disk, so if you change the original file, it is
not updated in the project.)
2 When previewing, the file is also accessible from the
preview server (localhost), which helps you test the use
of project files.
3 The file is exported with your project.
4 When published, the file is also cached for offline use
alongside the rest of the project. For more information
see the tutorial Offline games in Construct 2.

Project files can also be AJAX requested at runtime

using the AJAX object's Request project file action.
This is especially useful for loading XML or JSON data
at runtime.

MIME types
For project files to load correctly after exporting, be sure
to set up the right MIME types on the server.

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 SOUNDS & MUSIC
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/project-primitives/sounds-music

Sounds and Music in Construct 2 are audio files. Any

sound files the project uses will be exported with the
project. Because browser makers cannot agree on a
single format for the web, these must be encoded in to
two formats: Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) and MPEG-4 AAC
(.m4a).

To import and play back audio in Construct 2, the

following steps are required:

1 Import sounds by right-clicking the Sounds or Music

folders in the Project Bar and selecting Import sounds or
Import music.
2 Import audio via the Import Audio dialog.
3 Add the Audio object to the project and add events to
play back audio.

For more information on audio support in Construct 2,

see the information in the section on the Import Audio
dialog.

MIME types
In order for your server to send audio files correctly, it
must be set up with the correct MIME types. If the
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 server sends the wrong MIME types, audio may not
play in some browsers.

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 BEHAVIOR
REFERENCE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference

This section provides a reference of all the official

behaviors that come with Construct 2. Each has an
overview of its use, a list of its properties, and a detailed
list of the actions, conditions and expressions specific to
that behavior. Behaviors add their actions, conditions
and expressions to the object they are added to,
appearing alongside the object's own features in the
Add condition/action dialog and Expressions panel.

Behaviors can be added and removed from objects via

the Properties Bar, which opens the Object Behaviors
dialog and Add Behavior dialog.

Custom controls
By default, user-controlled movement behaviors use a
standard set of controls (usually based around the arrow
keys). To change these, set the Default controls
property to No, and set up some events using the
Simulate control action. For an example, see the
Platform 4 (custom controls).capx example in the
Examples folder in Construct 2's install directory. It uses
the following events to change Platform's arrow key and
shift controls to W, A and D:
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 The Simulate control action does not have to be used
with keyboard input. For example, it can be used with
touch input to create on-screen touch controls, or with
Gamepad input. Alternatively, you can set up events to
automatically control objects with the Simulate control
action. This allows you to set up computer-controlled
enemies or non-player characters (NPCs), sometimes
loosely referred to as "AI".

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 8 DIRECTION
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/direction

The 8 Direction behavior allows an object to be moved

up, down, left, right and on diagonals, controlled by the
arrow keys by default. It is often useful for controlling
the player in a top-down view game. It can also be set to
4 directions or simple up/down or left/right movement
which is useful for paddles or sliders.

The 8 Direction behavior is blocked by any objects with

the Solid behavior.

To set up custom or automatic controls, see the

behavior reference summary.

8 Direction properties
Max speed
The maximum speed the object can travel at in any
direction, in pixels per second.

Acceleration
The rate the movement accelerates at, in pixels per
second per second. When reversing against the
current movement, acceleration and deceleration
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 both contribute to slowing down.

Deceleration
The rate the movement decelerates to rest when not
being moved, in pixels per second per second. When
reversing against the current movement, acceleration
and deceleration both contribute to slowing down.

Directions
Set how many directions the movement can move in.
By default it is 8 Directions, allowing movement on
diagonals. 4 directions prevents movement on
diagonals, and Up & down or Left & right only allows
movement along a single axis.

Set angle
Whether or not the movement should also affect the
objects angle. 360 degree (smooth) will always set
the object's angle to the current angle of motion. 45-
degree intervals will set the object's angle to 8
possible directions. 90-degree intervals will set the
object's angle to 4 possible directions. No means the
behavior will not set the object's angle at all, which is
useful if you want to control this yourself with events
(e.g. to make the object point towards the mouse
cursor).

Default controls
If Yes, movement is controlled by the arrow keys on
the keyboard. Set to No to set up custom controls
using the Simulate control action. For more
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 information see Custom controls in the behavior
reference summary.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

8 Direction conditions
Compare speed
Compare the object's current speed in pixels per
second.

Is moving
True if the object has a non-zero speed (is not
stopped). Invert to test if the object is stopped.

8 Direction actions
Reverse
Invert the direction of motion. Useful as a simple way
to bounce the object off an obstacle.

Set acceleration
Set deceleration
Set max speed
These set the corresponding properties, described
under 8 Direction properties.

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 Set enabled
Enable or disable the movement. If disabled, the
movement no longer has any effect on the object.

Set ignoring input

Set whether input is being ignored. If input is ignored,
pressing any of the control keys has no effect.
However, unlike disabling the behavior, the object
can continue to move.

Set speed
Set the current speed the object is moving at, in
pixels per second.

Set vector X
Set vector Y
Set the X and Y components of the movement, in
pixels per second.

Simulate control
Simulate one of the movement controls being held
down. Useful when setting Default controls to No.
See Custom controls in the behavior reference
summary for more information.

Stop
A shortcut for setting the speed to zero.

8 Direction expressions
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 Acceleration
Deceleration
MaxSpeed
Return the corresponding properties, described under
8 Direction properties.

MovingAngle
Get the current angle of motion (which can be
different to the object's angle), in degrees.

Speed
Get the current object's movement speed, in pixels
per second.

VectorX
VectorY
Get the object's current speed on each axis, in pixels
per second. For example, if the object is moving to
the left at 100 pixels per second, VectorX is -100 and
VectorY is 0.

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 ANCHOR
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/anchor

The Anchor behavior is useful for automatically

positioning objects relative to the window size. This is
useful for supporting multiple screen sizes. For more
information on features to support multiple screen sizes,
see the tutorial Supporting multiple screen sizes.

Objects using the Anchor behavior should also be

placed on a layer with its parallax set to 0, 0. Otherwise
as the game scrolls the objects may "lag" behind the
screen.

Positioning objects relative to the

window size
In the top-left of the Layout View, a dotted outline
represents the default size of the game window.
Anchored objects should be positioned inside the dotted
window area, as shown below.

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 Now if the window is resized during preview, the objects
maintain their relative positions, as shown below:

This is useful for interface elements like notifications

and heads-up displays (HUDs).

Relative positioning
The Left edge and Top edge position the object relative
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 to the window corners, without changing the object size.
For example, if the Left edge is set to Window right, the
object will always stay the same distance from the right
edge of the window.

The Right edge and Bottom edge resize the object

relative to the window corners. For example, if you want
a Tiled Background to stretch wider as the window
widens, set Right edge to Window right.

Anchor conditions, actions and

expressions
The Anchor object has a single action:

Set enabled
Set whether the behavior is enabled or disabled. If
disabled, the behavior will not alter the size or position
of the object.

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 BOUND TO
LAYOUT
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/bound-layout

The Bound to Layout behavior simply prevents an

object leaving the edge of the layout. It is most useful on
objects which move around but should not leave the
layout area.

It has no conditions, actions or expressions, just the

following property:

Bound by

Set to Edge to prevent any part of the object leaving the

layout. The object will stop at the position shown below:

Set to Origin to only prevent the object's origin leaving

the layout. The result depends on where the origin is
placed on the object, but with a centred origin the object
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 will stop in a position similar to the image shown below:

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 BULLET
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/bullet

The Bullet behavior simply moves an object forwards at

an angle. However, it provides extra options like gravity
and bouncing that allow it to also be used like a
bouncing ball. Like the name suggests it is ideal for
projectiles like bullets, but it is also useful for
automatically controlling other types of objects like
enemies which move forwards continuously.

For two examples of the Bullet behavior see the

Bouncing balls and Bouncing bullets examples in the
Start dialog.

Bullet properties
Speed
The bullet's initial speed, in pixels per second.

Acceleration
The rate of acceleration for the bullet, in pixels per
second per second. Zero will keep a constant speed,
positive values accelerate, and negative values
decelerate until a stop (the object will not go in to
reverse).
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 Gravity
The force of gravity, which causes acceleration
downwards, in pixels per second per second. Zero
disables gravity which is useful for top-down games.
Positive values cause a parabolic path as the bullet is
bullet down by gravity.

Bounce off solids

If set to Yes, the bullet will bounce off any objects
with the Solid behavior. It will also calculate the angle
of reflection to bounce off realistically depending on
the object's shape and angle.

Set angle
If set to No, the behavior will never change the
object's angle. If set to Yes, the behavior always sets
the object angle to the angle of motion.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

Bullet conditions
Compare speed
Compare the current speed of the bullet, in pixels per
second.

Compare distance travelled

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 Compare the total distance the bullet has moved
since creation, in pixels. This does not take in to
account altering the object position with other actions
like Set position.

Bullet actions
Bounce off object
Make the bullet bounce off an object it has just
touched. Since this requires the bullet have only just
touched the object, it is generally only useful in an On
collision event. It will also calculate the angle of
reflection to bounce off realistically depending on the
object's shape and angle. If the bullet is not currently
overlapping the given object, or is stuck deep inside
it, this action will have no effect.

Set acceleration
Set the bullet acceleration in pixels per second per
second.

Set angle of motion

Set the angle the bullet is currently moving at, in
degrees.

Set distance travelled

Simply changes the counter returned by the
DistanceTravelled expression. The counter still
increments according to the movement of the object.

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 Set enabled
Enable or disable the movement. If disabled, the
behavior will stop moving the bullet, but will remember
the current speed, acceleration etc. if enabled again.

Set gravity
Set the acceleration caused by gravity, in pixels per
second per second.

Set speed
Set the bullet's current movement speed, in pixels per
second.

Bullet expressions
Acceleration
Get the bullet's current acceleration in pixels per
second per second.

AngleOfMotion
Get the angle the bullet is currently moving at (which
can be different to the object's angle), in degrees.
Note: when the speed is 0, the angle of motion is also
0. Usually this can be worked around by setting the
speed before the angle of motion.

DistanceTravelled
Return the total distance the bullet has moved since
creation, in pixels. This does not take in to account
altering the object position with other actions like Set
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 position.

Gravity
Return the currently set gravity property, in pixels per
second per second.

Speed
Get the bullet's current movement speed in pixels per
second.

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 CAR BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/car

The Car behavior allows an object to accelerated

forwards and backwards and have steering. It also has a
simple "drift" feature where the object can "skid" around
corners (by pointing in a different direction to that it is
moving in). For an example of the Car behavior see the
Car behavior example in the Start dialog.

By default the object is controlled by the arrow keys on

the keyboard (Up to accelerate, down to brake, left and
right to steer). To set up custom or automatic controls,
see the behavior reference summary.

The Car behavior will bounce off any objects with the
Solid behavior. The effect on the movement depends on
the angle of impact - glancing collisions nudge the car
off its current path, whereas head-on collisions stop it
more or less dead. The amount of speed lost depends
on the Friction property.

Car properties
Max speed
The maximum speed, in pixels per second, the car
can accelerate to.

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 Acceleration
The rate the car accelerates at, in pixels per second
per second.

Deceleration
The rate the car brakes at, in pixels per second per
second.

Steer speed
The rate the car rotates at when steering, in degrees
per second.

Drift recover
The rate the car recovers from drifts, in degrees per
second. In other words, this is the rate the angle of
motion catches up with the object angle. The angle of
motion can never be more than 90 degrees off the
object angle. If the drift recover is greater or equal to
the Steer speed, no drifting ever occurs. The lower
the drift recover, the more the car will drift on corners.

Friction
The amount of speed lost when colliding with a solid,
from 0 (stop dead) to 1 (speed not affected at all). For
example, to slow the speed down by half when
colliding with a solid, set Friction to 0.5.

Set angle
If Yes, the behavior will set the object's angle. If No,
the behavior never changes the object's angle.
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 Default controls
If Yes, the car movement is controlled by the arrow
keys on the keyboard. Set to No to set custom
controls. For more information see the behavior
reference summary.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

Car conditions
Compare speed
Compare the current speed of the car, in pixels per
second.

Is moving
True if the current speed is non-zero. Invert to test if
the car is stopped.

Car actions
Set acceleration
Set deceleration
Set drift recover
Set friction
Set max speed
Set steer speed
Set the corresponding properties. See Car properties
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 for more information.

Set enabled
Enable or disable the movement. If disabled, the
movement no longer has any effect on the object.

Set ignoring input

Set whether input is being ignored. If input is ignored,
pressing any of the control keys has no effect.
However, unlike disabling the behavior, the object
can continue to move.

Set speed
Set the current speed the object is moving at, in
pixels per second.

Simulate control
Simulate one of the movement controls being held
down. Useful when setting Default controls to No.
See Custom controls in the behavior reference
summary for more information.

Stop
A shortcut for setting the speed to zero.

Car expressions
Acceleration
Deceleration
DriftRecover
Friction
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 MaxSpeed
SteerSpeed
Return the corresponding properties. See Car
properties for more information.

MovingAngle
Get the current angle of motion (which can be
different to the object's angle), in degrees.

Speed
Get the current object's movement speed, in pixels
per second.

VectorX
VectorY
Get the object's current speed on each axis, in pixels
per second. For example, if the object is moving to
the left at 100 pixels per second, VectorX is -100 and
VectorY is 0.

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 CUSTOM
MOVEMENT
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/custom-movement

The Custom Movement behavior does not directly

implement any movement for an object. Instead, it
provides features that make it easier to implement your
own "custom" (event-based) movement.

The way different movements are made is out of the

scope of this manual section. Instead, it will outline the
basics of the Custom Movement behavior and what its
features do. For an example of Asteroids style
movement using the Custom Movement behavior, see
the Custom movement (asteroids) example in the Start
dialog.

For many games, the built-in behaviors like Platform

and 8 Direction are perfectly sufficient. Recreating
existing behaviors with the Custom Movement should
be avoided, since movements are difficult and time
consuming to implement correctly. The built-in
behaviours have been thoroughly tested, probably have
more features than you imagine (like slope detection in
Platform), and are much quicker and easier to use than
making your own movement.
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 Overview of custom movements
Most movements in Construct 2 work by manipulating
two values: the speed on the X axis (dx) and the speed
on the Y axis (dy). These are also known as VectorX
and VectorY in some other behaviors. For example, if
an object is moving left at 100 pixels per second, dx is -
100 and dy is 0. The object can then be accelerated to
the right by adding to dx. This is also how most of the
other movement behaviors that come with Construct 2
work internally (like Platform and 8 Direction).

The Custom Movement behavior stores the dx and dy

values for you, and provides features that help easily
implement the math and algorithms necessary to make
a movement.

Every tick the Custom Movement adjusts the object's

position according to the dx and dy values. This is
called a step. The Custom Movement can also use
multiple steps per tick, which can help detect collisions
more accurately if the object is moving very quickly.
Each step will trigger On step, On horizontal step or On
vertical step depending on the Stepping mode property.

Custom Movement properties

Stepping mode
How to step the movement each tick. The number of
steps taken (if not None) depends on the Pixels per
step property. None simply steps the object once per
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 tick according to its velocity. Linear will step the
object in a straight line towards its destination
position, triggering On step. Horizontal then vertical
will step the object to its destination first on the X axis
(triggering On horizontal step), then on the Y axis
(triggering On vertical step). Vertical then horizontal
will step the object to its destination first on the Y axis
(triggering On vertical step), then on the X axis
(triggering On horizontal step).

Pixels per step

If Stepping mode is not None, this is the distance in
pixels of each step towards the destination position
each tick. The default is 5, which means if the object
is moving 20 pixels in a tick, it will move in four five-
pixel steps.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

Custom Movement conditions

Compare speed
Compare the current speed of the movement, in
pixels per second. Horizontal and Vertical compares
to the dx and dy speeds respectively, and Overall
compares to the magnitude of the vector (dx, dy) (the
overall movement speed).
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 Is moving
True if either dx or dy are not zero. Invert to test if
stopped.

On horizontal step
On vertical step
Triggered for each step along an axis when Stepping
mode is either Horizontal then vertical or Vertical
then horizontal. This can be used to accurately
detect collisions with Is overlapping.

On step
Triggered for each step when Stepping mode is
Linear. This can be used to accurately detect
collisions with Is overlapping.

Custom Movement actions

Set enabled
Enable or disable the behavior. If disabled, the
behavior will not modify the object's position.

Rotate clockwise
Rotate counter-clockwise
Set
Adjust the angle of motion. This will calculate new
values for dx and dy reflecting a new angle of motion
with the same overall speed. NOTE: if the overall
speed is 0, then setting the angle of motion has no
effect, because there is no motion. A common
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 mistake is to set the angle of motion then the speed,
and find that the angle is not used. Instead simply set
the speed first then the angle of motion and it will
work as expected.

Accelerate
Accelerate either the overall movement, or movement
on a specific axis.

Accelerate toward angle

Accelerate toward position
Accelerate the movement towards an angle or
position.

Push out solid

Only valid when the behavior is currently overlapping
an object with the solid behavior. Automatically move
the object until it is no longer overlapping the solid.
This has no effect if the object is not currently
overlapping a solid. The following techniques can be
used: Opposite angle reverses (or 'backtracks') the
object from its current angle of motion until it is no
longer overlapping. Nearest moves the object in an
eight-direction spiral out one pixel at a time until it is
no longer overlapping. The aim is for the object to
end up in the nearest free space, but since only eight
directions are used it will be an approximation. Up,
down, left and right moves the object along a specific
axis until it is no longer overlapping.

Push out solid at angle

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 Only valid when the behavior is currently overlapping
an object with the solid behavior. Move the object
from its current position at a given angle until it is no
longer overlapping the solid. This has no effect if the
object is not currently overlapping a solid.

Reverse
Inverts the movement by flipping the signs of dx and
dy.

Set speed
Set the current speed in pixels per second either for
the horizontal or vertical axes, or the overall
movement speed. Setting horizontal or vertical
speeds assigns dx and dy directly. Setting the overall
speed calculates new values for dx and dy such that
they reflect the new overall speed while keeping the
same angle of motion.

Stop
A shortcut for setting both dx and dy to 0, stopping
the movement.

Stop stepping
Only valid in On step, On horizontal step and On
vertical step. Stop the current stepping for this tick.
The object can either go back to its old position
(where it was at the start of the tick) or stay at its
current position (possibly half way between its start
and end positions). Note that in Horizontal then
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 vertical or Vertical then horizontal modes, only the
current axis is stopped. The next axis will still
continue stepping, unless you also use Stop
stepping for that axis as well.

Custom Movement expressions

dx
dy
Return the movement's dx and dy values, which are
the speed in pixels per second on each axis.

MovingAngle
Return the current angle of motion, in degrees,
calculated as the angle of the vector (dx, dy).

Speed
Return the current overall speed in pixels per second,
calculated as the magnitude of the vector (dx, dy).

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 DESTROY
OUTSIDE LAYOUT
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/destroy-outside-
layout

The Destroy Outside Layout behavior simply

automatically destroys an object if it leaves the layout
area. It only destroys the object if it is entirely outside
the layout (i.e. no part of its bounding box is inside the
layout). The Destroy Outside Layout behavior has no
properties, conditions, actions or expressions.

This behavior is often useful to prevent bullets and other

projectiles flying off the layout forever. For example,
without this behavior, if the user shoots some enemies
and misses, the bullets could carry on flying off outside
the layout forever. As the games go on, more and more
bullets build up over time, all moving further away
forever. This gradually uses up more and more memory
and CPU power causing the game to slow down. This
can easily be avoided by adding the Destroy outside
layout behavior to the bullets, so they are automatically
removed when they leave the layout area.

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 DRAG & DROP
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/drag-drop

The Drag & Drop behavior enables objects to be

dragged and dropped either by mouse or touch. On
multi-touch devices, multiple objects can be dragged
and dropped at once.

An object starts dragging when a mouse click or touch

falls inside the object's collision polygon. It is released
when the mouse button is released or the touch ends.

Drag & Drop properties

Axes
Optionally axis-limit the movement, for example only
allowing the object to be dragged horizontally or
vertically. The default is Both, allowing the object to
be dragged anywhere.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action. #Drag & Drop conditions#

Is dragging
True if the object is currently being dragged by
mouse or touch.
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 Is enabled
True if the behavior is currently enabled; false if
disabled by the Set enabled action.

On drag start
Triggered when the object is clicked or touched inside
its collision polygon.

On drop
Triggered when the object is being dragged, and the
mouse button is released or the touch ends.

Drag & Drop actions

Set enabled
Enable or disable the Drag & Drop behavior. If
disabled, clicking or touching the object has no effect
and the object cannot be dragged. It also becomes
'transparent' to clicks and touches, meaning other
objects underneath it can still be dragged and
dropped. If the object is being dragged when it is
disabled, the drag is cancelled, but On drop will not
trigger.

Drop
Stop dragging the object if it is currently being
dragged. This also triggers On drop.

Drag & Drop expressions

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 The Drag & Drop behavior has no expressions.

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 FADE BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/fade

The Fade behavior fades objects in and out by changing

the object's opacity over time. By default, it makes an
object fade out over 1 second then destroys it.

Fades run in the following order. If any of the times are

0, the step is skipped.

1 The object fades in from invisible to its set opacity, over

the Fade in time.
2 The object remains at its current opacity for the Wait
time.
3 The object fades out to invisible, over the Fade out time
4 If Destroy is set to After fade out, the object is then
destroyed.

For example, with each time set to 1 second, the object

will fade in from invisible for 1 second, wait for 1 second,
then fade out to invisible for 1 second.

It is recommended to leave Destroy set to After fade

out. If set to No, the object still exists after fading out,
but is invisible. If many objects are using the Fade
behavior, this can build up many invisible objects over
time, which gradually use more memory and CPU
causing the game to slow down.
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 Fade properties
Activate at start
If Yes, the object will begin fading as soon as it is
created. If No, the fade will not run until you use the
Start action.

Fade in time
Time, in seconds, to fade in from invisible. If 0, the
fade in is skipped.

Wait time
Time, in seconds, to wait between fade in and fade
out. If 0, the step is skipped.

Fade out time

Time, in seconds, to fade out to invisible. If 0, the
fade out is skipped.

Destroy
If set to After fade out, the object is automatically
destroyed after the fade out finishes. If No, the object
is never destroyed by the behavior. Be sure to
destroy objects yourself as necessary, as a build-up
of invisible faded-out objects can cause the game to
slow down.

Fade conditions
On fade-in finished
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 On wait finished
On fade-out finished
Triggered when each stage of the fade finishes.
#Fade actions#

Restart fade
Run the entire fade from the beginning again.

Set fade-in time

Set fade-out time
Set wait time
Set the corresponding properties described under
Fade properties.

Start fade
If Active on start is No, this will begin the fade.

Fade expressions
FadeInTime
FadeOutTime
WaitTime
Return the corresponding properties described under
Fade properties.

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 FLASH BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/flash

The Flash behavior makes an object blink by toggling its

visibility on and off for a period of time. It has no
properties, conditions or expressions: just the two
actions listed below.

Simply adding the Flash behavior to an object does not

do anything. You must use the Flash action to make the
object flash.

Flash conditions
Is flashing
True if the object is currently within a flash duration.

On flash ended
Triggered when the end of the flash duration is
reached, and the object has returned to visible.

Flash actions
Flash
Make the object flash by toggling its visibility on and
off. The 'On' time is the duration in seconds the
object remains visible. The 'Off' time is the duration in
seconds the object remains invisible. The object will
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 alternate between these two states for the given
duration in seconds. The object is always set back to
visible after the flash duration finishes.

Stop flashing
If the object is currently flashing, this stops the
flashing and sets the object back to visible. If the
object is not currently flashing this action has no
effect.

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 JUMP-THRU
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/jump-thru

The Jump-thru behavior allows the Platform behavior to

stand on the object, and jump on to it from underneath.
This differs from the Solid behavior, which the Platform
behavior can stand on, but not jump on to from
underneath. The image below illustrates the difference.

Note the Jump-thru behavior does not support slopes.

Any slopes in your game should use the Solid behavior
instead.

Jump-thru properties
Initial state
Set whether the behavior is initially enabled or
disabled. If disabled, the object no longer acts as if it
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 is a Jump-thru, and the Platform behavior will always
fall through it.

Jump-thru conditions
Is enabled
True if the behavior is currently enabled. This can be
changed by the Initial state property or the Set
enabled action.

Jump-thru actions
Set enabled
Enable or disable the Jump-thru behavior for this
object.

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 LINE-OF-SIGHT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/line-of-sight

The Line-of-sight (LOS) behavior allows the ability to

check if two objects can "see" each other. More
precisely, it will check if there are any obstacles blocking
a line between the two objects.

For an example of the Line-of-sight behavior, see the

Line-of-sight example in the Start dialog.

Line-of-sight properties
Obstacles
Whether to use Solids as blocking line-of-sight, or
Custom, where the objects blocking line-of-sight must
be added using the Add obstacle action.

Range
The maximum distance in pixels that line-of-sight can
reach. If an object is further away than this distance,
the object will never have line-of-sight to it, even if the
intervening space is clear.

Cone of view
The angle of the cone of view in which the object can
have line-of-sight to other objects, relative to the
current angle of the object. For example if this is 180,
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 then the object can have line-of-sight to any objects
anywhere in front of it, but never behind it. If 360, the
object can have line-of-sight to objects at any angle.

Use collision cells

Whether to use the collision cells optimisation when
testing line of sight. Usually this is faster, but in some
cases over extremely long distances it can be slower.
#Line-of-sight conditions#

Has LOS to object

Check if the object currently has line-of-sight to
another object. For the condition to be true, the object
must be within range, within the cone of view, and
with no obstacles in the way of a straight line between
the two objects. This condition also picks the
instances of the chosen object that are in the line of
sight.

Has LOS to position

Check if the object currently has line-of-sight to a
position in the layout. For the condition to be true, the
object must be within range, within the cone of view,
and with no obstacles in the way of a straight line
between the two objects.

Line-of-sight actions
Add obstacle
If the Obstacles property is Custom, adds an object
type to count as an obstruction to line-of-sight.
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 Clear obstacles
If the Obstacles property is Custom, clears any
object types added as obstacles with the Add
obstacle action.

Set cone of view

Set range
Sets the corresponding behavior properties. For more
information, see Line-of-sight properties.

Line-of-sight expressions
ConeOfView
Range
Retrieve the corresponding behavior properties. For
more information, see Line-of-sight properties.

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 NO SAVE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/save

The No Save behavior simply causes the object to be

omitted from save states when using the Save and
Load system actions.

Normally all objects are saved and loaded with these

actions. Adding the No Save behavior will skip saving
any data for the object when saving, and will not affect
the object when loading. After a load, all the same
objects that were there before the load are still present,
and with the same properties.

It is a good idea to add the No Save behavior to objects

which don't need to be saved, like scenery and
background objects. It can also be used on
automatically updated objects, like interface elements
and text objects which update their text every tick. This
will help make the saves smaller in size, and also
complete saving and loading quicker.

For more information see the tutorial How to make

savegames.

The No Save behavior is also useful when using

continuous preview.

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 PATHFINDING
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/pathfinding

The Pathfinding behavior uses the A[*] pathfinding

algorithm to efficiently find a short path around
obstacles. It can either report the path as a list of nodes
through expressions, or automatically move the object
along the determined path.

For examples of how Pathfinding works and is used,

search for Pathfinding in the Start dialog.

The pathfinding grid

The pathfinding behavior works based on dividing the
layout in to a grid. Since pixel-perfect pathfinding can be
extremely slow to process, dividing the layout in to cells
makes the pathfinding enormously more efficient. The
cell size can be set in the behavior property, and the
larger it is the more efficient pathfinding is. However
setting a large cell size can cause problems: a cell can
only be entirely obstacle or entirely free, and using large
cells can close up small gaps. For example take the
following arrangement of obstacles using a cell size of
32:

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 It appears that objects should be able to freely move
around in between these objects. However if the cells
that the pathfinding behavior marks as obstacle are
highlighted in red, we see this:

Some of the gaps have been closed off due to the cell
size being relatively large compared to the size of the
gap. This will make the pathfinding behavior route paths
entirely around the obstacles, and never through them.
We can help fix this by reducing the cell size to 20:

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 Now we can see that the Pathfinding behavior will be
able to find routes between these obstacles. However,
the smaller cell size will make the pathfinding more CPU
intensive. Generally, try to use the largest cell size that
does not cause problems navigating around obstacles.

The Cell border property can adjust how cells are

marked as obstacle. If the border is larger than 0, then
cells close to obstacles but not actually touching may
also be marked as obstacles, effectively giving an extra
"obstacle border". If the border is negative, cells only
just touching an obstacle may not be marked as an
obstacle, effectively shrinking the obstacle area inwards.
The image below demonstrates the effect of different
cell border values when using a cell size of 20.

For best efficiency, use the same cell size and border
for all objects using the Pathfinding behavior in a layout.
If different objects use different values, then the
Pathfinding behavior must generate multiple obstacle
grids in memory, and pathfind along them separately.
You should also avoid pathfinding every tick, since this
will cause extremely high CPU usage and also increase
the amount of time it takes for other objects to determine
their paths.
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 The grid of obstacles is only determined once on
startup. If objects are moved in the layout, the
pathfinding grid is not updated, and objects will continue
to pathfind as if the objects were in their old positions.
To update the entire obstacle grid use the Regenerate
obstacle map action, but note this is a very CPU-
intense operation and should only be done on one-off
occasions. It is much more efficient to update only small
parts of it (ideally only the area that has changed),
which can be done with the Regenerate region and
Regenerate region around object actions.

Note all cells outside the layout area are always

obstacles. Areas outside the layout area cannot be
included in the pathfinding grid, since doing so would
require an infinite amount of memory.

Finding paths
Calculating a path can take a long time, especially if the
cell size is small. To prevent this reducing the game's
framerate, the paths are calculated in the background
(using a Web Worker). This means after using the Find
path action, the resulting path is not immediately
available. You must wait for the On path found trigger to
run. Only then can you move the object along the path,
or access the list of nodes from the behavior's
expressions. The game may continue to run for a
fraction of a second in between Find path and On path
found.

The result path is a sequence of nodes along the grid.

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 The image below demonstrates a four-node path (nodes
0 to 3).

The nodes can be retrieved (only after On path found)

using the NodeCount and NodeXAt/NodeYAt
expressions. Alternatively, the Move along path action
can be used to automatically move the object along the
nodes, using the speed, acceleration and rotation rate
set in the behavior's properties.

Note it may be impossible to find a path, such as trying

to navigate to a destination inside a ring of obstacles. In
this case, On failed to find path will be triggered instead
of On path found.

If you ask the pathfinding behavior to pathfind to a

destination inside an obstacle, it will simply find the
nearest clear cell and pathfind to there instead.

Pathfinding properties
Cell size
The cell size, in pixels, of the grid of obstacles. See
above for more details about how this is used.
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 Cell border
The amount, in pixels, to expand the cell size by
when testing for obstacles. See above for more
details about how this is used.

Obstacles
If Solids, the behavior will automatically mark cells
touching objects with the Solid behavior as being
obstacles. If Custom, you must define which objects
are obstacles by using the Add obstacle action on
startup.

Max speed
If the Move along path action is used, the maximum
speed in pixels per second the object can move at.

Acceleration
If the Move along path action is used, the
acceleration rate in pixels per second per second.

Deceleration
If the Move along path action is used, the
deceleration rate in pixels per second per second,
used when approaching the final node.

Rotate speed
If the Move along path action is used, the rate at
which the object can rotate in degrees per second.
Note this can affect the speed of the object: if the
rotation speed is low, the object will have to slow
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 down on tight corners.

Rotate object
Whether to automatically set the angle of the object
with the behavior to the angle of motion.

Diagonals
Whether paths moving along diagonals are allowed. If
disabled, the result nodes along paths will only ever
change at 90-degree angles (up, right, down and left).
If enabled nodes can move along diagonals as well.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

Pathfinding conditions
Compare speed
If moving along a path, compare the current speed of
the object in pixels per second.

Diagonals are enabled

True if the Diagonals property allows moving
diagonally along cells. This can also be changed with
the Set diagonals enabled action.

Is calculating path
True if the object is currently calculating a path in the
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 background. This is true between the Find path
action and the On path found or On failed to find
path triggers.

Is cell obstacle
Test if a cell in the obstacle grid is marked as an
obstacle. This is useful for debugging or displaying
the obstacle grid. Note the position is taken in cell co-
ordinates rather than layout co-ordinates.

Is moving along path

True after using the Move along path action until On
arrived triggers.

On arrived
Triggered after Move along path when the object
finally arrives at its destination.

On failed to find path

Triggered after the Find path action if no path can be
found to the destination, such as if it is surrounded by
a ring of obstacles.

On path found
Triggered after the Find path action once a path has
successfully been found to the destination. The
nodes are now available via the NodeCount,
NodeXAt and NodeYAt expressions, and the Move
along path action can also be used.

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 Pathfinding actions
Add obstacle
If the Obstacles property is Custom, add an object to
mark as an obstacle in the pathfinding grid. If this is
done during the game (after Start of layout), you
must also use Regenerate obstacle map for it to take
effect.

Add path cost

Add an object to increase the path cost in the
pathfinding grid. This can be used to simulate rough
terrain - the behavior will try to find paths around
them if possible, unless the route is a major shortcut.
See Example: Pathfinding path cost in the Start
dialog for a demo. If this is done during the game
(after Start of layout), you must also use Regenerate
obstacle map for it to take effect.

Clear cost
Remove all path cost objects added with Add path
cost. You must also use Regenerate obstacle map
for this to take effect.

Clear obstacles
Remove all obstacle objects added with Add
obstacle. You must also use Regenerate obstacle
map for this to take effect.

Find path
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 Start calculating a path to a destination in the layout.
This is processed in the background and the results
are not immediately ready after this action; you must
wait until the On path found or On failed to find path
triggers run before the result is known or the path can
be moved along. If this action is used while Is
calculating path is true, the old path is still calculated
and the result triggered, but it then immediately
begins calculating the new path and will also trigger
for that result.

Regenerate obstacle map

Determine whether each cell in the obstacles grid is
an obstacle again. This is a very CPU intensive
action and should not be used regularly. If only part
of the obstacle map has changed, prefer to use one
of the Regenerate region actions. Any changes
made by using Add obstacle, Clear obstacles, Add
path cost and Clear cost will take effect the next tick
after this action. Note this means if you attempt to
find a path immediately after this action, the obstacle
map won't have been updated yet; add a 'Wait' action
with a short delay to make sure the updated map is
used in that case.

Regenerate region
Regenerate region around object
As with Regenerate obstacle map, but only the
specified area is updated. This is usually
considerably faster than regenerating the entire map.
However as with regenerating the entire obstacle
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 map, changes only take effect next tick. Regenerate
region takes a rectangle in layout co-ordinates to
regenerate. Regenerate region around object
similarly regenerates the rectangle in the layout given
by an object's bounding box. Note if multiple
instances have met the event's conditions, this will
regenerate multiple rectangles (one for every picked
object).

Set enabled
Set whether the behavior is enabled or disabled. If
disabled, it will not calculate any paths or move the
object.

Move along path

Automatically start moving the object along the found
path. This can only be used after On path found - the
path is not immediately known after the Find path
action.

Set speed
Set the current speed of the object if it is currently
moving along its path, in pixels per second. This
cannot be negative or greater than the maximum
speed of the behavior.

Stop
If the object is moving along its path, causes it to
stop.

Set acceleration
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 Set deceleration
Set diagonals enabled
Set max speed
Set rotate speed
Set the corresponding behavior properties. See the
property definitions above for more information.

Pathfinding expressions
CurrentNode
When moving along a path, the zero-based index of
the node the object is currently moving towards. This
may skip ahead just before the object actually
reaches the next node, in order to help it round
corners.

MovingAngle
The current angle of motion when moving along a
path, in degrees.

NodeCount
The number of nodes in the path that was found.
This is only updated after On path found.

NodeXAt
NodeYAt
Return the position of a node in the path that was
found, in layout co-ordinates, using the zero-based
index of the node. This is only available after On path
found.
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 Speed
The current speed in pixels per second when moving
along a path.

Acceleration
CellSize
Deceleration
MaxSpeed
RotateSpeed
Return the current values of the behavior properties.
For more information, see the property definitions
above.

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 PERSIST
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/persist

The Persist behavior makes the object remember its

state when going to a different layout, then coming
back. If a layout has objects with the Persist behavior, it
is also referred to as a persistent layout. For an
interactive example of its use, see the Persistent layouts
example in the Start dialog.

Normally if you leave a layout then come back, all non-

global objects reset to their initial design in the Layout
View. However for many games this is undesirable;
powerups come back, enemies respawn and return to
full health, and so on. Simply adding the Persist
behavior to certain objects means that they are restored
to the same state you left them in when returning to a
layout. Any objects that were previously destroyed
remain destroyed; any new objects that were created will
come back; and all properties such as instance
variables are remembered. This is important for allowing
the user to return to previous areas without having to re-
play the whole section.

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 PHYSICS
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/physics

The Physics behavior simulates realistic object physics.

It is powered by Box2D. For examples of how the
behavior works, search for Physics in the Start dialog.

The Physics behavior is relatively complex. The

following tutorials are recommended to gain a basic
understanding of how to use the Physics behavior and
some important points to know before beginning to use
it:

Physics in Construct 2: The basics

Physics in Construct 2: Forces, impulses, torque and

joints

This manual section will not repeat the information in

these tutorials. Instead it will simply describe each
feature of the Physics behavior. The tutorials describe
how Physics engines work, what the different types of
joints are, the difference between impulses and forces,
and so on in case you're not already familiar with them.

Using Physics in Construct 2

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 The Physics behavior simulates physics separately to
the Construct 2 layout. Construct 2 will try to keep the
Physics and Construct 2 "worlds" synchronised if one
changes but not the other, but this can be
unpredictable. For example, setting an object's position
or angle will cause Construct 2 to teleport the
corresponding object in the physics simulation to the
object's new position, which does not always properly
take in to account collisions. The same is true of using
other Construct 2 behaviors at the same time as
Physics.

Therefore it is highly recommended to control Physics

objects entirely via the Physics behavior (by setting
forces, impulses, torques etc.), rather than trying to
manipulate objects by Set position, Set angle etc.

Another consequence is Physics won't respond to

objects with the Solid or Jumpthru behaviors. These
behaviors are totally redundant when using Physics and
have no effect. Instead, use the Immovable property.

Physics properties
Immovable
If Yes, simulate the object having infinite mass. Its
density is ignored and it will never move.

Collision mask
Use collision mask uses the object's collision
polygon from the Image/Animations editor for physics
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 collisions. If it doesn't have a collision polygon it will
use the object's bounding box. Bounding box ignores
the object's collision polygon if any, and for the
purposes of Physics collisions considers the object to
be a rectangle. Circle ignores the object's collision
polygon if any, and for the purposes of Physics
collisions considers the object to be a circle. This
allows objects to smoothly roll along (like for example
barrels). This is especially useful since object's
collision polygons is made out of straight lines, so a
smooth circle cannot be created that way.

Prevent rotation
Lock the object's angle so physics collisions do not
cause it to rotate.

Density
The density of the physics object. Only used if
Immovable is No. The object mass is calculated as
its density multiplied by the area of its collision mask.
The exact density values used are not important and
have no specific units - only the relative density is
significant (i.e. an object with density 6 will be twice
as dense as an object with density 3).

Friction
The friction coefficient of the physics object from 0
(no friction) to 1 (maximum friction). This adjusts how
easily objects move against each other while
touching.

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 Elasticity
The elasticity (also known as restitution or
bounciness) of the physics object, from 0 (inelastic,
like a rock) to 1 (maximum elasticity, like a rubber
ball). This affects how high objects bounce when
hitting the floor.

Linear damping
The rate the object slows down over time while
moving, from 0 (no slowdown at all) to 1 (maximum
slowdown).

Angular damping
The rate the object slows down over time while
spinning, from 0 (no slowdown at all) to 1 (maximum
slowdown).

Bullet
Enable enhanced collision detection for fast-moving
objects. This can affect performance, so do not
enable it unless the object moves so fast the physics
engine's standard collision detection is unreliable.

Initial state
Whether the physics simulation is initially enabled or
disabled. If disabled, no physics is processed for the
object, and other physics objects can pass through
the object as if it were empty space.

Physics conditions
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 Compare angular velocity
Compare the current angular velocity of the physics
body, in degrees per second. A positive value
indicates clockwise rotation and a negative value
indicates anticlockwise rotation.

Compare mass
Compare the mass of the physics body. This is
determined by multiplying the Density by the area of
the object's collision polygon.

Compare velocity
Compare the current velocity (speed) of the physics
body, in pixels per second. The velocity can be
compared on an individual axis, such as just the X
axis to compare the horizontal motion, or the overall
velocity can be used.

Is enabled
True if the physics behavior is currently enabled.
When disabled the physics body is completely
removed from the physics simulation, so other
physics objects will pass through the object.

