Lingo Dictionary > S > setPref

 

setPref

Syntax

setPref prefFileName, prefValue

Description

Command; writes the string specified by prefValue in the file specified by prefFileName on the computer's local disk. The file is a standard text file.

The prefFileName argument must be a valid file name. To make sure the file name is valid on all platforms, use no more than eight alphanumeric characters for the file name.

After the setPref command runs, if the movie is playing in a browser, a folder named Prefs is created in the Plug-In Support folder. The setPref command can write only to that folder.

If the movie is playing in a projector or Director, a folder is created in the same folder as the application. The folder receives the name Prefs.

Do not use this command to write to read-only media. Depending on the platform and version of the operating system, you may encounter errors or other problems.

This command does not perform any sophisticated manipulation of the string data or its formatting. You must perform any formatting or other manipulation in conjunction with getPref(); you can manipulate the data in memory and write it over the old file using setPref.

In a browser, data written by setPref is not private; any Shockwave movie can read this information and upload it to a server. Do not store confidential information using setPref.

To see an example of setPref used in a completed movie, see the Read and Write Text movie in the Learning\Lingo Examples folder inside the Director application folder.

Example

This handler saves the contents of the field cast member Text Entry in a file named DayWare settings:

on mouseUp me
	setPref "CurPrefs", member("Text Entry").text  
end

See also

getPref()