openfl.net.FileReference - OpenFL API Reference

The FileReference class provides a means to upload and download files between a user's computer and a server. An operating-system dialog box prompts the user to select a file to upload or a location for download. Each FileReference object refers to a single file on the user's disk and has properties that contain information about the file's size, type, name, creation date, modification date, and creator type (Macintosh only). Note: In Adobe AIR, the File class, which extends the FileReference class, provides more capabilities and has less security restrictions than the FileReference class.

FileReference instances are created in the following ways:

When you use the new operator with the FileReference constructor: var myFileReference = new FileReference();
When you call the FileReferenceList.browse() method, which creates an array of FileReference objects.

During an upload operation, all the properties of a FileReference object are populated by calls to the FileReference.browse() or FileReferenceList.browse() methods. During a download operation, the name property is populated when the select event is dispatched; all other properties are populated when the complete event is dispatched.

The browse() method opens an operating-system dialog box that prompts the user to select a file for upload. The FileReference.browse() method lets the user select a single file; the FileReferenceList.browse() method lets the user select multiple files. After a successful call to the browse() method, call the FileReference.upload() method to upload one file at a time. The FileReference.download() method prompts the user for a location to save the file and initiates downloading from a remote URL.

The FileReference and FileReferenceList classes do not let you set the default file location for the dialog box that the browse() or download() methods generate. The default location shown in the dialog box is the most recently browsed folder, if that location can be determined, or the desktop. The classes do not allow you to read from or write to the transferred file. They do not allow the SWF file that initiated the upload or download to access the uploaded or downloaded file or the file's location on the user's disk.

The FileReference and FileReferenceList classes also do not provide methods for authentication. With servers that require authentication, you can download files with the Flash^® Player browser plug-in, but uploading (on all players) and downloading (on the stand-alone or external player) fails. Listen for FileReference events to determine whether operations complete successfully and to handle errors.

For content running in Flash Player or for content running in Adobe AIR outside of the application security sandbox, uploading and downloading operations can access files only within its own domain and within any domains that a URL policy file specifies. Put a policy file on the file server if the content initiating the upload or download doesn't come from the same domain as the file server.

Note that because of new functionality added to the Flash Player, when publishing to Flash Player 10, you can have only one of the following operations active at one time: FileReference.browse(), FileReference.upload(), FileReference.download(), FileReference.load(), FileReference.save(). Otherwise, Flash Player throws a runtime error (code 2174). Use FileReference.cancel() to stop an operation in progress. This restriction applies only to Flash Player 10. Previous versions of Flash Player are unaffected by this restriction on simultaneous multiple operations.

While calls to the FileReference.browse(), FileReferenceList.browse(), or FileReference.download() methods are executing, SWF file playback pauses in stand-alone and external versions of Flash Player and in AIR for Linux and Mac OS X 10.1 and earlier

The following sample HTTP POST request is sent from Flash Player to a server-side script if no parameters are specified:

POST /handler.cfm HTTP/1.1
Accept: text/*
Content-Type: multipart/form-data;
boundary=----------Ij5ae0ae0KM7GI3KM7
User-Agent: Shockwave Flash
Host: www.example.com
Content-Length: 421
Connection: Keep-Alive
Cache-Control: no-cache

------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Filename"

MyFile.jpg
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Filedata"; filename="MyFile.jpg"
Content-Type: application/octet-stream

FileDataHere
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Upload"

Submit Query
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7--

Flash Player sends the following HTTP POST request if the user specifies the parameters "api_sig", "api_key", and "auth_token":

POST /handler.cfm HTTP/1.1
Accept: text/*
Content-Type: multipart/form-data;
boundary=----------Ij5ae0ae0KM7GI3KM7
User-Agent: Shockwave Flash
Host: www.example.com
Content-Length: 421
Connection: Keep-Alive
Cache-Control: no-cache

------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Filename"

MyFile.jpg
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="api_sig"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="api_key"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="auth_token"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Filedata"; filename="MyFile.jpg"
Content-Type: application/octet-stream

FileDataHere
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Upload"

Submit Query
------------Ij5GI3GI3ei4GI3ei4KM7GI3KM7KM7--

Events:

