Topic: Let me tell you some things about Adobe Flash Player.

boof started this discussion 3 months ago #123,774

Flash Player is software for viewing material produced with the Flash software platform. More recently an Adobe company product, it was previously from Macromedia which Adobe bought. Flash Player is no longer being updated and released, except for use in China. It has several forms as plug-ins for different internet browsers, and an independent standalone version. Shockwave Flash (swf) files and Flash video (flv) files are viewable with Flash Player.

boof (OP) double-posted this 3 months ago, 1 day later[^] [v] #1,347,878

Flash video (flv) files however, require an swf applet that streams the flv for Flash Player to work. It is no matter for concern as a general video player such as VLC handles flv.

Flash Player versions
The ActiveX version is for the Internet Explorer browswer, and the Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) version is for older versions of Firefox and a few related browsers. The Pepper Plugin API (PPAPI) version was for Chrome and related browsers, but is now uncommon (Chrome 87 was the last to work with Flash). The installations automatically make both 32-bit and 64-bit software available, given that the operating system itself is 64-bit. The standalone version flashplayer_32_sa.exe does not install anything as it simply runs and does not create any folders of files anywhere. It does make a Windows Registry entry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Macromedia\FlashPlayer where recent files are listed. The program is 32-bit only.

boof (OP) triple-posted this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 2 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,348,192

The versions numbered 32.0.0.371 are the most recent non-Chinese versions that are good to use. Later versions have a built-in lockout or "timebomb" that makes Flash unusable, although the standalone version does not have that limitation. The file flashplayer32_0r0_371_winax.exe is for installing the ActiveX version, and the file flashplayer32_0r0_371_win.exe is for installing the NPAPI version. The PPAPI version can be installed with the file flashplayer32_0r0_371_winpep.exe. The standalone version flashplayer32_0r0_371_win_sa.exe, has been at number 32.0.0.465 for years, and might still be available from this link: https://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/updaters/32/flashplayer_32_sa.exe

Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 3 months ago, 16 hours later, 3 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,348,323

@previous (boof)
considering how cultish adobe and macromedia were about killing flash off im surprised they still offer dls on their site. bet theres malware innit.

boof (OP) replied with this 3 months ago, 7 hours later, 3 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,348,385

yip, it's a find.

oh, I've got to correct my previous post: trade in flashplayer_32_sa.exe where I put flashplayer32_0r0_371_win_sa.exe

boof (OP) double-posted this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 4 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,348,597

All of these Flash Player installation files can be found as part of a huge collection at https://archive.org/details/flashplayerarchive. On that page, click ZIP at the Download Options area to see a list of other zip files to choose from. The file fp_32.0.0.371_archive.zip has the Flash Player exe files described here for Windows, and also contains versions for Linux and Mac operating systems.

boof (OP) triple-posted this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 5 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,348,888

For information on disabling the timebomb in versions of Flash Player newer than 32.0.0.371, read instructions here:
https://charleswilkinson.co.uk/2021/01/12/how-to-use-flash-in-2021/
Also be aware that a Microsoft Windows 10 update named KB4577586 removes the ActiveX version Flash files, preventing use of Flash in Internet Explorer.
https://old.reddit.com/r/windows/comments/o0l84i/kb4577586_undo_flash_removal/
And, Microsoft Windows update KB5031356 disabled the Internet Explorer browser.
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/windows-10-october-update-disables-internet-explorer-11/
https://nosamu.medium.com/how-to-get-internet-explorer-back-on-windows-10-and-11-in-2023-bdb632299822
https://superuser.com/questions/1814761/force-internet-explorer-11-to-open-instead-of-edge-on-windows-10

Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 3 months ago, 14 hours later, 6 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,349,055

Breaking up with Adobe
James Lee (Animation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJBEAZFP0aA

Anonymous D joined in and replied with this 3 months ago, 21 hours later, 1 week after the original post[^] [v] #1,349,322

boof (OP) replied with this 3 months ago, 13 hours later, 1 week after the original post[^] [v] #1,349,441

When installing a Flash Player, be sure to click the radiobutton by the words "Never check for updates" when the Update Flash Flayer Preferences screen shows, and then click the DONE button. If installing a newer version when there is already a Flash Player installed, it should automatically replace the earlier flash version. However, Adobe has recommended to uninstall an existing version before installing another (of the same type, i.e. ActiveX or NPAPI). The file uninstall_flash_player.exe provides a way to do the uninstalling. It is from: https://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/support/uninstall_flash_player.exe
Instructions are at: https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

boof (OP) double-posted this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 1 week after the original post[^] [v] #1,349,737

