Shared objects is a powerful new feature of Macromedia Flash MX. Local shared objects provide a way to maintain locally persistent data (similar to "cookies" stored by web browsers). For example, you can create a shared object, such as a calculator with memory, in the player. Because the shared object is locally persistent, Macromedia Flash MX saves its data attributes on the user's machine when the movie ends. The next time the movie runs, the calculator contains the values it had when the movie ended. Alternatively, you can delete the shared object before the movie ends, in which case the calculator opens without any prior values the next time the movie runs.

This tutorial is intended for Macromedia Flash users who have a basic familiarity with ActionScript. You should be familiar with the Macromedia Flash ActionScript panel and know how to assign actions to buttons, frames, and movie clips. You should also be familiar with using functions, properties, and methods. For more information, see Flash MX Help > Using Flash > Writing Scripts with ActionScript. You can also complete the Introduction to ActionScript tutorial, see Flash MX Help > Tutorials.

See TechNote 16194 for a demonstration of a local shared object.

Local disk space considerations

SharedObject methods

SharedObject.flush

SharedObject.getLocal

SharedObject.getSize

SharedObject properties

SharedObject events

SharedObject constructor

Macromedia 19 April 2002 Flash, Local Shared Objects, Shared Objects, SharedObject, SharedObject.close, SharedObject.connect, SharedObject.data, SharedObject.flush, SharedObject.getLocal, SharedObject.getSize, SharedObject.onStatus, Local Shared Object example, tutorial 9912