Scratch Interface
Scratch Interface:
The Scratch user interface is the area on your screen where the Scratch program exists.
The screen is divided into multiple sections or “panes” which have different functions from picking blocks to code with, to coding, to seeing your code in action.
- There are four main elements of Scratch: the stage, the sprites, the script and the programming palette.
Block Palette:
The block palette is where the different script blocks are located. The different type of script blocks include: motion, control, looks, sensing, sound, operators, pen, variables. This website will go into greater detail for each function as you progress. The purpose of this section is to just give you a rough idea of each script type.
Motion – controls the up, down, left, right, and rotation movement of the sprites.
Looks – affects the appearance of your sprite such as color and costume.
Sound – control sounds, pitches, and volume.
Events – tell Scratch when to start running the program by setting a triggering moment, such as clicking the green flag.
Control – allows you to specify things such as what starts and stops your sprites, how you can move the object, conditional operators such as if/then and repetition.
Sensing – controls to sense if your sprite is touching the edge, another color, another sprite, at a specific X or Y coordinate, the sound volume, etc.
Operators – Logic operators including tools to perform match functions, select a random number, greater than, less than, equal to, etc.
Variables – create variables to hold numbers or text.
My Blocks- My blocks allow you to create new blocks for a sprite.
Code Area: The Code Area (previously known as the Scripts Area in older versions of Scratch) is where you make your programs, by joining instruction blocks together. When you join blocks together, the result is called a script. The Code Area expands to fill the screen space available, so if you use a larger monitor, the Code Area will be bigger.
Scripts Pane: The script area is where you will drag your script blocks. The script blocks snap together like Lego blocks to define the actions of your sprite. This website will go into greater detail of the scripts in a later section.
Costume Pane: The costume pane is where you can load the costumes for your sprite. You would use costumes to animate or change the appearance of the sprite in your game or story. You can create a new costume with the built-in paint utility, import an existing costume, or use your computer’s camera to take a picture and use it as a costume. On the costume list, you can copy, edit, rename, and delete the costumes. You can also reorder the costumes by dragging them into your desired order.
Sounds Pane: The sounds pane is where you can record or import sounds for your sprite. Sounds can be played using the arrow button, stopped using the square button, deleted with the X, or renamed on the sound listing. Sounds can be rearranged by dragging them into the desired order.
Sprite Header: The sprite header includes information about the selected sprite. In this area, you can control the direction that your sprite is facing, view the X and Y coordinates of your sprite, and set the sprite’s name. You can also select between the Scripts, Costumes, and Sounds tabs.
Sprites pane: The sprites pane is located directly below the stage window and displays small thumbnail versions of the sprites in your project, tools to draw or import additional sprites, the stage selection control, and a display to show your mouse’s X and Y coordinates.
Stage: It is important to not confuse the stage and the stage window. The stage is basically the background of your project. Like sprites, the stage can have different costumes that change as the story plays out. The stage window is the main area where the action of your program takes place. If you were to program a game or animated story, the stage window is where the action would take place when you start the program. You should also pay attention to the green flag and red stop sign in the upper right corner of the stage window. These buttons can be configured to control the beginning and end of your program. You will also find the stage toolbar above the stage window.
Toolbar: The first three icons on the file toolbar are buttons to view alternate language, save or load your project, edit, view tutorials and find additional information about scratch. And untitled is to give a specific name to your project.
Grow sprite or Shrink sprite: Is to increase the size of a sprite or decrease the size of a sprite
Small stage: Decrease the stage windows and increase the script area.
Full stage: Increase the stage windows and decrease the script area.
Green flag: To start the program.
Red button: To stop the program.
Backpack: The Backpack at the bottom of the screen is handy for copying sprites and scripts between different projects. Click the Backpack at the bottom of the screen to open it. You can then drag sprites or scripts into it, or drag them out into your current project.
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The blue stripe across the top of the screen is used for managing your projects.
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You can use the File menu to save your work, including downloading it to your computer. The online version of
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Scratch saves your updates automatically, so you won’t need this often.
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The box containing “Untitled” is where you rename your project.
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Click the folder in the top right to find all your projects.
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You’ll see all these elements in action soon, so don’t worry about memorizing the screen layout.This section is just to help you get your bearings. Remember that you can refer to the screenshot on the facing page at any time.
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Use the tabs above the Blocks Palette to switch between the scripts, costumes and sounds on a sprite.
Understanding coordinates:
You can use the sprites in Scratch to draw on the Stage. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with how to move sprites, and the technique can be used to create designs that your sprites can interact.
First, let’s take a look at how you position sprites on the Stage.
Each position on the Stage has a grid reference, similar to those used on maps. The position across the Stage horizontally is called x, and the position up or down the Stage is called y.
When you start a new project, the cat is in the middle of the Stage, and this position has the grid reference x=0 and y=0.
Here’s a map of the grid references on the Stage, after I’ve moved the cat to the bottom-left quarter of the Stage:
As you can see, the numbers for the y coordinate run from -180 at the bottom of the Stage, up to +180 at the top of the Stage.
The numbers for the x coordinate run from -240 at the left edge of the Stage, up to +240 at the right edge of the Stage.
Types of Blocks:
There are six different block shapes: Hat, Stack, Boolean, Reporter, C and Cape hart blocks.
1.Hat Block: Hat blocks are the blocks that start every script. They are shaped with a rounded top and a bump at the bottom so you can only place blocks below them. There are eight Hat blocks in the Scratch editor, six of which are in the Events category, one in the Control category, and one in the category My Blocks (if one has created one custom block).
The shape of a Hat block is:
2.Stack blocks: Stack blocks are the blocks that perform the main commands. They are shaped with a notch at the top and a bump on the bottom so blocks can be placed above and below them. There are 62 Stack blocks, the most common block shape.
The shape of a Stack block is:
3.Boolean blocks: Boolean blocks are conditions they are either true or false. Think of them as “yes-no” questions. For example, if you asked a computer “does 2 + 2 = 4?”, it would either tell you “True” or “False”. With a hexagonal shape, there are 14 of these blocks.
The shape of a Boolean block is:
4.Reporter blocks: Reporter blocks are the values. Reporter blocks can hold numbers and strings. It is like asking a friend, for example, “What is 2 + 2?”, and they would answer “4”. It can also report a variable. For example, “What is your age?” and they may answer: “15”. Shaped with rounded edges, there are 34 of these blocks not counting the theoretically infinite amount of Reporter blocks that can be made for each variable and list.
The shape of a Reporter block is:
5.C Blocks: C blocks are blocks that take the shape of “C’s”. Also known as “Wrap blocks”, these blocks loop the blocks within the Cs or check if a condition is true. There are five C blocks, and they can be found in the Control category. C blocks can be bumped at the bottom, or capped.
The shape of a C block is:
6.Cap blocks: Cap blocks are the blocks that end scripts. They are shaped with a notch at the top and a flat bottom — this is so you cannot place any blocks below them. There are two Cap blocks which can both be found in the Control category.
The shape of a C block is:
