Interactive Studio
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Interactive Studio

Build no-code gameplay with tasks, triggers, effects, values, and player feedback.

Send Message to Iframes

What it does

Sends one plain-text message from a task to every iframe overlay that is currently open. Configure the sender in Interactive Studio; the webpage inside each iframe must already be prepared to receive and use the message.

Use it to update an open overlay with the current player's name, a score, or another value from the space.

Before you start

  • Open the target overlay with Iframe before this effect runs.
  • This effect broadcasts to all active iframe overlays. It cannot select one by URL or name.
  • Keep the message format predictable so the embedded page can interpret it.

Setup

  1. Add Send Message to Iframes to the task state that should send the update.
  2. Enter the text in the Message field.
  3. Put a supported placeholder in the message anywhere you want Portals to insert a current value.
  4. Test with an iframe already open and with the task transition that sends the message.

Message placeholders

Keep the vertical bars around a placeholder exactly as shown:

  • |username| inserts the current player's displayed name. Portals wraps that name in quotes in the sent message.
  • |value-label| inserts the current numeric or string value whose label is value-label.
  • |player-value-label| inserts the currently available player names and values for that player-specific label.

For example, Welcome, |username|! You have |gems| gems. becomes a greeting with the active player's name and the current gems value. Label spelling must match the value label in your space exactly.

If Portals cannot find a label, it leaves that placeholder unchanged. That makes a label mismatch easy to spot while testing.

Tiny example

A player collects a gem, which updates the gems value. The same task sends Gems: |gems| to an already-open progress overlay.

Test and troubleshoot

  • Open the iframe first. No message is sent to an overlay that is not active.
  • Match a value label exactly, including capitalization and spaces.
  • Start with a plain message, then add one placeholder at a time.
  • This page covers the no-code sender. Set up the receiving behavior in the embedded page separately.

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