Newb question about text input and variables

Getting Started Newbie Questions
#1

Hi all,

Getting heavy into corona and loving it. Working on a simple project and i’be been having a heck of a time. Been through many documents, forums and tutorials and no luck making this work. should be simple.

I’m using composer to go from scene to scene

main goes to scene1

scene one has a text field for player to enter name.

goes to scene 2

scene 2 displays players name.

Cant get it to work. 

any help on a way to structure this simply would be awesome. biggest issue is that i cant get it to display a variable as test on the screen. cant tell if the firld is working because i cant get it to bloody work.

Many thanks

Mike

#2

Hi pinballgamer,

Try start  from Getting Started. This is good start point for beginners. It uses text object and composer for simple game project.

Good luck :slight_smile:

ldurniat

#3

Thanks ldurniat,

I appreciate the input. Been through this a bunch. Got all of this going except passing a text field into a variable and then displaying it.

When I do it as a straight variable

I’ll include my short screens

***edited. I had the wrong scene2. now its not a copy of 1***

I have a globalData.lua file to store stuff.

-- Pseudo-global space local M = {} return M

then i have my main.lua

local composer = require( "composer" ) display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar) local options = {    effect = "fade",    time = 500, } composer.gotoScene( "scene1", options )

next is scene1.lua this has the input field

local composer = require( "composer" ) local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen end -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end myTextString = "" -- TextField Listener local function fieldHandler( event )       if ( "began" == event.phase ) then     elseif ( "editing" == event.phase ) then                   myTextString = event.target.text                 elseif ( "ended" == event.phase ) then             myTextString = event.target.text              native.setKeyboardFocus( nil )     end end inputTextField = native.newTextField(150,100, 200, 50)  inputTextField:addEventListener("userInput", fieldHandler) timer.performWithDelay(50, function()native.setKeyboardFocus( inputTextField )end, 1) globalData.playerName = myTextString  local function onNextTouch( event ) if ("ended" == event.phase ) then composer.gotoScene("scene2") end end  local nextButton = display.newText( "Next", 150, 400, native.systemFont, 75 ) nextButton:setFillColor(25,25,4) nextButton:addEventListener( "touch", onNextTouch ) -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

and finally scene2.lua that should display the name

local composer = require( "composer" ) local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen end  local currentPlayer = globalData.playerName  local nametext = display.newText("player " ..currentPlayer, 100,300,75,100) nametext:setFillColor(25,25,4) -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

I think i’ve got it all right, but it wont pass the variable. It leaves the field where it should display it by the word player as empty.

ideas?

Thanks.

#4

Do you read the composer.setVariable()?
In the other scene use composer.getVariable(), also have a params to pass thru scenes… I’m a newbie too so I just want to give you my 2 cents of what I learned. Cheers!

#5

I found the solution. 

I used the cabinet file from- https://github.com/Wavalab/corona-cabinet

I’ve included here for anyone who wants to see what I did

Main.lua

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- -- main.lua -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Your code here local composer = require( "composer" ) display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar) local options = {    effect = "fade",    time = 500, } composer.gotoScene( "scene1", options )

scene1.lua

local composer = require( "composer" ) --local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local cabinet = require("cabinet") local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen -- TextField Listener local function fieldHandler( event )       if ( "began" == event.phase ) then     elseif ( "editing" == event.phase ) then                               myTextString = event.target.text      elseif ( "ended" == event.phase ) then                         native.setKeyboardFocus( nil )     end end inputTextField = native.newTextField(150,100, 200, 50)  inputTextField:addEventListener("userInput", fieldHandler) timer.performWithDelay(50, function()native.setKeyboardFocus( inputTextField )end, 1) cabinet.set("playerName",myTextString)  local function onNextTouch( event ) if ("ended" == event.phase ) then composer.gotoScene("scene2") end end  local nextButton = display.newText( "Next", 150, 400, native.systemFont, 75 ) nextButton:setFillColor(25,25,4) nextButton:addEventListener( "touch", onNextTouch ) sceneGroup:insert(inputTextField) sceneGroup:insert(nextButton) end -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

scene2.lua

local composer = require( "composer" ) --local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local cabinet = require("cabinet") local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen   cabinet.get("playerName")  --local currentPlayer = globalData.playerName  local nametext = display.newText("player " ..myTextString, 100,300,75,100) nametext:setFillColor(25,25,4) end -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

and last but not least… cabinet.lua

--[[  Cabinet v1.1 | MIT | github.com/wavalab/corona-cabinet   Save/retrieve Tables, Numbers, Strings & Booleans via persistent JSON file. --]] local j = require "json" local cabinet = {} local function rj(fname, dir)   local t, f = {}, io.open(system.pathForFile(fname, dir), "r")   if not f then return end   t = j.decode(f:read("\*a"))   io.close(f)   return t end local function wj(t, fname, dir)   local f = io.open(system.pathForFile(fname, dir), "w")   if not f then return end   f:write(j.encode(t))   io.close(f) end local f = "cabinet.json" local d = system.DocumentsDirectory local t = rj(f, d) or {} function cabinet.set(k, v)   t[k] = v   wj(t, f, d) end function cabinet.get(k)   return t[k] end function cabinet.remove(k)   t[k] = nil   wj(t, f, d) end function cabinet.clear()   t = {}   wj(t, f, d) end return cabinet

you will also need a blank caninet.json file. 

i hope this is of some help to someone. It was a strugle, but I made it. best way to learn! 

thanks to those who provided input for me.

Thanks,\

Mike

#6

Hi pinballgamer,

Try start  from Getting Started. This is good start point for beginners. It uses text object and composer for simple game project.