Is sleeping
True if the object has been at rest and not moved or
been disturbed for a while, so that the physics engine
can stop processing it. Note objects can still be
moving imperceptibly which can prevent them from
being asleep even when they appear to be stopped.
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 Physics actions: Forces
Apply force
Apply force at angle
Apply force towards position
Apply a force on the object, either at an angle,
towards a position, or with custom X and Y axis
forces. Applying a force causes the object to
accelerate in the direction of the force. Forces can be
applied from an image point or the object's origin.

Apply impulse
Apply impulse at angle
Apply impulse towards position
Apply an impulse on the object, either at an angle,
towards a position, or with custom X and Y axis
impulses. Applying an impulse simulates the object
being struck, e.g. hit by a bat. Impulses can be
applied from an image point or the object's origin.

Set velocity
Set the object's current velocity directly, providing a
speed in pixels per second for the X and Y axes.

Physics actions: Global settings

These actions affect Physics behaviors in general, not
just the one it was set for.

Enable/disable collisions
By default, all Physics objects collide with each other.
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 You can disable collisions between the object and
another Physics object so they pass through each
other. This affects all instances of both object types.
Note: enabling collisions again when objects are
overlapping can cause instability in the simulation.

Set stepping iterations

Set the number of velocity iterations and position
iterations used in the physics engine. The default is 8
and 3 respectively. Lower values run faster but are
less accurate, and higher values can reduce
performance but provide a more realistic simulation.

Set stepping mode

Choose whether the Physics time step uses dt (delta
time, for Framerate independent) or a fixed value. By
default it uses a fixed time step to eliminate any
randomness or instability coming from dt, ensuring
simulations are exactly reproducible every time. Set
to Framerate independent to adjust the time step
according to the framerate, which can cause the
same simulation to have different results if run twice.
Note even when in this mode, the behavior clamps
the maximum time step to 1/30 (about 33ms,
equivalent to 30 FPS) to prevent the instability that
can result from large time steps. For more information
see Delta-time and framerate independence.

Set world gravity

Set the force of gravity affecting all Physics objects.
By default this is a force of 10 downwards.
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 Physics actions: Joints
Create distance joint
Fix two physics objects at a given distance apart, as if
connected by a pole. An image point can be specified
to connect to a specific part of the object. Note that
an image point of 0 specifies the center of gravity of
the object - if you intend to connect to the object
origin, use -1.

Create revolute joint

Create limited revolute joint
Hinge two physics objects together, so they can
rotate freely as if connected by a pin. Limited revolute
joints only allow rotation through a certain range of
angles, like the clapper of a bell. An image point can
also be specified to connect to a specific part of the
object. Note that an image point of 0 specifies the
center of gravity of the object - if you intend to
connect to the object origin, use -1.

Remove all joints

Remove all joints from the object. Any objects this
object was attached to via joints is also affected. Note
some joints automatically disable collisions between
the objects, so you may want to manually disable
collisions again after removing joints otherwise
overlapping objects will "teleport" apart (as the
physics engine will try to prevent them overlapping).

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 Physics actions: Object settings
These set the corresponding properties. For more
information, see Physics properties.

Physics actions: Torque

Apply torque
Apply torque towards angle
Apply torque towards position
Apply a torque (rotational acceleration) to the object,
either directly, or towards an angle or position.

Set angular velocity

Set the angular velocity (rate of rotation) directly, in
degrees per second.

Physics expressions
AngularVelocity
The current angular velocity (rate of rotation) of the
physics object, in degrees per second.

CenterOfMassX
CenterOfMassY
The position of the center of mass of the physics
object, as calculated by the physics engine. This
depends on the collision mask property, and is not
necessarily in the middle of the object.

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 Mass
The mass of the physics object, as calculated by the
physics engine. This is the area of the object's
collision mask multiplied by its density.

VelocityX
VelocityY
The current speed of the physics object, in pixels per
second.

AngularDamping
Density
Elasticity
Friction
LinearDamping
These return the corresponding properties. For more
information, see Physics properties.

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 PIN BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/pin

The Pin behavior positions an object at a relative

distance and angle to another object, giving the
impression it has been "pinned" to the object. For
examples, search for Pin in the Start dialog.

Simply adding the Pin behavior to an object does not do

anything. You must use the Pin action to pin the object
to another object.

Pin conditions
Is pinned
True if the object is currently pinned to another
object.

Pin actions
Pin to object
Pin the object to another object. The relative distance
and angle between the objects at the moment the Pin
action is used is remembered. The Mode parameter
chooses how the object is moved in relation to the
other object:
Position & angle (default): keep the object at its
relative distance and angle to the pinned object. The
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 object will appear attached and stay in place as the
other object moves and rotates. Position only: as
before, but the object angle is not changed; it only
maintains its relative position. Angle only: the object
is only rotated relative to the other object, and does
not have its position changed. Rope style: the object
is not rotated, but is kept at a maximum distance from
the other object. Bar style: the object is not rotated,
but is kept at a fixed distance from the other object.
For more examples, see the Pin rope [Link] and
Pin chain [Link] examples in the Examples
folder in Construct 2's install directory.

Unpin
Unpin the object, so it is no longer being positioned
by the Pin behavior.

Pin expressions
PinnedUID
Get the UID of the object currently pinned to, or -1 if
not pinned. For more information on UIDs, see
common features.

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 PLATFORM
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/platform

The Platform behavior implements a side-view "jump

and run" style movement. It supports slopes, moving
platforms, "jump-thru" platforms, and arbitrary angles of
gravity. There are several examples of the Platform
behavior that can be found in the Start dialog.

The Platform behavior will land on any objects with the

Solid or Jump-thru behaviors. Jump-thru is different in
that the Platform movement can jump on to a Jump-thru
from underneath, whereas jumping in to a solid from
underneath causes the player to bounce off. The image
below illustrates the difference.

By default the Platform movement is controlled by the

left and right arrow keys and up arrow to jump. To set up
custom or automatic controls, see the behavior
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 reference summary.

Implementing reliable platform

movements
For the most reliable platform movement, it is
recommended to use a invisible rectangle sprite with no
animations with the Platform movement. Then, the
animated player object can be positioned on top of that.
Otherwise, the changing size and collision polygon of
the object as its animation plays can interfere with the
Platform movement's floor, wall and slope detection,
causing a shaking or glitchy movement. For more
information and a complete guide, see the tutorial How
to make a Platform game.

Mirroring the player

It is not necessary to duplicate all your artwork for the
player for facing both left and right. Instead, simply draw
all the player's artwork for facing to the right, and use
the Sprite object's Set mirrored action to mirror the
player's image. Set the player mirrored when pressing
the movement controls. An example is shown below.

A common question is how to make the player shoot left

and right, since even when mirrored the player will still
shoot objects to the right. To solve this, use the Is
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 mirrored condition, and if it is true, shoot to the left
instead.

Platform properties
Max speed
The maximum floor speed in pixels per second.

Acceleration
The horizontal movement acceleration in pixels per
second per second.

Deceleration
The horizontal movement deceleration in pixels per
second per second. When moving in the opposite
direction to the direction of motion, acceleration and
deceleration combine.

Jump strength
The initial vertical speed of a jump in pixels per
second when the jump key is pressed.

Gravity
The acceleration caused by gravity, in pixels per
second per second.

Max fall speed

The maximum speed in pixels per second the object
can accelerate to when in free-fall.

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 Double jump
If enabled, the player may make one extra mid-air
jump before landing on the ground.

Jump sustain
Maximum time in milliseconds that the jump strength
is sustained at while the jump control is being held
before the effect of gravity takes over. This allows for
variable height jumps depending on whether the jump
control is tapped or held. For example if set to 200,
then the jump velocity is sustained for up to the first
200ms of holding the jump control.

Default controls
If Yes , movement is controlled by the left and right
arrow keys and the up arrow key to jump. Set to No
to set up custom controls using the Simulate control
action. For more information see Custom controls in
the behavior reference summary.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

Platform conditions
Compare speed
Compare the current speed of the object in pixels per
second.
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 Is by wall
Test if a solid blocking horizontal movement is
immediately to the object's left or right. Jump-thrus do
not count as walls.

Is double-jump enabled
True if double jumps are currently enabled. This is
set by the Double jump property or Set double-jump
action.

Is falling
True if the object is in free-fall.

Is jumping
True if the object is moving upwards.

Is moving
True if the object's speed is non-zero.

Is on floor
True if the object is currently standing on a solid or
jump-thru.

On fall
On jump
On landed
On moved
On stopped
These are animation triggers, which trigger when the
platform movement is moving in to each state. If your
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 object has animations for any of these states, you
should set the appropriate animation in each trigger.
This helps save you implementing the logic to detect
state transitions yourself.

Platform actions
Fall through
If the player is currently standing on a jump-thru
platform, this action will make them fall through it.
This is useful for adding an additional control, e.g.
down arrow, to jump down from jump-thru platforms.

Set acceleration
Set deceleration
Set double-jump
Set gravity
Set jump strength
Set jump sustain
Set max fall speed
Set max speed
Set the corresponding properties. For more
information, see Platform properties.

Set angle of gravity

Change the angle of gravity, in degrees. By default it
is 90 (downwards on the screen). This can interact
interestingly with layer rotation.

Set enabled
Enable or disable the Platform movement. When
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 disabled, the behavior has no effect on the object at
all.

Set ignoring input

Set whether input is being ignored. If input is ignored,
pressing any of the control keys has no effect.
However, unlike disabling the behavior, the object
can continue to move, e.g. if in free-fall.

Set vector X
Set vector Y
Manually set the horizontal and vertical components
of motion, in pixels per second. For example, setting
the vector Y to -1000 would cause a jump with
strength 1000, which could be useful for
implementing springs.

Simulate control
Simulate one of the movement controls being held
down. Useful when setting Default controls to No.
See Custom controls in the behavior reference
summary for more information.

Platform expressions
Acceleration
Deceleration
Gravity
JumpStrength
JumpSustain
MaxFallSpeed
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 MaxSpeed
Return the corresponding properties. For more
information, see Platform properties.

GravityAngle
Get the current angle of gravity, in degrees.

MovingAngle
Return the current angle of motion in degrees, which
can be different to the object's angle.

Speed
Return the current overall speed in pixels per second.

VectorX
VectorY
Return the current X and Y components of motion, in
pixels per second.

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 ROTATE
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/rotate

The Rotate behavior simply makes an object spin.

Rotate properties
Speed
The rate of rotation, in degrees per second. Use a
positive value for clockwise rotation and negative for
anticlockwise rotation.

Acceleration
The rate the rotation speed changes, in degrees per
second per second. Use a positive value to
accelerate clockwise and a negative to accelerate
anticlockwise.

Rotate conditions
The Rotate behavior has no conditions.

Rotate actions
Set acceleration
Set speed
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 Set the corresponding properties. See Rotate
properties.

Rotate expressions
Acceleration
Return the corresponding Acceleration property.

Speed
Return the current rotating speed, in degrees per
second. A positive value indicates clockwise rotation
and a negative value indicates anticlockwise rotation.

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 SCROLL TO
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/scroll

The Scroll To behavior simply centers the view on the

object with the behavior. It is a shortcut for the Scroll to
object system action. However, it also provides a Shake
action to shake the screen, and if multiple objects have
the Scroll To behavior, it will center the view in between
all of them.

If you need more advanced scrolling, e.g. limited to

certain regions or following the player after a delay,
scroll to an invisible object which you control through
events.

To scroll, the size of the layout must be bigger than the

size of the window, or the layout's Unbounded scrolling
property must be set to Yes. Otherwise there is nowhere
to scroll to and scrolling will have no effect.

Scroll To has no properties, conditions or expressions.

Scroll To actions
Set enabled
Enable or disable the behavior. When disabled, the
scrolling will not be affected.
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 Shake
Shake the screen for a duration of time, by randomly
offsetting the scroll position every tick. The
Magnitude is the maximum distance in pixels from
the scrolled position the view will be offset. The
Duration is how long the shake will last in seconds. In
Reducing magnitude mode, the Magnitude will
gradually reduce to zero by the end of the shake
duration. In Constant magnitude mode, the
Magnitude will stay the same throughout the full
duration of the shake, ending abruptly.

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 SHADOW
CASTER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/shadow-caster

The Shadow caster behavior marks an object as casting

a shadow from a Shadow light object. For more
information, see the documentation for Shadow light.

Shadows are cast from the object's collision polygon, if it

has one, otherwise its bounding rectangle.

Collision polygon shape

Objects with the Shadow caster behavior must use
convex collision polygons. Shadows will not render
correctly if they use concave polygons. If you need a
concave shape, this can always be achieved by placing
multiple shadow caster objects next to each other to
compose a concave shape out of convex parts.

Shadow caster properties

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, the object will not cast a shadow.

Height
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 The simulated height of the object, which adjusts the
length of shadow it casts. If the Shadow light height
is less than or equal to the object height, it casts an
"infinite" shadow which goes all the way offscreen; if
it is higher, it uses the relative heights to calculate
how long a shadow to cast. For example two objects
with different heights will cast different length
shadows.

Tag
A tag for this shadow casting object. A Shadow light
object also has a tag, and can be set to only cast
shadows from shadow casters with the same or
different tags to itself. This can be used to have
different Shadow lights casting shadows off different
sets of objects, such as to have shadows working at
different levels of Z order.

Shadow caster conditions

Compare height
Compare the current height property of the behavior
to a value.

Is enabled
True if the behavior is currently enabled so it can cast
shadows.

Shadow caster actions

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 Set enabled
Enable or disable the behavior. If disabled, the object
will not cast a shadow.

Set height
Set the height property of the behavior. For more
information see Shadow caster properties.

Set tag
Change the tag of the behavior. For more information
see Shadow caster properties.

Shadow caster expressions

Height
Return the current height property.

Tag
Return the currently set tag for the behavior.

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 SINE BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/sine

The Sine behavior can adjust an object's properties (like

its position, size or angle) back and forth according to an
oscillating sine wave. This can be used to create
interesting visual effects. Despite the name, alternative
wave functions like 'Triangle' can also be selected to
create different effects. A visualisation of the different
wave types can be found on Wikipedia.

For examples of the Sine behavior's different modes,

see the Sine behavior - types example in the Start
dialog.

Sine properties
Active on start
If No, the behavior will have no effect until the Set
active action is used.

Movement
The Sine behavior has eight different modes:
Horizontal moves the object left and right on the X
axis
Vertical moves the object up and down on the Y axis
Size makes the object grow and shrink
Width stretches the object wider and narrower
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 Height stretches the object taller and shorter
Angle rotates the object clockwise and anticlockwise
Opacity oscillates the object opacity. Note object
opacities can never go less than 0 or greater than
100.
Value only does not modify the object. It simply
stores the oscillating value which can be accessed by
the
Value expression. This can be useful to create
custom effects or modify any other object or behavior
property based on the sine behavior.
Forwards/backwards moves the object in a straight
line back and forth along the angle the object is
facing at, like an angled Horizontal mode.

Wave
The wave function used to calculate the movement.
For a visualisation see this Wikipedia diagram. Sine -
the default smooth oscillating motion based on a sine
wave. Triangle - a linear back-and-forth motion.
Sawtooth - linear motion with a jump back to start.
Reverse sawtooth - reverse linear motion with a jump
back to start. Square - alternating between the two
maximum values.

Period
The duration, in seconds, of one complete back-and-
forth cycle.

Period random
A random number of seconds added to the period for
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 each instance. This can help vary the appearance
when a lot of instances are using the Sine behavior.

Period offset
The initial time in seconds through the cycle. For
example, if the period is 2 seconds and the period
offset is 1 second, the sine behavior starts half way
through a cycle.

Period offset random

A random number of seconds added to the period
offset for each instance. This can help vary the
appearance when a lot of instances are using the
Sine behavior.

Magnitude
The maximum change in the object's position, size or
angle. This is in pixels for position or size modes, or
degrees for the angle mode.

Magnitude random
A random value to add to the magnitude for each
instance. This can help vary the appearance when a
lot of instances are using the Sine behavior.

Sine conditions
Compare magnitude
Compare the current magnitude of the movement.

Compare movement
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 Compare the current movement property of the
behavior.

Compare period
Compare the current period of the movement, in
seconds.

Compare wave
Compare the current wave property of the behavior.

Is active
True if the behavior is active.

Sine actions
Set active
Enable or disable the behavior. When disabled, the
behavior does not affect the object at all.

Set cycle position

Set the progress through one cycle of the chosen
wave, from 0 (the beginning of the cycle) to 1 (the
end of the cycle). For example setting the cycle
position to 0.5 will put it half way through the
repeating motion.

Set magnitude
Set the current magnitude of the cycle. This is in
pixels when modifying the size or position, and
degrees when modifying the angle.
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 Set movement
Change the movement type of the behavior, e.g. from
Horizontal to Size.

Set period
Set the duration of a single complete back-and-forth
cycle, in seconds.

Set wave
Change the wave property of the behavior, choosing
a different wave function to be used to calculate the
movement.

Update initial state

The Sine behavior records the object's initial state
upon its creation, and always oscillates relative to
that, even if it is deactivated and later activated after
the object has been modified. If the object changes
and you wish for the Sine behavior to oscillate
relative to the new state instead of its state upon
creation, use this action to reset the initial state to the
object's current state.

Sine expressions
CyclePosition
Return a value from 0 to 1 representing the progress
through the current cycle. For example, exactly half
way through a cycle this returns 0.5.

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 Magnitude
Return the current magnitude of the cycle. This is in
pixels when modifying the size or position, and
degrees when modifying the angle.

Period
Return the current period of a single complete back-
and-forth cycle in seconds.

Value
Return the current oscillating value. This will alternate
as a positive and negative value centered on zero.
This is useful to create custom effects when in Value
only mode.

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 SOLID BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/solid

The Solid behavior makes other behaviors react to the

object as if it were an impassable obstacle. Objects with
this behavior are referred to as Solids. It affects the
following behaviors:

8 Direction, which is blocked by Solids

Bullet, which can optionally bounce off Solids
Car, which bounces off Solids
Line-of-sight, which by default has line-of-sight
obstructed by Solids
Platform, which can land on Solids. Platform cannot
jump on to solids from underneath - for this, use the
Jump-thru behavior.
Pathfinding, which by default uses solids as path
obstacles.

Note that the Physics behavior is not affected by Solid

objects. Instead, use the Physics behavior with
Immovable set to Yes.

The Solid behavior has no properties, conditions,

actions or expressions apart from the Set enabled
action. Because of this, it is also known as an attribute.
The Solid behavior is a fundamental attribute in
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 Construct 2, and several other Construct 2 features
also interact with Solid objects. For example, the
Custom Movement behavior has actions to push the
object out of solids.

Avoid crushing/trapping objects

with Solids
The behaviors which respond to the Solid behavior
usually get stuck if Solid objects crush or otherwise trap
the object deep inside the Solid object. In this case there
is no solution for the movement. The only three options
are 1) let the object get stuck, 2) allow the object to
move inside solids, or 3) teleport the object to the
nearest free space, which in some cases can be quite
far away. Since options 2 and 3 can cause strange
glitches if allowed, Construct 2 will deliberately make the
object unable to move, and this is the intended behavior.
Therefore, it is up to you to design your games in such a
way that the player cannot be crushed or trapped by
moving Solid objects. You should be especially careful
when moving Solids up against other Solids.

It is only by moving (or re-enabling) Solids, or using Set

position, that objects can become trapped. If none of
the Solids in your game move and you do not "teleport"
the player around with Set position, it should be
impossible for the player to ever get trapped in solids.

Solid properties
Initial state
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 Set whether the behavior is initially enabled or
disabled. If disabled, the object no longer acts as if it
is solid, and objects will be able to pass through it.

Solid conditions
Is enabled
True if the behavior is currently enabled. This can be
changed by the Initial state property or the Set
enabled action.

Solid actions
Set enabled
Enable or disable Solid for this object. Be careful not
to trap objects by enabling the solid when an object is
overlapping it; see Avoid crushing/trapping objects
with Solids.

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 TIMER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/timer

The Timer behavior simply triggers its On timer

condition regularly or once after a delay. This is like
using the system Every X seconds conditions, or the
system Wait action, except that times are kept for each
instance individually. The rate of On timer triggering is
affected by the time scale. The timer behavior is a more
convenient alternative to adding dt to an instance
variable every tick.

Tags
A single Timer behavior can keep track of multiple
timers. To distinguish between then, a tag is used. A tag
is simply a string, which can be anything. For example,
starting a timer with tag "attack" will trigger On timer
"attack", but not On timer "defend".

When a timer is stopped, or after a one-off timer

triggers, it no longer exists and the timer expressions
cannot be used to retrieve any information about it.

Timer conditions
On timer
Triggers either regularly, or once off, after a timer that
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 was started with the same tag has reached its
duration. NOTE: this trigger can fire with multiple
instances picked, if their timers all reach their time in
the same tick. This can sometimes work
unexpectedly if the actions expect there to be just
one instance picked. The workaround is to add a For
each condition after this trigger to ensure the actions
run once per instance.

Timer actions
Start timer
Set a new timer, or if the timer exists, re-start it with
new options. Duration is the time until On timer
triggers. If Type is Once, On trigger will fire once and
not again until Start timer is used again; if Regular,
On timer will keep firing every Duration seconds. The
tag allows multiple timers to run at once. The
corresponding On timer condition must use the same
tag.

Stop timer
Stop a timer with a specific tag. On timer will no
longer trigger after this action.

Timer expressions
CurrentTime(tag)
The time in seconds since On timer last triggered, for
a timer with a specific tag.
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 Duration(tag)
The duration in seconds for a timer with a specific
tag.

TotalTime(tag)
The time in seconds since a timer with a specific tag
was started with the Start timer action. This is only
useful with regular timers, since it will always equal
the CurrentTime expression for one-off timers (after
which they fire and the timer no longer exists, so
these expressions return 0).

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 TURRET
BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/turret

The Turret behavior can automatically detect objects

within a certain range and rotate towards them. It
optionally includes features to determine when to fire, as
well as predictive aim.

For examples of the Turret behavior, search for Turret

in the Start dialog.

How Turrets work

Before a turret will target anything, you must use the
Add object to target action so the object knows which
objects to look for. Calling this once on the start of
layout is sufficient. You can also give the turret a Family
to target, allowing it to easily target a collection of
different objects.

Once one of these objects enters the Turret's range (the

distance between the objects is lower than the Range
property), and the turret does not already have a target,
then the turret acquires that object as a target. On target
acquired is triggered, and if Rotate is set to Yes the
object will start rotating towards the target. Once the
turret is pointing in the direction of the target, On shoot
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 will trigger at the frequency determined by the Rate of
fire property. If you want the turret to fire upon the
target, spawn a projectile in the On shoot event.

If the target leaves the turret's range, the turret will lose
the target and stop firing. If another target is already in
range, it will immediately acquire that; otherwise it will
simply wait until the next target enters range. Also note
if Target mode is set to Nearest, the turret may switch
to another target before the current target leaves range,
if the new target comes closer than the existing target.

Predictive aim
A useful feature of the Turret behavior is the ability to
use predictive aim. For an interactive demonstration of
this see Example: Turret predictive aim in the Start
dialog.

Normally turrets aim directly at a target. This often

means moving targets are never hit, because by the
time the projectile arrives, the object has moved
somewhere else. Predictive aim solves this by aiming
the turret at where the object will be by the time the
projectile arrives, if it maintains the same velocity. In
order for this to work, the Turret behavior must have the
speed of the projectile set in its Projectile speed
property, so it can determine how long it will take for the
projectile to arrive. The projectile must also use a fixed
speed, and not have any acceleration or deceleration.

It is still possible for targets to dodge predictive aiming

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 turrets, by changing direction or speed while the
projectile travels towards it. However this is considerably
more difficult compared to not using predictive aim, and
the overall accuracy of the turret will be significantly
improved.

Turret properties
Range
The range, in pixels, that the turret can detect targets
in. Any targets further away from the turret than this
distance will be ignored.

Rate of fire
The rate at which to trigger On shoot, when the turret
has both acquired a target and rotated to point in the
direction of the target.

Rotate
Whether to automatically set the object's angle
according to the angle of the turret.

Rotate speed
The speed at which the turret can rotate towards
targets, in degrees per second.

Target mode
If First in range, the turret will always track the same
target until it leaves range, even if other targets come
in range. If Nearest, the turret may switch to a
different target before its current target leaves range,
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 if another target comes closer.

Predictive aim
Whether to enable predictive aim or not. If enabled,
you must set the correct Projectile speed for the
predictive aim to work correctly. For more information
see the section on Predictive aim above.

Projectile speed
If Predictive aim is enabled, this must be set to the
projectile speed in pixels per second for the predictive
aim to work correctly. For more information, see the
section on Predictive aim above.

Initial state
Whether the behavior is initially enabled or disabled.
If disabled, it can be enabled at runtime using the Set
enabled action.

Use collision cells

Whether to use the collision cells optimisation when
looking for targets that are within range. Usually this
is faster, but with extremely long ranges it can
sometimes be slower.

Turret conditions
Has target
True if the turret currently has a target acquired.

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 On shoot
Triggered at the frequency given by the Rate of fire
property, when the turret both has a target and has
rotated to point towards it. If the turret is to fire upon
the target, you should spawn a projectile from the
turret in this trigger.

On target acquired
Triggered when the turret has no target, but acquires
one as it enters range.

Turret actions
Acquire target
Target a specific object if it is in range. If the object is
out of range, the action is ignored. If in range, the
turret will switch to targeting the given object, even if
it already has a different target. Note if Target mode
is Nearest, the turret may still immediately switch to a
nearer target.

Add object to target

Use on startup to tell the turret which objects it should
target. Use a Family to conveniently target a whole
group of objects.

Clear targets
Remove all targets added using the Add object to
target action. The turret will no longer target any
objects at all.
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 Unacquire target
Tell the turret to forget its existing target, even if it is
in range. This frees it up to target a different object,
but it may choose to immediately target the same
object again unless the Acquire target action is used
immediately afterwards.

Set enabled
Enable or disable the behavior. If disabled, the
behavior will not detect targets, rotate the object, or
run any triggers.

Set predictive aim

Set projectile speed
Set range
Set rate of fire
Set rotate
Set rotate speed
Set target mode
Set the corresponding properties. For more
information, see Turret properties.

Turret expressions
Range
RateOfFire
RotateSpeed
Retrieve the corresponding properties. For more
information, see Turret properties.

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 TargetUID
Get the UID of the currently targeted object, if any.
For more information about UIDs, see Common
Features.

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 WRAP BEHAVIOR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/behavior-reference/wrap

The Wrap behavior simply repositions an object to the

opposite side of the layout or viewport if it leaves the
area. It has no conditions, actions or expressions. The
Wrap to property allows you to choose whether to wrap
the object when it leaves the layout area, or when it
leaves the visible viewport.

The object only wraps once it is fully outside the area,

i.e. no part of its bounding box is in the layout or
viewport area.

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 PLUGIN
REFERENCE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference

This section provides a reference of all the official

plugins that come with Construct 2. Each has an
overview of its use, a list of its properties, and a detailed
list of the actions, conditions and expressions specific to
that plugin.

Many plugins share common actions, conditions and

expressions. These are described in Common features
rather than repeating the information for each plugin.

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 COMMON
FEATURES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/common-features

Many plugins share common conditions, actions and

expressions, such as for the object's size and position.
Rather than repeating the descriptions of these for each
plugin, they are listed in this section.

Not all objects use all the common features; some may
use only a few of the ones listed here. This is provided
as a reference for the features shown to you in
Construct 2 rather than describing any particular
plugin's features.

Common conditions
Common actions
Common expressions

Unique IDs (UIDs)

All objects at runtime have a unique ID assigned, which
is a number starting at 0 for the first instance and
incrementing by 1 for every other instance. It is returned
by the object's UID expression. This number can be
used to uniquely identify a single instance throughout
an entire game. For example, it can be stored in
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 instance variables or event variables and later picked
again by using the Pick by unique ID condition.

Index IDs (IIDs)

All objects at runtime have an index ID assigned, which
is the number of the instance within its own object type.
It is returned by the object's IID expression. For
example, the first instance in two object types both have
the IID 0, the second 1, and so on. Therefore the IID
neither identifies a unique instance like the UID, nor
does it persistently refer to the same instance (if IID 0 is
destroyed, the next instance becomes IID 0). However,
it can be useful for advanced users taking advantage of
object expression indexing and the Pick Nth instance
system condition.

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 COMMON
CONDITIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/common-
features/common-conditions

The following conditions are common to several plugins.

Angle
Note angles in Construct 2 start with 0 degrees facing
right and increment clockwise.

Is between angles
True if the object's current angle is between the two
given angles in degrees. The first and second angles
must be in clockwise order. That is, Is between 0 and
45 degrees is true if the object is in a 45 degree area,
but Is between 45 and 0 degrees is true if the object
is in the 315 degree area from 45 degrees through 0
degrees.

Is clockwise from
True if the object's current angle is clockwise from
the given angle in degrees. Invert to test if the object
is anticlockwise from the given angle. For example,
an object at 45 degrees is clockwise from 0 degrees,
but an object at 0 degrees is anticlockwise from 45
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 degrees.

Is within angle
True if the object's current angle is within a number of
degrees of another angle. This is more reliable than
testing if the object's angle exactly equals an angle,
e.g. Is within 0.5 degrees of 90 degrees is probably
better than Angle equals 90 degrees, since there are
many cases an object can be very close to, but not
exactly, 90 degrees.

Appearance
Compare opacity
Compare the object's current opacity, from 0
(transparent) to 100 (opaque).

Is visible
True if the object is currently visible. Invert to test if
invisible. This only tests the visibility set by the Set
visible action; it is not affected by the object being
offscreen, having 0 opacity, or being on an invisible
layer.

Instance variables
Compare instance variable
Compare the current value of one of the object's
instance variables.

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 Is boolean instance variable set
Test if one of the object's boolean instance variables
is set to true. Invert the condition to test if false.

Pick highest/lowest
Pick the single instance with the highest or the lowest
instance variable value of all the instances. Note this
still only picks a single instance even if multiple
instances have the same highest or lowest value; in
this case an arbitrary instance is selected.

Misc
On created
On destroyed
Triggered for each instance that is created or
destroyed during the running of the game. On
created is also trigged for each object already on a
layout when the layout starts. For example, a one-
shot particle effect could be spawned every time an
object is created, and an explosion created every time
the object is destroyed. These conditions are
analogous to constructors and destructors in
traditional programming languages (commands which
run at the creation and destruction of an object). Be
careful not to create an object of the same type in an
On created event (e.g. On Sprite2 created: create
Sprite2) since this will create an infinite loop and
cause the game to hang.

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 Pick
Pick by unique ID
(UID) Pick the instance matching a given unique ID
(UID) number.

Pick nearest/furthest
Pick the instance either nearest or furthest from a
given position in the layout.

Size & Position

Compare width
Compare height
Compare the object's current size, in pixels.

Compare X
Compare Y
Compare the object's current position in the layout, in
pixels. Note that objects can be positioned between
pixels, e.g. at (5.5, 10.33333). Because of this it's
usually a bad idea to rely on an object being at an
exact position.

Is on-screen
True if any part of the object's bounding box is within
the screen area. This is not affected by the object's
visibility or opacity.

Is outside layout
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 True if the entire object's bounding box is outside the
layout area.

Z Order
Is on layer
Pick all instances on a given layer, specified either by
its name or zero-based index.

Pick top/bottom
Pick either the top-most or bottom-most instance,
taking in to account layers and Z index. For example,
the instance at the front of the top most layer is the
top instance.

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 COMMON
ACTIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/common-
features/common-actions

The following actions are common to several plugins.

Angle
Note angles in Construct 2 start with 0 degrees facing
right and increment clockwise.

Rotate clockwise
Rotate the object a number of degrees clockwise.

Rotate counter-clockwise
Rotate the object a number of degrees counter-
clockwise.

Rotate toward angle

Rotate the object a number of degrees toward
another angle. If the object is close to the target angle
it will not overshoot (it will end up exactly at the target
angle).

Rotate toward position

Rotate the object a number of degrees toward a
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 position. If the object is close to facing the target
angle it will not overshoot (it will end up exactly at the
target angle).

Set angle
Set the object's angle in degrees, from 0 to 360. 0
degrees is facing right and angles increment
clockwise.

Set angle toward position

Set the object's angle to face a position in the layout.

Appearance
Not all objects support the actions relating to effects. For
more information see Effects.

Set blend mode

Change the way the object blends with the
background by altering the object's Blend mode
property.

Set effect enabled

Enable or disable one of the effects added to the
object.

Set effect parameter

Change the value of one of the parameters for an
effect added to the object. The parameter to change
is specified by its zero-based index, i.e. 0 to change
the first parameter, 1 to change the second
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 parameter, and so on.

Set opacity
Set the object's opacity (or 'semitransparency'), from
0 (transparent) to 100 (opaque).

Set visible
Set the object visible or invisible (hidden).

Instance variables
Add to
Subtract from
Modify a number instance variable.

Set
Set a number or text instance variable.

Set boolean
Set a boolean instance variable, which can hold
either a true or false value.

Toggle boolean
Toggle a boolean instance variable, which flips it from
true to false or vice versa.

Misc
Destroy
Remove the object from the game.
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 Set from JSON
Set the state of this object from a string of data in
JSON format. This must come from a prior use of the
AsJSON expression.

Size & Position

Move at angle
Move the object a number of pixels at a given angle
in degrees.

Move forward
Move the object a number of pixels forward at the
object's current angle.

Set width
Set height
Set size
Set the object's current size in pixels.

Set X
Set Y
Set position
Set the object's current position in the layout, in
pixels. The origin (0,0) is the top-left of the layout and
the Y axis increments downwards.

Set position to another object

Position the object at another object. It can also be
positioned relative to an image point on the given
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 object.

Z Order
Move to bottom
Move to top
Position the object either at the bottom or top of its
current layer.

Move to layer
Move the object to the top of a given layer, either by
its name or zero-based index. If the object is already
on the given layer this action has no effect.

Move to object
Move the object next to another object in the Z order.
You can choose to place the object to be placed in
front or behind another object. If the target object is
on a different layer, the object will also be moved to
the target object's layer and then Z ordered next to it.

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 COMMON
EXPRESSIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/common-
features/common-expressions

The following expressions are common to several

plugins.

Angle
Angle
The object's current angle, in degrees. 0 degrees is
facing right and angles increment clockwise.

Appearance
Opacity
The object's current opacity (semitransparency), from
0 (transparent) to 100 (opaque).

Misc
AsJSON
Save the object state to a string of data in JSON
format, and return it. This can be downloaded or
otherwise stored, and later the state of the object
restored using the Set from JSON action.
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 Count
The number of instances of the object type.

PickedCount
The number of instances meeting the event's
conditions. For example, if the event has the
condition "Mouse is over Sprite", [Link]
will return the number of Sprite instances that the
mouse is over.

IID
Return the instance's index ID (IID). See common
features.

UID
Return the instance's unique ID (UID). See common
features. #Size & Position#

BBoxLeft
BBoxRight
BBoxTop
BBoxBottom
Return the layout co-ordinates of the object's axis-
aligned bounding box. This is the smallest unrotated
box that completely encloses the object, taking in to
account any rotation or stretching.

Width
Height
Return the size of the object in pixels.
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 ImagePointX
ImagePointY
Return the position of one of the object's image
points in layout co-ordinates. Either the image point's
name or its number can be passed.

X
Y
Return the object's position in the layout, in pixels.
The origin (0,0) is at the top-left of the layout and the
Y axis increments downwards.

Time
dt
Return delta-time according to the object's own
timescale. See Delta-time and framerate
independence for more information.

Z Order
LayerName
The name of the layer the instance is currently on.

LayerNumber
The zero-based index of the layer the instance is
currently on.

ZIndex
Get the zero-based index of the Z order of this
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 instance within its current layer. 0 is the bottom
instance, increasing up to the top instance.

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 9-PATCH
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/9-patch

The 9-patch plugin allows an image to be resized by

stretching or tiling the edges, corners and fill separately.
It is useful for conveniently making resizable windows or
user interface elements that can take any size and still
appear correctly. The image below demonstrates how a
9-patch looks compared to a Sprite object, which just
stretches its entire image.

The 9-patch object uses a single image, but

automatically cuts it up in to nine sections using margins
set in the object properties. By setting the left, top, right
and bottom margins, the object then automatically works
out the size and position of all nine sections.

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 The edge and fill sections can be stretched or tiled
independently, allowing for a better appearance when
resized. Take care not to set the margins such that
sections overlap or have a zero size, since this may
cause the object to display incorrectly.

For an interactive demo of the 9-patch plugin, see

Example: 9-patch object in the Start dialog.

9-patch properties
Image
Click the Edit link, or double-click the object in the
Layout View, to edit the source image used for the 9-
patch.

Left margin
Right margin
Top margin
Bottom margin
The margins of each side of the 9-patch, in pixels.
See the image above for a visualisation of how these
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 margins are used to determine the nine sections.

Edges
Use Stretch to stretch each edge patch to the size of
the object. Use Tile to repeat the edge patches
instead.

Fill
Use Stretch to stretch the fill patch to the size of the
object. Use Tile to repeat the fill patch inside the
object instead, like a Tiled Background. Use
Transparent if you don't want a fill image.

Initial visibility
Set whether the object is visible or invisible at the
start of the layout.

Hotspot
Choose the position of the hotspot (or origin) of the
object relative to its unrotated bounding rectangle.

Seams
To ensure seamless rendering under all
circumstances, by default the patches internally
overlap by 1 pixel (using the Overlap setting).
However for semi-transparent patches this can cause
a visible seam; in this case it is preferable to use the
Exact setting instead.

9-patch conditions, actions and

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 expressions
The 9-patch object has no conditions, actions or
expressions of its own. See Common Features for
documentation on the conditions, actions and
expressions it shares with other plugins.

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 ADMOB ADS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/admob

The AdMob plugin can show ads from the AdMob ad

service.

AdMob is currently only officially supported with the

Intel® XDK. However it should also be supported by
PhoneGap CLI with the
[Link]
plugin, and on PhoneGap Build in future.

Setting up
To get started with the plugin, follow these steps:

1 Go to [Link] and sign up an account. (This is

free)
2 Once logged in, create Ad Unit IDs for the ad types you
want to use
3 Add the AdMob object to your Construct 2 project
4 In the AdMob object's properties, copy and paste in the
relevant Ad Unit IDs from your account
5 Now you can add actions to show ads in your game.

Exporting
Remember to set the Test mode property to No before
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 publishing.

Currently only Crosswalk is supported via the Android

export option. Once your project is open in the Intel®
XDK, follow these steps:

1 Go to the 'Projects' tab (in the top-left)

2 Under 'CORDOVA 3.X HYBRID MOBILE APP
SETTINGS', click 'Plugins and Permissions'
3 Click 'Third Party Plugins'
4 Click 'Get Plugin from the Web'
5 Enter the following details:

Name: AdMob Plugin

Plugin ID:
[Link]

Check the 'Plugin is located in the Apache Cordova

Plugins Registry' box

Then click 'Import'.

Now your XDK project can support AdMob Ads. The

above steps must be done for every XDK project you
wish to use AdMob Ads with.

AdMob properties
Overlap
Whether banner ads should overlap the game, or
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 reduce the game viewport size to fit the ad alongside.

Test Mode
Display ads for testing use only. Be sure to set to No
before publishing.

Banner ID / Interstitial ID
(for various platforms) Paste in the Ad Unit IDs from
your AdMob account in to these properties.

AdMob conditions
Is showing banner ad
True if currently displaying a banner ad.

Is showing interstitial
True if currently displaying an interstitial ad.

On banner ad received
Triggered after Preload banner ad when the ad has
been downloaded and is ready to be displayed.

On interstitial dismissed
Triggered when an interstitial ad is closed.

On interstitial presented
Triggered when an interstitial ad is first displayed.

On interstitial received
Triggered after Preload interstitial when the ad has
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 been downloaded and is ready to be displayed.

AdMob actions
Hide banner ad
Hide any currently showing banner ad.

Preload banner ad
Start downloading a banner ad. When it is ready, On
banner ad received is triggered, and then the ad can
be displayed without any delay.

Preload interstitial
Start downloading an interstitial ad. When it is ready,
On interstitial received is triggered, and then the ad
can be displayed without any delay.

Reload banner ad
Reload a currently showing banner ad, replacing it
with a different one.

Reload interstitial
Reload a currently showing interstitial ad, replacing it
with a different one.

Show banner ad
Show a banner ad at a given position and size.

Show interstitial
Show an interstitial ad which has been preloaded.
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 Alternatively if nothing has been preloaded, it will
download an interstitial and then show it when ready.

AdMob expressions
The AdMob object has no expressions.

