# Updating a variable before it is used
**URL:** https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243
**Category:** Uncategorized
**Created:** [September 4, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243 "2004-09-04T07:39:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@balthazar](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/balthazar)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243/1 "2004-09-04T07:39:55Z")
dear experts help me become more like you!
Things have become a lot clearer for me since my last post so i hope this second attempt will make it easier for u to answer:
I have a ‘next’ button for a slideshow which i want to do the following:
on(press) {
\_root.Number=\_root.Number+1;
content.loadMovie(\_root.Url);
}
where my variables have been defined in a Frame as:
var Url = ‘Pictures/photo’+Number+’.jpg’
var Number= 1;
The reason i have used the variable Number in my Url variable and not directly in the loadMovie target (which does work) is that i want to be able to sometimes change the variable Url. Eg. when a user clicks on a series button such as ‘Cities’ i could get the next button to cycle through the first picture in each series in my array serie[]:
\_root.url = ‘Pictures/serie[Number]’+photo1.jpg
the problem remains that my next button continues to use the old value for number so i get the same image over and over again.
Anybody have any ideas??
thanxs a lot in advance!
---
### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2004, 8:19am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243/2 "2004-09-04T08:19:59Z")
[AS]
on(press)
{
\_root.Number = \_root.Number + 1;
var newURL = ‘Pictures/photo’ + \_root.Number + ‘.jpg’;
content.loadMovie(newURL);
}
[/AS]
you need to make a new string each time.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243/3 "2004-09-04T08:27:22Z")
does that mean i can change the var newUrl inside the on(press) handler? if so how?
---
### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2004, 9:03am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243/4 "2004-09-04T09:03:31Z")
in the above case, everytime you press “it” \_root.Number will increase by one and you will then load the respective URL. i.e. if you keeping pressing “it” you will load:
‘Pictures/photo2.jpg’
‘Pictures/photo3.jpg’
‘Pictures/photo4.jpg’
‘Pictures/photo5.jpg’
…
---
### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2004, 10:44am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243/5 "2004-09-04T10:44:36Z")
Yes, i know, my question was how can i use the same button to also use
Url = ‘Pictures/serie[Number]’+photo1.jpg
im pretty sure u cant change a variable inside a function so how do i set it up so that i can change var url from the outside when needed.
ill repeat that the reason i want to be able to do this is that my next button has to cycle through images in a folder (photo1,photo2…) and also when the user clicks a series button cycle through only the first image of each folder (see above and previous message).
im sorry i wasnt clear enough the first time, can u give it one more shot?
or anybody? im going crazy! balthazar
---
### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/updating-a-variable-before-it-is-used/63243/6 "2004-09-04T14:56:47Z")
balthazar, please do not post the same question in more than one forum.