Help with function to read external file

I have a code segment which randomly picks a quote from an external file (shown below). But I want to make it so that I can call this function from anywhere and return the value it obtains.

Here is the code segment:

Code: Select all

ranQuote = new LoadVars();
ranQuote.onLoad = function(success){
var ran:String;
if (success) { 
   RanNum = Math.ceil(Math.random()*11); 
   ran = this["quote"+RanNum]; 
}
else { 
ran = "The text failed to load due to an error";
}
}
ranQuote.load("Quotes.txt");

So basically, it takes a random quote string from a text file called Quotes.txt.

What I want to do is something like this (from the calling area):

Code: Select all

abc.text = ranQuote.load("Quotes.txt");

So that it can randomly assign a quote to abc.text (text string).
I will use this function from many places, and was planning to define the function in frame 1.

But I dont know actionscript well enough to make the first code segment a fully encapsulated function, that can achieve this. Any advice welcome.

So what if we turned this into a fuction like this:

Code: Select all

 
function RandomQuote() {
ranQuote = new LoadVars();
ranQuote.onLoad = function(success){
var ran:String;
if (success) { 
   RanNum = Math.ceil(Math.random()*11); 
   ran = this["quote"+RanNum]; 
}
else { 
ran = "The text failed to load due to an error";
}
}
ranQuote.load("Quotes.txt");
}

Then, say - on release of a button run the fuction and in a text field display the "run" value.

Code: Select all

 
on (release) 
{
RandomQuote(); 
abc.text = run;
{

This would runt he random quote fuction on release of the button and populate the text field in theory. (I didn't test it so there might be some bugs, I just wrote this off the top of my grog filled, coffee lacking head....) Hope this helps or gets you going in the right direction.

Time for some Coffee.

Cheers,

Scott

Thanks for the advice. But wouldnt the 'ran' variable only have local scope in the function?

What I was trying to do was return the quote from the function - but couldnt get that to work.

hmm, yeah - you could use a global variable and have it set the _root.variablename = run; and then use it that way I would think.

I can take a look at this a little more over the weekend I think...really busy today here at the good ole' job.

Does this at least get your gears turning?

Cheers,

Scott

I just think that because of the onload event, the assignment is only made when its finished loading the quotes.txt file. So at the point you perform the abc.text assignment, its not necessarily set the global variable that you're refering to yet.

I think this is why I was having problems with it as a function - due to the nature of this onload, and only getting the value set asynchronously.

Thanks for your thoughts though.