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 AJAX OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/ajax

The AJAX plugin allows web pages to be requested

during the running of the game. Its name derives from
"Asynchronous JavaScript and XML", a technique
familiar to most web developers. The AJAX object is
designed for use by web developers already familiar with
the technique - this reference will not describe the
principles of AJAX itself, only how to use it in Construct
2 with the AJAX object. Using the AJAX object can
sometimes involve custom server-side scripting which is
beyond the scope of this manual, but requesting simple
static resources like text files is straightforward, as well
as project files.

How to make a request

The basic usage of the AJAX object consists of:

1 Use the Request action to load a URL.

2 A moment later after the request completes, On
completed triggers.
3 The LastData expression can be used to access the
content of the response.

The tokenat system expression may be useful to split

simple responses. Alternatively, you could load
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 LastData in to the XML plugin to read it as an XML
document.

Tags
A different tag can be provided for each request. This is
a simple string you set to tell apart different requests.
For example, on startup you may request both [Link]
with tag "foo" and [Link] with tag "bar". When the first
request completes, On "foo" completed triggers; when
the second request completes, On "bar" completed
triggers. Requests can complete in a different order to
the order they were made, so without tags it would be
impossible to tell which request was completing.

Making AJAX requests cross-

domain or in preview
By default, browsers block AJAX requests across
domains. This means, for example, a game on
[Link] can request other pages on [Link], but
cannot request pages on [Link]. This is an
important security feature of web browsers (it is not
specific to Construct 2 or its AJAX object).

Also, when previewing in Construct 2 the game runs on

localhost. This counts as a different domain to the rest
of the internet, so typically AJAX requests to any web
page will fail during preview, unless the server explicitly
allows cross-domain requests.

If you want AJAX requests to your server to work from

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 any domain, or in preview, you can configure it to send
the following HTTP header:

Access-Control-Allow-Origin: [*]
This will enable AJAX requests from any domain, but
you should still be aware of the possible security
implications of this. For more information on cross-
domain requests see HTTP access control on MDN.

In [Link]
When exporting desktop applications with [Link], the
AJAX object can also load files from the application
folder. Simply use the Request URL action and enter
the name of a file in the same directory as the
application, e.g. "[Link]". Note if a project file
exists with the same name, this will always load the
project file instead.

MIME types
AJAX requests for files on your own server requires that
your server has the correct MIME types set up.

AJAX conditions
On completed
Triggered when a request with the same tag has
completed successfully. The LastData expression
contains the response.

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 On any completed
Triggered when any request has completed
successfully. The Tag expression identifies the
request, and LastData contains the response.

On error
Triggered when a request with the same tag has
failed. This can be for a number of reasons, such as
the server being down or the request timing out. (The
LastData expression is not set since there is no
response.)

On any error
Triggered when any request has failed. The Tag
expression identifies the request.

On progress
For long running requests (e.g. downloading a large
file), On progress triggers periodically and updates
the Progress expression with the state of the request.
This is useful for making progress bars for AJAX
requests.

AJAX actions
Override MIME type
In some cases you may wish to interpret the server's
response with a different MIME type to the one the
server indicates. For example a misconfigured server
may return a text file with the wrong character set,
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 and you want to force the response to be interpreted
as UTF-8. In this case you could override the MIME
type as text/plain; charset=utf-8 to avoid garbling the
text. This action only applies to the next AJAX
request that is made, after which the MIME type will
be set back to the default setting of accepting what
the server response indicates.

Post to URL
Send a request with data to a URL and retrieve the
response. A tag is provided to match it up with the On
completed, On progress and On error triggers.
Construct 2 does not automatically URL encode the
post data - use the URLEncode system expression
to ensure the data is in the correct format for posting.
Note post data is in the same format as a query
string, e.g. "foo=1&bar=2". The method can also be
specified: by default it is POST, but for some APIs
you may need to change this to PUT, DELETE or
another HTTP method.

Request URL
Send a GET request to retrieve the contents of a
URL. A tag is provided to match it up with the On
completed, On progress and On error triggers.

Request project file

Request the contents of a project file. A tag is
provided to match it up with the On completed, On
progress and On error triggers.

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 Set request header
Set a HTTP header on the next AJAX request that is
made. After the next AJAX request all the headers
set with this action are cleared again, so it only takes
effect once.

Set timeout
Set the amount of time a request has to complete in
seconds; if the timeout expires without the request
completing successfully, it will instead fail and trigger
On error. This action only affects subsequent
requests, and does not affect any requests that have
already started. If the timeout is set to -1 it restores
the default browser timeout.

AJAX expressions
LastData
The contents of the last response. This is set in the
On completed trigger. If used in a different event, it
contains the response of the last completed request.
The tokenat system expression may be useful to split
simple responses

Progress
Return the progress of the AJAX request in an On
progress event. The progress is represented as a
number from 0 to 1, e.g. 0.5 for half completed.

Tag
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 The tag of the AJAX request in a trigger. This is
useful to identify requests in On any completed or
On any error.

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 ARRAY
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/array

The Array object stores lists of values (numbers or text).

It is analogous to arrays in traditional programming
languages.

About Arrays
Array supports up to three dimensions. For example, a
simple list of ten values would be a 10 x 1 x 1 array.
Note that you should not set a size of 0 on any of the
dimensions else the entire array becomes empty; it is
correct to have a size of 1 on unused dimensions.

Each element of an array can store a number or some

text. The number or text in an element can be changed
with the Set actions, and accessed with the At
expression. For example, a 10 x 10 x 1 array is
analogous to a 2D grid with a total of 100 values. A
number could be stored at the position (3, 7) with the
action Set at XY, and accessed with [Link](3, 7).
Note like the rest of Construct 2, indices are zero-
based, so the first element is at 0. In this example,
[Link](0, 0) would return the first number in the grid.

Array can store either text or a number in any of the

elements. Numbers and text can also be mixed within an
array.
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 Arrays do not automatically resize. If you access a value
outside the array bounds, it returns the number 0. If you
set a value outside the array bounds, it will have no
effect.

Manipulating arrays
A one-dimensional array, sized N x 1 x 1, serves as a
simple list of N values. The actions in the Manipulation
category (e.g. Push, Pop) allow one-dimensional arrays
to be used like other data structures. (These actions
work with multidimensional arrays, but are intended for
the one-dimensional case.)

For example, the following scheme implements a queue

(first in first out, or 'FIFO'):

Add new items with Push front

Retrieve the next value with [Link]
Remove the retrieved value with Pop back

The following scheme implements a stack (last in first

out, or 'LIFO'):

Add new items with Push back

Retrieve the next value with [Link]
Remove the retrieved value with Pop back

Array properties
Width
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 (X dimension)

Height
(Y dimension)

Depth
(Z dimension) The size of the array. If you want a
one-dimensional array (i.e. a list of values), use A x 1
x 1. If you want a two-dimensional array (i.e. a grid of
values) use A x B x 1.

Array conditions
Compare at X
Compare at XY
Compare at XYZ
Compare a value at a position in the array. Indices
are zero-based. All values outside the array return
the number 0. If Compare at X is used, the Y and Z
indices are 0. If Compare at XY is used, the Z index
is 0.

Compare size
Compare the size of one of the array dimensions,
which is the number of elements on that axis.

For each element

A repeating condition that runs once for each
element in the array. This therefore runs width x
height x depth times.
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 Compare current value
Only valid in a For each element loop, either as a
following condition or in a sub-event.

Contains value
Searches the entire array to check if any of the
elements contains the given value. For example, you
can use this to test if the string "sword" is stored
anywhere in the array.

Is empty
Test if the array is empty. The array is empty when
the total number of elements is zero, calculated as
width x height x depth. Therefore the array is empty
when any axis has a size of zero. This can be useful
when using Array as a data structure (e.g. when
pushing and popping values).

Array actions
Clear
Set every element in the array to the number 0.

Set at X
Set at XY
Set at XYZ
Write a value at a position in the array. Indices are
zero-based. Writing to values outside the array has
no effect. If Set at X is used, the Y and Z indices are
0. If Set at XY is used, the Z index is 0.
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 Set size
Set the dimensions of the array. Values are
preserved, but if the new array is smaller it is
truncated. If the new array is larger, new elements
are set to store the number 0. If any of the
dimensions are 0 the entire array is empty, so usually
all the dimensions are at least 1.

Download
Invokes a browser download of a file containing the
Array's contents in JSON format. This is intended for
offline development, e.g. creating level editors.

Load
Load the contents of the array from a string in JSON
format. This must have been retrieved from either the
Download action or the AsJSON expression. It could
also be retrieved dynamically from the AJAX object.

Push
Add a new value either to the beginning (front) or end
(back) of an axis. Since the Array is a 3D cube of
values, technically this inserts a new 2D plane of
elements all with the given value. However in 1D
arrays this adds a single element, and in 2D arrays it
inserts a new row of elements.

Pop
Delete the value at either the beginning (front) or end
(back) of an axis. Since the Array is a 3D cube of
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 values, technically this removes a 2D plane of
elements. However in 1D arrays this removes a
single element, and in 2D arrays it removes a whole
row of elements.

Insert
Insert a new value at a specific index on an axis.
Since the Array is a 3D cube of values, technically
this inserts a new 2D plane of elements all with the
given value. However in 1D arrays this adds a single
element, and in 2D arrays it inserts a new row of
elements.

Delete
Delete the value at a specific index on an axis. Since
the Array is a 3D cube of values, technically this
removes a 2D plane of elements. However in 1D
arrays this removes a single element, and in 2D
arrays it removes a whole row of elements.

Reverse
Reverse the order of elements on an axis. Note that
in multidimensional arrays this only reverses one
axis. For example reversing the X axis in a 2D array
will reverse the order of the columns while preserving
the contents of each column.

Sort
Sorts the order of elements on an axis in ascending
order. Note that in multidimensional arrays this sorts
based on the first element on the axis. For example
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 sorting the X axis in a 2D array will sort the order of
the columns based on the elements at Y co-ordinate
0, while preserving the contents of each column.

Array expressions
At(X)
At(X, Y)
At(X, Y, Z)
Retrieve a value at a position in the array. Indices are
zero-based. Reading values outside the array returns
the number 0. If the Y or Z indices are not provided
then 0 is used.

CurX
CurY
CurZ
The current zero-based index for each dimension in a
For each element loop.

CurValue
The current value in a For each element loop. This is
a shortcut for [Link]([Link], [Link],
[Link]).

Width
Height
Depth
Return the size of each of the array's dimensions.

Front
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 Shortcut to access the first value in the array, which
is the same as At(0, 0, 0).

Back
Shortcut to access the last value on the X axis, which
is the same as At([Link] - 1, 0, 0).

IndexOf
LastIndexOf
Searches the array X axis for a given value and
returns the index it is found at, or -1 if not found.
IndexOf finds the first matching element, and
LastIndexOf finds the last matching element.

AsJSON
Return the contents of the array as a string in JSON
format. This can later be loaded in to the array with
the Load action.

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 AUDIO
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/audio

The Audio object plays back audio files that have been
imported to the project. It must be inserted to each
project that needs to use audio playback. Audio files can
be imported to a project by right-clicking the Sounds or
Music folders in the Project Bar and selecting Import...,
which brings up the Import Audio dialog. See the
relevant sections for more information on the steps
involved to import audio files.

Categorise audio files correctly

It is important to organise audio files appropriately,
because audio files in the Sounds project folder are
downloaded completely before playing, but files in the
Music folder are streamed. This means if a Music track
is accidentally put in the Sounds folder, it would have to
download completely (which could take a couple of
minutes) before it started playing. However, audio in the
Music folder can start playing immediately since it is
streamed from the server.

Preloading sounds
The Preload sounds project property determines
whether sounds (excluding music) are downloaded
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 while the loading bar is showing. Preloading sounds
means there is more to download before the game can
start, but all sound effects can play immediately once it
starts. If sounds are not preloaded, the game starts
sooner since it did not need to download any sounds,
but sounds will be downloaded on-demand during the
game. In other words, nothing is downloaded until a
Play action starts playing an audio file. Then it starts
downloading and will play when finished downloading.
This also helps minimise the bandwidth requirement on
the server since unused audio is never downloaded.
However, it can introduce a delay before audio plays for
the first time. The delay on first play is a one-off,
because after the first play the sound is already
downloaded and can be played immediately if played a
second time.

The Preload action can also be used to start

downloading an audio file without actually playing it.
This can be done on Start of layout to start downloading
a few important sound effects so there is no delay when
they are played for the first time when Preload sounds
is off. Note that preloading sounds when Preload
sounds is Yes has no effect, because by the time the
event can run all sounds will have already been loaded.

Music is never preloaded, since music tracks often

involve a large download size, and it is not usually
important to have music play with as little latency as
possible. Music will still stream from the server while
playing, but if the latency is important, the Preload
action can be used to load it in advance of playing.
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 Audio tags
Some actions affect audio parameters such as the
volume for sounds which are already playing. However
there can often be many sounds playing at once in a
game. In order to identify which sounds you want to
affect, sounds are played with an associated tag. This is
any string that identifies the sound. For example, the
player's weapon sound effect could be played with the
tag "PlayerWeapon" and an enemy's weapon with the
tag "EnemyWeapon". Then, the tag can be used in the
Set Volume action to specify which sound to set the
volume for. Tags are case insensitive.

Multiple sounds can also play at once using the same

tag. In this case actions like Set Volume affect all the
sounds playing with that tag.

A tag which is an empty string ("") has a special

meaning: it refers only to the last sound played with the
Play action. This is convenient for playing a sound and
immediately setting its volume and other parameters.

MIME types
Make sure after exporting your server has the correct
MIME types set up, otherwise audio may fail to play in
some browsers.

Mobile limitations
Safari on iOS and Chrome for Android share a limitation
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 in playing music. While sound effects can be played at
any time, music is only allowed to start playing when the
user touches the screen. This is a limitation in the
browsers themselves. As a result, if you play music on
the start of layout, you may find in these browsers it
does not actually start until the next touch.

Safari on iOS has a further limitation that no audio can

play at all until the first touch. In other words, audio
starts off muted and the first touch unmutes audio
playback.

Usually you do not need to handle this in your events. If

you try to play sound or music on 'start of layout', the
audio object will automatically queue it up for playback
the next time the user touches the screen. However you
should be aware of this when designing your game. If
the first touch changes layout or stops the music, then
the music may never be heard. You may want to start
playback then encourage the user to touch the screen
with a 'Play' icon or something similar.

Advanced audio
The Audio object supports some advanced features,
such as positioned sounds and convolution effects.
However these depend on the Web Audio API which is
not supported in all browsers. You can detect if these
features are available using the Advanced audio
supported condition. If it is not supported, the advanced
audio features will not change the sound in any way.

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 Positioned sounds are an advanced audio feature that
allow you to play a sound at a position, or on an object,
in the layout. Using a 3D audio engine, the pan and
volume are adjusted according to their relative position
to the listener. This is an easy way to enhance realism
and further immerse the player in the game.

Audio properties
Timescale audio
The game timescale can be used to speed up or slow
down playback of the game, for effects like slow-
motion. See Delta-time and framerate independence
for more information. This property controls whether
or not audio is affected by the game's timescale. Off
will play back audio the same regardless of the
timescale. On (sounds only) will play back audio from
the Sounds project folder at a different rate
depending on the timescale, but will always play back
audio from the Music project folder at the same rate.
On (sounds and music) will play back all audio at a
different rate depending on the timescale. Some
browsers may not support audio timescaling at all;
test on multiple browsers to establish support. Also,
different browsers may use different time-stretching
algortihms for audio. Browsers can either alter pitch,
going to lower pitch for lower time scales like a tape
machine playing at a different speed; alternatively
they can change the playback speed without
affecting the pitch. Test on multiple browsers to
establish the exact effect achieved.
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 Save/load
When using savegames, what audio state should be
saved and restored. If All, all sound and music is
saved and restored upon loading a game, so that
music and sound effects keep rewinding to the same
point they were at upon saving. Sounds only will only
restore the sound effects playing at the time of the
save, and allow music to keep playing through
unaffected when loading a game. Music only
conversely only restores the music playing at the time
of the save, and allows sound effects to keep playing
through unaffected when loading a game. None does
not save or load any audio state at all. Audio will be
completely unaffected when loading a game, and any
playing music and sound effects will continue to play
out to their end.

Play in background
If No, then switching browser tab, minimising the
browser window, switching to a different mobile app,
or otherwise hiding the window will pause all audio
and resume it when switching back. This is intended
to avoid annoying the user with continued music
playback when deciding to do something else, and
also helps save battery on mobile. However for some
types of app such as music players it may be
desirable to keep music playing in these cases, in
which case setting to Yes allows continued audio
playback even when in the background.

Panning model
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 How positioned sounds are panned. HRTF uses a
realistic model of human hearing, whereas equal
power is a simple method that preserves the overall
power in a stereo channel.

Distance model
The formula to determine volume reduction of
positioned sounds relative to the distance to the
listener. The options are: Linear, using the equation 1
- rolloffFactor [] (distance - refDistance) /
(maxDistance - refDistance)* Inverse, using the
equation refDistance / (refDistance + rolloffFactor []
(distance - refDistance))* Exponential, using the
equation pow(distance / refDistance, -rolloffFactor).

Listener Z height
The height of the listener above the layout, in layout
pixels, used to determine relative volume and
panning of positioned sounds. A low Z height will
have intense changes over small distances, whereas
a high Z height will have smaller changes over larger
distances.

Reference distance
The distance at which the volume of positioned
sounds begins to reduce. For best results this should
be at least as much as the Listener Z height.

Maximum distance
The maximum distance in pixels beyond which
positioned sounds no longer reduce their volume.
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 Roll-off factor
How quickly the volume reduces as positioned
sounds move away from the listener. A high roll-off
factor means sounds get quieter quickly, whereas a
low roll-off factor means sounds will not lose much
volume.

Speed of sound
The speed of sound, in layout pixels per second,
used for determining the doppler shift of positioned
sounds.

Doppler factor
How much pitch shift occurs due to the doppler
effect. A value of 0 will disable doppler effects
completely, and values greater than 1 will exaggerate
the doppler effect.

Audio conditions
Advanced audio supported
If true, the current browser supports all the features
in the Advanced categories of the Audio object. If
false, none of these features will have any effect on
playback.

Is any playing
True if any audio is currently playing.

Is silent
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 True if the object has been set in to silent mode using
the Set silent action.

Is tag playing
True if any audio with a given tag is currently playing.

On ended
Triggered when a sound with a given tag finishes
playing. This is not triggered for looping sounds.

Preloads complete
True when all audio preloaded with one of the preload
actions has finished loading.

Audio actions: General

Play
Play (by name)
Start playing an audio file with a given tag. The latter
action gives you the opportunity to use an expression
for the audio file name. The sound can optionally be
set to looping when it starts playing. A volume can
also be set, given in decibels (dB). A volume of 0 dB
is original volume, and below 0 dB attenuates the
sound. Note amplification is not supported. For
example, entering a value of -10 plays the audio back
10 dB quieter (about half as loud). Prefer setting the
intended volume in the Play action; even if followed
immediately by a Set volume action, some platforms
will momentarily play the audio at the volume given in
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 the Play action.

Preload
Preload (by name)
Start downloading an audio file so it has no delay
before playing. See the section Preloading sounds
above for more information. Audio does not have to
be preloaded before playing - it is optional and only
serves to possibly reduce the delay before audio
plays for the first time. Once all audio preloaded with
this action finishes loading, the On preloads
complete trigger fires. Note if the project Preload
sounds property is Yes, there is no point preloading
any sounds, since they will always be loaded before
the game starts - in this case it only makes sense to
preload music.

Seek to
Seek a currently playing sound to a different location
in the audio file. The time to seek to is given in
seconds.

Set looping
Set a sound either looping (repeating when it
finishes) or not looping (stopping when it finishes).
Not all browsers currently support this feature; test on
multiple browsers to identify support.

Set master volume

Set the overall volume that is applied to all audio
playback.
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 Set muted
Set a sound either muted (silent) or unmuted
(audible).

Set paused
Pause or resume some audio by its tag.

Set playback rate

Change the rate a sound plays back at. Different
browsers may use different time-stretching algorithms
(either pitch preserving or pitch altering) or not
support the option at all; test in multiple browsers to
identify the actual affect achieved. If the Timescale
audio property is enabled, it combines with the
playback rate set by this action.

Set silent
Enable, disable or toggle Silent mode. In silent mode
all currently playing sounds are muted and no new
sounds will play. This is useful for quickly creating an
audio toggle on a title screen.

Set volume
Change the volume of a sound. The volume is given
in decibels (dB). A volume of 0 dB is original volume,
and below 0 dB attenuates the sound. Note
amplification is not supported. For example, entering
a value of -10 plays the audio back 10 dB quieter
(about half as loud). Note it is best to set the initial
volume in the Play action instead of setting it with this
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 action immediately after playing, since that can
sometimes cause a moment of playback at the wrong
volume.

Stop
Stop a sound playing immediately.

Stop all
Stop all currently playing sounds.

Audio actions: Positioned sound

Play at object
Play at object (by name)
As per the ordinary Play actions, but the sound is
positioned at an object. If the object moves or rotates
during playback, the sound follows with it. The
velocity of the object is used to determine doppler
shifts. A cone can be specified to create directional
sounds, which follows the object's angle.

Play at position
Play at position (by name)
As per the Play at object action, but the sound does
not move. It is simply played at a position and angle
in the layout. Doppler effects can still occur based on
the listener's velocity relative to the sound.

Set listener Z
Set the Listener Z property of the audio object.
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 Audio actions: Effects
A selection of well-known audio effects can be added
using the "Add effect" actions. Each tag has its own
effect chain, and multiple effects can be added to a tag.
All audio played with the given tag is then processed by
the effect chain. This can be used to create
environmental effects and other creative audio features.
Audio signal processing is a complex topic and
somewhat out of the scope of this manual, so it will not
be detailed exhaustively here. Anyone with light
experience in audio recording or production should
already be familiar with all the effects available. For
interactive examples, search for Audio in Construct 2's
Start dialog. A brief summary of each effect is provided
below:

Analyser: doesn't change the audio, but can report

back frequency domain data
Compressor: automatically boost or reduce volume to
even out the overall volume level
Convolution: an advanced effect using another
sound as an impulse response to process the audio.
This allows for real-world locations to be recorded
and the environmental reverb applied to games
Delay: a feedback loop with a delay, making a sort of
simple echo effect.
Distortion: a guitar-amplifier style signal distortion
Filter: boost or reduce certain frequencies, such as a
low-pass filter (which cuts out high frequencies).
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 Useful for simple atmospherics, treble/bass
adjustment, etc.
Flanger: delays the sound by a few milliseconds then
mixes it back in with itself. By oscillating the delay
time a sweeping effect is created
Gain: a simple volume control, which might be useful
in longer effect chains. The Mute effect is also simply
a zero gain effect, which can be useful to add after
analysers (so the audio is analysed, but not heard).
Phaser: phase-shifts the sound then mixes it back in
with itself. By oscillating the phase shift another
sweeping effect is created
Tremolo: automatically oscillates the volume up and
down, also known as amplitude modulation. Some
interesting amplitude modulation effects can be
created by moving the modulation frequency in to the
audible range (above 20 Hz).
Ring modulator: like tremolo, but oscillates all the way
through to a full phase inversion

The Remove all effects action clears a tag's effects

chain, allowing you to add a different selection of
effects. The Set effect parameter also allows effect
parameters to by dynamically set or faded during
playback. Each effect also has a wet/dry mix which can
be used to fade in and fade out effects.

Audio actions: Other

Schedule next play
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 This action causes the next Play action (all variants)
to be delayed until the specified time. The delayed
playback is sample-accurate. Typically events are
only run every 16ms making it difficult to schedule
sounds more accurately than that, but this action
allows for perfectly scheduled playback, even in
between ticks. If the specified time is in the past, it will
play immediately. The time given must be relative to
the audio hardware clock, which is returned by the
CurrentTime expression, so typically sounds will be
scheduled a short time ahead using an expression of
the form [Link] + N. See the Audio
scheduling example in Construct 2 for a
demonstration.

Audio expressions
AnalyserFreqBinAt(Tag, Index, Bin)
Get the magnitude of energy in an analyser's
frequency bin. Advanced audio must be supported,
and an analyser effect already added to a tag. Index
must be the index of the effect (for example, 0 if the
analyser is the first added effect for that tag, 1 if the
second added effect, and so on). Bin is the
frequency bin number to retrieve from, up to
AnalyserFreqBinCount.

AnalyserFreqBinCount(Tag, Index)
Get the number of frequency bins returned by an
analyser. Advanced audio must be supported, and an
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 analyser effect already added to a tag. Index must be
the index of the effect (for example, 0 if the analyser
is the first added effect for that tag, 1 if the second
added effect, and so on).

AnalyserPeakLevel(Tag, Index)
Get the peak level of audio in the last FFT window
from an analyser. Index must be the index of the
effect (for example, 0 if the analyser is the first added
effect for that tag, 1 if the second added effect, and
so on). The value is returned in dBFS (0 dB for peak
level, and negative values for lower). If you intend to
use this value it is recommended to use an FFT size
of 1024, because at a system sample rate of 44.1
KHz the value will update about 43 times a second.
Games usually run at 60 FPS, and smaller FFT sizes
may cause FFT windows to be missed since they
change faster than the framerate.

AnalyserRMSLevel(Tag, Index)
Get the RMS level of audio in the last FFT window
from an analyser (the square root of the average of
the squared sample values). Index must be the index
of the effect (for example, 0 if the analyser is the first
added effect for that tag, 1 if the second added effect,
and so on). The value is returned in dBFS (0 dB for
peak level, and negative values for lower). If you
intend to use this value it is recommended to use an
FFT size of 1024, because at a system sample rate
of 44.1 KHz the value will update about 43 times a
second. Games usually run at 60 FPS, and smaller
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 FFT sizes may cause FFT windows to be missed
since they change faster than the framerate.

EffectCount(Tag)
Get the number of effects in the effect chain for a tag.

CurrentTime
Get the audio clock time in seconds. Where
supported, this is returned from the audio hardware,
providing the correct time against which to schedule
audio playback. It is important to use this value to
calculate playback times in the Schedule next play
action.

Duration(Tag)
Get the duration in seconds of an audio sample with
a tag.

MasterVolume
Return the current master volume set using the Set
master volume action.

PlaybackTime(Tag)
Get the current playback time in seconds of a sound
with a tag. This starts at 0 and counts up to the
duration, except for looping sounds which keep
counting up past the duration.

SampleRate
Return the audio output sample rate in Hz, typically
44100 or 48000.
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 Volume(Tag)
Get the volume set for a sound with a tag.

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 BROWSER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/browser

The Browser object accesses features of the web

browser running the HTML5 game. It also switch to and
from fullscreen mode, detect if the game is updating in
the background, and determine if the page is visible.

Security limitations sometimes prevent browser actions.

For example, the window Close action can only be used
when the window was created by a javascript
[Link] call.

Risks with Javascript string

execution
The Browser object provides two ways to run a string as
Javascript code: the Execute Javascript action, and the
ExecJS expression. While occasionally useful, these
are widely regarded as dangerous.

Here are a couple of the problems you may experience

with these features:

If you execute a string containing user input, it's

possible the user can inject javascript to be executed.
This can cause a security vulnerability, crash the
game, or allow the user to cheat.
If you inadvertently use a feature only available on
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 certain platforms, your game will crash on other
platforms that do not support the feature. Construct 2
normally protects you from this since it's well-tested
on many platforms, but it's an easy mistake to make if
you execute Javascript by yourself. Certain non-
browser platforms like CocoonJS have a very limited
feature set available so are especially easy to break.
By default, code is minified on export. If you do not
write Javascript that is compatible with Google
Closure Compiler's ADVANCED mode, it may be
broken and crash the game after export.
Executing strings of Javascript from events can often
result in dense and unreadable code which is difficult
to modify in future.

Using the official Javascript SDK is almost always a

more elegant way of including custom Javascript in
Construct 2 projects. If at all possible, write your
javascript in a plugin using the SDK.

Browser conditions
Cookies enabled
True if the user has cookies enabled in their browser.
(Typically it is rare for them to be disabled since
many web sites rely on cookies to work properly.)

Is online
True if the browser currently has an active
connection to the internet. Construct 2 games can
work offline - see Offline games for more information.
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 On resized
Triggered when the browser window displaying the
game is resized. This includes when changing
orientation on a mobile device. The system
expressions WindowWidth and WindowHeight will
update to reflect the new size if a fullscreen mode is
in use.

On went online
On went offline
Triggered if the connection to the internet is becomes
available or unavailable during the running of the
game. This is common on mobile devices which may
be moving in and out of signal areas. The Is online
condition also changes to reflect the connection
status.

Is portrait/landscape
Determine if the current display is portrait (height is
greater than width) or landscape (width is greater
than height). This is performed by making a simple
check on the window size of the browser, so also
returns accordingly on a desktop browser depending
on its dimensions.

On back button
Triggered when the user presses the device's 'Back'
button. Note not all devices have this button (e.g. iOS
devices only have a 'Home' button) and not all
platforms support this trigger.
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 On menu button
Triggered when the user presses the device's 'Menu'
button. Note not all devices have this button (e.g. iOS
devices only have a 'Home' button) and not all
platforms support this trigger.

On search button
Triggered when the user presses the device's
'Search' button. Note not all devices have this button
(e.g. iOS devices only have a 'Home' button) and not
all platforms support this trigger.

Is downloading update
True if the game is running from cache, but
downloading an updated version in the background.
This can be used to implement a simple auto-updater.
See Offline games for more information.

On update ready
Triggered when the game is running from cache, but
an updated version has finished downloading in the
background. If the user is still on the game's menu or
title screen, you may wish to prompt them to refresh
the page (or just do it automatically) so the new
version is loaded. See Offline games for more
information.

Is fullscreen
True if the browser is running in fullscreen mode.

Page is visible
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 True if the page the HTML5 game is running on is
currently visible. The page counts as hidden if the
window is minimised, the page is in a different tab to
the one being viewed, or on a mobile device when the
app goes in to the background. When the page is
hidden the game automatically pauses.

On suspended
On resumed
Triggered when the page's visibility changes, or when
a mobile app is going in to the background or
foreground. When invisible or in the background the
app is suspended: all events stop running and all
audio is muted.

Supports requesting fullscreen

True if the current platform supports the Request
fullscreen action. This can be used to determine
whether a fullscreen button should be shown.

Browser actions
Execute Javascript
Run a string of Javascript code. Great care is
necessary to use this correctly - see the section
'Risks with Javascript string execution' above.

Start group
End group
Start or end a group in the browser error console.
Groups appear indented, and the browser may give
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 the option to expand/collapse the group easily.
Groups can optionally be named. To create a group,
use Start group, then a series of Log actions, then
the End group action.

Log
Log a message, warning or error to the browser error
console. This can be useful for debugging, testing
and diagnostics.

Vibrate
Vibrate the device with a given pattern, if the
device/platform supports vibration. The pattern is
given as a comma-separated list of times in
milliseconds, alternating between vibrate time and
waiting. For example the string "200,100,200"
specifies a 200ms vibration, 100ms pause, then
another 200ms vibration. This allows a single action
to specify a whole vibrate pattern.

Go back
Go forward
Move through the browser navigation history as if
clicking the Back and Forward buttons on the
browser.

Go home
Navigate to the browser's set homepage.

Go to URL
Navigate to a given URL. Note this uses the same
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 window/tab as is showing the HTML5 game, so this
action will end the game. The Target can be used to
select which frame to redirect, which is only useful if
the game is displayed within a frame (e.g. an iframe
embed), and the frame has permission to redirect the
parent frame (i.e. it is not sandboxed). Possible
targets are: Self: redirect only the frame that is
currently showing the game. Parent: redirect the
parent frame. Top: redirect the top level frame (only
different to the parent if more than one frame is used)

Invoke download
Invoke a URL as a file download in the browser.
Even if this points to a web page or document, it will
be downloaded as a file in the browser interface. The
URL can point to any address on the Internet, or it
can be the name of any imported project file, or it can
be a data URL (useful for downloading canvas
snapshots). The filename parameter allows you to
choose the filename the browser gives to the
download, which can be different to the name of the
resource being downloaded.

Invoke download of string

As with Invoke download, but instead of providing a
URL to download, a string of the actual data to
download as a file is used. A data URI combining the
MIME type and data is created, then passed to the
browser to download. This is convenient for
downloading strings in JSON format as files, e.g.
object data from the AsJSON expression.
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 Open URL in new window
Navigate to a given URL in a new window (or tab if
the browser settings override). This continues to run
the HTML5 game in the old window or tab.

Reload
Force the page to refresh. This effectively restarts
the game.

Alert
Bring up a simple 'alert' message box.

Blur
Unfocus the browser window.

Cancel fullscreen
Return to windowed mode if the browser is currently
in fullscreen mode.

Close
Close the current window, if the script has permission
to do so.

Focus
Focus the browser window.

Lock orientation
Unlock orientation
Lock the display of the game to a portrait or
landscape mode only, if the current platform supports
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 this. This only has effect on mobile devices. The
game may have to already be displaying in fullscreen
(using the Request fullscreen action) before the
orientation can be locked. Unlocking the orientation
restores whatever behavior was set before locking,
such as automatically changing orientation
depending on the way the device is being held.

Request fullscreen
Request that the browser enter fullscreen mode. Note
the browser may ignore this request unless the action
is in a user-initiated event, such as a mouse click,
key press, touch event or button press. The
fullscreen modes that can be entered correspond to
the Fullscreen in browser project property. For more
information see supporting multiple screen sizes.
Note not all platforms support requesting fullscreen -
use the Supports requesting fullscreen condition to
check for availability.

Browser expressions
BatteryLevel
Return the current battery charge level from 0
(discharged) to 1 (fully charged). For example, to get
the battery level as a percentage, use
round([Link] [] 100)*. If the device
does not have a battery or the level is unknown,
returns 1.

BatteryTimeLeft
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 If the device has a battery and the remaining time is
known, returns the estimated time in seconds until
the system will have to shut down due to battery
discharge. If no battery is present or the time left is
unknown, returns infinity.

ExecJS
Run a string of Javascript code, and return the result
if it is a string or a number. Great care is necessary to
use this correctly - see the section 'Risks with
Javascript string execution' above.

Language
Get the browser's current language setting, e.g. en-
US.

Name
Get the name the browser reports for itself. This may
be inaccurate for backwards compatibility reasons,
e.g. Google Chrome reports its name as Netscape.

Platform
Get the current platform the browser reports itself
running on, e.g. Win32 for Windows.

Product
Get the product the browser reports for itself. This
may be inaccurate for backwards compatibility
reasons, e.g. Google Chrome reports its product as
Gecko.
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 UserAgent
Return the full user agent string for the browser, e.g.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64)
AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko)
Chrome/[Link].

Vendor
Get the vendor the browser reports for itself, e.g.
Google Inc. for Google Chrome.

Version
Get the version the browser reports for itself as a
string. This can simply be a subset of the user agent
string.

Bandwidth
The estimated available bandwidth in megabits per
second of the detected connection technology. Note
this may not be a reliable value - for example if the
browser detects it is connected via Ethernet it may
report the estimated Ethernet bandwidth, whereas
further up the network is a router with a lower
bandwidth. If the bandwidth is unknown, it returns
positive infinity.

ConnectionType
The type of connection technology in use if it is
known. This can be "bluetooth", "cellular",
"ethernet", "wifi", "wimax", "other", "unknown" or
"none" (indicating offline mode).
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 DevicePixelRatio
The number of physical display pixels per CSS pixel.
This can be a useful indicator of display density. For
example, 'retina' displays report the value as 2,
whereas ordinary displays report the value as 1.

ScreenWidth
ScreenHeight
Retrieve the dimensions of the entire device screen.
This is the complete display area available to the
operating system.

Title
The current HTML document's title.

Domain
The current domain, e.g. [Link].

Hash
The string after the hash at the end of the URL,
including the hash. For example, if the current URL is
[Link] this
returns [#]teapot.

PathName
The path relative to the domain in the URL. For
example the path name of
[Link] is
/mygame/[Link].

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 Protocol
The current protocol, usually either http: or https:.

QueryParam
Return a query string parameter by name. For
example, if the URL ends with [Link]?
foo=bar&baz=wan, QueryParam("foo") returns bar
and QueryParam("baz") returns wan.

QueryString
Return the full URL query string including the
question mark. For example, if the URL ends with
[Link]?foo=bar&baz=wan, this returns ?
foo=bar&baz=wan.

Referrer
Get the previous page that linked to this page, if any.

URL
Get the complete current URL in the browser address
bar, including the protocol.

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 BUTTON
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/button

The Button object creates a form button which the user

can click to perform an action. It can also be set to be a
checkbox. Below shows both modes of the Button
object in Google Chrome: a push button on the left, and
a checkbox on the right.

Form controls are actual HTML elements floating above

the game canvas in the HTML page. Therefore, nothing
can be displayed on top of a form control, apart from
other form controls.

Form controls position themselves according to the

layer parallax, scale and so on. However they are not
truly "in the game" (since they float above), so it is
recommended to avoid using scrolling, parallax and
layer scaling with form controls, otherwise the end result
can feel unnatural.

Styling Button objects

Button controls can be customised in a huge number of
ways via CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Rather than
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 adding actions to set all of the possible properties, the
Button object exposes a Set CSS style action. Knowing
CSS will of course be an advantage here, but it is
simple to use for simple properties. A few examples are
listed below.

Make the text red: Set "color" to "red"

Make the background yellow: Set "background-color"

to "yellow"

Make the border a thick light grey: Set "border" to "3px

solid [#]AAAAAA"

Make the font bigger: Set "font-size" to "2em"

Make a dashed red border: Set "border" to "2px dashed

red"

Button properties
Type
Either Button for a push-button or Checkbox for a
checked/unchecked control. See the image above for
a demonstration of both types.

Text
The text appearing on the button face or checkbox
label.

Tooltip
A tooltip that appears in most browsers if the user
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 hovers the mouse over the button and waits. Leave
blank for no tooltip.

Initial visibility
Whether or not the button is shown on startup. If
Invisible, the button must be shown with the Set
visible action.

Enabled
Whether the button is initially enabled. If No, the
button will be greyed out and cannot be pushed.

Auto font size

Automatically set the font-size property of the
element according to the layout and layer scale. This
will prevent the font-size CSS property being
manually set with the Set CSS style action. Set to No
if you intend to use Set CSS style to adjust the font-
size property.

ID
(optional) An optional id attribute for the element in
the DOM (Document Object Model). This can be
useful for accessing the element's value from
external scripts, or styling with CSS in the HTML
page.

Checked
If Type is Checkbox, this is the initial check state of
the control.
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 Button conditions
Is checked
If Type is Checkbox, is true if the control is currently
checked.

On clicked
Triggered when the user pushes the button or
checks/unchecks the control, either by keyboard,
mouse or touch input.

Button actions
Set CSS style
Set a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) style on the
Button element. For more information, see the
section Styling Button objects. Note that if the Auto
font size property is set to Yes, any changes to the
font-size property will be overridden.

Set checked
If Type is Checkbox, set the current check state of
the control.

Set enabled
Set the button enabled or disabled. When disabled,
the button appears greyed out and cannot be
pushed.

Set focused
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 Set the input focus to the button.

Set text
Set the text on the button face.

Set tooltip
Set the text that appears for the button tooltip. Leave
blank for no tooltip.

Set unfocused
Remove the input focus from the button.

Toggle checked
If Type is Checkbox, toggles the check state of the
control.

Button expressions
The Button object does not have any of its own
expressions.

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 DICTIONARY
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/dictionary

The Dictionary object stores strings and numbers. Each

value has an associated key, which is a string. It is a
data storage object - it does not do any spell checking or
language-specific features.

Key names in the Dictionary object are always case

sensitive. This means the key "SCORE" is considered
different to the key "score".

Example
Suppose the number 100 is stored with the key "score",
and the string "Joe" stored with the key "name". The
result storage looks like the following table:

"name": "Joe"
"score": 100

Retrieving the key "name" with [Link]("name")

returns "Joe", and retrieving "score" likewise returns
100. Setting "score" to 50 will change the value for the
key.

This is like storing data in instance variables or event

variables, but since you can use strings as keys you
can store any number of values.
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 Dictionary conditions

Compare value
Compare the value stored for a key.

Has key
Check if a key exists in storage.

Is empty
True when there are no keys in storage.

For each key

Repeat the event once for each key in storage. The
CurrentKey and CurrentValue expressions return the
current key and its value respectively.

Compare current value

Only valid in a For each key event. Compare the
value of the current key.

Dictionary actions

Add key
Add a new key to storage, with a given value. If the
key already exists, its value is updated.

Clear
Remove all keys from storage, making the object
empty.

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 Delete key
Remove a key and its value from storage. If the key
does not exist, this has no effect.

Set key
Update the value for a key which already exists. If the
key does not exist, this has no effect. (Unlike Add
key, the key will not be created.)

