Can the Item Name be passed to Javascript?

Question

Is there a way to capture the Item Name (or any unique identifier) from the button that was clicked to trigger a javascript?  (I'm working in Captivate 5.5, but others are on 6.0, so I can take either answer if different)
To provide context, I have a simulation where the user has to make three different choices from three different drop down boxes (choose an appetizer, an entree and a dessert), each choice stored in a variable.  The user then has to assign the three selections to one of 20 places.  Each of the 20 places has 3 variables each to capture the choices for each dining position.
My problem is that I have to write 20 different Advanced Actions to assign the 3 user choices to the 3 variables for that dining position.  While straightforward enough, as I think through expanded options for the simulation, that will be a complete pain to make changes.  My desire is to write a Javascript that 'constructs' the variable name needed for the cpEISetValue function, so that the same script can be used for each of the 20 buttons.  I know how to the construction part of the variable name, but to do that I would need some kind of unique information about the button that was clicked to construct its unique variable names for the choices.
Hope that made sense.

Answer 1

Yes, this is possible:
Drop a smart shape onto your canvas and set it to work as a button.
Right-click it and Add Text.  This will enable the Format section in the properties panel.
Under the Format section, choose a Captivate Variable to be the text of your smartshape button.
When the button is clicked, you can execute some javascript to get the name of the button like so:
alert('Button Name: ' + document.Captivate.cpEIGetValue('m_VarHandle.btnName'));
Where btnName is the Captivate user variable that you're displaying in your smartshape text.  That JavaScript should pop up an alert box with the name of the button.
You can also set the name of your button from JavaScript if you needed:
document.Captivate.cpEISetValue('m_VarHandle.btnName', 'Save');
This would make your button read "Save" in your project.
Jim Leichliter
CaptivateDev.com