Getting Started

To use the SWFStore Utility, include the following source files in your web page:

<!-- Dependencies -->
<script src="http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build/yahoo/yahoo.js"></script>
<script src="http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build/dom/dom.js"></script>
 
<!-- Source files -->
<script src="http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build/swfstore/swfstore.js"></script>
 

<!-- Dependencies -->
<script src="http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build/yahoo/yahoo.js"></script>
<script src="http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build/dom/dom.js"></script>
 
<!-- Source files -->
<script src="http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build/swfstore/swfstore.js"></script>
 

By default, the file swfstore.swf is expected in the same directory as the HTML page in which a SWFStore Utility instance will appear. We do not host this SWF--you must place a copy of the SWF on your server.

To get started with the SWFStore Utility, begin by placing it on the page. Create a <div> (or other element) placeholder into which you'll render your SWFStore instance. In a typical usage scenario, you can set the width and height of the container to 0, since the SWFStore is a purely functional component and does not have UI of its own (except in the case of settings changes such as requesting a larger data store than 100kb):

<div id="toBeReplaced" style="width:0px; height:0px">
<br>
Unable to load Flash content. The YUI SWFStore Utility requires Flash Player 9.0.115 or higher.
<br>
</div>
 

<div id="toBeReplaced" style="width:0px; height:0px">
<br>
Unable to load Flash content. The YUI SWFStore Utility requires Flash Player 9.0.115 or higher.
<br>
</div>
 

Then, instantiate the SWFStore by passing the id of this container <div> to it:

var swfstore = new YAHOO.util.SWFStore( "toBeReplaced" );
 

var swfstore = new YAHOO.util.SWFStore( "toBeReplaced" );
 

Using the SWFStore Utility

The SWFStore has a number of methods that allow the developer to store and retrieve data.

• Listening for events
• SWFStore methods
• SWFStore examples

Listening for events

In order to receive events from the SWFStore Utility, you need to add event listeners. For example, to add a listener for a save event, do the following:

swfstore.addListener('save',onSave);
 

swfstore.addListener('save',onSave);
 

This means that when the user saves data, the onSavefunction will be called and an event object will be passed to it. The following events are dispatched by SWFStore:

SWFStore methods

Most users will store strings, but any of the core types can be store as well, including number, object, boolean, or even NULL. Here's a summary of the methods available.

SWFStore Settings and Requesting more Storage

When attempting to store data above the 100kb default, a Flash Player dialog will attempt to display in the SWF file, which confirms the request for more storage. If the size of the SWF is inadequate, it will not be able to display, an quotaExceededError will be dispatched, and the store will fail. Please see the SWFStore Settings Example for more information on how to prepare your application for this scenario.

Sharing Data Across Browsers

Unlike a browser cookie, SWFStore can share its data across browsers. This is turned off by default, but can be turned on using the shareData parameter. See the SWFStore Advanced Example for an example of this in action.

A Note about Security

To help protect your stored data, only the directory which loaded the swfstore.swf will have access to the data stored in that path. For example, www.badsite.com cannot access data stored via www.goodsite.com/preferences/swfstore.swf. However, the page www.goodsite.com/games.html also cannot access this information. By default, SWFStore will allow subdirectories to access data in the same directory or above. For instance, if the SWF were placed at the top level, www.goodsite.com/swfstore.swf, games.html would have access to it, as would the subdirectory www.goodsite.com/preferences/. If you would like to share stored data across different sites, or you would like more fine-grained control, you can simply place the file storage-whitelist.xml in the same location as the SWFStore.swf file, and within this file detail allowed URLs. The format of the file is the following:

<url-policy>
    <allow-access-from url="www.mail.yahoo.com" /> 
    <allow-access-from url="www.yahoo.com" /> 
    <allow-access-from url="www.google.com" />
</url-policy>
 

<url-policy>
    <allow-access-from url="www.mail.yahoo.com" />
    <allow-access-from url="www.yahoo.com" />
    <allow-access-from url="www.google.com" />
</url-policy>
 

SWFStore Examples

For further exploration of the swfstore components, take a look at its example files.

Known Issues

A JavaScript error occurs when the required Flash Player is not present.

When the required Flash Player is not installed on the client's machine, a JavaScript error will accompany the displayed warning message. This is due to a known issue with the YUI SWF Utility used in this version. To review the ticket which includes information on the latest release that addresses this issue, go here.

Support & Community

The YUI Library and related topics are discussed on the on the YUILibrary.com forums.

Also be sure to check out YUIBlog for updates and articles about the YUI Library written by the library's developers.

Filing Bugs & Feature Requests

The YUI Library's public bug tracking and feature request repositories are located on the YUILibrary.com site. Before filing new feature requests or bug reports, please review our reporting guidelines.