setInterval()

Availability

Flash Player 6.

Usage

setInterval(functionName, interval [, param1, param2, ..., paramN])

Parameters

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

interval The time in milliseconds between calls to the functionName parameter.

param1, param2, ..., paramN Optional parameters passed to the function or methodName parameter.

Returns

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

Description

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

If interval is less than the SWF file's 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 SWF file's frame rate, the interval function is only called each time the playhead enters a frame; this minimizes the impact each time the screen is refreshed.

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 event handlers and calls each of them. Both calls to setInterval() send the string "interval called" to the Output panel 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.

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" );