darron schall :: application developer specializing in the flash platform

I updated my 'googLinks' on the main page to pull the .opml files from my own site instead of getting them from Full as a Goog. I also thought I'd post the code I'm using with the new Tree component in Flash MX 2k4 Pro. It's pretty straightforward, and hopefully my comments will help you understand it a little better...

var categories : Array = ["Central", "ColdFusionMX", "DreamweaverMX", "FlashMX", "WebBuilder"];
var current : Number = 0;
var today : Date = new Date();
var path : String = "/googLinks/";
var cacheBuster : String = "?rand=" + today.getDay();

// single XML variable re-used for every category
var loader : XML = new XML();
loader.ignoreWhite = true;
loader.onLoad = function(success) {
 	if (success) {
  		// add the head to the tree
  		var header = new XML().createElement("node");
  		header.attributes.label = categories[current];
  		header.attributes.icon = categories[current];
  
  		// keep a reference to the head when we add it
  		var treeData = googLinks.addTreeNode(header);
  		
  		// declare an array to hold all of the links
  		//  -- used to sort the entries
  		var dataHolder = new Array();
  		
  		// populate the array with all of the info from the outline
  		// tags in the .opml files.
  		var body : XMLNode = this.firstChild.firstChild.nextSibling;
  		var outline = body.firstChild;
  		while (outline != null) {
   			dataHolder.push({label:outline.attributes["title"], data:outline.attributes["id"]});
   			outline = outline.nextSibling;
   		}		
  		
  		// sort the array, then add the nodes under the head via the
  		// 'treeData' reference we created above
  		dataHolder.sortOn("label", Array.CASEINSENSITIVE);
  		for (var i = 0; i < dataHolder.length; i++) {
   			treeData.addTreeNode(dataHolder[i].label, dataHolder[i].data);			
   		}
  		
  		// load the next category if we need to
  		if (current < categories.length - 1) {
   			current++;
   			loader.load(path + categories[current] + ".opml" + cacheBuster);
   		} else {
   			// nothing else to load... clean up!
   			delete loader;
   			delete current;
   			delete categories;
   			delete today;
   			delete path;
   			delete cacheBuster;
   		}
  		
  	}
}

// start the ball rolling with the first load
loader.load(path + categories[current] + ".opml" + cacheBuster);

// set up the tree style
_global.style.setStyle('themeColor', 'haloOrange');
googLinks.setStyle('selectionColor', 0xFFFFFF);
googLinks.setStyle('rollOverColor', 0xD8D8D8);
googLinks.setStyle('fontFamily', 'Verdana');
googLinks.setStyle('fontSize', 9);
googLinks.rowHeight = 24;

// delcare an icon function to place the icons.  by 
// default I look for the "icon" attribute, and if not
// there, use the 'Bullet' icon.  Every icon has a
// movieClip symbol in the library with its linkage
// name set to the icon name.
googLinks.iconFunction = function (node) {
 	var ico = node.attributes.icon;
 	if (ico == undefined) {
  		ico = 'Bullet';
  	}
 	return ico;
}

// old school, just declare a changeHandler instead
// of adding an event listener.
googLinks.changeHandler = function () {
 	// open up the site if there is a URL
 	if (this.selectedNode.attributes.data != undefined) {
  		getURL(this.selectedNode.attributes.data);
  	} else {
  		// no URL, so that means they clicked on a 
  		// category head.  if the category is open, 
  		// close it, otherwise open it.  the last "true"
  		// param is for playing the transition so the
  		// the category doesn't just "snap" open or closed
  		this.setIsOpen(this.selectedNode, !this.getIsOpen(this.selectedNode), true);
  	}
}

Enjoy your weekend! I'll be out playing in the snow. We got hit with around 8 inches overnight here in eastern Pennsylvania... woohoo for the first snow of this winter season! Snowboarding anyone?