`cancel`	Dispatched when a file upload or download is canceled through the file-browsing dialog box by the user. Flash Player does not dispatch this event if the user cancels an upload or download through other means (closing the browser or stopping the current application).
`complete`	Dispatched when download is complete or when upload generates an HTTP status code of 200. For file download, this event is dispatched when Flash Player or Adobe AIR finishes downloading the entire file to disk. For file upload, this event is dispatched after the Flash Player or Adobe AIR receives an HTTP status code of 200 from the server receiving the transmission.
`httpResponseStatus`	Dispatched if a call to the `upload()` or `uploadUnencoded()` method attempts to access data over HTTP and Adobe AIR is able to detect and return the status code for the request.
`httpStatus`	Dispatched when an upload fails and an HTTP status code is available to describe the failure. The `httpStatus` event is dispatched, followed by an `ioError` event. The `httpStatus` event is dispatched only for upload failures. For content running in Flash Player this event is not applicable for download failures. If a download fails because of an HTTP error, the error is reported as an I/O error.
`ioError`	Dispatched when the upload or download fails. A file transfer can fail for one of the following reasons: An input/output error occurs while the player is reading, writing, or transmitting the file. The SWF file tries to upload a file to a server that requires authentication (such as a user name and password). During upload, Flash Player or Adobe AIR does not provide a means for users to enter passwords. If a SWF file tries to upload a file to a server that requires authentication, the upload fails. The SWF file tries to download a file from a server that requires authentication, within the stand-alone or external player. During download, the stand-alone and external players do not provide a means for users to enter passwords. If a SWF file in these players tries to download a file from a server that requires authentication, the download fails. File download can succeed only in the ActiveX control, browser plug-in players, and the Adobe AIR runtime. The value passed to the `url` parameter in the `upload()` method contains an invalid protocol. Valid protocols are HTTP and HTTPS. Important: Only applications running in a browser ?that is, using the browser plug-in or ActiveX control ?and content running in Adobe AIR can provide a dialog box to prompt the user to enter a user name and password for authentication, and then only for downloads. For uploads using the plug-in or ActiveX control version of Flash Player, or for upload or download using either the stand-alone or the external player, the file transfer fails.
`open`	Dispatched when an upload or download operation starts.
`progress`	Dispatched periodically during the file upload or download operation. The `progress` event is dispatched while Flash Player transmits bytes to a server, and it is periodically dispatched during the transmission, even if the transmission is ultimately not successful. To determine if and when the file transmission is actually successful and complete, listen for the `complete` event. In some cases, `progress` events are not received. For example, when the file being transmitted is very small or the upload or download happens very quickly a `progress` event might not be dispatched. File upload progress cannot be determined on Macintosh platforms earlier than OS X 10.3. The `progress` event is called during the upload operation, but the value of the `bytesLoaded` property of the progress event is -1, indicating that the progress cannot be determined.
`securityError`	Dispatched when a call to the `FileReference.upload()` or `FileReference.download()` method tries to upload a file to a server or get a file from a server that is outside the caller's security sandbox. The value of the text property that describes the specific error that occurred is normally `"securitySandboxError"`. The calling SWF file may have tried to access a SWF file outside its domain and does not have permission to do so. You can try to remedy this error by using a URL policy file. In Adobe AIR, these security restrictions do not apply to content in the application security sandbox. In Adobe AIR, these security restrictions do not apply to content in the application security sandbox.
`select`	Dispatched when the user selects a file for upload or download from the file-browsing dialog box. (This dialog box opens when you call the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method.) When the user selects a file and confirms the operation (for example, by clicking OK), the properties of the FileReference object are populated. For content running in Flash Player or outside of the application security sandbox in the Adobe AIR runtime, the `select` event acts slightly differently depending on what method invokes it. When the `select` event is dispatched after a `browse()` call, the OpenFL application can read all the FileReference object's properties, because the file selected by the user is on the local file system. When the `select` event occurs after a `download()` call, the OpenFL application can read only the `name` property, because the file hasn't yet been downloaded to the local file system at the moment the `select` event is dispatched. When the file is downloaded and the `complete` even dispatched, the OpenFL application can read all other properties of the FileReference object.
`uploadCompleteData`	Dispatched after data is received from the server after a successful upload. This event is not dispatched if data is not returned from the server.

See also:

Constructor

`new()`

Creates a new FileReference object. When populated, a FileReference object represents a file on the user's local disk.

Variables

`read onlycreationDate:Date`

The creation date of the file on the local disk. If the object is was not populated, a call to get the value of this property returns null.

Throws:

`IOError`	If the file information cannot be accessed, an exception is thrown with a message indicating a file I/O error.
`IllegalOperationError`	If the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful. In this case, the value of the `creationDate` property is `null`.

`read onlycreator:String`

The Macintosh creator type of the file, which is only used in Mac OS versions prior to Mac OS X. In Windows or Linux, this property is null. If the FileReference object was not populated, a call to get the value of this property returns null.

Throws:

`IllegalOperationError`	On Macintosh, if the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful. In this case, the value of the `creator` property is `null`.

`read onlydata:ByteArray`

The ByteArray object representing the data from the loaded file after a successful call to the load() method.

Throws:

`IOError`	If the file cannot be opened or read, or if a similar error is encountered in accessing the file, an exception is thrown with a message indicating a file I/O error. In this case, the value of the `data` property is `null`.
`IllegalOperationError`	If the `load()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful. In this case, the value of the `data` property is `null`.

`read onlyextension:String`

The filename extension.

A file's extension is the part of the name following (and not including) the final dot ("."). If there is no dot in the filename, the extension is null.

Note: You should use the extension property to determine a file's type; do not use the creator or type properties. You should consider the creator and type properties to be considered deprecated. They apply to older versions of Mac OS.

Throws:

`IllegalOperationError`	If the reference is not initialized

`read onlymodificationDate:Date`

The date that the file on the local disk was last modified. If the FileReference object was not populated, a call to get the value of this property returns null.

Throws:

`IOError`	If the file information cannot be accessed, an exception is thrown with a message indicating a file I/O error.
`IllegalOperationError`	If the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful. In this case, the value of the `modificationDate` property is `null`.

`read onlyname:String`

The name of the file on the local disk. If the FileReference object was not populated (by a valid call to FileReference.download() or FileReference.browse()), Flash Player throws an error when you try to get the value of this property. All the properties of a FileReference object are populated by calling the browse() method. Unlike other FileReference properties, if you call the download() method, the name property is populated when the select event is dispatched.

