View source for SWF

{{Short description|Adobe flash file format}}
{{other uses}}
{{About|the Adobe Flash file format sometimes referred to as "Shockwave Flash"|the [[Web browser|browser]] [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-in]] labeled "Shockwave Flash"|Adobe Flash Player}}
{{distinguish|Adobe Shockwave}}
{{Infobox file format
| name          = Small Web Format (SWF)
| icon          = [[File:Flash Player 34 SWF icon.png|64px]]
| logo          = 
| screenshot    = 
| caption       = 
| extension     = .swf
| mime          = application/vnd.adobe.flash.movie,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/application/vnd.adobe.flash.movie|title=IANA Media Type registration}}</ref> application/x-shockwave-flash<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://svn.apache.org/viewvc/httpd/httpd/branches/2.4.x/docs/conf/mime.types?view=markup#l1310|title=[Apache-SVN] Contents of /httpd/httpd/branches/2.4.x/docs/conf/mime.types|website=svn.apache.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= nginx's media type file |url= https://hg.nginx.org/nginx/file/2d3ed138ce65/conf/mime.types#l66 }}</ref>
| type code     = 
| uniform type  = 
| magic         = <code>CWS</code>,<code>FWS</code><ref name="swfspec10">{{cite web | title = SWF File Format Specification Version 10 | url = https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf | access-date = 2012-02-26 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120131083755/http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf | archive-date = 2012-01-31 }}</ref> or <code>ZWS</code><ref name="swfspec19">{{cite web | title = SWF File Format Specification Version 19 | url = http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf-file-format-spec.pdf | access-date = 2013-02-17 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130202203813/http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/swf/pdf/swf-file-format-spec.pdf | archive-date = 2013-02-02 }}</ref>
| owner         = [[FutureWave Software]], <br/>later taken over by [[Macromedia]] and <br/>[[Adobe Systems]]
| type          = [[Vector graphics|Vector graphic]] animation
| container for = Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash), sometimes labeled {{em|Shockwave Flash Object}}.
| contained by  = 
| extended from = 
| extended to   = 
| standard      = 
}}
'''SWF''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|w|ɪ|f}})<ref>{{cite web |date=2010-06-10 |title=Adobe Flash Player Administration Guide for Flash Player 10.1 |url=https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/flash/articles/flash_player_admin_guide/flash_player_admin_guide.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121232809/https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/flash/articles/flash_player_admin_guide/flash_player_admin_guide.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-21 |access-date=2011-03-10 |website=Adobe.com |publisher=Adobe Systems |page=1}}</ref> is a defunct [[Adobe Flash]] [[file format]] that is used for [[multimedia]], [[vector graphics]] and [[ActionScript]].<ref name="swfopen">{{Cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/openscreenproject|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818173308/http://www.adobe.com/openscreenproject/|url-status=dead|title=Open Screen Project|archive-date=August 18, 2014}}</ref>

Originating with [[FutureWave Software]], then transferred to [[Macromedia]], and then coming under the control of [[Adobe Systems|Adobe]], SWF files can contain [[animation]]s or [[applet]]s of varying degrees of interactivity and function. They may also occur in programs, commonly [[browser game]]s, using [[ActionScript]].

Programmers can generate SWF files from within several Adobe products, including [[Adobe Flash|Flash]], [[Adobe Flash Builder|Flash Builder]] (an [[Integrated development environment|IDE]]), [[Adobe Animate]] (a rename of Adobe Flash since 2016), and [[Adobe After Effects|After Effects]], as well as through MXMLC, a command-line application compiler which forms part of the freely-available [[Adobe Flex|Flex SDK]]. Although Adobe [[Adobe Illustrator|Illustrator]] can generate SWF format files through its "export" function, it cannot open or edit them. Other than using Adobe products, one can build SWFs with [[open-source software|open-source]] [[MTASC|Motion-Twin ActionScript 2 Compiler (MTASC)]], the open-source [[Ming library]] and the [[free-software]] suite [[SWFTools]]. Various other third-party programs can also produce files in this format, such as [[Multimedia Fusion 2]], [[Adobe Captivate|Captivate]] and [[SWiSH Max]].