Download
(JSON) Invokes a browser download of a file
containing the Dictionary's contents in JSON format.
This is intended for offline development, e.g. creating
level editors.

Load
(JSON) Load all keys and values from JSON data
previously retrieved from the Dictionary object using
either the Download action or the AsJSON
expression.

Dictionary expressions

Get
Return the value stored for a key, e.g.
[Link]("score"). If the key does not exist, it
returns 0.

KeyCount
Return the number of keys in storage.
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 CurrentKey
CurrentValue
In a For each key event, these return the key and its
value (respectively) for the current key being iterated.

AsJSON
Return the contents of the Dictionary object in JSON
format. This can be later loaded back with the Load
action, sent to a server via AJAX, saved to disk, and
so on.

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 FACEBOOK
OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/facebook

The Facebook object allows you to integrate your game

with Facebook. The tutorial How to make a Facebook
game covers how to publish the game on Facebook and
has a step-by-step guide to get started with the
Facebook object. This manual section will simply
describe its features.

The Facebook object can be used in any web-hosted

game, not just in Facebook games. For example, you
could have a game running on your own server. The
Facebook object still allows you to integrate with user's
Facebook accounts even when the user is playing the
game on your website. However, it is still necessary to
submit the app to Facebook so you have an App ID.
Apps can be submitted to Facebook via Facebook
Developers.

The Facebook object makes asynchronous requests.

This means the game keeps running while operations
which may take several seconds (like submitting a
score) complete in the background. Therefore, the
Facebook object works around the principle of an action
which starts a task (like Publish score), which then
triggers a condition when it has completed (like On
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 score submitted). These may be a few seconds apart
and the game continues to run in between, rather than
freezing the game while it waits for completion. As with
most asynchronous requests, actions may complete in a
different order to that which they were made.

Readiness
The Facebook object takes a moment to load on startup.
Do not attempt to use the Facebook object before On
ready has triggered or Is ready is true, otherwise the
actions will be ignored.

You must enter the App ID for the Facebook object to

successfully load, even in testing. If you don't enter it,
the object will never become ready. This is because
Facebook prevent you using the API unless you have a
real App ID to give it.

Logging in
The user must successfully log in with their Facebook
account before they can use any other features of the
Facebook object, such as posting to the user's wall.
This is done with the Log in action, and since login can
take a few seconds you must wait until On user logged
in triggers before using any other features.

Facebook Properties
App ID
The App ID given for your app in the Facebook
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 Developers section.

App Secret
This is only necessary if you plan to use the Scores
API. Otherwise do not enter the app secret. The app
secret can be found in the Facebook Developers
section for your app and is currently necessary to
enable the Scores API.

Facebook conditions
Is ready
True if the Facebook object is ready to be used.
When false, the Facebook object is still loading the
necessary scripts and all actions will be ignored.

Is user logged in
True if the user is currently logged in with their
Facebook account.

On name available
Triggered shortly after On user logged in, when the
expressions to get the user's name are available.

On ready
Triggered when the Facebook object is ready to be
used. Before this triggers, the Facebook object is still
loading the necessary scripts and all actions will be
ignored.

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 On user logged in
Triggered when the user has successfully logged in.
It also triggers on startup if the user has previously
logged in, and they have returned to the app with a
remembered login. This also triggers at the start of
each layout throughout the game while the user is
logged in.

On user logged out

Triggered if the user logs out during the game.

On hi-score
Triggers once for each hi-score after the Request hi-
score board action. The HiscoreName, HiscoreRank
and Score expressions contain the current hi-score
information.

On score submitted
Triggers when the Publish score action has
successfully completed.

On user top score available

Triggers when the Request user top score action
has successfully completed. The Score expression
has the user's top score.

Facebook actions
Log in
Open a popup window requesting the user to log in.
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 This can only be called in a user-input event, such as
a key press, button push, mouse click or touch
screen tap. The user may cancel at the log in screen
so logging in is not guaranteed to be successful. You
must provide a comma-separated list of permissions
to request. Some features of the Facebook plugin
depend on the user approving certain permissions.
Do not request permissions that your application
does not need. You can find documentation on the
available permissions in the Facebook developer's
guide.

Log out
Log the current user out from Facebook.

Prompt to share link

Open a dialog prompting the current user to share a
URL of your choosing on their wall. Descriptions and
a thumbnail image can optionally be provided. This
does not require any permissions, but the user is free
to cancel the action.

Prompt to share this app

Open a dialog prompting the current user to share the
URL to the current Facebook app on their wall.
Descriptions and a thumbnail image can optionally be
provided. This does not require any permissions, but
the user is free to cancel the action.

Prompt wall post

Open a dialog prompting the current user to make a
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 wall post. No content or links is added - it is an empty
text box for the user to type anything they like. This
does not require any permissions, but the user is free
to cancel the action.

Publish link
Automatically publish a URL to the user's wall without
any prompt. Descriptions and a thumbnail image can
optionally be provided. This requires that the user
has logged in with the Publish to stream permission.

Publish wall post

Automatically publish a message to the user's wall
without any prompt. This requires that the user has
logged in with the Publish to stream permission.

Publish score
Publish a numerical score to the hi-score board for
the game. This requires that the user has logged in
with the Publish scores permission. When the action
completes, it triggers On score submitted.

Request hi-score board

Request the game's hi-scores. This requires that the
user has logged in with the Publish scores
permission. This action will repeatedly trigger On hi-
score once per score on the hi-score board. It is up to
you to find a way to display these scores; appending
each hi-score to a text object is a simple way to
display them.

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 Request user top score
Request the current logged in user's top score for
this game. This requires that the user has logged in
with the Publish scores permission. When the action
completes, it triggers On user top score available.

Facebook expressions
FirstName
The current user's first name. This is only set after
On name available triggers.

FullName
The current user's full name. This is only set after On
name available triggers.

LastName
The current user's full name. This is only set after On
name available triggers.

UserIDStr
The current user's ID, which can be used to
distinguish different users with the same name. This
is only set if the user is logged in. Note: although this
is a number, it is returned as a string since IDs can
be larger numbers than Javascript can express.

HiscoreName
The current hi-score board entry name. This is only
set in an On hi-score event.
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 HiscoreRank
The current hi-score board entry rank, from 1 down to
the number of hi-score entries requested. This is only
set in an On hi-score event.

HiscoreUserIDStr
Return the user ID of the current hi-score board
entry. This is unique even if two people on the hi-
score board have the same name. Note: although
this is a number, it is returned as a string since IDs
can be larger numbers than Javascript can express.

Score
Either the current hi-score in an On hi-score event,
or the current user's score in On user top score
available.

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 FILE CHOOSER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/file-chooser

The File chooser plugin is a form control that allows the

user to pick a file on their local system and load it. For
example, a text file can be chosen and its contents read,
or a picture chosen and the image displayed in-game.
Some mobile browsers also allow a picture to be taken
with the device camera instead of choosing an existing
file, then the taken photo image file is passed as the
chosen file.

The appearance of the file chooser button varies

depending on the platform. Several browsers display a
"Choose file" button.

Using files
Once a file has been selected, it can be accessed using
a URL. While many URLs reference web resources on
the Internet, the File Chooser plugin returns a special
URL that refers to the local file. This URL typically starts
with "blob:" (since the browser's term for an arbitrary set
of data is a "blob") followed by some kind of unique ID.
By accessing this URL the local file is accessed, without
using any Internet connection, so this also works offline.

The file URL can be used like any other URL. For
example, it can be requested by the AJAX object to load
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 its contents as text, or passed to the Sprite object's
Load image from URL action to display it.

File Chooser properties

Accept
The file type filter to accept. This can be a comma-
separated list of file extensions, e.g. ".png,.jpg,.jpeg",
or a MIME type, such as image/[] for any image file,
video/[] for any video file, and so on. If left empty, the
file chooser will be able to choose any kind of file.

Select
Whether to allow selecting a single file only, or
multiple files in one go.

Initial visibility
Whether the control is initially visible or hidden.

ID
An optional id attribute for the element in the DOM
(Document Object Model). This can be useful for
accessing the element's value from external scripts,
or styling with CSS in the HTML page.

File Chooser conditions

On changed
Triggered when a file or set of files has been chosen
from the input control. #File Chooser actions#
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 Set CSS style
Set a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) style on the
input element. Refer to a CSS reference to identify
which styles and values can be applied.

Release file
Release a previously returned file URL. This allows
the browser to release memory for the file. If the user
chooses lots of files or chooses them regularly this
action should be used to release the files after they
are no longer needed.

File Chooser expressions

FileCount
The number of chosen files. If Select is Single, this
is always 1. If Multiple then this returns the number
of chosen files.

FileNameAt(index)
Return the name of the chosen file at an index. In
Single select mode, the index should always be 0,
since only one file can be chosen.

FileSizeAt(index)
Return the size of the chosen file in bytes at an
index. In Single select mode, the index should always
be 0, since only one file can be chosen.

FileTypeAt(index)
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 Return the MIME type of the chosen file at an index.
The MIME type is the standardised Internet media
type of the file contents. For example, this can be
image/png for a PNG image, image/jpeg for a JPEG
image, or text/plain for a plaintext file. In Single select
mode, the index should always be 0, since only one
file can be chosen.

FileURLAt(index)
The URL to access the local file's contents at an
index. For more information see Using files above. In
Single select mode, the index should always be 0,
since only one file can be chosen.

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 FUNCTION
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/function

The Function object can run a different event (On

function) in an action (Call function). This is analogous
to functions in traditional programming languages. Using
functions can help you organise events and avoid
having to duplicate groups of actions or events.

About functions
The main purpose of the Function object is using the
Call function action. This takes the name of a function
(e.g. Call function "CreateEnemy"). The action then
triggers the corresponding On function event (e.g. On
function "CreateEnemy"), running the event's actions
and any sub-events, before returning to the original Call
function action and continuing from where it was.

As another example, suppose you create an enemy with

random stats in a game every 5 seconds using this
event:

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 Suppose there are two other events where you want to
create the same kind of enemy: one when a player
walks in to a trap, and another one every 4 seconds
when in a boss fight. Without functions, you may have
to copy-and-paste the actions multiple times, like this:

Notice this is becoming inconvenient. There may be

times you need to repeat the actions in even more
places. If you want to make a change, you then have to
find every place you repeated the actions, and repeat
the change. We can remove the repetition using
functions. By creating a CreateEnemy function which
has the repeated actions, we can replace all the
repeated actions with a Call function action like this:

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 This works identically to the previous events, but is
much shorter and more convenient. We can use Call
"CreateEnemy" action anywhere we want to create an
enemy, and it uses the same set of actions in the On
"CreateEnemy" event.

It is often useful to split many parts of your events in to

functions like this, so they can be conveniently re-used
across event sheets.

Parameters
When calling a function, you can also pass parameters.
These are simply numbers or strings that are made
available to the function. For example, the
CreateEnemy function from the previous example could
be modified to take two parameters: the X and the Y co-
ordinates at which to create the enemy. This helps
functions to be made more general purpose by using
extra information from the action calling the function.

To add a parameter to a function call, click the Add

parameter link that appears in the Parameters dialog
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 when editing the Call function action. This is a special
link that only appears for this action in the Function
object. Inside an On function event, you can then use
the Param expression with the zero-based index of the
parameter to retrieve the corresponding value.

Advanced function features

Like in programming languages, the Function object
supports the following:

Functions calling other functions

Functions calling themselves (recursion)
Returning values from functions
Calling functions from expressions (which also
returns the return value)

Note that functions calling other functions or recursing

create a new "stack" of local variables. In other words,
like in programming languages, local variables are
unique at each level of function call. This does not apply
to static local variables or global variables.

Also note the Function object logs to the browser

console if it is used incorrectly, such as calling a non-
existent function or accessing a parameter that was not
passed. This can help identify problems using functions
in large projects. See Checking for errors in browsers
for more information on viewing the browser console.

Returning values from functions

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 Functions can also return a result. For example, a
factorial function could calculate the mathematical result
and return it. In an On function event, the return value
can be set using the Set return value action.

If the event was called using the Call function action,

the returned value is afterwards available using the
ReturnValue expression. Functions can also be called
directly from an expression using the Call expression; in
this case the return value is automatically returned as
the result of the Call expression.

Javascript integration
It is strongly recommended to use the Javascript plugin
SDK to integrate Javascript code with Construct 2.
However it is possible to trigger a function in the
Function object from Javascript code using the following
function:

if (c2_callFunction)
c2_callFunction("name", ["param1", "param2"]);

Note if the Function object is not included in a project,

the c2_callFunction function will not exist, so the if
check is necessary before using it. The function with
the given "name" is triggered synchronously.
Parameters are optional and can be omitted, but must
be provided as an array in the second argument, and
parameters may only be string or number values (any
other types will return as 0 in Construct 2). The
c2_callFunction method also returns the return value
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 set in Construct 2 (if any), and also can only return a
string or number.

Function conditions
Compare parameter
Compare the value of one of the parameters to a
function call. This condition should only be used in
an On function event, since outside of function calls
there are no parameters set.

On function
Triggered when the corresponding Call function
action is used.

Function actions
Call expression
This is an alternative to the Call function action. It
simply provides a parameter to enter an expression,
and the result is ignored. You can use this to call a
function via the [Link](...) expression, which
may be more convenient if using a very large number
of parameters.

Call function
Trigger the corresponding On function events.
Additional parameters can be passed that are
accessed by the Param expression.

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 Set return value
In a function event, set the value to be returned to the
caller. This is either returned by the Call expression
or accessed later using the ReturnValue expression.

Function expressions
Call
Call a function directly from an expression. The
expression returns the return value that was set in
the function, or 0 if no return value was set.
Additional parameters can optionally be added after
the name of the function, e.g.
[Link]("CreateEnemy", 123, 456).

Param
Retrieve a parameter passed to a function call by its
zero-based index. For example, [Link](0)
returns the value of the first parameter.

ParamCount
Return the number of parameters passed to a
function call.

ReturnValue
Return the value set using the Set return value
action from the last function call. If Set return value is
not used in a function, it returns 0.

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 GAME CENTER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/game-center

The Game Center plugin allows access to Game Center

on iOS when built with PhoneGap or the Intel XDK.

Setting up
To set up your game for Game Center, it must be
appropriately configured on the iTunes store. Please
follow Apple's Game Center configuration guide for
more information.

Before your game can use any Game Center features,

you must use the Authenticate action. This can be done
on Start of layout or when pressing an in-game Login
button. The user will either be prompted to log in or be
automatically re-authorised.

Be warned that if you fail Game Center authorisation too

many times your device may be blocked from accessing
it. To help avoid this while testing, go in to Settings on
your iOS device and make sure Game Center is
enabled and signed in from there. It should
automatically pick up your account when using the
Authenticate action.

Game Center properties

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 The Game Center object has no properties.

Game Center conditions

On achievement list error
On achievement list received
Triggered after the Request achievements action,
depending on whether an error occurred or it
completed successfully.

On achievement report error

On achievement report success
Triggered after the Report achievement action,
depending on whether an error occurred or it
completed successfully.

On achievement reset error

On achievement reset success
Triggered after the Reset achievements action,
depending on whether an error occurred or it
completed successfully.

On auth fail
On auth success
Triggered after the Authenticate action depending on
whether login was successful or not. On auth
success must trigger before any other Game Center
features can be used.

On player image fail

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 On player image received
Triggered after the Request player image action
depending on whether an error occurred or it
completed successfully.

On leaderboard displayed
On leaderboard error
Triggered after the Show leaderboard action
depending on whether the leaderboard could be
successfully displayed or not.

On score submit fail

On score submit success
Triggered after the Submit score action depending on
whether the submission was successful or not.

Game Center actions

Report achievement
Report that the player has gained an achievement, or
increased its percentage completion, by its
achievement ID. Afterwards, On achievement report
error/success triggers depending on success.

Request achievements
Request a list of available and completed
achievements. Afterwards, On achievement list
error/success triggers depending on success.

Reset achievements
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 Reset all the player's achievements and scores to
their default states. Afterwards, On achievement
reset error/success triggers depending on success.

Authenticate
Prompt the player to log in to Game Center, or
automatically log them in again. This must be done
before any Game Center features can be used.
Afterwards, On auth fail/success triggers depending
on success.

Request player image

Request a URL to the current player's image.
Afterwards, On player image fail/success triggers
depending on success.

Show leaderboard
Display top scores on a leaderboard by its ID. On
leaderboard displayed/error triggers depending on
success.

Submit score
Submit a score to a leaderboard. On score submit
fail/success triggers depending on success.

Game Center expressions

AchievementCount
After On achievement list received, the number of
achievements in the list.
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 AchievementAt(index)
After On achievement list received, the zero-based
index of the achievement to retrieve.

PlayerID
UserAlias
UserDisplayName
After On auth success, the details about the current
player.

PlayerImageURL
After On player image received, the URL to the
image for the current player. This can be loaded in to
a Sprite object using the Load image from URL
action.

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 GAMEPAD
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/gamepad

The Gamepad object allows you to detect input from a

connected console controller, PC gamepad or joystick.
While a range of devices ought to work with the
Gamepad object, it is designed for and works best with
the XBox 360 controller, or similarly designed controllers
(with the same button/stick layout).

Unfortunately whether or not a specific device is

supported depends on a lot of factors, including the
operating system, available drivers, and the browser's
support. This makes it difficult to know in advance if a
specific device will work. The XBox 360 controller works
out of the box on Windows systems with the Google
Chrome browser. The Playstation 3 controller does not
typically work without installing third party drivers since it
is not officially supported. For this reason it is
recommended to test with Google Chrome on Windows
with an XBox 360 controller, and always support an
alternative input method such as Keyboard input.

Most mobile devices do not have a physical socket to

connect a controller to. Therefore Gamepad input can
usually only be used with desktop computers. For
mobile devices with touchscreen input, focus on
designing touch controls.
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 To prevent allowing websites to track you by your
available controllers, most browsers supporting
Gamepad input will report that there are no controllers
connected until a button is pressed on one of the
devices.

Key mapping
Different controllers have different button layouts, or the
buttons have different names. For example, the
Playstation 3 controller uses square, circle, triangle and
X buttons, whereas the XBox 360 controller uses A, B,
X and Y (note that X appears in a different position in
each controller too). For consistency, the Gamepad
object refers to the XBox 360 layout only.

The Gamepad object will also attempt to map other

controller's keys to the XBox 360 layout internally, to
ensure the same button always triggers the same event.
However it is impractical to set this up for every device
in existence, so some device buttons may trigger
different key events in the Gamepad object. This is
partly why it is recommended to focus on XBox 360
controllers. If you are interested in using Gamepad input
extensively, be sure to test on as wide a range of
devices as you can obtain.

Raw input can be obtained, circumventing the Gamepad

object's built in key mapping, using the Raw
expressions.

Controlling behaviors with

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 Gamepad
To control behaviors with Gamepad input, use the
Simulate control action. An example is shown below for
controlling a Platform behavior with the left analog stick
and A to jump.

For more information, see the section on Custom

controls in the Behavior reference.

Multiple gamepads
Multiple gamepad devices can be connected to a single
computer. To differentiate between them, most actions,
conditions and expressions in the Gamepad object also
take a Gamepad parameter. This is a zero-based index
of the controller. For example, 0 identifies the first
controller, 1 identifies the second, and so on. This
allows you to make multiplayer gamepad-controlled
games.

Gamepad properties
Analog deadzone

Devices with analog joysticks are extremely sensitive to

input. This allows fine control in games, but also means
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 a joystick in rest position can still register a fairly large
amount of movement. If this wasn't ignored, a joystick-
controlled player could start moving around erratically
even when the player is not touching the control. To
solve this all values close to rest position are ignored.
Joystick movement is in the range -100 to 100 on each
axis, and if the distance from the center is below the
Analog deadzone value, it will return 0. For example,
the default is 25, so values inside a circle with the radius
25 will still count as zero. This is the recommended
value to ensure even ageing controllers with highly
erratic input do not cause unintended player movement.

Gamepad conditions
Gamepads are supported
True if the current platform supports gamepad input.
If this is false, then no gamepads or gamepad
axis/button inputs will be detected at all.

Has gamepads
True if any gamepad is connected and activated. To
prevent websites tracking you based on the available
gamepads, most browsers supporting Gamepad input
will report that no controllers are connected until a
button is pressed on one of the devices.

On gamepad connected
Triggered when a gamepad device is connected to
the computer. To prevent websites tracking you
based on the available gamepads, most browsers
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 supporting Gamepad input will report that no
controllers are connected until a button is pressed on
one of the devices, when On gamepad connected
will also run.

On gamepad disconnected
Triggered when a gamepad device is disconnected
from the computer, such as by pulling out its cable.

Compare axis
Compare the position of an analog joystick on a
specific gamepad. Values within the Analog
deadzone are returned as 0. Axes values range from
-100 to 100.

Is button down
True if a given button is currently down on a specific
gamepad. The buttons are always referred to
according to the XBox 360 controller layout, and
buttons are subject to mapping as described under
Key mapping.

Is button index down

True if a given button by its numerical index is
currently down on a specific gamepad. The index is
still subject to mapping as described under Key
mapping.

On any button pressed

Triggered when any button is pressed on a specific
gamepad. The LastButton expression is set with the
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 index of the button.

On any button released

Triggered when any button is released on a specific
gamepad. The LastButton expression is set with the
index of the button.

On button index pressed

Triggered when a given button by its numerical index
is pressed on a specific gamepad. The index is still
subject to mapping as described under Key mapping.

On button index released

Triggered when a given button by its numerical index
is released on a specific gamepad. The index is still
subject to mapping as described under Key mapping.

On button pressed
Triggered when a given button is pressed on a
specific gamepad. The buttons are always referred to
according to the XBox 360 controller layout, and
buttons are subject to mapping as described under
Key mapping.

On button released
Triggered when a given button is released on a
specific gamepad. The buttons are always referred to
according to the XBox 360 controller layout, and
buttons are subject to mapping as described under
Key mapping.

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 Gamepad actions
The Gamepad object has no actions.

Gamepad expressions
Axis(Gamepad, Index)
Retrieve the current position of an analog joystick on
a specific gamepad. Index specifies left analog X and
Y or right analog X and Y axes, subject to Key
mapping. Axes range from -100 to 100. Axis values
within the Analog deadzone are returned as 0.

Button(Gamepad, Index)
Retrieve the current button press value of a button on
a specific gamepad. Index specifies the zero-based
index of a button from the dropdown list in the Is
button down condition (e.g. 0 returns the value for
the A button). The returned value depends on the
features of the button: if the button is pressure
sensitive, it can return any value from 0 to 100
depending on the pressure; otherwise it returns 0 for
not pressed and 100 for pressed. Buttons which are
not pressure sensitive are easier to detect using the
Is button down condition.

GamepadCount
Return the number of currently connected and active
gamepad devices. To prevent websites tracking you
based on the available gamepads, most browsers
supporting Gamepad input will report that no
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 controllers are connected until a button is pressed on
one of the devices.

GamepadID(Gamepad)
A string intended to represent the device
manufacturer and model for a specific gamepad, e.g.
"XBox 360 controller". However in practice this varies
depending on the system and browser in use.

LastButton(Gamepad)
Return the numerical index of the last button pressed
on a specific gamepad. This is useful with the On any
button pressed and On any button released triggers
to set up custom controls.

RawAxis(Gamepad, Index)
Retrieve raw axis input for a specific gamepad and
axis index. This returns the value without
keymapping, applying the analog deadzone, or
multiplying the returned value by 100. Axis values
range from -1 to 1.

RawAxisCount(Gamepad)
Return the number of axes available in the raw input
for a specific gamepad. This returns the value without
keymapping.

RawButton(Gamepad, Index)
Retrieve raw button input for a specific gamepad and
button index. This returns the value without
keymapping. Button values range from 0 to 1
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 (pressure sensitive buttons can return values in
between).

RawButtonCount(Gamepad)
Return the number of buttons available in the raw
input for a specific gamepad. This returns the value
without keymapping.

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 GEOLOCATION
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/geolocation

The Geolocation object allows the user's current

geographical location to be estimated. Note not all
devices support geolocation (use the Is supported
condition to check), and of the devices that do, the
accuracy can vary significantly. For example a desktop
computer might not come with any location-tracking
equipment, and only be able to report a location
accurate to a 50 kilometer radius based on their internet
connection. However this at least allows for the user's
timezone, country, or possibly city or town to be
determined. On the other hand many mobile phones
and tablets come equipped with GPS equipment and
can report their location as accurately as within a few
meters, and track movements in real-time.

For an example of the Geolocation object, see the

Geolocation example in the Start dialog.

Permission prompts
When requesting the user's location, for privacy
reasons most platforms will prompt the user for
permission. Each platform tends to have its own specific
way of asking for permission. The user may decline the
permission request, in which case On error will trigger.
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 Your projects should handle such a case gracefully if
possible. Normally each browser or platform has a way
to grant permission when it was previously declined, but
it either involves prompting again, or making changes in
the browser or app platform settings. Some platforms
will fail without even prompting the user after a single
declined permission request.

Battery usage
It should be noted that tracking the user's location may
involve activating GPS hardware in a phone or tablet,
which can drain the battery more quickly. Requesting
high-accuracy location information is also likely to use
more power. Try to only request the user's location if
absolutely necessary, use low accuracy if suitable, and
request one-off positions rather than watching the
position for a long time.

Geolocation conditions
Is supported
True if the current device supports reporting the user
position with geolocation. If false, none of the
features of the object will work.

Is watching location
True after a successful Watch location action, until
the Stop watching action is used.

On error
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 Triggered if an error occurs when requesting
permission for, or retrieving, the user's location. The
ErrorMessage expression contains more information
about the problem in this trigger.

On location update
Triggered after a successful Request location or
Watch location action, when the position has been
updated. This only triggers once after a successful
Request location action, but can trigger regularly
after a successful Watch location action whilst the
position is tracked and updated.

Geolocation actions
Request location
Make a one-off request for the user's current
location. The user may see a permission prompt
which they must approve before any information is
returned; if they decline, On error will trigger.
Accuracy can be set to High to get more accurate
results, but it may take longer to calculate and
consume more battery. Timeout is the maximum time
in seconds the device may take before it must return
a position or trigger On error. Maximum age is the
maximum age of a cached result that can be
returned. If zero, the device will actively try to
determine the user's position at that time. However if
it is nonzero, and the operating system had
previously requested the user's position within that
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 time, the previous result may be returned immediately
instead. This is faster and can save battery, but the
result will not be as close to real-time. If a result is
successfully determined, On location update will
trigger.

Watch location
As with Request location, but the location will be
tracked. On location update will trigger whenever
new position information is available, until the Stop
watching action is used. Watching the location can
consume more battery on mobile devices than one-
off requests.

Stop watching
Stop a previous successful request to watch the
user's location. The position will no longer be
updated.

Geolocation expressions
The position-related expressions only update when On
location update triggers, which in turn can only occur
after a successful Request location or Watch location
action.

Accuracy
AltitudeAccuracy
The estimated accuracy in meters of the latitude and
longitude (for Accuracy) or the altitude (for
AltitudeAccuracy). The accuracy may be more or
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 less a guess, or if it is not known the expression
returns 0.

Altitude
The estimated altitude in meters relative to sea-level,
or 0 if not known.

ErrorMessage
In On error, a string with some additional information
about the error.

Heading
Speed
While watching a position, the direction of travel in
degrees relative to due north and speed in meters per
second if available, else 0 of not available.

Latitude
Longitude
The latitude and longitude that has been determined,
subject to the Accuracy (which may not be known).

Timestamp
A timestamp of the time at which the current details
were retrieved. This is measured in milliseconds
since midnight, January 1, 1970.

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 GOOGLE PLAY
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/google-play

The Google Play plugin allows you to integrate your

game with Google Play Game Services. Users can log
in, submit and view scores, and unlock achievements.

Setting up Google Play Game

Services
Using Google Play Game Services requires that you
have an account registered with the Google Play
Developer service. There may be a small one-time
registration fee if you need to sign up.

For each game that you wish to use Google Play Game
Services for, click the Game Services icon in the
developer console and then click Add a new game.
Enter the name of your game, choose its category, and
click Continue.

Once added you can edit the game details such as its
description and any associated images. You can also
add achievements and leaderboards - which must be
added before you can use them in the Google Play
plugin - as well as configure testing and publishing.

To ensure your finished game has permission to access

the Google Play Game Services, click the Linked apps
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 section while editing the game in the developer console.
Click the button to link a Web app. You will need to fill
out details such as the URL it is played from and some
authorisation details. Once completed, you should be
given a client ID. This should be in a format similar to:

[Link]
.[Link]

Copy and paste this client ID in to the Google Play

plugin's Client ID property. It is not actually necessary to
fill in the Application ID property, but you can add it
anyway: the application ID is the number that appears
beside the game name in the header of the Developer
Console, e.g. "My Super Game - 12345678". The
application ID in this case is 12345678.

Extra steps for Cordova

Google Play Game Services are designed to work in a
web browser, but it's possible to also configure it to work
in Cordova (e.g. when exporting to mobile via
PhoneGap Build or the Intel XDK). To set it up for
Cordova you'll also need to:

1 Fill in the Client secret property with the value from the
Google Play Developer Console.
2 Add [Link] as one of the redirect URIs in the
API console.
3 Remove any uses of On auto-sign in failed. It never
triggers in this mode, so you will need to rely on having
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 manual sign-in instead.

Enabling access in preview mode

When testing your project, your game will typically run
from localhost or a local IP address for preview-over-
wifi. Since this is is different to the published URL of
your game, Google Play Game Services will block
access unless you add the preview URLs as permitted
locations.

To do this, in the Developer Console under Game

details, find the header that says API CONSOLE
PROJECT and follow the link to the API console project
for your game. In the API console, select APIs & auth,
then Credentials. Notice the Javascript Origins field
contains only your final URL; this also needs to contain
any preview URLs to be allowed access. Click Edit
settings. Under Authorized Javascript Origins, make
sure the final URL and any preview URLs appear on
separate lines. Note normal preview by default happens
on [Link] but you also need to add any
preview-over-wifi addresses you use, such as
[Link] For example, the completed
Authorized Javascript origins could list:

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

Click Update. Now your game should be authorised to

be accessed from preview mode as well as when you
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 publish it.

Basic usage
To use the Google Play plugin, you must first wait for it
to finish loading. Do not attempt to use any features of
the plugin until On loaded triggers, or Is loaded is true.

Next the Google Play plugin will automatically try to sign

the user in. If they have successfully signed in before,
On signed in will trigger soon after loading. If they have
never signed in before, On auto-sign in failed will
trigger; in this event you should show a button that
allows the user to sign in. When they click this button,
use the Sign in action; if it succeeds, On signed in will
be triggered.

Once the user is signed in, you can make use of the
other plugin features such as requesting leaderboards,
submitting high-scores, and unlocking achievements.

Asynchronous actions
Most actions in the Google Play plugin are
asynchronous. This means they are not completed
immediately. Instead, the action starts a request which
is sent off to the Google Play servers. A few moments
later the server will respond, and a corresponding trigger
will run in the Google Play plugin.

For example, the Request play details action does not

complete immediately. The player details are not
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 available until On player details received triggers, which
should happen shortly after running the action. Only
after the trigger runs can the player details be accessed.

Google Play properties

Application ID
This is not currently necessary, but can be filled out
with the application ID from the Google Play
Developer Console.

Client ID
The client ID for the game from the Google Play
Developer Console. For more information see the
section Setting up Google Play Game Services
above.

Client secret
The client secret for the game from the Google Play
Developer Console. This is only necessary when
publishing via Cordova (e.g. PhoneGap Build). For
more information see the section Setting up Google
Play Game Services above.

Google Play conditions

Compare achievement state
Compare whether an achievement at an index is
revealed, hidden or unlocked. The achievement list
must have already been successfully received.
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 On achievement list success
On achievement list fail
Triggered after the List achievements action,
depending on whether the request succeeded or
failed. If successful, achievement information for the
current player is then available.

On achievement metadata success

On achievement metadata fail
Triggered after the Get metadata achievements
action, depending on whether the request succeeded
or failed. If successful, achievement metadata (such
as the achievement names and icons) is then
available.

On achievement revealed
On achievement unlocked
Triggered after the Reveal, Unlock or Increment
actions when an achievement has successfully been
revealed or unlocked. When incrementing
achievements, the achievement is unlocked when it
has incremented through every step.

Is loaded
True if the Google Play plugin has loaded and is
ready to use. Before this is true, no features of the
plugin will work.

Is signed in
True if the user has been successfully signed in
(possibly automatically).
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 On auto-sign in failed
Triggered upon the first visit, when the user cannot
be automatically logged in. It is necessary to display a
'Sign in' button and use the Sign in action to get the
user to sign in.

On error
Triggered if an error occurs. The ErrorMessage
expression will contain information about the error.

On loaded
Triggered when the plugin finishes loading and is
ready to use. Before this triggers, no features of the
plugin will work.

On player details received

Triggered after the Request player details action,
when the player details have been successfully
received. The Player details category of expressions
now are set to their correct values for the currently
signed in user.

On signed in
On signed out
Triggers when the user is signed in or signed out
from Google Play Game Services.

On hi-score request success

On hi-score request fail
Triggered after the Request hi-scores action
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 depending on whether the request succeeded or
failed. If successful, the hi-scores list is then
available.

On score submit success

On score submit fail
Triggered after the Submit score action, depending
on whether the submission succeeded or failed. If
successful the score should then appear in hi-score
lists.

Google Play actions

Get metadata
Request metadata for the achievements list, such as
the achievement names, descriptions and icons. If
successful, On achievement metadata success is
triggered.

Increment
Set steps
Add to, or set, the number of steps in an incremental
achievement. Once the full number of steps has
been reached, the achievement is automatically
unlocked.

List achievements
List the achievements for the currently signed in
player. Optionally the list of achievements can be
filtered to only those in a given state (e.g. revealed). If
successful, On achievement list success triggers.
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 Reveal
If an achievement is hidden, set its state to 'revealed'
for the currently signed in player. If revealing for the
first time, On achievement revealed will be triggered.

Unlock
If an achievement is not already unlocked, set its
state to unlocked for the currently signed in player. If
unlocking for the first time, On achievement
unlocked will be triggered.

Request player details

Request the details of the current player, such as
their name and avatar image. If successful On player
details received triggers and the Player details
category of expressions can be used.

Sign in
If the player is not already signed in, pop up a window
that allows them to sign in. Due to popup blockers,
this may only work in a user input event, such as On
button clicked or On touch start.

Sign out
If the player is already signed in, sign them out. This
also allows for a different user to then sign in.

Request hi-scores
Request a hi-score list for a given leaderboard.
Scores can be returned for public results, or "social"
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 (from users connected to the currently signed in
player), and a time limit can be applied such as to
return only the day's best scores so far. The top type
returns the very highest scores, and the window type
returns the scores around the current player's own
best score, allowing them to see where they appear in
the rankings.

Submit score
Submit a new hi-score to a leaderboard. A tag can be
provided, which is just a short string (up to 64
characters) associated with this score board entry,
e.g. a short comment or an alternative alias for the
player. If successfully submitted, On score submit
success triggers.

Google Play expressions

AchievementsCount
The total number of achievements available. The
achievements list must already have been
successfully requested.

AchievementNameAt(index)
AchievementDescriptionAt(index)
AchievementIDAt(index)
AchievementStepsAt(index)
AchievementTotalStepsAt(index)
AchievementTypeAt(index)
Retrieve information about a given achievement in
the achievements list. The achievements list must
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 already have been successfully requested.

AchievementUnlockedIconURLAt(index)
AchievementRevealedIconURLAt(index)
Retrieve the icon image URL for a given icon in either
its unlocked or revealed state. This can be displayed
using the Sprite object's Load image from URL
action.

ErrorMessage
In On error, the relevant error message if available.

HiScoreCount
The number of hi-scores in the current returned list of
results.

HiScoreTotalCount
The total number of scores in the leaderboard, which
may be greater than the number of returned results
(HiScoreCount).

HiScoreAt(index)
HiScoreFormattedAt(index)
Return a numerical value, or formatted string, for a
score at a given index.

HiScoreRankAt(index)
HiScoreFormattedRankAt(index)
Return the numerical rank, or formatted string of the
rank (e.g. "1st"), at a given index.
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 HiScoreNameAt(index)
Return the name of the player associated with the
score at an index.

HiScoreTagAt(index)
Return the tag (a short string) that was submitted
along with the score at an index.

HiScoreMyBest
HiScoreMyFormattedBest
HiScoreMyBestRank
HiScoreMyBestFormattedRank
HiScoreMyBestTag
Return the details for the current player's own best
score, including the numerical and formatted versions
of the score and rank.

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 IAD OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/iad

The iAd object allows ads from Apple's iAd service to be

displayed in iOS apps built with PhoneGap Build.

Note: the iAd App Network is discontinued from June

30th 2016. The iAd plugin has been hidden in Construct
2 accordingly and should not be used for new projects.
This documentation is provided for legacy reference
only.

Setup
For information on how to register for an iAd account
and set up your app to use it, please refer to Apple's
documentation, in particular the iTunes Connect
developer guide.

iAd properties
The iAd object has no properties.

iAd conditions
On banner received
Triggered after the Load banner action, when the
banner has been downloaded and is ready to be
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 displayed.

On banner error
Triggered if an error occurs trying to display a banner
ad at any time.

iAd actions
Load banner
Start loading a banner at a given position on the
screen. If Auto-show is Yes, as soon as the banner
is loaded it will be displayed. If No, it will trigger On
banner received but not display it. The banner can
then be shown any time after that trigger instantly,
providing a way to pre-load banners.

Show/hide banner
Display a pre-loaded banner, or hide any showing
banner.

iAd expressions
The iAd object has no expressions.

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 IAP OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/iap

IAP stands for In-App Purchases. The IAP plugin allows

access to purchasing functionality on a variety of stores.

Projects using the IAP plugin cannot be exported with

the Free edition. A license is necessary to be able to
export projects using IAP. Note that the Free edition
may not be used for commercial purposes.

Supported stores
Currently the IAP plugin supports these platforms:

PhoneGap Build (iOS + Android)

CocoonJS (iOS + Android)
Ejecta (iOS)
Windows Store (Windows 8+, Windows Phone 8.1+)
Blackberry 10
Amazon Appstore
Tizen

Platform documentation
Each operating system has a different way of
configuring in-app purchases. Please refer to vendor
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 documentation for further help. Links are provided
below.

iOS: configuring with iTunes Connect

Android: Google Play In-App Billing

Windows Store: MSDN documentation

Blackberry 10: Blackberry payment service

Amazon Appstore: Amazon documentation

Please note vendor documentation may refer to code

samples. You can ignore these since Construct 2's IAP
plugin handles this for you. The main parts of the
documentation you need to refer to are how to register
seller accounts, how to add the items available for sale
to the app, and testing and publishing. If a store has a
test or developer mode at all, then the Test mode
property of the IAP object will enable or disable that
mode for the store.

Basic usage
To access in-app purchasing features, the basic usage
is as follows:

1 On start of layout, use the Add product ID action to add

the product IDs you will be using, e.g.
"product1,product2,product3".
2 After that (still in the 'Start of layout' event), use the
Request store listing action. This starts downloading
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 the names and prices of the given products. Some
platforms require this information to be available for the
IAP features to work.
3 When On store listing success triggers, the product
names and prices are available, and purchases can
start being made or checked with the Has product
condition.

Terminology
The plugin uses a Product ID to refer to an individual
item available for sale. This is a short unique string, e.g.
"myitem". Some stores instead refer to this in different
ways, such as the "SKU". This does not matter; you can
still enter it as a product ID, so long as it is the string
that identifies the item. This is usually also different to
the product name.

App purchases
The Windows Store allows the app itself to be
purchased, e.g. to unlock premium features. The IAP
has features such as the Purchase app action to
support this. However the other platforms do not support
the app itself being purchased. To make sure your
events are compatible with other stores, purchasing the
app will translate in to purchasing a product with the ID
"app".

Using Test Mode

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 The Test mode property of the IAP object should be set
to Yes during development, but must be set to No
before publishing. In Test Mode, store purchases are
simulated. Different stores have different terminology for
this, including "Test mode", "Sandbox mode", or
"Developer mode". Each store also handles test mode in
its own way; in many cases all purchases will be
forgotten each time you restart the app, allowing you to
test that the purchase flows work.

Publishing
When publishing your app, it will be necessary to set up
the store with the list of items you wish to have available
for sale. The process for this is different for each
platform and is usually part of the publishing process.
Be sure to carefully record any product IDs you use in
your events, and make sure you add an item with each
product ID when publishing. Note that as described in
the App purchases section above, if you use app
purchases you should add a product with the ID "app" to
represent purchasing the app itself on all stores except
the Windows Store.

IAP properties
Test mode
See the section on Using Test Mode above.

Item group ID
(under Tizen store settings) This setting applies only
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 to apps published to the Tizen store. When
publishing your app, create an item group for the IAP
items you want available in the app, and then enter
the item group ID in to this property.

