Question about using ajax to load SWFOject "flashvars" variable

[burtonfigg]

I have an ecard site. Part of that site allows users to enter their own message which then appears within a flash SWF file.

This is an example page:

http://jimpix.co.uk/ecards/4560-type-your-own-message.html

And this is the example HTML that is used to display the SWF file using SWFObject:

<div id="swfcontainer">
    <div id="myContent"></div>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        var flashvars = {
          txtVar01: "What you type, appears in bouncing letters. Click in the dark box at any time to change the text effect",
          txtVar02: "",
          txtVar03: "",
          txtVar04: ""
        };
        var params = {
          wmode: "opaque",
          menu: "false"
        };
        var attributes = {
          id: "myDynamicContent",
          name: "myDynamicContent"
        };
 
        swfobject.embedSWF("../ub6illaw/flash/swf/make_your_own_text.swf", "myContent", "800", "600", "9.0.0","expressInstall.swf", flashvars, params, attributes);
    </script>
</div>

When users enter their own text, they have to submit a form, to send the textarea contents back to the page, so that the flash content can be updated.

I'd prefer to do this immediately, i.e. as you type in the textarea box, the flash updates right away.

I can see that this could be done using AJAX, but I'm not sure how to go about it, and would appreciate some advice if possible please.

In this case, I'm not needing to connect to a database - just update a region of the page that holds the relevant "txtVar01" value in the SWFObject javascript.

I have done some basic work in Ajax before, using this simple example as a starting point:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/oracle_php_cook book/ullman-ajax.html

I can see on Google Advanced Search (http://www.google.co.u k/advanced_search ) something which might be what I'm after - as you type in the query in the text box it appears in the div at the top that says "Use the form below and your advanced search will appear here".

Anyway, apologies for the essay.

Any advice much appreciated

Thanks!

[acoder]

You probably don't need Ajax. If you're using SWFObject, you could probably pass the new value to update. Check the API of SWFObject to see if it's possible after the Flash has loaded.