Throws:

`IllegalOperationError`	If the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful.

`read onlysize:Float`

The size of the file on the local disk in bytes. If size is 0, an exception is thrown.

Note: In the initial version of ActionScript 3.0, the size property was defined as a uint object, which supported files with sizes up to about 4 GB. It was later implemented as a Number object to support larger files. In OpenFL, it is Float to match Number.

Throws:

`IOError`	If the file cannot be opened or read, or if a similar error is encountered in accessing the file, an exception is thrown with a message indicating a file I/O error.
`IllegalOperationError`	If the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful.

`read onlytype:String`

The file type. In Windows or Linux, this property is the file extension. On the Macintosh, this property is the four-character file type, which is only used in Mac OS versions prior to Mac OS X. If the FileReference object was not populated, a call to get the value of this property returns null.

For Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, the file extension ?the portion of the name property that follows the last occurrence of the dot (.) character ?identifies the file type.

Throws:

`IllegalOperationError`	If the `FileReference.browse()`, `FileReferenceList.browse()`, or `FileReference.download()` method was not called successfully, an exception is thrown with a message indicating that functions were called in the incorrect sequence or an earlier call was unsuccessful. In this case, the value of the `type` property is `null`.

Methods

`@:value({ typeFilter : null })browse(?typeFilter:Array<FileFilter>):Bool`

Displays a file-browsing dialog box that lets the user select a file to upload. The dialog box is native to the user's operating system. The user can select a file on the local computer or from other systems, for example, through a UNC path on Windows. Note: The File class, available in Adobe AIR, includes methods for accessing more specific system file selection dialog boxes. These methods are File.browseForDirectory(), File.browseForOpen(), File.browseForOpenMultiple(), and File.browseForSave().

When you call this method and the user successfully selects a file, the properties of this FileReference object are populated with the properties of that file. Each subsequent time that the FileReference.browse() method is called, the FileReference object's properties are reset to the file that the user selects in the dialog box. Only one browse() or download() session can be performed at a time (because only one dialog box can be invoked at a time).

Using the typeFilter parameter, you can determine which files the dialog box displays.

In Flash Player 10 and Flash Player 9 Update 5, you can only call this method successfully in response to a user event (for example, in an event handler for a mouse click or keypress event). Otherwise, calling this method results in Flash Player throwing an Error exception.

In Adobe AIR, the file-browsing dialog is not always displayed in front of windows that are "owned" by another window (windows that have a non-null owner property). To avoid window ordering issues, hide owned windows before calling this method.

Returns:

Returns true if the parameters are valid and the file-browsing dialog box opens.

Throws:

`ArgumentError`	If the `typeFilter` array contains FileFilter objects that are incorrectly formatted, an exception is thrown. For information on the correct format for FileFilter objects, see the <a href="FileFilter.html">FileFilter class.
`Error`	If the method is not called in response to a user action, such as a mouse event or keypress event.
`IllegalOperationError`	Thrown in the following situations: 1) Another FileReference or FileReferenceList browse session is in progress; only one file browsing session may be performed at a time. 2) A setting in the user's mms.cfg file prohibits this operation.

Events:

`cancel`	Dispatched when the user cancels the file upload Browse window.
`select`	Dispatched when the user successfully selects an item from the Browse file chooser.

`cancel():Void`

Cancels any ongoing upload or download operation on this FileReference object. Calling this method does not dispatch the cancel event; that event is dispatched only when the user cancels the operation by dismissing the file upload or download dialog box.

`@:value({ defaultFileName : null })download(request:URLRequest, ?defaultFileName:String):Void`

Opens a dialog box that lets the user download a file from a remote server. Although Flash Player has no restriction on the size of files you can upload or download, the player officially supports uploads or downloads of up to 100 MB. The download() method first opens an operating-system dialog box that asks the user to enter a filename and select a location on the local computer to save the file. When the user selects a location and confirms the download operation (for example, by clicking Save), the download from the remote server begins. Listeners receive events to indicate the progress, success, or failure of the download. To ascertain the status of the dialog box and the download operation after calling download(), your code must listen for events such as cancel, open, progress, and complete.

The FileReference.upload() and FileReference.download() functions are nonblocking. These functions return after they are called, before the file transmission is complete. In addition, if the FileReference object goes out of scope, any upload or download that is not yet completed on that object is canceled upon leaving the scope. Be sure that your FileReference object remains in scope for as long as the upload or download is expected to continue.

When the file is downloaded successfully, the properties of the FileReference object are populated with the properties of the local file. The complete event is dispatched if the download is successful.

Only one browse() or download() session can be performed at a time (because only one dialog box can be invoked at a time).

This method supports downloading of any file type, with either HTTP or HTTPS.

You cannot connect to commonly reserved ports. For a complete list of blocked ports, see "Restricting Networking APIs" in the OpenFL Developer's Guide.

Note: If your server requires user authentication, only SWF files running in a browser ?that is, using the browser plug-in or ActiveX control ?can provide a dialog box to prompt the user for a user name and password for authentication, and only for downloads. For uploads using the plug-in or ActiveX control, or for uploads and downloads using the stand-alone or external player, the file transfer fails.

