- The Basic Smart Clips
- RadioButton Smart Clip
- CheckBox Smart Clip
- Menu Smart Clip
- Summary
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Menu Smart Clip
Of the three smart clips included in Flash 5, the Menu smart clip is the most complex. (See Figure 20.4.) However, you'll see that implementing a complex smart clip is still a relatively painless process; you just need to fill out the Clip Parameters panel. With this smart clip, you limit users to one selection from a drop-down list.
){kind=link}
Figure 20.4 The Menu smart clip is the most complex of the basic smart clips.
When your user clicks the menu, the entire list opens with all choices displayed. This enables the user to make a new choice. When the user clicks one of the items to make a choice, the menu closes again, showing the new choice in the display window.
The parameters you pass into the Menu smart clip are quite different from those you passed into the RadioButton and CheckBox smart clips. In this case, you are passing in an array (see Listing 20.1).
Listing 20.1 The Parameter Passed to This Smart Clip Is an Array
Parameter Info: items[] - A dynamic list of text items that you want to appear in your menu structure.
Remember that arrays are used to hold lists of data that might be unpredictable in order or length. Each element of an array is referenced by its index, which appears in brackets next to the array name.
In the next exercise, you add a Menu smart clip to your movie and configure it by making changes in the Clip Parameters panel.
Exercise 20.3 Adding Menu Smart Clips to the Stage
Adding a Menu smart clip to the Stage is no different from adding any other smart clip—just drag it from the Smart Clips Library onto the Stage.
Create a new layer called Menu and drag a copy of the Menu smart clip onto the Stage in the Menu area.
Open the Clip Parameters panel (right- or Control-click > Panels > Clip Parameters).
-
Double-click (Array[]) to open the Values dialog box.
To change the default values, just double-click the default value and type the new value. Add the following new values: defaultValue1: Carrots defaultValue2: Peas defaultValue3: Asparagus defaultValue4: Parsley
Select the last item in the list (defaultValue5) and use the "-" (minus) button to delete it. To add additional items, click the + button.
Rearrange the items so that they're in alphabetical order. Select the value you want to reposition and use the Up and Down buttons to move it.
The first item is stored in position 0 of the array, the second in position 1, and so on. Test the movie to see the changes you've just made.
That's all well and good, but now what? How do you get information you can use from the smart clips you just set up so that you can actually do something?
Getting Information from Smart Clips
Take a look at the Description pane of the Clip Parameters panel for the RadioButton smart clip. You'll see two sections: the Parameter info and the Application Programming Interface (API) Method Summary (see Listing 20.2).
Listing 20.2 The Clip Parameters Panel for the RadioButton Has Two Sections in the Description Pane: Parameter Info and API Method Summary
Parameter info:
_name - make sure is set to unique instance name
checked - set to true to start out checked
label - the wording that the end user sees
API Method Summary (ex: _name.setLabel("This is cool");)
Name Description
======================================================
getLabel() Gets the label of this checkbox.
getState() Determines whether this checkbox is in the "on"
or "off" state.
isRadioButton() Returns true for objects which are radio buttons.
setLabel(String) Sets this checkbox's label to be the string
argument.
setState(boolean) Sets the state of this checkbox to the specified
state.
The Parameter info section tells you a little bit about the parameters that you pass into the clip. The API Method Summary is even more interesting. This tells you what functions have been built into this smart clip. Pay attention—you can use these functions to control the behavior of the smart clip. You also can pass the values returned by these functions into variables you create in your Flash movie.
The RadioButton smart clip has five built-in functions:
getLabel(). Gets the label.
getState(). Checks whether the radio button is selected (true) or not (false).
isRadioButton(). Returns a value of true if this is a radio button.
setLabel(String). Lets you set the value of the label dynamically.
setState(Boolean). Lets you set the state (true or false) of the radio button.
The parameters and functions are almost identical for the RadioButton and CheckBox smart clips. The one exception is that the CheckBox smart clip does not have an isRadioButton function. If you try to call that function for a check box, you get a value of false because the function doesn't exist.
If you're interested in the actual code where these functions are created, check Listing 20.3. The best thing about Listing 20.3 is that you didn't have to write a single line of it!