IAP conditions
Has product
Test if a given product ID has been successfully
purchased by the user. Note that in some cases this
will be false for the first few seconds of the app
running even if the user has purchased the item, and
then later become true when the store finishes
loading the store status in the background. Try to
avoid using this condition before On store listing
success triggers.

Is app purchased
On the Windows Store, test if the app itself has been
purchased. On other platforms, tests if the product ID
"app" has been purchased.

Is store available
True if a supported store is currently available and
purchases can be made. False on unsupported
platforms or if no store is available (such as in an
ordinary web browser).

On any purchase success

On any purchase failed
Triggered after any purchase finishes to indicate
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 whether it was successful (and the item is now
owned) or unsuccessful.

On purchase success
On purchase failed
Triggered after the purchase of a specific product ID
finishes, to indicate whether it was successful (and
the item is now owned) or unsuccessful.

On store listing success

On store listing failed
Triggered after the Request store listing action has
completed, to indicate whether the store listing was
successfully retrieved. After On store listing success
you can then check whether products are purchased,
make new purchases, and retrieve lists of available
items and their details.

IAP actions
Add product ID
Use on start of layout to indicate all the product IDs
the app will be using. The action can be used multiple
times, or with a comma-separated list of product IDs
to add multiple products at once. See the section on
Basic usage above for more information.

Purchase app
On the Windows Store, request to purchase the app
itself. On other platforms, request the purchase of the
product ID "app".
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 Purchase product
Request to purchase a particular product by its
product ID.

Request store listing

Request the details of available and purchased items
from the store. This must be used on start of layout.
See the section on Basic usage above for more
information.

Restore purchases
Update the status of which items have been
purchased from the store.

IAP expressions
AppName
AppPrice
Return the name and price of the app itself on the
Windows Store. On other platforms, returns the
name and price of the product ID "app".

Error message
In a "failed" trigger, the error message text if
available.

ProductID
The ID of the relevant product in a trigger, e.g. On
any purchase success.

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 ProductName(productid)
ProductPrice(productid)
Return the name or price of a product available for
purchase by its product ID. This information is only
available after On store listing success triggers.

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 INTEL AGI
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/intel-agi

The Intel® AGI plugin provides integration with the

Intel® App Game Interfaces (AGI) platform. For more
information see the tutorial How to export to the Intel
AGI.

Intel AGI conditions

Is in Intel AGI
True if the game is running inside Intel AGI. It will be
false if running anywhere else, e.g. on the open web.

Caching enabled
(For advanced users) True if Intel AGI's caching
service has been enabled.

Compare initial orientation

Test if the orientation of the device at startup was a
particular orientation.

Compare orientation
Test if the current orientation of the device is a
particular orientation.

Push enabled
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 (For advanced users) True if Intel AGI's push
notifications service is enabled.

Streaming enabled
(For advanced users) True if Intel AGI's streaming
service is enabled.

Updates enabled
True if Intel AGI's cloud update service is enabled.

On 'back' button pressed

Triggers when the device's 'back' button is pressed, if
it has one. Note some devices (e.g. iOS) do not have
back buttons. Before this trigger will run, you must
have added a virtual page using the Add virtual page
action.

On barcode scanned
Triggered when the device successfully scans a
barcode.

On remote data
Triggered when data is received from the Get remote
data action.

On remote site closed

Triggered when a pop-over browser showing remote
content is closed by the user. It is opened by the
Show remote site action.

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 Intel AGI actions
Log event
Log a named event for Intel AGI's analytics service.
Parameters can be provided in URL format, e.g.
foo=bar&baz=ban.

Add to media cache

Download a media file from the Internet and store it
on the local device storage, allowing it to be used
offline in future.

Clear all cookies

Remove all cookies saved with the Set cookie action
from the device. (The user's browser cookies are not
affected.)

Clear media cache

Delete all media files downloaded with Add to media
cache.

Remove cookie
Remove a cookie set with the Set cookie action. (The
user's browser cookies are not affected.)

Remove from media cache

Remove a file added with Add to media cache.

Set cookie
Set a cookie on the device. This is a substitute for
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 local storage. The user's browser is not affected;
storage is for the convenience of the app only.

Close remote site

Close a remote site being displayed with the Show
remote site action.

Get remote data

Make a background AJAX request using Intel AGI's
service. The On remote data trigger will fire when
completed.

Install update
Install a pending update if one is ready.

Launch external site

Open a URL in the user's default browser on the
device. The user will leave the app, unlike the Show
remote site action.

Scan barcode
Open a fullscreen QR code reader. On barcode
scanned will trigger on a successful scan.

Set auto-rotate
Prevent the device from automatically rotating the
display when the device changes orientation. This
can force a specific orientation when used with Set
orientation.

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 Show remote site
Show a remote URL in an in-app browser. The user
does not leave the app. The user can press a close
button to return to the app, unlike the Launch
external site action.

Update connection
Check whether the device's connection type has
changed (e.g. 3G, Wifi, etc).

Add virtual page

Use when opening a new screen you want to be able
to close with the 'back' button. The next time the back
button is pressed after this action will prevent the
device default action and trigger On 'back' button
pressed.

Remove virtual page

Remove a previously added virtual page, e.g. if
cancelling a screen.

Intel AGI expressions

Cookie
Return the data stored by a Set cookie action.

LocalMediaCacheURL
Get the local path for a media file cached from the
Internet via the Add to media cache action.

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 AppMobiVersion
Return the current version of the Intel XDK wrapper
software. Note this uses the old "AppMobi" name for
backwards compatibility reasons.

DeviceBarcodeData
Return the data scanned from a barcode. This is only
available in On barcode scanned after calling the
Scan barcode action.

DeviceConnection
The type of the best connection available to the
device: either "wifi", "cell" or "none".

DeviceModel
The model name of the device.

DeviceOSVersion
The OS version information for the device.

DevicePlatform
"iOS" or "Android" depending on the current platform.

DeviceQueryString
Returns any query string passed along to the
application when launched with a protocol handler.

DeviceRemoteData
The data returned from Get remote data after On
remote data triggers.
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 DeviceRemoteStatus
One of "open", "closed" or "idle".

DeviceUUID
Return the device's Universally Unique Identifier
(UUID), which is a code uniquely identifying the
specific device.

InitialOrientation
The device orientation upon startup, as a number of
degrees (0, -90, 90 or 180).

Orientation
The current device orientation, as a number of
degrees (0, -90, 90 or 180).

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 KEYBOARD
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/keyboard

The Keyboard object allows projects to respond to

keyboard input.

Note on the modern web it is naïve to assume all

users have a keyboard. Many users now browse the
web with touch-screen devices that have no keyboard.
(The Keyboard object also does not respond to input
from on-screen keyboards on any modern touch
devices.) Therefore if your game uses exclusively
mouse or keyboard control, it is impossible to use on
touch devices. See the Touch controls tutorial for an
alternative control system.

Also note that there are a variety of keyboard layouts

used internationally. For example if you only provide
"WASD" as direction controls, your game may be
difficult to control on AZERTY keyboards. "ZQSD"
controls covers the AZERTY layout, but there are many
other possible keyboard layouts. In this case, also
supporting arrow keys for direction controls will cover
most international keyboards, but remember the same
problem applies for any other controls depending on a
specific key layout.

Browser shortcut keys

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 In some browsers, some keys are shortcuts for browser
actions. For example, space bar sometimes is a shortcut
to scroll down the page. If any events exist for 'On key
pressed' with a given key, Construct 2 blocks the
browser from performing its normal action. For example,
if you wish to prevent space bar scrolling down the
page, add an empty 'On Space pressed' event, if you
don't have one already.

Key codes
It's possible to detect key presses by numerical key
codes with the Keyboard object. A key code is simply a
number assigned to every possible key on the
keyboard. This can be useful for implementing custom
controls, since key codes can be stored in variables.

Keyboard conditions
Key code is down
True if a given key by its key code is currently being
held down.

On key code pressed

Triggered when a specific key code is pressed.

On key code released

Triggered when a specific key code is released.

Key is down
True if a given keyboard key is currently being held
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 down.

On any key pressed

Triggered when any keyboard key is pressed. Useful
for title screens or cutscenes. The corresponding key
code is set in the LastKeyCode expression.

On any key released

Triggered when any keyboard key is released. The
corresponding key code is set in the LastKeyCode
expression.

On key pressed
Triggered when a specific keyboard key is pressed.

On key released
Triggered when a specific keyboard key is released.

Keyboard actions
The Keyboard object does not have any actions.

Keyboard expressions
LastKeyCode
Retrieve the key code of the last key press. This is
useful in On any key pressed or On any key
released to determine the key code of the key the
user pressed, which is useful when setting up custom
controls.
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 StringFromKeyCode
Convert a numerical key code back in to a string
representation. For example this turns the key code
65 in to the string "A".

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 LIST CONTROL
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/list

The List object creates either a dropdown list or list box

form control. A dropdown list only shows one item but
can be expanded to show the full list; a list box shows
multiple items at once. The image below shows a
dropdown list on the left (which has been expanded),
and a list box on the right.

Form controls are actual HTML elements floating above

the game canvas in the HTML page. Therefore, nothing
can be displayed on top of a form control, apart from
other form controls.

Form controls position themselves according to the

layer parallax, scale and so on. However they are not
truly "in the game" (since they float above), so it is
recommended to avoid using scrolling, parallax and
layer scaling with form controls, otherwise the end result
can feel unnatural.

Styling List objects

List form controls can be customised in a huge number
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 of ways via CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Rather than
adding actions to set all of the possible properties, the
List object exposes a Set CSS style action. Knowing
CSS will of course be an advantage here, but it is
simple to use for simple properties. A few examples are
listed below.

Make the text red: Set "color" to "red"

Make the background yellow: Set "background-color"

to "yellow"

Make the border a thick light grey: Set "border" to "3px

solid #AAAAAA"

Make the font bigger: Set "font-size" to "2em"

Make a dashed red border: Set "border" to "2px dashed

red"

List properties
Items
A semicolon-separated list of the initial items to
display in the list. For example, One;Two;Three will
display three separate choices.

Tooltip
A tooltip that appears in most browsers if the user
hovers the mouse over the button and waits. Leave
blank for no tooltip.

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 Initial visibility
Whether or not the control is initially visible in the
layout.

Enabled
Whether the control is initially enabled. If No, the
control will appear greyed out and the selection
cannot be modified.

Type
Choose between the List box and Dropdown list
control styles. An image displaying the two types is
shown above.

Multi-select
Allow more than one item to be selected when Type
is List box. This has no effect for dropdown lists.

Auto font size

Automatically set the font-size property of the
element according to the layout and layer scale. This
will prevent the font-size CSS property being
manually set with the Set CSS style action. Set to No
if you intend to use Set CSS style to adjust the font-
size property.

ID (optional)
An optional id attribute for the element in the DOM
(Document Object Model). This can be useful for
accessing the element's value from external scripts,
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 or styling with CSS in the HTML page.

List conditions
Compare item text at
Compare the text of a given item in the list.

Compare selected item text

Compare the text of the currently selected item in the
list.

Compare selection
Compare the zero-based index of the currently
selected item.

On clicked
Triggered when the control is clicked.

On double-clicked
Triggered when the control is double-clicked.

On selection changed
Triggered whenever the chosen selection in the
control is changed. This can be by any means of
input (such as a mouse click, keyboard press, or
touch input on mobile).

List actions
Set CSS style
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 Set a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) style on the list
element. For more information, see the section
Styling List objects. Note that if the Auto font size
property is set to Yes, any changes to the font-size
property will be overridden.

Add item
Append a new item to the end of the list of available
choices.

Add item at
Insert a new item to the list of available choices at a
certain zero-based index.

Clear
Remove all the available choices from the list.

Remove
Delete an item at a specific index.

Set item text

Change the text of an item at a specific index.

Set selection
Set the item at a specific index as selected.

Set enabled
Enable or disable the control. If disabled, it will appear
greyed out and the selection cannot be modified.

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 Set tooltip
Set the Tooltip property of the object, displayed by
most browsers when hovering the mouse over the
control.

Set focused
Set unfocused
Either set or unset the input focus to this control.
When focused, keyboard input affects the control.

List expressions
ItemCount
The current number of items in the list.

ItemTextAt
Return the text of an item at a zero-based index in the
list.

SelectedCount
The number of currently selected items. This will
always be either 0 or 1 unless a list box with Multi-
select enabled is used.

SelectedIndex
The zero-based index of the currently selected item.
For multi-select lists, use SelectedIndexAt instead.

SelectedIndexAt
The index of a selected item out of all the selected
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 items. In other words, SelectedIndexAt with numbers
0 to SelectedCount - 1 gives the indices of all the
selected items.

SelectedText
The text of the currently selected item. For multi-
select lists, use SelectedTextAt instead.

SelectedTextAt
The text of a selected item out of all the selected
items. In other words, SelectedTextAt with numbers
0 to SelectedCount - 1 gives the text of each
selected item.

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 LOCAL STORAGE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/local-storage

The Local Storage plugin can store data locally on the

user's device. For example it can be used to store a
personal best high-score. Note if you want a full-state
save and load feature, see How to make savegames.

Local Storage works offline, since it stores data to the

device itself. Different browsers use different storages,
so data is not shared between different browsers on the
same computer - each browser has its own unique
storage. This is also separate to the browser cache,
which is temporary storage to avoid needlessly re-
downloading the same files over and over again.
However the user can usually still choose to clear local
storage data from their browser (with an option perhaps
named something like "clear offline website data"). Non-
browser export options like [Link], Cordova or Windows
Store apps are not affected by the user clearing any
amount of data from any browser, they also use
separate storage. Finally for security reasons browsers
use separate storage per domain. For example all
content on [Link] shares the same storage, but
content on [Link] uses a different storage and
cannot access any data saved from [Link].

Storage quotas
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 To prevent abuse, most browsers implement a storage
quota, which is a maximum amount of data that can be
saved locally. On most modern browsers this is at least
50mb. If the quota is exceeded, the On error trigger will
fire.

Using Local Storage

Local Storage uses a very simple storage system:
values are stored under named keys, similar to how the
Dictionary object works. For example the value 100
could be stored under a key named score.

Local Storage is asynchronous. This means reading

and writing data does not complete immediately. The
actions only start the process of reading or writing a
value, and the game continues to run in the interim. This
ensures that slow or busy storage systems do not
impact the performance of the game. When the read or
write is complete, a trigger fires (On item get or On item
set) which indicates either the value is available to read
(with the ItemValue expression) or that the value was
successfully written.

For example here is a flow to read the value of the key

"score":

1 Use the action Get item "score"

2 A moment later, On item "score" get triggers
3 In this trigger, use the ItemValue expression to read the
item
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 Here is a flow to set the new value of "score":

1 Use the action Set item "score" to 100

2 A moment later, On item "score" set triggers
3 You may not need to do anything in this trigger, but it
indicates the value has been successfully written. The
Key and ItemValue expressions are still set in this
trigger in case you need them.

Note that you must be careful to avoid "races" when

using asynchronous storage. For example the Clear
storage action may take a moment to complete before it
fires On storage cleared. It is possible to write more
values to storage in between, while Clear storage is still
processing. This is like "racing" the Clear storage and
Set item actions: the end result depends on what order
they complete in, which is unpredictable. In this case it
is more or less random what happens: the written keys
may be cleared, or they may not be - you cannot rely on
any specific result. Therefore you should be careful to
avoid this case.

Simplifying usage with Dictionary

Although it improves performance, dealing with
asynchronous reads and writes can sometimes be
difficult. One simple way to conveniently have
synchronous storage is to store an entire Dictionary
object's contents to Local Storage, by saving its
AsJSON string. Then you can load this content from
Local Storage with the Load action. This means only
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 saving and loading the dictionary contents is
asynchronous, and the rest of the time you can use the
Dictionary object's features to synchronously access
data, such as simply using its Get expression to
immediately read a value. However you must remember
to save the Dictionary again at some point before the
user quits the game.

Local Storage conditions

On any item get
Triggered after any Get item action completes.

On any item removed

Triggered after any Remove item action completes.

On any item set

Triggered after any Set item action completes.

On item exists
Triggered after the Check item exists action
completes if the key checked does indeed exist. In
this trigger the ItemValue expression is also set to the
value of this key, so there is no need to use another
Get item action to read it.

On item get
Triggered after a Get item action completes for a
given key. The ItemValue expression is set to the
value of the key.
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 On item missing
Triggered after the Check item exists action
completes if the key checked does not exist.

On item removed
Triggered after the Remove item action completes for
a given key.

On item set
Triggered after the Set item action completes for a
given key. This indicates the data is now in storage.

Compare key
Compare the current value of the Key expression,
which is the name of the current key in a trigger. This
can be useful in the On any item... triggers.

Compare value
Compare the current value of the ItemValue
expression, which is set to the item value when
getting an item or in On item exists.

On all key names loaded

Triggered after the Get all key names action
completes. In this trigger the KeyCount and KeyAt
expressions give the list of all the key names.

On error
Triggered at any time while using Local Storage if an
error occurs, such as if a write failed, or the maximum
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 storage quota was exceeded. The ErrorMessage
expression is set to the error message if available.

On storage cleared
Triggered after the Clear storage action completes
and storage is now empty.

Is processing gets
True if any Get item actions are still processing, i.e.
any On item get trigger is yet to fire for a Get item
action.

Is processing sets
True if any Set item actions are still processing, i.e.
any On item set trigger is yet to fire for a Set item
action.

On all gets complete

Triggered when all outstanding Get item actions are
completed, i.e. when Is processing gets first
becomes false. In other words if 10 Get item actions
are all used at the same time, On all gets complete
triggers when all 10 items have been read and fired
their On item get triggers.

On all sets complete

Triggered when all outstanding Set item actions are
completed, i.e. when Is processing sets first
becomes false. In other words if 10 Set item actions
are all used at the same time, On all sets complete
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 triggers when all 10 items have been written and fired
their On item set triggers.

Local Storage actions

Check item exists
Check if a key exists in storage. This triggers either
On item exists if the key exists, or On item missing if
the key does not exist. If the item exists, the
ItemValue expression is set to the key value in the
On item exists trigger, so there is no need to use a
subsequent Get item action to read the value.

Get item
Read the value of a key in storage. This triggers On
item get when the value has been read, where the
ItemValue expression is set to the value of the key.

Remove item
Remove (delete) a key from storage. This triggers On
item removed when the key has been removed.

Set item
Set the value of a key in storage. This triggers On
item set when the value has been written.

Clear storage
Remove (delete) all items from storage, reverting it
back to the empty state. This triggers On storage
cleared when completed.
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 Get all key names
Retrieve a list of all the key names that currently exist
in storage. This triggers On all key names loaded
when the list has been loaded, where the KeyCount
and KeyAt expressions can be used to access the
list.

Local Storage expressions

ItemValue
The value for a key that has been read or written in
any Local Storage trigger, such as On item get or On
item exists. This can be either a string or a number.
This returns 0 if used outside of a Local Storage
trigger.

Key
The name of the key that was modified in any Local
Storage trigger, such as On item get, On item set or
On any item set. This returns an empty string if used
outside of a Local Storage trigger.

ErrorMessage
In On error, the text of the error message if any is
available.

KeyAt(index)
In On all key names loaded, the name of the key at
the given zero-based index in the list.

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 KeyCount
In On all key names loaded, the number of key
names in the list.

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 MOUSE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/mouse

The Mouse object allows projects to respond to mouse

input.

Note on the modern web it is naïve to assume all

users have a mouse. Many users now browse the web
with touch-screen devices that have no mouse.
Therefore if your game uses exclusively mouse or
keyboard control, it is impossible to use on touch
devices. See the Touch controls tutorial for an
alternative control system.

If you only use left clicks, consider instead using the

Touch object with Use Mouse Input set to Yes. This will
allow your game to work on touchscreen devices without
any further changes.

Selecting elements in the page

By default the browser selects elements in the page
when the user clicks and drags. Construct 2 blocks the
canvas itself from being selected so the game is not
affected by rapid clicks and drags. However, if your
game is embedded on another page, the user may
accidentally select other page elements. You can add
the following attribute to any HTML elements to prevent
them from being selectable:
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 onselectstart="return false;"

You can add this to the <body> tag to prevent selections

on the entire page, but be warned this can cause
difficulties for users if there is anything the user may
want to genuinely select on the page.

Mouse conditions
Cursor is over object
True if the mouse cursor is hovering over an object.

Mouse button is down

True if a given mouse button (left, middle or right) is
currently being held down.

On any click
Triggered when any mouse button is clicked. Useful
for title screens or cutscenes.

On button released
Triggered when a given mouse button is released.

On click
Triggered when a given mouse button is pressed.
This can also be used to detect double-clicks.

On mouse wheel
Triggered when the mouse wheel (if any) is scrolled
up or down a notch. Note: adding this trigger
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 anywhere in your game will prevent the mouse wheel
scrolling the page in the browser, so use this with
care.

On object clicked
Triggered when a given mouse button is pressed
while the mouse cursor is over an object. This can
also be used to detect double-clicks on objects.

Mouse actions
Set cursor from sprite
Set the cursor image from a Sprite object. This is
preferable to setting a sprite to the mouse co-
ordinates, because the input lag is significantly lower.
Various limitations apply: the sprite image is used as
it appears in the image editor, not taking in to account
size or rotation in the layout; the image cannot be too
large (64x64 is usually the limit); and support varies
depending on browser and OS.

Set cursor style

Set the type of mouse cursor showing for the canvas
in the HTML page. The cursor can be hidden
completely by choosing None.

Mouse expressions
AbsoluteX
AbsoluteY
Return the position of the mouse cursor over the
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 canvas area in the HTML page. This is (0, 0) at the
top left of the canvas and goes up to the window size.
It is not affected by any scrolling or scaling in the
game.

X
Y
Return the position of the mouse cursor in game co-
ordinates. This is (0, 0) at the top left of the layout. It
changes to reflect scrolling and scaling. However, if
an individual layer has been scrolled, scaled or
rotated, these expressions do not take that in to
account - for that case, use the layer versions below.

X("layer")
Y("layer")
Return the position of the mouse cursor in game co-
ordinates, with scrolling, scaling and rotation taken in
to account for the given layer. The layer can be
identified either by a string of its name or its zero-
based index (e.g. Mouse.X(0)).

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 MULTIPLAYER
OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/multiplayer

The Multiplayer object provides features to develop real-

time online multiplayer games. It uses WebRTC
DataChannels, a peer-to-peer networking feature of
modern browsers, to transmit gameplay data.

Not all browsers or platforms support the Multiplayer

object. To test if it is supported, use the Is supported
condition.

Multiplayer features
The Multiplayer object supports a number of features to
enable low-latency gameplay over the Internet:

UDP-based transmission for minimal latency avoiding

head-of-line blocking, with optional reliable modes
NAT traversal to connect through common
router/network setups
Compensation for poor quality connections with high
latency, packet delay variation (PDV), and packet
loss
Interpolation and extrapolation modes to ensure
smooth in-game motion
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 Scirra-hosted signalling server to connect peers to
each other
Authoritative host model to prevent cheating, with
local input prediction to hide input latency
LAN game support for near-zero latency gameplay,
including support for mixed LAN/Internet games
Automatic bandwidth reduction when objects are not
changing, avoiding redundant repeated transmissions
of identical data
Binary transmission with control over specific
datatypes to minimise bandwidth
Latency and packet loss simulation for realistic local
testing
Support for lag compensation
Support for both peer-to-peer games (not needing a
server) and centrally-hosted games (using a server)

Learning to make Multiplayer

games
Designing Multiplayer games is challenging. It is
essential to follow the introductory tutorial series to gain
an understanding of how to use the Multiplayer object
correctly. You are likely to struggle if you try to skip
ahead and start making a game without fully
understanding how various aspects of multiplayer
games work. Mistakes can also result in degraded
gameplay quality, with unnecessary lag.

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 The four introductory tutorials are:

Multiplayer tutorial 1: concepts

Multiplayer tutorial 2: chat room

Multiplayer tutorial 3: pong

Multiplayer tutorial 4: real-time game

Signalling and hosting

The signalling server is a central server where players
go to find each other. Scirra host an official signalling
server at [Link] The signalling
server does not transmit any gameplay data; it serves
only to connect peers to the game host by relaying
connection information like IP addresses. Players must
connect and log in to the signalling server before they
can join any rooms.

The first player in to a room becomes the host. The host

acts as the server for the game, transferring actual
gameplay data. Any player can be the host. This means
games can run without needing any server hosting,
saving you from having to pay bandwidth bills to run
your multiplayer game.

If you have a large or particularly latency-sensitive game

you can still run your game with a dedicated server host
to take advantage of its better quality connection. Simply
run a browser on the server, run the game and make
sure the server is the first to join the room so it becomes
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 the host. Now the server connection will be hosting the
game. You can host multiple games on a server by
opening multiple browser tabs (a hosted game can
continue to work in a background tab). Note this means
your server is genuinely running the game - as
mentioned, the signalling server only helps peers
connect to the room host, and actual gameplay data will
be transmitted through your server if it is the room host.
It is not necessary to run your own signalling server to
achieve this.

Peer IDs
The signalling server assigns every player who
connects a Peer ID. This is a short string of random
characters that uniquely identifies them, such as
"ABCD". When designing multiplayer games, it is best
to identify peers by their peer ID instead of their alias
(display name), since their alias could potentially change
but their peer ID never changes so long as they remain
connected.

Sending messages
Peers only connect to the host. In other words, the host
has a connection to every peer, and peers only have
one connection to the host. In order for two peers to
communicate, the information must be relayed via the
host.

Consequently, the host can directly message any peer

in the room, but peers can only directly message the
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 host. See the chat tutorial for an example of how to relay
messages through the host so other peers can receive
messages from another peer.

The host also has the unique ability to broadcast a

message. This sends the same message to every peer
in the room.

Messages can be sent with different reliability modes.

These are:

Reliable ordered: all messages are guaranteed to arrive,

and the order received will be the same as the order
sent. However this can have the highest latency since a
lost message will need retransmitting and will hold up
every message sent after it. This mode is suitable for
chat messages.

Reliable unordered: all messages are guaranteed to

arrive, but the order received can be different from the
order sent. This allows improved latency since a lost
message will be held up as it is retransmitted, but
subsequent messages can still get through quickly
without being held up. This mode is suitable for
gameplay events that occur independently of each
other, such as "door opened" or "explosion occurred".

Unreliable: messages are not guaranteed to arrive, and

the order received can be different from the order sent.
The network will make a "best effort" attempt to deliver
the message, but the message may be dropped and the
recipient will never receive it and will have no indication
it was even attempted to be sent. This mode is suitable
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 for high-bandwidth or regularly-sent messages, where if
a message is dropped it is likely to be shortly followed
up by another one. Note the Multiplayer object uses this
mode internally for object positions and data when using
Sync oject; avoid reimplementing this functionality with
this mode.

Updating games
The host is authoritative for both gameplay data and its
settings. If you change any aspect of your game, such
as the synced objects or variables, the client input
values, or bandwidth profile, the host's values are
authoritative when there is a mismatch between the peer
and the host. In order to avoid confusion or broken
games, use a different game instance name when
distributing an update, so only peers using the same
version end up connecting to each other.

Multiplayer conditions
Compare peer count
Compare the number of peers currently in the room,
if a room has been joined. The peer count includes
the host so is at least 1 if in a room.

Is host
True if in a room and acting as the host. The host of
the room is effectively the server for the game. Peers
only connect to the host, and the host must relay
data if two other peers are to communicate.
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 On any peer message
Triggered when a message with any tag is received.
The Message, Tag, FromID and FromAlias
expressions can be used to retrieve information about
the received message. The order messages are
received, or whether a sent message is received at
all, depends on the reliability mode chosen when the
message was originally sent.

On kicked
Triggered if kicked from the current room. This can
occur if the host quits, the connection to the host
could not be established, or the host otherwise
decides to forcibly remove you from the room. After
On kicked the player is no longer in the room and
must re-join a room to be able to participate in a
game.

On peer connected
Triggered when another peer joins the same room. It
also triggers once per peer already in the room when
joining an existing room, including the host. The
PeerID and PeerAlias expressions identify the
relevant peer.

On peer disconnected
Triggered when a peer disconnects from the room.
The PeerID and PeerAlias expressions identify the
peer that left. The LeaveReason expression can
indicate why the peer left, such as if they intentionally
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 quit or timed out.

On peer message
Triggered when a message sent with a specific tag is
received. The Message, FromID and FromAlias
expressions can be used to retrieve information about
the received message. The order messages are
received, or whether a sent message is received at
all, depends on the reliability mode chosen when the
message was originally sent.

Is ready for input

True when a peer is ready to send input to the host.
This means On client update has triggered at least
once, or is about to trigger. Do not allow players using
input prediction to move or act before this condition is
true or On client update has triggered: doing so will
simply cause an input prediction error since the host
is not yet ready to receive input.

On client update
Triggered when a peer is about to send its input state
to the host. The input state should be updated in this
trigger using the Set client state action.

Is connected
True if currently connected to the signalling server. It
is not necessary to be connected to a signalling
server once connected to the room host.

Is in room
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 True if currently in a room on the signalling server.

Is logged in
True if currently connected to the signalling server
and successfully logged in.

On connected
Triggered after successfully connecting to the
signalling server. In order to join rooms, it is
necessary to next log in to the server.

On disconnected
Triggered after disconnecting from the signalling
server.

On error
Triggered if an error occurs with the signalling server.
The ErrorMessage expression indicates the type of
error that occurred.

On game instance list

Triggered after Request game instance list when the
list has been received from the signalling server. The
List... expressions can be used to retrieve the list
details.

On joined room
Triggered after the Join room or Auto-join room
actions when the room has been successfully joined.
The Is host condition can be used to determine if the
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 player is the first joining peer and has been assigned
the room host.

On left room
Triggered after the Leave room action when the room
has been left. The room is also left if On kicked
triggers.

On logged in
Triggered after the Log in action if the login is
successful. Once logged in it is possible to join
rooms. Note the signalling server may have assigned
a different alias to the one requested if it was already
taken; use the MyAlias expression to determine the
actual alias in use.

On room list
Triggered after the Request room list action when the
room list has been successfully received. The room
list expressions can then be used to inspect the
received list.

Supports multiplayer
Test if the current browser or platform supports
multiplayer games. If false, none of the features of
the Multiplayer object will work.

Multiplayer actions
Add client input value
Use on startup to add a value that peers send to the
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 host to indicate their input state. Each client input
value has a tag to identify it; use this tag to update
the value with the Set client state action. To avoid
wasting bandwidth, use the lowest Precision that can
still hold all the values that need to be set. If using
setbit / getbit to send key states, you must use None
for Interpolation; otherwise use Linear for values like
positions, or Angular if representing an angle.

Associate object with peer

If Sync object is used on objects which represent
peers in the game, use this action to associate an
instance of an object with a given peer. Typically this
is used in the object's On created trigger. Both the
host and peers must associate objects with peers.
Associated objects are automatically destroyed when
the corresponding peer leaves.

Disconnect
Disconnect from the room. If the room host, all
players are kicked; otherwise the peer disconnects
from the host. The room is also left on the signalling
server, so another room can be joined afterwards.

Send message
Send a message to a specific peer with a given
reliability mode. Peers can only message the host
(and the Peer ID field must be left empty), but the
host can send a message to any peer. Message tags
can be used to identify messages for different
purposes, such as "chat" or "gameplay-event". The
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 message must be a text string, but could also be
JSON data such as from an Array or Dictionary
AsJSON expression; however be sure to avoid
wasting bandwidth. The order messages arrive, or
whether it is guaranteed to arrive at all, depends on
the reliability mode.

Set bandwidth profile

Switch between Internet or LAN (Local Area
Network) bandwidth modes. The bandwidth profile
must be set before joining a room, and only the host's
setting is used for all peers in the room. The default
mode is Internet, which sends updates 30 times a
second with an 80ms buffer. LAN mode sends
updates 60 times a second with a 40ms buffer. LAN
mode will use about double the bandwidth of Internet
mode and will degrade gameplay quality more if there
is latency or PDV in the connection. LAN mode
should never be used for Internet games - it is
intended for networks where bandwidth is effectively
unlimited and latency effectively zero, which is
typically only the case with local area networks, and
taking advantage of this can improve gameplay
quality. Internet mode should however work well over
LANs, so if in doubt leave it on that.

Simulate latency
Simulate latency, PDV and packet loss on all
inbound and outbound messages. This can be useful
for making local testing more realistic, since unlike
the Internet latency is effectively non-existent. For
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 local testing it is only necessary to simulate latency
on the host, since that guarantees every message in
the game will have delay added; it is not necessary to
also simulate latency on the peers. The latency for an
individual message is calculated as the latency plus a
random value from zero to the PDV. The packet loss
indicates the chance an unreliable message is lost
entirely, or in the case of reliable messages that
retransmission is necessary and the latency is
multiplied.

Sync object
Automatically sync an object. The host sends
information about synced objects to peers. This is
one-way transmission; peers sync with what is
happening on the host. As synced objects are
created, moved and destroyed on the host, they are
correspondingly created, moved and destroyed on all
connected peers. It is important to disable any
behaviors and deactivate any events on the peers
that may attempt to move the objects themselves; this
will conflict with what Sync object is trying to do, and
will not have any effect on the host. Peers should use
their client input values as their sole way of
influencing the game. Synced objects can optionally
include their position and/or angle with a given
precision; if None, then it simply ensures the same
numbers of objects are created. Bandwidth can be
used to reduce the number of updates it is necessary
to send for a synced objects. Normal bandwidth
(unpredictable) will send updates for the object at
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 most every update (30 times a second in Internet
mode) and is suitable for objects with unpredictable
movement. Low bandwidth (highly predictable) will
send updates at most 10 times a second, which
should only be used for highly predictable motion
such as moving in a straight line at the same speed
(it is not enough to handle changes in motion
smoothly). Very low bandwidth (essentially static)
will send updates at most twice a second, which
should only be used for objects which are not
expected to move but nevertheless can occasionally
be created or destroyed, such as scenery. Note that
even in Normal bandwidth mode, objects which are
not changing gradually reduce their bandwidth to
twice a second anyway, so static objects will still end
up using Very low bandwidth mode. Therefore it is
not normally necessary to change this, and it is
suitable to use Normal bandwidth even for objects
which rarely change.

Sync instance variable

Add an instance variable to sync with an object. The
host sends the values of the instance variable for
each object to the peers, keeping them up to date.
The chosen object must already first be synced with
Sync object. The Precision corresponds to the
precision for Sync object, with an additional Very low
(uint8, 1 byte) option, useful for bitwise flags.
Interpolation can be None (updates in steps), linear
(linearly smoothed interpolation between values,
suitable for positions), or angular (rotational
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 interpolation between angles). The Client value tag
should be the name of the corresponding client input
value, if any, to help ensure the host can sync the
instance variable with minimal latency. Note: text
instance variables cannot be synced, only numbers.
To share text data between peers, use messages
instead.

Broadcast message
As with Send message, but can only be used by the
host. This sends a message to every peer in the
room. From ID can be used to indicate the message
is being sent on behalf of another peer; if it is used,
when peers receive the message the FromID and
FromAlias will be set to this peer. Also the message
will not be sent to the specified From ID peer, since
usually this is redundant. If it is empty, it will be sent
to all peers and received as from the host.

Kick peer
When host, forcibly disconnect a peer from the room
so they are no longer participating. The kicked peer
will be notified that they have been disconnected and
optionally the kick reason can be displayed. Peers
cannot kick anyone, only the host can.

Enable local input prediction

Enable local input prediction on an object
representing the local player. The object must be
associated with the local peer's ID, and the game
logic must correctly attempt to move both the local
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 player and the player on the host in exactly the same
way with correct use of client input values. This
allows local controls to have immediate effect, but
apply correction if the host position starts to deviate
from the local position. See the fourth multiplayer
tutorial for more information.

Set client state

In On client update, set the value of a client input
value by its tag. The value must be a number, and
Add client input value must have been used on
startup to add a value with the given tag in advance.

Add ICE server

Add a custom Interactive Connectivity Establishment
(ICE) server used by WebRTC to establish
connections between peers. There are a couple of
built-in public STUN servers used, but you can also
provide your own TURN servers to enable
connectivity through certain kinds of NAT. A
username and credential can also be optionally
provided if the server requires them.

Auto-join room
Join the first available room with the given game,
instance and first room name. The player must be
connected and logged in to the signalling server. The
first player to join a room becomes the host. Be sure
to use a unique name for the Game. For example if
"myroom" is full, it will try "myroom2", "myroom3", etc.
This effectively arranges all joining peers in to games
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 of a particular size. If the room is locked when full,
then late-joiners are not allowed; if left unlocked and
a peer leaves after the game starts, a newly joining
peer may be added back to the game to top it up to
the Max peers again. Upon joining, On joined room
triggers.

Connect
Connect to a signalling server. The official Scirra
signalling server is at [Link] .
Upon successful connection, On connected will
trigger.

Disconnect
Disconnect from the signalling server.

Join room
Join a specific room in the given game instance. The
player must be connected and logged in to the
signalling server. The first player to join a room
becomes the host. Max peers can be used to limit the
number of peers that join. Only the host's value is
used. If the room is full, subsequently joining peers
will receive a "room full" error. The peer count
includes the host, so 2 is the minimum value, or it
can be left as 0 to allow an unlimited number of peers
to join. Upon successfully joining, On joined room
triggers.

Leave room
If in a room, leaves the room on the signalling server.
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 On left room triggers upon the server acknowledging
the request to leave. Note the room has not really
been left until that trigger runs.

Log in
Once connected, log in to the signalling server.
Players must log in before they can join rooms. The
Alias is the requested display name to use. Note that
if the requested alias is already taken, the server will
automatically assign an alternative; be sure to use
the [Link] after logging in to determine
the actual alias in use. Upon a successful login, On
logged in triggers.

Request game instance list

Request a list of active game instances within the
given game. When the response is received On
game instance list triggers and the name and total
number of peers in the returned instances can be
listed using the List... expressions.

Request room list

Request a list of active rooms within a given game
instance. The returned list can include all rooms, only
rooms which are unlocked, or only rooms which are
available to join (unlocked and not full). When the
requested list is received, On room list triggers.

Multiplayer expressions
ListInstanceCount
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 After On game instance list triggers, the number of
game instances in the received list.

ListInstanceName(index)
ListInstancePeerCount(index)
Get the name and peer count of a given game
instance in the returned instance list.

ListRoomCount
After On room list, the number of rooms in the
received list.

ListRoomName(index)
ListRoomPeerCount(index)
ListRoomMaxPeerCount(index)
ListRoomState(index)
After On room list, retrieve information for a room at
an index in the received list. The state can be one of
"available", "locked" or "full".

FromAlias
FromID
The alias and ID of the peer a message is from in On
message received or On any message received.

HostAlias
HostID
When in a room, the alias and ID of the host of the
room.

LeaveReason
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 A string identifying a reason for leaving in On peer
disconnected, if known, e.g. "quit", "timeout",
"network error"...

Message
The contents of the received message in On
message received or On any message received.

PeerAlias
PeerID
The alias and ID of the relevant peer in a trigger like
On peer connected or On peer disconnected.

PeerCount
The number of peers in the current room, including
the host.

PeerAliasAt(index)
PeerIDAt(index)
The alias and ID of the nth peer in the current room,
up to PeerCount.

PeerAliasFromID(peerid)
Get the alias of a peer in the current room from their
peer ID.

PeerLatency(peerid)
PeerPDV(peerid)
Get the latency and packet delay variation (PDV) of a
peer from their peer ID. Peers can only use this to get
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 the stats for the host, since that is the only
connection they have, but the host can use it for any
peer.

Tag
The tag of the received message in On any message
received.

LagCompensateAngle(movingPeerID, fromPeerID)
LagCompensateX(movingPeerID, fromPeerID)
LagCompensateY(movingPeerID, fromPeerID)
Return the lag-compensated position and angle for
movingPeerID as seen by fromPeerID. In other
words, this returns the past position of movingPeerID
going back by the amount of time that fromPeerID is
delayed by, given their latency. For example this can
be used to perform a lag-compensated hit-test when
fromPeerID shoots a laser. This is covered in more
detail in the fourth multiplayer tutorial.

PeerState(peerid, tag)
When host, retrieve the latest client state value with
the given tag, for a given peer ID. The peer will have
set this with the Set client state action to indicate
their input state.

CurrentGame
CurrentInstance
CurrentRoom
Retrieve the current game, instance and room
names, if joined on the signalling server.
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 ErrorMessage
In On signalling error, the error message if available.

MyAlias
MyID
The current player's own alias and ID, once
connected and logged in to the signalling server.

SignallingMOTD
SignallingName
SignallingOperator
SignallingURL
SignallingVersion
Once connected to the signalling server, retrieve the
Message Of The Day (MOTD), server name, server
operator, website URL and server version for the
connected server.

