RE: FLASH: Smart Buttons?

[Len Harrison]

Thanks Dorian,


You correctly interpreted the objective. Your suggestion for implementing it

is pretty much what I was thinking would be necessary. So thanks for

confirming that. Does anyone have another approach? Unfortunately, it would

be a nightmare to implement this under my present design paradigm. Consider

this:


1) We have a set of glossary terms, say one per frame on Layer Terms. Each

frame is labeled according to term it defines: WBS, Model, Methodology, etc.

2) Where the term is used in context, we provide a link to the frame where

it is defined.

3) Definition frames have a back button that returns the learner to the

material they were working with before they went to look up the definition.

4) There are perhaps 20 definition frames per module.

5) There might be from 2 to 20 occasions to jump to and return from a

definition.

6) Content developers with minimal Flash skill may be involved in

development.

7) There are five or six separate pieces each containing five to twelve

modules.

8) Ideally a single glossary should be defined since terms are used across

modules and pieces.


Now the simplest way to do this is to set up a sequence of key frames on

Layer Terms with no gaps between them and then jump to them. If we use

instances of buttons, then we jump to the button instance instead and need

to define a naming convention and track that appropriately. Every time we

add a new call into the glossary, we need to add a new frame on all layers

of the glossary plus the keyframe we're calling and modify both the button

instance in the called keyframe and the instance of the symbol that called

it. Maybe that's not as bad as I thought when I started writing this, but

it's still far from ideal.


By comparison, we could do this in Javascript using a cookie. The button

action for the caller includes a script call which writes the name of the

"home" frame and (optionally) scene and movie to a cookie. Calling code

would look something like

"Javascript:'returnFrame("thisFrame","thisScene","thisMovie")'". After it

writes the cookie it goes to the appropriate definition frame. When the user

presses the back button another javascript is called which reads the cookie

and returns from whence it came. That takes care of the simple case. If

there is only the back button available within the glossary that's all you

have to do.


Otherwise you might need to track movement within the glossary which could

get a bit complicated. Quick solution would be to build a stack with

numbered cookies plus a stack counter cookie. Every time you go back you

decrement the stack counter and delete the cookie which points to the

current frame. Every time you go forward you increment the counter and add a

cookie for the last frame visited.


This is a bit of upfront work and demands the user enable cookies (which I

can do within this context), but once you have the routines, invoking them

is trivial and there is no need to keep adding frames inside your glossary

terms every time you want to point the user to a definition.


***PERSONAL WISH LIST FOR FLASH 4.0 ITEM #1***

Some kind of real scripting language ala Lingo, Java, Javascript, VBscript,

etc.

***PERSONAL WISH LIST FOR FLASH 4.0 ITEM #2***

Objects with behaviors at a class, not just an instance level

***PERSONAL WISH LIST FOR FLASH 4.0 ITEM #3***

"Variable" added to goto list (i.e. Goto Frame whose value is "Variable"

where provisions are made to define the value of any given variable in any

given frame.)


Where is the best place to submit such suggestions?


len harrison

instructional designer

lenhabtcorp [dot] com

-----Original Message-----

From:

ownershocker [dot] com

 [

ownershocker [dot] com]On">mailto:ownershocker [dot] com]On

 Behalf Of Dorian

Nisinson

Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 1998 6:44 PM

To:

flashershocker [dot] com

Subject: Re: FLASH: Smart Buttons?



This could be done in Flash using 4 different instance of the same

button and 4 frame labels.

Labels= FrameA

	FrameB

	FrameC (sent by Frame A button instance 1)

	FrameC2 (sent by Frame B button instance 2)


Instance 1 button in Frame A would contain an action to go to label

FrameC

Instance 2 button in Frame B would contain an action to go to label

FrameC2

Instance 3 button in Frame C would contain an action to go to label

FrameA

Instance 4 button in Frame C2 would contain an action to go to label

FrameB


Make a layer for Instance 3 button and a layer for instance 4 button.

Have the rest of the contents of FrameC on other layers. Say your Frame

C sequence starts at frame 20 put the label FrameC at frame 20. Add a

keyframe at frame 25 (for example) and label that FrameC2. All the other

contents of the frame C are only loaded once and only the buttons

change.


Hope this is what you meant.


Dorian


Len Harrison wrote:

>

> Is there a way to make a button smart in the following sense:

>

> Frame A   Jumps to Frame C

>

> Frame B  Jumps to Frame C

>

> Frame C Back Button goes to Frame B or Frame A depending on which frame

> called it?

>

> Need this for a glossary function. Suppose I could do it with a cookie and

> some Javascript, but can it be done completely in Flash?

>

> len harrison

> instructional designer

>

lenhabtcorp [dot] com

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dorian Nisinson Design

dorianbway [dot] net (mailto:dorianbway [dot] net)

The Flash Fortune Teller

Ask and you shall be answered!

http://www.bway.net/~dorian/FortuneT.htm


Flash Central-- The Source for Flash Information

http://www.FlashCentral.com/


http://www.bway.net/~dorian

Graphic Design, Illustration, Flash Design

Photoshop 4 Actions too


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