link in flash 5

[xtremerider247]

Hi everyone. i have a question. in Flash 5, how can i make a button go to a web page, not a frame in my movie, a link to lets say-www.yahoo.com.
is there a special action that will do that? Thanks

[rh71]

Yes, it's one of the basic A/S commands... you should find it under that category if you have the ACTIONS frame open (CTRL-ALT-A, or the blue arrow on the bottom right of your Flash window).

You'll have to create the button first though. Since you want text to link to the site, use the text tool (the A icon) and type out in your movie "http://www.yahoo.com" or "Yahoo" or whatever you like to represent the button/link. Exit out of type mode (I use esc) and hit F8 (create symbol), name it anything descriptive (so you can refer to it from your library if you need to), and choose Button.

It is now recognized as a button by Flash, but you haven't assigned it what to do yet. In your ACTIONS window (CTRL-ALT-A), make sure the top title says "OBJECT ACTIONS" so you know you're applying the following to the button and not the frame. Click "+"-->"Basic Actions"-->Get URL. It should be self-explanatory from there. For the "window" input area, _self would open Yahoo in the same window as your Flash movie, which is NOT what you want. You will need to use _blank.

Keep in mind, the getURL command lets you link anywhere, even allowing the mailto command for links to have someone email you.