MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-LEARNING ACTIONSCRIPT 2.0 IN FLASH - Page 666

666 Working with External Data
The fscommand() function can send messages to Macromedia Director that are interpreted
by Lingo as strings, events, or executable Lingo code. If the message is a string or an event,
you must write the Lingo code to receive it from the
fscommand() function and carry out an
action in Director. For more information, see the Director Support Center at
www.macromedia.com/support/director.
In Visual Basic, Visual C++, and other programs that can host ActiveX
controls,
fscommand() sends a VB event with two strings that can be handled in
the environment’s programming language. For more information, use the keywords Flash
method to search the Flash Support Center at www.macromedia.com/support/flash.
About using JavaScript to control Flash applications
Flash Player 6 (6.0.40.0) and later versions support certain JavaScript methods that are
specific to Flash applications, as well as
FSCommand, in Netscape 6.2 and later. Earlier versions
do not support these JavaScript methods and
FSCommand in Netscape 6.2 or later. For more
information, see the Macromedia Support Center article, “Scripting With Flash,” at
www.macromedia.com/support/flash/publishexport/scriptingwithflash/.
For Netscape 6.2 and later, you do not need to set the
swliveconnect attribute to true.
However, setting
swLiveConnect to true has no adverse effects on your SWF file. For more
information, see the
swLiveConnect attribute in “Parameters and attributes” on page 488 in
Using Flash.
About Flash Player methods
You can use Flash Player methods to control a SWF file in Flash Player from web-browser
scripting languages such as JavaScript and VBScript. As with other methods, you can use
Flash Player methods to send calls to SWF files from a scripting environment other than
ActionScript. Each method has a name, and most methods take parameters. A parameter
specifies a value upon which the method operates. The calculation performed by some
methods returns a value that can be used by the scripting environment.
Two technologies enable communication between the browser and Flash Player: LiveConnect
(Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later on Windows 95/98/2000/NT/XP or Power Macintosh) and
ActiveX (Internet Explorer 3.0 and later on Windows 95/98/2000/NT/XP). Although the
techniques for scripting are similar for all browsers and languages, there are additional
properties and events available for use with ActiveX controls.
For more information, including a complete list of Flash Player scripting methods, use the
keywords Flash method to search the Flash Support Center at www.macromedia.com/support/
flash.