Text find and Highlight

Question

I have a textbox that I am loading text from instructionsArray that gets data from a XML file.  I want to search that textbox for a word that might be in the dictionaryArray that gets data from and XML file. Then I want the word if its there to be higlighted in red and be able to rollover  or click the word to get a popup that shows the words definition that is also in the dictionaryArray.    SO the code for all of this as I have it so far builds a rectangle backgournd and addes the textbox to it. The MA is a variable that tells what set of instuctions it is on (1, 2, etc).  Everything works except the search and highlight. Is this better?
XML FILE
CODE for XML Dictionary
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<dictionary>
          <allWords>
                    <word>Enzymes</word>
                    <definition>Natural chemical substances found in all plant and animal tissue. In growing plants, they aid in all growth processes including maturation and ripening. After maturity, continued activity of enzymes can cause undesirable changes in color, flavor and texture. Enzymes that cause these undesirable changes are destroyed during heat processing of foods.</definition>
                    <visualAids>
                              <image src="Flash_pictures/tn/tn_mouth.png" title="Mouth" url="Flash_pictures/mouth.png" />
                    </visualAids>
          </allWords>
          <allWords>
                    <word>Oxidation</word>
                    <definition>Gain in oxygen or loss of electrons. Acid Foods: Foods containing natural acids, those that had vinegar added to them or those produced by controlled microbial fermentation are classified as acid foods. This food group includes fruits, tomatoes, pickles, sauerkraut and relishes. Because microorganisms do not thrive in acid, these foods can be safely processed in a water bath canner at 212 F (100 C) </definition>
                    <visualAids>
                              <image src="Flash_pictures/tn/tn_mouth.png" title="Mouth" url="Flash_pictures/mouth.png" />
                    </visualAids>
          </allWords>
</dictionary>
CODE FOR XML INSTRUCTIONS
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<allInsturctions>
          <actInstructions>
                    <name>
                              act1
                    </name>
                    <boxtext>
                              Before tomatoes enter the plant, they must be graded for quality. The quality of the tomatoes on a truckload determines how much the producer gets paid. Only grade A/B tomatoes will be used in canning. Grade C tomatoes may be used for other types of tomato food products such as juice or salsa.
                    </boxtext>
                    <instructions>
                              <![CDATA[ Tomato Grading
<p>Enzymes The quality grade of a tomato is based on 3 things: size, ripeness and defects. This step is only an average of the quality for the whole truck so the producer can be fairly paid. Later, every tomato will be graded both by machine and by hand before being processed.
<p>Minimum quality requirements must be met to continue processing or you risk the final canned product getting recalled by the USDA. The estimated Grade quality for the truck is not sufficient enough. Each tomato is graded for redness by a machine where tomatoes that are too green are siphoned off for juice production. Tomatoes are also evaluated by hand so that any broken fruit can be discarded. Broken fruit will jam up the machinery and not peel properly.</p>
<p> Now it is your turn to practice grading tomatoes in order to determine how much to pay the producer!
1.          Take a sample of tomatoes from 3 different spots in the truckload. <br/>2.          Give each separate sample a grade of A/B, or C. <br/>3.          Then average the 3 samples together to determine how much to pay you producer and decide what finished product to use the tomatoes for.
