Introduction to Flash

Design

Adobe Flash is a program that allows you to create interactive experiences. This software is combination of multimedia technologies developed by Adobe and earlier by Macromedia. Flash provides everything you need to create and deliver rich web content and powerful applications. Whether you're designing motion graphics or building data-driven applications, Flash has the tools to produce great results and deliver the best user experience across multiple platforms and devices.

Flash is an authoring tool that designers and developers use to create presentations, applications, and other content that enables user interaction. Flash projects can include simple animations, video content, complex presentations, applications, and everything in between. In general, individual pieces of content made with Flash are called applications, even though they might only be a basic animation. You can make media-rich Flash applications by including pictures, sound, video, and special effects.

File Formats and extensions

FLA: .fla files contain source material for the Flash application. Flash authoring software can edit FLA files and compile them into .swf files.

SWF: .swf files are completed, compiled and published files that cannot be edited with Adobe Flash. The complied .swf files can be embed in HTML page.

FLV: .flv files are Flash video files.

AS: .as files contain ActionScript in simple source files. This type of files can be linked to FLA files.

Files in the SWF format, traditionally called "Flash movies" or "Flash games", usually have a .swf file extension and may be an object of a web page, strictly "played" in a standalone Flash Player, or incorporated into a Projector, a self-executing Flash movie (with the .exe extension in Microsoft Windows). Flash Video (FLV) files have a .flv file extension and are used from within .swf files.