Listing 20.3 The Functions for the RadioButton Smart Clip Are Embedded in the Clip Itself
onClipEvent(load) {
// check style preference
if (_parent.style.toUpperCase() == "AUTO") {
playerVersion = getVersion();
_parent.platform = playerVersion.substr(0, 3);
} else {
_parent.platform = _parent.style.toUpperCase();
}
// create methods for the parent class
_ parent.child = this;
_ parent.getLabel = function () {
return child.label;
}
_ parent.getState = function () {
return child.checked;
}
_ parent.isRadioButton = function () {
return true;
}
_ parent.setLabel = function (label) {
child.label = label;
}
_ parent.setState = function (state) {
if (state) {
// turn off all of the buttons
for (var tmp = head; tmp != null; tmp = tmp.next)
tmp.setState(false);
// now turn on ours
if (platform == "MAC") {
child.gotoandstop(4);
} else {
child.gotoandstop(2);
}
} else {
if (platform == "MAC") {
child.gotoandstop(3);
} else {
child.gotoandstop(1);
}
} child.checked = state;
}
// set the initial state stop(); label = _parent.label;
_parent.head = _parent;
// make our parent the start
_parent.head.next = null; // init the next ptr to null
var obj = _parent._parent; // point to the object where the
radio buttons are instantiated
// link all of the radio buttons for (var i in obj) {
// check to see that the container is a radio button
// and make sure the container is not our container
if (obj[i].isRadioButton() && obj[i] != _parent) {
var rButton = obj[i];
rButton.head = this._parent;
rButton.next = _parent.head.next;
_parent.head.next = rButton; }
}
if (_parent.checked.toLowerCase() == "true") {
_parent.setState(true);
} else {
_ parent.setState(false);
}
}
onClipEvent(mouseDown) {
if (hitTest(_root._xmouse, _root._ymouse, false)) {
if (_parent.getState()) { _parent.setState(false);
} else {
_ parent.setState(true);
}
updateAfterEvent();
}
}
TIP
If you want to use more than one set of radio buttons, you'll need to group each set of smart clips inside a separate movie clip; otherwise, Flash enables only one radio button to be selected.The same holds true for check boxes and menus.
So how do you use those built-in functions? Getting information from the smart clip is the easiest place to start. Each radio button has a unique instance name (you assigned them in the previous exercise): radioBox1, radioBox2, and radioBox3. To call one of the built-in functions for a radio button, just use dot syntax and then pass the value returned by the function into a variable. In the next exercise, you do just that.
Exercise 20.4 Getting Information from RadioButton Smart Clips
The first thing you do is put a placeholder for a variable on the Stage so that you can see the values returned by the functions.
You should still be in smartclip.fla (or use smartclip1.fla from the CD). Select the Text tool and draw a text box under the first radio button.
Open the Text Options panel. Change the following settings:
Text Type: Dynamic Text Line Type: Single Line Variable: firstButton Border/Bg: Selected HTML: Not selected Selectable: Not selected
Make two duplicates of the text box you just drew, and position the duplicates under the other two radio buttons. Change the variable names to secondButton and thirdButton, respectively.
Select the Test Me button on the Stage and open the Actions panel. Make sure the panel is labeled Object Actions; otherwise, you will accidentally deselect the button when you launch the Actions panel. Add the following code:
on (release) { firstButton = radioBox1.getState(); secondButton = radioBox2.getState(); thirdButton = radioBox3.getState(); }What does this do? When you click and release the Test Me button, you make a call to the getState() function for each instance of the radio button on the Stage. (See Figure 20.5.) You pass the returned values into variables. Figure 20.5 You can use a dynamic text box to show the values of the parameters being passed to and from your smart clip. This is helpful when you still are in testing and debug mode.
Test your movie. Before you select a radio button, click the Test Me button. The first two dynamic text boxes that you set up should have a value of false; the third text box should show true.
Now try selecting one of the other radio buttons and clicking Test Me again. Whichever radio button you selected should have a value of true in the corresponding text box.
){kind=link}
You can do exactly the same thing for the getLabel() and isRadioButton() functions. After you have those values in variables, you can do whatever you want with them.
Now that you can get values out of your smart clip, how can you send values back in? What if you wanted to change the Label names or the currently set button states without actually going back in and editing the Clip Parameters panel? Piece of cake—you do it with ActionScript.
Exercise 20.5 Passing Information to RadioButton Smart Clips
The easiest way to pass information back into your smart clip is to add some additional actions to the Test Me button.