The term "SWF" originated as an abbreviation for '''ShockWave Flash'''.<ref name="Schaeffer2007">{{cite book|author= Mark Schaeffer|title= Adobe Flash CS3 Professional How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZshrkM5INSkC&pg=PT30|year= 2007|publisher= Adobe Press|isbn= 978-0-13-270129-7}}</ref> This usage was changed to the [[backronym]] '''Small Web Format''' to eliminate confusion with a different technology, [[Adobe Shockwave|Shockwave]], from which SWF derived.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/55333/swf |title= SWF Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia |access-date= 2013-11-02}}
</ref><ref name="NiederstRobbins2001">
{{cite book
|author= Jennifer Niederst
|title= Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
|url= https://archive.org/details/webdesigninnutsh00nied_0
|url-access= registration
|year= 2001|publisher= O'Reilly Media, Inc.
|isbn= 978-0-596-00196-4|page= [https://archive.org/details/webdesigninnutsh00nied_0/page/438 438]|edition= 2nd
}}
</ref> There is no official resolution to the initialism "SWF" by Adobe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.adobe.com/jd1/archives/2007/07/swf-stands-for.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160919212342/http://blogs.adobe.com/jd1/archives/2007/07/swf-stands-for.html|title= "SWF" stands for...?|access-date= 2021-02-23|archive-date= 2016-09-19}}</ref>

Adobe declared its Flash player [[Software release life cycle#End-of-life|EOL]] on December 31, 2020. On January 12, 2021, it pushed an update to its Flash player that blocked all Flash content from running.<ref name="flashdead">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/zombie-flash-security-problems/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124120315/https://www.wired.com/story/zombie-flash-security-problems/|url-status=live|title=Flash Is Dead—but Not Gone|magazine=Wired |archive-date=January 24, 2021|access-date=October 7, 2023 |last1=Newman |first1=Lily Hay }}</ref>

== History ==
The small company [[FutureWave Software]] originally defined the file format with one primary objective: to create small files for displaying entertaining animations.<ref>{{cite web| title=The History of Flash: The Dawn of Web Animation| url=https://www.adobe.com/macromedia/events/john_gay/page04.html| publisher=Adobe Systems| access-date=2008-01-21| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125045402/http://www.adobe.com/macromedia/events/john_gay/page04.html| archive-date=2008-01-25}}</ref>
The idea involved a format which player software could run on any system and which would work with slower network connections. FutureWave released [[FutureSplash Animator]] in May 1996. In December 1996 Macromedia acquired FutureWave and FutureSplash Animator became Macromedia Flash 1.0.

The original naming of SWF came out of Macromedia's desire to capitalize on the well-known [[Macromedia Shockwave]] brand; [[Macromedia Director]] produced Shockwave files for the end user, so the files created by their newer Flash product tried to capitalize on the already established brand. As Flash became more popular than Shockwave itself, this branding decision became more of a liability, so the format started to be referred to as simply SWF.<ref name="Schaeffer2007"/>

Adobe acquired Macromedia in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/ca/about-adobe/fast-facts.html|title=Adobe Fast Facts {{!}} Adobe|website=www.adobe.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref>

On May 1, 2008, Adobe dropped its licensing restrictions on the SWF format specifications, as part of the [[Open Screen Project]]. However, [[Rob Savoye]], a member of the [[Gnash (software)|Gnash]] development team, has pointed to some parts of the Flash format which remain closed.<ref name="stillpartlyclosed">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.openmedianow.org/?q=node/21
 |title       = Free Flash community reacts to Adobe Open Screen Project
 |access-date  = 2008-11-29
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080928202954/http://www.openmedianow.org/?q=node/21
 |archive-date = 2008-09-28
 |url-status     = usurped
}}</ref> On July 1, 2008, Adobe released code to Google and Yahoo, which allowed their search engines to crawl and index SWF files.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=10523|title=Streamingmedia.com: Google and Yahoo Roll out Flash Search <!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2008-07-01|archive-date=2008-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013120439/http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=10523|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Description ==
The main graphical primitive in SWF is the path, which is a chain of segments of primitive types, ranging from lines to [[Spline (mathematics)|splines]] or [[Bézier curve]]s. Additional primitives like rectangles, ellipses, and even text can be built from these. The graphical elements in SWF are thus fairly similar to [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]] and [[MPEG-4 BIFS]]. SWF also uses [[display list]]s and allows naming and reusing previously defined components.<ref name="compar"/>