When you use this method , consider the Flash Player security model:

Loading operations are not allowed if the calling SWF file is in an untrusted local sandbox.
The default behavior is to deny access between sandboxes. A website can enable access to a resource by adding a URL policy file.
You can prevent a SWF file from using this method by setting the allowNetworking parameter of the the object and embed tags in the HTML page that contains the SWF content.
In Flash Player 10 and Flash Player 9 Update 5, you can only call this method successfully in response to a user event (for example, in an event handler for a mouse click or keypress event). Otherwise, calling this method results in Flash Player throwing an Error exception.

However, in Adobe AIR, content in the application security sandbox (content installed with the AIR application) is not restricted by these security limitations.

For more information related to security, see the Flash Player Developer Center Topic: <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/devnet_security_en" scope="external">Security.

When you download a file using this method, it is flagged as downloaded on operating systems that flag downloaded files:

Windows XP service pack 2 and later, and on Windows Vista
Mac OS 10.5 and later

Some operating systems, such as Linux, do not flag downloaded files.

In Adobe AIR, the download dialog is not always displayed in front of windows that are "owned" by another window (windows that have a non-null owner property). To avoid window ordering issues, hide owned windows before calling this method.

Parameters:

`request`	The URLRequest object. The `url` property of the URLRequest object should contain the URL of the file to download to the local computer. If this parameter is `null`, an exception is thrown. The `requestHeaders` property of the URLRequest object is ignored; custom HTTP request headers are not supported in uploads or downloads. To send `POST` or GET parameters to the server, set the value of `URLRequest.data` to your parameters, and set `URLRequest.method` to either `URLRequestMethod.POST` or `URLRequestMethod.GET`. On some browsers, URL strings are limited in length. Lengths greater than 256 characters may fail on some browsers or servers.
`defaultFileName`	The default filename displayed in the dialog box for the file to be downloaded. This string must not contain the following characters: `/ \ : * ? " < > \| %` If you omit this parameter, the filename of the remote URL is parsed and used as the default.

request

The URLRequest object. The url property of the URLRequest object should contain the URL of the file to download to the local computer. If this parameter is null, an exception is thrown. The requestHeaders property of the URLRequest object is ignored; custom HTTP request headers are not supported in uploads or downloads. To send POST or GET parameters to the server, set the value of URLRequest.data to your parameters, and set URLRequest.method to either URLRequestMethod.POST or URLRequestMethod.GET. On some browsers, URL strings are limited in length. Lengths greater than 256 characters may fail on some browsers or servers.

defaultFileName

The default filename displayed in the dialog box for the file to be downloaded. This string must not contain the following characters: / \ : * ? " < > | % If you omit this parameter, the filename of the remote URL is parsed and used as the default.

Throws:

`ArgumentError`	If `url.data` is of type ByteArray, an exception is thrown. For use with the `FileReference.upload()` and `FileReference.download()` methods, `url.data` can only be of type URLVariables or String.
`Error`	If the method is not called in response to a user action, such as a mouse event or keypress event.
`IllegalOperationError`	Thrown in the following situations: 1) Another browse session is in progress; only one file browsing session can be performed at a time. 2) The value passed to `request` does not contain a valid path or protocol. 3) The filename to download contains prohibited characters. 4) A setting in the user's mms.cfg file prohibits this operation.
`MemoryError`	This error can occur for the following reasons: 1) Flash Player cannot convert the `URLRequest.data` parameter from UTF8 to MBCS. This error is applicable if the URLRequest object passed to the `FileReference.download()` method is set to perform a GET operation and if `System.useCodePage` is set to `true`. 2) Flash Player cannot allocate memory for the `POST` data. This error is applicable if the URLRequest object passed to the `FileReference.download()` method is set to perform a `POST` operation.
`SecurityError`	Local untrusted content may not communicate with the Internet. To avoid this situation, reclassify this SWF file as local-with-networking or trusted. This exception is thrown with a message indicating the filename and the URL that may not be accessed because of local file security restrictions.
`SecurityError`	You cannot connect to commonly reserved ports. For a complete list of blocked ports, see "Restricting Networking APIs" in the OpenFL Developer's Guide.

Events:

`cancel`	Dispatched when the user dismisses the dialog box.
`complete`	Dispatched when the file download operation successfully completes.
`ioError`	Dispatched for any of the following reasons: An input/output error occurs while the file is being read or transmitted. SWF content running in the stand-alone or external versions of Flash Player tries to download a file from a server that requires authentication. During download, the standalone and external players do not provide a means for users to enter passwords. If a SWF file in these players tries to download a file from a server that requires authentication, the download fails. File download can succeed only in the ActiveX control and browser plug-in players.
`open`	Dispatched when a download operation starts.
`progress`	Dispatched periodically during the file download operation.
`securityError`	Dispatched when a download fails because of a security error.
`select`	Dispatched when the user selects a file for download from the dialog box.

See also:

Downloading files from a server

`load():Void`

Starts the load of a local file selected by a user. Although Flash Player has no restriction on the size of files you can upload, download, load or save, it officially supports sizes of up to 100 MB. For content running in Flash Player, you must call the FileReference.browse() or FileReferenceList.browse() method before you call the load() method. However, content running in AIR in the application sandbox can call the load() method of a File object without first calling the browse() method. (The AIR File class extends the FileReference class.) Listeners receive events to indicate the progress, success, or failure of the load. Although you can use the FileReferenceList object to let users select multiple files to load, you must load the files one by one. To load the files one by one, iterate through the FileReferenceList.fileList array of FileReference objects.