</p>
]]>
                    </instructions>
                    <question>
                              <![CDATA[<br/> <br/> <br/> How would you grade this truck?</p>]]>
                    </question>
                    <options>
                              <a>Grade A</a>
                              <b>Grade B</b>
                              <c>Grade C</c>
                    </options>
                    <image src="Flash_pictures/tn/tn_mouth.png" title="Mouth" url="Flash_pictures/mouth.png" />
                    <video>
                              Arrival
                    </video>
          </actInstructions>
</allInsturctions>
//LOAD EXTERNAL XML FILES
function loadXML():void
          XMLLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, xmlLoadComplete);
          XMLDataRequest = new URLRequest(XMLFiles[XMLFilesPointer]);
          XMLLoader.load(XMLDataRequest);
          trace(XMLFiles[XMLFilesPointer]);
function xmlLoadComplete(e:Event):void
          XMLLoader.removeEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, xmlLoadComplete);
          var xmlData = XML(e.target.data);
          //distinguish between both xml types
          xmlData.ignoreWhitespace = true;
          if (xmlData.actInstructions != undefined)
          {//if instructions node exists, then it is instructions xml
                    trace('instructions xml file');
                    for (var b = 0; b < xmlData.actInstructions.length(); b++)
                              instructionsArray.push({name:xmlData.actInstructions[b].name.text(), boxtext:xmlData.actInstructions[b].boxtext.text(), instructions: xmlData.actInstructions[b].instructions.text(), question: xmlData.actInstructions[b].question.text(), image: xmlData.actInstructions[b].visualAids.text(), video: xmlData.actInstructions[b].video.text() });
          if (xmlData.allWords != undefined)
          {//if movie node exists, then it is dictionary xml
                    trace('dictionary xml file');
                    trace(xmlData.allWords.length());
                    for (var n = 0; n < xmlData.allWords.length(); n++)
                              dictionaryArray.push({word: xmlData.allWords[n].word.text(), definition: xmlData.allWords[n].definition.text(), image: xmlData.allWords[n].visualAids.text() });
          XMLFilesPointer++;
          if (XMLFilesPointer < XMLFiles.length)
                    loadXML();
//build display and add text
var words:Array = instructionsArray[MA].instructions.split(/\s+/);
var highlight:TextFormat = new TextFormat("Arial",14,0xff0000,null,true);
var dictionaryTimer:Timer = new Timer(100,dictionaryArray.length-1);
dictionaryTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, onTimer);
dictionaryTimer.start();
function onTimer(e:TimerEvent):void
          textbox.setTextFormat(textbox.defaultTextFormat);
          var re:RegExp = new RegExp("\\b"+words[dictionaryTimer.currentCount]+"\\b", "gi");
          var result:Object = re.exec(instructionsArray[MA].instructions);
          while (result)
                    textbox.setTextFormat(highlight, result.index, result.index+words[dictionaryTimer.currentCount].length);
                    result = re.exec(instructionsArray[MA].instructions);
instructionsFormat.font = tomatoBasefont.fontName;
                              instructionsFormat.size = 14;
                              textbox.defaultTextFormat = instructionsFormat;
                              textbox.multiline = true;
                              textbox.htmlText = instructionsArray[MA].instructions;
                              textbox.width = 778;
                              textbox.height = 340;
                              //Testing Dictionary Search START
                              //Search instructions for words in dictionaryArray
                              dictionaryTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, onTimer);
                              dictionaryTimer.start();
                              //Testing Dictionary Search END
                              i_MC.x = 180;
                              i_MC.y = 160;
                              i_MC.name = "instructionBox";
                              // Shadow Gray color;
                              qbkg_shadow.graphics.beginFill(shadowColor);
                              // x, y, width, height, ellipseW, ellipseH;
                              qbkg_shadow.graphics.drawRoundRect(10, 10, 788, 351, 20, 20);
                              qbkg_shadow.graphics.endFill();
                              // Purple Box color;
                              qbkg.graphics.beginFill(boxColor);
                              // x, y, width, height, ellipseW, ellipseH;
                              qbkg.graphics.drawRoundRect(0, 0, 788, 351, 20, 20);
                              qbkg.graphics.endFill();
                              xClose.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseClickHandler);
                              xClose.x = 750;
                              xClose.y = 2;
                              i_MC.addChild(qbkg_shadow);
                              i_MC.addChild(qbkg);
                              i_MC.addChild(textbox);
                              i_MC.addChild(xClose);
                              addChild(i_MC);

Answer 1

And here is a "workable solution" - an example of how to deal with it.