ClientXError
ClientYError
The input prediction error for peers, used for
debugging.

HostX
HostY
The position the host has for the current peer, used
for debugging.

StatInboundBandwidth
StatOutboundBandwidth
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 Return the total estimated inbound and outbound
bandwidth for all data transmission through the
Multiplayer object, in bytes per second.

StatInboundCount
StatOutboundCount
Return the total number of separate inbound and
outbound messages sent and received by the
Multiplayer object. This includes internally-used
messages for things like ping and synchronisation;
generally the bandwidth is the more practically useful
statistic.

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 [Link] OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/nw-js

The [Link] object allows access to features specific to

the [Link] exporter, such as reading and writing files to
the local disk drive.

Note that the AJAX object can read files from the
application folder (but not write files) when exporting to
[Link]. This may allow you to implement file reading in a
cross-platform manner. Also note the AJAX object
reads files asynchronously, whereas the [Link] object
conducts all operations synchronously.

What is [Link]?
[Link] is essentially a standalone version of the Google
Chrome web browser, but while looking like an ordinary
desktop app (so there are no browser tabs, address bar,
back/forward buttons etc). Exporting using [Link] allows
your project to run as a standalone desktop app on
Windows, Mac and Linux, and does not require any
particular other browser to be installed.

Note [Link] was formerly known as node-webkit.

Previewing
Since [Link] is based on the Google Chrome browser,
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 usually previewing in Chrome will run it identically to
when exported with [Link]. However the features of the
[Link] plugin (such as file access) do not work in the
Google Chrome web browser. In order to test these
features in preview mode, it is possible to choose [Link]
for the Preview browser project property. This allows
you to test your game with the features of this plugin
working.

Note that previewing with [Link] runs directly from its

install directory. As a consequence, the AppFolder
expression will return the install path. If this poses a
problem for you, use the following workaround: have a
global string variable; if 'Is in preview' is true hard-code it
to some development folder somewhere else, otherwise
set it to [Link]. Then use the global variable
instead of the AppFolder expression.

Using file paths correctly

Never hard-code paths (such as using an action to write
to a fixed file path like "C:\MyGame\[Link]"). This
unfriendly to users, and is often perceived as
unprofessional, untidy, or filling the user's system with
junk. Not only that but in many cases it simply will not
work, since not all users have permission to read or
write to folders outside of their user directory.

It is tempting to solve this by writing files to the

application's folder. However this also may not work; on
many versions of Windows, the Program Files folder
requires administrator permission to write to, although
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 you can read from it.

The solution is to write to the user's folder, which you

almost certainly have write permission for. This is
provided by the UserFolder expression. The correct
way to determine a file path in the user's folder is like
this:

[Link] & "[Link]"

If you only need to read files, and don't need to write

them, you can safely use the application folder
([Link]) instead.

Text file encoding

The [Link] object has the ability to read and write text
files on disk. To support all possible languages, it
always reads and writes with the UTF-8 encoding. To
ensure the plugin reads your own text files correctly,
ensure they are encoded as UTF-8.

[Link] conditions
On folder dialog OK
On folder dialog cancel
Triggered after the Show folder dialog action,
depending on if the user selected OK or Cancel. The
ChosenPath expression contains the selected folder
after an OK.

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 On open dialog OK
On open dialog cancel
Triggered after the Show open dialog action,
depending on if the user selected OK or Cancel. The
ChosenPath expression contains the selected file to
open after an OK.

On save dialog OK
On save dialog cancel
Triggered after the Show save dialog action,
depending on if the user selected OK or Cancel. The
ChosenPath expression contains the selected file to
save after an OK.

On file dropped
Triggered after the user drag-and-drops a file in to the
application window. The DroppedFile expression
contains the path to the file that was dropped in,
allowing you to load it to read its contents.

Path exists
Test if a given folder or file path exists on the user's
system.

[Link] actions
Clear clipboard
Remove any thing cut or copied to the clipboard. The
user will not be able to paste anything immediately
after this action.
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 Set clipboard text
Set some text to be copied to the clipboard. This has
the same effect as if the user had selected the text in
a text box and selected 'Copy'. They can then paste
the text in to any other application.

Show folder dialog

Open a dialog allowing the user to pick a folder on
their local system. If the user selects OK, On folder
dialog OK triggers and the ChosenPath expression
contains the selected folder.

Show open dialog

Open a dialog allowing the user to choose a file to
open on their local system. If the user selects OK, On
open dialog OK triggers and the ChosenPath
expression contains the selected file. The Accept
parameter is a comma-separated list of file
extensions or MIME types that the dialog can use to
filter possible files. For example, ".txt,.json" will allow
filtering by all .txt or .json files, and "text/[]"* will allow
filtering by any file with a text MIME type.

Show save dialog

Open a dialog allowing the user to choose a file to
save to on their local system. If the user selects OK,
On save dialog OK triggers and the ChosenPath
expression contains the selected file. The Accept
parameter is a comma-separated list of file
extensions or MIME types that the dialog can use to
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 filter possible files. For example, ".txt,.json" will allow
filtering by all .txt or .json files, and "text/[]"* will allow
filtering by any file with a text MIME type.

Append file
Add some text to the end of the file. This is usually
faster than writing the full file again with some new
content at the end. Appending to files can be useful
for logging.

Copy file
Make an identical binary copy of a file at a new
location.

Create folder
Create a new folder on the user's local system.

Delete file
Delete a file from the user's local system. Be sure to
use this carefully, since a mistake could mean
deleting the wrong file.

List files
Read a list of every subfolder and file in a given
folder. After this action the ListCount and ListAt
expressions can be used to return the items in the
list.

Move file
Make an identical binary copy of a file at a new
location, then delete the old file. Note you should use
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 the Rename file rather than the Move file action if
you intend to move it to a new name in the same
folder.

Open browser
Open the default browser on the system to a given
URL.

Rename file
Set a new name for an existing file path.

Run file
Run the file at an existing file path. This is analogous
to double-clicking the file in the OS file explorer. For
executable programs, it will attempt to run the
program; for other file types, it will open the default
associated program, such as the system default
image editor if an image file is given.

Write file
Write a text file to the user's local system. If the file
does not exist, it is created. If the file already exists,
its content is overwritten.

Maximize
Maximize the window on the user's desktop. It will
take up most (but usually not all) of the display.

Minimize
Minimize the window to the operating system start bar
or dock.
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 Request attention
Perform an operating-specific activity to show
attention is required from the user, such as by
flashing the title bar of the window.

Restore
Restore the window to show it again after minimizing.

Set always on top

Set whether the window always appears on top of
other windows.

Set width
Set height
Set the dimensions of the window. Note this includes
the window title bar and borders, so the actual
displayed area of the game may be less than the
window size you set.

Set maximum size

Set minimum size
Set the maximum and minimum sizes that the user
can resize the window to.

Set resizable
Enable or disable resizing of the window.

Set title
Set the text that appears in the title bar or caption of
the window.
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 Set X
Set Y
Set the position of the window on the user's desktop,
in pixels relative to the top-left of the primary monitor.

Show dev tools

Since [Link] is based on Chromium, this action
brings up the Chromium developer tools (such as
Javascript debugger and console). This may be
useful to inspect console messages or for developing
plugins with the Javascript SDK.

Unmaximize
Undo a window maximize, restoring the window to its
previous size.

[Link] expressions
ClipboardText
The current text that the user has copied to the
clipboard, if any. This allows you to 'paste' the data
automatically.

ChosenPath
Return the path that was selected after On folder
dialog OK, On open dialog OK or On save dialog
OK.

AppFolder
Return the path to the application's folder, including
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 the trailing slash. Read permission can be expected,
but write permission cannot be guaranteed (for
example the Program Files folder on Windows
requires administrator permission to write to).

DroppedFile
In On file dropped, the path to the file that was
dropped in to the application's window.

FileSize(path)
Return the size of a given file, in bytes.

ListAt(index)
After the List files action, returns the file or folder
name at the zero-based index in the list.

ListCount
After the List files action, returns the number of files
or folders in the list.

ReadFile(path)
Open the given file and return its text content as a
string. Note that each time this expression is used the
file is opened and read from disk. Therefore if the
expression is used twice, the file is opened and read
twice, which can impact performance. If necessary
first read the file to a variable, then reference the
variable multiple times.

UserFolder
Return the path to the user folder, which is typically
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 where the user's documents and other personal files
are kept. Both read and write permissions can be
expected.

WindowWidth
WindowHeight
Retrieve the current size of the window in pixels. Note
this includes the window title bar and borders, so may
be larger than the display area of the game.

WindowTitle
Get the current text showing in the window title bar or
caption.

WindowX
WindowY
Get the current position of the window in pixels
relative to the top-left point of the user's primary
monitor.

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 PARTICLES
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/particles

The Particles object can quickly create visual effects by

creating and moving many small images independently.
It is a versatile object capable of many different kinds of
visual effects. There are several examples in the Start
dialog, ranging from fire to fountains (search for
Particles in the dialog). The image below shows an
example of one of the particle effects possible with the
object.

The Particles object has many parameters to change

the behavior of each particle. Also, it requires a texture
used to draw each particle. Often a simple white spot on
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 a black background is sufficient.

The Additive blend mode works especially well with the

Particles object. It makes each particle brighten the
background rather than pasting its image over the
background, and allows particles to blend in to each
other as well rather than simply overlapping. This makes
particles look more like light sources. The below image
shows what the effect does when the texture is a white
spot on a black background.

Colored effects can be created using colored particle

images. Note that since the Additive effect brightens the
background towards white, any objects using an
Additive effect will not show up on a white background.
The effect works best on dark backgrounds.

For more information about blend modes and effects,

see the manual section on Effects.

Particles in the Layout View

The Particles object is represented in the Layout View
by two red lines which represent the spray cone (the
angle through which particles are fired), with the particle
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 texture in the middle. The Particle object's origin is
where particles are created from. An example is shown
below on the left, with the effect at runtime on the right.

The size of the particles object in the layout view is not

important. The object will automatically size itself at
runtime to fit all the particles it has created.

How particle effects work

The particle effect works similarly to using the Bullet
behavior on each particle. Initially particles are fired
forwards at a given speed and at an angle within the
spray cone. Each particle is then individually controlled
with different alterations to its speed, angle, opacity and
size during its lifetime. The fact particles move
independently of the others is often what makes the
visual effect interesting. The various properties of the
Particles object control exactly how the particles change
over time and what random alterations are made. It is
worth spending some time changing parameters to see
the effect they have for yourself.

There are three different settings for when particles are

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 destroyed, set by the Destroy mode property. The
default Fade to invisible will fade each particle's opacity
to zero over the Timeout, destroying the particle when it
becomes invisible. Timeout expired will simply destroy
the particle after an amount of time, without changing its
opacity. Particle stopped will destroy the particle when
its speed reaches zero, but you must take care to
ensure particles slow down with a negative acceleration
otherwise they will never be destroyed!

Optimisation
Particle effects are more efficient than creating the
same effect with Sprite objects, but not by a large
margin. Just like with sprites, you should be aware that
creating a large number of particles can have a serious
performance impact on your game, especially on mobile.
Use the ParticleCount expression to monitor how many
particles are being created. On desktop systems, more
than a couple of hundred particles is likely to impact the
framerate. On mobiles, use of the Particles object is not
recommended at all since the framerate is usually
already limited by the existing sprites in the game; if
absolutely necessary, keep particle counts below 50 on
mobile for best performance.

To reduce particle counts, try reducing the rate or

shortening the timeout. To compensate, you can try
making the particle size larger so the effect does not get
thinner.

Particle Properties
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 The Particles object has a relatively many properties,
which are split in to three groups: particle spray
properties (relating to the Particles object itself), initial
particle properties (relating to the creation of each
individual particle) and particle lifetime properties
(relating to how particles behave after creation).

Particle spray properties

Rate
The number of particles created per second. If Type
is One-shot, this is the total number of particles fired.
Note that in Continuous spray mode, the overall
particle count may be significantly more than the rate
depending on the other properties. Also note that in
One-shot mode, the rate can only be changed
immediately after the object has been created; after
the first tick, using the Set rate action will have no
effect.

Spray cone
The number of degrees through which particles are
fired. This is represented by the red lines in the
Layout View. Use 360 to fire particles in all directions.

Type
The Particles object can work in two modes:
Continuous spray will create a constant spray of
particles (the default). One-shot will create a single
blast of particles, the total number set by Rate. Once
all particles have been destroyed, the Particles object
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 then destroys itself. This is useful for one-off effects
like explosions or impacts.

Image
Click to open the Image editor to edit the particle
image. Try a spot on a transparent background, or on
a black background with the Additive effect.

Initial particle properties

Speed
The initial speed each particle is fired at, in pixels per
second.

Size
The initial size of each particle, in pixels. Particles are
always shown as squares.

Opacity
The initial opacity of each particle, from 0
(transparent) to 100 (opaque).

Grow rate
The initial grow rate (change in size over time) for
each particle, in pixels per second. 0 means the
particle will always stay the same size. A positive
value will make particles grow, and a negative value
will make particles shrink.

X randomiser
Y randomiser
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 The initial offset to the particle's position. You can
make particles created along a line or in a box with
these properties.

Speed randomiser
A random adjustment to each particle's initial speed
on creation. For example, a value of 100 will change
each particle's initial speed by up to 50 pixels per
second faster or slower.

Size randomiser
A random adjustment to each particle's size on
creation. For example, a value of 20 will change each
particle's initial size by up to 10 pixels larger or
smaller.

Grow rate randomiser

A random adjustment to each particle's grow rate on
creation. For example, a value of 10 will change each
particle's initial grow rate by up to 5 pixels per second
greater or less.

Particle lifetime properties

Acceleration
Change in particle speed over time, in pixels per
second per second. A positive value will make
particles speed up, and a negative value will make
them slow down.

Gravity
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 The acceleration downwards caused by gravity, in
pixels per second per second. Useful for making
fountain or other falling particle effects. Set to 0 to
prevent gravity having any effect on particle
movement.

Angle randomiser
Maximum random change to each particle's angle
during its lifetime, in degrees per second. For
example, set to 0 to prevent particles ever changing
direction, or set to 10 to allow particles to change up
to 5 degrees left or right per second.

Speed randomiser
Maximum random change to each particle's speed
during its lifetime, in pixels per second per second.
For example, set to 0 to prevent the speed changing
randomly, or set to 100 to allow particles to speed up
or slow down by 50 pixels per second per second.

Opacity randomiser
Maximum random change to each particle's opacity
during its lifetime. Useful for creating "twinkling"
effects.

Destroy mode
How each particle is destroyed. There are three
modes available: Fade to invisible will fade each
particle's opacity to zero over the Timeout. When the
particle becomes invisible, it is destroyed. Timeout
expired simply destroys each particle after the
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 Timeout has expired, without altering the opacity.
Particle stopped destroys each particle when its
speed reaches zero. You must take care to use a
negative Acceleration, or particles will never be
destroyed!

Timeout
The time in seconds particles last for before being
destroyed, depending on the Destroy mode .

Particle conditions, actions and

expressions
Most of the Particle object's actions and expressions
simply set or get the above properties. See the above
properties for a reference. The other conditions, actions
and expressions not relating to the above properties are
documented below.

For features in common to other objects, see Common

features.

Particle conditions
Is spraying
True if the particle spray is currently enabled.

Particle actions
Set spraying
Enable or disable the spray, when in Continuous
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 spray mode. When disabled, no new particles are
created.

Particle expressions
ParticleCount
The number of particles the Particles object currently
has. This is important to ensure you are not creating
too many particles and slowing the game down; see
the Optimisation section above. Note that due to the
way Construct 2 expressions work, if you have
multiple Particle object instances, this will only return
the particle count for one of the instances - use a For
Each loop to count multiple instance's total particle
count.

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 PROGRESS BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/progress-bar

The Progress bar object displays a bar which can be

used to indicate the progress of a long-running
operation or goal.

The progress bar is styled differently depending on the

platform or browser, designed to look "native". If a
custom style is desired, it may instead be preferable to
use a Tiled Background which has its width set
depending on the progress.

Form controls are actual HTML elements floating above

the game canvas in the HTML page. Therefore, nothing
can be displayed on top of a form control, apart from
other form controls.

Form controls position themselves according to the

layer parallax, scale and so on. However they are not
truly "in the game" (since they float above), so it is
recommended to avoid using scrolling, parallax and
layer scaling with form controls, otherwise the end result
can feel unnatural.

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 Progress bar properties
Value
The initial progress display to show, from 0 to the
maximum.

Maximum
The maximum progress value, at which point the
progress bar is shown full indicating a completed
operation.

Tooltip
An optional tooltip to show while hovering the mouse
over the control.

Initial visibility
Whether the control is initially visible or invisible in
the page.

ID
An optional id attribute for the element in the DOM
(Document Object Model). This can be useful for
accessing the element's value from external scripts,
or styling with CSS in the HTML page.

Progress bar conditions

Compare progress
Compare the currently set progress amount.

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 On clicked
Triggered when the progress bar control is clicked.

Progress bar actions

Set CSS style
Set a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) style on the
slider element. This can be used to alter the
appearance using the browser's styling features.

Make indeterminate
Set the progress bar in to an indeterminate mode,
intended to indicate that it is working, but the
progress is unknown. The display of this mode
depends on the browser and platform. Not all
browsers may support an indeterminate mode for
progress bars.

Set maximum
Set the maximum progress value for the progress
bar.

Set progress
Set the current progress value displayed by the
progress bar, from 0 to the maximum.

Set tooltip
Set the tooltip that appears when the mouse hovers
over the control.

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 Progress bar expressions
Maximum
The currently set maximum progress value.

Progress
The currently set progress amount, if the bar is not in
indeterminate mode.

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 PUBCENTER ADS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/pubcenter

The pubCenter object displays ads in Windows Store

apps on Windows 8.1 for desktop or Windows 10+.
Note that interstitial ads are only supported on Windows
10+.

Setting up
To set up pubCenter ads:

1 Visit Microsoft pubCenter and register an account

2 Create a new app to monetize
3 Create an ad for the app
4 Paste the Application ID and Ad unit ID in to the
pubCenter object's properties in Construct 2

pubCenter properties
Application ID
Ad unit ID
Paste in the relevant details from the pubCenter site.

pubCenter conditions
Is banner showing
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 True if any banner is currently showing.

On interstitial cancelled
Triggered when a displaying interstitial ad is
cancelled.

On interstitial completed
Triggered when a displaying interstitial ad is
completed.

On interstitial error
Triggers when an error occurs displaying an
interstitial ad.

On interstitial ready
Triggers after Prepare interstitial when an interstitial
ad has finished loading in the background and is
ready to be displayed. After this trigger you can use
Show interstitial to display it.

pubCenter actions
Hide banner ad
Hide any currently showing banner.

Show banner ad
Display an ad with a given position and size.

Prepare interstitial
Start loading an interstitial ad in the background.
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 When it finishes loading, On ready triggers.
Optionally another ad unit ID can be provided. If left
empty, it will use the ad unit ID from the object's
properties. Otherwise it uses the specified ad unit ID
for the interstitial.

Show interstitial
Display an interstitial ad that is ready. This should be
used in or after On ready.

pubCenter expressions
The pubCenter object has no expressions.

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 SCIRRA ARCADE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/scirra-arcade

The Scirra Arcade plugin allows hi-scores to be

submitted for games hosted on the Scirra Arcade. The
basic usage is to create a leaderboard for the game on
the Scirra Arcade, use a single action to submit a score
(or time) at the end of a level to the leaderboard. Each
leaderboard has an ID, so you can have multiple
leaderboards for one game. Once a couple of scores
have been submitted, the Scirra Arcade game page
should automatically start showing a hi-score board.
The display and ordering of scores is defined when you
create the leaderboard on the Scirra Arcade. For
example normally higher hi-scores are better, but if you
are submitting times then lower scores are better.

To find out more about publishing to the Scirra Arcade,

see the tutorial Uploading to the Scirra Arcade.

Scirra Arcade conditions

The Scirra Arcade plugin has no conditions.

Scirra Arcade actions

Submit score
Submit a score to a specific leaderboard. You must
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 first create the leaderboard on the Scirra Arcade, and
pass the leaderboard ID to this action. The Score is
any number representing the leaderboard entry,
which can be points, a count, time, or any other
numerical value. The sorting and display of the
leaderboard is defined on the Scirra Arcade.

Scirra Arcade expressions

The Scirra Arcade plugin has no expressions.

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 SHADOW LIGHT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/shadow-light

The Shadow light object can render real-time shadows

from other objects with the Shadow caster behavior.

Shadow rendering
The Shadow light object renders shadows adjacent to
objects with the Shadow caster behavior, using the
object's collision polygon and the relative location of the
light. Shadows are filled in over the background, as
opposed to rendering sections of light. The Z order of
the Shadow light object determines whether the
shadows appear above or below other objects.

The light can be set to have a radius. If the radius is 0, it

acts like a point source, and shadows have hard edges.
If the radius is larger, it accurately renders penumbras
(the transition from lightness to darkness) at the edges
of shadows. However in this mode the light height is
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 ignored and all shadows extend off the screen.

Shadow limitations
Due to the shadow rendering algorithm, there are a
couple of limitations:

Penumbra rendering only works in WebGL mode - in

canvas2d mode it will revert to a radius of 0 with
hard-edged shadows.
The shadow casters can only use convex collision
polygons. Shadows will not render correctly if they
use concave polygons. If you need a concave shape,
this can always be achieved by placing multiple
shadow caster objects next to each other to compose
a concave shape out of convex parts.
Antumbras (beyond where the umbra converges to a
point) are not rendered. To avoid the umbra
converging to a point on-screen, avoid using shadow
casters smaller than the light radius. Stick to large
shadow casters and a small light radius.
When using a light radius, avoid placing the light very
close to or directly over a shadow caster. Shadows
can fail to render correctly in these circumstances.

Tags
By default, all shadow lights cast shadows off all
shadow casters. In some cases it is desirable to only
have certain shadow lights cast shadows off certain
shadow caster objects. Each shadow light object can be
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 assigned a tag, and the Cast from property set to only
cast shadows from that object off shadow caster
behaviors with the same (or different) tags.

Shadow light properties

Light height
The height of the light, used with the the shadow
caster object heights to calculate the length of
shadow to cast. This property only has an effect if the
Light radius is 0, otherwise shadows always extend
offscreen.

Light radius
The radius of the light. If the radius is 0, the light acts
like a point source and shadows are hard-edged. If
the radius is larger the object will render penumbras
at the edges of shadows. The larger the radius, the
wider the penumbras will be. For correct rendering
avoid using a large radius, and especially avoid
making the radius larger than any of the shadow
caster objects. If the radius is not 0, the light height is
ignored and shadows always extend offscreen.

Cast from
Which shadow caster objects to render shadows for
from this object. The options are: All: every shadow
caster object will get a shadow rendered for this light.
Same tag: shadows will only be rendered for shadow
casters with the same Tag property. Different tag:
shadows will only be rendered for shadow casters
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 with a different Tag property.

Tag
Used to determine which shadow casters to render
shadows for, depending on the Cast from mode. If
Cast from is set to All, the tag is ignored.

Shadow light conditions

The Shadow light object does not have any of its own
conditions.

Shadow light actions

Set light height
Set tag
Set the corresponding object properties. For more
information see Shadow light properties.

Set shadow color

Set the color of the shadows that are rendered by the
light. The default is black. To set the opacity of the
shadows, change the opacity of the Shadow light
object.

Shadow light expressions

LightX
LightY
The X and Y co-ordinates of the light source in the
layout. Note a quirk: the light source is moved using
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 the ordinary Set position actions, but due to the way
the object rendering works the ordinary X and Y
expressions always return a position relative to the
viewport instead. The LightX and LightY expressions
return the actual position of the light source.

Tag
Return the current tag of the object.

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 SLIDER BAR
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/slider-bar

The Slider bar object provides a simple form control

allowing the user to pick a value between a minimum
and maximum by moving a slider along a bar.

Form controls are actual HTML elements floating above

the game canvas in the HTML page. Therefore, nothing
can be displayed on top of a form control, apart from
other form controls.

Form controls position themselves according to the

layer parallax, scale and so on. However they are not
truly "in the game" (since they float above), so it is
recommended to avoid using scrolling, parallax and
layer scaling with form controls, otherwise the end result
can feel unnatural.

Slider bar properties

Minimum
The lowest value that can be picked, when the slider
is all the way to the left.

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 Maximum
The highest value that can be picked, when the slider
is all the way to the right.

Step
The increment of possible values. For example if the
step is 10, then the slider will jump in units of 10 as it
is moved, and only a multiple of 10 can be chosen as
a value.

Tooltip
An optional tooltip to show while hovering the mouse
over the control.

Initial visibility
Whether the control is initially visible or invisible in
the page.

Enabled
Whether the control is initially enabled and usable, or
disabled so that it cannot be interacted with.

ID
An optional id attribute for the element in the DOM
(Document Object Model). This can be useful for
accessing the element's value from external scripts,
or styling with CSS in the HTML page.

Slider bar conditions

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 Compare value
Compare the currently chosen value from the slider
bar.

On changed
Triggered when the user changes the chosen value
on the slider bar.

On clicked
Triggered when the user clicks the slider bar.

Slider bar actions

Set CSS style
Set a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) style on the
slider element. This can be used to alter the
appearance using the browser's styling features.

Set enabled
Enable or disable the control. If disabled, it cannot be
interacted with.

Set maximum
Set the maximum value that can be chosen from the
slider bar.

Set minimum
Set the minimum value that can be chosen from the
slider bar.

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 Set step
Set the increment step of the slider bar.

Set tooltip
Set the tooltip that appears when the mouse hovers
over the slider bar.

Set value
Set the currently selected value of the slider bar. This
must be between the currently set minimum and
maximum values.

Slider bar expressions

Maximum
Return the currently set maximum slider value.

Minimum
Return the currently set minimum slider value.

Step
Return the currently set slider step value (increment).

Value
Return the current value chosen by the user,
between the minimum and maximum values.

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 SPRITE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/sprite

The Sprite object is an animatable image that appears in

the game. It is one of the most important objects for
most Construct 2 games. It is used to make most visual
elements in a game, such as the player, enemies,
projectiles, explosions and non-tiling scenery (tiled
scenery is much better done with the Tiled Background
object).

If a Sprite has a single animation with a single frame, it

simply shows an image without animating. However,
multiple animations can be added to Sprite objects with
the Image and Animations editor.

All instances of Sprite objects share their animations. In

other words, there is a single set of images comprising
the animations which belongs to the object type, and
these images are referenced by instances.

Sprites can have effects applied. For more information,

see Effects.

Sprite properties
Animations
Click the Edit link to open the Image and Animations
editor for the object. All instances of the object type
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 share a single set of animations.

Size
Click the Make 1:1 link to size the selection at original
size (100%). This makes the width and height of the
object the same as its first animation frame image.

Initial visibility
Set whether the object is shown (visible) or hidden
(invisible) when the layout starts.

Initial animation
Set the initially displaying animation. If the animation
name is not found in the object, an arbitrary
animation is picked as the default.

Initial frame
Set the initially displaying animation frame from the
object's initial animation. This is a zero-based index,
so the first frame is 0. This can be useful for storing
different tiles or scenery in different animation frames
of a single Sprite object type.

Collisions
Enable or disable collisions for the object. Disabling
collisions means no collision events will register for
the object nor will any behaviors on the object register
collisions with solids or jump-thrus.

Sprite conditions
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 For conditions in common to other objects, see
Common conditions.

Compare frame
Compare the current animation frame number, which
is a zero-based index (the first frame is 0).

Compare speed
Compare the speed of the current animation, in
animation frames per second. Animations which are
playing backwards (e.g. with ping-pong animations)
have a negative speed.

Is flipped
Is mirrored
True if the object has been flipped or mirrored with
the Set flipped or Set mirrored actions.

Is playing
True if a given animation is currently set. Animations
are identified by their name (case insensitive).

On any finished
Triggered when any animation reaches the end.
Looping animations do not finish.

On finished
Triggered when a given animation reaches the end.
Looping animations do not finish. Animations are
identified by their name (case insensitive).
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 On frame changed
Triggered whenever the animation switches to
another frame while the animation is playing.

Collisions enabled
True if the object's collisions are currently enabled.

Is overlapping another object

Is overlapping at offset
True if any instance is overlapping any instance of
another object. The collision polygons are taken in to
account if set, as well as the object's size and
rotation. The 'offset' variant will test for an overlap at
an offset from the first object. For example, testing for
an overlap at an offset of (100, 0) will temporarily
move the object to the right 100 pixels, test for the
overlap, then move it back again.

On collision with another object

Triggered upon the first time any instance starts
overlapping any instance of another object. The
collision polygons are taken in to account if set, as
well as the object's size and rotation.

On image URL loaded

Triggered when Load image from URL finishes
downloading the image and is ready to display it.

Sprite actions
For actions common to other objects, see Common
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 actions.

Set animation
Change the currently playing animation to another
animation. Animations are identified by their name
(case insensitive). The new animation can either play
from the beginning or from the same frame number
as the last animation was on (current frame).

Set flipped
Set whether the object image appears vertically
flipped or normal. This also affects image points and
the collision polygon.

Set mirrored
Set whether the object image appears horizontally
mirrored or normal. This is useful for platform games.
Mirroring also affects image points and the collision
polygon.

Set frame
Set the current zero-based animation frame number
that is showing. The animation will continue to play at
its current speed.

Set repeat-to frame

Set the frame to return to when looping in the current
animation. This essentially changes the "Repeat to"
property of the animation in the Animation Editor. It is
especially useful when reversing animations, since
the default of repeating to the first frame is no longer
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 suitable. Instead when playing looping animations in
reverse it is more useful to repeat to the last frame of
the animation (so the animation actually repeats,
instead of getting stuck on the first frame).

Set speed
Set the playback rate of the current animation, in
animation frames per second. Instances can have
different animation speeds.

Start
If the current animation is stopped, start playing the
animation again. Playback can either resume from
the current frame, or restart from the beginning.

Stop
Stop the current animation from playing. The object
will be left showing the current animation frame.

Spawn another object

Create a new instance of a given object type. The
new instance is created at the current object's
position and also set to the same angle. The created
object can be on any layer (chosen by its name or its
zero-based number), and it can be positioned by an
image point instead of the object's origin (chosen by
its name or number). If a Family is created, a random
object type in the family is picked.

Set scale
Sets the width and height to a multiple of the object's
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 original size, similar to zooming the object
proportionally. For example, if the object is 50x100,
Set scale to 2 will set its size to 100x200, and Set
scale to 0.1 will set its size to 5x10.

Load image from URL

Load an image from a given URL. The current
animation frame will be replaced with the image. It is
not shown until the image has finished downloading,
and On image URL loaded triggers. Images loaded
from different domains are subject to the same cross-
domain restrictions as AJAX requests - for more
information see the section on cross-domain in the
AJAX object. Data URIs can also be passed as an
image, e.g. from a canvas snapshot or webcam
image. The Size parameter sets whether the Sprite
object will be set to the image size when it loads, or
whether to keep its current size and stretch the
image.

Set collisions enabled

Enable or disable collisions for the object. Disabling
collisions means no collision events will register for
the object nor will any behaviors on the object register
collisions with solids or jump-thrus.

Sprite expressions
For expressions common to other objects, see common
expressions.

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 AnimationFrame
The currently displaying zero-based animation frame
number.

AnimationFrameCount
The number of animation frames in the current
animation.

AnimationName
A string containing the name of the currently playing
animation.

AnimationSpeed
The current playback rate of the current animation, in
animation frames per second. If the animation is
playing backwards (e.g. ping-pong animations), the
animation speed is negative.

ImageWidth
ImageHeight
The original dimensions of the object (its current
animation frame image size), in pixels. Since objects
can be stretched at runtime causing the normal
Width and Height expressions to return different
values, these can be used to get the original size
regardless of the stretched size.

ImagePointCount
Return the number of image points on the currently
displaying animation frame of the object.
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 ImagePointX
ImagePointY
Retrieve the position of an image point on the
currently displaying animation frame of the object.
You can pass either the zero-based index of the
image point, or a string of its name.

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 SPRITE FONT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/sprite-font

The Sprite Font object uses an image to display text.

The "sprite font" is the object image, which contains a
grid of every character that can be drawn. By drawing
parts of this image in sequence, strings of text can be
rendered. This allows complete artistic control over the
appearance of text, rather than having to choose from
existing fonts.

Comparison with Text object

Both the Sprite Font and Text objects can display text in
the game. Typically the Text object shows monochrome
characters from an existing font or web font, which can
use a range of sizes and possibly also bold and italic
options. On the other hand Sprite Font uses images for
each character. While this means any kind of artwork
can be used for text, notably allowing for multi-colored
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 text, it has the trade-off that it only really supports one
font size and one bold/italic setting (those that it is drawn
with).

Another important difference is that traditional fonts as

used by the Text object often have good support for
unicode characters. This allows them to display a wide
range of characters, including many alphabets and
character sets from many different languages. Sprite
Fonts however can only use the characters for which an
image has been drawn. It is very difficult to make a
sprite font that covers much of the tens of thousands of
possible unicode characters. If a Sprite Font is set to
show some text which contains a character that has not
been drawn, it will simply show an empty space for that
character. If the entire string is in a different language
which the sprite font does not cover, nothing will render
at all. Bear in mind that if you allow user-inputted text,
such as the player's name, or you wish to translate the
game in future, then Text objects are probably more
suitable.

Sprite font properties

Sprite font
Click the Edit link to edit the source image that text
characters are rendered from. The image can be any
size, but it should fit the characters it contains
exactly, and preferably be a power-of-two size (e.g.
128x128, 256x256, 512x512...). Characters start in
the top-left and the sequence moves to the right,
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 wrapping down to the next line when it reaches the
right edge of the image. If the character is narrower
than the cell, and you change its width using the Set
character width action, the image should be drawn
left-aligned in the cell.

Character width
Character height
The size of each character's cell in the sprite font
image. Individual characters can be displayed with a
different width using the Set character width action.
In this case, the character should be drawn left-
aligned within its cell.

Character set
A string of characters that describes the sequence of
letters in the sprite font image. This is used to map
text to images. While the default starts with the
English alphabet, it could be changed to another
language or sequence and the image updated
accordingly. Note however the Sprite Font can only
display characters that are in the character set; any
characters not in the character set with a
corresponding image will appear as an empty space.

Text
The initial displaying text.

Scale
A multiplier to scale the rendered text with, such as
0.5 for half as big or 2 for twice as big. This can be
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 used to "fake" different font sizes, but remember it's
only stretching images; you may want to draw the
font again at a different size instead of using a scale.

Initial visibility
Whether the object is initially visible or invisible when
the layout starts.

Horizontal alignment
The horizontal alignment of the text within the object
bounding rectangle.

Vertical alignment
The vertical alignment of the text within the object
bounding box.

Hotspot
Choose the position of the hotspot (or origin) of the
object relative to its unrotated bounding rectangle.

Wrapping
Choose word to only wrap entire space-separated
words when reaching the end of a line. Choose
Character to wrap at any character, which can break
some words across lines half way through, but is
more suitable for some languages.

Character spacing
Extra space in pixels to add horizontally between
characters.
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 Line height
Extra space in pixels to add vertically between lines.
0 is the default size, negative values make lines
closer together, and positive values space lines out
further apart.

Sprite font conditions

Compare text
Compare the current text the object is showing.

Sprite font actions

Append text
Add some text to the end of the existing text.

Set character spacing

Set line height
Set scale
Set horizontal alignment
Set vertical alignment
Set the corresponding object properties. For more
information, see Sprite font properties.

Set character width

Set the width of certain characters. For example, the
character 'i' is usually narrower than the character 'w',
but by default both characters display occupying the
same width. This can result in some characters
looking strangely spaced. To resolve this, this action
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 can set the character width of "i" to something less
than the cell width. It is also possible to enter multiple
characters and the width is set for them all at the
same time, e.g. "iIjl1". When the character width is
less than the cell width, the left part of the cell is
displayed, so the characters should be drawn left-
aligned in their cells. Note it's also possible to set the
width of the space character, even if it is not drawn in
the sprite font image and not in the character set -
simply use a string with a space in it for this action.

Set text
Replace the current text with a new string.

Sprite font expressions

CharacterHeight
Return the sprite font cell height.

CharacterScale
CharacterSpacing
LineHeight
Return the corresponding object properties. For more
information, see Sprite font properties.

CharacterWidth(char)
Return the width of a character. A character must be
passed (as a string) so the Set character width
action can be taken in to account. Since the
expression can only return one value, if there are
multiple characters in the string, only the first is used.
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 Text
Return the object's current text.

TextWidth
TextHeight
Return the size of the actual text content within the
text object's rectangle.

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 TEXT OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/text

The Text object can display text using a font in your

game. Note that there are not many fonts common to all
computers - see this page for some common web fonts.
Alternatively, the Text object supports Web Fonts using
the Set web font action. See the tutorial on Using Web
Fonts in the Text object for more information.

The Text object does not display anything if its bounding

rectangle is too small to fit a single letter of text. If text
objects appear to go invisible, try resizing them larger.

Text rendering
Different browsers render text in different ways, and
Construct 2's layout view also renders text differently to
other browsers. This means you should expect the
appearance of the Text object to vary slightly across
browsers.

You should test your game in a range of browsers to

ensure text objects display how you intend for all users.
For more information see Best practices.

Unsupported fonts in the editor

For technical reasons, some fonts are not supported by
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 Construct 2's text renderer. This only affects the editor
and does not necessarily mean the font will not work in
the browser - be sure to test across different browsers.
To guarantee that the font you are using is available to
everyone, it is recommended to use Web Fonts instead.

Text properties
Text
The text for the object to initially be showing.

Initial visibility
Whether or not the object is shown (visible) or hidden
(invisible) when the layout starts.

Font
The font the text object uses to display its text. Click
the '... ' button to the right of the font name to open a
font picker dialog. Fonts chosen this way must be
installed to the user's computer for it to display
correctly. For this reason it is recommended to use
Web Fonts instead if you are choosing an
uncommon font.

Color
Choose the color of the text object's text.

Horizontal alignment
Choose whether the text displays left, center or right
aligned within its bounding rectangle.
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 Vertical alignment
Choose whether the text displays top, center or
bottom aligned within its bounding rectangle.

Hotspot
Choose the position of the hotspot (or origin) of the
object relative to its unrotated bounding rectangle.

Wrapping
Choose how text wraps at the end of a line. Word will
wrap entire words separated by spaces or hyphens.
Character will wrap to the next line on any character,
which might split words in half in Western languages
but is more suitable for other languages like Chinese.

Line height
Amount to change the space between each line of
text, in pixels. Use 0 for the default amount, -5 for 5
pixels shorter than default, 10 for 10 pixels taller than
default, and so on.

Text conditions
For conditions common to other objects, see common
conditions.

Compare text
Test whether the text object is currently displaying a
certain string of text. The comparison can be either
case sensitive ("TEXT" is different to "text") or case
insensitive ("TEXT" is considered the same as
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 "text"). To test if the text object is not showing some
text, invert the condition.

Text actions
For actions common to other objects, see common
actions.

Set font color

Set the color of the text. Use an expression in the
form rgb(red, green, blue).

Set font face

Change the font used to display the text. The font
must be installed to the user's computer to display
correctly. For this reason it is recommended to use
Web Fonts instead if you are choosing an
uncommon font.

Set font size

Set the size of the text in points (pt).

Set web font

Set the font to a web font loaded online. For more
information see the tutorial Using Web Fonts in the
Text object.

Append text
Add some text to the end of the current text. For
example, if the text object contains Hello and has
World appended, the text object then contains
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 HelloWorld.

Set text
Set the text the object is currently displaying. Use the
& operator to combine text and numbers. For more
information, see expressions.

Text expressions
For expressions common to other objects, see common
expressions.

Text
Return a string containing the object's current text.

TextWidth
TextHeight
Return the size of the actual text content within the
text object's rectangle. Note the Text object must be
drawn before these have the correct values. If you
set the text then immediately access these
expressions, they won't yet have the correct value.
Adding a 'Wait 0.1 seconds' action will usually solve
this.

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 TEXTBOX
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/textbox

The Textbox object creates a text field which the user

can type text in to.

Form controls are actual HTML elements floating above

the game canvas in the HTML page. Therefore, nothing
can be displayed on top of a form control, apart from
other form controls.

Form controls position themselves according to the

layer parallax, scale and so on. However they are not
truly "in the game" (since they float above), so it is
recommended to avoid using scrolling, parallax and
layer scaling with form controls, otherwise the end result
can feel unnatural.

Styling Textbox objects

Textbox controls can be customised in a huge number
of ways via CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Rather than
adding actions to set all of the possible properties, the
Textbox object exposes a Set CSS style action.
Knowing CSS will of course be an advantage here, but
it is simple to use for simple properties. A few examples
are listed below.