Adobe AIR also includes the FileStream class which provides more options for reading files.

The FileReference.upload(), FileReference.download(), FileReference.load() and FileReference.save() functions are nonblocking. These functions return after they are called, before the file transmission is complete. In addition, if the FileReference object goes out of scope, any transaction that is not yet completed on that object is canceled upon leaving the scope. Be sure that your FileReference object remains in scope for as long as the upload, download, load or save is expected to continue.

If the file finishes loading successfully, its contents are stored as a byte array in the data property of the FileReference object.

The following security considerations apply:

Loading operations are not allowed if the calling SWF file is in an untrusted local sandbox.
The default behavior is to deny access between sandboxes. A website can enable access to a resource by adding a cross-domain policy file.
You can prevent a file from using this method by setting the allowNetworking parameter of the the object and embed tags in the HTML page that contains the SWF content.

However, these considerations do not apply to AIR content in the application sandbox.

Note that when publishing to Flash Player 10 or AIR 1.5, you can have only one of the following operations active at one time: FileReference.browse(), FileReference.upload(), FileReference.download(), FileReference.load(), FileReference.save(). Otherwise, the application throws a runtime error (code 2174). Use FileReference.cancel() to stop an operation in progress. This restriction applies only to Flash Player 10 and AIR 1.5. Previous versions of Flash Player or AIR are unaffected by this restriction on simultaneous multiple operations.

Throws:

`IllegalOperationError`	Thrown in the following situations: 1) Another FileReference or FileReferenceList browse session is in progress; only one file browsing session may be performed at a time. 2) A setting in the user's mms.cfg file prohibits this operation.
`MemoryError`	This error can occur if the application cannot allocate memory for the file. The file may be too large or available memory may be too low.

Events:

`complete`	Dispatched when the file load operation completes successfully.
`ioError`	Invoked if the load fails because of an input/output error while the application is reading or writing the file.
`open`	Dispatched when an load operation starts.
`progress`	Dispatched periodically during the file load operation.

See also:

`@:value({ defaultFileName : null })save(data:Dynamic, ?defaultFileName:String):Void`

Opens a dialog box that lets the user save a file to the local filesystem. Although Flash Player has no restriction on the size of files you can upload, download, load or save, the player officially supports sizes of up to 100 MB. The save() method first opens an operating-system dialog box that asks the user to enter a filename and select a location on the local computer to save the file. When the user selects a location and confirms the save operation (for example, by clicking Save), the save process begins. Listeners receive events to indicate the progress, success, or failure of the save operation. To ascertain the status of the dialog box and the save operation after calling save(), your code must listen for events such as cancel, open, progress, and complete.

Adobe AIR also includes the FileStream class which provides more options for saving files locally.

When the file is saved successfully, the properties of the FileReference object are populated with the properties of the local file. The complete event is dispatched if the save is successful.

Only one browse() or save() session can be performed at a time (because only one dialog box can be invoked at a time).

In Flash Player, you can only call this method successfully in response to a user event (for example, in an event handler for a mouse click or keypress event). Otherwise, calling this method results in Flash Player throwing an Error exception. This limitation does not apply to AIR content in the application sandbox.

In Adobe AIR, the save dialog is not always displayed in front of windows that are "owned" by another window (windows that have a non-null owner property). To avoid window ordering issues, hide owned windows before calling this method.

Parameters:

`data`	The data to be saved. The data can be in one of several formats, and will be treated appropriately: If the value is `null`, the application throws an ArgumentError exception. If the value is a String, it is saved as a UTF-8 text file. If the value is XML, it is written to a text file in XML format, with all formatting preserved. If the value is a ByteArray object, it is written to a data file verbatim. * If the value is none of the above, the `save()` method calls the `toString()` method of the object to convert the data to a string, and it then saves the data as a text file. If that fails, the application throws an ArgumentError exception.
`defaultFileName`	The default filename displayed in the dialog box for the file to be saved. This string must not contain the following characters: `/ \ : * ? " < > \| %` If a File object calls this method, the filename will be that of the file the File object references. (The AIR File class extends the FileReference class.)

data

The data to be saved. The data can be in one of several formats, and will be treated appropriately: If the value is null, the application throws an ArgumentError exception. If the value is a String, it is saved as a UTF-8 text file. If the value is XML, it is written to a text file in XML format, with all formatting preserved. If the value is a ByteArray object, it is written to a data file verbatim. * If the value is none of the above, the save() method calls the toString() method of the object to convert the data to a string, and it then saves the data as a text file. If that fails, the application throws an ArgumentError exception.

defaultFileName

The default filename displayed in the dialog box for the file to be saved. This string must not contain the following characters: / \ : * ? " < > | % If a File object calls this method, the filename will be that of the file the File object references. (The AIR File class extends the FileReference class.)

Throws:

`ArgumentError`	If `data` is not of type ByteArray, and it does not have a `toString()` method, an exception is thrown. If `data` is not of type XML, and it does not have a `toXMLString()` method, an exception is thrown.
`Error`	If the method is not called in response to a user action, such as a mouse event or keypress event.
`IllegalOperationError`	Thrown in the following situations: 1) Another browse session is in progress; only one file browsing session can be performed at a time. 2) The filename to download contains prohibited characters. 3) A setting in the user's mms.cfg file prohibits this operation.
`MemoryError`	This error can occur if Flash Player cannot allocate memory for the file. The file may be too large or available memory may be too low.