The binary stream format SWF uses is fairly similar to [[QuickTime]] atoms, with a tag, length and payload{{snd}} an organization that makes it very easy for (older) players to skip contents they don't support.<ref name="compar">C. Concolato and J. C. Dufourd. "[http://perso.telecom-paristech.fr/~concolat/Papers/2002%20-%20WEMP%20-%20Comparison%20BIFS%20and%20others.pdf Comparison of MPEG-4 BIFS and some other multimedia description languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810085828/http://perso.telecom-paristech.fr/~concolat/Papers/2002%20-%20WEMP%20-%20Comparison%20BIFS%20and%20others.pdf |date=2014-08-10 }}". Workshop and Exhibition on MPEG-4, WEPM. 2002.</ref>

Originally limited to presenting vector-based objects and images in a simple sequential manner, the format in its later versions allows audio (since Flash 3) and video (since Flash 6).

Adobe introduced a new, low-level 3D API in version 11 of the Flash Player. Initially codenamed Molehill, the official name given to this API was ultimately [[Stage3D]]. It was intended to be an equivalent of [[OpenGL]] or [[Direct3D]].<ref name="Kaitila2011">{{cite book|author=Christer Kaitila|title=Adobe Flash 11 Stage3D (Molehill) Game Programming Beginner's Guide|year=2011|publisher=Packt Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-84969-169-7}}</ref>{{rp|9}} In Stage3D [[shader]]s are expressed in a low-level language called [[Stage3D#Features|Adobe Graphics Assembly Language]] (AGAL).<ref name="Kaitila2011"/>{{rp|57}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/what-is-agal.html|title=What is AGAL - Adobe Developer Connection|website=www.adobe.com}}</ref>

== Adoption ==
{{see also|Adobe Flash#Players|Adobe Flash#Animation Tools}}
Adobe makes available [[Plug-in (computing)|plugins]], such as [[Adobe Flash Player]] and [[Adobe Integrated Runtime]], to play SWF files in [[web browser]]s on many desktop operating systems, including [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Mac OS X]], and [[Linux]] on the [[x86 architecture]] and [[ARM architecture]] ([[ChromeOS]] only).

[[GNU]] has started developing a [[free software]] SWF player called [[Gnash (software)|Gnash]] under the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL). Despite being a declared high-priority GNU project, funding for Gnash was fairly limited.<ref name="lwn"/> Another player is the [[GNU LGPL|LGPL]]-licensed [[Swfdec]]. [[Lightspark]] is a continuation of Gnash supporting more recent SWF versions.<ref name="lwn">{{cite web|last1=Willis|first1=Nathan|title=Gnash, Lightspark, and Shumway|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/525719/|website=LWN.net|access-date=13 June 2014}}</ref>

Adobe has incorporated SWF playback and authoring in other product and technologies of theirs, including in [[Adobe Shockwave]], which renders more complex documents.<ref name="compar"/> SWF can also be embedded in [[PDF]] files; these are viewable with [[Adobe Reader]] 9 or later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.adobe.com/pdfdevjunkie/the_flash_designers_guide_to_a|title=WordPress › Error|website=blogs.adobe.com}}</ref> [[InDesign]] CS6 can also produce some limited forms of SWF animations directly.<ref name="SmithTeam2012">{{cite book|author1=Christopher Smith|author2=AGI Creative Team|title=Adobe InDesign CS6 Digital Classroom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfsNznDZ0GsC&pg=PA391|year=2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-45128-1|page=391}}</ref>

Sony [[PlayStation Portable]] consoles can play limited SWF files in Sony's web browser, beginning with firmware version 2.71. Both the [[Nintendo]] [[Wii]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Wii Internet Channel|url=https://www.nintendo.com/wii/channels/internetchannel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223121519/http://www.nintendo.com/wii/channels/internetchannel|archive-date=2008-02-23}}</ref> and the [[Sony]] [[PlayStation 3|PS3]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Eric Lempel |title=PS3 Firmware (v2.53) Update |date=December 2008 |url=http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/12/01/ps3-firmware-v253-update |publisher=Playstation.Blog |access-date=2009-03-12}}</ref> consoles can run SWF files through their web browsers.

