SWF
SWF (/ˈswɪf/) is a defunct Adobe Flash file format that was used for multimedia, vector graphics and ActionScript.
| Filename extension |
.swf |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
application/vnd.adobe.flash.movie, application/x-shockwave-flash |
| Magic number | CWS,FWS or ZWS |
| Developed by | FutureWave Software, later taken over by Macromedia and Adobe Systems |
| Type of format | Vector graphic animation |
| Container for | Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash), sometimes labeled Shockwave Flash Object. |
Originating with FutureWave Software, then transferred to Macromedia, and then coming under the control of Adobe, SWF files can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function. They may also occur in programs, commonly browser games, using ActionScript.
Programmers can generate SWF files from within several Adobe products, including Flash, Flash Builder (an IDE), Adobe Animate (a rename of Adobe Flash since 2016), and After Effects, as well as through MXMLC, a command-line application compiler which forms part of the freely-available Flex SDK. Although Adobe Illustrator can generate SWF format files through its "export" function, it cannot open or edit them. Other than using Adobe products, one can build SWFs with open-source Motion-Twin ActionScript 2 Compiler (MTASC), the open-source Ming library and the free-software suite SWFTools. Various other third-party programs can also produce files in this format, such as Multimedia Fusion 2, Captivate and SWiSH Max.
The term "SWF" has originated as an abbreviation for ShockWave Flash. This usage was changed to the backronym Small Web Format to eliminate confusion with a different technology, Shockwave, from which SWF derived. There is no official resolution to the initialism "SWF" by Adobe.
Adobe declared its Flash player EOL on December 31, 2020. On January 12, 2021, it pushed an update to its Flash player that blocked all Flash content from running.