Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 Release Notes

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Macromedia Flash MX v.6.0 Macromedia Flash MX 6.0 provides you with a helpful tool which is designed to create rich Internet content and applications with a better return on investment. Powerful video, multimedia and application development features allow the creation of rich. Download now the serial number for Macromedia Flash MX 2004 7.2. All serial numbers are genuine and you can find more results in our database for Macromedia software. Updates are issued periodically and new results might be added for this applications from our community. Now you can take this content into your own hands with Macromedia Flash MX 2004. Macromedia Flash MX 2004 will let you design the content on which the world runs. You can play a part in the development of new ideas and unique visions. The world will follow your thoughts as if they are on a string. Macromedia flash mx free. download full version, Macromedia Flash Player 10.0.45.2, GetGo Download Manager 4.7.3.1085, Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004 6.0. This document addresses issues that are not discussed in the Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 documentation. This document may be updated as more information becomes available. Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 are the solutions for developing rich Internet content.

This document addresses issues that are not discussed in the Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 documentation. This document may be updated as more information becomes available.

This document addresses issues that are not discussed in the Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 documentation. This document may be updated as more information becomes available. Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 are the solutions for developing rich Internet content. Aug 26, 2016  Flash MX is an advanced authoring environment for creating interactive websites, digital experiences and mobile content.

About Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004

Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 are the solutions for developing rich Internet content and applications. Whether you are designing motion graphics or building>(versions 7.0 and 7.0.1 only)

When you launch Flash for the first time, you will be asked whether you want to download an update to your product Help system. Please elect to do so, and you will receive the latest documentation associated with the product.

New and corrected information will be added to the Help system regularly. To check for updated help after you have installed Flash, display the Help panel (Help > Help), then click the Update button. If new help content is available, a dialog box is displayed asking if you want to download the new help content. Click Yes to download it. Macromedia suggests that you check for new help content at least once a month.

Backward compatibility of Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004

You cannot open a Macromedia Flash MX 2004 (or Flash MX Professional 2004) source file (.FLA) in Flash MX due to the additional features in the 2004 versions. However, you can use the Save as Flash MX feature described in the Using Flash manual to save the document in the Flash MX .FLA format. When doing this, you will lose any new version 2004 features you may have added to the file.

In addition, you may export your Macromedia Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 source file as Flash Player version 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 format (.SWF) for deployment purposes. Features not supported in those versions may not function.

The best way to copy items from files created in Flash MX to files created in Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 is to open the files using Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 and then copy and paste within the Flash application.

Copying text from files open in Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 into files open in Flash MX is not supported. Choose 'Save As Flash MX' and open the file in Flash MX instead.

Components

Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 come with a comprehensive set of new UI components. these components are written in ActionScript 2.0 and are based upon a new architecture that is more robust and full-featured than the Flash MX components.

Migration of existing applications using Components
Due to the substantial changes in the component architecture, there will be significant development effort in migrating an application built with Flash MX components to the new 2004 component set. You can continue to develop your application employing Flash MX components in the Flash MX 2004 products without updating to the new component set.

Flash Player 6.0 r79 required by Components
The Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 components support both Flash Player 6 and Flash Player 7 SWF format. However, the version 2004 components will not work in versions of Flash Player earlier than 6.0 r79. The new Flash Player Detection feature can be used to ensure that an end-user has Flash Player 6.0 r79 or later; see 'Configuring publish settings for Flash Player detection' in Using Flash.

Size of Flash MX 2004 Components
Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional components provide a host of new features, and as a result, the size of SWF files containing version 2004 components may be larger than equivalent SWF files containing Flash MX components. This is due to the many new services and sophisticated infrastructure that the version 2004 components provide.

Flash MX Components and Flash Player 7
While Flash MX components may continue to be used in Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004, they may not work when published as Flash Player 7. If you are using Flash MX components in your application, continue to publish your application as Flash Player 6 SWF.

Alternatively, you may download an updated set of Flash MX 'v1' components which have been modified to support Flash Player.

Backward compatibility of Flash Player 7 - see the Flash Player 7 release notes.

There have been a number of changes in Flash Player 7 that may cause existing scripts to cease functioning correctly when published into Flash Player 7 SWF files. These changes, and strategies for adapting existing content to them, are discussed in the ActionScript Reference Guide in the section 'Porting existing scripts to Flash Player 7'.
In particular, these features may cause issues for existing content when published as Flash Player 7 SWF files:
- ECMA-262 Strict Mode Compliance
- Exact Domain Matching (Flash Player 7 security model)
The migration of Flash movies from Flash Player 6 to Flash Player 7 SWF format may involve some development effort. If you do not need to take advantage of new Flash Player 7 features, it is recommended that you continue publishing existing content as Flash Player 6 SWF files.

Extension Manager

The Macromedia Extension Manager is included on the Flash CD-ROM. You may also download the latestExtension Manager from the Macromedia Exchange for Flash.

Text Issues

Components and text will not display at runtime if the FLA file is saved to a path that has multi-byte characters in it if the system is not a multi-byte system.

There is a change to the way text is transformed. In Flash MX it behaved like a shape and would transform about the opposite corner. In Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004, text behaves more like a symbol and transforms about the transformation point.

EPS Import

Due to a limitation of the importing technology we are using, importing EPS files from Illustrator to Flash does not allow layers to be preserved. You can work around this by importing files in either Adobe Illustrator or PDF format instead.

Video and Sound

Some video features require QuickTime to be installed. See the product System Requirements.

Video Codecs - Although Flash fully supports QuickTime and AVI, you may experience issues with particular codecs.

This is a list of known problematic video codecs for QuickTime movie files which can crash the Flash application:

• Intel Indeo Video
• SoftDV

In addition, Flash cannot import MPEG video streams through QuickTime.

We recommend the following video codecs when using QuickTime:

• Uncompressed video
• Sorenson Video 1, 2, and 3
• Motion JPEG A and B

You cannot edit or preview WMV video files.
Importing AVI files with the Intel Indeo video codec does not work properly.

Sound Codecs - In addition you may experience problems with some sound codecs. In most cases, the video import panel will display a warning about audio tracks using unsupported codecs. The following sound codecs are not supported:

• IMA 4:1
• Some 3rd party video and audio codecs available for Windows can cause issues like distorted video or audio, and crashes. This can be the case, for example, with MPEG2 video codecs which usually come with DVD playback software.

We recommend the following sound codecs when using QuickTime:

• Uncompressed audio
• ALaw 2:1
• ADPCM

Memory - In general, video uses a lot of memory. You might run out of memory when importing long video files. We recommend turning off audio import to save memory since imported audio will be kept uncompressed in memory.

Like most multimedia development applications, Flash will be able to handle large video or other media files better if more memory is allocated to the program.

ActionScript 2.0 - dynamic keyword

The behavior of the ActionScript 2.0 keyword 'dynamic' changed after the first7.0 documentation set was complete. Previously, every class that subclassed a dynamic class was also considered dynamic automatically. This meant that the typechecking done on those classes was more lenient, since it allowed for properties and methods that might be added dynamically (at runtime). We have decided to make an exception for the MovieClip class, since a common workflow is to subclass MovieClip in order to associate the class with a MovieClip symbol. Subclasses of MovieClip will no longer be dynamic unless explicitly modified with the 'dynamic' attribute, or unless they extend another non-MovieClip class that is dynamic. This gives users control over the strictness of typechecking for their MovieClip subclasses.This change to the documentation was made available in a later update to the help content.

Windows-only issues

Installation

By design, you must be logged in as an administrator to install Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 on Windows 2000 or Windows XP. It is suggested that the administrator also activate the product so it will be activated for all users on the machine.

File Extensions in Unsaved Files

Sending a Flash document via email before the file is saved may result in an improper file extension. Please save your Flash documents before sending them as attachments.

Macintosh-only issues

Installation

By design, to install Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 on OS X, you must have administrative privileges. It is suggested that the administrator also activate the product so it will be activated for all users on the machine.

UFS Support

Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 will not support Mac users who have formatted their hard drives using UFS. Carbon applications have a number of issues with this that are documented by Apple. Unless you are using native apps (AKA Cocoa), UFS is not recommended or supported by Apple.

Flash MX 2004 Update and Flash MX Professional 2004 Update, version 7.0.1.

Installing the Update

If you already have Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 installed, you do not need to uninstall prior to running the update installation. This update installs on top of Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004. Ensure that you have closed Flash before running the update installer. You must be logged in as an administrator to run the update installer.

After Running the Updater Installer

This section only applies to customers who previously installed Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004, and then ran the Updater to update to the latest version. Customers who have only installed the latest version are not affected. To determine which version of the product you are running, choose Help > About Flash.

