TweenMax from String of Instance Name

[freedom1k]

Hello,

Within a XmL I have Instance names and Info that I used to link a Person's Pics which displays when certain buttons are picked. Works well.

I decided to add a Combo box, linked to the same XML and display people name. I hope to have the Button Glow and Change color when a name is selected.

I was able to trace and capture the Instance name of the button based on the selected name.

 

the buttons are located within a MC:

stillIsoPlan_MC.staff098

the sample variable below combines the selected name with a string to trace the exact format above.

var gettingMCObject:String = ( "stillIsoPlan_MC." + xmlGridValue[numSelect] );

In testing if I TweenMax the variable I get: 

  TweenMax.to(gettingMCObject, 1, {colorTransform:{tint:0xff0000}});  

    TypeError: Error #1010: A term is undefined and has no properties.

 

 

 

But if I hard Code the buttons location, the color change works fine:

TweenMax.to(stillIsoPlan_MC.staff098, 1, {colorTransform:{tint:0xff0000}});

Is there a way to use Instance Name from a String with the TweenMax feature?

Also, can you use the yoyo: property in TweemMax.to to isolate the color and glow of a mc or btn?

 

Your guidance is much appreciated!

 

Below is the code segment :

// ComboList 
myComBoBox.prompt = "Select Staff: "; 
var xmlLoader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
var xmlArry:Array = new Array();
var xmlGridValue:Array = new Array();
var comboXMLData:XML = new XML();
xmlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, LoadXML);
xmlLoader.load(new URLRequest("StaffListFromXMLSchema.xml"));
function LoadXML(e:Event):void{
comboXMLData  = new XML(e.target.data);
//trace(comboXMLData.staffInfo.length());
for(var i:uint=0;i<comboXMLData.staffInfo.length();i++)
{
xmlArry.push(comboXMLData.staffInfo.staffName[i]);
xmlGridValue.push(comboXMLData.staffInfo.gridValue[i]);
myComBoBox.dataProvider.sortOn("label");
myComBoBox.addItem( { label: xmlArry[i], data:i } );
myComBoBox.addEventListener(Event.CHANGE, doAction);
}
}
function doAction (e:Event):void
{
var numSelect:Number = Number(myComBoBox.selectedItem.data);  //data to line number
trace(xmlArry[numSelect]);
trace(xmlGridValue[numSelect]);
var gettingMCObject:String = ( "stillIsoPlan_MC." + xmlGridValue[numSelect] );
var prefixMCname:String = "stillIsoPlan_MC.";
trace(gettingMCObject);
//TweenMax.to(stillIsoPlan_MC.manager08, 1, {glowFilter:{color:0x91e600, alpha:1, blurX:30, blurY:30, strength:1, quality:2}, ease:Elastic.easeInOut});
TweenMax.to(stillIsoPlan_MC.xmlGridValue[numSelect], 1, {colorTransform:{tint:0xff0000}});
}

sample xml format: gridValue = Instance Name of buttons

 

 

<staffInfo>

<gridValue>manager12</gridValue>

<staffName>Hunting, Joe </staffName>

<quickDail>59xxx</quickDail>

<staffPhone>(6xx) 9xx-9xxx</staffPhone>

<staffPC>OH02-XXXX</staffPC>

<staffPcPort>0000D1</staffPcPort>

<imageLarge>StaffPics/LowRes/Hunting, Joe_LR.jpg</imageLarge>

</staffInfo>

 

 

 

[Carl]

Hi, 

 

You can't pass String values as targets of tweens.

Just like this won't work

var gettingMCObject:String = ( "stillIsoPlan_MC." + xmlGridValue[numSelect] );
gettingMCObject.x = 200 //will throw error

I didn't look over your full code but here are some ways to use String values to target child elements of MovieClips.

 

Assume a MovieClip with instance name parent_mc contains child1_mc. 

Typically you would target child1_mc with

 

parent_mc.child1_mc.someProperty = someValue

 

If you are using String values as the instance names, you can do:

 

var nameOfParentMC:String = "parent_mc";
var someValueFromXML:String = "child1";


this["parent_mc"][someValueFromXML].x = 100;
parent_mc[someValueFromXML].y = 100;
this[nameOfParentMC][someValueFromXML].rotation = 45;

Attached is an FLA example. Hopefully it helps you with xml data

 

 

 

dynamicTarget.fla.zip

[freedom1k]

Thanks for the lesson and example. I'll implement and report back.