[thelist] which flash version should you be authoring in?

John Dowdell jdowdell at macromedia.com
Fri May 4 16:06:17 CDT 2001


At 8:58 AM 5/4/1, Lisa Frost wrote:
> I have flash 5 but was wondering, especially when I went to
> the publish settings should I be saving it as flash 5 version
> or an older version such as 4 to enable more people to see it?

As Erik noted, it depends. The Macromedia Flash 5 authoring tool can export
as various SWF versions.

For instance, if you're delivering a WebTV interface, and want to reach the
older models with an embedded Macromedia Flash 2 Player, then exporting as
SWF2 will strip out newer features like streaming audio and
alpha-transparency.

You can still view this older SWF file in your current Macromedia Flash
Player 5... matter of fact, that's a good way to test, and there's no need
to worry about installing an older player. Just export as the SWF version
you'd like to check, and play it in your current player. This will show you
exactly which features old versions support.


For "which should I use?" it really depends on the message, and the
audience. If it's mostly animation and shows no change when exported as
SWF4, then delivering as SWF4 is fine. If you want the predictable
interactivity, then that will usually require SWF5 export.

By the way, the Macromedia Flash Player 5 is going through an astounding
adoption rate... it arrived in Sept'00 and by mid-March over half of
consumers tested by Media Metrix already had it. The 4.0 Player was very
rapid but this... this 5.0 distribution is even beyond that.
<http://www.macromedia.com/software/player_census/flashplayer/version_penetr
ation.html>


jd





John Dowdell, Macromedia Tech Support, San Francisco CA US
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