I have googled and searched the forums for a solution to my problem but I havent found an answer as yet. Im using an AS3 xml menu example that I download from the adobe website and I want to tweak it bit by making the button widths relative to a string of text, rather than looping/attaching a fixed width movieclip.
Here the AS for the menu. If you need the fla and xml to assist me let me know and ill upload it or you can download it yourself from the adobe website. Thanks in advance.
//****************************************************************************
// Copyright (C) 2005-2007 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
// The following is Sample Code and is subject to all restrictions on such code
// as contained in the End User License Agreement accompanying this product.
//****************************************************************************
/**
This class allows you to create a dynamic menu based on an XML file.
Example usage:
In your FLA file, add the following code into the main timeline. Make sure that the XML file points to the appropriate file containing your navigation.
new XmlMenu("menu.xml", this);
*/
package {
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.events.Event;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
import flash.net.URLLoader;
import flash.net.URLRequest;
public class XmlMenu {
private var menu_xml:XML;
// typically the variable, m_parent_mc, will point to the main timeline.
// This MovieClip will end up being a container for the entire menu,
// and where you'll attach your various navigation menu MovieClip instances.
private var m_parent_mc:MovieClip;
// the m_menu_array Array holds the references to the main menu movie clips.
// This allows you to loop through each main navigation link and hide the dropdown sub-navigation if it is open.
private var m_menu_array:Array;
// Constructor, this method takes two parameters, xmlpath_str
// (which is the path to the XML file containing the navigation),
// and parent_mc (which is a reference to a movie clip/timeline
// where you'll attach your various menu items).
public function XmlMenu(xmlpath_str:String, parent_mc:MovieClip) {
this.m_parent_mc = parent_mc;
this.m_menu_array = new Array();
// call this class' initXML function which parses your XML navigation file.
initXML(xmlpath_str);
}
// define your function which will be triggered when the XML file has completed loading.
private function completeHandler(event:Event):void {
menu_xml = XML(event.currentTarget.data);
var menuXMLList:XMLList = menu_xml.menu;
var nodeXML:XML;
// create an array which contains the main navigation as well as each menu's sub-navigation links.
var menu_array:Array = new Array();
// if the XML file was successfully loaded and parsed,
// convert it into an array of objects which we can pass to the XmlMenu class' initMenu method.
var i:Number;
// for each child node in the XML file (the child nodes here are the main menu navigation items.
for each (nodeXML in menuXMLList) {
// create an empty array for sub-navigation items.
var submenu_array:Array = new Array();
// for each child node of the main menu items, append the values to our submenu_array.
var subNodeXML:XML;
for each (subNodeXML in nodeXML.children()) {
// append each sub-navigation item to our submenu_array Array.
// Our XML file specifies the navigation's label and url in attributes rather than child nodes,
// so if you modify the layout of the navigation XML file this code will need to be modified.
submenu_array.push({caption:subNodeXML.@name, href:subNodeXML.@href});
}
// append each menu items, and it's array of submenu items.
menu_array.push({caption:nodeXML.@name, href:nodeXML.@href, subnav_array:submenu_array});
}
// call the XmlMenu class' initMenu method.
initMenu(menu_array);
}
// This function, initXML, takes a single parameter (xmlpath_str) and is responsible for
// loading and parsing the XML document and converting it into an array of objects.
private function initXML(xmlpath_str:String):void {
// The XML object which you will use to load and parse the XML navigation file.
menu_xml = new XML();
menu_xml.ignoreWhitespace = true;
var xmlLdr:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
xmlLdr.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, completeHandler);
// load the navigation XML file.
xmlLdr.load(new URLRequest(xmlpath_str));
}
// this method, initMenu, loops through the menu items and their respective
// sub navigation items and builds the movie clips.
private function initMenu(nav_array:Array):void {
// create variables which we will use to position the menu items.
var thisX:Number = 20;
var thisY:Number = 20;
var menuIndex:Number;
for (menuIndex = 0; menuIndex < nav_array.length; menuIndex++) {
// for each main menu item attach the menu_mc symbol from the library and position it along the x-axis.
var menuMC:MovieClip = new menu_mc();
menuMC.buttonMode = true;
m_parent_mc.addChild(menuMC);
menuMC.x = thisX;
menuMC.y = thisY;
// store the current menu item's information within the MovieClip so you
// always have a reference to the sub navigation and the current menu item's link
menuMC.data = nav_array[menuIndex];
// add a reference to the current menu movie clip in the class' m_menu_array Array.