[[Scaleform]] GFx is a commercial alternative SWF player that features full [[hardware acceleration]] using the [[Graphics processing unit|GPU]] and has high conformance up to Flash 8 and AS2. Scaleform GFx is licensed as a [[game middleware]] solution and used by many PC and console 3D games for user interfaces, [[HUD (video gaming)|HUDs]], [[minigame|mini games]], and video playback.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}

The newer 3D features of SWF have been seen as an alternative to [[WebGL]], with a spurt of 3D engines like [[Papervision3D]],<ref name="KerrKeats2009"/><ref name="Lively2010">{{cite book|author=Michael Lively|title=Professional Papervision3D|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-97060-7}}</ref><ref name="TondeurWinder2009">{{cite book|author1=Paul Tondeur|author2=Jeff Winder|title=Papervision3d Essentials: Create Interactive Papervision3D Applications with Stunning Effects and Powerful Animals|year=2009|publisher=Packt Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-84719-573-9}}</ref> [[Away3D]],<ref name="KerrKeats2009"/><ref name="Casperson2011">{{cite book|author=Matthew Casperson|title=Away3D 3.6 Essentials|year=2011|publisher=Packt Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-84951-207-7}}</ref><ref name="Ivanov2011">{{cite book|author=Michael Ivanov|title=Away3D 3.6 Cookbook|year=2011|publisher=Packt Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-84951-281-7}}</ref> Sandy 3D,<ref name="KerrKeats2009">{{cite book|author1=Cheridan Kerr|author2=Jonathan Keats|title=The Essential Guide to Flash CS4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjSGwrX1q_kC&pg=PA286|year=2009|publisher=Apress|isbn=978-1-4302-2353-5|page=286}}</ref><ref name="McCuneSubramaniam2009">{{cite book|author1=Doug McCune|author2=Deepa Subramaniam|title=Adobe Flex 3.0 For Dummies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzWVC_vH68cC&pg=PA388|year=2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-40789-9|pages=388–389}}</ref> and Alternativa 3D targeting 3D SWF.<ref name="Lengyel2011">{{cite book|editor=Eric Lengyel|title=Game Engine Gems 2|year=2011|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-56881-437-7|chapter=3D in a Web Browser|author=Remi Arnaud|pages=207–212|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbSf3XwfM7EC&pg=PA207}}</ref> Although some of these projects started around 2005, until Flash Player 10 however they had no support of [[GPU]] acceleration, and even in that version of the Flash Player, shaders could be used for same materials, but vertex information still had to be processed on the CPU (using [[BSP tree]]s etc.)<ref name="Lengyel2011"/> After version 11 of the Flash Player added the new Stage3D low-level API, some but not all of these projects migrated to the new API. One that did migrate was Away3D, version 4.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Stage3D vs WebGL Performance | work = Airtight Interactive | accessdate = 2023-02-07 | date = 2011-10-28 | url = https://www.airtightinteractive.com/2011/10/stage3d-vs-webgl-performance/}}</ref>

Based on an independent study conducted by Millward Brown and published by Adobe, in 2010, over 99% of desktop web browsers in the "mature markets" (defined as United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) had a SWF plugin installed, with around 90% having the latest version of the Flash Player.<ref name="Adobe">{{cite web|title=Flash content reaches 99% of Internet viewers |url=https://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/ |publisher=Adobe |access-date=2010-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827134318/http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/ |archive-date=August 27, 2010 }}</ref>

Due to the increasing popularity of HTML5 for games and animations, as well as the numerous security holes that had plagued Adobe's SWF player, Adobe declared its Flash player [[End-of-life product|EOL]] on December 31, 2020. On January 12, 2021, it pushed an update to its Flash player that blocked all Flash content from running.

