SWF file extension - ShockWave Flash, Animated vector format for the Internet
What is swf file? How to open swf files?
File type specification:
Digital video and movie file type
Dangerous and malicious file type
swf file icon:
File extension swf is associated with Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Flash movie file. ShockWave Flash, Animated Vector Format for Internet.
See also: fla file extensions
The Macromedia Flash (swf) (pronounced 'swiff' ) file format was designed to deliver vector graphics and animation over the Internet. The Macromedia Flash File Format (swf) was designed as a very efficient delivery format and not as a format for exchanging graphics between graphics editors. It was designed to meet the following goals:
- On-screen Display—The format is primarily intended for on-screen display and so it supports anti-aliasing, fast rendering to a bitmap of any color format, animation and interactive buttons.
- Extensibility—The format is a tagged format, so the format can be evolved with new features while maintaining backward compatibility with older players.
- Network Delivery—The files can be delivered over a network with limited and unpredictable bandwidth. The files are compressed to be small and support incremental rendering through streaming. SWF is a binary format and is not human readable like HTML. Macromedia Flash (SWF) uses techniques such as bit-packing and structures with optional fields, to minimize file size.
- Simplicity—The format is simple so that the player is small and easily ported. Also, the player depends upon only a very limited set of operating system functionality.
- File Independence—Files can be displayed without any dependence on external resources such as fonts.
- Scalability—Different computers have different monitor resolutions and bit depths. Files work well on limited hardware, while taking advantage of more expensive hardware when it is available.
- Speed—The files are designed to be rendered at a high quality very quickly.
This platform is also often used in various web-based video games, such as Farville, Castleville, Settlers Online and other.
MIME types:
application/x-shockwave-flash
application/x-shockwave-flash2-preview
application/futuresplash, image/vnd.rn-realflas
Updated: January 8, 2025
The default software associated to open swf file:
Company or developer:
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Animate CC is used to design interactive animations for multiple platforms including Flash/AIR, HTML5 Canvas, WebGL etc. It is a successor of discontinued Adobe Flash Professional.
Adobe Flash
(obsolete software)
Company or developer:
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Flash was an authoring environment for creating interactive websites with animations and video content. Flash works with vector and raster graphics to provide animation of text, drawings, and still images. It also supported audio and video streaming. Adobe Flash Player can display Flash content on various computing platforms. The latest version of Adobe Flash CC Professional was available through Creative Cloud.
Adobe Flash is discontinued software and was replaced by Adobe Animate CC.
Company or developer:
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Animate CC for Mac is successor of discontinued Adobe Flash Professional. It allows users to create interactive animations including Flash/AIR, HTML5 Canvas, WebGL platforms.
Adobe Flash Player
(obsolete software)
Company or developer:
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Flash Player was an add-on to the operating system that played Adobe Flash animations and movies in Web browsers. It supported a variety of operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc.
Support for Flash ended on December 31, 2020.
List of software applications associated to the .swf file extension
Recommended software programs are sorted by OS platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android etc.)
and possible program actions that can be done with the file: like open swf file, edit swf file, convert swf file, view swf file, play swf file etc. (if exist software for corresponding action in File-Extensions.org's database).
Hint:
Click on the tab below to simply browse between the application actions, to quickly get a list of recommended software, which is able to perform the specified software action, such as opening, editing or converting swf files.
Software that open swf file - ShockWave Flash, Animated vector format for the Internet
Programs supporting the exension swf on the main platforms Windows, Mac, Linux or mobile. Click on the link to get more information about listed programs for open swf file action.
Microsoft Windows:
Main software associated with swf file by default: Adobe Animate CC
Adobe Flash (obsolete/discontinued)
Other suggested software:
Revelation Natural Art (obsolete/discontinued)
SWFTools
SWF and FLV Toolbox
Apple macOS / Mac OS X:
Main software associated with swf file by default: Adobe Animate CC for Mac
Other suggested software: Adobe Flash for Mac