XML/AS3 help creating a url link

**Donkey kong** · 10-19-2009, 04:11 AM

hi all

would anyone beable to help me with this : ( ?

I have been trying to understand how to create a url link with the xml file that my menu is driven by. what I have is a menu with text amd images reading from an xml file, I have created a third text field which I would like to use as a button/link that when click it goes to a url.

does this make any sense,mmmhhh!!! he! he!

this is what I have for my XML:

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<data>
		<image name="image 1" path="img/img1.jpg" 
		title="test 1" 
		text="INFORMATION"
		button="Go to URL 1" href="http://www.url1.com" />
		
		<image name="image 2" path="img/img2.jpg" 
		title="test 2" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 2" href="http://www.url2.com" />
		
		<image name="image 3" path="img/img3.jpg" 
		title="test 3" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 3" href="http://www.url3.com" />

</data>

I have tried to do something as simple as adding

href="www.mywebaddress"

but this doesn't seem to work, am I missing something within the flash movie. Am a newbie so please brake down little by little,

many thanks for any help, I have attached a demo file link for example, you will see that I have created 3 url links, each would have a different url?

http://art.clubworldgroup.com/menu/menu_19_oct.zip

**jweeks123** · 10-19-2009, 02:26 PM

Attach your source files and I'd be happy to take a look.

n/m I see it now.

**jweeks123** · 10-19-2009, 02:51 PM

I added the following to your "main.as" class in the function that makes all the items:

Code:

holder.mouseChildren = false;
holder.urlLink = images[i].@href;

Then I added the following to give me feedback in the function that handles the clicks:

Code:

trace("click");
trace(event.currentTarget.urlLink);

Basically what I've done is defined a property on each movieclip holder to hold the URL specified. Then said to make no mouseChildren, which means, that the click is heard by the entire object in a nutshell.

Then I call the urlLink property when the click is called.

To navigate to it, you could use:

navigateToURL(url);

but I just have it tracing out right now.

Hope this helps.

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 02:03 AM

hi there

thanks for that

yeah I thnk I no what you mean, but am newbie so is it possible you can explain with example with my script I already have, doh!

thanks for your help

**jweeks123** · 10-20-2009, 08:45 AM

I'm not quite sure what your asking, but if your asking for the code after my edits, here it is.

This is your main.as file

Code:

package {
	import flash.display.DisplayObject;
	import flash.display.MovieClip;
	import flash.display.Loader;
	import flash.display.Sprite;
	import flash.events.Event;
	import flash.events.MouseEvent;
	import flash.net.URLLoader;
	import flash.net.URLRequest;
	import flash.net.URLLoaderDataFormat;
	import CircleMenu;



	public class Main extends Sprite {

		public var circleMenu:CircleMenu;
		public var xmlLoader:URLLoader;

		public function Main() {
			//circleMenu = new CircleMenu( 340, 88, 12);
			circleMenu = new CircleMenu(620,2000,25);
			circleMenu.x = -300;
			circleMenu.y = 300;
			addChildAt( circleMenu, 0 );

			// Use URLLoader to load XML


			xmlLoader = new URLLoader();
			xmlLoader.dataFormat = URLLoaderDataFormat.TEXT;

			// Listen for the complete event
			xmlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onXMLComplete);//related to line 86
			xmlLoader.load(new URLRequest("data.xml"));//related to line 87



			stage.addEventListener( MouseEvent.MOUSE_WHEEL, onMouseWheel );




		}

		//___________________________________________________________
		//———————————————————————————————————————————— EVENT HANDLERS

		private function onXMLComplete(event:Event):void {
			// Create an XML Object from loaded data
			var data:XML = new XML(xmlLoader.data);

			// Now we can parse it
			var images:XMLList = data.image;





			for (var i:int = 0; i < images.length(); i++) {
				// Get info from XML node
				var imageName:String = images[i]. @ name;
				var imagePath:String = images[i]. @ path;
				var titles:String = images[i]. @ title;
				var texts:String = images[i]. @ text;
				var buttons:String = images[i]. @ button;// <<<<<<NEW 14TH OCTOBER 2009


				// Load images using standard Loader
				var loader:Loader = new Loader();

				// Listen for complete so we can center the image
				loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,onImageComplete);//related to line 43
				loader.load(new URLRequest(imagePath));//related to line 44

				// Create a container for the loader (image)
				var holder:MovieClip = new MovieClip();
				holder.addChild(loader);

				//var preloader:Preloader = new Preloader();  
				//                holder.addChild(preloader); 
				var button_main:Button_mr = new Button_mr();//this loads button onto the stage
				holder.addChild(button_main);//this loads in the button into container 'holder'




				var tooltip:ToolTip = new ToolTip();
				tooltip.field.text = titles;//loads tooltip 1
				tooltip.field2.text = texts;//loads tool tip 2
				tooltip.field3.text = buttons;//loads tool tip 3    // <<<<<NEW 14th OCTOBER 2009

				tooltip.x = -350;// where to have the tooltip on x axis in the holder
				tooltip.y = 0;// where to have the tooltip on y axis in the holder
				holder.addChild(tooltip);


