Barry's Buttonkiller - Page 2

Part II

The buttonkiller is a Flash movie with a single frame, no graphics, and only one action: a Get URL command that calls the next html page. This page is simply a blank html document, a mere placeholder. It's job is to sit there harmlessly until some fool unwittingly hits the back button. When that occurs, the browser will dutifully return to the last page loaded...the buttonkiller, which resides in your hidden frame and prompty bounces the frame back to the blank page again.

The entire event remains invisible to the user, who only notes that hitting the back button has no discernable effect on your Flash movie, which continues to play undisturbed in the top frame. Voila! You have defeated the back button!

The technique is pretty foolproof (which is the whole idea), but it IS possible to defeat it with a series of rapidly repeated clicks on the mousebutton, especially if the user has a slower modem. But it does a nice job of preventing stray clicks on the back button screwing up your site, and it beats putting your site in an annoying pop-up window with no browser tools available to the user at all. Try it! Your visitors will be glad you did!

For an example of this technique in action, come visit my website at www.spanishcastle.com