Compile Errors with Existing Projects

You may experience errors when compiling existing projects after running the Updater. To resolve this, delete the following folder:

Windows 2000 and Windows XP: C:Documents and SettingsyourUserNameLocal SettingsApplication DataMacromediaFlash MX 2004<language>ConfigurationClassesaso

Windows 98: C:WindowsProfilesyourUserNameApplication DataMacromediaFlash MX 2004<language>ConfigurationClassesaso

Mac OS X: HD:Users:yourUserName:Library:Application Support:Macromedia:Flash MX 2004:en:Configuration:Classes:aso

Updating ExistingData Binding Projects

If you have an existing project that contains data binding you will need to update it to the latest version. Please use the following steps:

Note: make a backup of your existing project before updating.

1. Open your project within Flash MX Professional 2004.

2. Open the common libraries panel by choosing Window > Other Panels > Common Libraries > Classes.

3. Update your project with the latest version of the DataBindingClasses compiled clip by using one of the following methods:

a. drag the DataBindingClasses compiled clip from the Classes library into your library.

b. drag the DataBindingClasses compiled clip from the Classes library onto the stage and then delete it.

If you are prompted with a 'Resolve Library Conflict' dialog, choose the 'Replace Existing Items' option.

Resolved Issues

The Updater fixes bugs throughout the product for both Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004. There are many bug fixes for both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

Stability

Stability was the primary focus of this update:

• 34 crash bugs found and fixed!
• 7 lost/corrupt data bugs
• 1 memory leak bug
• Many bugs surrounding double-byte fonts and IME
• MX files no longer fail to Save As
• When using forms, screen code is now correctly saved
• Note: See additional fixes below

Performance

Performance was considered as important as stability for this release based on feedback from users. Performance was improved in many areas of the product:

• ActionScript edition:
  • Scrolling and selecting text (with word wrap off) should be faster now
  • AS editor is no longer as slow when scrolling big scripts via the scroll bar down arrow button
• Test movie no longer very slow for movie containing tweened clip with object actions
• Output panel refresh rate improved
• Note: See additional fixes below

Usability

Many usability improvements including:

• Numerous improvements to the Help content
• Added back the Scale and Rotate menu item
• Updated templates and samples to use latest components
• Moving a form within the Screen Outline no longer loses all data binding information for that form
• Non-Administrative users are able to switch successfully to Flash MX Professional 2004 when running the product as a Trial
• Library now remembers open state when restarting Flash
• Note: See additional fixes below

Additional Bugs Fixed

ActionScript

• NetConnection and SharedObject are defined as intrinsic class instead of dynamic intrinsic class
• nextScene and prevScene do not work properly ( nextScene / prevScene )
• Exception handling does not catch specific type unless completely written out
• A catch clause does not declare the caught variable
• Function.call and Function.apply have wrong return type
• Compiler is using r:0 without first preserving it

Behaviors

• Rewind behavior doesn't rewind
• Extra reverse solidus () shows up in loadmovienum path
• url is not opened in some actions of Behaviors
• Stop Sound behavior stops all sounds instead of just one as per description

Component UI

• Compiler gives error on the description of the Component definition.
• 'Script running slowly' dialog comes up when getURL invoked

DataBinding

Macromedia Flash Mx 2004 Free Download For Mac

• Databinding JS-API doesn't completely work
• RearrangeFields formatter doesn't work if 'string' is used in more than 1 field
• Some bindings to dynamically instanced screens don't work
• Data Binding doesn't always work in loaded movies
• Less than sign (<) is not escaped correctly within XUpdate
• In the xupdate a key attribute has a space on the end of the value
• Precision for numeric formatter does not work correctly
• Bad data can be included in updatePacket if there is no schema
• Components lose binding information if they are placed within a movie clip or copy/paste
• Undefined is displayed by List component with Data binding
• Data binding does not set ignoreWhiteSpace to true when copying XML data
• Connectors cannot be triggered when a parameter is updated
• ReadOnly setting in DataSet incorrectly overrides ReadOnly setting in column
• Components: DataHolder : initial value type 'Integer' failing
• clearDelta () method does not clear delta items correctly
• Changes made in the text input control are being applied to the record being navigated to instead of the current record
• Save/Load to sharedObject does not reload the DeltaPacket
• useSort( ) is incorrect when addSort without sort option(s1),then add a descending sort,back to sort(s1) with Ascending option.
• Dataset cannot exchange data correctly with a grid that contains a cell renderer
• Date/Boolean fields display NAN for null values
• Can't 'Define Web Services' through an authenticated proxy

Effects

• Timeline effects cause JSFL error message (expand effect)
• Undoing effect does not fully remove it
• Applying Explode effect to a shape in the slide fails
• The explode effect does not function properly on an image inside a grouped object
• JavaScript errors when applying transition effects
• Transition effect cannot be applied on object at frame 30 or after

Help Panel

• Unable to copy text in Help panel

Import

• Importing a file in the Illustrator10 format always causes the file to be rasterized
• Fireworks import: Texts in FW doesn't show up on Flash when uncheck 'Import as a single flattened bitmap' option
• Can't import ai files of older Illustrator versions
• Freehand files with text on path cannot be imported after a FH file is imported

Script Editing

• Change the default font of the AS Editor to Monaco
• Auto Format changes logic when comments encountered
• Code hinting inserts spurious component-related text when ' mx .' is typed, causing confusion
• Code hint does not appear when colon (:) is typed

Sound

• Cannot input numeric play times

Strings Table

• Two textfields with the same String ID can have different content
• Stage text fields are only updated when arrow tool is selected
• Strings disappear when string cell is double clicked after XML files are imported
• Infinite errors when the swf name is different from fla name after fla is 'saved as'
• Xml file name is saved incorrectly when the fla is saved without . fla extension.
• With text field is still selected, unable to save changes

Text

• Pasting text from external applications relocates text box
• Missing font outline warning is displayed when outline is available
• Vertical text fields change location (or disappear) in swf after publishing

Flash MX 2004 Update and Flash MX Professional 2004 Update, version 7.2.

Installing the Update

If you already have Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 installed, you do not need to uninstall prior to running the update installation (available here). This update installs on top of Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004. Ensure that you have closed Flash before running the update installer. You must be logged in as an administrator to run the update installer.

Updates will be available for all languages of Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004. You may only run the Update against the language of Flash for which it was intended.

Disabling and Re-Enabling Extensions

Because of the changes to the Configuration folders with this update (see 'Issues Addressed', below), existing Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 customers who have installed Flash Extensions should disable these extensions prior to updating to version 7.2. There is a technote available for more information.

Known Issues

Customers who run English Flash on European Windows systems (such as Italian, French, German or Spanish), and then update to version 7.2, may experience an issue where the Local Settings and Application Data folders are duplicated. One set of folders will be called 'Local Settings' and 'Application Data'; the other set will have localized folder names. This may cause some items to be duplicated in the Flash UI as well. The workaround is to completely uninstall the existing version of Flash, including manually deleting both sets of duplicated folders, before running the new version 7.2 installer.

The Library Panel does not always remember its position when opening Flash. Due to the scope and complexity of this issue, it will not be resolved in this update. We are planning to address this issue in the next full release of Flash.

When using mouse-down on the snapping UIScrollBar's thumb and scroll, and release the thumb and try to mouse-down on it again, the thumb doesn't always register the onPress. The workaround is to click twice or move the mouse slightly before scrolling again.

When a .fla file saved in Macintosh Flash v7.0.1 is opened in version 7.2, characters swapped in Macintosh v7.0.1 will not be converted back to the original characters.

Existing Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004 customers who do not update to 7.2 will not be able to obtain further updates to their product Help system. You must update to version 7.2 to get the latest Help.

On Macintosh, users who have multiple ethernet ports may be asked to re-activate when upgrading from an earlier version of Flash MX 2004 to version 7.2.

The 7.2 release modifies the Trigger Data Source behavior file. If you have installed any third party extensions which made changes to this file, those changes will be lost. You will need to manually edit this file to include those changes. You can find this file in C:Program FilesMacromediaFlash MX 2004enFirst RunBehaviorsTrigger.xml on Windows, and <HD>/Applications/Macromedia Flash MX 2004/First Run/Behaviors/Trigger.xml on Macintosh.

Macintosh only: Flash Remoting Components AS 2.0 installed prior to updating to version 7.2 should be uninstalled before running the updater and reinstalled after running the updater.

Windows 2000 only: Performing a Replace All for a symbol twice in a row crashes Flash.

Windows only: Cutting content from Flash MX 2004 or Flash MX Professional 2004, and pasting into Flash MX, causes a crash.

Issues Addressed

Updates to Help and Documentation

One of the primary focuses of the 7.2 Update was improving the Help and Documentation available with the product. Here is a summary of the changes made:

• Over 400 new code examples
• The percentage of entries with examples has grown from 43% to 98%
• Increased the amount of ActionScript documentation by 85%
• Added 21 new documentation example FLA files demonstrating common application functionality
• Fixed over 2000 documentation issues
• Added 2 new chapters about working with Components
• Rewrote 2 existing Components chapters, including styles and skinning info
• Updated Styles info for every component

Updated Help and Documentation are only available in English and Japanese. The other language versions of Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 version 7.2 contain the latest previously localized help systems available; however the latest Documentation files in .PDF format are available in English on the CD-ROM or in your download file. Customers who update to 7.2 via the Updater Installer can obtain updated .PDF documentationhere.

