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1002 - How do I use the array function?

by - Joseph Ganci

I am new to using arrays. I have been successful in using an array to store and retrieve text but now I wish to use an array to store and retrieve sounds and graphics. Can this be done and if so what is the most efficient way to go about it?

Also reading a description of the Array, ArraySet and ArrayGet functions, I noticed that if I use Array, ArraySet and ArrayGet won't work.

Arrays were a good thing until lists were introduced into Authorware. Now hardly anyone uses the built-in Authorware array, instead choosing to use lists, which are like arrays but much more flexible. You'll find there are linear lists and property lists. I think if you were to study those now you would find yourself much better off using those now. Just to confuse things, the Array function is used only with lists and not with the built-in array (not my doing, really!). The Array function is only used when you want to set up a list with more than one dimension, like an Excel spreadsheet, for instance.

To store and retrieve sounds and graphics through a list (or even through the older array), you need to point to where they are stored. This will normally be a Display icon or a Sound icon. You may have a different Display icon for each image you want to display and a separate Sound icon for each sound you want to play, in which case you would store the name or ID of the icon to show or play. You can also choose to keep your images and sounds external and route them through one Display and one Sound icon, in which case you would store the name of the external file. It's a little more work than that but that should get you started.

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