change variable from other frame's script

[MK27]

I've doing a site with a menu in a side frame where the menu is all images that are changed with onmouseover and onmouseout.  Because I want the active menu item highlighted, I have three images for each button (a base one, a mouse over one, and one for when the item is active).  The current active button is tracked in a variable, so that when a new button is clicked, the old one can be returned to the non-active base image.

But the user can also change the active page using in-text links, by-passing the menu.  Before I give up on the possibility, I was hoping against hope that I could call a function and/or change the value of a variable from the script on the menu page from a page in the other frame, using something like:

parent.sidebar.var1=0;

I haven't tried yet because I'm pretty sure you can't, so since this is a common set up I thought I'd also check and see if anyone knows a better option.

If I do have to re-write the sidebar functions, is there a way to check and see what specific image file is loaded into a particular place (so I could find the active item, rather than reloading all the images?)  Something like:

if (parent.sidebar.images[item].src="active.jpg") {parent.sidebar.images[item].src="base.jpg"};

[grim1208]

could you show some source of what you have already got?  It'll be more easy to give you a definite answer

[MK27]

var imgray = new Array();
imgray[0] = new Array() 
imgray[0][0] = new Image();
imgray[0][0].src = "images/desc-bttn.jpg"
imgray[0][1] = new Image()
imgray[0][1].src = "images/desc-bttn2.jpg"
imgray[0][2] = new Image()
imgray[0][2].src = "images/desc-bttn3.jpg"
imgray[1] = new Array() 
[....]
var labray=new Array();
labray[0]=1;
var i;
for (i=1; i<8; i++) { labray[i]=0; }
function swaplabel (label,num) {     // for mouseout
if (labray[num]==0) {
	document.images[label].src=imgray[num][0].src;
} else {
	document.images[label].src=imgray[num][2].src;
}
}
var active=0;
function makeactive (num) {    // for onclick
labray[active]=0;
var label;
if (active==0) {label='desc_bttn';}
if (active==1) {label='uses_bttn';}
if (active==2) {label='doc_bttn';}
if (active==3) {label='config_bttn';}
        [....]
document.images[label].src=imgray[active][0].src;
active=num;
labray[num]=1;
}