Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) or simply "Flash", refers to the Flash Player and browser plugin needed to handle SWF web page animations and interactive content. Even though the Flash plugin is referred to as "Shockwave Flash", it should not be confused with the Shockwave plugin that handles "Shockwave for Director" content.
Installation
Download the Flash installer from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center or from PluginDoc. If you cannot find a Flash Player download for your OS, find it manually on this page. See PluginDoc's Flash FAQs for details on installation.
Windows and Mac
If your system can't run Flash 8 or Flash 9 (see the system requirements) you can download an updated version of Flash 7 here (Windows users should download the "Netscape" installer for Firefox and other Mozilla browsers).
Installing Flash on Windows
There are two versions of Flash offered for Windows users: the Flash ActiveX control for Internet Explorer/AOL and the Flash plugin for Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape/Opera browsers. Each must be installed separately, since the Flash plugin installer does not add the ActiveX control and vice versa. In other words, it's possible to have the Flash 8 plugin installed for Mozilla browsers and the Flash 9 ActiveX control installed for Internet Explorer, and both will work.
Flash 9.0.r28 and earlier: For new or undetected browsers such as Firefox zipped builds, you can copy these two files from another Mozilla browser to the new browser's installation directory:
- NPSWF32.dll to the plugins folder
- flashplayer.xpt to the components folder or the plugins folder (for scripting support)
Note that the XPI package [1] available using the "Install" link at PluginDoc also copied the Flash plugin files to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash folder and added a registry entry so that other Netscape and Mozilla browsers can find the files through plugin scanning, using a Windows registry PLID scan [2]. If you used the XPInstall method, the Flash Player's inline update mechanism to install a newer version may not update C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash\, so other Netscape and Mozilla browsers will not get the new version of the Flash plugin; if you encounter this problem, you can manually copy the newer files here, or install the new version of the plugin from the latest XPI package.
Starting with Flash 9.0.r45 the Flash plugin installer for Firefox and other Mozilla-based browsers no longer copies files to the browser plugins folder and, instead, adds the needed plugin files NPSWF32.dll flashplayer.xpt and other related files to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Macromed\Flash folder and adds a Windows registry entry that enables each browser to detect Flash via plugin scanning using a PLID scan [3].
Flash 9.0 on Linux
A Flash Player 9 for Linux is now available. Extract libflashplayer.so to your plugins directory to install it.
Uninstalling Flash
Windows and Mac
An uninstaller can be downloaded to remove Flash from your system. See the Flash Player TechNote, How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control. After downloading, make sure you completely exit your Mozilla application or other Internet browser before you run the uninstaller.
Windows uninstall
Starting with Flash 9.0 r45, you can uninstall Adobe Flash for Mozilla-based browsers using the entry in Add/Remove Programs [4].
Flash 9.0 r28 and earlier: Windows Add/Remove Programs may have an entry such as "Adobe Flash Player 9 ActiveX" but this will only remove the ActiveX control for Internet Explorer. To completely remove Flash from your system, [download the uninstaller. On Windows systems, the Flash uninstaller may hang at 93% completion. To finish the uninstall, open the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete), click the "Processes" tab, select "killbrowser.exe", click <End Process> and say "yes" to the resulting dialog box [5].
The Windows uninstaller may not remove Flash from all locations so you should search for the following files and delete, if found:
- NPSWF32.dll
- flashplayer.xpt
- GetFlash.exe
- GetFlash.exe.manifest
- NPSWF32_FlashUtil.exe
Important: The Windows uninstaller also removes the Flash ActiveX control needed in Internet Explorer and AOL. If you are only having problems with Flash in Firefox or Mozilla Suite, you could simply remove the files "NPSWF32.dll" and "flashplayer.xpt" from all locations, instead of running the uninstaller [6].
Linux and Solaris
If you installed via Adobe installation routine, follow the uninstall instructions in the Flash Player ReadMe for your system, linked below:
If you installled via apt-get/aptitude (Debian/Ubuntu): sudo apt-get remove flashplugin-nonfree
If the uninstall don't work: 1. type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Find the option plugin.expose_full_path and change the value to "true" (double-clicking the preference name will toggle the setting). 2. type about:plugins and locate the flash plugin. Remove the plugin files (both .so and .xpt)
Troubleshooting
If your problem isn't listed below, read PluginDoc and Adobe's Flash Player Support FAQ. You can also search for answers or post a question to Adobe's Macromedia Flash Player forum.
Quicktime plugin takes over Flash
If you see a Quicktime symbol with a question mark where the Flash content should be, it means that Quicktime has taken over handling of Flash files. On Windows, open Quicktime Preferences (accessible from the Windows Control Panel), select the Browser tab (or the "Browser Plug-in" drop-down menu option in Quicktime 6 or earlier) and select the "MIME settings" button. Uncheck "Flash media" or "Flash file" under "Miscellaneous" and "FlashPix" under "Images", then restart your browser. On Mac OS, go to the Quicktime System Preferences and deselect the corresponding MIME types, which are found by going to the Advanced tab in recent OS X versions [7]).
If the problem persists, remove the file "pluginreg.dat" from the "Firefox" or "Mozilla" folder in the profile folder location. Additionally, remove any "npqt*.dll" files found in the Mozilla Suite or Firefox installation directory's plugins folder. [8].
ActiveX plugin conflict
If the Mozilla ActiveX plugin is installed and is either misconfigured or the wrong version for your browser it can interfere with Flash content. Exit the browser, then look for the file "npmozax.dll" in the installation directory plugins folder. If found, rename the file "Xnpmozax.dll" to disable the ActiveX plugin. If Flash content plays correctly afterwards, remove the ActiveX plugin if you don't need it or install the correct version for your browser.
Illegal Operation In Plug-In
If certain web pages cause "Illegal Operation In Plug-In" errors that refer to "Shockwave Flash" and contain the message,
The plugin performed an illegal operation. You are strongly advised to restart Navigator (or Firefox):
- The Mozilla ActiveX plugin can cause this error [9]. Removing the file "npmozax.dll" from the Firefox or Mozilla Suite installation directory plugins folder (see above) may stop the error.
- Removing the files "GetFlash.exe" and "GetFlash.exe.manifest" from the Firefox or Mozilla Suite installation directory plugins folder and from the C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash folder (if found) may stop the errors [10]
- The problem is often resolved [11] by uninstalling Flash 8 or 9 and installing Flash 7 (on Windows, use the Netscape installer for Firefox and Mozilla Suite - see above).
- This problem may be caused by a rootkit type virus. Scanning your hard drive using a program like F-secure Blacklight(trial version) and having it rename the offending files has been reported to solve the problem for some.
Extension issues
Problematic extensions may interfere with Flash content:
Adblock conflict
Flash content may not display if the Adblock extension is installed and OBJ-TABS are enabled. Disable OBJ-TABS in Adblock's options or try updating to the latest version of Adblock, or uninstall Adblock and install Adblock Plus. [12].
Amazing Media Browser
Flash content will not display if the Amazing Media Browser extension is installed, if the "Block all embedded objects" preference is set to "Yes". Change the preference setting to "No" to allow embedded media such as Flash to display.
Flashblock conflict
If you're using Flash Player 8 and the Flashblock extension, you need Flashblock 1.3.3 or higher. [13].
If you've removed Flashblock you need to take the following code out of userChrome.css or userContent.css:
object[classid$=":D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"], object[codebase*="swflash.cab"] { -moz-binding: url("chrome://flashblock/content/flash.xml#obj"); }
Delay or hang waking from standby
A known problem with the Flash plugin in Firefox and Mozilla Suite may cause excessive delay waking the computer from hibernation or standby mode, such that the browser may appear to "hang" (bug 265172). High CPU usage may also be observed. As a workaround, close the browser before placing the computer in standby/hibernation. This problem is supposedly fixed in the latest Flash Player 9.
Memory Use
The Flashblock extension will help reduce memory usage by giving you control over the loading of flash images. Also, version 8.0.24.0 of Flash plugin can continually consume memory while you are on a web page that includes Flash content. [14] Workarounds are to remove the Flash plugin, block Flash content, or manually navigate away from pages with Flash. This problem is supposedly fixed in the latest Flash Player 9.
Crashes
Many crashes are caused by older versions of Flash, or even by recent versions.[15] If the crash still occurs with the latest version, follow Adobe's troubleshooting advice. If this advice does not help, please report a bug to Adobe.
Flash files do not play
Some users find that Flash files will not run automatically when opened directly in the browser, but instead will cause the File Download dialog box to be displayed, asking them to choose whether to save the file or open it in a suitable application. See the Opening files using plugins article.
Flash files that were created with SwishMAX will not play with Flash Player 9. [16] For a user the only workaround is to install Flash Player 8. A zipped archive of Flash Player 8 installers is available here.
For web masters a patch for SwishMax is available here.
External links
- Test Shockwave and Flash Players
- Adobe Flash Player (test for Flash only)
- Adobe Flash Player Support Center