Events:

`cancel`	Dispatched when the user dismisses the dialog box.
`complete`	Dispatched when the file download operation successfully completes.
`ioError`	Dispatched if an input/output error occurs while the file is being read or transmitted.
`open`	Dispatched when a download operation starts.
`progress`	Dispatched periodically during the file download operation.
`select`	Dispatched when the user selects a file for download from the dialog box.

See also:

`@:value({ testUpload : false, uploadDataFieldName : "Filedata" })upload(request:URLRequest, uploadDataFieldName:String = "Filedata", testUpload:Bool = false):Void`

Starts the upload of the file to a remote server. Although Flash Player has no restriction on the size of files you can upload or download, the player officially supports uploads or downloads of up to 100 MB. You must call the FileReference.browse() or FileReferenceList.browse() method before you call this method. For the Adobe AIR File class, which extends the FileReference class, you can use the upload() method to upload any file. For the FileReference class (used in Flash Player), the user must first select a file.

Listeners receive events to indicate the progress, success, or failure of the upload. Although you can use the FileReferenceList object to let users select multiple files for upload, you must upload the files one by one; to do so, iterate through the FileReferenceList.fileList array of FileReference objects.

The file is uploaded to the URL passed in the url parameter. The URL must be a server script configured to accept uploads. Flash Player uploads files by using the HTTP POST method. The server script that handles the upload should expect a POST request with the following elements:

Content-Type of multipart/form-data
Content-Disposition with a name attribute set to "Filedata" by default and a filename attribute set to the name of the original file
The binary contents of the file

You cannot connect to commonly reserved ports. For a complete list of blocked ports, see "Restricting Networking APIs" in the OpenFL Developer's Guide.

For a sample POST request, see the description of the uploadDataFieldName parameter. You can send POST or GET parameters to the server with the upload() method; see the description of the request parameter.

If the testUpload parameter is true, and the file to be uploaded is bigger than approximately 10 KB, Flash Player on Windows first sends a test upload POST operation with zero content before uploading the actual file, to verify that the transmission is likely to succeed. Flash Player then sends a second POST operation that contains the actual file content. For files smaller than 10 KB, Flash Player performs a single upload POST with the actual file content to be uploaded. Flash Player on Macintosh does not perform test upload POST operations.

Note: If your server requires user authentication, only SWF files running in a browser ?that is, using the browser plug-in or ActiveX control ?can provide a dialog box to prompt the user for a username and password for authentication, and only for downloads. For uploads using the plug-in or ActiveX control, or for uploads and downloads using the stand-alone or external player, the file transfer fails.

When you use this method , consider the Flash Player security model:

Loading operations are not allowed if the calling SWF file is in an untrusted local sandbox.
The default behavior is to deny access between sandboxes. A website can enable access to a resource by adding a URL policy file.
You can prevent a SWF file from using this method by setting the allowNetworking parameter of the the object and embed tags in the HTML page that contains the SWF content.

However, in Adobe AIR, content in the application security sandbox (content installed with the AIR application) are not restricted by these security limitations.

For more information related to security, see the Flash Player Developer Center Topic: <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/devnet_security_en" scope="external">Security.

Parameters:

`request`	The URLRequest object; the `url` property of the URLRequest object should contain the URL of the server script configured to handle upload through HTTP `POST` calls. On some browsers, URL strings are limited in length. Lengths greater than 256 characters may fail on some browsers or servers. If this parameter is `null`, an exception is thrown. The `requestHeaders` property of the URLRequest object is ignored; custom HTTP request headers are not supported in uploads or downloads. The URL can be HTTP or, for secure uploads, HTTPS. To use HTTPS, use an HTTPS url in the `url` parameter. If you do not specify a port number in the `url` parameter, port 80 is used for HTTP and port 443 us used for HTTPS, by default. To send `POST` or `GET` parameters to the server, set the `data` property of the URLRequest object to your parameters, and set the `method` property to either `URLRequestMethod.POST` or `URLRequestMethod.GET`.
`uploadDataFieldName`	The field name that precedes the file data in the upload `POST` operation. The `uploadDataFieldName` value must be non-null and a non-empty String. By default, the value of `uploadDataFieldName` is `"Filedata"`, as shown in the following sample `POST` request: <pre xml:space="preserve"> Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=AaB03x --AaB03x Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Filedata"; filename="example.jpg" Content-Type: application/octet-stream ... contents of example.jpg ... --AaB03x--
`testUpload`	A setting to request a test file upload. If `testUpload` is `true`, for files larger than 10 KB, Flash Player attempts a test file upload `POST` with a Content-Length of 0. The test upload checks whether the actual file upload will be successful and that server authentication, if required, will succeed. A test upload is only available for Windows players.

request

The URLRequest object; the url property of the URLRequest object should contain the URL of the server script configured to handle upload through HTTP POST calls. On some browsers, URL strings are limited in length. Lengths greater than 256 characters may fail on some browsers or servers. If this parameter is null, an exception is thrown. The requestHeaders property of the URLRequest object is ignored; custom HTTP request headers are not supported in uploads or downloads. The URL can be HTTP or, for secure uploads, HTTPS. To use HTTPS, use an HTTPS url in the url parameter. If you do not specify a port number in the url parameter, port 80 is used for HTTP and port 443 us used for HTTPS, by default.

