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DoFSCommand

on(release) {

fscommand(“send_message”, “the message”);

}

In order for JavaScript to handle this command, a special function must be defined. This function must

begin with the name (or ID) of the Flash movie object and be followed by

_DoFSCommand

, such as the

following:

function ExampleMovie_DoFSCommand(sCommand, vArgument) {

...

}

The function always accepts two arguments, the command and an argument. The command is always a

string, but the argument may be any primitive type. All calls to

fscommand()

are routed to this func-

tion, so, by providing different commands, you can determine what action should be taken with

JavaScript. For example:

function ExampleMovie_DoFSCommand(sCommand, vArgument) {

switch(sCommand) {

case “change_color”:

//change the color of something

break;

case “change_height”:

//change the height of something

break;

//etc.

}

When using any browser other than Internet Explorer, this function is called when

fscommand()

is exe-

cuted. For Internet Explorer, another function is needed.

For reasons unknown, the Flash Player routes

fscommand()

calls in Internet Explorer to VBScript, not

JavaScript. VBScript is an IE-only technology that allows developers to use Visual Basic code to script

Web pages. Originally intended to compete with JavaScript, VBScript never gained the popularity or

support from other browsers that would have enabled it to be a true rival. Instead, it was remanded to

niche developers working on IE-only solutions.

In order to avoid writing a lot of VBScript, you can just write a simple function that passes the command

and the argument back to the JavaScript function. This code must be enclosed in its own

ele-

ment with the language attribute set to

“VBScript”

. The VBScript function takes the same form as the

JavaScript function, although it ends with

_FSCommand

instead of

_DoFSCommand

Sub ExampleMovie_FSCommand(ByVal sCommand, ByVal vArgument)

call ExampleMovie_DoFSCommand(sCommand, vArgument)

end sub

</script>

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Interacting with Plugins

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