m_menu_array.push(menuMC);
// set the caption on the main menu button.
menuMC.label_txt.text = menuMC.data.caption;
menuMC.label_txt.selectable = false;
menuMC.label_txt.mouseEnabled = false;
// create a new movie clip on the Stage which will be used to hold the submenu items.
var subMC:MovieClip = new MovieClip();
//subMC.buttonMode = true;
m_parent_mc.addChild(subMC);
// set the sub menu's X and Y position on the Stage.
subMC.x = thisX;
subMC.y = menuMC.height;
// set a variable in the submenu movie clip which stores whether the current sub menu item is visible
subMC.subMenuVisible = true;
// call the hideSubMenu method which hides the sub menu item.
hideSubMenu(subMC);
// within the sub menu movie clip store a reference to the menu movie clip
subMC.parentMenu = menuMC;
// hide the sub menu movie clip on the Stage.
subMC.visible = false;
// set a variable which we will use to track the current y-position of the sub-navigation items.
var yPos:Number = thisY;
var temp_subnav_array:Array = menuMC.data.subnav_array;
// for each sub menu item, attach a new instance of the link_mc MovieClip from the Library,
// set the text for the link and increment the yPos counter.
var i:Number;
for (i = 0; i < temp_subnav_array.length; i++) {
var linkMC:MovieClip = new link_mc();
linkMC.buttonMode = true;
subMC.addChild(linkMC);
linkMC.x = 0;
linkMC.y = yPos;
linkMC.data = temp_subnav_array*;
linkMC.label_txt.text = linkMC.data.caption;
linkMC.label_txt.mouseEnabled = false;
linkMC.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, mouseUpHandler);
yPos += linkMC.height;
}
// draw a slight 1 pixel drop shadow around the sub menu using the drawing API
var thisWidth:Number = subMC.width + 1;
var thisHeight:Number = subMC.height + 1;
subMC.graphics.beginFill(0x000000, 0);
subMC.graphics.moveTo(0, 0);
subMC.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, thisWidth, thisHeight);
subMC.graphics.endFill();
//
menuMC.childMenu = subMC;
thisX += menuMC.width;
}
// define the onRollOver and onRelease for each main menu item.
var j:Number;
for (j in this.m_menu_array) {
var thisMenuItem:MovieClip = m_menu_array[j];
thisMenuItem.buttonMode = true;
thisMenuItem.addEventListener(MouseEvent.ROLL_OVER, rollOverHandler);
thisMenuItem.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, mouseUpHandler);
}
}
private function rollOverHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
showSubMenu(event.currentTarget.childMenu);
}
private function mouseUpHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
trace(event.currentTarget.data.href);
}
// the showSubMenu method displays the specified sub menu movie clip
private function showSubMenu(target_mc:MovieClip):void {
// create a reference to the current class.
var thisObj = this;
if (!target_mc.subMenuVisible) {
hideAllSubMenus();
target_mc.visible = true;
target_mc.subMenuVisible = true;
target_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, mouseMoveHandler);
}
}
private function mouseMoveHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
var thisMC:MovieClip = event.currentTarget as MovieClip;
// hit test both the main menu item, and the submenu to see if the mouse is over either one of them.
var subHit:Boolean = thisMC.hitTestPoint(event.stageX, event.stageY, true);
var menuHit:Boolean = thisMC.parentMenu.hitTestPoint(event.stageX, event.stageY, true);
// if the mouse is not over the main menu or sub menu,
// hide the submenu movie clip and delete the onMouseMove event listener since we don't need it any more.
if (!((subHit || menuHit) && thisMC.subMenuVisible)) {
thisObj.hideSubMenu(thisMC);
thisMC.removeEventListener(event.type, this);
}
}
// hide the specified sub menu Movie Clip, if it is visible.
private function hideSubMenu(target_mc:MovieClip):void {
if (target_mc.subMenuVisible) {
target_mc.visible = false;
target_mc.subMenuVisible = false;
}
}
// hide the sub menu for each menu item in the m_menu_array Array.
private function hideAllSubMenus():void {
var i:int;
for (i in this.m_menu_array) {
hideSubMenu(this.m_menu_array*.childMenu);
}
}
// toggle a specific menu's visibility.
private function toggleSubMenu(target_mc:MovieClip):void {
(target_mc.subMenuVisible) ? hideSubMenu(target_mc) : showSubMenu(target_mc);
}
}
}
