How To Open SWF Files In Windows/ Mac/ Android/ iPhone Device – Easy 3 Ways To Play SWF Files !!
Do you have any swf file , but you don’t know how to open swf file in offline mode or you just want to play a .swf file outside of your favorite browser. Whatever be the case , this post will give you all the possible ways and steps you need to follow to open any swf file in Windows/Mac/Android/iPhone device .
As we already know that most of the popular browsers stop supporting the adobe flash player , that basically means that the swf files will not be played in your browser automatically in the near future (as it normally does mow).
No worries anymore, as there many other ways to open and play any swf file format easily in your windows/mac device in offline/online mode. In this post , we will explore the different ways to open swf files easily using the renowned third party flash player/plugins available .
Before diving into the steps and ways , let’s first have glimpse of the basics. Then eventually we will proceed further to understand the application of swf file players .
What is a swf file format ?
SWF is the short form for small web format . It is basically the adobe flash file format (any file with the .swf extension). Being an extension for the Shockwave flash file format owned by Adobe , it can be used to deliver video, games , animation , or sound etc .
You can open a swf file/video in any browser that supports adobe flash player plugins . Recently it has been found that this flash is known source of attack for hackers and viruses and thus it has been abandoned by most of the browsers .
It is a compiled runtime program made with adobe flash. Thus you need a standalone plugin / player to open swf file format like the Adobe flash player , Elmedia player for Mac and swf players that can simply open and play your swf files easily.
How To Open A swf File In Your Windows 10 Device ? (In Offline/Online mode in Chrome/ IE/ Firefox Browsers)
It is very much evident from the above that we do require dedicated Adobe Flash Player or a swf player to open and play any swf file format . A .swf file is the compilation of of .fla files precisely .
Now here we will look into to the three most popular ways to play any swf file format in Windows device .
Note : Sometimes the swf files will be in the form of zip files that you right away downloaded from your browser. So first you need to extract the file after downloading it. Then you can simply drag it or open with the respective swf player installed in your Windows device.
1. Open swf files using the swf File player (Third Party App)
The first way is pretty straight forward. Here first you have to download the swf player from the Chrome browser. Follow the below steps as given here :
Download the swf file player from the below link in your Windows device
Firstly you need to download the freeware software in your Windows device. After downloading it , install it and then ‘Run‘ the application. (go through various on screen instructions)
Then you can quickly open any swf files and finally you can play it using this recently downloaded swf file player. The software can even automatically resize the application window as per your need.
In this method you can either choose any swf file and then open that file with the swf file player by right clicking on the the swf file (right click the file —> open with —> choose swf player option from the available media players to open/play that swf file) .
Or you can even open the swf file player and then navigate to the File option at the top , click on it and then Open the swf file saved in your Windows 10 device (by browsing through the location where the file is present)
After selecting the swf file from the file explorer , just click on the ‘Play‘ option .
Once you can able to open the swf file in the swf file player window, you can then easily rewind or play / pause the game or any flash animated video.
2. Open swf Files Using The Official Flash Player Projector Content Debugger From Adobe !!
No more 3rd party apps to install .You can right away use the official Adobe Flash player to play and open any swf file format in your Windows device. (this is not a debugger application in any way)
Download the Adobe Flash Player Debugger Here
For this just go to the link and download the debugger application from the Adobe official site based upon your system requirements (the type of operating system you have in your device).
On Windows after downloading the application, then you have to have to run the .exe file that you will get various on screen instructions that you have to follow .
After the successful download of the Adobe Flash Player debugger , now to open any swf file you can either drag and drop the file into the application Window or you can go to file then open the swf file by giving the file location or you can even enter the web path to open the swf file online .
You can easily resize the window to view the flash object that appears on the screen , also you can even manage the image quality , zoom settings and view the full screen mode easily etc.
3. You can simply use the VLC media player to play and open the swf files in offline mode
VLC is one of the most popular video player available today . Moreover the best thing is that it can support playing any swf file seamlessly . So just install a VLC player and start enjoying your games or any animations available in swf file format .