New Sample: Using advanced video features (Flash Professional only)
This new sample included in Flash demonstrates some of the more advanced video features available in Flash MX Professional 2004. Taking you through a computer generated world in FLV video, this application lets the user set video bookmarks and demonstrates advanced video techniques featuring non-linear video, executing functions from video cuepoints, and using ActionScript to pause, rewind, fast forward, restart and reposition video. Also covered are the use and control of multiple MediaDisplay components, video synchronization, and skinning components. This sample is located in the folder Flash MX 2004SamplesAdvancedVideo

New Sample: Building a population viewer (Flash Professional only)
This new sample included in Flash demonstrates a unique and intuitive method of data visualization. A map of 15 European countries allows the user to drag the 'population' of each country to either side of a scale. Human figures, representing the population of the country selected, are placed on the scale and automatically increase in size to represent the relative population of the country. Each time a country's population is placed on the scale, the total population of each side of the scale is recalculated and the scale tips to the side with the greater total. Web Services provide the initial country populations. Throughout the sample ActionScript is used to display, track, and compare data as well as operate the scale. This sample is located in the folder Flash MX 2004SamplesPopulationViewer

Configuration Folder Changes
Significant changes have been made to the location and contents of the Configuration folders. Detailed information on the contents of these folders can be found in the file Flash MX 2004<language>ConfigurationConfiguration_ReadMe.htm (Windows), and Macromedia Flash MX 2004/Configuration/Configuration_ReadMe.htm (Macintosh). These changes were made in order to greatly reduce the amount of data copied into User folders upon first launch, saving time and drive space.

Crash Issues Addressed (includes internal bug numbers for reference)
96714 : Repeatedly using the test project button on the project panel will cause a crash on OS X 10.3
96110 : Component property definition with Inspectable value incorrect will cause crash.
95197 : Publishing selectable static text field with non default directory crashes app
77881 : Crash when undoing cut screen if selection was incorrect when the screen was cut.
93918 : Crash when using multiple monitors and disconnecting one on OS X.
95086 : Flash hangs when you try to customize the tool bar when the poly star tool is in it.
93405 : Crash when testing erroneous file - due to using continue in switch/case block.
92981 : Publishing certain chars to Flash 4/5 in Dynamic text crashes Flash.
92051 : JSFL moveToFolder causes crash.
91225 : Converting SWC's to MovieClips causes instances to disappear from stage and eventually crashes Flash.
89881 : OS X Crashing Right Before Building Workspace when config files cannot be loaded.
88586 : Setting a WSDL URL in the property inspector and pressing Tab crashes Flash.
89060 : App crashes by changing For: field to Font in StartPage after running multiple find and replace actions.
89189 : Crash when clicking on a link in the Help panel to a file that doesn't exist in an existing folder.
88002 : Pasting texts with a certain font (Hiragino Kakugo Std W8) from Flash MX file to Flash MX 2004 crashes Flash MX 2004 on Mac.
84937 : On pressing the 'Check Syntax' button, Flash MX 2004 crashes in some circumstances.
86169 : Flash hangs on launch when actions panel is opened with invalid xml files in the custom actions.
86430 : Importing .JPGs from a CD crashes Flash.

Usability Issues Addressed
95826 : Drawing tools do not remember stroke settings.
95101 : Restricted User account receives Alert Dialog on Start up.
93727 : Long timeline with folders does not refresh properly when folders expanded and collapsed.
93025 : Cannot use arrow keys to navigate between help panel when you switch apps.
92877 : JSFL error with opening Flash MX Professional 2004 .FLA in Flash MX 2004 start page.
92376 : When doing saveAndCompact via JSAPI, component symbols change to the generic icon.
91752 : Redraw issue with swf content after help update when the help panel is docked.
91590 : The timeline doesn't always update immediately when you delete a layer using the trash can icon.
68801 : Reloading a component causes all folders in Components Panel to expand / component panel does not remember state.
90052 : Help update prompt on first launch after installation even when help is up-to-date.
91274 : If you click into a dynamic textfield, without selecting something and use the textsizeslider, the textfield can no longer be
selected.
91469 : PDF file type missing in import options.
77639 : Text cursor always visible when ActionScript panel lost focus.
89730 : Configuration: help panel is blank if a user logs in at install time but not at launch time and vice versa (on Windows 98).
88853 : Snap to object settings are not remembered between sessions.
78987 : Most keyboard shortcuts that contain option key do not work on Macintosh.
84661 : Project icons are not appearing consistently in Project panel - makes check in/out unusable.
85775 : Sync and Loop/Repeat become disabled when linking a device sound.
85940 : Loop or Repeat fail when linking a device sound.

Performance / Resource Usage Issues Addressed
79265 : Start Page on Mac uses CPU while sitting in background.
88067 : Temp files are not deleted in the Configuration folder.
88130 : Performance slow/apparent freeze when loading movie containing a lot of ActionScript.
87225 : User level configuration folder is too big (75 megs).
87305 : The time it takes to TestMovie or Publish degrades over time.
87300 : USER objects are running too high / Cannot open Dreamweaver when Flash is running / Menus do not draw correct after Flash has been running for a while.
87051 / 87052 : Compile time for ActionScript heavy movies is slow.

Fonts / Text Issues Addressed
88847 : Specifying Shift JIS character in hexadecimal in ActionScript is not working.
89233 : Line spacing for Dynamic text field is different between stage and runtime.
68923 : Some 3rd party font (CID) display as garbage characters in text field.
88268 : There is a swap on certain Japanese characters (such as Chinese symbols) when entered.
71971 : The line space is too wide for double-byte OTF fonts.
87748 : Some double byte characters display as garbage characters as imported from EPS WITHOUT Font Information.
87761 : All double byte characters display as garbage characters as imported from EPS on Mac OS X.

Screens Issues Addressed
81401 : A user is able to get into a state where a screen loses its class association.
89229 : Relative paths incorrect when using screen behaviors.

Components Author Time Issues Addressed
93835 : Component parameters with type lists are not updated when updating components on stage.
93876 : Manually changing a SWC Component's horizontal property distorts its graphic.
72048 : Creating a SWC from another SWC doesn't include all the ASI files.
76948 : Auto filling of the _targetInstanceName Variable does not work after the component is compiled.

Components Issues Addressed
87773 : Stand alone Scrollbar is not included in Flash MX 2004.
81829 : DataGrid can't display dataset dataprovider correctly.
95544 : Menu change event returns undefined for groupName.
95492 : Menu Component - Should not be able to key into submenus from a disabled menu item.
88021 : Components don't work correctly when doing loadMovie with _lockroot set to true in the movie doing the load.
86804 : Editable DataGrid does not work correctly with IME input.
86661 : Alert component can be dragged out of view with no way to get it back.
86659 : Window component can be dragged out of view with no way to get it back.
86651 : Accordion's change event's event object doesn't contain prevValue and nextValue.
86649 : When Accordion's openDuration is set to 0, the Accordion doesn't always change child panes.
86598 : Unable to open Menu component through keyboard when there is only one menu item in menubar.
86595 : ComboBox should not always fire change event when up and down arrow keys are used.
86589 : Setting monthNames for one DateChooser causes other DateChooser instances to change month names.
86578 : Tabbing into an editable DataGrid should select all the text in the focused in cell.
86570 : Setting NumericStepper's visible property to false via Components Inspector does not work.
86544 : ComboBox needs same restrict attribute that TextInput & TextArea components have.
86540 : ComboBox's open() and close() events firing at wrong time.
86536 : Disabled buttons with icons do not display icons.
86532 : When adding an removing text, TextArea becomes unusable -- un-scrollable and all the text keeps getting highlighted.
85999 : Tree code is checking isNodeVisible instead of isNodeVisible(node).
85009 : Changing background color in the Tree component using setPropertiesAt method does not work correctly when the openDuration is greater than 0.
84189 : ComboBox loaded into another swf closes dropdown while scrolling through the dropdown list.
80473 : Last line of multi-line text does not show in Alert.
80471 : RadioButtonGroup does not have addEventListener properly declared.
79454 : Unable to tab into editable combo boxes when tabIndexes are explicitly set.
79360 : Loader component has no visual representation on stage, nearly impossible to work with visual layout.
79207 : Disabling TextAreas causes CPU usage to reach 100 %.
76154 : Setting Button components' selected property to true via Property Inspector or Components Inspector does not work.
75321 : Scrolling in DataGrid when deleting items from the bottom of the grid disables scrolling.
71941 : Menu fires change event when rolling over items with arrow keys.
71844 : When using the ScrollPane component, and setting horizontal and vertical scrollPolicy off, and scrollDrag true, you can drag the content all the way off so you can't get it back.
71790 : DataGrid doesn't show items until clicking on the headers.
71760 : Horizontal scrollbar in TextArea component is not functioning properly when wordwrap property is set to false.
71754 : At runtime, components quickly flash to Times New Roman (or other serif font).
70730 : When using the ScrollPane component, if vLineScrollSize value is greater than value which is left to the end of scroll
(maxscroll-currentscroll), mouseWheel will no longer work.
70161 : Content is scrollable within ScrollPane using mousewheel even if content fits into component.
69059 : MenuBar should dispatch events on behalf of its Menus.
69014 : Setting hPosition and vPosition for a TextArea causes text to scroll to end.
66040 : Radio Button gets focus when disabled and state can be changed from true to false and vice versa.
59164 : The Button component's label property is only readable when you first set a value for label.
58373 : Class styles do not work on the List component.

