You can write code using the string names as soon as you execute the code in the workspace. You cannot run the code, though, until you build an .mpr file and bind it to the image. Until that time the value of your string constant is nil, or the previous value if you were updating the text of the string. This is because you need to know only the name of the pool to set everything up correctly, and the pool name is one of the required parameters on all of the pool dictionary APIs.

After you build an .mpr file and bind it to the image, you can display a message using code such as the following:

You can access an entry in a pool dictionary simply by using the syntax <pool name>::<entry name>.

For more information on dictionaries, message boxes, and message prompters, refer to the Programmer Reference.