Open SWF File

Common SWF File Problems

The display of flash files on the Internet have causes many controversies. For example, Apple computers and operating systems did not have support for flash and SWF from the very beginning because Steve Jobs was concerned about performance and security of flash reproduction software.

In the early days of internet, it was quite a forward-looking idea to introduce interactive elements to web pages and blogs. Flash technology and associated ActionScript language became one of the most popular solutions for this.

Flash animation and interactive elements were stored to SWF files, which when downloaded to end-user computer, allowed animations and interaction with the user. Development of Flash and SWF file format has contributed enormously to the educational possibilities of Web 2.0. But with advancements of other technologies like HTML5, Adobe abandoned the update and improvement of the Flash editor and the viewer, the Flash Player, things are getting more and more complicated.

SWF Compatibility Issues

SWF embeddings are now rarely seen on websites and could only be rendered by limited number of browsers. When you visit the web page, browsers detect the presence of an SWF file, and then allow it to be downloaded to the user's computer to later try its visualization with a tool that is available and installed in it.

On Mac computers, the SWF file is downloaded, but it cannot be rendered. In Google Chrome on Windows computers, it gives the option of downloading and alerts end-user of the danger of SWF file, and by default, the flash plugin is blocked.

In the case of Internet Explorer, the embedded SWF could be rendered without problems. In Linux, SWF could be rendered with Firefox, however, with Chromium, the correct display is not possible.

As of today, all browsers block, by default, the Adobe Flash Player plugin, however, with some settings in the browser, you still can have a display with at least one browser for each of the operating systems.

SWF end of support

As of 2020 Adobe will stop supporting its Flash Player plugin in all browsers. Each browser maker has end of flash plan (https://redmondmag.com/articles/2017/07/25/adobe-ending-flash-support.aspx) to sunset the flash technology.