ActionScript for Flash 5 dummies: Scrolling a text box

ActionScript for Flash 5 dummies: Scrolling a text box.

So, you're a designer, and you have very little background in programming. You want to add interactivity to your Flash movies. You've heard of this thing called « ActionScript » , you thought it could do the job. You've checked out the Flash 5 manual, you tried to follow the examples, you tried again, then tried some more, then after a few days, you decided to give up before smashing your keyboard into your brand new 19 inch monitor. Well, this series of tutorials is intended for you.

Using a few classic examples of interactivity, I am going to show how to use ActionScript in a practical manner. I'll try to be as clear and concise as possible. Hopefully, by the end of the series, you'll be able to add interactivity to your Flash movies, with a minimal amount of collateral damage to your surrounding hardware or small pets.

The Movie

If there's a question that gets asked the most at the Flash 5 board here at Flashkit, then it's probably « How do I scroll a text box » (although « Why can't this stupid piece of **** work? » is not far behind).

Scrolling a text box is not as easy as it seems. It involves quite a bit of ActionScript, which is a bit *intimidating* to the beginner. Well, fear not, using my technique, by the end of the day, you'll be able to scroll a text box just like this: