Flashing HTML Title Script

flashtitle.js

(function () {

    var original = document.title;
    var timeout;
    var defaultTimes = 5;

    window.flashTitle = function (newMsg, howManyTimes) {
        function step() {
            document.title = (document.title == original) ? newMsg : original;

            if (--howManyTimes > 0) {
                timeout = setTimeout(step, 1000);
            };
        };

        howManyTimes = parseInt(howManyTimes);

        if (isNaN(howManyTimes)) {
            howManyTimes = defaultTimes;
        };

        cancelFlashTitle(timeout);
        step();
    };

    window.cancelFlashTitle = function () {
        clearTimeout(timeout);
        document.title = original;
    };

}());