Good luck :slight_smile:

ldurniat

#7

Thanks ldurniat,

I appreciate the input. Been through this a bunch. Got all of this going except passing a text field into a variable and then displaying it.

When I do it as a straight variable

I’ll include my short screens

***edited. I had the wrong scene2. now its not a copy of 1***

I have a globalData.lua file to store stuff.

-- Pseudo-global space local M = {} return M

then i have my main.lua

local composer = require( "composer" ) display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar) local options = {    effect = "fade",    time = 500, } composer.gotoScene( "scene1", options )

next is scene1.lua this has the input field

local composer = require( "composer" ) local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen end -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end myTextString = "" -- TextField Listener local function fieldHandler( event )       if ( "began" == event.phase ) then     elseif ( "editing" == event.phase ) then                   myTextString = event.target.text                 elseif ( "ended" == event.phase ) then             myTextString = event.target.text              native.setKeyboardFocus( nil )     end end inputTextField = native.newTextField(150,100, 200, 50)  inputTextField:addEventListener("userInput", fieldHandler) timer.performWithDelay(50, function()native.setKeyboardFocus( inputTextField )end, 1) globalData.playerName = myTextString  local function onNextTouch( event ) if ("ended" == event.phase ) then composer.gotoScene("scene2") end end  local nextButton = display.newText( "Next", 150, 400, native.systemFont, 75 ) nextButton:setFillColor(25,25,4) nextButton:addEventListener( "touch", onNextTouch ) -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

and finally scene2.lua that should display the name

local composer = require( "composer" ) local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen end  local currentPlayer = globalData.playerName  local nametext = display.newText("player " ..currentPlayer, 100,300,75,100) nametext:setFillColor(25,25,4) -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

I think i’ve got it all right, but it wont pass the variable. It leaves the field where it should display it by the word player as empty.

ideas?

Thanks.

#8

Do you read the composer.setVariable()?
In the other scene use composer.getVariable(), also have a params to pass thru scenes… I’m a newbie too so I just want to give you my 2 cents of what I learned. Cheers!

#9

I found the solution. 

I used the cabinet file from- https://github.com/Wavalab/corona-cabinet

I’ve included here for anyone who wants to see what I did

Main.lua

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- -- main.lua -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Your code here local composer = require( "composer" ) display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar) local options = {    effect = "fade",    time = 500, } composer.gotoScene( "scene1", options )

scene1.lua

local composer = require( "composer" ) --local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local cabinet = require("cabinet") local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen -- TextField Listener local function fieldHandler( event )       if ( "began" == event.phase ) then     elseif ( "editing" == event.phase ) then                               myTextString = event.target.text      elseif ( "ended" == event.phase ) then                         native.setKeyboardFocus( nil )     end end inputTextField = native.newTextField(150,100, 200, 50)  inputTextField:addEventListener("userInput", fieldHandler) timer.performWithDelay(50, function()native.setKeyboardFocus( inputTextField )end, 1) cabinet.set("playerName",myTextString)  local function onNextTouch( event ) if ("ended" == event.phase ) then composer.gotoScene("scene2") end end  local nextButton = display.newText( "Next", 150, 400, native.systemFont, 75 ) nextButton:setFillColor(25,25,4) nextButton:addEventListener( "touch", onNextTouch ) sceneGroup:insert(inputTextField) sceneGroup:insert(nextButton) end -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

scene2.lua

local composer = require( "composer" ) --local globalData = require( "globalData" ) local cabinet = require("cabinet") local scene = composer.newScene() -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Code outside of the scene event functions below will only be executed ONCE unless -- the scene is removed entirely (not recycled) via "composer.removeScene()" -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event functions -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- create() function scene:create( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs when the scene is first created but has not yet appeared on screen   cabinet.get("playerName")  --local currentPlayer = globalData.playerName  local nametext = display.newText("player " ..myTextString, 100,300,75,100) nametext:setFillColor(25,25,4) end -- show() function scene:show( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is still off screen (but is about to come on screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is entirely on screen     end end -- hide() function scene:hide( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     local phase = event.phase     if ( phase == "will" ) then         -- Code here runs when the scene is on screen (but is about to go off screen)     elseif ( phase == "did" ) then         -- Code here runs immediately after the scene goes entirely off screen     end end -- destroy() function scene:destroy( event )     local sceneGroup = self.view     -- Code here runs prior to the removal of scene's view end -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Scene event function listeners -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- scene:addEventListener( "create", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "show", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "hide", scene ) scene:addEventListener( "destroy", scene ) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- return scene

and last but not least… cabinet.lua

--[[  Cabinet v1.1 | MIT | github.com/wavalab/corona-cabinet   Save/retrieve Tables, Numbers, Strings & Booleans via persistent JSON file. --]] local j = require "json" local cabinet = {} local function rj(fname, dir)   local t, f = {}, io.open(system.pathForFile(fname, dir), "r")   if not f then return end   t = j.decode(f:read("\*a"))   io.close(f)   return t end local function wj(t, fname, dir)   local f = io.open(system.pathForFile(fname, dir), "w")   if not f then return end   f:write(j.encode(t))   io.close(f) end local f = "cabinet.json" local d = system.DocumentsDirectory local t = rj(f, d) or {} function cabinet.set(k, v)   t[k] = v   wj(t, f, d) end function cabinet.get(k)   return t[k] end function cabinet.remove(k)   t[k] = nil   wj(t, f, d) end function cabinet.clear()   t = {}   wj(t, f, d) end return cabinet

you will also need a blank caninet.json file. 

i hope this is of some help to someone. It was a strugle, but I made it. best way to learn! 

thanks to those who provided input for me.

Thanks,\

Mike