				// Same proceedure as before
				holder.buttonMode = true;
				holder.addEventListener( MouseEvent.CLICK, onMenuItemClick );
				holder.mouseChildren = false;
				holder.urlLink = images[i].@href;




				// Add it to the menu
				circleMenu.addChild(holder);

			}
		}

		private function onImageComplete(event:Event):void {
			var img:Loader = event.currentTarget.loader;
			img.content["smoothing"] = true;
			img.x = -(img.width/2);
			img.y = -(img.height/2);
		}

		private function onMouseWheel( event:MouseEvent ):void {
			event.delta < 0 ? circleMenu.next():circleMenu.prev();//changing the < to > dipicts the way the mouse scrolls the menu
		}

		private function onMenuItemClick( event:MouseEvent ):void {
			trace("click");
			trace(event.currentTarget.urlLink);
			circleMenu.scrollToItem( event.currentTarget as DisplayObject );
		}
	}
}

Is that what you were asking? If not, let me know.

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 09:44 AM

hi there

yes, thanks for that, that was what Imean, is difficult for me to understand aas a newbie so I need explantion in script so I can see where to put things. thank you!

ok, I copy your script and made it my main.as file, when I click its traces it and shows what url, example i get in the output window

click
http://www.adobe.com

this is what I have now in my XML file

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<data>
		<image name="image 1" path="img/img1.jpg" 
		url="http://www.google.com" 
		title="test 1" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 1" href="http://www.flashkit.com" />

		
		<image name="image 2" path="img/img2.jpg" 
		title="test 2" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 2" href="http://www.adobe.com" />
		
		<image name="image 3" path="img/img3.jpg" 
		title="test 3" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 3" href="http://www.google.com" />

                         and so on . . .

is this correct???

many thanks for your time : )

**jweeks123** · 10-20-2009, 09:48 AM

No Prob, and it looks correct to me.

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 09:48 AM

sorry the XML should be

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<data>
		<image name="image 1" path="img/img1.jpg" 
		url="http://www.google.com" 
		title="test 1" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 1" 

		
		<image name="image 2" path="img/img2.jpg" 
                          url="http://www.adobe.com" 
		title="test 2" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 2" 
		
		<image name="image 3" path="img/img3.jpg" 
                         url="http://www.flashkit.com" 
		title="test 3" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 3"

is this correct

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 09:57 AM

ok, know, sorry it was the other way like this

Code:

   <image name="image 1" path="img/img1.jpg" 
		title="test 1" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 1" href="http://www.adobe.com" />

		
		<image name="image 2" path="img/img2.jpg" 
		title="test 2" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 2"  href="http://www.google.com" />
		
		<image name="image 3" path="img/img3.jpg" 
		title="test 3" 
		text="INFORMATION" 
		button="Go to URL 3" href="http://www.kirupa.com" />

quick question:

for the url link to work does it need to be in a browser as when publish via flash it doesn't seem to go anywhere??

many thanks

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 10:09 AM

hi there

I uploaded the menu to see if that was the problem but it still doesn't go to the links when click.......can you thing of anything I have missed

this is the link

http://art.clubworldgroup.com/menu/tests/

**jweeks123** · 10-20-2009, 10:55 AM

Shouldn't need to be, the syntax for navigateToURL is:

navigateToURL(new URLRequest("http://www.google.com"));

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 10:57 AM

hi there

sorry getting a little confused think I missed something out, is that for the XML file or for the main.as file, if for main.as file, where do I need to insert.............aaarrrgghhhhh!!!!

**jweeks123** · 10-20-2009, 11:01 AM

Sorry, my mistake, it is for the main.as file:

Code:

private function onMenuItemClick( event:MouseEvent ):void {
			trace("click");
			trace(event.currentTarget.urlLink);
                        navigateToURL(new URLRequest(event.currentTarget.urlLink));
			circleMenu.scrollToItem( event.currentTarget as DisplayObject );
		}

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 11:05 AM

hi there

ok i added that but I get an error that says

1180: Call to a possibly undefined method navigateToURL.

: (

**jweeks123** · 10-20-2009, 11:08 AM

At the top of your class you need to import it's class.

I believe it's
import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.net.navigateToURL;
import flash.net.URLRequest;

That should do it.

**Donkey kong** · 10-20-2009, 11:33 AM

ha! ha!

thats works, so many different things you have to add : 0

the only thing I have noticed is that it makes the images as the button and not the text 'get url 1' which should be the button. so if you rotate around the menu by clicking the images it goes to the url straight away, doh!

can we make it so that it is only the text button 'Go to URl ' using the script we have just added...or some of it ;

in the XML it is

Code:

 <image name="image 1" path="img/img1.jpg" 
title="Food Fight" 
text="Information" 
button="Go to URL 1" href="http://www.adobe.com" />

can we use the 'button="Go to URL" rather than the images on the wheel?

aaargrgghhh!!

**jweeks123** · 10-20-2009, 03:47 PM

Okay, well first question after examining your source FLA is this. Is there any reason that the go to button is a simplebutton? Does it have to be?

**Donkey kong** · 10-21-2009, 02:56 AM

hi there

well, so long as it does what I am trying to acheive it can be really what ever is easiest and/or works best. again am a newbie so don't really know what might be the best/easiest way......what do you think?

thanks for your help!!

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