Flash Documentation

Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR Logo

On this page, we will review Adobe AIR.

What is Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR (codenamed Apollo) runtime enables developers to use HTML, JavaScript, Adobe Flash software, and ActionScript to build web applications that run as standalone client applications without the constraints of a browser. This supports AIR files for installation. Adobe AIR's logo history falls under Adobe's Flash Player logo history, having similar logos. Adobe AIR was discontinued at the same time that Flash Player was discontinued, on January 1st, 2021.

How to use Adobe AIR in 2022

You can download the most recent version of Adobe AIR here, or install older versions.

If you need to uninstall it, open Command Prompt or Run in Windows, use path to AdobeAIRInstaller.exe -uninstall and enter. Otherwise, use this Microsoft blog post.

Adobe AIR Logo History

2008 2010 2013 2015

2008 - 2010

2010 - 2013

2013 - 2015

2015 - Present

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Adobe Director

Adobe Director Logo

On this page, we will review Adobe Director.

What is Adobe Director

Adobe Director is very similar to Adobe Flash Player, but they are both completely different things. Instead of SWF files, it uses DCR files. It can also use Apple Inc.'s Quicktime, used to support media, and the 3DO Company's 3DO Console Engine. Adobe Director's last version was 12, released on February 11th, 2013. The product would be later discontinued in a range from February 1st to March 14th of 2017.

Plug-ins

One of the few differences between Director and Flash is that Director supports plug-ins or Xtras. This is possible by a tool named Adobe Director's XDK (Xtra Development Kit), which is a C++ SDK. With each new version, new changes are important for these plug-ins.

How to use Adobe Director after 2017

Adobe Director has standalone apps that have DCR files pre-loaded (example).

You can download the most recent version of Projector Skeleton for Adobe Director here for using DCR files onto a Windows app. It will ask you once you open the application, to put in a DCR file. Make sure that the plugin is in the same folder (directory) as the DCR file. You can download a example DCR game here.

If you have issues about 16-bit apps with Director, you may view how to run them on Windows 10 or above.

Adobe Director Logo History

Macromind Videoworks

1985 - 1987

Version 1

1987 - 1989

Version 2

Macromind Director

1989 - 1990

Version 1

1990 - 1991

Version 2

1991 - 1992

Version 3

1992 - 1993

Version 3.1

Macromedia Director

1993 - 1994

Version 3.1.3

1994 - 1996

Version 4

1996 - 1997

Version 5

1997 - 1998

Version 6

1998 - 2000

Version 7

2000 - 2001

Version 8

2001 - 2002

Version 8.5

2002 - 2007

Versions 9-10

Adobe Director

2007 - 2008

Version 11

2008 - 2010

Version 11.5

2010 - 2012

Version 12

Adobe Shockwave

Adobe Shockwave Logo

On this page, we will go over Adobe Shockwave.

What is Adobe Shockwave

Adobe Shockwave is mostly Adobe Director, however, it's a browser plug-in like Adobe Flash. It also supports DIR, DCR, DXR files. It can also help companies build multimedia apps. The latest version is 12.3.5.205 released on April 9th, 2019. Adobe discontinued Shockwave on the same day.

How to use Adobe Shockwave after 2019

There's a full version and a slim version you can install (recommended to have Windows Vista or 7). These versions are both 12.3.5.205. If you need older versions, click here.

Adobe Shockwave Logo History

Macromedia Player 199? - 1995 Macromedia Shockwave 1995 - 1997 1997 - 2005 Adobe Shockwave 2005 - 2011 2011 - 2013 2013 - 2015 2015 - Now

Macromedia Player

199? - 1995

Macromedia Shockwave

1995 - 1997

1997 - 2005

Adobe Shockwave

2005 - 2011

2011 - 2013

2013 - 2015

2015 - Now

Adobe Flash Logo History

1996 - 2002 2002 - 2006 2006 - 2008 2008 - 2010 2010 - 2013 2013 - 2015 2015 - 2020

1996 - 2002

Versions 1 - 5

2002 - 2006

Versions 6 - 8

2006 - 2008

Versions 8.5 - 9

2008 - 2010

Version 10

2010 - 2013

Versions 11 - 11.9

2013 - 2015

Versions 12 - 17

2015 - 2020

Versions 18 - 32; 50 (Enterprise)

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How to use Flash after 2021

If you want to use Flash in a browser or an app, follow these instructions.

Browser Installation

If there is Flash Player already installed, use the Uninstaller for Windows, otherwise use the Uninstaller for Mac OS X - 10.6 or higher, or the Uninstaller for Mac OS X - 10.4 & 10.5.

After that, run an installer from the table of installers depending on your device with the version you want. The versions suffixed with “pep” are PPAPI (WebKit and Blink), the ones with “ax” are ActiveX (Trident and EdgeHTML) and the ones without suffix are NPAPI (Gecko and Goanna). Follow the instructions on the installer that you chose. Reminder that most major browsers such as Google Chrome, FireFox, and many more, will no longer accept any flash version.