To send POST or GET parameters to the server, set the data property of the URLRequest object to your parameters, and set the method property to either URLRequestMethod.POST or URLRequestMethod.GET.

uploadDataFieldName

The field name that precedes the file data in the upload POST operation. The uploadDataFieldName value must be non-null and a non-empty String. By default, the value of uploadDataFieldName is "Filedata", as shown in the following sample POST request: <pre xml:space="preserve"> Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=AaB03x --AaB03x Content-Disposition: form-data; name="Filedata"; filename="example.jpg" Content-Type: application/octet-stream ... contents of example.jpg ... --AaB03x--

testUpload

A setting to request a test file upload. If testUpload is true, for files larger than 10 KB, Flash Player attempts a test file upload POST with a Content-Length of 0. The test upload checks whether the actual file upload will be successful and that server authentication, if required, will succeed. A test upload is only available for Windows players.

Throws:

`ArgumentError`	Thrown in the following situations: 1) The `uploadDataFieldName` parameter is an empty string. 2) `url.data` is of type ByteArray. For use with the `FileReference.upload()` and `FileReference.download()` methods, `url.data` may only be of type URLVariables or String. 3) In the AIR runtime (in the application security sandbox), the method of the URLRequest is not GET or POST (use `uploadEncoded()` instead).
`IllegalOperationError`	Thrown in the following situations: 1) Another FileReference or FileReferenceList browse session is in progress; only one file browsing session may be performed at a time. 2) The URL parameter is not a valid path or protocol. File upload must use HTTP, and file download must use FTP or HTTP. 3) The `uploadDataFieldName` parameter is set to `null`. 4) A setting in the user's mms.cfg file prohibits this operation.
`MemoryError`	This error can occur for the following reasons: 1) Flash Player cannot convert the `URLRequest.data` parameter from UTF8 to MBCS. This error is applicable if the URLRequest object passed to `FileReference.upload()` is set to perform a GET operation and if `System.useCodePage` is set to `true`. 2) Flash Player cannot allocate memory for the `POST` data. This error is applicable if the URLRequest object passed to `FileReference.upload()` is set to perform a `POST` operation.
`SecurityError`	Local untrusted SWF files may not communicate with the Internet. To avoid this situation, reclassify this SWF file as local-with-networking or trusted. This exception is thrown with a message indicating the name of the local file and the URL that may not be accessed.
`SecurityError`	You cannot connect to commonly reserved ports. For a complete list of blocked ports, see "Restricting Networking APIs" in the OpenFL Developer's Guide.

Events:

`complete`	Dispatched when the file upload operation completes successfully.
`httpResponseStatus`	The upload operation completes successfully and the server returns a response URL and response headers.
`httpStatus`	Dispatched when an upload fails because of an HTTP error.
`ioError`	Invoked in any of the following situations: The upload fails because of an input/output error while Flash Player or Adobe AIR is reading, writing, or transmitting the file. The upload fails because an attempt to upload a file to a server that requires authentication (such as a user name and password). During upload, no mean is provided for users to enter passwords. * The upload fails because the `url` parameter contains an invalid protocol. `FileReference.upload()` must use HTTP or HTTPS.
`open`	Dispatched when an upload operation starts.
`progress`	Dispatched periodically during the file upload operation.
`securityError`	Dispatched when an upload fails because of a security violation.
`uploadCompleteData`	Dispatched when data has been received from the server after a successful file upload.

See also:

Uploading files to a server

Inherited Variables

Inherited Methods

Defined by EventDispatcher

`@:value({ useWeakReference : false, priority : 0, useCapture : false })addEventListener<T>(type:EventType<T>, listener:T ‑> Void, useCapture:Bool = false, priority:Int = 0, useWeakReference:Bool = false):Void`

Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener receives notification of an event. You can register event listeners on all nodes in the display list for a specific type of event, phase, and priority.

After you successfully register an event listener, you cannot change its priority through additional calls to addEventListener(). To change a listener's priority, you must first call removeListener(). Then you can register the listener again with the new priority level.

Keep in mind that after the listener is registered, subsequent calls to addEventListener() with a different type or useCapture value result in the creation of a separate listener registration. For example, if you first register a listener with useCapture set to true, it listens only during the capture phase. If you call addEventListener() again using the same listener object, but with useCapture set to false, you have two separate listeners: one that listens during the capture phase and another that listens during the target and bubbling phases.

You cannot register an event listener for only the target phase or the bubbling phase. Those phases are coupled during registration because bubbling applies only to the ancestors of the target node.

If you no longer need an event listener, remove it by calling removeEventListener(), or memory problems could result. Event listeners are not automatically removed from memory because the garbage collector does not remove the listener as long as the dispatching object exists(unless the useWeakReference parameter is set to true).

Copying an EventDispatcher instance does not copy the event listeners attached to it.(If your newly created node needs an event listener, you must attach the listener after creating the node.) However, if you move an EventDispatcher instance, the event listeners attached to it move along with it.

If the event listener is being registered on a node while an event is being processed on this node, the event listener is not triggered during the current phase but can be triggered during a later phase in the event flow, such as the bubbling phase.

