Forms are an advanced type of interactivity—a combination of buttons, movies and fields that let you pass information to another application on a local or remote server. All common form elements (such as radio buttons, drop down lists, and check boxes) can be created as movies or buttons with the look and feel of your web site's overall design.
Common types of forms that use such interface elements include surveys, order forms, and search interfaces. For example, a Flash form can collect and send address information to another application that compiles the information into an email or database file.
Forms require two components: the Flash elements that make up the form and either a server-side application or client-side script to process the information that the user enters. The following steps outline the general procedure for creating form elements in Flash.
To create a form:
| 1 | Create a library of elements such as buttons and checkboxes. |
| 2 | Place a combination of editable text fields and symbol instances in the movie using the layout you want. |
| 3 | Name the variables within the Properties dialog box for each text field. Use unique and descriptive variable names. |
| 4 | Assign the button actions that send data to a Flash Player or web-based application via HTTP. |
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