Now if you want to play any swf media in online mode i.e. in any browser then you should use some swf plugin. If you want to play in Chrome browser then there is no need to download any additional plugin, because the flash player plugin is already present in the Chrome browser.
If you want to play any swf file in any other browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox then you need to download a plugin like Cloud Flash Player or Puffin in order to open .swf files online .
How To Open swf Files In Your Mac Device ? (In Both Offline /Online Mode In Safari Browser)
Opening an playing the swf files in Windows is indeed easy an straightforward. But in Mac OS environment the options are pretty limited . Now if you want to open swf files in your Mac device , then you can anyways follow the below two methods :
1. Open swf Files Using Elmedia Player In Mac Device !!
The first method is to use the popular Elmedia player to open and play any swf files in your Mac device. Here you are required to first download the Elmedia player and then you can watch swf movies or videos in offline mode.
Download Elmedia Player Here !!
This application is completely free and further there is also a Pro version available. In the pro version you can also get extensive support of Airplay. ElMedia Player for Mac is definitely the best solution to view and access any swf files in Mac OS in the offline mode.
Firstly download the application for Mac and then install it in your Mac device (install it by going through various on screen instructions) . You can also use this player to play any other file formats other than swf.
Then to open an swf file, you just need to drag and drop the swf files onto the dock icon of the Elmedia player at the bottom of your Macbook screen.
You can even select the file option from the swf player menu (at the top) and then click on open. You can also right click on the animation in folder then click on open with and finally select the Elmedia player option to play the swf file.
If you want to view any swf file online then in the Safari Browser you may need to to activate the Adobe Flash Player plugin that is already available on your Mac device.
You can view the settings on your Safari Browser by going to preferences and then you can see the plugin section. Just select the flash player box to enable it (tick the option). Exit preferences and refresh your Safari Browser then finally you are good to go.
2. Use the official Adobe Flash Player Debugger and Projector App To Open swf File !!
To open and play the swf files , you just need to download the application then install it in your Mac device.
Download the Adobe Flash Player Debugger Here
Then finally you can drag and drop the swf files for opening any swf file with Adobe Flash Player installed in offline mode.
Also you can even click on open option and then choose the swf to open from your saved files in offline mode .
Once again if you want you can even use your VLC media player app to open and play any swf files.
Playing any swf file is indeed very easy in case of Windows OS , but if you are in a Mac device then it is bit complex to open any swf file.
Moreover you may even even change the format of swf file to MP4 file (mkv or anyother format) and then play it in your Mac device. For this conversion you can make use of the Freemaker video converter app.
3. How To Play swf Files in Android device ?
If you want to open and play any swf file in your Android device, then you have to rely completely on any third party app or a browser plugin. The swf player Apps will allow you to open and play any swf files on Android Phone or Tablet.
Most of these apps are free and easily available in the Play Store. You need to just install a file explorer app in order to to explore the swf files present in your mobile file manager.
The best app for opening and playing swf files in your Android device is the swf player Flash file viewer . Just open the swf file player app and then search for the swf file present in your phone with the .swf extension.
Then tap on the file to play the flash game or any swf video that you intend to open. For easy navigation you may also use a good file explorer app in your Android device to search the swf files faster.
4. How To Open And Play swf Files In iPhone ?
Flash is not supported on any Apple iOS devices , so again you need to install a third-party browser that can display the flash media. For this purpose you can use the browser named Puffin available on the app store. (for online viewing)
The swf format is not at all supported in any Mac devices for offline mode, that is why we have to use a third party app to convert the the file format into any Mac OS workable format that is a MKV , MP4 , MOV etc .
So we can’t play swf file in iPad or iPhone directly , but we can easily convert swf file to a supported format for iPad and iPhone. For this format conversion you may use the Wondershare uniconvertor video converter app for video conversion requirements which is simply very easy to use these days.
You can check the conversion app here
To play any swf file in the iPhone or iPad our sole intention is to change the format of the swf files before playing it in our iOS device . Once converted into a suitable format , then you can easily play it in your iOS device .
Finally if you still want to enjoy the swf files in iPhone , then you may directly use the official VLC player to open the swf files in any iOS device . Just download and install the VLC app in advance from the app store .