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getURL

default. If you are using the

element, even for backwards compatibility, you must add a spe-

cial attribute called

swLiveConnect

width=”100” height=”100”>

width=”100” height=”100” swLiveConnect=”true”>

</embed>

</object>

With the attribute set, you can be assured that the Flash-to-JavaScript communication channel is open.

Flash provides two different ways to achieve this interaction:

getURL()

and

fsCommand()

. Both can

send only primitive values to JavaScript, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

getURL()

The

getURL()

function is a generic way of interacting with the browser. It can be used to open up a

document in the browser window (or in a new window) similar to

window.open()

is JavaScript. For

example, you can open

www.wrox.com

in a new browser window with the following code:

getURL(“http://www.wrox.com”, “_blank”);

Because

getURL()

simply passed the given URL to the browser, it can accept

javascript:

URLs as

well. For example, suppose you have a function,

getMessageFromFlash()

, that accepts a string as its

only argument and then displays that string in an alert, such as in the following:

function getMessageFromFlash(sMessage) {

alert(“Flash says: \”” + sMessage + “\”.”);

}

Inside of the Flash movie, create a button and assign the following ActionScript to it:

on(release) {

getURL(“javascript:getMessageFromFlash(\”Hello from Flash!\”)”);

}

When you export the movie and embed it in the HTML page containing

getMessageFromFlash()

clicking on the button pops up the JavaScript alert displaying the text

“Hello from Flash!”

The

getURL()

function is the simplest way to call JavaScript from Flash, although you have another

way to do this.

fscommand()

Using

fscommand()

in Flash is like sending a message to JavaScript. This message consists of a com-

mand (indicating the action the movie is expecting) and a single argument (although Flash allows you to

enter more than one argument, this isn’t handled correctly by JavaScript). A typical call from inside a

Flash movie looks like this:

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