You still should be in smartclip.fla (or use smartclip2.fla from the CD). Select the Test Me button and launch the Actions panel.
Add three calls to the setLabel() function and three calls to the setState() function, as illustrated in the following code:
on (release) { radioBox1.setLabel("Asparagus"); radioBox2.setLabel("Tomato"); radioBox3.setLabel("Bean Sprouts"); radioBox1.setState(true); radioBox2.setState(false); radioBox3.setState(false); firstButton = radioBox1.getState(); secondButton = radioBox2.getState(); thirdButton = radioBox3.getState(); }Why did you add these function calls before you set the values for the variables that populate the text boxes? You did it because if you have them in the reverse order, the text fields in the movie won't accurately represent the current button states.
-
Test your movie. Remember that the values you entered in the Clip Parameters panel still will be there until you click the Test Me button. When you release the button, you make the call to the functions. (See Figure 20.6.)
Figure 20.6 When you click the Test Me button, you initiate calls to the setLabel() and setState() functions and change the values on the Stage.
You passed the parameters to the functions as actual values—either a string of information or a Boolean value. You could have just as easily passed the parameters as variables. To see how this would work, change the code in the Test Me button to this:
on (release) { radioBox1.setLabel(firstValue); radioBox2.setLabel(secondValue); radioBox3.setLabel(thirdValue); radioBox1.setState(firstState); radioBox2.setState(secondState); radioBox3.setState(thirdState); firstButton = radioBox1.getState(); secondButton = radioBox2.getState(); thirdButton = radioBox3.getState(); }Add a new layer to your movie and label it Actions. Select frame 1 and launch the Actions panel. This is where you set the values for the variables you just entered in the Test Me button.
Enter the following code:
firstValue = "Apples"; secondValue = "Pears"; firstValue = "Peaches"; firstState = true; firstState = false; firstState = false;
Test your movie again.
){kind=link}
What if you wanted to change the Label names without having to open up the FLA file, edit it, and re-export the SWF? Not a problem. All you have to do is store the information in a text file and load the variables from there.
TIP
When you use loadVariables() to load data from a text file, the format of the text file is important; the extension on the file is not.That means that as long as the text in the file is in the proper name/value pair format, the file can be created as a .txt (simple text file), .asp (Active Server Page), .cfm (Cold Fusion), .pl(Perl), .php (PHP), or whatever kind of file. It doesn't matter.
Exercise 20.6 Updating RadioButton or CheckBox Smart Clips from a Text File
The format for the text file is fairly straightforward; it is just a list of name/value pairs separated by ampersands (&). Before you create the text file, you remove the variables that you initialized in frame 1 of the main timeline. Then you create the text file. Last, you add new Actions to the Test Me button.
Open your text editor of choice and type the following:
radioBox1=Jaguar&radioBox2=Boxster&radioBox3=Mustang&firstState= false&secondState=false&thirdState=false
Save your file as data.txt in the same directory as your published SWF file.
You still should be in smartclip.fla (or use smartclip3.fla from the CD). Select all three check boxes and input fields on the Stage and convert them to a movie clip (F8) named RadioButtonsMC.
Assign the movie clip an instance name of radio (Window > Panels > Instance).
On frame 1 of the main timeline, remove all the existing actions and then load the variables from the data.txt file. In the Actions panel, type the following:
radio.loadVariables("data.txt");Select the radio movie clip and in the Actions panel, add an onClipEvent and call the setLabel function:
onClipEvent (data) { _ root.radio.radioBox1.setLabel(firstValue); _ root.radio.radioBox2.setLabel(secondValue); _ root.radio.radioBox3.setLabel(thirdValue); }NOTE
The onClipEvent() can respond to a number of events.The data event occurs when data is received by the clip from a loadVariables() or loadMovie() action.
Without closing the Actions panel, select the Test Me button on the Stage. Delete all the setLabel() and setState() calls and modify the calls to getState() to match:
on (release) { _ root.radio.firstButton = _root.radio.radioBox1.getState(); _ root.radio.secondButton = _root.radio.radioBox2.getState(); _ root.radio.thirdButton = _root.radio.radioBox3.getState(); }Save and test your movie. If you're having problems, check smartclip_final.fla on the CD.