Make the text red: Set "color" to "red"

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 Make the background yellow: Set "background-color"
to "yellow"

Make the border a thick light grey: Set "border" to "3px

solid #AAAAAA"

Make the font bigger: Set "font-size" to "2em"

Make a dashed red border: Set "border" to "2px dashed

red"

Textbox properties
Text
The initial text entered in to the field.

Placeholder
Some text that appears faintly when the field is
empty. This can be used for hints for what the field is
for, e.g. Username.

Tooltip
A tooltip that appears if the user hovers the mouse
over the text box and waits. Leave blank for no tooltip.

Initial visibility
Whether or not the text box is shown on startup. If
Invisible, the field must be shown with the Set visible
action.

Enabled
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 Whether the text box is initially enabled. If No, the
field will be greyed out and cannot be modified.

Read-only
Set whether the field is read-only, which means the
text cannot be modified but can still be selected. This
is different to disabling the field, where text cannot be
selected.

Spell check
Enable spell-checking on the text entered in to the
field, if the browser supports it. If enabled, spelling
errors are underlined with a squiggly red line.

Type
Set the type of content being entered in to the text
field, which can be: Text (any content) Password
(any content but characters hidden) Email (intended
for strings in the general format joe@[Link])
Number (numerical digits only) Telephone number
(telephone number characters only) URL (web
addresses in the general format [Link]
Textarea (multi-line text input) The email, number,
telephone number and URL types are generally most
useful for mobile devices, since they change which
type of on-screen keyboard appears when the field is
focused. For example, Text will show a general
purpose on-screen keyboard, whereas Number may
show a simple number pad, making it more
convenient for the user to enter the content.
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 Auto font size
Automatically set the font-size property of the
element according to the layout and layer scale. This
will prevent the font-size CSS property being
manually set with the Set CSS style action. Set to No
if you intend to use Set CSS style to adjust the font-
size property.

ID
(optional) An optional id attribute for the element in
the DOM (Document Object Model). This can be
useful for accessing the element's value from
external scripts, or styling with CSS in the HTML
page.

Textbox conditions
Compare text
Compare the text currently entered in to the field. The
comparison can either be case sensitive ("TEXT" is
different to "text") or case insensitive ("TEXT" is the
same as "text").

On clicked
Triggered when the user clicks the field.

On double-clicked
Triggered when the user double-clicks the field.

On text changed
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 Triggered whenever the text in the field is modified,
by typing, backspace/delete, cut/paste etc.

Textbox actions
Set CSS style
Set a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) style on the
Textbox element. For more information, see the
section Styling Textbox objects. Note that if the Auto
font size property is set to Yes, any changes to the
font-size property will be overridden.

Scroll to bottom
Scroll to the bottom of the control. Only has an effect
when set to the textarea type, since it is the only
multiline mode. This is useful for chat or log style
textareas.

Set enabled
Set the field enabled or disabled. When disabled, the
field appears greyed out and cannot be modified.

Set focused
Set the input focus to the field. The text caret will
begin flashing ready for text entry.

Set placeholder
Set the text that appears faintly when the field is
empty. This can be used for hints for what the field is
for, e.g. Username.
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 Set read-only
Set whether the field is read-only, which means the
text cannot be modified but can still be selected. This
is different to disabling the field, where text cannot be
selected.

Set text
Set the text currently entered in to the field.

Set tooltip
Set the text that appears for the field tooltip. Leave
blank for no tooltip.

Set unfocused
Remove the input focus from the field.

Textbox expressions
Text
Get a string containing the text currently entered in to
the field.

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 TILED
BACKGROUND
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/tiled-background

The Tiled Background object can display an image in a

repeating pattern, as shown below.

This pattern can be achieved with a single Tiled

Background object, and it is much faster (and more
convenient to edit) than using multiple Sprite objects
arranged in a grid. Always prefer using Tiled
Background objects wherever an image repeats.

Tiled Backgrounds cannot have a collision polygon.

They always collide according to their bounding
rectangle.

Tiled Backgrounds can have effects applied. For more

information, see Effects.

Power-of-two sizes
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 For best results, use a power-of-two sized square image
for the Tiled Background (e.g. 16x16, 32x32, 64x64,
128x128...). This achieves best results in WebGL
mode. The object will still work correctly with non power-
of-two sized images, but the quality may be slightly
reduced since the image has to be stretched to a power-
of-two size before tiling. (Note this does not apply to
Sprite objects, which can use any size.)

Tiled Background properties

Image
Click the Edit link to edit the Tiled Background's
image.

Initial visibility
Choose whether the object is shown (visible) or
hidden (invisible) when the layout starts.

Hotspot
Choose the position of the hotspot (or origin) of the
object relative to its unrotated bounding rectangle.

Tiled Background conditions, actions

and expressions
Tiled Background has few conditions, actions or
expressions of its own. See common features for
documentation on features which are shared between
objects in Construct 2.

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 Tiled Background conditions
On image URL loaded
Triggered when Load image from URL finishes
downloading the image and is ready to display it.

Tiled Background actions

Load image from URL
Load an image from a given URL. It is not shown
until the image has finished downloading, and On
image URL loaded triggers. Images loaded from
different domains are subject to the same cross-
domain restrictions as AJAX requests - for more
information see the section on cross-domain in the
AJAX object. Data URIs can also be passed as an
image, e.g. from a canvas snapshot or webcam
image.

Tiled Background expressions

ImageWidth
ImageHeight
The original dimensions of the tiled background's
current image in pixels. Since tiled backgrounds can
be extended over large areas causing the normal
Width and Height expressions to return different
values, these can be used to get the original size of
the source image regardless of the object size.

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 TILEMAP OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/tilemap

The Tilemap object allows tile-based games to be

designed more easily. The object's tilemap can also be
edited in the layout view using the Tilemap Bar.

Tilemaps also have significant performance benefits

over achieving the same results with other kinds of
objects. The Tilemap object can optimise collision
detection and rendering in a way that should scale well
even with extremely large Tilemap objects.

For information about editing tilemaps in Construct 2,

see the manual entry for the Tilemap Bar.

Tilemap object image

The image used for the Tilemap object is the tileset.
This is an image that contains every different tile that
can be used in the tilemap. The tiles can also can be
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 offset and spaced, but this is not normally necessary.
The tileset image appears in the Tilemap Bar after
selecting the object, allowing you to choose which tiles
to draw with.

Collisions
When testing for collisions with a Tilemap object, empty
(erased) tiles count as not colliding, and all other tiles
count as colliding. A custom collision polygon can be set
for individual tiles by clicking the Edit tile collision
polygon button in the Tilemap bar, or just double-
clicking the tile in the Tilemap bar. Note however the
collision polygon cannot be entirely removed from a tile:
only an erased tile counts as not colliding at all.

If you wish to have tiles that are visible but do not

register a collision, use two Tilemap objects layered on
top of each other. Test for collisions with just the top
object, and erase any tiles that should not register a
collision. These tiles can then be placed on the tilemap
object beneath, so they appear in the same place but
are not tested for collisions.

Tile IDs
Each tile in the tileset has a zero-based index to identify
it. This starts with the top-left tile and increments
horizontally in rows. The tile ID can easily be seen by
hovering the mouse over a tile in the Tilemap Bar. The
tile ID is useful for comparing or setting tiles at runtime
with the object's conditions, actions and expressions.
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 Tile positions
When using tiles in the object's conditions, actions and
expressions, positions are generally given in tiles
instead of layout co-ordinates. You can convert between
tile positions and layout co-ordinates using the
PositionToTileX/Y and TileToPositionX/Y expressions.

Inappropriate uses of Tilemaps

It is not appropriate to use the Tilemap object to display
large images. The tilemap object draws tile-by-tile, but
can optimise if there are areas of the same tile. This is
described in the blog post Tilemap tidbits. If you paste a
large image in to the Tilemap object, and then stamp a
grid of tiles to display the large image, every tile is
different. Therefore no optimisation is possible, and a
draw call must be issued for each tile. If the image
needs a 10x10 grid of tiles to display, then it will need to
issue 100 draw calls. A single sprite or Tiled
Background, by comparison, takes a single draw call
each. Therefore this type of use of the Tilemap object
can be hundreds of times less efficient than using
another object. The Tilemap object should only be used
for tile based games, where a single tile is a useful level
design block by itself, rather than part of a larger image.

Tilemap Properties
Image
Click the Edit link to edit the tileset image from which
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 tiles are drawn.

Initial visibility
Choose whether the object is visible or invisible at the
start of the layout.

Tile width
Tile height
The size of tiles in the tilemap, in pixels. It is
recommended to use a square power-of-two size
(e.g. 32x32).

Tile X offset
Tile Y offset
The offset in pixels of the top-left tile in the tileset
image. This is not normally necessary and is
provided mainly for compatibility with existing tileset
images that have the tiles drawn at an offset.

Tile X spacing
Tile Y spacing
The spacing in pixels between tiles in the tileset
image. This is not normally necessary and is
provided mainly for compatibility with existing tileset
images that have the tiles drawn apart from each
other.

Seamless mode
Use a rendering mode that prevents seams
appearing between tiles, but also disables some
tilemap optimisations which could reduce
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 performance. Turning Seamless mode off can
improve performance, but may show seams if the
following project properties are not as follows:
Letterbox integer scale fullscreen mode, Point
sampling, and Pixel rounding on. NOTE: you cannot
use different Seamless mode settings on different
instances of the same Tilemap object, even across
layouts. For correct display, all tilemap instances of
the same object type should use the same Seamless
mode.

Tilemap conditions
Compare tile at
Compare the tile ID at a position in the tilemap.

Compare tile state at

Test whether a tile at a position in the tilemap is
flipped or rotated from its normal state.

On image URL loaded

Triggered when Load image from URL finishes
downloading the image and is ready to use it.

Tilemap actions
Download
Invoke a download of the current tilemap data (from
the TilesJSON expression) as a JSON file. This can
be useful for in-game level editors.
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 Load
Load the current tiles from a string of JSON data
from a previous use of the TilesJSON expression.

Erase tile
Erase the tile at a position.

Erase tile range

Erase a rectangular area of tiles in the tilemap.

Set tile
Set the tile at a position in the tilemap by its tile ID.
The tile that is set can also optionally be flipped or
rotated.

Set tile range

As with Set tile, but sets a rectangular area of tiles in
the tilemap.

Set tile state

Set the tile flipped or rotated state at a position in the
tilemap. The tile ID is not changed.

Set tile state range

Set the flipped or rotated state for a rectangular area
of tiles in the tilemap. None of the tile IDs in the
rectangular area are changed.

Load image from URL

Load a new tilemap image from a given URL. It is not
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 used until the image has finished downloading, and
On image URL loaded triggers. Images loaded from
different domains are subject to the same cross-
domain restrictions as AJAX requests - for more
information see the section on cross-domain in the
AJAX object. Data URIs can also be passed as an
image, e.g. from a canvas snapshot or webcam
image.

Tilemap expressions
TilesJSON
Retrieve the tile data in JSON format, which can be
loaded in again later using the Load action. Note this
differs from the built-in AsJSON expression, which
returns the entire object state (including position,
size, behaviors etc), whereas TilesJSON returns only
the tile data.

PositionToTileX(x)
PositionToTileY(y)
Convert an X or Y layout co-ordinate in to the
corresponding tile number in the tilemap. For
example, this can be used to get the tile position
under the mouse.

SnapX(x)
SnapY(y)
Snap an X or Y layout co-ordinate to the nearest tile.
This also returns a layout co-ordinate, but aligned to
the nearest tile in the tilemap.
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 TileAt(x, y)
Return the tile ID at a position in the tilemap. Note the
position is given in tiles, not layout co-ordinates. If the
tile at the given position is empty (has been erased),
the expression returns -1.

TileToPositionX(x)
TileToPositionY(y)
Convert a tile position to layout co-ordinates. For
example, this can be used to position a Sprite object
on top of a given tile.

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 TOUCH
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/touch

The Touch object detects input from touchscreen

devices like iPhones, iPads, Android and Windows 8
devices. Touchscreens for desktop computers are also
available, but these are rare compared to mobiles, so
generally the Touch object is used in anticipation of
input on a mobile device.

The Touch object also provides input from the

accelerometer (motion) and inclinometer (tilt/compass
direction) if the device supports them.

It is best to support touch input wherever possible. On

the modern web many users are now browsing on
mobile devices with touch input only and no mouse or
keyboard. If your game does not support touch controls,
many users will be unable to play your game at all. For a
guide on how to implement on-screen touch controls,
see the tutorial on Touch controls.

For a number of examples of using Touch input, search

for Touch in the Start dialog.

Multi-touch
The Touch object supports multi-touch. This is most
useful with the On touched object and Is touching
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 object conditions, which can for example detect if
multiple on-screen touch controls are being used. This
is sufficient for many games.

For more advanced uses, the TouchID, XForID and

YForID expressions can be used to track individual
touches for different purposes. Each touch has a
unique ID (which is an arbitrary number), and can be
accessed using the TouchID expression in an event like
On any touch start. The touch ID can then be stored in
a variable and tracked using the XForID and YForID
expressions. Finally comparing the TouchID in On any
touch end indicates when that touch has been released.

Touch properties
Use mouse input
If set to Yes, mouse clicks will simulate touch events.
Clicking and dragging the left mouse button will
simulate a touch along where mouse dragged, and
single clicks will simulate taps. This can be very
useful for testing touch events work properly on a
desktop computer with no touch input supported.
However, only single-touch input can be simulated
with a mouse, and a mouse is much more precise
than a touch, so it is still best to test on a real
touchscreen device.

Touch conditions
On double-tap
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 On double-tap object
Triggered when two tap gestures are performed in
quick succession in the same location. The On
double-tap object variant triggers when this gesture
is performed over an object.

On hold
On hold over object
Triggered when a touch is held (pressed and not
moved) for a short time period. The On hold over
object variant triggers when this gesture is performed
over an object.

On tap
On tap object
Triggered when a tap gesture is performed, which is
defined as a touch and release in quick succession in
the same location. The On tap object variant triggers
when this gesture is performed over an object.

Compare acceleration
Compare the current device's motion as its
acceleration on each axis in m/s^2 (meters per
second per second). The effect of gravity can be
included or excluded, but note that some devices only
support accelerometer values including the effect of
gravity and will always return 0 for acceleration
excluding gravity.

Compare orientation
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 Compare the device's current orientation, if the
device has a supported inclinometer. Alpha is the
compass direction in degrees. Beta is the device
front-to-back tilt in degrees (i.e. tilting forwards away
from you if holding in front of you). A positive value
indicates front tilt and a negative value indicates back
tilt. Gamma is the device left-to-right tilt in degrees
(i.e. twisting if holding in front of you). A positive
value indicates right tilt and a negative value
indicates left tilt.

Compare touch speed

Compare the speed of a specific touch (given by its
zero-based index). Touch speed is measured in
canvas pixels per second, so is not affected by
scaling the display.

Has Nth touch

True if a given touch number is currently in contact
with the screen. For example, Has touch 1 will be
true if there are two or more touches currently in
contact with the screen (given that it is a zero-based
index).

Is in touch
True if any touch is currently in contact with the
screen.

Is touching object
True if any touch is currently touching a given object.
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 On any touch end
Triggered when any touch releases from the screen.

On any touch start

Triggered upon any touch on the screen.

On Nth touch end

Triggered when a given touch number releases from
the screen. For example, On touch 1 end will trigger
when releasing the second simultaneous touch
(given that it is a zero-based index).

On Nth touch start

Triggered when a given touch number touches the
screen. For example, On touch 1 start will trigger
upon the second simultaneous touch (given that it is
a zero-based index).

On touched object
Triggered when a given object is touched.

Touch actions
The Touch object has no actions.

Touch expressions
AccelerationX
AccelerationY
AccelerationZ
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 Get the current device's motion as its acceleration on
each axis in m/s^2 (meters per second per second)
excluding the effect of gravity. The expressions
which include gravity (below) are more widely
supported; these will return 0 at all times on devices
which do not support them.

AccelerationXWithG
AccelerationYWithG
AccelerationZWithG
Get the current device's motion as its acceleration on
each axis in m/s^2 (meters per second per second)
including the acceleration caused by gravity, which is
about 9.8 m/s^2 down at all times. For example, at
rest, the device will report an acceleration downwards
corresponding to the force of gravity. These
expressions are more commonly supported than the
expressions returning acceleration without G (above).
However, devices are still not guaranteed to support
motion detection, in which case these will return 0 at
all times.

Alpha
Beta
Gamma
Return the device's orientation if supported, or 0 at all
times if not supported. Alpha is the compass direction
in degrees. Beta is the device front-to-back tilt in
degrees (i.e. tilting forwards away from you if holding
in front of you). A positive value indicates front tilt and
a negative value indicates back tilt. Gamma is the
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 device left-to-right tilt in degrees (i.e. twisting if
holding in front of you). A positive value indicates
right tilt and a negative value indicates left tilt.

AbsoluteX
AbsoluteY
AbsoluteXAt(index)
AbsoluteYAt(index)
AbsoluteXForID(id)
AbsoluteYForID(id)
Return the current position of a touch over the
canvas area. This is (0, 0) at the top left of the
canvas and goes up to the window size. It is not
affected by any scrolling or scaling in the game. The
At expressions can return the absolute position of
any touch given its zero-based index, and the ForID
expressions return the position of a touch with a
specific ID.

X
Y
XAt(index)
YAt(index)
XForID(id)
YForID(id)
Return the current position of a touch in layout co-
ordinates. It changes to reflect scrolling and scaling.
However, if an individual layer has been scrolled,
scaled or rotated, these expressions do not take that
in to account - for that case, use the layer versions
below. The At expressions can return the position of
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 any touch given its zero-based index, and the ForID
expressions return the position of a touch with a
specific ID.

X("layer")
Y("layer")
XAt(index, "layer")
YAt(index, "layer")
XForID(id, "layer")
YForID(id, "layer")
Return the current position of a touch in layout co-
ordinates, with scrolling, scaling and rotation taken in
to account for the given layer. The layer can be
identified either by a string of its name or its zero-
based index (e.g. Touch.X(0)). The At expressions
can return the position of any touch on a layer given
its zero-based index, and the ForID expressions
return the position of a touch with a specific ID.

TouchCount
Number of touches currently in contact with the
device's screen.

TouchID
Return the unique ID of a touch (which is an arbitrary
number) in an event like On any touch start or On
any touch end.

TouchIndex
Return the zero-based index of the touch in an event
like On any touch start or On any touch end.
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 AngleAt(index)
AngleForID(id)
Get the angle of motion of a specific touch in degrees
by its zero-based index or unique ID. A touch must
be moving across the device screen for this
expression to contain a useful value.

WidthForID(id)
HeightForID(id)
Return the width and height of a touch with a given
ID in pixels. This allows the app to determine the
approximate size of the touch area. Note some
platforms do not support this and will always return 0
for the touch size.

PressureForID(id)
Return the pressure of a touch with a given ID, as a
number from 0 (least detectable pressure) to 1 (most
detectable pressure). This is useful for devices with
pressure-sensitive displays, such as the iPhone 6S.
Note however not all devices have pressure-sensitive
displays, and so will always return 0 for the pressure.

SpeedAt(index)
SpeedForID(id)
Get the speed of a specific touch by its zero-based
index or unique ID. Touch speed is measured in
canvas pixels per second, so is not affected by
scaling the display.

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 TWITTER
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/twitter

The Twitter plugin allows a Follow, Share or Tweet

button to appear in-game.

Twitter plugin compatibility

Since the Twitter API depends on opening separate
browser windows, it usually only works inside a normal
web browser. This means the button may not work when
built in to a native app for Android or iOS, such as with
Crosswalk, Ejecta or CocoonJS. To work around this,
use the Browser object's Open URL in new window
action to open a Twitter page instead.

Twitter properties
Type
One of the following button types: Follow: a 'Follow'
button to follow a Twitter account. The Share
property should be the name of the Twitter account to
follow, but without the @, e.g. Scirra to follow the
account @Scirra. Share: a 'Tweet' button to share a
URL. The Share property must be a valid URL, e.g.
[Link] The initial tweet text is set to
the Text property, optionally displaying as Via a given
account, with optional Hashtags. Mention: a button to
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 send a public tweet to another account. The Share
property should be the name of the Twitter account to
tweet to, without the @. The initial tweet text is set to
the Text property, optionally displaying as Via a given
account, with optional Hashtags. Hashtag: a button
to tweet with a hashtag. The Share property should
be the hashtag to tweet with, without the [#] (e.g.
Scirra to tweet with hashtag [#]Scirra). Additional
hashtags can be added with the Hashtags property.
The initial tweet text is set to the Text property,
optionally displaying as Via a given account.

Share
The account to follow or mention, URL to share, or
hashtag to tweet, depending on Type.

Text
The initial text to have in the tweet, which is selected
so the user can easily replace it. This is not used
when the Type is Follow.

Via
Optionally display the tweet as being via another
twitter account, e.g. via @Scirra. The account should
be set in this property without the @, e.g. Scirra to
tweet via @Scirra. This is not used when the Type is
Follow.

Hashtags
Comma-separated hashtags to add to the tweet,
without the [#] (e.g. construct2,html5 to add the
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 hashtags [#]construct2 [#]html5). This is not used
when the Type is Follow. When the Type is
Hashtag, the actual hashtag to share must be
entered in the Share property instead, but this
property can then be used to add extra hashtags to
the tweet.

Initial visibility
Whether the button is initially visible or invisible.

Count
For Follow or Share buttons, which direction to show
the count of how many users already follow or have
already shared, or None to not show any count.

Size
Whether to use a medium or large style button.

Language
An ISO 639-1 language code to use for the button,
which affects the text appearing on the button and in
the popup window.

Twitter conditions
On button loaded

Triggered when the button has successfully loaded and

is ready to be interacted with by the user. The button
may not display until this triggers.

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 Twitter actions
Set hashtags
Set share
Set text
Set via
Set the corresponding object properties. For more
information, see the properties documentation above.
Any changes will not take effect until the button is
reloaded.

Reload
Reload the button, so any changed properties then
take effect.

Twitter expressions
The Twitter plugin does not have any of its own
expressions.

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 USER MEDIA
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/user-media

The User Media object allows retrieving camera or

microphone input from a user, including speech
recognition, speech synthesis (also known as text-to-
speech) and ambient light readings. This requires
appropriate hardware being installed on the user's
system, such as a webcam for a PC, a phone camera
on a mobile, or a microphone. Camera snapshots can
be taken and transferred in to Sprite or Tiled
Background objects, and microphone input can be
analysed with the Audio object.

For security reasons, most browsers will prompt the

user for permission before allowing user media input,
and will display clear notifications that the media device
is currently being used, such as a recording icon in the
system tray or tab icon.

The User Media object has common features, including

the ability to have effects applied for video feeds.

For several examples of what the User Media object can

do, search for User Media in the Start dialog.

In the layout
The User Media object appears as a rectangle in the
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 layout view, represented by a red cross. This represents
where the video feed will be displayed in the layout. If
you only need microphone input, place the User Media
object outside the layout.

User Media conditions

On ambient light reading update
Triggered when the ambient light reading (the
AmbientLux expression) changes. This only happens
if the device has an appropriate sensor.

Is canvas recording supported

Returns true if the current browser/platform supports
recording a video from the game's canvas with the
Start recording canvas action.

Is recording format supported

Check if the current browser/platform supports
recording a video with the Start recording canvas
action in the given video format.

On canvas recording ready

Triggered after the Stop recording canvas action
when the recording is available to be downloaded.
Typically this is done by using the Browser object's
'Invoke download' action to download the
CanvasRecordingURL expression.

On media request approved

Triggered when the user confirms a security prompt
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 after the Request camera or Request microphone
actiona, indicating their approval to allow the
application to use media input.

On media request declined

Triggered when the user cancels a security prompt
after the Request camera or Request microphone
actions, indicating they do not approve the
application's request to use media input.

On retrieved media sources

Triggered after the Get media sources action
completes, and the list of media sources is available
with the AudioSource and CameraSource
expressions.

Is recognising speech
True if a speech recognition request has been
approved, and speech input through a microphone is
actively being recognised.

On speech recognition end

Triggered after the Stop speech recognition action,
or after the user stops speaking in Single phrase
mode speech recognition.

On speech recognition error

Triggered if there is an error approving speech
recognition, or during speech recognition. The
SpeechError expression is set to a string which
describes the type of problem, e.g. "not-allowed" if
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 permission was declined.

On speech recognition result

Triggered during active speech recognition when the
interim or final transcript has changed. Use either the
FinalTranscript and/or the InterimTranscript
expressions to get the updated result.

On speech recognition start

Triggered after Request speech recognition when
the user has also approved any prompt for
permission.

Supports speech recognition

True if the current browser or platform supports
speech recognition. If false, none of the speech
recognition features of the object will work.

Is speaking
True if the speech synthesis engine is currently
reading out some text.

Supports speech synthesis

True if the current browser supports speech
synthesis, so the Speak text action can work.

Supports user media

True if the current browser supports the User Media
object. Not all browsers support the necessary
features, so if this is not true it indicates media input
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 is always unavailable. It may also be true even if the
user has no media devices installed on their system,
since it only determines if the browser has the
capability to support media input or not.

User Media actions

Start recording canvas
Stop recording canvas
If canvas video recording is supported (checked with
the Is canvas recording supported condition), starts
and stops recording a video of the canvas. When
starting recording, various format and quality options
can be chosen. Note not all record formats may be
supported; use the Is recording format supported
condition to check. Once the canvas recording is
stopped, On canvas recording ready triggers where
the recording can be accessed.

Get media sources

Request a list of media sources that can be used with
the Request camera or Request microphone
actions. For example a mobile device may have both
front-facing and back-facing cameras, or multiple
microphones. Using the media source list allows the
specific camera or microphone input to be selected.
This does not complete immediately; the media
source list is only available after the On retrieved
media sources trigger fires. The browser also may
not support listing the media sources, in which case
the trigger will never fire.
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 Request camera
Show a security prompt to the user requesting that
they give the application permission to use camera
input. Either On media request approved or On
media request declined will trigger depending on
their decision. If approved, the User Media object in
the layout will start displaying a video feed from the
user's camera device. The specific camera source to
use can be chosen with the Source parameter, if
media source listing is supported and a media source
list has been requested; otherwise the default camera
is used. If the preferred width/height are not zero, the
nearest supported resolution that the input device
supports will be picked.

Request microphone
Show a security prompt to the user requesting that
they give the application permission to use
microphone input. On media request approved or On
media request declined will trigger depending on
their decision. The Audio object must also be in the
project, and Advanced audio supported to be true,
for this to be useful. A tag is given for the microphone
input, and the audio input from the microphone is
routed the same way as playing a sound with that tag.
This means you can assign effects from the Audio
object to the microphone input by adding the effects
to the same tag assigned to the microphone. A useful
combination is to add an analyser effect then a mute
effect to microphone input. This prevents the user
hearing their own voice, but allows peak, RMS and
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 spectrum monitoring with the analyser. The specific
microphone input to use can be chosen with the
Source parameter, if media source listing is
supported and a media source list has been
requested; otherwise the default microphone input is
used.

Snapshot
If the user has approved a camera request and the
User Media object is showing a video feed, then
snapshots the current frame. The still image is then
available from the SnapshotURL expression as a
data URI representing the image. The image can be
loaded in to a Sprite or Tiled Background object using
the Load image from URL action and passing
SnapshotURL. This action optionally takes
parameters allowing you to specify the compression
format, which is useful if you intend to upload or save
the image and a smaller file size would be
advantageous.

Stop
Ends any active video feed or microphone input.
Media input must be requested again before it can be
used.

Request speech recognition

If Supports speech recognition is true, initiates
speech recognition. Usually a permission prompt will
appear asking the user if they want to allow the page
to use their microphone input. The user must
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 approve the permission prompt before On speech
recognition start triggers. If there is a problem or
permission is denied, On speech recognition error is
triggered. Language specifies the spoken language
to recognise. Use a tag like en for English, en-US for
US English, en-GB for British English, and so on.
Mode can be continuous, which keeps recognising
speech until the page is closed or the Stop speech
recognition is used; or single phrase, which
recognises speech until the user stops talking, then
automatically stops speech recognition and triggers
On speech recognition end. Results can be Interim
to allow interim (unconfirmed) results which can
change, accessed by the InterimTranscript
expression; or Final to only allow confirmed final
results of speech recognition to be returned which will
not change, accessed by the FinalTranscript
expression.

Stop speech recognition

If speech recognition is currently active, ends the
speech recognition. On speech recognition end will
trigger.

Pause speaking
Resume speaking
Pause or resume text being read out by speech
synthesis from the Speak text action.

Speak text
Read out some text using speech synthesis (also
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 known as text-to-speech). The language, volume,
rate and pitch of the voice that reads out the text can
be customised. The Voice URI can be used to select
a different kind of voice (e.g. male vs. female) from a
list of the supported voices, if any alternatives are
available. The list of possible voices can be retrieved
using the VoiceCount and VoiceURIAt expressions.

Stop speaking
Stop reading out text from a previous Speak text
action. The speech cannot be resumed.

User Media expressions

AmbientLux
The current ambient light reading in lux, or 0 if no
appropriate sensor is present. This changes in the
On ambient light reading update trigger.

CanvasRecordingURL
After On canvas recording ready triggers, this is the
URL to the video recording that was made. Typically
this will be downloaded by using the Browser object's
Invoke download action to download this URL.

FinalTranscript
If speech recognition is active, returns the final
transcript of confirmed results. This does not change,
other than to add newly spoken words which have
also been confirmed.
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 InterimTranscript
If speech recognition is active, returns the interim
transcript of results. The Request speech
recognition action must have specified Interim for the
Results parameter. The text of this expression can
change, as the speech recognition engine uses the
sound input in real-time to refine the results and
correct any misinterpreted words. Once the user has
spoken far enough for the speech recognition engine
to be confident of a final result, the word will
disappear from InterimTranscript and be appended to
FinalTranscript.

SpeechError
In On speech recognition error, contains a string
which identifies the type of error. Possible values are:
"no-speech", "aborted", "audio-capture", "network",
"not-allowed", "service-not-allowed", "bad-
grammar", or "language-not-supported". The most
common errors are "not-allowed" if the user declined
the permission prompt; "audio-capture" if no
microphone is present; or "network" if the speech
recognition is implemented by a remote server over
the Internet which is currently unavailable.

VoiceCount
Return the number of voices available for use with
speech synthesis.

VoiceLangAt(i)
VoiceNameAt(i)
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 VoiceURIAt(i)
Return the language, name, or URI of the voice at
the given zero-based index. This can be used to
show the user a list of possible voices to choose. To
select a different voice, pass the appropriate voice
URI to the Speak text action.

AudioSourceCount
After On retrieved media sources triggers, the
number of audio sources available.

AudioSourceLabelAt(index)
After On retrieved media sources triggers, the label
of the audio source at the given index. The label is
normally the name of the input or recording device,
but it may be empty for security reasons (such as if
the user has not yet approved a media request).

CameraSourceCount
After On retrieved media sources triggers, the
number of camera sources available.

CameraSourceFacingAt(index)
After On retrieved media sources triggers, a string
indicating which way a camera source is facing. This
can be "user" (the camera is facing the user, such as
the front-facing camera on a phone), "environment"
(the camera is facing away from the user, such as
the back-facing camera on a phone), "left", "right", or
empty if unknown or withheld for security reasons.
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 CameraSourceLabelAt(index)
After On retrieved media sources triggers, the label
of the camera source at the given index. The label is
normally the name of the input device, but it may be
empty for security reasons (such as if the user has
not yet approved a media request).

SnapshotURL
A data URI representing the snapshotted image after
a Snapshot action, otherwise an empty string. The
image can be loaded in to a Sprite or Tiled
Background object using the Load image from URL
action and passing SnapshotURL. Alternatively, the
data URI can be sent to a server, saved to disk,
downloaded with the Browser object, or anything else
you would like to do with it.

VideoWidth
VideoHeight
If a video feed is approved and active, this returns the
size in pixels of the feed from the device (which may
not be the same size as the object in the layout). If no
feed is active then 0 is returned.

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 VIDEO
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/video

The Video object can play a video inside a Construct 2

game. On most platforms, the video renders inside the
game canvas itself, allowing other objects to appear on
top of it and shader effects to be applied, unlike with
form controls.

Video formats
As with audio, browser makers have not been able to
agree on one video format that can play everywhere. As
a result to guarantee that video playback will work on all
browsers and on all platforms, it is necessary to encode
your videos in at least two formats.

The Video plugin allows you to set three sources for a

video in the following formats:

WebM with VP8 or VP9 codec (.webm)

Ogg Theora (.ogv)
MPEG-4 with h.264 codec (.mp4)

Browsers which support WebM usually also support

Ogg Theora, so it is not necessary to specify both a
WebM and Ogg Theora source. It should only be
necessary to specify a h.264 source and either a
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 WebM source or an Ogg Theora source. Since WebM
is a newer and more advanced format than Ogg Theora,
it is recommended to specify a WebM and h.264
source.

The Video plugin will prefer to play WebM first if

supported and a source provided, Ogg Theora second,
and h.264 last.

Importing video
Due to the complexities of video compression and the
patent-encumbrance of h.264, Construct 2 does not
provide a video importer like it does with audio. You
must encode your video files yourself, and then import
them as project files. WebM and Ogg Theora are free
formats and you should be able to find free encoders,
whereas h.264 encoders may involve a fee.

When publishing a project using video playback to the

web, be sure that your server has the correct MIME
types set up otherwise video playback may fail after
export.

Compatibility
On Safari for iOS and Chrome for Android, video
playback cannot begin unless triggered by a user input
event. The Play action will work in a user input trigger
like On touch start, but if done outside of that it cannot
play right away. To work around this the video plugin will
wait until the next touch event to start playing the video.
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 This also applies to autoplaying videos: it will not start
until the first touch.

Safari on iOS does not currently support rendering

video inside the game canvas itself. To work around
this, the Video plugin creates a video element floating
above the game, similar to a form control. This ensures
the video can appear, but prevents other objects being
displayed on top of it.

Video properties
WebM source
Ogg Theora source
H.264 source
Names of the project files for the video in different
formats. For more information, see Video formats
above.

Autoplay
The autoplay or preload mode. This can be: No:
nothing is done until the video is requested to be
played. Preload: on startup the video will start
downloading the video data, but will not start playing it
yet. This can allow video playback to start more
quickly when requested. Some platforms (e.g. mobile
devices on cellular data connections) may ignore this.
Yes: on startup the video will start downloading the
video data, and also start playing it as soon as it
determines the progress and transfer rate are
sufficient to play through to the end without stalling
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 for buffering. Some mobile platforms will not start
playing until the first touch event - see Compatibility
for more information.

Play in background
If No, then switching browser tab, minimising the
browser window, switching to a different mobile app,
or otherwise hiding the window will pause the video
and resume it when switching back. This is intended
to avoid annoying the user with continued audio
playback when deciding to do something else, and it
also helps save battery on mobile devices. However
for some types of app it may be desirable to keep
playing in the background, in which case setting to
Yes allows continued playback even when in the
background.

Initial visibility
Whether the video is initially visible or invisible. Note
that if it is invisible, audio playback may still be heard
when playing, so it may be desirable to also mute the
video.

Video conditions
Has ended
True if the video playback has reached the end of the
video and stopped.

Is muted
True if the audio playback from the video has been
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 muted.

Is paused
True if the video playback has been paused.

Is playing
True if the video playback is actively playing.

On playback event
Triggers when a playback event occurs. This can be
one of: Can play: triggered when enough data is
available to play at least a couple of frames, but there
may not be enough data to play through to the end.
Can play through: triggered when the browser
determines that the load progress and transfer rate
are sufficient for playback through to the end without
stalling for buffering. However this is not a guarantee,
since the transfer rate could drop or be cut off
completely. Ended: triggered when playback reaches
the end of the video. Error: triggered if an error
occurs during video loading, decoding or playback.
Started loading: triggered when the browser begins
loading video data. Played: triggered when playback
begins. Paused: triggered upon pausing the video
playback. Stalled: triggered if the video download rate
is too slow to keep up the current playback rate. This
will cause the video to pause while it finishes loading
the rest of the video, also known as buffering.

Video actions
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 Pause
Pause the video playback if it is currently playing.

Play
Start playing the video. On some platforms this can
only happen in a user input event. For more
information, see the section on Compatibility.

Set looping
Set whether the video is looping, so that it restarts
from the beginning when it reaches the end.

Set muted
Set whether the audio playback from the video is
muted (inaudible) or unmuted.

Set playback time

Set the video playback time to a specific time in
seconds (i.e. seek to the given time). Due to the way
video encoding technologies work, the video may
only be able to seek close to but not exactly on the
specified time.

Set source
Set a different video file to play. As with the object
properties, three formats can be specified. Setting the
source does not automatically start playing the video;
use the Play action to start it after changing the
source.

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 Set volume
Set the volume of the audio playback from the video,
in decibels attenuation. 0 is full volume, -10 dB is
approximately half as loud, etc. The audio cannot be
amplified: positive volume values will be treated as 0.

Video expressions
Duration
The video duration in seconds, if the video has
loaded enough for this to be determined.

PlaybackTime
The current playback time in seconds.

Volume
The current audio playback volume in dB attenuation.

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 WEBSOCKET
PLUGIN
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/websocket

The WebSocket plugin is a simple wrapper around the

standardised WebSocket protocol. It allows for low-
overhead bi-directional communication in real-time.
Since WebSockets are standards-based, it should be
compatible with any standards-compliant WebSocket
server.

Using the WebSocket plugin requires a WebSocket

server. Construct 2 does not provide a server nor can
the WebSocket plugin be used to make a server. If you
don't already have a WebSocket server set up, you will
need to create one yourself using a technology like
[Link] with WebSocket support. This can be a
significant undertaking and require server-side
programming knowledge.

Note the WebSocket plugin currently also only supports

text messages, and not binary messages.

WebSockets and multiplayer

games
It may be tempting to use WebSockets to design real-
time multiplayer games. Unfortunately, despite the fact
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 they communicate in real-time, WebSockets are not
currently a suitable choice for this. The underlying
transport uses reliable transmission, meaning a single
dropped packet can hold up all transmission until the
packet is retransmitted successfully. For games with
demanding real-time requirements, this can cause
unplayable levels of latency. It is usually impossible to
design around this without changing the transmission
mode, which WebSockets do not support.

On the other hand, WebSockets should be suitable for

games without such a demanding real-time requirement,
like turn-based games. It should also be useful for
application services, like chat rooms. Note this will still
require you to create your own WebSocket server.

WebSocket properties
The WebSocket object has no properties.

WebSocket conditions
Is connecting
True if currently in the process of establishing a
connection to a server. The connection is not yet
successfully established; there may still be an error.

Is open
True if a connection has been successfully
established and the communication channel is
currently open.
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 Is supported
Use before attempting any connections to verify the
current browser or platform supports WebSockets.

On closed
Triggered when the connection is closed, either
deliberately or due to an error. The CloseCode and
CloseReason expressions can indicate why the
connection was closed.

On error
Triggered when an error occurs in the WebSocket
connection. Use the ErrorMsg expression to get the
error message text.

On opened
Triggered when the connection is successfully
established and the communication channel is now
open.

On message
Triggered when a text message arrives from the
server over an open connection. Use the
MessageText expression to retrieve the content of
the message.

WebSocket actions
Close
Close any active connection. No more messages can
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 be sent or will be received after closing.

Connect
Connect to a WebSocket server. WebSocket server
addresses typically start with ws:// for non-secure
transmission and wss:// for secure transmission.
Note some network configurations may require
secure transmission in order to function correctly.
The Protocol parameter may be optionally set to a
required sub-protocol (sent with the Sec-WebSocket-
Protocol header in the WebSocket handshake). If the
server does not indicate it supports the chosen sub-
protocol, the connection will fail to be established.
This can be used to prevent the client connecting to
WebSocket servers that do not understand your
application's specific messages.

Send text
Send a text string to the server. This is ignored if the
connection is not currently open.

WebSocket expressions
CloseCode
In the On closed trigger, returns the numeric code of
the close reason. This can be one of the standard-
specified return values, or a user-defined value.

CloseReason
In the On closed trigger, returns a string describing
the reason the connection was closed. This is
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 optional and may be empty.

ErrorMsg
In On error, the error message text.

MessageText
In On message, the text content of the message just
received from the server.

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 WEBSTORAGE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/webstorage

Note: as of r206, WebStorage is deprecated in favour of

the new Local Storage plugin. This manual entry
remains for any old projects which are still using
WebStorage, but new projects should use Local
Storage instead.

The WebStorage object can store data locally on the

user's computer between sessions. For example, it can
be used to store the last save checkpoint, and restore
the player's progress if they come back the next day.
(Note: if you want a full-state save and load feature, see
How to make savegames.)

