The flash.system package contains one package-level function, fscommand(), which facilitates communication between a SWF file and its container.
Public Functions
 FunctionDefined by
  
fscommand(command:String, args:String = ""):void
Lets the SWF file communicate with either Flash Player or the program hosting Flash Player, such as a web browser.
flash.system
Function detail
fscommand()function
public function fscommand(command:String, args:String = ""):void

Language version: ActionScript 3.0
Runtime version: 

Lets the SWF file communicate with either Flash Player or the program hosting Flash Player, such as a web browser. You can also use the fscommand() function to pass messages to Director or to Visual Basic, Visual C++, and other programs that can host ActiveX controls.

The fscommand() function lets a SWF file communicate with a script in a web page. However, script access is controlled by the web page's allowScriptAccess setting. (You set this attribute in the HTML code that embeds the SWF file—for example, in the PARAM tag for Internet Explorer or the EMBED tag for Netscape.)

You can prevent a SWF file from using this method by setting the allowNetworking parameter of the the object and embed tags in the HTML page that contains the SWF content.

The fscommand() function is not allowed if the calling SWF file is in the local-with-file-system or local-with-network sandbox and the containing HTML page is in an untrusted sandbox.

For more information related to security, see the Flash Player Developer Center Topic: Security.

Usage 1: To use fscommand() to send a message to Flash Player, you must use predefined commands and parameters. The following table shows the values that you can specify for the fscommand() function's command and args parameters. These values control SWF files that are playing in Flash Player, including projectors. (A projector is a SWF file saved in a format that can run as a stand-alone application—that is, without Flash Player.)

Command Parameter (args) Purpose
quit None Closes the projector.
fullscreen true or false Specifying true sets Flash Player to full-screen mode. Specifying false returns the player to normal menu view.
allowscale true or false Specifying false sets the player so that the SWF file is always drawn at its original size and never scaled. Specifying true forces the SWF file to scale to 100% of the player.
showmenu true or false Specifying true enables the full set of context menu items. Specifying false hides all of the context menu items except About Flash Player and Settings.
exec Path to application Executes an application from within the projector.
trapallkeys true or false Specifying true sends all key events, including accelerator keys, to the onClipEvent(keyDown/keyUp) handler in Flash Player.

Not all of the commands listed in the table are available in all applications:

The exec command can contain only the characters A-Z, a-z, 0-9, period (.), and underscore (_). The exec command runs in the subdirectory fscommand only. In other words, if you use the exec command to call an application, the application must reside in a subdirectory named fscommand. The exec command works only from within a Flash projector file.

Usage 2: To use fscommand() to send a message to a scripting language such as JavaScript in a web browser, you can pass any two parameters in the command and args parameters. These parameters can be strings or expressions, and they are used in a JavaScript function that handles, or catches, the fscommand() function.

In a web browser, fscommand() calls the JavaScript function moviename_DoFScommand, which resides in the web page that contains the SWF file. For moviename, supply the name of the Flash object that you used for the NAME attribute of the EMBED tag or the ID property of the OBJECT tag. If you assign the SWF file the name "myMovie", the JavaScript function myMovie_DoFScommand is called.

In the web page that contains the SWF file, set the allowScriptAccess attribute to allow or deny the SWF file's ability to access the web page, as described above. (You set this attribute in the HTML code that embeds the SWF file—for example, in the PARAM tag for Internet Explorer or the EMBED tag for Netscape.)

In Flash Player 10 and later running in a browser, using this method programmatically to open a pop-up window may not be successful. Various browsers (and browser configurations) may block pop-up windows at any time; it is not possible to guarantee any pop-up window will appear. However, for the best chance of success, use this method to open a pop-up window only in code that executes as a direct result of a user action (for example, in an event handler for a mouse click or key-press event.)

Usage 3: The fscommand() function can send messages to Director (Macromedia Director from Adobe). These messages are interpreted by Lingo (the Director scripting language) as strings, events, or executable Lingo code. If a message is a string or an event, you must write the Lingo code to receive the message from the fscommand() function and carry out an action in Director. For more information, see the Director Support Center at www.adobe.com/support/director/.

Usage 4: In VisualBasic, 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.adobe.com/support/flash/.

Note: The ExternalInterface class provides better functionality for communication between JavaScript and ActionScript (Usage 2) and between ActionScript and VisualBasic, Visual C++, or other programs that can host ActiveX controls (Usage 4). You should continue to use fscommand() for sending messages to Flash Player (Usage 1) and Director (Usage 3).

Parameters
command:String — A string passed to the host application for any use, or a command passed to Flash Player.
 
args:String (default = "") — A string passed to the host application for any use, or a value passed to Flash Player.

Throws
Error — If the function is not called in response to a user action, such as a mouse event or keypress event.

See also


Example
The following example shows how fscommand() can be used to direct Flash Player to go into full screen mode and not allow scaling. An orange box is then added to the stage using draw(). In draw(), a click event listener is added named clickHandler(), which responds to click events by directing Flash Player to exit using another call to fscommand().

Note: this example should be executed in the standalone Flash Player and not within a web browser.

package {
    import flash.display.Sprite;
	import flash.text.TextField;
	import flash.system.fscommand;
	import flash.events.MouseEvent;

	public class FSCommandExample extends Sprite {
		private var bgColor:uint = 0xFFCC00;
		private var size:uint = 100;

		public function FSCommandExample() {
			fscommand("fullscreen", "true");
			fscommand("allowscale", "false");
			draw();
		}

		private function clickHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
			fscommand("quit");
			trace("clickHandler");
		}

		private function draw():void {
			var child:Sprite = new Sprite();
			child.graphics.beginFill(bgColor);
			child.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, size, size);
			child.graphics.endFill();
			child.buttonMode = true;
			addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clickHandler);

			var label:TextField = new TextField();
			label.text = "quit";
			label.selectable = false;
			label.mouseEnabled = false;
			child.addChild(label);

			addChild(child);
		}
	}
}