Intrinsic Class Files Issues Addressed
93379 : TextField.autoSize accepts incorrect input at compile time.
93790 : Remove AttachVideo() from MovieClip.as file.
92827 : Intrinsic definition for MovieClipLoader and Stage should not contain listener methods.
87488 : Built-in classes intrinsic .as files are missing some information.

JSFL Issues Addressed
93805 : Line space not being set correctly from JSFL.
87153 : Flash should have JavaScript APIs for File Manipulation (File I/O).

Compiler Issues Addressed
89270 : ath.acos of a negative number smaller than one returns wrong value when publishing as Flash 4.
89271 : Math.asin of a negative AND positive number bigger than one returns wrong value when publishing as Flash 4.
89274 : Math.pow (var1, var2) returns wrong values when using negative numbers and 0 when publishing as Flash 4.
79653 : Bullets not working in htmlText of a textfield.
87105 : Incorrect compilation of switch arguments when publishing to Flash Player 4 and 5.
79631 : Switch not working when published as Flash 5.
79815 : trace(false ! 1) returns false in Flash MX 2004 but true in Flash MX.

Other Issues Addressed
94994 : Export Image cannot save a file outside of 'Users' folder.
93512 : Strings Disappear from Strings Panel.
92155 : Not able to display and export embedded characters on dynamic and input text fields when publishing to Flash 4 or 5.
80785 : Auto-kern causes character overlap on OS X 10.3.
66513 / 76185 : Help updater fails when going through a proxy.
89287 : Strings in the Strings panel revert back to the original text when focus is changed.
86423 : Drag and Drop learning interaction does not function properly.
84474 : The 7.0.1 version # is not coming through from the product calls.
78012 : Lost data when saving a slide-based .fla while focus is in Property Inspector.
79819 : File Save loses actionscript changes when script navigator was used.
83246 : Wave file disappears from timeline when Sync setting is changed from Repeat to Loop.
84989 : Some help pages are not found by search.
88342 : Flash MX 2004 should include an Event Proxy class to help handle scope problems with events.

Reporting a bug to the Macromedia Flash team

Found a bug? Your first step should be to contact Macromedia Technical Support. They can help you resolve issues and they can also log bugs. If you are no longer eligible for support, please use the Macromedia Software Feature Request and Bug Report form.

Note: Due to the high volume of e-mail we receive, we are unable to respond to every request.

Thank you for using Macromedia Flash MX 2004, and for taking the time to send us your feedback

Notices, Terms, Conditions, and Attribution

Copyright (c) 1993-2004 Macromedia, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Macromedia, the Macromedia logo, Flash, and Macromedia Flash are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other marks are the properties of their respective owners.

This computer program is protected by copyright law and international treaties. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of this program, or any portion of it, may result in severe civil and criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible under the law.

Notices, terms and conditions pertaining to third party software are located at /go/thirdparty/ and incorporated by reference herein.

Adobe Flash is a deprecated^[1]multimediasoftware platform used for production of animations, rich Internet applications, desktop applications, mobile applications, mobile games and embedded web browser video players. Flash displays text, vector graphics and raster graphics to provide animations, video games and applications. It allows streaming of audio and video, and can capture mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera input. Related development platform Adobe AIR continues to be supported.

Artists may produce Flash graphics and animations using Adobe Animate. Software developers may produce applications and video games using Adobe Flash Builder, FlashDevelop, Flash Catalyst, or any text editor when used with the Apache Flex SDK.

End-users can view Flash content via Flash Player (for web browsers), AIR (for desktop or mobile apps) or third-party players such as Scaleform (for video games). Adobe Flash Player (supported on Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux) enables end-users to view Flash content using web browsers. Adobe Flash Lite enabled viewing Flash content on older smartphones, but has been discontinued and superseded by Adobe AIR.

The ActionScript programming language allows the development of interactive animations, video games, web applications, desktop applications and mobile applications. Programmers can implement Flash software using an IDE such as Adobe Animate, Adobe Flash Builder, Adobe Director, FlashDevelop and Powerflasher FDT. Adobe AIR enables full-featured desktop and mobile applications to be developed with Flash and published for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch.

Although Flash was previously a dominant platform for online multimedia content, it is slowly being abandoned as Adobe favors a transition to HTML5. Flash Player has been deprecated and has an official end-of-life at the end of 2020.^[1] However, Adobe will continue to develop Adobe AIR, a related technology for building stand-alone applications and games.^[2] Additionally, Adobe Animate will continue to be developed by Adobe even after 2020.

• 1Applications
• 2History
• 3Format
• 4Animation tools
• 5Programming tools
• 6Players
• 7Availability
  • 7.1Desktop computers
  • 7.2Mobile devices
• 8Alternatives
• 9Criticisms

Applications[edit]

Websites[edit]

In the early 2000s, Flash was widely installed on desktop computers, and was commonly used to display interactive web pages, online games, and to playback video and audio content.^[3] In 2005, YouTube was founded by former PayPal employees, and it used Flash Player as a means to display compressed video content on the web.^[3]

Between 2000 and 2010, numerous businesses used Flash-based websites to launch new products, or to create interactive company portals.^[4] Notable users include Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, General Electric, World Wildlife Fund, HBO, Cartoon Network, Disney and Motorola.^[4][5] After Adobe introduced hardware-accelerated 3D for Flash (Stage3D), Flash websites saw a growth of 3D content for product demonstrations and virtual tours.^[6][7]

In 2007, YouTube offered videos in HTML5 format to support the iPhone and iPad, which did not support Flash Player.^[3] After a controversy with Apple, Adobe stopped developing Flash Player for Mobile, focussing its efforts on Adobe AIR applications and HTML5 animation.^[3] In 2015, Google introduced Google Swiffy to convert Flash animation to HTML5, a tool Google would use to automatically convert Flash web ads for mobile devices.^[8] In 2016, Google discontinued Swiffy and its support.^[9] In 2015, YouTube switched to HTML5 technology on all devices; however, it will preserve the Flash-based video player for older web browsers.^[10][11][12]

RIAs[edit]

After Flash 5 introduced ActionScript in 2000, developers combined the visual and programming capabilities of Flash to produce interactive experiences and applications for the Web.^[13] Such Web-based applications eventually came to be known as 'Rich Internet Applications' (RIAs).^[13]

In 2004, Macromedia Flex was released, and specifically targeted the application development market.^[13] Flex introduced new user interface components, advanced data visualization components, data remoting, and a modern IDE (Flash Builder).^[13][14] Flex competed with Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) and Microsoft Silverlight during its tenure.^[13] Flex was upgraded to support integration with remote data sources, using AMF, BlazeDS, Adobe LiveCycle, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, and others.^[15] As of 2015, Flex applications can be published for desktop platforms using Adobe AIR.^[13]

Between 2006 and 2016, the Speedtest.net web service conducted over 9.0 billion speed tests using an RIA built with Adobe Flash.^[16][17] In 2016, the service shifted to HTML5 due to the decreasing availability of Adobe Flash Player on PCs.^[18]

As of 2016, Web applications and RIAs can be developed with Flash using the ActionScript 3.0 programming language and related tools such as Adobe Flash Builder. Third-party IDEs such as FlashDevelop and Powerflasher FDT also enable developers to create Flash games and applications and are generally similar to Microsoft Visual Studio. Flex applications are typically built using Flex frameworks such as PureMVC.^[15]

Video games[edit]

Flash video games were popular on the Internet, with portals like Newgrounds, Miniclip, and Armor Games dedicated to hosting of Flash-based games. Popular games developed with Flash include Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, FarmVille, AdventureQuest, Machinarium, Hundreds, N, QWOP and Solipskier.

Adobe introduced various technologies to help build video games, including Adobe AIR (to release games for desktop or mobile platforms), Adobe Scout (to improve performance), CrossBridge (to convert C++-based games to run in Flash), and Stage3D (to support GPU-accelerated video games). 3D frameworks like Away3D and Flare3D simplified creation of 3D content for Flash.

