ActionScript: The Definitive Guide

Name

getURL( ) Global Function — load a document into a browser, execute server-sidescripts, or trigger Macromedia Director events

Availability

Flash 2 and Flash 3; enhanced in Flash 4 to include method parameter; Flash 5

Synopsis

getURL (URL)
getURL (URL, window)
getURL (URL, window, method)

Arguments

URL

A string specifying the absolute or relative location of the document to load or external script to run.

window

An optional string specifying the name of the browser window or frame into which to load the document. May be a custom name or one of the four presets: "_blank", "_parent", "_self", or "_top".

method

An optional string specifying the method by which to send the current timeline’s variables to an external script—either "GET" or "POST". This parameter must be a literal string, not a variable or other expression. The standalone version of the Flash Player always uses the "GET" method, regardless of the method specified.

Description

The getURL( ) function is used to:

• Load a document (usually a web page) into a web browser frame or window

• Execute a server-side script and receive the results in a browser frame or window

• Execute JavaScript code in a web browser

• Trigger events from Flash assets imported as sprites into Director

To load a document into the current window or frame, simply specify the URL of the document without supplying a window or method argument. Naturally, Flash supports absolute URLs (those that contain a protocol such as “http:” plus a server name or hardware device) ...