arrow key movement and gravity as2-->as3

[tariqm]

I do something like this.

var movingLeft:Boolean = false;

stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN, keyDown);
stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP, keyUp);

//will cause the function enterFrameHandler to be fired every frame
stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, enterFrameHandler);

//will execute when any key in pushed down
function keyDown(e:KeyboardEvent):void {
if(e.keyCode == 37) {
   movingLeft = true;
}
}

//will execute when any key is let go, up
function keyUp(e:KeyboardEvent):void {
if(e.keyCode == 37) {
   movingLeft = false;
}
}

//is executed every frame
function enterFrameHandler(event:Event):void{
  if(movingLeft == true){
     object.x -= 10;
  }
   //I usually check if the object at object.y + 10 has collided with a tile
   //before moving the object down.
   object.y += 10;
}

By doing the above the you get a smooth transition each frame based on user interaction.
Above code wasn't tested.