Adobe AIR allows the creation of Flash-based mobile games, which may be published to the Google Play and Apple app stores.

Flash is also used to build interfaces and HUDs for 3D video games using Scaleform GFx, a technology that renders Flash content within non-Flash video games. Scaleform is supported by more than 10 major video game engines including Unreal Engine, UDK, CryEngine and PhyreEngine, and has been used to provide 3D interfaces for more than 150 major video game titles since its launch in 2003.

Film and animation[edit]

Adobe Animate is one of the common animation programs for low-cost 2D television and commercial animation, in competition with Anime Studio and Toon Boom Animation.

Notable users of Flash include DHX Media Vancouver for productions including Pound Puppies and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Fresh TV for Total Drama, Nelvana for 6teen and Clone High, Williams Street for Metalocalypse and Squidbillies, Nickelodeon Animation Studios for Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, among others.

Flash is less commonly used for feature-length animated films; however, 2009's The Secret of Kells, an Irish film, was animated primarily in Adobe Flash, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards.

Several popular online series are currently produced in Flash, such as the Emmy Award-winning Off-Mikes, produced by ESPN and Animax Entertainment; Happy Tree Friends; Gotham Girls, produced by Warner Brothers; Crime Time, produced by Future Thought Productions and Homestar Runner produced by Mike and Matt Chapman.

Various third-party software packages designed for traditionally trained cartoonists and animators can publish animations in the SWF format.

History[edit]

FutureWave[edit]

The precursor to Flash was a product named SmartSketch, published by FutureWave Software. The company was founded by Charlie Jackson, Jonathan Gay, and Michelle Welsh.^{[19][20][21][22]} SmartSketch was a vector drawing application for pen computers running the PenPoint OS.^[23][24] When PenPoint failed in the marketplace, SmartSketch was ported to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.^[20][25]

As the Internet became more popular, FutureWave realized the potential for a vector-based web animation tool that might challenge MacromediaShockwave technology.^[19][20] In 1995, FutureWave modified SmartSketch by adding frame-by-frame animation features and released this new product as FutureSplash Animator on Macintosh and PC.^{[19][20][26][27]}

FutureWave approached Adobe Systems with an offer to sell them FutureSplash in 1995, but Adobe turned down the offer at that time.^[20] Microsoft wanted to create an 'online TV network' (MSN 2.0) and adopted FutureSplash animated content as a central part of it.^[20]Disney Online used FutureSplash animations for their subscription-based service Disney's Daily Blast.^[19][20]Fox Broadcasting Company launched The Simpsons using FutureSplash.^[20]

Macromedia[edit]

In November 1996, FutureSplash was acquired by Macromedia, and Macromedia re-branded and released FutureSplash Animator as Macromedia Flash 1.0. Flash was a two-part system, a graphics and animation editor known as Macromedia Flash, and a player known as Macromedia Flash Player.

FutureSplash Animator was an animation tool originally developed for pen-based computing devices. Due to the small size of the FutureSplash Viewer, it was particularly suited for download on the Web. Macromedia distributed Flash Player as a free browser plugin in order to quickly gain market share. By 2005, more computers worldwide had Flash Player installed than any other Web media format, including Java, QuickTime, RealNetworks and Windows Media Player.^[28]

Macromedia upgraded the Flash system between 1996 and 1999 adding MovieClips, Actions (the precursor to ActionScript), Alpha transparency, and other features. As Flash matured, Macromedia's focus shifted from marketing it as a graphics and media tool to promoting it as a Web application platform, adding scripting and data access capabilities to the player while attempting to retain its small footprint.

In 2000, the first major version of ActionScript was developed, and released with Flash 5. Actionscript 2.0 was released with Flash MX 2004 and supported object-oriented programming, improved UI components and other programming features. The last version of Flash released by Macromedia was Flash 8, which focused on graphical upgrades such as filters (blur, drop shadow, etc.), blend modes (similar to Adobe Photoshop), and advanced features for FLV video.

Adobe[edit]

Macromedia was acquired by Adobe Systems on December 3, 2005, and the entire Macromedia product line including Flash, Dreamweaver, Director/Shockwave, Fireworks (which has since been discontinued) and Authorware is now handled by Adobe.

In 2007, Adobe's first version release was Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, the ninth major version of Flash. It introduced the ActionScript 3.0 programming language, which supported modern programming practices and enabled business applications to be developed with Flash. Adobe Flex Builder (built on Eclipse) targeted the enterprise application development market, and was also released the same year. Flex Builder included the Flex SDK, a set of components that included charting, advanced UI, and data services (Flex Data Services).

In 2008, Adobe released the tenth version of Flash, Adobe Flash CS4. Flash 10 improved animation capabilities within the Flash editor, adding a motion editor panel (similar to Adobe After Effects), inverse kinematics (bones), basic 3D object animation, object-based animation, and other text and graphics features. Flash Player 10 included an in-built 3D engine (without GPU acceleration) that allowed basic object transformations in 3D space (position, rotation, scaling).

Also in 2008, Adobe released the first version of Adobe Integrated Runtime (later re-branded as Adobe AIR), a runtime engine that replaced Flash Player, and provided additional capabilities to the ActionScript 3.0 language to build desktop and mobile applications. With AIR, developers could access the file system (the user's files and folders), and connected devices such as a joystick, gamepad, and sensors for the first time.

In 2011, Adobe Flash Player 11 was released, and with it the first version of Stage3D, allowing GPU-accelerated 3D rendering for Flash applications and games on desktop platforms such as Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.^[29] Adobe further improved 3D capabilities from 2011 to 2013, adding support for 3D rendering on Android and iOS platforms, alpha-channels, compressed textures, texture atlases, and other features.^[30][31] Adobe AIR was upgraded to support 64-bit computers, and to allow developers to add additional functionality to the AIR runtime using AIR Native Extensions (ANE).

In 2014, Adobe AIR reached a milestone with over 100,000 unique applications built, and over 1 billion installations logged across the world (May 2014).^[32][33] Adobe AIR was voted the Best Mobile Application Development product at the Consumer Electronics Show on two consecutive years (CES 2014 and CES 2015).^[34][35] In 2016, Adobe renamed Flash Professional, the primary authoring software for Flash content, to Adobe Animate to reflect its growing use for authoring HTML5 content in favour of Flash content.^[36]

Open Screen Project[edit]

On May 1, 2008, Adobe announced the Open Screen Project, with the intent of providing a consistent application interface across devices such as personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics.^[37] When the project was announced, seven goals were outlined: the abolition of licensing fees for Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Integrated Runtime, the removal of restrictions on the use of the Shockwave Flash (SWF) and Flash Video (FLV) file formats, the publishing of application programming interfaces for porting Flash to new devices, and the publishing of The Flash Cast protocol and Action Message Format (AMF), which let Flash applications receive information from remote databases.^[37]

As of February 2009, the specifications removing the restrictions on the use of SWF and FLV/F4V specs have been published.^[38] The Flash Cast protocol—now known as the Mobile Content Delivery Protocol—and AMF protocols have also been made available,^[38] with AMF available as an open source implementation, BlazeDS.

The list of mobile device providers who have joined the project includes Palm, Motorola, and Nokia,^[39] who, together with Adobe, have announced a $10 million Open Screen Project fund.^[40] As of 2012, the Open Screen Project is no longer accepting new applications according to partner BSQuare. However paid licensing is still an option for device makers who want to use Adobe software.^{[citation needed]}

End of life[edit]

Although Flash was previously a dominant platform for online multimedia content, it is slowly being abandoned as Adobe favors a transition to HTML5 due to inherent security flaws and significant resources required to maintain the platform. Apple restricted the use of Flash on iOS in 2010 due to concerns that it performed poorly on its mobile devices, had negative impact on battery life, and was deemed unnecessary for online content.^[41][42] As a result, it was not adopted by Apple for its smartphone and tablet devices, which also reduced its user base and encouraged wider adoption of HTML5 features such as the canvas and video elements, which can replace Flash without the need for plugins. In 2015, Adobe rebranded its Flash authoring environment as Adobe Animate to emphasize its expanded support for HTML5 authoring, and stated that it would 'encourage content creators to build with new web standards' rather than using Flash.^[43] In July 2017, Adobe announced that it would declare Flash to be end-of-life at the end of 2020, and will cease support, distribution, and security updates for Flash Player.^[44] After the announcement, developers have started a petition to turn Flash into an open-source project, leading to controversy.^[45]

The Flash Platform will continue in the form of Adobe AIR, which Adobe will continue to develop, and OpenFL, a multi-target open-source implementation of the Flash API.^[46] Additionally, Adobe Animate will continue to be developed by Adobe even after 2020.

