Lingo Dictionary > G-K > idleHandlerPeriod |  |

idleHandlerPeriod

Syntax

    the idleHandlerPeriod

Description

Movie property; determines the maximum number of ticks (60ths of a second) that passes until the movie sends an `idle` message. The default value is 1, which tells the movie to send `idle` handler messages no more than 60 times per second.

Increasing the value of the `idleHandlerPeriod` property reduces the use of the computer's CPU by lowering the number of idle events generated.

When the playback head enters a frame, Director starts a timer, repaints the appropriate sprites on the Stage, and issues an `enterFrame` event. Then, if the amount of time set for the tempo has elapsed, Director generates an `exitFrame` event and goes to the next specified frame; if the amount of time set for this frame hasn't elapsed, Director waits until the time runs out and periodically generates an `idle` message. The amount of time between `idle` events is determined by `idleHandlerPeriod`.

Possible settings for `idleHandlerPeriod` are:

| 0—As many idle events as possible
| 1—Up to 60 per second
| 2—Up to 30 per second
| 3—Up to 20 per second
| n—Up to 60/n per second

The number of `idle` events per frame also depends on the frame rate of the movie and other activity, including whether Lingo scripts are executing. If the tempo is 60 frames per second (fps) and the `idleHandlerPeriod` value is 1, one `idle` event per frame occurs. If the tempo is 20 fps, three `idle` events per frame occur. Idle time results from Director doesn't have a current task to perform and cannot generate any events.

In contrast, if the `idleHandlerPeriod` property is set to 0 and the tempo is very low, thousands of `idle` events can be generated.

The default value for this property is 1, which differs from previous versions in which it defaulted to 0.

Example

The following statement causes the movie to send an `idle` message a maximum of once per second:

    the idleHandlerPeriod = 60

See also

`idleHandlerPeriod`, `idleLoadDone()`, `idleLoadMode`, `idleLoadTag`, `idleReadChunkSize`