Specifications

CHAPTER 3

The navigateToURL() method

The navigateToURL() method opens or replaces a window in the Flash Player’s container application. You

typically use it to launch a new browser window, although you can also embed script in the method’s call to

perform other actions.

This usage of the

navigateToURL() method relies on the domain-based security restrictions that the

allowScriptAccess and allowNetworking parameters define. You set the values of the allowScriptAccess

and

allowNetworking parameters in the SWF file’s wrapper. For more information, see “A b o u t t h e o b j e c t a n d

embed tags” on page 321.

Caching

Flex applications reside entirely on the client. If the browser loads the application, the application SWF file, plus

externally loaded images and other media files, are stored locally on the client in the browser’s cache. These files

reside in the cache until cleared.

Storing a SWF file in the browser’s cache can potentially expose the file to people who would not otherwise be able

to see it. The following table shows some example locations of the browser’s cache files:

These files can remain in the cache even after the browser is closed.

To prevent client browsers from caching the SWF file, try setting the following HTTP headers in the wrapper that

returns the Flex application’s SWF file:

Cache-control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate, max-age=-1

Pragma: no-cache, no-store

Expires: -1

Trusted sites and directories

The browser security model includes levels of trust applied to specific websites. Flash Player interacts with this

model by assigning a sandbox based on whether the browser declared the site of the SWF file’s origin trusted.

If Flash Player loads a SWF file from a trusted website, the SWF file is put in the local-trusted sandbox. The SWF

file can read from local data sources and communicate with the Internet.

Broswer or operating system Cache location

Internet Explorer on Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

Firefox on Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\user-

name.default\Cache

UNIX $HOME/.mozilla/firefox/username.default/Cache/