narrowed down my problem

I've narrowed it down. How does one call instances declared in the properties window (i.e. in a Text Field on the stage) from external classes or from within movieclips?

I seem to only be able to call that instance from code which is in the same place (i.e., from a button also on the stage).

If I try to call it from a class, I get "Varible Not Defined". Any ideas? I'm sure this is simple but I can't find an answer from LiveDocs or Flash's built in help.

What I'm Trying To Do: Change the text in a text field from a function within a class.


Thanks for anyone who can lend a hand!