actionscript help

hi everyone,
i tried asking this in the flash forum but got no answer so decided to try here.
say i have a symbol, with multiple instances pf it on the stage. How would i be able to check all the instances of a symbol for a condition or event?

if this doesnt make sense, is there something in actionscript similar to blitz's for...next loop?

I think this chapter from "ActionScript: The Definitive Guide" will help you a lot, especially example 13-3:

http://oreilly.com/catalog/actscript/chapter/ch13.html

HTH,