By now it should be pretty clear how you get information into and out of smart clips. You can use the Clip Parameters panel or you can use ActionScript to retrieve and send variables.
With some smart clips, you won't be provided with convenient functions that enable you to set your parameters with ActionScript. In some cases, you have to dig into the underlying code to figure out how to do that.
Exchanging Data with the Menu Smart Clip
In terms of extracting information out and sending information back in, the Menu smart clip is a horse of a different color. There are no prebuilt functions for you to use to set the values of the parameters.
You already know the information is stored in an array. You might be wondering if there is a way to populate the array using ActionScript. Of course there is. You just need to create a new Array object. Where do you load the array? That's easy. You get that information from the Parameters info in the Description pane of the Clip Parameters panel (see Listing 20.4). The array used by the smart clip is items[].
Listing 20.4 The Parameter Passed into This Smart Clip Is an Array Named Items[ ]—the CallBack Summary Tells You Where to Create a Function to Control the Menu Clip
Parameter Info: items[] - A dynamic list of text items that you want to appear in your menu structure.
CallBack Summary:
// Define the following method in the onLoad() handler.
// OnMenu() will be invoked whenever you select any items
// in the menu.
onClipEvent(load) {
// item - a string in the form "itemXX" where "XX"
// is the item offset
// label - the text string for the item
function onMenu(item, label) {
//+
// your code goes here
//-
}
}
To load the array using ActionScript, all you have to do is select the smart clip on the Stage and add an onClipEvent:
onClipEvent(load) {
FigArray = new Array("Branden","Doug","Jody");
this.items = FigArray; }
Now you know how to get information into the Menu smart clip, but how do you get information back out?
The CallBack Summary in the Clip Parameters panel (refer to Listing 20.4) describes where you need to add code to make your menu do something when the user makes a selection.
You'll be creating an onMenu() function that gets called every time the user makes a selection from your menu. Where is the code that calls onMenu()? It's attached to the Menu Assets movie clip in frame 2 on the Values layer in the menu–win or menu–mac movie clip (see Listing 20.5).
Listing 20.5 The Call to the onMenu() Function Is Nested Two Movie Clips Deep in the Menu Smart Clip
onClipEvent (mouseDown) {
// see if we pressed on our menu item
if (hitTest(_root._xmouse, _root._ymouse, false)) {
// call the method before doing a goto(1)
// a goto(1) in the parent will cause
// this handler to go away
_ parent._parent.OnMenu(parseInt(_name.substr(4, 3)), label);
_ parent._parent.currentValue =
_parent["item"+parseInt(_name.substr(4, 3))].label;
_parent.prevFrame();
updateAfterEvent();
} else if (_parent.currentitem.hittest(_root._xmouse,
_root._ymouse)) {
_parent.prevFrame();
updateAfterEvent();
}
}
So what do you want to have happen when someone clicks a menu selection? You have a number of choices. You could send him or her to another frame in your current movie. You could load a new movie. You could redirect him or her to another Web site entirely, or you might just store the information in a variable for later use. In fact, you can do just about anything you want.
The onMenu() function takes two parameters: item and label. Item is the position in the array, and label is the text string in the array. In the next exercise, you set up the onMenu() function to send the user to a labeled frame in another movie clip.
Exercise 20.7 Creating the onMenu Function
The onMenu() function is triggered when a user makes a selection from your list.
First, you set up the onClipEvent(load) function to populate your list. Then all you need to do is add a little code to that function to make your list do something. You need to be able to associate a location to go to with the index of the item in the array. What better way to do that than use another array?
Open FigMenu.fla in the Chapter_20/Assets folder. This is just a two-layer movie with a Menu smart clip on the left side of the Stage and the Figs movie clip on the right. You use the Menu smart clip to control the Figs movie clip. The Figs movie clip has an instance name of Figs already assigned.
Select the Menu smart clip on the Stage. Launch the Actions panel and set up the function and array to populate the menu clip:
onClipEvent(load) { FigArray = new Array("Branden","Doug","Jody"); this.items = FigArray; }Position your cursor after the line that reads:
this.items = FigArray;
Then, add a return.
