Lab: SWFObject

Passing querystrings to a SWF using PHP

Someone once asked about passing querystring parameters to a SWF on page load. This is a pretty simple task in PHP, and ASP and other server-side languages will use similar techniques.

Getting the querystring:

foreach($_GET as $variable => $value) {
  // do something with $variable and $value
}

SWFObject 2.0 has both static and dynamic publishing options, each requiring a different approach to flashvars.

Static publishing

The static publishing method requires adding flashvars as a <param> element in the object. Here's one way to do it (I'm sure there are other, potentially better ways!). Note the dual <param> element; since the outer <object> targets Internet Explorer and the inner <object> targets all other browsers, each <object> requires its own <param> element.

  <object id="flashcontent" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="550" height="400">
    <param name="movie" value="/lab/_common/sample.swf" />
   <?php
   $flashvars = "";
   foreach($_GET as $variable => $value) {
      $flashvars .= $variable . "=" . $value . "&";
   }
   //Get rid of the last ampersand
   $flashvars = rtrim($flashvars, "&");
   ?>
    <param name="flashvars" value="<?php echo $flashvars ?>" />

    <!--[if !IE]>-->
    <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="/lab/_common/sample.swf" width="550" height="400">
    <param name="flashvars" value="<?php echo $flashvars ?>" />
    <!--<![endif]-->
      <p>Please update your Flash Player</p>
    <!--[if !IE]>-->
    </object>
    <!--<![endif]-->
  </object>

Dynamic publishing

The dynamic publishing method allows you to use a JavaScript object to pass the variables.

 <script type="text/javascript">
	
   var flashvars = {};
   <?php
   foreach($_GET as $variable => $value) {
      echo "flashvars." . $variable . " = " . "'" . $value . "'; \n";
   }
   ?>
	
   var params = {};
	
   var attributes = {
      id: "flashVarsExample",
      name: "flashVarsExample"
   };
	
   swfobject.embedSWF("/lab/_common/sample.swf", "flashcontent", "550", "400", "7", "/lab/_common/expressinstall.swf", flashvars, params, attributes);
</script>

Working examples: static publishing | dynamic publishing (tested in Firefox 2, IE 6, and Safari 3.1 Windows).

pipwerks

Lab: SWFObject

Passing querystrings to a SWF using PHP