Starting from Chrome 76 and Firefox 69, Flash is disabled by default and browsers do not even show a prompt to activate Flash content. Users who want to play Flash content need to manually set a browser to prompt for Flash content, and then during each browser session enable Flash plugin for every site individually. Furthermore, browsers show warnings about the removal of Flash entirely after December 2020. Microsoft Edge based on Chromium will follow the same plan as Google Chrome.^[47]

Flash support will be removed entirely from Google Chrome 87 planned for December 2020.^[48]

In year 2020, Flash support will be completely removed from Firefox.^[49]

Format[edit]

FLA[edit]

Flash source files are in the FLA format and contain graphics and animation, as well as embedded assets such as bitmap images, audio files, and FLV video files. The Flash source file format is a proprietary format and Adobe Animate is the only available authoring tool capable of editing such files. Flash source files (.fla) may be compiled into Flash movie files (.swf) using Adobe Animate. Note that FLA files can be edited, but output (.swf) files cannot.

SWF[edit]

Flash movie files are in the SWF format, traditionally called 'ShockWave Flash' movies, 'Flash movies', or 'Flash applications', usually have a .swf file extension, and may be used in the form of a web page plug-in, strictly 'played' in a standalone Flash Player, or incorporated into a self-executing Projector movie (with the .exe extension in Microsoft Windows). Flash Video files^{[spec 1]} have a .flv file extension and are either used from within .swf files or played through a flv-aware player, such as VLC, or QuickTime and Windows Media Player with external codecs added.

The use of vector graphics combined with program code allows Flash files to be smaller—and thus allows streams to use less bandwidth—than the corresponding bitmaps or video clips. For content in a single format (such as just text, video, or audio), other alternatives may provide better performance and consume less CPU power than the corresponding Flash movie, for example, when using transparency or making large screen updates such as photographic or text fades.

In addition to a vector-rendering engine, the Flash Player includes a virtual machine called the ActionScript Virtual Machine (AVM) for scripting interactivity at run-time, with video, MP3-based audio, and bitmap graphics. As of Flash Player 8, it offers two video codecs: On2 TechnologiesVP6 and Sorenson Spark, and run-time JPEG, Progressive JPEG, PNG, and GIF capability.

3D[edit]

Flash Player 11 introduced a full 3D shader API, called Stage3D, which is fairly similar to WebGL.^[50][51] Stage3D enables GPU-accelerated rendering of 3D graphics within Flash games and applications, and has been used to build Angry Birds, and a couple of other notable games.

Various 3D frameworks have been built for Flash using Stage3D, such as Away3D 4,^[51]CopperCube,^[52]Flare3D,^[53]Starling,.^[54]:vii Professional game engines like Unreal Engine^[55][56] and Unity also export Flash versions which use Stage3D to render 3D graphics.

Flash Video[edit]

Virtually all browser plugins for video are free of charge and cross-platform, including Adobe's offering of Flash Video, which was introduced with Flash version 6. Flash Video has been a popular choice for websites due to the large installed user base and programmability of Flash. In 2010, Apple publicly criticized Adobe Flash, including its implementation of video playback for not taking advantage of hardware acceleration, one reason Flash is not to be found on Apple's mobile devices. Soon after Apple's criticism, Adobe demoed and released a beta version of Flash 10.1, which uses available GPU hardware acceleration even on a Mac. Flash 10.2 beta, released December 2010, adds hardware acceleration for the whole video rendering pipeline.

Flash Player supports two distinct modes of video playback, and hardware accelerated video decoding may not be used for older video content. Such content causes excessive CPU usage compared to comparable content played with other players.

Software Rendered Video

Flash Player supports software rendered video since version 6. Such video supports vector animations displayed above the video content. This obligation may, depending on graphic APIs exposed by the operating system, prohibit using a video overlay, like a traditional multimedia player would use, with the consequence that color space conversion and scaling must happen in software.^[57]

Hardware Accelerated Video

Flash Player supports hardware accelerated video playback since version 10.2, for H.264, F4V, and FLV video formats. Such video is displayed above all Flash content and takes advantage of video codec chipsets installed on the user's device. Developers must specifically use the 'StageVideo' technology within Flash Player in order for hardware decoding to be enabled. Flash Player internally uses technologies such as DirectX Video Acceleration and OpenGL to do so.

In tests done by Ars Technica in 2008 and 2009, Adobe Flash Player performed better on Windows than Mac OS X and Linux with the same hardware.^[58][59]Performance has later improved for the latter two, on Mac OS X with Flash Player 10.1,^[60] and on Linux with Flash Player 11.^[61]

Flash Audio[edit]

Flash Audio is most commonly encoded in MP3 or AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) however it can also use ADPCM, Nellymoser (Nellymoser Asao Codec) and Speex audio codecs. Flash allows sample rates of 11, 22 and 44.1 kHz. It cannot have 48 kHz audio sample rate, which is the standard TV and DVD sample rate.

On August 20, 2007, Adobe announced on its blog that with Update 3 of Flash Player 9, Flash Video will also implement some parts of the MPEG-4 international standards.^[62] Specifically, Flash Player will work with video compressed in H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), audio compressed using AAC (MPEG-4 Part 3), the F4V, MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14), M4V, M4A, 3GP and MOV multimedia container formats, 3GPPTimed Text specification (MPEG-4 Part 17), which is a standardized subtitle format and partial parsing capability for the 'ilst' atom, which is the ID3 equivalent iTunes uses to store metadata. MPEG-4 Part 2 and H.263 will not work in F4V file format. Adobe also announced that it will be gradually moving away from the FLV format to the standard ISO base media file format (MPEG-4 Part 12) owing to functional limits with the FLV structure when streaming H.264. The final release of the Flash Player implementing some parts of MPEG-4 standards had become available in Fall 2007.^[63]

Adobe Flash Player 10.1 does not have acoustic echo cancellation, unlike the VoIP offerings of Skype and Google Voice, making this and earlier versions of Flash less suitable for group calling or meetings. Flash Player 10.3 Beta incorporates acoustic echo cancellation.

Scripting language[edit]

ActionScript is the programming language used by Flash. It is an enhanced superset of the ECMAScript programming language, with a classical Java-style class model, rather than JavaScript's prototype model.

Specifications[edit]

In October 1998, Macromedia disclosed the Flash Version 3 Specification on its website. It did this in response to many new and often semi-open formats competing with SWF, such as Xara's Flare and Sharp's Extended Vector Animation formats. Several developers quickly created a C library for producing SWF. In February 1999, MorphInk 99 was introduced, the first third-party program to create SWF files. Macromedia also hired Middlesoft to create a freely available developers' kit for the SWF file format versions 3 to 5.

Macromedia made the Flash Files specifications for versions 6 and later available only under a non-disclosure agreement, but they are widely available from various sites.

In April 2006, the Flash SWF file format specification was released with details on the then newest version format (Flash 8). Although still lacking specific information on the incorporated video compression formats (On2, Sorenson Spark, etc.), this new documentation covered all the new features offered in Flash v8 including new ActionScript commands, expressive filter controls, and so on. The file format specification document is offered only to developers who agree to a license agreement that permits them to use the specifications only to develop programs that can export to the Flash file format. The license does not allow the use of the specifications to create programs that can be used for playback of Flash files. The Flash 9 specification was made available under similar restrictions.^[64]

In June 2009, Adobe launched the Open Screen Project (Adobe link), which made the SWF specification available without restrictions. Previously, developers could not use the specification for making SWF-compatible players, but only for making SWF-exporting authoring software. The specification still omits information on codecs such as Sorenson Spark, however.^[65]

Animation tools[edit]

Official tools[edit]

The Adobe Animate authoring program is primarily used to design graphics and animation and publish the same for websites, web applications, and video games. The program also offers limited support for audio and video embedding and ActionScript scripting.

Adobe released Adobe LiveMotion, designed to create interactive animation content and export it to a variety of formats, including SWF. LiveMotion failed to gain any notable user base.^[specify]

In February 2003, Macromedia purchased Presedia, which had developed a Flash authoring tool that automatically converted PowerPoint files into Flash. Macromedia subsequently released the new product as Breeze, which included many new enhancements.

