ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

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Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

Alphabetical Language Reference

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479

call() Global Function

execute the script of a remote frame

Flash 4

call(frameLabel)

call(frameNumber)

Arguments

frameLabel A string representing the label of the frame whose script should be executed.

frameNumber

The number of the frame whose script should be executed.

Description

The call() function executes the script attached to the frame at frameLabel or frameNumber.

For example, the following code runs the script on frame 20 of the current timeline:

call(20);

In Flash 4, call() was used to create a crude kind of reusable subroutine (one that could not

accept parameters or return a value). As of Flash 5, the function statement is the preferred

way to define a function.

Note that in Flash 5 and later, when a script is executed remotely via call(), any variables

declared with the var keyword are considered local to that execution and expire after the

script completes. To create nonlocal variables in a remotely-executed script, omit the var

keyword:

var x = 10; // Local variable; dies after script completes

x = 10; // Timeline variable; persists after script completes

To invoke call() on frames outside the current timeline, use the deprecated tellTarget()

function. The following example executes the script on frame 10 of the

box clip: