These files are attractive to some users because they’re compressed, which allows for easy sharing and uploading with little bandwidth. Because of this, other programs can be used to create and/or open and play SWF files. These files can still be found floating around online, but they can be difficult to open because they were created in Adobe ® Flash ®, which has since been discontinued. Pronounced “swiff,” SWF is short for Shockwave Flash movie (though it is also sometimes called Small Web Format). OS: Windows XP/Vista/Server 2008/7, Mac OS X 10.5.6-10.6Īn SWF file is a type of animated movie file. Many users have reported success with this method, but others have experienced compatibility issues with mobile devices and newer desktop computers and updated versions of Windows 10 and Mac OS X. To do so, you just need to download an older version of the Adobe ® Flash ® plugin for your preferred browser. While Adobe ® Flash ® Player has been officially discontinued by Adobe and is no longer supported, it’s still possible to open SWF files with this software. Unfortunately, using Adobe ® Flash ® Player isn’t quite this straightforward anymore, as the program is quickly being phased out. If a website included an embedded SWF movie or game and you did not already have the Flash plugin, you would receive an easy prompt to download the plugin and the media would play automatically once Adobe ® Flash ® Player was installed.

In its day, it was arguably the best SWF player available, as users could simply download the Adobe ® Flash ® Player plugin and it would automatically open and run Flash videos and games for them.

It was created as a plugin for popular browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.

Adobe ® Flash ® Player is free software designed to play SWF files online or on your computer.

Adobe swf viewer in chrome