SWF format: features of use

The SWF format means ShockWave Flash and is pronounced "Swiff". It is used for most animations and videos on websites. Designed for publishing on the Internet, this format, despite the small size of the files, can contain animations of varying degrees of interactivity and functionality. SWF-video can also be used for programs, usually games, using Actionscript. Web sites use it for fast data delivery. After all, everyone can save video on the hard drive using the SWF format for easier access and space saving.

SWF, otherwise known as a small Web format, was developed by Macromedia. Then he came under the control of Adobe, which from May 1, 2008, abandoned licensing restrictions on the specifications for it, and from July 1, 2008 released a code that allowed Google and Yahoo search engines to scan and index SWF files. Adobe claims that such files are available on more than 98% of personal computers and more than 800 million mobile or portable devices.

The SWF format was designed to achieve a variety of purposes. First of all, it is designed to display the on-screen menu. SWF supports anti-aliasing, fast rendering in a raster image of any color, animation and interactive buttons. The tags in the format help to develop new features, while maintaining backward compatibility with older programs. Another purpose of SWF is file transfer. Any content in this format can be delivered over a network with limited bandwidth and unpredictable communication. SWF files are compressed, and streaming supports the consistent creation of images. Macromedia Flash (SWF) uses a variety of methods that help to minimize the file size (for example, bit-packaging).

The SWF format is so simple that the losing player is small and easily portable. In addition, its work depends on a very limited set of functionalities of the operating system. In addition, files can be displayed independently of external resources, such as fonts.

The creators of the format took into account the fact that monitors have different resolution and bit depth. SWF files are well displayed even on limited hardware, not to mention more expensive hardware.

Than to open format SWF?

Video in this format can be played using Adobe Flash Player, which works either as a plug-in for the browser, or as an independent program. In addition, the SWF format can be played on the player

Macromedia Flash. Adobe makes plug-ins available for playing SWF video in the web browsers of many operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOSX and Linux.

However, some portable media devices do not support flash, so it may be necessary to convert SWF to a video file format. This can be done using any video converter files.

Alternative SWF

Due to the fact that files of this type are considered within the framework of Adobe programs, users must download or purchase the appropriate software and adhere to its license agreement, which prohibits programmers from modifying software and conducting other experiments. To get around this limitation, many users switched to other formats. However, there are two programs for SWF, which are supported by most web browsers: SMIL and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics).