Well the easiest way is to start simple and learn the basics first… so I want to you work on a new movie… not the one you’re currently working on.
Create a button on the main timeline.
Create a new layer.
Select your text tool.
Now… here’s where I’m not sure how MX differs. Look in your text panel. There should be a place for “text options”. However, this might be in the properties panel at the bottem of the main window. Look for a pull down where you can choose, “Dynamic text”.
Once you’ve got that chosen, in the blank layer, click and drag with the text tool until you’ve described a box which will be large enough for the text you want to have in it. For now it doesn’t have to be really large, and you can always resize it later.
You’ll see that the text box stays there and if it is selected with the black arrow tool will have a blue bounding box around it.
With this text box selected, you should see a text field in the properties panel which lets you enter a variable name. Enter “myFirstTextField” into that field.
Now for the button.
Select the button you’ve got on the main timeline and open your “action” panel. Paste the following code.
on(rollOver){
myFirstTextField=entryNumber1;
}
With the button still selected, choose menu option “Edit/Copy” and then “Edit/Paste”. Another button will be pasted on the stage. Move it a little to the right of the first one. Paste another copy and move it a little to that one’s right. Just basicaly line them all up down near the bottom of the screen somewhere.
Select the second one and change the script so that it looks like this.
on(rollOver){
myFirstTextField=entryNumber2;
}
then do the same for the third button so that it says 3 instead of 2.
Now… as a final step.
create a new layer. Select frame one of that layer and paste the following script
entryNumber1=“Hello… this is my first dynamic text message.”;
entryNumber2=“Flash MX Rocks”;
entryNumber3=“DHTML eat your heart out.”;
I know that the above looks a little confusing… but just do it step by step. If it doesn’t work right the first time, write back to me and I’m sure we can fix it.
Basicaly what I’ve done is set you up with the most dynamic of all situations. Your dynamic text field is going to change to whatever the variable myFirstTextField is equal to. The buttons on rollOver, set that variable to equal each of three separate variables that we’ve set on the main timeline. If you want to you can add this to each of the buttons
on(rollOff){
myFirstTextField="";
}
that will make the feild go blank when you roll off of any of the buttons…
let me know how it works out.
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