== Published specifications ==
Adobe makes available a partial specification of SWF,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/|title=SWF and AMF Technology Center - Adobe Developer Connection|website=www.adobe.com}}</ref> most recently updated in January 2013 to reflect changes in SWF version 19.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bytearray.org/?p=5162 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415222800/http://www.bytearray.org/?p=5162 |archive-date=2013-04-15 |title=SWF and AMF3 specifications update - ByteArray.org}}</ref> SWF versions have been decoupled from Flash player versions after Flash 10. Afterwards the version number of the SWF progressed rapidly; SWF version 19 corresponds to the new features added in Flash Player 11.6.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bytearray.org/?p=4848 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015233102/http://www.bytearray.org/?p=4848 |archive-date=2012-10-15 |title=SWF Versioning - ByteArray.org}}</ref> Flash Player 14 uses SWF version 25.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/articles/flashplayer-air-feature-list.html|title=Flash Player and Adobe AIR feature list - Adobe Developer Connection|website=www.adobe.com}}</ref>

In 2008, the specifications document was criticized by [[Rob Savoye]], the lead developer of the [[Gnash (software)|Gnash]] project, as missing "huge amounts" of information needed to completely implement SWF, omitting specifications for [[Real Time Messaging Protocol|RTMP]] and [[Sorenson codec|Sorenson Spark]].<ref name="stillpartlyclosed" /> The [[Real Time Messaging Protocol|RTMP]] specification<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/rtmp/|title=Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) specification - Adobe Developer Connection|website=www.adobe.com}}</ref> was released publicly in June 2009.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}} The Sorenson Spark codec is not Adobe's property.

== Licensing ==
Until May 1, 2008, implementing software that plays SWF was disallowed by the specification's license.<ref>{{cite web
| url=https://www.adobe.com/licensing/developer/fileformat/license/
| title=SWF and FLV File Format Specification License Agreement
| publisher=Adobe Systems
| date=2007-06-27
| quote=You may not use the Specification in any way to create or develop a runtime, client, player, executable or other program that reads or renders SWF files.| access-date=2008-01-05 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071222125858/http://www.adobe.com/licensing/developer/fileformat/license/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-12-22
}}</ref> On that date, as part of its Open Screen Project, Adobe dropped all such restrictions on the SWF and [[Flash Video|FLV]] formats.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = Open Screen Project Press Release
 |url         = https://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200804/050108AdobeOSP.html
 |publisher   = Adobe Systems
 |date        = 2008-05-01
 |access-date  = 2008-05-01
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080506095459/http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200804/050108AdobeOSP.html
 |archive-date = 2008-05-06
}}</ref>

Implementing software which creates SWF files has always been permitted, on the condition that the resulting files [[Rendering (computer graphics)|render]] "error free in the latest publicly available version of Adobe Flash Player."<ref>{{cite web|title=Adobe Player Licensing: Flash Player Developer SDKs |url=https://www.adobe.com/licensing/developer |publisher=Adobe Systems |access-date=2008-01-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115032515/http://www.adobe.com/licensing/developer/ |archive-date=January 15, 2008 }}</ref>