Third-party tools[edit]

Various free and commercial software packages can output animations into the Flash SWF format, suitable for display on the web, including:

• SWiSH Max is an animation editor with preset animation, developed by an ex-employee of Macromedia, that can output Flash animations
• Toon Boom is a traditional animation tool that can output Flash animations
• AppleKeynote allows users to export presentations to Flash SWF animations
• Xara Photo & Graphic Designer can output Flash animations
• Ajax Animator aims to create a Flash development environment
• KToon can edit vectors and generate SWF, but its interface is very different from Macromedia's
• Screencast and Screencam, produces demos or tutorials by capturing the screen and generating a Flash animation of the same
• GoAnimate is a software as a service tool to create animated videos.
• Anime Studio is a 2D animation software package specialized for character animation, that creates Flash animations
• Question Writer publishes its quizzes to Flash animations
• KoolMoves
• CelAction2D
• Alligator Flash Designer
• Amara Web
• Clash
• Salasaga

The Flash 4 Linux project was an initiative to develop an open sourceLinux application as an alternative to Adobe Animate. Development plans included authoring capacity for 2D animation, and tweening, as well as outputting SWF file formats. F4L evolved into an editor that was capable of authoring 2D animation and publishing of SWF files. Flash 4 Linux was renamed UIRA. UIRA intended to combine the resources and knowledge of the F4L project and the Qflash project, both of which were Open Source applications that aimed to provide an alternative to the proprietary Adobe Flash.

Macromedia Flash Mx 2004 Free Download

Programming tools[edit]

Official tools[edit]

Adobe provides a series of tools to develop software applications and video games for Flash:

• Apache Flex SDK – a free, open source SDK to compile Flash-based rich Internet applications from source code. The Apache Flex ActionScript 3.0 compiler generates SWF files from ActionScript 3 files. Flex was the primary ActionScript 3 compiler and was actively developed by Adobe before it was donated to Apache Software Foundation in 2011.
• Adobe Animate – primarily used to design graphics and animation, but supports ActionScript scripting and debugging.
• Adobe Flash Builder – enterprise application development & debugging, contains the Flex SDK with UI and charting components.
• Adobe Scout – a visual profiler to optimize the performance of Flash content.
• CrossBridge – a free SDK to cross-compile C++ code to run in Flash Player.

Third-party tools[edit]

Third-party development tools have been created to assist developers in creating software applications and video games with Flash.

• FlashDevelop is a free and open source Flash ActionScript IDE, which includes a project manager and debugger for building applications on Flash Player and Adobe AIR.
• Powerflasher FDT is a commercial ActionScript IDE similar to FlashDevelop.
• Haxe is an open source, high-level object-oriented programming language geared towards web-content creation that can compile SWF files from Haxe programs. As of 2012, Haxe can build programs for Flash Player that perform faster than the same application built with the Adobe Flex SDK compiler, due to additional compiler optimizations supported in Haxe.^{[66][unreliable source?]}
• SWFTools (specifically, swfc) is an open-source ActionScript 3.0 compiler which generates SWF files from script files, which includes SVG tags.
• swfmill and MTASC also provide tools to create SWF files by compiling text, ActionScript or XML files into Flash animations
• Ming library, to create SWF files programmatically, has interfaces for C, PHP, C++, Perl, Python, and Ruby. It is able to import and export graphics from XML into SWF.

Players[edit]

Proprietary[edit]

Adobe Flash Player is the multimedia and application player originally developed by Macromedia and acquired by Adobe Systems. It plays SWF files, which can be created by Adobe Animate, Apache Flex, or a number of other Adobe Systems and 3rd party tools. It has support for a scripting language called ActionScript, which can be used to display Flash Video from an SWF file.

Scaleform GFx is a commercial alternative Flash player that features fully hardware-accelerated 2D graphics rendering using the GPU. Scaleform has high conformance with both Flash 10 ActionScript 3^[67] and Flash 8 ActionScript 2. Scaleform GFx is a game development middleware solution that helps create graphical user interfaces or HUDs within 3D video games. It does not work with web browsers.

Macromedia Flash free. download full

IrfanView, an image viewer, uses Flash Player to display SWF files.

Open source[edit]

OpenFL is an open-source implementation of the Adobe Flash API.^[46] It allows developers to build a single application against the OpenFL APIs and simultaneously target multiple platforms including iOS, Android, HTML5 (choice of Canvas, WebGL, SVG or DOM), Windows, macOS, Linux, WebAssembly, Flash, AIR, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, TiVo, Raspberry Pi, and Node.js.^[68]

OpenFL mirrors the Flash API for graphical operations. OpenFL applications can be written in Haxe, JavaScript (EcmaScript 5 or 6+), or TypeScript.^[69]

Lightspark is a free and open source SWF player that supports most of ActionScript 3.0 and has a Mozilla-compatible plug-in.^[70] It will fall back on Gnash, a free SWF player supporting ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0 (AVM1) code. Lightspark supports OpenGL-based rendering for 3D content. The player is also compatible with H.264 Flash videos on YouTube.

Gnash aims to create a software player and browser plugin replacement for the Adobe Flash Player. Gnash can play SWF files up to version 7, and 80% of ActionScript 2.0.^[71] Gnash runs on Windows, Linux and other platforms for the 32-bit, 64-bit, and other operating systems, but development has slowed significantly in recent years.

Shumway was an open source Flash Player released by Mozilla in November 2012. It was built in JavaScript and is thus compatible with modern web-browsers.^[72][73][74] In early October 2013, Shumway was included by default in the Firefox nightly branch.^[75] Shumway rendered Flash contents by translating contents inside Flash files to HTML5 elements, and running an ActionScript interpreter in JavaScript.^[76] It supported both AVM1 and AVM2, and ActionScript versions 1, 2, and 3.^[77] Development of Shumway ceased in early 2016.^[78]

Availability[edit]

Desktop computers[edit]

Flash Player[edit]

Adobe Flash has been deprecated.^[1] The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is available for three major desktop platforms, including Windows, macOS and Linux.^[79] On Linux the PPAPI plug-in is available; the NPAPI version wasn't updated to new major versions for a while^[80] until Adobe changed its mind on stopping support and its former plan to discontinue 'in 2017'.^[81]

Adobe Flash Player is available in four flavors:

• ActiveX-based Plug-in
• NPAPI-based Plug-in
• PPAPI-based Plug-in
• Projector

The ActiveX version is an ActiveX control for use in Internet Explorer and any other Windows applications that supports ActiveX technology. The Plug-in versions are available for browsers supporting either NPAPI or PPAPI plug-ins on Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. The projector version is a standalone player that can open SWF files directly.^[82]

The following table documents Flash Player and Adobe AIR support on desktop operating systems:

Adobe AIR[edit]

The latest version of Adobe AIR, version 18, contains Adobe Flash Player 18, and is available for Windows XP and later, as well as macOS.^[86] Official support for desktop Linux distributions ceased in June 2011 with version 2.6.^[87]

Mobile devices[edit]

Flash Player[edit]

Adobe Flash Player was available for a variety of mobile operating systems, including Android (between versions 2.2^[94] and 4.0.4^[95]), Pocket PC/Windows CE, QNX (e.g. on BlackBerry PlayBook), Symbian, Palm OS, and webOS (since version 2.0^[96]). Flash Player for smart phones was made available to handset manufacturers at the end of 2009.^[97]

However, in November 2011, Adobe announced the withdrawal of support for Flash Player on mobile devices.^[98] Adobe continues to support deploying Flash-based content as mobile applications via Adobe AIR.

Adobe is reaffirming its commitment to 'aggressively contribute' to HTML5.^[99][100] Adobe announced the end of Flash for mobile platforms or TV, instead focusing on HTML5 for browser content and Adobe AIR for the various mobile application stores^{[101][102][103][104]} and described it as 'the beginning of the end'.^[105] BlackBerry LTD (formerly known as RIM) announced that it would continue to develop Flash Player for the PlayBook.^[106]

There is no Adobe Flash Player for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch). However, Flash content can be made to run on iOS devices in a variety of ways:

• Flash content can be bundled inside an Adobe AIR app, which will then run on iOS devices. (Apple did not allow this for a while, but they relaxed those restrictions in September 2010.^[107])
• On March 8, 2011, Techradar reported that Adobe provides an experimental server side tool (Wallaby) to convert Flash programs (as far as possible) to HTML5 code, thus allowing iOS devices to display the content.^[108]
• If the content is Flash video being served by Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5, the server will translate and send the video as HTTP Dynamic Streaming or HTTP Live Streaming, both of which can be played by iOS devices.^[109]
• Some specialized mobile browsers manage to accommodate Flash via streaming content from the cloud directly to a user's device. Some examples are Photon Browser^[110] and Puffin Web Browser.^[111]

The mobile version of Internet Explorer for Windows Phone cannot play Flash content,^[112] however Flash support is still present on the tablet version of Windows.^[113]

Adobe AIR[edit]

Adobe AIR was released in 2008, and allows the creation of mobile applications and mobile games using Flash and ActionScript. Notable mobile games built with Flash include Angry Birds, Machinarium and Defend Your Castle.

Using AIR, developers can access the full Adobe Flash functionality, including text, vector graphics, raster graphics, video, audio, camera and microphone capability. Adobe AIR also includes additional features such as file system integration, native client extensions, desktop integration and access to connected devices and sensors.