This class creates roll overs and tooltips for the search term.
A lot of this code is based on what we discussed before - nothing really new.
Just place this class in to FLA directory and make this class a Document Class in Flash IDE. I don't like Flash IDE and coding on the timeline - so it is up to you to translate it into  timeline code. Some aspects are commented in the code.
package
          import flash.display.Sprite;
          import flash.events.MouseEvent;
          import flash.geom.Rectangle;
          import flash.text.TextField;
          import flash.text.TextFormat;
          public class TextRollOverExample extends Sprite
                    private var highlight:TextFormat = new TextFormat("Arial", 14, 0xff0000, null, true, true);
                    private var originalText:String;
                    private var tf:TextField;
                    private var inputField:TextField;
                    private var termBoundaries:Vector.<Rectangle>;
                    private var _searchTerm:String;
                    private var tipText:TextField;
                    public function TextRollOverExample()
                              init();
                    private function init():void
                              originalText = "I have a textfield that I am reading the content in from a XML file.  Is there a way to search said textfield for a certain word from an Array?  For Ex.  if I have a paragraph of text in the textfield and I want to search the textfield for a word that is in an array like 'The' and underline every instance of the word can I do that?";
                              tf = new TextField();
                              tf.defaultTextFormat = new TextFormat("Arial", 12);
                              tf.multiline = tf.wordWrap = true;
                              tf.width = 300;
                              tf.autoSize = "left";
                              tf.text = originalText;
                              tf.x = tf.y = 50;
                              addChild(tf);
                              searchTerm = "textfield";
                    private function set searchTerm(term:String):void
                              _searchTerm = term;
                              tf.setTextFormat(tf.defaultTextFormat);
                              var re:RegExp = new RegExp(term, "gi");
                              var result:Object = re.exec(originalText);
                              termBoundaries = new Vector.<Rectangle>();
                              while (result)
                                        tf.setTextFormat(highlight, result.index, result.index + term.length);
                                        // get term boundaries and push them into collection of all related boundaries
                                        termBoundaries.push(tf.getCharBoundaries(result.index).union(tf.getCharBoundaries(result.index + term.length)));
                                        result = re.exec(originalText);
                              drawHotSpots();
                    private function drawHotSpots():void
                              // create hot spots for all
                              for each (var rect:Rectangle in termBoundaries)
                                        hotSpot = rect;
                    private function set hotSpot(rect:Rectangle):void
                              var s:Sprite = new Sprite();
                              s.buttonMode = s.useHandCursor = true;
                              s.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, onHotSpotInteraction);
                              s.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OUT, onHotSpotInteraction);
                              s.graphics.beginFill(0xff0000, 0);
                              s.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, rect.width, rect.height);
                              addChild(s);
                              // position hotspot over corresponding word
                              s.x = tf.x + rect.x;
                              s.y = tf.y + rect.y;
                    private function onHotSpotInteraction(e:MouseEvent):void
                              switch (e.type)
                                        case MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER:
                                                  drawTooltip(_searchTerm, Sprite(e.currentTarget));
                                                  break;
                                        case MouseEvent.MOUSE_OUT:
                                                  killToolTip();
                                                  break;
                    private function drawTooltip(term:String, target:Sprite):void
                              killToolTip();
                              tipText = new TextField();
                              tipText.defaultTextFormat = new TextFormat("Arial", 11, 0x008000);
                              tipText.width = 100;
                              tipText.border = true;
                              tipText.background = true;
                              tipText.borderColor = 0x808080;
                              tipText.autoSize = "left";
                              tipText.multiline = tipText.wordWrap = true;
                              tipText.text = "This thingy describes what " + term + " is.";
                              addChild(tipText);
                              tipText.x = target.x;
                              tipText.y = target.y + target.height + 2;
                    private function killToolTip():void
                              if (tipText)
                                        if (this.contains(tipText))
                                                  removeChild(tipText);
                                        tipText = null;