If an event listener is removed from a node while an event is being processed on the node, it is still triggered by the current actions. After it is removed, the event listener is never invoked again(unless registered again for future processing).

Parameters:

`type`	The type of event.
`useCapture`	Determines whether the listener works in the capture phase or the target and bubbling phases. If `useCapture` is set to `true`, the listener processes the event only during the capture phase and not in the target or bubbling phase. If `useCapture` is `false`, the listener processes the event only during the target or bubbling phase. To listen for the event in all three phases, call `addEventListener` twice, once with `useCapture` set to `true`, then again with `useCapture` set to `false`.
`priority`	The priority level of the event listener. The priority is designated by a signed 32-bit integer. The higher the number, the higher the priority. All listeners with priority n are processed before listeners of priority n-1. If two or more listeners share the same priority, they are processed in the order in which they were added. The default priority is 0.
`useWeakReference`	Determines whether the reference to the listener is strong or weak. A strong reference(the default) prevents your listener from being garbage-collected. A weak reference does not. Class-level member functions are not subject to garbage collection, so you can set `useWeakReference` to `true` for class-level member functions without subjecting them to garbage collection. If you set `useWeakReference` to `true` for a listener that is a nested inner function, the function will be garbage-collected and no longer persistent. If you create references to the inner function (save it in another variable) then it is not garbage-collected and stays persistent. Weak references are supported on some OpenFL targets only, including html5, cpp, and flash/air. On other targets, this parameter is ignored, and the reference will be strong instead.

Throws:

`ArgumentError`	The `listener` specified is not a function.

`dispatchEvent(event:Event):Bool`

Dispatches an event into the event flow. The event target is the EventDispatcher object upon which the dispatchEvent() method is called.

Parameters:

`event`	The Event object that is dispatched into the event flow. If the event is being redispatched, a clone of the event is created automatically. After an event is dispatched, its `target` property cannot be changed, so you must create a new copy of the event for redispatching to work.

Returns:

A value of true if the event was successfully dispatched. A value of false indicates failure or that preventDefault() was called on the event.

Throws:

`Error`	The event dispatch recursion limit has been reached.

`hasEventListener(type:String):Bool`

Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event. This allows you to determine where an EventDispatcher object has altered handling of an event type in the event flow hierarchy. To determine whether a specific event type actually triggers an event listener, use willTrigger().

The difference between hasEventListener() and willTrigger() is that hasEventListener() examines only the object to which it belongs, whereas willTrigger() examines the entire event flow for the event specified by the type parameter.

When hasEventListener() is called from a LoaderInfo object, only the listeners that the caller can access are considered.

Parameters:

`type`	The type of event.

Returns:

A value of true if a listener of the specified type is registered; false otherwise.

`@:value({ useCapture : false })removeEventListener<T>(type:EventType<T>, listener:T ‑> Void, useCapture:Bool = false):Void`

Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object. If there is no matching listener registered with the EventDispatcher object, a call to this method has no effect.

Parameters:

`type`	The type of event.
`useCapture`	Specifies whether the listener was registered for the capture phase or the target and bubbling phases. If the listener was registered for both the capture phase and the target and bubbling phases, two calls to `removeEventListener()` are required to remove both, one call with `useCapture()` set to `true`, and another call with `useCapture()` set to `false`.

`toString():String`

`willTrigger(type:String):Bool`

Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type. This method returns true if an event listener is triggered during any phase of the event flow when an event of the specified type is dispatched to this EventDispatcher object or any of its descendants.

The difference between the hasEventListener() and the willTrigger() methods is that hasEventListener() examines only the object to which it belongs, whereas the willTrigger() method examines the entire event flow for the event specified by the type parameter.

When willTrigger() is called from a LoaderInfo object, only the listeners that the caller can access are considered.

Parameters:

`type`	The type of event.

Returns:

A value of true if a listener of the specified type will be triggered; false otherwise.

class FileReference

package openfl.net

extends EventDispatcher

extended by File

Constructor

`new()`

Variables

`read onlycreationDate:Date`

`read onlycreator:String`

`read onlydata:ByteArray`

`read onlyextension:String`

`read onlymodificationDate:Date`

`read onlyname:String`

`read onlysize:Float`

`read onlytype:String`

Methods

`@:value({ typeFilter : null })browse(?typeFilter:Array<FileFilter>):Bool`

`cancel():Void`

`@:value({ defaultFileName : null })download(request:URLRequest, ?defaultFileName:String):Void`

`load():Void`

`@:value({ defaultFileName : null })save(data:Dynamic, ?defaultFileName:String):Void`

`@:value({ testUpload : false, uploadDataFieldName : "Filedata" })upload(request:URLRequest, uploadDataFieldName:String = "Filedata", testUpload:Bool = false):Void`

Inherited Variables

Inherited Methods

Defined by EventDispatcher

`@:value({ useWeakReference : false, priority : 0, useCapture : false })addEventListener<T>(type:EventType<T>, listener:T ‑> Void, useCapture:Bool = false, priority:Int = 0, useWeakReference:Bool = false):Void`

`dispatchEvent(event:Event):Bool`

`hasEventListener(type:String):Bool`

`@:value({ useCapture : false })removeEventListener<T>(type:EventType<T>, listener:T ‑> Void, useCapture:Bool = false):Void`

`toString():String`

`willTrigger(type:String):Bool`