AIR applications can be published as native phone applications on certain mobile operating systems, such as Android (ARM Cortex-A8 and above^[114]) and AppleiOS.^[86]

The following table explains to what extent Adobe AIR can run on various mobile operating systems:

Portable electronic devices[edit]

Adobe Flash Lite is a lightweight version of Adobe Flash Player intended for mobile phones^[124] and other portable electronic devices like Chumby and iRiver.

On the emerging single-board enthusiast market, as substantially popularized by the Raspberry Pi, support from Adobe is lacking. However, the open-source player Gnash has been ported and found to be useful.^[125]

Alternatives[edit]

OpenFL[edit]

OpenFL is an open-source implementation of the Adobe Flash technology. It allows developers to build a single application against the OpenFL APIs, and simultaneously target multiple platforms including Flash/AIR, HTML5, Windows, Android, Tizen, Neko, BlackBerry, and webOS. OpenFL mirrors the Flash API for graphical operations. OpenFL applications are written in Haxe, a modern multi-platform programming language.

More than 500 video games have been developed with OpenFL,^[126] including the BAFTA-award-winning game Papers, Please, Rymdkapsel, Lightbot and Madden NFL Mobile.

HTML5[edit]

HTML5 is often cited as an alternative to Adobe Flash technology usage on web pages. Adobe released a tool that converts Flash to HTML5,^[127] and in June 2011, Google released an experimental tool that does the same.^[128][129] In January 2015, YouTube defaulted to HTML5 players to better support more devices.^[130]

Flash to HTML5[edit]

The following tools allow running Flash content in web browsers using HTML5:

• Adobe Edge Animate was designed to produce HTML5 animations directly.^[131]
• Adobe Animate now allows Flash animations to be published into HTML5 content directly.
• Google Swiffy is a web-based tool developed by Google that converts SWF files into HTML5, using SVG for graphics and JavaScript for animation.
• Shumway, developed by Mozilla, is a Flash virtual machine written in JavaScript.
• CreateJS is a library that while available separately was also adopted by Adobe as a replacement for Wallaby in CS6. Unlike Wallaby, which was a standalone program, the 'Toolkit for CreateJS' only works as a plug-in inside Flash Professional; it generates output for the HTML5 canvas, animated with JavaScript.^[132][133] Around December 2013, the toolkit was integrated directly into Flash Professional CC.^[134][135]

Criticisms[edit]

Mobile support[edit]

Websites built with Adobe Flash will not function on most modern mobile devices running Google Android or iOS (iPhone, iPad). The only alternative is using HTML5 and responsive web design to build websites that support both desktop and mobile devices.

However, Flash is still used to build mobile games using Adobe AIR. Such games will not work in mobile web browsers but must be installed via the appropriate app store.

Vendor dependence[edit]

The reliance on Adobe for decoding Flash makes its use on the World Wide Web a concern—the completeness of its public specifications are debated, and no complete implementation of Flash is publicly available in source code form with a license that permits reuse. Generally, public specifications are what makes a format re-implementable (see future proofing data storage), and reusable codebases can be ported to new platforms without the endorsement of the format creator.

Adobe's restrictions on the use of the SWF/FLV specifications were lifted in February 2009 (see Adobe's Open Screen Project). However, despite efforts of projects like Gnash, Swfdec and Lightspark, a complete free Flash player is yet to be seen, as of September 2011. For example, Gnash cannot use SWF v10 yet.^[136] Notably, Gnash was listed on the Free Software Foundation's high priority list, from at least 2007, to its overdue removal in January 2017.^[137]

Notable advocates of free software, open standards, and the World Wide Web have warned against the use of Flash:

The founder of Mozilla Europe, Tristan Nitot, stated in 2008:^[138]

Companies building websites should beware of proprietary rich-media technologies like Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight. (...) You're producing content for your users and there's someone in the middle deciding whether users should see your content.

Representing open standards, inventor of CSS and co-author of HTML5, Håkon Wium Lie explained in a Google tech talk of 2007, entitled 'the <video> element', the proposal of Theora as the format for HTML5 video:^[139]

I believe very strongly, that we need to agree on some kind of baseline video format if [the video element] is going to succeed. Flash is today the baseline format on the web. The problem with Flash is that it's not an open standard.

Representing the free software movement, Richard Stallman stated in a speech in 2004 that:^[140] 'The use of Flash in websites is a major problem for our community.'

Accessibility[edit]

Usability consultant Jakob Nielsen published an Alertbox in 2000 entitled, Flash: 99% Bad, stating that 'Flash tends to degrade websites for three reasons: it encourages design abuse, it breaks with the Web's fundamental interaction principles, and it distracts attention from the site's core value.'^[141] Some problems have been at least partially fixed since Nielsen's complaints: Text size can be controlled using full page zoom and it has been possible for authors to include alternative text in Flash since Flash Player 6.

Flash blocking in web browsers[edit]

Flash content is usually embedded using the object or embedHTML element.^[142] A web browser that does not fully implement one of these elements displays the replacement text, if supplied by the web page. Often, a plugin is required for the browser to fully implement these elements, though some users cannot or will not install it.

Since Flash can be used to produce content (such as advertisements) that some users find obnoxious or take a large amount of bandwidth to download, some web browsers, by default, do not play Flash content until the user clicks on it, e.g. Konqueror, K-Meleon.

Most current browsers have a feature to block plugins, playing one only when the user clicks it. Opera versions since 10.5 feature native Flash blocking. Opera Turbo requires the user to click to play Flash content, and the browser also allows the user to enable this option permanently. Both Chrome^[143] and Firefox^[144] have an option to enable 'click to play plugins'. Equivalent 'Flash blocker' extensions are also available for many popular browsers: Firefox has Flashblock and NoScript, Internet Explorer has Foxie, which contains a number of features, one of them named Flashblock. WebKit-based browsers under macOS, such as Apple's Safari, have ClickToFlash.^[145] In June 2015, Google announced that Chrome will 'pause' advertisements and 'non-central' Flash content by default.^[146]

Firefox (from version 46) rewrites old Flash-only YouTube embed code into YouTube's modern embedded player that is capable of using either HTML5 or Flash.^[147] Such embed code is used by non-YouTube sites to embed YouTube's videos, and can still be encountered, for example, on old blogs and forums.

Security[edit]

For many years Adobe Flash Player's security record^[148] has led many security experts to recommend against installing the player, or to block Flash content.^[149][150] The US-CERT has recommended blocking Flash,^[151] and security researcher Charlie Miller recommended 'not to install Flash';^[152] however, for people still using Flash, Intego recommended that users get trusted updates 'only directly from the vendor that publishes them.'^[153] As of February 12, 2015, Adobe Flash Player has over 400 CVE entries,^[154] of which over 300 lead to arbitrary code execution, and past vulnerabilities have enabled spying via web cameras.^{[155][156][157][158]} Security experts have long predicted the demise of Flash, saying that with the rise of HTML5 '...the need for browser plugins such as Flash is diminishing',^[159] as only 7 to 10 percent of websites still use it.^[160][161]

Active moves by third parties to limit the risk began with Steve Jobs in 2010 saying that Apple would not allow Flash on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad – citing abysmal security as one reason.^[162] Flash often used the ability to dynamically change parts of the runtime on languages on OSX to improve their own performance, but caused general instability. In July 2015, a series of newly discovered vulnerabilities resulted in Facebook's chief security officer, Alex Stamos, issuing a call to Adobe to discontinue the software entirely^[163] and the Mozilla Firefox web browser, Google Chrome and Apple Safari to blacklist all earlier versions of Flash Player.^{[164][165][166][167]}

As a result, 'Adobe has essentially stopped trying to do anything new and innovative with Flash.'^[161]

Flash cookies[edit]

Like the HTTP cookie, a flash cookie (also known as a “Local Shared Object”) can be used to save application data. Flash cookies are not shared across domains. An August 2009 study by the Ashkan Soltani and a team of researchers at UC Berkeley found that 50% of websites using Flash were also employing flash cookies, yet privacy policies rarely disclosed them, and user controls for privacy preferences were lacking.^[168] Most browsers' cache and history suppress or delete functions did not affect Flash Player's writing Local Shared Objects to its own cache in version 10.2 and earlier, at which point the user community was much less aware of the existence and function of Flash cookies than HTTP cookies.^[169] Thus, users with those versions, having deleted HTTP cookies and purged browser history files and caches, may believe that they have purged all tracking data from their computers when in fact Flash browsing history remains. Adobe's own Flash Website Storage Settings panel, a submenu of Adobe's Flash Settings Manager web application, and other editors and toolkits can manage settings for and delete Flash Local Shared Objects.^[170]

See also[edit]

• OpenFL is an open-source implementation of the Flash platform
• Saffron Type System – the anti-aliased text-rendering engine used in version 8 onwards
• SWFObject – a JavaScript library used to embed Flash content into web pages

Footnotes[edit]

1. ^FLV and F4VArchived September 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
   F4V is based on ISO base media file format standard, available as a free download [1]

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