thanks Taco, i had noticed it in the flash help just before you replied yesterday.
what i'm attempting to do now is:
1. have 2 buttons - one to zoom in, one to zoom out
2. user click the zoom in button, they click on screen and it zooms in
3. user clicks the zoom out button, they click on screen and it zooms out

i have got it so you click on the zoom in button, but i cannot figure out how to then have it so you click a button and then click and it zooms out, i think it may be an if function but i am unsure how to use an if function to find out which button has been pressed?
any help
thanks
Dan