== Related file formats and extensions ==
Other formats related to SWF authoring in the Adobe tool chain remain without a public specification. One example is FLA, which is the editable version of SWF used by Adobe's Flash, but not by other Adobe tools that can also output SWF, albeit with fewer features.<ref name="HarringtonGeduld2009">{{cite book|author1=Richard Harrington|author2=Marcus Geduld|title=After Effects for Flash, Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 with Adobe Flash CS4 Professional|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IqbV98CZqqAC&pg=PA32|year=2009|publisher=Adobe Press|isbn=978-0-321-60607-5|page=32}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" line-height:100%;"
! Extension
! Explanation
|-
! '''.[[ActionScript|abc]]'''
| Actionscript bytecode used by the Actionscript Virtual Machine AVM (Flash 8 and prior), and AVM2 (Flash 9 or later).
|-
! '''.[[Action Message Format|amf]]'''
| Action Message commands for transacting with a [[Flash Media Server|FMS]].
|-
! '''.[[ActionScript|as]]'''
| ActionScript [[source code]] in simple source files. FLA files can also contain Actionscript code directly, but separate external .as files often emerge for structural reasons, or to expose the code to versioning applications.
|-
! '''.asc'''
| Server-Side ActionScript, which is used to develop efficient and flexible client-server Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX applications.
|-
! '''.aso'''
| Cache files used during Flash development, containing compiled ActionScript byte code. An ASO file is recreated when a change in its corresponding class files is detected. Occasionally the Flash IDE does not recognize that a recompile is necessary, and these cache files must be deleted manually. They are located in %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash8\en\Configuration\Classes\aso on Win32 / Flash8.
|-
! '''.f4a'''
| Adobe suffix for iTunes M4A files that contain only audio streams.<ref name="newformats"/>
|-
! '''.f4b'''
| Adobe suffix for iTunes M4B [[audiobook]] files.<ref name="newformats"/>
|-
! '''.f4f'''
| MP4 atom-ized fragmented files. Containing [[Flash Video#Packets|FLV packets]].
|-
! '''.f4m'''
| XML manifest files. Containing [[base64]] FLV onMetaData headers for an Adobe version of bit rate control [[HTTP Live Streaming]].
|-
! '''.f4p'''
| Adobe suffix for media encrypted with the Adobe Access [[digital rights management]] scheme which is based on the same protection scheme that their RTMP protocol uses.<ref name="newformats"/>
|-
! '''.f4v'''
| Similar to iTunes M4V files which are based on [[MP4]] and can be played back by Flash Player 9 Update 3 and above. F4V file format is second container format for Flash video and it differs from FLV file format. It is based on the [[ISO base media file format]].<ref name="FLV-F4V">{{Cite web | author = Adobe Systems Incorporated | title = Video File Format Specification, Version 10 | publisher = Adobe Systems Incorporated | date = November 2008 | url = https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/flv/pdfs/video_file_format_spec_v10.pdf | access-date = 2009-08-03 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100923043319/http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/flv/pdfs/video_file_format_spec_v10.pdf | archive-date = 2010-09-23 }}</ref><ref name="newformats">{{cite web |url=http://www.kaourantin.net/2007/10/new-file-extensions-and-mime-types.html |title=New File Extensions and MIME Types |publisher=Kaourantin.net |date=2007-10-31 |access-date=2010-12-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706004744/http://www.kaourantin.net/2007/10/new-file-extensions-and-mime-types.html |archive-date=2010-07-06 }}</ref>
|-
! '''.[[Adobe Flash#FLA|fla]]'''
| Source material for the Flash application. Flash authoring software can edit FLA files and compile them into .swf files. The Flash source file format is currently a binary file format based on the [[Compound File Binary Format|Microsoft Compound File Format]]. In Flash Pro CS5, the fla file format is a zip container of an XML-based project structure.
|-
! '''.flp'''
| XML files used to reference all the document files contained in a Flash Project. Flash Projects allow the user to group multiple, related files together to assist in Flash project organization, compilation and build.
|-
! '''.[[Flash Video|flv]]'''
| [[Flash Video]] files, as created by Adobe Flash, [[FFmpeg|ffmpeg]], [[Sorenson Squeeze]], or [[On2 Flix]]. The audio and video data within FLV files are encoded in the same way as they are within SWF files.
|-
! .'''[[FXG|fxg]]'''
| Unified xml file format being developed by [[Adobe Systems Incorporated|Adobe]] for [[Adobe Flex|Flex]], Flash, [[Adobe Photoshop|Photoshop]] and other applications.
|-
! '''.jsfl'''
| Adds functionality in the Flash Authoring environment; they contain JavaScript code and access the Flash JavaScript API.
|-
! '''[[MXML|.mxml]]'''
| Used in conjunction with ActionScript files (and .css files), and offer a markup-language-style syntax (like HTML) for designing the GUI in Flex. Each MXML file creates a new class that extends the class of the root tag, and adds the nested tags as children (if they are descendants of UIComponent) or members of the class.
|-
! '''.sol'''
| [[Adobe Flash Player]] container to hold [[Local Shared Object]]s (data stored on the system running the Flash player).
|-
! '''.spl'''
| [[FutureSplash Animator]] documents.
|-
! '''.[[Adobe SWC file|swc]]'''
| Container for distributing components; they contain a compiled clip, the component's ActionScript class file, and other files that describe the component.
|-
! '''.swd'''
| Temporary debugging files used during Flash development. Once finished developing a Flash project these files are not needed and can be removed.
|-
! '''.swf'''
| Completed, compiled and published files that cannot be edited with Adobe Flash. However, several non-Adobe '.swf [[decompiler]]s' exist (like that of Sothink) to convert SWF back to the FLA format,<ref name="decomp">{{cite web
 |url        = http://blog.theflashblog.com/?p=372
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20121216121634/http://blog.theflashblog.com/?p=372
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 16 December 2012
 |title      = New Video Tutorial on Ethical SWF Decompiling
 |work       = the Flash Blog
 |publisher  = [[Adobe Systems]]
 |date       = 25 April 2008
 |access-date = 28 October 2010
 |first      = Lee
 |last       = Brimelow
}}</ref> or to the more recent [[Apache Flex]] format.<ref name="TiwariElrom2010">{{cite book|author1=Shashank Tiwari|author2=Elad Elrom|author3=Charlie Schulze|title=AdvancED Flex 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QMt6RMo9h_gC&pg=PA386|year=2010|publisher=Apress|isbn=978-1-4302-2484-6|page=386}}</ref> Attempting to import .swf files using Flash allows it to retrieve some assets from the .swf, but not all.<ref>[http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/410/tn_4109.html Can a Flash Player movie (SWF) file be edited or imported?]. Kb2.adobe.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-09.</ref>
|-
! '''.swt'''
| 'Templatized' forms of .swf files, used by Macromedia Generator. It is also [[Adobe Dreamweaver]]'s Flash template file extension.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crumlish |first1=Christian |last2=Dykes |first2=Lucinda |title=Dreamweaver® MX 2004 SavvyTM |date=20 February 2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-7821-5102-2 |page=240 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Z3kFEShC4sC&pg=PA240 |access-date=22 November 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
! '''.xfl'''
| XML-based project files that are equivalent to the binary .fla format. Flash authoring software uses XFL as an exchange format in Flash CS4. It imports XFL files that are exported from InDesign and AfterEffects. In Flash Pro CS5, the xfl file is a key file which opens the "uncompressed FLA" file, which is a hierarchy of folders containing XML and binary files.
|}

