Html triggering a flash variable

Would it be possible for a flash variable to change based on an html file?

Forgive me if this is a novice question, and I’m sure there are much easier ways to do this using PHP, etc. At the moment I only know Html and CSS

I am using a flash file as my menu, and I’m wondering if there is a way for the html file to trigger flash so that I do not have to make multiple swfs, and cutting down on total files loaded.

Thanks for the info
-Mik