Note that despite the name the WebStorage object does

not use online storage. Since data is stored locally to
the user's computer, it will work when offline, as well as
for storing data in offline exporters such as [Link] or
mobile wrappers like CocoonJS.

WebStorage does not store in the browser cache. If the

user opts to empty the browser cache, WebStorage
data remains intact. However if the user opts to clear all
their cookies or offline website data, WebStorage will be
cleared. This is intentional by the browser makers so
users have a way to free up disk space and prevent
websites storing information about them. This usually
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 has other side-effects like logging the user out of every
website they were previously logged in to. On platforms
that are not a web browser with an address bar (like
Windows 8 apps, Cordova or [Link]) the storage is
permanent and there is no option for the user to clear it.

Storage per domain

The WebStorage object associates all stored data with
the current domain. For example, all games running on
[Link] share the same data, but games running on
[Link] use a different set of data and cannot
access any data saved from [Link].

Most browsers implement a maximum size of the data

that can be stored with WebStorage - 5mb is a common
limit. If you exceed the limit, the WebStorage's On quota
exceeded trigger runs.

Local vs. Session storage

The WebStorage object allows data to be stored in two
places: Local storage and Session storage.

Local storage is permanent (until the user clears their

cache). If the user comes back the next day, local
storage still has the saved data.

Session storage only lasts with the current browser

session. If the user comes back the next day, session
storage is empty again.

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 Using WebStorage
The WebStorage object uses a very simple storage
model: values are stored under named keys, similar to
how the Dictionary object works. For example, the value
100 could be stored for the key score with the action
Set local value "score" to 100. Similarly the value John
can be stored for the key name. Then the expression
[Link]("score") returns "100" (as a
string) and [Link]("name") returns
"John", and these values persist between sessions. (If
session storage was used instead, the values would
only last as long as the browser session.)

Note WebStorage only stores strings. If you set a key to

a number like 100, when you retrieve it back it will be a
string. To convert it back, use the system expression
int, e.g. int([Link]("score")).

WebStorage conditions
Compare key value (as number)
Compare the value of a given key to a number. Since
the WebStorage object only stores values as strings,
this condition will first convert the value to a number,
then compare it. If the key value is not a number, the
condition will always be false.

Compare key value (as text)

Compare the value of a given key to a string. Note
the WebStorage object only stores values as strings,
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 so if a number was previously stored it will have been
converted to a string already.

Local/session key exists

Check whether a value has been saved for a key in
either local or session storage.

On quota exceeded
Most browsers limit the amount of data that can be
stored in WebStorage to about 5mb. If this limit is
exceeded, or the user declines to increase the
storage limit if the browser prompts them, then On
quota exceeded runs. You will not be able to add any
new keys, or set existing keys to longer values, until
you delete some other values or clear the storage
entirely.

WebStorage actions
Clear local/session storage
Reset either local or session storage to empty for this
domain, with no data stored.

Remove local/session value

Delete a key (and its associated value) from local or
session storage. It will no longer exist after this
action.

Set local/session value

Store a value (string or number) for a key in local or
session storage. If the key does not exist it is created,
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 otherwise its value is simply updated.

Load JSON
Load local storage keys and values from JSON data.
The Dictionary object's JSON format is compatible,
so data can be interchanged between Dictionary and
WebStorage, but note WebStorage only stores
strings (so all numbers will be converted to strings
when loading). If Mode is Set, local storage is first
cleared, then the data loaded. If Mode is Merge, the
keys in the JSON data are added or overwritten to
the existing keys in storage.

WebStorage expressions
LocalAt
SessionAt
Return the value at a zero-based index if all the keys
in storage are listed in alphabetical order. Useful for
listing all stored data.

LocalCount
SessionCount
Return the number of keys that exist in storage for
this domain.

LocalKeyAt
SessionKeyAt
Return the key name at a zero-based index if all the
keys in storage are listed in alphabetical order. Useful
for listing all stored data.
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 LocalValue
SessionValue
Retrieve the value stored for a key in storage. If the
key does not exist this returns an empty string.

AsJSON
Return the entire contents of local storage in JSON
format. The result can also be loaded in to the
Dictionary object, but note WebStorage only stores
strings so all result values in the Dictionary object will
also be strings.

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 WINDOWS STORE
OBJECT
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/windows-store

Note: this plugin was formerly named the Windows 8

object.

The Windows Store object provides access to platform-

specific features available when running as a Windows
Store (UWP) app. This is supported by Windows 8 and
newer (including Windows 10). Note these features do
not apply when running from the desktop, even in
Internet Explorer or Edge - they only work in the new
style Windows Store apps that run from the start menu.

Windows Store apps also support touch input, which is

sometimes the only input method available for
Windows-based phones and tablets. To support these
devices be sure to add the Touch object and support
touch controls.

Roaming data
The object's features to use roaming data are designed
to be used the same way as the WebStorage object.
Familiarity with WebStorage will make it easier to use
the roaming data features. The main difference between
WebStorage and roaming data is that in Windows Store
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 apps, roaming data is synced between all the user's
devices.

As with WebStorage, all roaming data values are

strings. You can store numbers in roaming data, but
they are automatically converted to strings. To convert a
string back to a number, use the int() or float() system
expressions.

Test mode
Enabling the Test mode property of the Windows Store
object allows you to test purchases work before
publishing to the Windows Store and without having to
spend any money. However you must turn Test mode
off before submitting to the Windows Store, otherwise
your app will be rejected.

While in test mode, at startup a message will appear

every run reminding you the app is in test mode. The
purchase state is then loaded from
[Link] which you can use to simulate
various states of trial, purchase, item sales, and so on.
The various purchase related conditions, actions and
expressions will then work based on the simulated state.
Note nothing you do in the app will affect the content of
[Link] - it only affects the currently
running session and will reset to the XML's description
on the next run.

About, Support and Privacy

settings
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 By default the Windows Store object adds three options
to the Settings charm: About (for general and version
information), Support (information on where users can
get help for your application), and Privacy (a page
including the privacy policy for your application). These
can be enabled or disabled individually in the Windows
Store object's properties.

It is highly recommended to include all of these settings

if possible, since doing so can help your application be
approved in the Windows Store. In some cases, a
privacy policy is also actually required.

After exporting, your export folder will contain three

HTML files: [Link], [Link] and [Link].
You should edit the content of these files as appropriate
for your application.

Windows Store conditions

Has product
Test if a given product ID (case sensitive) has been
purchased by the current user. This condition is
subject to Test Mode.

Is expired trial
Test if the app is in trial mode, and the trial period has
expired. This condition is subject to Test Mode.

Is licensed
Test if the app has been successfully purchased by
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 the current user and has a valid license. This
condition is subject to Test Mode.

Is trial
Test if the app is in trial mode, and the trial is active
(the trial period has not expired). This condition is
subject to Test Mode.

On failed purchase
Triggered after a purchase attempt is cancelled or
otherwise completes unsuccessfully.

On license changed
Triggered when the license state of the app has
changed, such as going from trial to licensed, or trial
to expired trial. This condition is subject to Test
Mode.

On store listing received

Triggered after the Request store listing action has
completed. The store listing expressions can then be
used.

On successful purchase
Triggered after a purchase attempt completes
successfully. Either the app or a new product is now
owned by the user.

On data changed
Triggered when the roaming data has been updated
with data from another device. Typically this happens
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 when saving roaming data on one device, then the
user switches to another device, and runs the same
app again. There may be a delay before roaming data
syncs up, and when it is ready this trigger fires.

Roaming key exists

True if a given key name exists in roaming storage.

On share
Triggered when the user activates the Share charm.
In order to specify what to share, use one of the
sharing actions in this trigger.

Is Windows 8 app
True if currently running specifically as a Windows 8
app, otherwise false. Note this condition tests
specifically Windows 8 - it is not true on Windows 10,
even though it supports Windows Store apps. You
may prefer to use the Is Windows Store app
condition instead.

Is Windows Store app

True if currently running as a Windows Store app on
any version of Windows that supports Store apps
(8/8.1/10+). If false, none of the object's Windows-
specific features will work.

Windows Store actions

Set live tile text
Change the app's tile in the start menu to display
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 some text. A pre-defined template must be chosen to
determine the layout. For previews, see the tile
template catalog on MSDN. Note that using the wide
templates requires that your app already be using a
wide tile; setting a live tile text to a template which is a
different size to your app's current tile will not work.

Open Windows Store

Open the Windows Store to a specific page: the
listing page for the current app, the page for the
publisher of the current app, or a page where the
user can submit a review of the app. These may not
work until the app is published to the Windows Store.

Purchase app
Prompt the user to purchase the app. You should
only use this action when the user expects it, such as
when they pressed a 'Purchase' button. If the
purchase is successful, On successful purchase and
On license changed are triggered. Otherwise On
failed purchase is triggered. This action is subject to
Test Mode.

Purchase product
Prompt the user to purchase a specific product ID
(case sensitive). You should only use this action
when the user expects it, such as when they pressed
a 'Purchase' button. If successful, On successful
purchase triggers; otherwise On failed purchase
triggers. This action is subject to Test Mode.

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 Request store listing
Request details about items available for purchase
with this app. When the details are received, On
store listing received triggers and the store listing
expressions can be used.

Clear roaming data

Remove all keys from roaming data, reverting it to an
empty state.

Remove roaming value

Remove a specific key from roaming data.

Set roaming value

Store a key and an associated value in roaming data.
If it does not exist, it is created. If it already exists, its
value is overwritten. Values are always stored as
strings. You can use a number for the value, but it will
be converted to a string before being stored, and will
be returned by the object as a string.

Fail share
Only valid in an On share event. Use this action to
indicate sharing failed or is currently unavailable.

Share data URI

Only valid in an On share event. Use this action to
share an image encoded as a data URI from the
application. This is most useful with the Snapshot
canvas system action, which returns a screenshot of
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 the game as a data URI.

Share HTML
Only valid in an On share event. Use this action to
share some HTML formatted text from the
application.

Share link
Only valid in an On share event. Use this action to
share a link, such as the address of your website,
from the application.

Share sprite image

Only valid in an On share event. Use this action to
share an image from the application, using a Sprite
object's current image as the image to share.

Share text
Only valid in an On share event. Use this action to
share some plain text from the application.

Show share UI
Bring up the Windows 8 Share UI automatically. Note
this was removed in Windows 10. Be sure to use this
with care in a way that will not offend or come across
as obnoxious to your users. For example a sensible
use is a custom Share button in your application
which brings up the Share UI. This action only works
when your app is in the foreground.

Set back button visible

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 Show or hide an optional "Back" button in the caption
of a restored Windows 10 app on desktop. This has
no effect on mobile. When the "Back" button in the
caption is clicked, it will fire the Browser object's On
back button trigger.

Windows Store expressions

TrialTimeLeft
If in trial mode, returns the number of seconds in the
trial period remaining. If not in a time-limited trial
mode the returned value will be meaningless (such
as a very large number to represent an indefinite trial
time). This expression is subject to Test Mode.

RoamingValue(key)
Retrieve a value from roaming storage associated
with the given key. If the key does not exist, an empty
string is returned. Note all values are returned as
strings, even if they were originally passed as
numbers.

AppFormattedPrice
After On store listing received triggers, returns the
price and currency of the app formatted for the user's
region.

ProductFormattedPrice
After On store listing received triggers, returns the
price and currency of a product ID formatted for the
user's region.
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 ProductName
After On store listing received triggers, returns the
user-friendly name of a product from its ID.

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 XML PLUGIN
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/plugin-reference/xml

The XML plugin can parse and read data from XML
documents. It uses XPath to access the XML
document. XPath is a kind of query language for XML,
similar to how SQL is a query language for databases.
To learn more about XPath, see the following links:

W3Schools XPath tutorial

Some XPath examples

Another XPath tutorial with examples

Currently the XML plugin is read-only. You can read

data but not change any values in the XML document.

For features in common to other plugins, see common

features.

Loading an XML document

XML must be loaded as a string with the Load action. If
you have a small snippet of XML, you can paste it
directly in to the action parameter. However, it's
recommended to request an XML file from a server
using the AJAX object. When the AJAX request
completes, pass [Link] in to the Load action.
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 Now you can start reading the data that was received.

Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer does not support XPath queries that
return a number, e.g. count(...). In this case you can
use the NodeCount expression instead. Be sure to test
your project works in a range of browsers, which is a
best practice anyway. All other browsers have fully
standards-compliant XPath support.

XML conditions
For each node
Repeat the event once for each node returned by an
XPath query. Typically this will be used with a query
that returns multiple nodes, e.g. "/bookstore/book" to
select all "book" nodes under "bookstore". In the For
each node event, the current node is set to the one
currently being iterated. This means relative XPaths,
like "title/text()", work relative to the current node (in
this case returning the text of the child "title" tag). For
each node can also be nested, so you can iterate
another list relative to the current node.

XML actions
Load
Load an XML document from a string. See 'Loading
an XML document' above.

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 XML expressions
NodeCount
Return the number of nodes returned by an XPath
expression. For example, this can count the number
of elements with a given name. In a For each node
event, the XPath is relative to the current node.

NumberValue
Return a number from an XPath expression. If
multiple values are returned, only the first value is
retrieved. In a For each node event, the XPath is
relative to the current node.

StringValue
Return a string from an XPath expression. If multiple
values are returned, only the first value is retrieved.
In a For each node event, the XPath is relative to the
current node.

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 SYSTEM OBJECT
REFERENCE
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/system-object-reference

The System object is the only object built in to Construct

2. It provides features to access the game engine, and
utilities that are useful for most games. For more
information on the System object see Project Structure
from the Overview section.

System conditions
System actions
System expressions

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 SYSTEM
CONDITIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/system-object-reference/system-
conditions

This section describes all the conditions in the built-in

System object in Construct 2. They are listed in the
order they appear in the Add Condition dialog.

Angles
Note angles in Construct 2 start with 0 degrees facing
right and increment clockwise.

Is between angles
True if a given angle is between the two other angles
in degrees. The first and second angles must be in
clockwise order. That is, X is between 0 and 45
degrees is true if the angle X is in a 45 degree area,
but X is between 45 and 0 degrees is true if X is in
the 315 degree area from 45 degrees through 0
degrees. The first angle is inclusive, but the second
angle is exclusive, to ensure adjacent ranges are
handled correctly.

Is clockwise from
True if a given angle is clockwise from another angle
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 in degrees, or in other words, if it is 180 degrees or
less in a clockwise direction from Angle 2 to Angle 1.
Invert to test if anticlockwise instead. For example, 45
degrees is clockwise from 0 degrees, but 0 degrees
is anticlockwise from 45 degrees. Angle 1 is the
angle to test, and Angle 2 is the reference angle to
test whether Angle 1 is clockwise from.

Is within angle
True if an angle is within a number of degrees of
another angle. This is more reliable than testing if an
angle exactly equals an angle, e.g. X within 0.5
degrees of 90 degrees is probably better than X
equals 90 degrees, since there are many cases an
angle can be very close to, but not exactly, 90
degrees.

General
Compare two values
Compare any two expressions (which can either
numbers or text) with each other. They can be
compared as Equal, Not equal, Less, Less or equal,
Greater or Greater or equal.

Every tick
A condition which is always true. Used on its own,
this has the same effect as running every time it is
checked, which is once per tick, hence the name
"Every tick". This is about 60 times a second on most
computers; see how events work for more
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 information. Adding Every tick to an event with other
conditions is redundant and has no effect at all.

Is between values
Test if a number is between two values (greater or
equal to a lower value and less or equal to a higher
value).

Is group active
Test if a group of events is active or inactive. The
name of the group is used to identify it.

Is number NaN
Test if a number is equal to NaN (Not A Number), a
special value returned by calculations which cannot
be represented as a real number, such as the square
root of -1.

Is value type
Check if a value is a number or a string.

Object UID exists

Test if an object exists with the given Unique ID
(UID). For more information on UIDs, see common
features.

Test regex
Test if a given string matches a regular expression
with flags. This only returns a true or false result, so
to make more advanced use of regular expressions,
see the Regex... system expressions.
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 Global & local variables
Compare variable
Compare the value of a event variable (a global
variable or local variable in scope). Event variables
can store both numbers and text. The comparison
can be made Equal, Not equal, Less, Less or equal,
Greater or Greater or equal.

Layers & Layout

Compare opacity
Compare the opacity (or semitransparency) of a
layer, from 0 (transparent) to 100 (opaque). A layer's
opacity cannot be outside this range.

Effects are supported

True if WebGL support is available so effects can be
displayed. For more information, see Effects.

Layer is empty
Test if a layer currently has zero instances on it. This
counts any objects anywhere at all on the layer, so
even one instance far outside the viewport will make
this condition false.

Layer is visible
Test if a layer is currently visible or not.

On canvas snapshot
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 Triggered after the Snapshot canvas system action,
when the snapshot is ready. It can then be accessed
with the CanvasSnapshot system expression.

Loops
Loops can be stopped with the Stop Loop system
action.

For
Repeat the event a number of times, using an index
variable over a range of values. The index can be
retrieved with the LoopIndex system expression and
passing the name of the loop.

For Each
For Each (ordered)
Repeat the event once per picked instance. This only
repeats for instances that have been picked by prior
conditions. See how events work for more
information on picking. For Each is commonly mis-
used or used redundantly - actions already apply for
each instance picked by conditions, so it often is
simply not needed. However, if you fully understand
how the event system works, it can be used to force
the event to apply once per instance where the event
system would not normally do that. The 'ordered'
variant allows the order that the instances are iterated
in to be defined by an expression. For example,
ordering by Sprite.Y ascending will iterate the top
instances on the screen first, moving downwards.
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 Repeat
Simply repeat the event a given number of times.
This tests any conditions following it on every repeat,
and if those conditions are met also runs the actions
and any sub-events on every repeat.

While
Repeat the event until one of the other conditions in
the event becomes false or a Stop loop action is
used. Be careful not to create infinite loops which will
cause the game to hang.

Pick instances
Pick all
Reset the picked objects back to all of them.
Subsequent conditions will pick from all instances
again instead of filtering from only those meeting all
the conditions so far. See How events work for more
information on how instances are picked in events.
Useful in subevents to start affecting different
instances again.

Pick by comparison
Pick the individual instances of an object type that
meet a comparison. For example, it is possible to pick
all instances where Object.X [] 2 is less than
Object.Y + 100, which is not possible with either the
Compare X or Compare Y* conditions.

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 Pick by evaluate
Pick the individual instances of an object type where
the expression evaluates to a nonzero value. In other
words, for each instance if the expression is 0, it is
not picked, else it is picked. This is most useful with
the comparison and logical operators (see
Expressions). For example, it's possible to pick
instances using the following expression (where &
means "and" and | means "or"): (Object.X > 100 &
Object.Y > 100) | (Object.X < -100 & Object.Y < -
100)

Pick Nth instance

Pick the instance at a given place in the internal list
of picked objects. This is most useful used in sub-
events to act on separate instances. For example, in
a "Sprite collided with Sprite" event, Pick 0th
instance and Pick 1st instance can be used to act on
each instance involved in the collision separately. If
all objects are currently picked, this condition can
also be used to pick an object by its index ID (IID).
For more information, see common features.

Pick overlapping point

Pick all instances of a given object type that are
overlapping a point in the layout. The given X and Y
position in the layout will be tested against the
instance's collision polygons.

Pick random instance

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 Pick a random instance from the currently picked
objects. In other words, if Pick random instance
follows another condition, it will pick a random
instance from the instances meeting the prior
condition. Otherwise it picks a random instance from
all the instances.

Special conditions
Else
Run if the previous event did not run. Note that this
condition does not pick any objects: if it follows an
event that picks objects, in the Else event all
instances revert to picked again. Else can only follow
normal (non-triggered) events. It can also follow
another Else event with other conditions to make an
"if - else if - else" chain.

Is in preview
True when running the project from a preview in
Construct 2, and false when running after being
exported. Useful to add debug or diagnostic features
for previewing only.

Is on mobile device
Tries to detect whether the current device viewing the
project is a mobile (e.g. phone or tablet). It is difficult
to accurately detect this so detection may not be
perfect: there may be some mobile systems for which
Is on mobile is not true, and (although less likely)
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 desktop systems for which Is on mobile returns true.
The condition always returns true when packaged via
the PhoneGap/Intel XDK/CocoonJS containers, and
always returns true for iOS, Android, Blackberry 10,
Windows Phone and Tizen based devices. Beyond
that Construct 2 will test a few other common mobile
manufacturers. Otherwise, it will return true if the
current system is not a desktop system, since there
are relatively few desktop OSs; the desktop systems
it checks for are Windows, Linux, OS 9, OS X,
Solaris and BSD.

Is on platform
Test if currently running on a given platform, such as
Android or as a Windows 8 app. Note it's possible
multiple options can be true simultaneously. For
example, if running in a browser on Android, both Is
on platform Android and Is on platform HTML5
website will be true.

Trigger once while true

Turn an ordinary event (which is tested every tick) in
to a trigger. For example, if an event plays a sound
when lives equals 0, normally this event runs every
tick. This plays about 60 sounds a second and would
sound pretty bad. Adding Trigger once while true
after the other conditions makes the event run just
once when it first becomes true. This makes the
previous example only play a sound once the first
time your lives reaches 0. It must be the last
condition in an event.
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 Save & Load
On load complete
Triggered after the Load system action successfully
completes. For more information, see How to make
savegames.

On load failed
Triggered after the Load system action fails to
complete, usually because the slot has not been
saved to yet. For more information, see How to make
savegames.

On save complete
Triggered after the Save system action successfully
completes. For more information, see How to make
savegames.

On save failed
Triggered if the Save system action fails to complete.
This can occur if the browser has reached the limit of
its storage quota, or the user has withdrawn
permission for the page or app to write to storage.

Start & end

On end of layout
Triggered when the layout is ending. This can
happen when the project goes to a different layout or
when the project closes.
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 On start of layout
Triggered when the layout begins.

On loader layout complete

Triggered on a loader layout when the progress
reaches 100%. For more information see How to use
loader layouts to make custom loading screens.

Time
Compare time
Compare the time, in seconds, since the game
began. For example, events can be set up to run
when the time reaches (equals) 10 seconds.

Every X seconds
Run the event regularly at a given time interval in
seconds. This can also be used beneath other
conditions to only run the event at a given time
interval while the other conditions are true, e.g.
"Player is holding spacebar AND every 0.5 seconds:
fire laser".

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 SYSTEM ACTIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/system-object-reference/system-actions

This section describes all the actions in the built-in

System object in Construct 2. They are listed in the
order they appear in the Add Action dialog.

Display
Set canvas size
Set the size of the canvas area in the page, if
appearing inline to the page (i.e. a fullscreen mode is
not used). If a fullscreen mode is in use, this
effectively changes the size of the Window size
project property, which adjusts the size of the
viewport.

Set fullscreen scaling

Set the Fullscreen scaling project property. This
allows the quality setting to be adjusted at runtime.

Set pixel rounding

Set the Pixel rounding project property at runtime.

Snapshot canvas
Take a screenshot of the current display. This
triggers On canvas snapshot when the snapshot is
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 ready, and the resulting image can be accessed with
the CanvasSnapshot system expression. This can
then be loaded in to a sprite or tiled background, sent
to a server, or opened with the Browser object in a
new tab.

General
Create object
Create a new instance of an object type on a layer at
a given position. If a Family is chosen, a random
object type from the family is picked, and an instance
created for that.

Go to layout
Go to layout (by name)
Switch to another layout in the project. Note that
global variables keep their current value - they are
not reset. To reset them use the system action Reset
global variables.

Go to next/previous layout
Switch to the next or previous layout in the project.
The order as they appear in the Project Bar is used,
where layouts at the top are first and layouts at the
bottom are last. If on the first layout, trying to go to
the previous layout does nothing, and if on the last
layout, trying to go to the next layout does nothing.
Note that global variables keep their current value -
they are not reset. To reset them use the system
action Reset global variables.
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 Restart layout
Restart the current layout. Note that unlike Go to
layout, this action resets all event groups to their
initial activation state. Global variables keep their
current value - they are not reset. To reset them use
the system action Reset global variables.

Set group active

Set an event group active or inactive. None of the
events in an inactive group run until it is activated
again. The event group is identified by its name.

Sort Z order
Sort the Z order of instances of a given object
according to an instance variable. This effectively
removes all instances from their Z order, sorts them,
then inserts the sorted sequence back in to the holes
left behind. This means if the instances are spread
across a range of layers, they will be sorted in the
same Z order locations, maintaining the same order
relative to other instances on those layers. Note this
action is much faster than using an ordered For each
with an action like Send to front/back, so this action
should be the preferred way to sort the Z order of
large numbers of instances.

Stop loop
Stop a Repeat, For or For each loop currently
running. These loops are system conditions. The rest
of the event's actions and subevents will still
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 complete, but the loop will not run any further after
that.

Global & local variables

Add to
Subtract from
Set value
Alter the value stored by a global or local variable.

Reset global variables

Reset all the global variables in the project to their
initial value.

Layers & Layout

For more information about the effect actions, see
Effects.

Recreate initial objects

Recreate the objects in a rectangular area of the
layout as they appear in the Layout View. In other
words, this restores a section of the initial level
design. Note that this does not destroy any existing
objects, so if used repeatedly will create multiple
objects sitting on top of each other. Only objects of
the given type are created, or alternatively a family
can be passed and all objects belonging to that family
are recreated.

Reset persisted objects

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 Across the entire project, reset all objects using the
Persist behavior to their initial state (as if the layout
has not been visited yet). This is useful when
restarting a new game from the beginning again.

Set layer angle

Rotate an entire layer by a number of degrees.

Set layer background color

Set the background color of a layer. Note if the layer
is transparent, setting the background won't change
the appearance unless you also make the layer
opaque.

Set layer blend mode

Set the blend mode of a layer. See the Effects
section for a description of the available blend modes.

Set layer effect enabled

Enable or disable one of the effects added to a layer
on the current layout. This action cannot be used to
alter layers from other layouts.

Set layer force own texture

Change a layer's Force own texture property at
runtime. For more information see the property in the
Layers manual entry.

Set layer effect parameter

Change the value of one of the parameters for an
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 effect added to a layer on the current layout. This
action cannot be used to alter layers from other
layouts. The parameter to change is specified by its
zero-based index, i.e. 0 to change the first parameter,
1 to change the second parameter, and so on.

Set layer opacity

Set the opacity (or semitransparency) of an entire
layer.

Set layer parallax

Set the horizontal and vertical parallax rates of a
layer.

Set layer scale

Set the scale (or zoom) of an entire layer, taking in to
account its scale rate property.

Set layer scale rate

Set the scale rate property of a layer, which affects
how quickly it scales (if at all).

Set layer transparent

Set the transparent property of a layer. If transparent,
the background color is ignored and other layers can
appear beneath it.

Set layer visible

Show or hide an entire layer.

Set layout angle

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 Rotate an entire layout by a number of degrees. This
rotates all the layers in the layout.

Set layout effect enabled

Enable or disable one of the effects added to the
current layout. This action cannot be used to alter
other layouts.

Set layout effect parameter

Change the value of one of the parameters for an
effect added to the current layout. This action cannot
be used to alter other layouts. The parameter to
change is specified by its zero-based index, i.e. 0 to
change the first parameter, 1 to change the second
parameter, and so on.

Set layout scale

Set the scale (or zoom) of an entire layout. This
scales all the layers in the layout, taking in to account
their scale rate property.

Save & Load

Load
Load the state of the game from a save slot. When
done, triggers On load complete, or On load failed if
the save slot has not been saved to before. For more
information see How to make savegames.

Load from JSON

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 Load the state of the game from a string of JSON
data previously returned by the SaveStateJSON
system expression. For more information see How to
make savegames.

Save
Save the state of the game to a save slot. When
done, triggers On save complete. For more
information see How to make savegames.

Scrolling
To scroll, the size of the layout must be bigger than the
size of the window, or the layout's Unbounded scrolling
property must be set to Yes. Otherwise there is nowhere
to scroll to and scrolling will have no effect.

Scroll to object
Center the view on a given object. This scrolls all
layers taking in to account their parallax property.

Scroll to position
Scroll to X
Scroll to Y
Set the X and Y positions to center the view on. This
scrolls all layers taking in to account their parallax
property.

Time
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 Set time scale
Change the rate time passes at in the game. Useful
for slow-motion or pausing effects. See the tutorial on
Delta-time and framerate independence for more
information.

Set object time scale

Restore object time scale
Change the rate time passes for a specific object.
This affects the object's behaviors and its own dt
expression. Restoring the object's time scale returns
it to the same time scale the rest of the game is
using. See the tutorial on Delta-time and framerate
independence for more information.

Set minimum framerate

Set the maximum delta-time (dt) value based on a
framerate. The default minimum framerate is 30 FPS,
meaning the maximum dt is 1 / 30 (= 33ms). If the
framerate drops below 30 FPS, dt will still not exceed
1/30. This has the effect of the game going in to slow
motion as it drops below the minimum framerate,
rather than objects stepping further every frame to
keep up the same real-world speed. This helps avoid
skipped collisions due to stepping a very large
distance every frame.

Signal
Resume any events paused with a Wait for signal
action with the given tag.
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 Wait
Wait a number of seconds before continuing on to
the next action or sub-events. Other events continue
to run in the meantime. See also the tutorial on How
to use the System 'Wait' actions.

Wait for signal

Wait indefinitely until the Signal action is used with
the same tag. Other events continue to run in the
meantime. See also the tutorial on How to use the
System 'Wait' actions.

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 SYSTEM
EXPRESSIONS
View online: [Link]
2/manuals/construct-2/system-object-reference/system-
expressions

This section outlines the expressions in the built-in

System object in Construct 2. Many are common
mathematical operators, and they can be listed with
descriptions in the Expressions panel, but they are
included here for completeness.

This section does not list the operators or syntax that

can be used in expressions - just the expressions
specific to the System object. For more general
information on how to use expressions in Construct 2,
see Expressions.

Display
OriginalWindowWidth
OriginalWindowHeight
Get the original values of the Window size project
property.

WindowWidth
WindowHeight
Get the size of the canvas being displayed in device
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 pixels. Note this is not the same as the viewport; see
the ViewportLeft/Top/Right/Bottom expressions. See
also Supporting multiple screen sizes. #Layers# In
expressions where a layer is required, either its name
(as a string) or index (as a number, zero-based) can
be entered.

CanvasToLayerX(layer, x, y)
CanvasToLayerY(layer, x, y)
Calculate the layout co-ordinates underneath a
position in canvas co-ordinates for a given layer.

LayerToCanvasX(layer, x, y)
LayerToCanvasY(layer, x, y)
Calculate the canvas co-ordinates above a position in
layout co-ordinates for a given layer.

LayerAngle(layer)
Get the angle, in degrees, of a layer.

LayerIndex(layer)
Get the zero-based index of a layer from its name.

LayerOpacity(layer)
Get the opacity (or semitransparency) of a layer, from
0 (transparent) to 100 (opaque).

LayerParallaxX(layer)
LayerParallaxY(layer)
Get the current parallax X and Y components of a
layer.
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 LayerScale(layer)
Get the current scale of the layer, not including the
overall layout scale.

LayerScaleRate(layer)
Get the current scale rate of the layer, which defines
how quickly it scales (if at all).

ViewportBottom(layer)
ViewportLeft(layer)
ViewportRight(layer)
ViewportTop(layer)
Return the viewport boundaries in layout co-ordinates
of a given layer. Not all layers have the same
viewport if they are parallaxed, scaled or rotated
separately.

Layout
CanvasSnapshot
Contains the resulting image from a Snapshot
canvas action after On canvas snapshot has run.
(Note this expression is not available immediately
after the Snapshot canvas action - you can only use
it after On canvas snapshot triggers.) The expression
returns a data URI of the image file. This can be
loaded in to a Sprite or Tiled Background object via
Load image from URL, sent to a server or stored
locally, or opened with the Browser object in a new
tab to save to disk.
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 LayoutAngle
Get the angle, in degrees, of the current layout. This
does not include the rotation of individual layers.

LayoutScale
Get the current scale of the entire layout set by the
Set layout scale action. This does not include the
scaling of individual layers.

LayoutWidth
LayoutHeight
Get the size of the current layout in pixels.

LayoutName
Get the name of the current layout.

scrollx
scrolly
Get the current position the view is centered on.

Math
These expressions are simply ordinary math functions
like you find on calculators. However, note that all
functions using an angle take it in degrees, not radians.
Angles start with 0 degrees facing right and increment
clockwise.

sin(x)
, cos(x) , tan(x) , asin(x) , acos(x) , atan(x)
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 Trigonometric functions using angles in degrees.

abs(x)
Absolute value of x e.g. abs(-5) = 5

angle(x1, y1, x2, y2)

Calculate angle between two points

anglelerp(a, b, x)
Linearly interpolate the angle a to b by x. Unlike the
standard lerp, this takes in to account the cyclical
nature of angles.

anglediff(a1, a2)
Return the smallest difference between two angles

anglerotate(start, end, step)

Rotate angle start towards end by the angle step, all
in degrees. If start is less than step degrees away
from end, it returns end.

ceil(x)
Round up x e.g. ceil(5.1) = 6

cosp(a, b, x)
Cosine interpolation of a to b by x. Calculates (a + b
+ (a - b) [] cos(x [] 180°)) / 2.

cubic(a, b, c, d, x)
Cubic interpolation through a, b, c and d by x.
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 Calculates lerp(qarp(a, b, c, x), qarp(b, c, d, x), x).

distance(x1, y1, x2, y2)

Calculate distance between two points

exp(x)
Calculate e^x

floor(x)
Round down x e.g. floor(5.9) = 5

infinity
A floating point number value representing infinity.

lerp(a, b, x)
Linear interpolation of a to b by x. Calculates a + x [*]
(b - a).

unlerp(a, b, y)
Reverse linear interpolation: if lerp(a, b, x) = y, then
unlerp(a, b, y) = x. Calculates (y - a) / (b - a).

ln(x)
Log to base e of x.

log10(x)
Log to base 10 of x.

max(a, b [, c...])
, min(a, b [, c...]) Calculate maximum or minimum of
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 the given numbers. Any number of parameters can
be used as long as there are at least two.

pi
The mathematical constant pi (3.14159...)

qarp(a, b, c, x)
Quadratic interpolation through a, b and c by x.
Calculates lerp(lerp(a, b, x), lerp(b, c, x), x).

round(x)
Round x to the nearest whole number e.g. round(5.6)
=6

sqrt(x)
Calculate square root of x e.g. sqrt(25) = 5

getbit(x, n)
Get the nth bit of x represented as a 32-bit integer.
For example getbit(7, 0) will get the least significant
bit of the number 7 when represented as a 32-bit
integer. Returns either 0 or 1.

setbit(x, n, b)
Set the nth bit of x represented as a 32-bit integer to
b (either 0 or 1). The resulting 32-bit integer is
returned.

togglebit(x, n)
Toggle the nth bit of x represented as a 32-bit integer.
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 If that bit is 0, it is set to 1; if it is 1, it is set to 0. The
resulting 32-bit integer is returned.

Save & Load

SaveStateJSON
In On save complete or On load complete, returns a
string of JSON data representing the savegame data.
This can later be loaded using the Load from JSON
action. For more information see How to make
savegames.

System
ImageMemoryUsage
Returns the estimated total memory usage, in
megabytes, of all the currently-loaded images. Only
supported in the WebGL renderer; if canvas2D
rendering is in use, the expression always returns 0.
Note image memory is sometimes also referred to as
"VRAM", but this is not strictly correct since not all
devices have video-specific memory. Also remember
this expression does not include the memory use of
sounds, code, or other non-image resources.

loadingprogress
Return the current load progress on a loader layout,
or the current update progress while the Browser
object's Is downloading update condition is true. The
progress is returned as a number from 0 to 1, e.g. 0.5
for half complete. For more information, see the
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 tutorials how to make a custom loading screen and
offline games in Construct 2.

loopindex
Get the index (number of repeats so far) in any
currently running loop.

loopindex(name)
Get the index (number of repeats so far) of the loop
with the given name. Useful for getting indices in
nested loops.

objectcount
The total number of objects currently created.

projectname
Return the name of the project as it appears in
Project Properties.

projectversion
Return the version entered in to Project Properties.
Note that this is always returned as a string, not a
number.

renderer
The name of the renderer used to draw the game,
currently either canvas2d or webgl. See Technology
for more information on canvas renderers.

rendererDetail
The name of the graphics hardware in use to draw
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 the game, such as "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660" or
"Adreno 330". This is only available in WebGL mode
in certain browsers and platforms; unsupported
browsers/systems will return "(unavailable)". Projects
should not rely on this string having any exact
contents, but it can be useful to diagnose which GPU
is in use in dual-GPU systems, or to look for
keywords and apply default graphics settings based
on the type of hardware.

Text
find(src, text)
findCase(src, text)
Find the first index within src that text occurs, else
returns -1. find is case-insensitive, and findCase is
case-sensitive.

left(text, count)
Return the first count characters of text.

len(text)
Return the number of characters in text.

lowercase(text)
Convert the given text to all lowercase.

mid(text, index, count)

Return the count characters starting from index in
text.
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 newline
A string containing a line break. Use to insert line
breaks in to strings, e.g. "Hello" & newline & "World"

RegexMatchAt(String, Regex, Flags, Index)

Process the regular expression Regex on String with
Flags, and in the list of results, return the entry at
Index.

RegexMatchCount(String, Regex, Flags)

Process the regular expression Regex on String with
Flags, and return the number of entries in the list of
results.

RegexReplace(String, Regex, Flags, Replace)

In String substitute matches for the regular
expression Regex (with Flags) with the string
Replace. The replacement string can contain the
following special characters: $$ (inserts a $), $&
(inserts the matched substring), $` (inserts the
portion of the string that precedes the matched
substring), or $' (inserts the portion of the string that
follows the matched substring).

RegexSearch(String, Regex, Flags)

Return the index of the first character in String where
a match for Regex with Flags could be found.

replace(src, find, rep)

Find all occurrences of find in src and replace them
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 with rep.

right(text, count)
Return the last count characters of text.

tokenat(src, index, separator)

Return the Nth token from src, splitting the string by
separator. For example,
tokenat("apples|oranges|bananas", 1, "|") returns
oranges.

tokencount(src, separator)
Count how many tokens occur in src using
separator. For example,
tokencount("apples|oranges|bananas", "|") returns
3.

trim(src)
Return src with all whitespace (spaces, tabs etc.)
removed from the beginning and end of the string.

uppercase(text)
Convert the given text to all uppercase.

URLEncode(str)
URLDecode(str)
Convert to and from a string in a format suitable for
including in a URL or POST data.

zeropad(number, digits)
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 Pad number out to a certain number of digits by
adding zeroes in front of the number, then returning
the result as a string. For example, zeropad(45, 5)
returns the string "00045".

Time
CPUUtilisation
The percentage of the last second that was spent in
the application logic. This is for advanced users to
make performance measurements. Note on
hardware-accelerated devices the rendering happens
on the separate GPU and therefore this
measurement cannot tell you anything about how fast
or slow the rendering is; for that fps is a better
measure. Also note this measurement is based on
timers so should be treated as an approximation, and
it only measures the main Javascript thread time.

dt
Delta-time in seconds. See Delta-time and framerate
independence.

fps
The current frames per second (FPS) rate, which is
how many times the screen is being drawn every
second. Most computers run at 60 fps if they are fast
enough.

tickcount
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 The number of ticks that have run since the game
started.

time
The number of seconds since the game started,
taking in to account the time scale.

timescale
The current time scale.

wallclocktime
The number of seconds since the game started, not
taking in to account the time scale (i.e. the real-world
time).

Values
choose(a, b [, c...])
Choose one of the given parameters at random. E.g.
choose(1, 3, 9, 20) randomly picks one of the four
numbers and returns that. This also works with
strings, e.g. choose("Hello", "Hi") returns either Hello
or Hi. Any number of parameters can be used as
long as there are at least two.

clamp(x, lower, upper)

Return lower if x is less than lower, upper if x is
greater than upper, else return x.

float(x)
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 Convert the integer or text x to a float (fractional
number). If x is text, non-numeric characters are
allowed after the number, but not before. For example
float("3.1xx") returns 3.1, but float("xx3.1") returns 0.

int(x)
Convert the float or text x to an integer (whole
number). If x is text, non-numeric characters are
allowed after the number, but not before. For example
int("33xx") returns 33, but int("xx33") returns 0.

random(x)
Generate a random float from 0 to x, not including x.
E.g. random(4) can generate 0, 2.5, 3.29293, but not
4. Use floor(random(4)) to generate just the whole
numbers 0, 1, 2, 3.

random(a, b)
Generate a random float between a and b, including
a but not including b.

rgb(r, g, b)
Generate a single number containing a color in RGB
format. This is useful for conditions or actions taking
a color parameter.

str(x)
Convert the integer or float x to a string. Generally
not necessary since strings can be built using the &
operator, e.g. "Your score is " & score
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