== See also ==
;Adobe Flash
* [[ActionScript]]
* [[ActionScript code protection]]
* [[Adobe Flash Player]], the runtime that executes and plays back Flash movies
* [[Adobe Flash Lite]], a lightweight version of Flash Player for devices that lack the resources to run regular Flash movies
* [[Ming library]]
* [[Saffron Type System]], the [[spatial anti-aliasing|anti-aliased]] text-rendering engine used in version 8 onwards
* [[Local Shared Object]]
* [[SWFObject]], a JavaScript library used to embed Flash content into webpages.

;Other
* [[OpenLaszlo]]
* [[Personal video recorder]]s{{snd}} some possibly record and play swf files
* [[Adobe Animate|FutureSplash Animator]]
* [[SWFTools]]
* [[SWiSH Max]]
* [[Java Applet]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/ Adobe Systems Flash SWF reference]
* [https://archive.org/details/swf-file-format-spec/mode/2up SWF File Format Specification] (Version 19)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20201219072854/http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/swfinvestigator Adobe SWF Investigator]{{snd}} a disassembler of sorts
* [https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/stage3d.html Adobe Stage3D (or Stage 3D)]

{{Graphics file formats}}
{{Adobe Flash|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Vector graphics markup languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swf}}
[[Category:Adobe Flash]]
[[Category:Computer file formats]]
[[Category:Graphics file formats]]