The stage is the background of the project, but can have scripts, backdrops (costumes), and sounds, similar to a sprite. It is 480 pixels wide and 360 pixels tall.
All sprites have a particular position on the stage. However, no sprites can move behind the stage — the stage is always at the back layer.
Differences from Sprites
There are many differences between the stage and sprites. These include the following:
- Is stationary — therefore,
- It cannot use Motion Blocks
- It cannot use Size Blocks
- It cannot use "touching" blocks in the Sensing category (as it is always touching all sprites)
- It cannot use the Distance to () block
- In Scratch 1.4, selecting the Stage with Motion Blocks selected would change it to Sensing Blocks
- It does not have a pen, and therefore has no Pen Extension blocks except for Erase All
- It cannot talk — therefore,
- It cannot use the "say" or "think" blocks in the Looks category (however it can use the Ask () and Wait block)
- It has backdrops instead of costumes
- It cannot be cloned
- It cannot be renamed
- It cannot use the Show or Hide blocks in the Looks category
- It cannot change layers — it is always at the very back layer
- It is always 480×360 unless in Small Stage Layout
- Variables made while the stage is selected cannot be local, this is due to global variables internally being saved on the stage
 Note: | Blocks that the stage does not have can still be dragged from other sprites, but those blocks have no effect except for the say and think blocks. |
Stage Sizes
The stage can be 3 different sizes:
- Regular — normal mode; the stage is 480×360 pixels. The ratio is 4:3 in its simplest form.
- Small Stage Layout — this is a size for the Stage in the project editor. It makes the stage's size smaller to provide more room to write scripts. It lowers the stage's resolution to 240x180 pixels — a quarter of the normal size. The small stage layout can be activated by toggling the stage size switch located in the top-right corner in the project editor next to the full screen button. When this is selected, the Stage will shrink, and the sprites pane will adjust its width and height to fit.
- Full Screen — Fits the player to one's web browser's current resolution.
History
The stage was introduced in Scratch 0.2.[1] It was originally listed along with the sprites in the sprite corral and called the "Background".[2][3]
The stage was positioned on the right side of the screen when it was created. In Scratch 2.0, the stage was moved to the left side of the screen. In Scratch 3.0, it was moved back to the right side of the screen. In Scratch 3.0, if the selected language uses a right-to-left script, then the stage will be positioned on the left side of the screen.
