---
title: Controlling Actions Precisely by Using Names
framework: spritekit
role: article
role_heading: Article
path: spritekit/controlling-actions-precisely-by-using-names
---

# Controlling Actions Precisely by Using Names

Set an action’s name property so you can access it later without needing an instance variable.

## Overview

Overview Normally, you can’t see which actions a node is executing, and if you want to remove actions, you must remove all of them. If you need to see whether a particular action is executing, or if you want to remove a specific action, use named actions. A named action is characterized by a unique string that identifies the action. Using named actions, you can start, remove, find and replace the actions of a node. Create and Run a Named Action The following code creates and runs a new action identified with the ignition key. The following key-based methods are available: run(_:withKey:) method to run the action. If an action with the same key is already executing, it is removed before the new action is added. action(forKey:) method to determine if an action with that key is already running. removeAction(forKey:) method to remove the action. Find and Replace an In-Flight Action The code below shows how you use a name to replace an action that’s currently running. The code determines where a mouse click occurred and then runs an action that moves a sprite to the click location. The action duration is calculated ahead of time to move the sprite at a fixed speed. Because this code uses run(_:withKey:), any previous move that’s still executing is stopped and replaced by the new action with the same name. override func mouseDown(with event: NSEvent) { 	guard let playerNodeParent = self.playerNode.parent else { return }

let clickPoint = event.location(in: playerNodeParent)

let charPos = playerNode.position

let distance = hypot(clickPoint.x-charPos.x,  		clickPoint.y-charPos.y)

let moveToClick = SKAction.move(to: clickPoint,  		duration: TimeInterval(distance / characterSpeed))

self.playerNode.run(moveToClick, withKey: "moveToClick") }