Next, find a browser that allows Flash plug-ins, you can visit this page to find some.

Windows

Macintosh

Linux i386

Macintosh (pkg)

Linux x86_64

App/SWF Installation

In the "SWF Installation", an already installed app is waiting for you. However, you'll need a SWF file (Shockwave Flash) to run. I left a SWF game here for you to try out.

How to fix the "missing Flash.ocx" error after Windows 2000

If you are having errors that say cannot create, or find flash.ocx, follow these steps.

If you haven't installed Flash Player yet, please click here.
Find in Windows Explorer: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash, and find the file Flash.ocx (may look different depending on which version flash is). If you can't find it, look in instead: C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash, System32, or SysWOW64.
If you still can't find Flash.ocx anywhere, you may have to download it, then put it in C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash.
Copy the file, then rename said copied file to flash.ocx, DO NOT RENAME OR MOVE THE ORIGINAL FILE, and paste it in both: System32 and/or SysWOW64. [The flash.ocx file should look like flashversion.ocx (for example flash9.ocx)]

Try the program, or screensaver, out now to see if it works.

AMD GPU Fix for Flash Player

Thanks to Djracem on Reddit for contributing to this page.

AMD adrenalin drivers 22.5.2, and later, are causing Flash to only display a colored background associated with the background of Flash Player. To not roll back pre-22.5.2, disable "Hardware Accel" on Macromed\Flash and on mms.cfg. Run, and make sure Command Prompt is run as administrator, and then copy the Batchfile code below.
mkdir "%WINDIR% \SysWoW64\Macromed\Flash" NUL & echo DisableHardwareAcceleration "WINDIR% \SysWoW64\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg"

Browsers that support the Flash Player plug-in

To use a working version of Flash Player, you would have to find browsers that support the Flash Player plug-in. But since the Flash shutdown of 2021, major browsers like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and more do not support the flash player plug-in. You can see some of the browsers that support the plug-in here.

Basilisk
Waterfox
Pale Moon
Mypal
K-Meleon
Opera (Older versions 12.00 - 12.17)

Flash Player for Android

Adobe AIR and Adobe Flash Player for Android are no longer supported. You can download them using these APK files and make it work in 2022.

Adobe Flash Player for Android (v11)
Adobe AIR

Tools for Flash Player

These tools can be used for Flash Player.

FlashPatcher
SWF to EXE Converter
EXE to SWF Converter

How to Run Apps in Screensavers

Please note that AT Products LLC never created any of these files. Credits to IoI_xD on Reddit. The reason this relates to Flash is you may need this section for a .EXE file that contains Flash content that is supposed to be a screensaver.

Firstly, to get it to actually run, you'll first need to download and run this registry file. You will get a warning upon running it, It is indeed safe.

After that you should be able to click on it and it will exactly as shown above, but what about getting it to automatically run as a screensaver? Windows doesn't allow you to run .exe files as savers anymore, so you will have to do a bit of extra set up. Before anything, you'll need a consistent place to save all these files. We recommend C:\Windows\System32 because that's where all the screensavers are normally stored.

Secondly, you'll need to download Screen Launcher. Save it to a place on your computer, then right click it and select "Install". Then right click the .scr file and click install, you shall be taken to the screensaver settings automatically. Optionally to prevent issues, put Screen Launcher into C:\Windows\System32. If you're not on the screen and you're on Windows Vista or above, press WIN + R and type into Run control desk.cpl,,@screensaver to enter Screensaver Settings and select Screen Launcher. Click settings on the screensaver and navigate it to where you saved the screensaver (e.g. C:\Windows\System32\Bobsaver.exe).

Now the screensaver works, but there's still a problem: it doesn't exit as it should. You can't move your mouse to exit it like normal. Instead, you have to press "ESC", which doesn't exit the program but minimizes it. Not much can be about the mouse, but what could be done is make it so that the ESC key exits the program completely. Download AutoHotKey and install it. Once it's installed, download a .ahk file, then move it to C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup, or press WIN + R and type into Run shell:startup to go to the folder. What the script will do is bind the ESC key to the ALT + F4 function, but only when the screensaver is running. Just double click the file and it should start running. You can now experience the screensaver as it was meant to be seen.

Flash Games for Today's Times

Browser Games

Browser games are not that popular due to the 2020s having modern and widely used browsers not supporting the original Flash Engine. Either websites went to HTML5 games or replaced their engines with Ruffle or others.

Newgrounds. This is a special one as they allow any users to post content. They replaced their engine with their downloadable one.

There's tons of generic flash games, like the following:
CrazyGames
Armor Games
Kongregate
Poki
Addicting Games
NuMuKi

If you want to support high quality games, you can do so on Steam.

App Games

Not many Flash games are on apps, mostly after 2020.

Flashpoint, it contains a ton, mostly flash games.
Archive.org, it contains tons of SWF files for the App installation.

Flash Engines and AlternativesBrowser Supports

Ruffle

Apps

These ones are for computers, if you use Android, click here for the browsers or click here for the actual flash engine.

Ruffle
FlashPoint