On the new line, you're going to set up the shell for the onMenu() function. Type the following code:
function onMenu (item, label) { }The Figs movie clip has four labeled frames: Fig_1, Fig_2, Fig_3, and Fig_4. You'll create a new Array object and pass these Label names into it. Between the curly braces of the onMenu() function, type the following:
FigLabel = new Array("Fig_1","Fig_2","Fig_3","Fig_4");You know the onMenu() event is triggered when a selection is made from the menu. As long as you set up both arrays with the same number of items, you can associate them by their indexes. Change your code to set the label variable on the main timeline equal to the array index of the user's selection:
onClipEvent(load) { myArray = new Array("Some Figs",Branden","Doug","Jody"); this.items = myArray; function onMenu (item, label) { FigLabel = new Array("Fig_1","Fig_2","Fig_3","Fig_4"); label = FigLabel[item]; _root.Figs.gotoAndStop(label); } }The item and label values came from the parameters passed into the onMenu() function. Save and test your movie. Now you can control the Figs movie clip on the Stage with your Menu smart clip.
This works great, but what if you wanted to pass the data in from a text file? That gets a little more complex and requires some reworking of your file.
Using a Text File to Populate the Menu Smart Clip
You probably want to know whether you can populate the array from a text file like you did for the other smart clips. The answer is "yes"; it's just a little more complex. You have to pass the array values to a variable as a delimited string of information. Then you have to parse that string inside Flash and place it in an array. What does that mean in English? The easiest way to explain it is to show you. First, take a look at the format for the text file:
data=Pick a Fig,Branden,Doug,Jody&labels=Fig_1,Fig_2,Fig_3,Fig_4
In this case you are passing a comma-delimited list into the variables named data and labels. The comma just separates what will be the different elements of the arrays. Right now, these are just strings of information; to break them up and pass them into arrays, you have to use the split method of the String object.
You can use Flash's internal string object to parse the string into arrays, but it's notoriously slow. Alternately, you can include an ActionScript file, written by Branden Hall, that overrides Flash's internal string functions with more efficient ones. All you have to do is place the file (string.as, found in the Chapter_20/Assets folder) in the same directory as your Flash file and include it as an external .as file in your Actions list:
#include "string.as"
Notice that there is no semicolon at the end of this statement. That flies in the face of what you were told earlier about always ending statements with semicolons. In this case, however, it is the proper syntax. If you slap a semicolon on the end of the line, you get a syntax error. If you're interested in what's in the string.as file, take a look at Listing 20.6.
Listing 20.6 The string.as File Is Used to Override Flash's Internal String Object's Methods
//--------------------------------------------------------------------- // String object rewrite v1.5 // Branden J. Hall // Fig Leaf Software // // Thanks to Damien Morton for the indexOf code // Thanks to Steven Yi for the *great* idea for the split code // Thanks to Dave@opaque.net for an additional speed boost to split // Thanks to Jobe Marker for a bug fix to the split code //---------------------------------------------------------------------
String.prototype.charAt = function(index){
return(substring(this, index+1, 1));
}
String.prototype.concat = function(){
var r = this.toString();
for (var i=0; i<arguments.length; ++i){
r += arguments[i];
}
return (r);
}
String.prototype.indexOf = function(sub, i){
if (i == null) i = 0;
var size = sub.length;
var last = this.length - size + 1;
while ((i <= last) && (substring(this, 1+i++, size) != sub));
return (i <= last ? (i-1) : -1);
}
String.prototype.lastIndexOf = function(sub, i){
size = sub.length;
i == null ? i = this.length - size + 1 : ++i;
if (sub.length == 0) return i-1;
while ((i >= 0) && (substring(this, i--, size) != sub));
return (i == -1 ? -1 : (i));
}
String.prototype.slice = function(s, e){
return(substring(this, s+1, e-s));
}
String.prototype.split = function{
if (d != null){
var r = new Array();
var size = this.length;
var c = 0;
var n = 0;
if (d != ""){
for (var i=0; i<=size; ++i){
if (substring(this, i+1, 1) == d){
r[n] = substring(this, c+1, i-c);
c = i+1;
++n;
}
}
if (c != i){
r[n] = substring(this, c+1, i-c);
}
}
else{
for (var i=0; i<s; ++i){
r[i] = substring(this, i+1, 1);
}
}
}
else{ r = new Array(this.toString());
}
return (r);
}
String.prototype.substr = function(s, l){
if (l == null){
l = this.length - s;
}
return(substring(this, s+1, l));
}
//-------------------------------------------------------------------
There is another version of this .as file floating around that has the white space removed. Yes, it does make for a smaller file, but it's completely unreadable. If you never plan to make any modifications to the code, that's fine. Otherwise, stick with this one.
