Is there an event handler for a symbol's alpha value?

programming flash
1

Hi - I’m new to AS3, but I’ve been searching for a solution with little to show; I hope I can get some help for this, in return you’ll get loads of appreciation & good karma :beam: (btw, using Flash CS4)

Summary:
I’m making a flash banner, the intent is to display 3 text messages & images to the end user. The banner has a big white section in the middle for the text & image, with an image border. The border will fade between red to white to blue, and with each “fade” the message and center image will change.

I need help flagging the moment when the text & image should update.

How it works:
As a newbie I took a very straightforward approach. Each border instance (red, white, & blue) are simple images (turned to symbols). Each on their own layer which will alpha “out” of view or “in” view according to the timeline (in other words the red border image sits on top of the white, which sits on top of the blue. The red will fade away, showing white. Then white will fade away, showing the blue. Then blue will fade away and then the timeline will complete & loop back to display the red border).

For the text, it is dynamic & read from a txt file (file is named messages.txt). This is loaded into the message_text dynamic text object; the AS3 code is:


[COLOR=Blue]var [/COLOR]loader:[COLOR=Blue]URLLoader [/COLOR]= [COLOR=Blue]new URLLoader[/COLOR]()

//tell the loader that we are dealing with variables for the profile text.  
loader.[COLOR=Blue]dataFormat [/COLOR]= [COLOR=Blue]URLLoaderDataFormat.VARIABLES[/COLOR];

//after it is loaded completely, call the "loadText" function  
loader.[COLOR=Blue]addEventListener[/COLOR]([COLOR=Blue]Event.COMPLETE[/COLOR], loadText);  

//the file to extract from
loader.[COLOR=Blue]load[/COLOR]([COLOR=Blue]new URLRequest[/COLOR]([COLOR=Green]"messages.txt"[/COLOR]));

//loading fucntion that imports the text
[COLOR=Blue]function [COLOR=Black]loadText [/COLOR][/COLOR]([COLOR=Blue]event[/COLOR]:[COLOR=Blue]Event[/COLOR]):void {  
    message_text.[COLOR=Blue]text [/COLOR]= loader.[COLOR=Blue]data[/COLOR].message_1
}

Now this gets the first message to dynamically load (note: I learned this from an online tutorial - really easy). To have the text “fade” as the timeline progresses, I simply dropped a white box over the placement of the text & have this alpha out & in when needed (I know you can’t fade text unless you embed it first - this seemed like a shortcut).

Here is where I get stuck. What options are available for me to flag when the text should change? These are the options I have in mind, but just don’t know if the functions exist or what is the syntax:

  1. Trigger an update when the timeline reaches a certain frame number. Well, with that logic, it should switch on frame 35, frame 75, and frame 120. How do I write this? Where do I put this (i.e. do I select the 35th frame on any layer, & hit F9?) What do I drop in, something like this?

loader.[COLOR=Blue]addEventListener[/COLOR]([COLOR=Blue]Event[/COLOR].[COLOR=Blue]COMPLETE[/COLOR], updateText);

[COLOR=Blue]function [/COLOR]updateText ([COLOR=Blue]event[/COLOR]:[COLOR=Blue]Event[/COLOR]):[COLOR=Blue]void [/COLOR]{  
    profile_text.[COLOR=Blue]text [/COLOR]= loader.data.message_2
}

  1. Better than a frame number (as this might be edited adding & removing frames until this is complete), would be to trigger the change when the “white box” has it’s alpha hit 100 (this is the moment it blinds out the text). Is there an event handler for that? How would I incorporate it?

  2. If all else fails, use the TIMER event - and just trigger it to change every 5 seconds, which would aligned with the “fading” of the text

I’d like to learn more about AS3, so if there IS a way to solve this using option 2 - that would be pimp :p:

Thanks in advance!

Note: I have yet to figure out the dynamic image upload, but feel confident I’ll figure it out. Any pointers are welcome