Looking for AS3 Form Tutorial

[dougcollins02]

I'm looking for a good tutorial that goes over how to work with forms in Flash using AS3, specifically how to store inputted text as a variable and how to check inputted text for valid input. Anyone have any ideas?

[Awoken]

What exactly do you mean by forms?
Yes there are many ways to store inputted text and check them but can you explain your wants in a little more detail?

[dougcollins02]

Originally Posted by Awoken

What exactly do you mean by forms?
Yes there are many ways to store inputted text and check them but can you explain your wants in a little more detail?

Sure, I'd be happy to be more specific.

My knowledge of Flash and AS3 is intermediate. I say this because, while I understand the basic tenants of Flash and AS3 and can pull off some nifty bits of code and interaction, I still have to go looking for tutorials whenever I'm learning a new skill. The project I'm working on is a big one, and I'm finding it difficult to string all of what I need to do with a particular form together.

I'm working on a project that's a mockup of a live system. My company will use this mockup for training purposes. This requires me to store information from input text fields, drop down lists and checkboxes, and to display that information at several other frame labels further on in the timeline. I don't need this information to be stored or processed on a server; it only needs to exist within the confines of the Flash document (so I'm not concerned with any connection to a server or interaction with any languages like PHP).

What I'm really looking for is a good tutorial on how to store and carry variables between frames (from input text, drop down lists, checkboxes, etc.), displaying variables entered in previous frames, and checking variables for null values (ie if an input variable is undefined brining up different error messages depending on which variable is left unchecked).

I know that getting into all of this is way beyond the scope of a post here (I don't expect the other users here to coddle me or be my personal unpaid teacher) so I was hoping that someone might know some good, general forms tutorials out there that I could look over.

[djpaul1963]

What you need is not a form tutorial but a basic knowledge of programming, regardless the language or framework you use.
Try to think your flash movie as a unity and not a collection of frames where various input boxes and dropdowns and radio buttons cannot communicate with each other.
To let them all serve your purpose, store their contents to a structure of global variables. When you need those values no matter the frame you are or how far from the initial form, their data will be in front of you, ready to assign them to other controls, or calculate or send to a server or whatever...

[dougcollins02]

Thanks for the advice, DJPaul.

I have the basic knowledge of AS3; what I'm struggling with more than anything else is the ins-and-outs of storing and calling global variables, especially between nested movie clips and the root timeline. Some of my problems I've been able to work out for myself; others I still have questions about. This is why I'm looking for a tutorial: to teach myself the finer points of the how-to side of things. My shortcomings isn't with the understanding of the concepts.