Flash Remoting: The Definitive Guide

Text Objects

Text fields are available in the Flash authoring tool from the Tools panel by clicking the Text Tool icon. This allows you to draw a text field on your movie interface. The text that you place in your movie using the Text Tool is an ActionScript object as well—the TextField object.

There are three distinct types of text fields: Static, Dynamic, and Input. A text field’s type can be set using the drop-down list in the Property inspector, as shown in Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2. The Property inspector for a TextField object

Static Text Fields

To create a static text field, click the Text Tool in the Tools panel and draw an outline on the Stage. A static text field can be used as a label or to display text to the user. However, you can’t set an instance name for a static text field, and the field’s contents or other properties can’t be manipulated via ActionScript. You can enter text in the field during authoring or change its properties through the Property inspector. If you put it in a movie clip, you can alter its appearance indirectly by changing the clip’s properties.

Dynamic Text Fields

Unlike a static text field, you can modify a dynamic text field programmatically. You should use dynamic text fields in your Flash Remoting applications to give you the flexibility to change a field programmatically or alter the labels with localized text.

To control a dynamic text field ...