To actually split the strings into arrays, you have to first create a new array object and then call the split function:
FigArray = new Array();
FigArray = data.split(",");
FigLabel = new Array();
FigLabel = labels.split(",");
Before you can split your strings, however, you're going to have to use the loadVariables() function to get them into your movie. You can do that part inside onClipEvent(load) or on the first frame of the main timeline, but you'll need to use onClipEvent(data) to make sure the variables have loaded before you try to parse them. Remember that issue of latency? Whenever you use loadVariables(), you have to wait until the variables have loaded before you can use them. That has a major impact here.
If the Menu smart clip is already on the Stage and you use the variables from a loadVariables() call to populate it, a funny thing happens. Everything loads and works just fine, except the value of the default label is going to be picked up from whatever is set in the smart clip parameters—not from the data you send in. As soon as you click the menu to expand it, everything is fine. Until then, however, you have a problem. How do you work around this?
One way to set this up is to use the attachMovie() method to attach the Menu smart clip as soon as the data is loaded. However, you're then left with no place to put your onClipEvent(data). You're going to have to get a little creative here. You really need to use onClipEvent(data) because you want to be sure the variables have loaded. Why not just create a blank movie clip to be a container for the Actions you need?
That works, but there is one more issue to resolve. Where do you put the onMenu() function? You can't attach it to the Menu smart clip; it's not on the Stage yet. You're going to have to modify the Menu smart clip in the Library just a little. You'll need to add the onMenu() function to the Actions list in frame 1 of the smart clip.
You can go a step further and make this extremely modular by loading the Figs movie from an external SWF file instead of having it embedded as a movie clip. That way, if you want to make changes to the overall movie, you need to edit just the Figs.fla file and the text file—nothing else.
You know you're going to add Actions in three places: the main timeline, a container movie clip, and the Menu smart clip itself. You know the pieces you need to put this together. Why not do it?
Exercise 20.8 Loading the Menu from a Text File
The end result of this exercise will look, and perform, exactly like the last exercise, but this one is more adaptable. If you add more frames to the Figs movie clip on the Stage, all you have to do is update the text file to add the additional variables you'll need.
Open FigMenu_3.fla from the Chapter_20/Assets folder. The only thing you'll see is an empty movie clip named container in the upper-left corner of the Stage. You'll be attaching the Menu smart clip from the Library and loading the Figs movie as an external SWF file.
Select frame 1 of the Actions layer. Include the string.as file, load your variables into the container movie clip, and load the Figs.swf file in level 2:
# include "String.as" _ root.container.loadVariables("fig.txt"); loadMovieNum ("Figs.swf", 2); stop();Now select the empty container movie clip. This movie clip receives the variables from the loadVariables() call. You need to create the array objects and populate them using the split method of the string object:
onClipEvent(data){ FigArray = new Array(); FigArray = data.split(","); FigLabel = new Array(); FigLabel = labels.split(","); }After the arrays are populated, you can attach the Menu smart clip. The linkage for the smart clip has already been set up; the identifier name is Menu. You can check this by selecting the Menu smart clip in the Library and selecting Linkage from the Options menu.
To attach the Menu smart clip, add the code between the asterisks:
onClipEvent(data){ FigArray = new Array(); FigArray = data.split(","); FigLabel = new Array(); FigLabel = labels.split(","); //****************************************** _ root.attachMovie("menu","mymenu",1); _ root.mymenu._y = 20; _ root.mymenu.items = FigArray; //****************************************** }Double-click the Menu smart clip in the Library to open it in Symbol-Editing mode. Add the following code at the end of the Actions list in frame 1 of the Actions layer:
function onMenu(item,label) { label = _root.container.FigLabel[item]; _ level2.gotoAndStop(label); }Now test your movie again.
The first line attaches the movie. The second line positions it on the Stage. The final line populates the smart clip's array.
You actually can test your movie at this point. The menu should work just fine, but it's not set up to control anything yet; you still need that onMenu() function, which has to be added to the smart clip itself.
If you modify this movie, all you have to do is open the Figs.fla file, add what you want, export the SWF, and then modify the text file to add the new variables. That's it. You won't actually have to open or publish this movie again.