Last updated:: May, 2008

[VAYKENT]

Aside from these pointers.. please look around for your answer before asking a question that might have already been answered.

Where to start for Flash and XML
- Tupps Flash/XML FAQ

Where to start for XML in general
- XML offers a method for describing data and it's relationship to other data.

Adobe Provided Articles
Loading, Parsing, and Locally Storing XML in Flash Lite 2
XML Topic Center
Integrating XML and Flash in a Web Application
Tools: XML object
XML and Macromedia/Adobe Flash from start to finish
Connecting to Data in Flash Using Data Wizards

- Also Check out:
http://xml.com
http://www.oreillynet.com/faqs/list.csp?id_subject=23
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/faqs/xml_faq_import
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/faqs/xml_faq_xmlsoft
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/faqs/xml_faq_terms

How to post XML samples
- Use 'PHP' brackets around your XML.

Things you can not 'officially' do with just Flash
(you need something else... php, asp, exe, rb, swfStudio, something...)
- You can not save an XML file to a computer in anything other than a Shared Object.
- You can not save an XML file to a server in anything other than a Shared Object

Bringing Special characters in XML into Flash
a 2008 thread by Kostas Zotos explains how

Cut-n-Paste How to use a link in XML

_root.createTextField("bob", 100, 25, 25, 200, 200);
_root.bob.html=true;
_root.bob.htmlText=new XML("<top><![CDATA[ <a href='www.google.com'>Google</a>]]></top>").firstChild.childNodes[0].nodeValue; 

Cut-n-Paste Using CDATA section to pass a parameter to a function

_xml = new XML();
_xml.ignoreWhite = true;
_xml.load("cdata.xml");

_xml.onLoad = function(){
showTxt.html = true; 
showTxt.htmlText = this.firstChild.firstChild.nodeValue;
};

function myFunc(param){
trace(param);
}; 

cdata.xml

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<aNode>
<![CDATA[<P ALIGN='CENTER'><B><FONT color='#FF0000'>
<a href='asfunction:myFunc,rocket.jpg'>RED ROCKET</a>
</FONT></B></P>]]>
</aNode>

Cut-n-Paste Parse nodes to array

var _xml:XML = new XML();
_xml.ignoreWhite = true;
_xml.load("pages.xml");

var arr:Array = new Array();
var num:Number = 0;

_xml.onLoad = function(){
cNodes = this.firstChild.childNodes;
var len:Number = cNodes.length;
for(var n:Number=0;n!=len;n++){
arr[n] = [];
var len2:Number = cNodes[n].childNodes.length; 
for(var m:Number=0;m!=len2;m++){
var obj = new Object();
obj.yr = cNodes[n].attributes.yr;
obj.txt = cNodes[n].childNodes[m].firstChild.nodeValue;
arr[n][m] = obj;
}
}
showArr(num);
};

function showArr(num){
showTxt.text = ""; // showTxt - instance name of dynamic textfield
showTxt.multiline = true;
showTxt.wordWrap = true; 
showTxt.html = true;
for(var a:Number=0;a!=arr[num].length;a++){
showTxt.htmlText += arr[num][a].txt
}
};

nextPage_btn.onRelease = function(){
num>=arr.length-1 ? num=0 : num++;
showArr(num);
}; 

pages.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<aNode>

<cNodes0 yr="2006">
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#FF0000'><b>cNode0_0</b><br></font>Sep '06<br>txt 0<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#0000FF'><b>cNode0_1</b><br></font>Aug '06<br>txt 1<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#FF0000'><b>cNode0_2</b><br></font>Jun '06<br>txt 2<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
</cNodes0>

<cNodes1 yr="2005">
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#FF0000'><b>cNode1_0</b><br></font>May '05<br>txt 0<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#0000FF'><b>cNode1_1</b><br></font>Apr '05<br>txt 1<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
</cNodes1>

<cNodes2 yr="2004">
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#FF0000'><b>cNode2_0</b><br></font>Mar '04<br>txt 0<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
<cNode>
<![CDATA[<font size='15' color='#FF0000'><b>cNode2_1</b><br></font>Feb '04<br>txt 1<br><br>]]>
</cNode>
</cNodes2>

</aNode>

How to: XML based menu system

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with other XML based menu systems, so I can't help you.

I have, however, added a thread on the system I use.

http://www.flashkit.com/board/showth...hreadid=416761

Cut-n-Paste Method and Property code for the XML Object

myXML = new XML("<top><inside/></top>");
    trace('new XML()');
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.appendChild(new XML("<inside2/>"));
    trace('appendChild() using a String');
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.appendChild(new XML(myXML.firstChild.firstChild));
    trace('appendChild() from an XML Object');
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.appendChild(myXML.firstChild.childNodes[1].cloneNode(true));
    trace('cloneNode()');
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
newUnassignedElement=new XML().createElement("newElement");
    trace('createElement() from Global XML Object');
    trace(newUnassignedElement);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.appendChild(newUnassignedElement);
    trace('append created element');
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
a_different_xml_object = new XML();
newUnassignedElement=a_different_xml_object.createElement("newElement2");
    trace('createElement from an instance of the XML Object');
    trace(newUnassignedElement);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.appendChild(newUnassignedElement);
    trace('append created element');
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
createdTextNode = new XML().createTextNode("this is the text");
    trace("Text node from createTextNode()");
    trace(createdTextNode);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.firstChild.appendChild(createdTextnode);
    trace("append created text");
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
elementToGetAttributes=new XML().createElement("elementWithAttributes");
elementToGetAttributes.attributes['type']="assigned attribute";
    trace("created element with assigned attribute");
    trace(elementToGetAttributes);
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.childNodes[2].appendChild(elementToGetAttributes);
    trace("appended element with assigned attribute");
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
    trace("Test to see if root node has children: "+myXML.firstChild.hasChildNodes());
trace('');
    trace("Test to see if Text node in root node's first child has children: "+myXML.firstChild.childNodes[0].firstChild.hasChildNodes());
trace('');
myXML.firstChild.insertBefore(new XML("<aNewNode>Here is some more text</aNewNode>"), myXML.firstChild.firstChild);
    trace("A new node inserted before the first child of the root node");
    trace(myXML);
trace('');
adXML = new XML("<root><something/></root>");
    trace("A new XML Object");
    trace(adXML);
trace('');
adXML.parseXML("<root><different/></root>");
    trace("adXML populated with different parsed XML information.");
    trace(adXML);
trace('');
adXML.firstChild.firstChild.removeNode();
    trace("Node removed from the middle of adXML");
    trace(adXML);
trace('');
stringVersion_of_adXML = adXML.toString();
    trace("adXML type: "+typeof(stringVersion_of_adXML));