AS2 Random Quote Project

programming flash
1

Hello to all. I have this little project on my hands that has been thoroughly handing me my asterisk for a good couple of weeks now and I would greatly appreciate if anyone could help me in any regard.

So… I’m making a banner for a website and I want to have random words popping up at random positions every couple of seconds. I was trying to do this via XML but ultimately failed miserably. Have a look at where my sorry attempt currently sits:

import mx.transitions.Tween;
import mx.transitions.easing.*;

var xmlFlash_xml:XML = new XML();
xmlFlash_xml.ignoreWhite = true;
xmlFlash_xml.load("words.xml");
xmlFlash_xml.onLoad = words;

wordlist = new Array();

/*function words(success) {
    if (success) {
		parseFile(xmlFlash_xml);
    }
    else {
        trace("fail");
    }
};*/

function parseFile(xmlDoc_xml) {
	for (var a = 0; a<xmlDoc_xml.firstChild.childNodes.length; a++) {
		wordlist.push(xmlDoc_xml.firstChild.childNodes[a].childNodes[0].nodeValue);
	}
	sharedObject.data.wordlist = wordlist;
	//trace (randword);
}

//makinMovies();

// Wordlist
var wordlist = new Array();
wordlist = ["Active", "Adventurous", "Authentic", "Awesome", "Beautiful", "Bold", "Brave", "Capable", "Caring", "Confident", "Courageous", "Curious", "Dependable", "Determined", "Distinct", "Dynamic", "Energetic", "Enthusiastic", "Exceptional", "Fascinating", "Fit", "Feisty", "Fun", "Gutsy", "Good", "Happy", "Hardworking", "Healthy", "Helpful", "Honest", "Imaginative", "Important", "Interesting", "Intelligent", "Joyful", "Kind", "Likeable", "Lively", "Loyal", "Magical", "Motivated", "Memorable", "Natural", "Noticeable", "Open-minded", "Optimistic", "Original", "Persistent", "Positive", "Precious", "Proud", "Quirky", "Real", "Reliable", "Resourceful", "Responsible", "Sharp", "Spiritual", "Surprising", "Sympathetic", "Thoughtful", "Tolerant", "Trustworthy", "Unique", "Unselfish", "Upbeat", "Valuable", "Versatile", "Vigorous", "Warm", "Wise", "Wonderful", "Young", "Xtra special", "Flexible", "Zany"
];

// Fonts
var fonts = new Array();
fonts[0] = "Arial";
fonts[1] = "Comic Sans MS";
fonts[2] = "Georgia";
fonts[3] = "Helvetica";
fonts[4] = "Tahoma";
fonts[5] = "Times New Roman";
fonts[6] = "Verdana";

// Set style for text field
style = new TextFormat();
style.color = 0x0000FF;
style.size = 24;
style.align = "center";

myObj = new Object(); 
myObj.makinMovies = function() {
	
	var f = 6;
	var g = Math.floor(Math.random()*f);
	style.font = fonts[g];
	
	var l = 76;
	var c = Math.floor(Math.random()*l);
	var randword = wordlist[c];
	
	trace(randword);
	
	// Create text field inside movie clip
	var container:MovieClip = this.createEmptyMovieClip("container", this.getNextHighestDepth());
	var label:TextField = container.createTextField("label", 1, 0, 0, 150, 20);
	var w = eval(label);
	w.text = randword;
	w.autoSize = "left";
	w.setTextFormat(style);
	w.selectable = false;
	
	// Randomly position movie clip
	var x = Math.floor(Math.random()*650);
	var y = Math.floor(Math.random()*150);
	container._x = x;
	container._y = y;
}

//setInterval(makinMovies, 2000);

ID = setInterval(myObj, "makinMovies", 2000);

At the moment it traces a random word every 2 seconds but I can’t get it to put anything on the stage. At one points I had it putting a random word at a random spot on the stage in a random font but couldn’t get it to repeat. As you can see the idea is to create a movie clip and put a text field in it. Eventually I’m going to get them fading in and out (hopefully).

So if anyone can figure out where I’m going wrong or if this idea is even possible I’d appreciate it.

Rob.