ExternalInterface class

The ExternalInterface class introduced in Flash Player 8 enables straightforward communication between ActionScript and the Flash Player container—for example, an HTML page with JavaScript or even a desktop application with Flash Player embedded.

ExternalInterface is similar in functionality to the fscommand(), CallFrame(), and CallLabel() methods but is more flexible and more generally applicable. ExternalInterface is the preferred method for JavaScript–ActionScript communication in Flash Player 8 and later.

From ActionScript you can directly call any JavaScript function on the HTML page, passing any number of arguments of any data type, and receive a return value from the call. Similarly, from JavaScript on the HTML page you can call an ActionScript function in Flash Player and get a return value. Table 1 lists the browser and operating system combinations supported by ExternalInterface.

Table 1. Browsers and Operating Systems Supported by ExternalInterface

Browser	Operating Systems
Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher	Windows
Netscape 8.0 and higher	Windows	Mac OS
Mozilla 1.7.5 and higher	Windows	Mac OS
Firefox 1.0 and higher	Windows	Mac OS
Safari 1.3 and higher		Mac OS

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