S > setInterval |  |

setInterval

setinterval, interval

Availability

Flash Player 6.

Usage

    setInterval( function, interval[, arg1, arg2, ..., argn] )

`setInterval(` `object``,` `methodName``,` `interval``[,` `arg1``,` `arg2``, ...,` `argn``] )`

Parameters

`function` A function name or a reference to an anonymous function.

`object` An object derived from the Object object.

`methodName` The name of the method to call on the `object` parameter.

`interval` The time in milliseconds between calls to the `function` or `methodName` parameter.

þ`arg1``,` `arg2``, ...,` `argn` Optional parameters passed to the `function` or `methodName` parameter.

Returns

An interval identifier that you can pass to `clearInterval` to cancel the interval.

Description

Action; calls a function or a method or an object at periodic intervals while a movie plays. You can use an interval function to update variables from a database or update a time display.

If `interval` is less than the movie frame rate (for example, 10 frames per second (fps) is equal to 100 milliseconds), the interval function is called as close to `interval` as possible. You must use the `updateAfterEvent` function to make sure that the screen refreshes often enough. If `interval` is greater than the movie frame rate, the interval function is only called each time the playhead enters a frame in order to minimize the impact each time the screen is refreshed.

The first syntax example above is the default syntax for the `setInterval` function in the Actions panel in normal mode. To use the second syntax example, you must use the Actions panel in expert mode.

Example

Usage 1:The following example calls an anonymous function every 1000 milliseconds (every 1 second).

    setInterval( function(){ trace("interval called"); }, 1000 );

Usage 2: The following example defines two callback functions and calls each of them. Both calls to the `setInterval` function send the string "interval called" to the Output window every 1000 milliseconds. The first call to `setInterval` calls the `callback1` function, which contains a `trace` action. The second call to `setInterval` passes the "interval called" string to the function `callback2` as a parameter.

    function callback1() {
    	trace("interval called");
    }

    function callback2(arg) {
    	trace(arg);
    }

    setInterval( callback1, 1000 );
    setInterval( callback2, 1000, "interval called" );

Usage 3: This example uses a method of an object. You must use this syntax when you want to call a method that is defined for an object. You can only use this syntax in expert mode.

    obj = new Object();
    obj.interval = function() {
    	trace("interval function called");
    }

    setInterval( obj, "interval", 1000 );

    obj2 = new Object();
    obj2.interval = function(s) {
    	trace(s);
    }
    setInterval( obj2, "interval", 1000, "interval function called" );

You must use the second form of the `setInterval` syntax to call a method of an object, as follows:

    setInterval( obj2, "interval", 1000, "interval function called" );

See also

`clearInterval`, `updateAfterEvent`