Re: FLASH: Flash 4 Variables - weeeee

[John Dowdell]

At 12:50 PM 6/29/99, Gilbert Irias wrote:

>Right now I have an MC where I keep all my variables and make calls to them.

>Is this the only way to have global variables? Anyway to track them aside

>from setting up temp text fields to write to? Also, does this MC have to

>have an instance on the stage to get called (I'm guessing you do for the

>/MCName:Frame call.) And is the root still referred to as _level0?


One of the big issues we'll see on the list over the coming months is the

scoping of variables. (My apologies in advance because I'm not yet

practiced at this story... clearer ways of phrasing greatly appreciated,

tia.)


Variables are private to a movie clip. Different clips can use the same

names for their variables, and they'll each have unique values. Variables

are scoped to clips.


There aren't global variables per se. You can achieve the same effect,

though, by reaching inside a named clip and accessing its private

variables. You can access another movie clip by navigating the object

hierarchy in the file, same as when sending messages to targets. If you'll

be keeping a repository of "global" variables like this then it's likely

easiest to have the clip right on the main timeline, across all frames.


You can store data in fields, as you described above, but you can also

dynamically create variables within a movie clip too. This might be the

easiest way to create counters and other changing elements which need to be

accessible by many clips.


(If you're instead considering text fields in order to track variable value

during execution, then the "trace" function can help achieve this goal.)


Is this along the lines of what you were looking for? Can any of the folks

who were on the beta list refine the above explanation? Thanks in advance

for any word.


jd





John Dowdell, Macromedia Tech Support, San Francisco CA US

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