Installing Flash Player on a computer with a 64-bit version of Windows will put the 64-bit Flash Player files into the C:\Windows\System32 folder, and the 32-bit Flash Player files into the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder, so that each will get a folder named Macromed containing a folder named Flash that holds the files. Prior to Flash Player version 11.3, installation files were specific to either 32-bit or 64-bit (and at some time prior again, there were no 64-bit versions).

boof (OP) triple-posted this 3 months ago, 2 days later, 1 week after the original post[^] [v] #1,350,043

The last version of Firefox that could handle Flash was Firefox 84. Also, Firefox 69 to 84 disabled Flash by default, requiring a change to settings to allow each website as encountered. The portable version reportedly does not work with Flash after Firefox 70.
There are several Firefox extensions that do something with swf files. These two are worth trying:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/ruffle_rs/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/flashplayer-swf-to-html/
The second extension listed here worked for me with the portable version of Firefox 86.01, though it did not activate swf files as quickly as using Internet Explorer.

boof (OP) quadruple-posted this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 1 week after the original post[^] [v] #1,350,465

Firefox forks that plan to continue NPAPI support, and by extension Flash Player support, include Basilisk, Pale Moon, Waterfox, K-Meleon, and Uzbl. However, they are not all actively updated. Read here for some detail about Flash and browswers: https://www.andkon.com/arcade/faq.php
This page has the Pale Moon browser for download, and instructions relating to Flash: https://github.com/dreamcentury/webbrowser-flash

SeaMonkey stopped supporting NPAPI plugins from version 2.53.1, with the exception of Flash. NPAPI support was completely removed in SeaMonkey 2.53.7. Documentation on Seamonkey is not well updated so ignore any claims that Flash is still usable. There may be browser entensions that enable some kind of ability to handle Flash:
https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-us/seamonkey/tag/flash
However, the one available that I tried did not work.

boof (OP) quintuple-posted this 3 months ago, 2 days later, 2 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,351,292

Various comments on the internet refer to a Flash Player version called a projector. That is another name for the standalone version. There are also many references to debugger versions. They are not necessary for ordinary use of Flash. Other sources of files have variations in the file names with ax (ActiveX version for Internet Explorer), np (NPAPI for Firefox and related browswers), pep (PPAPI for Chrome and related browswers), and sa (standalone). Those with no identifiable version letters are likely the NPAPI type. Also, there can be confusion with 32-bit versus 64-bit as the latest version of Flash Player was coincidentally version number 32.

boof (OP) sextuple-posted this 3 months ago, 2 days later, 2 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,351,666

Flash Player installation file sources
https://archive.org/details/flashplayer_old -Adobe Flash Player 32.0.0.371
http://gitlab.com/desbest/flash-player -Adobe Flash Player 32.0.0.465
https://archive.org/details/flashplayerarchive -copy of Adobe's collection of Flash Players up to 32.0.0.387
as seen here https://web.archive.org/web/20200701045943/https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html
https://www.dvd3000.ca/flash/ -collection of Flash Players up to 32.0.0.371
https://archive.org/details/Adobe_Flash_Player_Complete_Collection collection up to 32.0.0.465
https://archive.org/details/standalone_flash_player -has 9r280, 10, 32r101 versions, clocks, TV logos
https://retrosystemsrevival.blogspot.com/2023/06/clean-flash-player.html
https://gitlab.com/cleanflash/installer/-/releases -installers of cleaned Chinese versions of Flash Player

Officer Rooster !xi8/JKFwzo joined in and replied with this 3 months ago, 2 hours later, 2 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,351,701

One of the best flash games
https://beatablemeat.github.io/games/hexic/

Officer Rooster !xi8/JKFwzo double-posted this 3 months ago, 1 minute later, 2 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,351,702

This one goes nuts too
https://zenkakuhiragana.github.io/SpyboticsDCR/en-us.html

boof (OP) replied with this 3 months ago, 12 hours later, 2 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,351,825

@1,351,701 (Officer Rooster !xi8/JKFwzo)
oh, that's interesting to look at, with the hexagons in there
@previous (Officer Rooster !xi8/JKFwzo)
couldn't get this one to display though

Officer Rooster !xi8/JKFwzo replied with this 3 months ago, 11 hours later, 2 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,351,898

@previous (boof)
You never played hexic on the 360???

boof (OP) replied with this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 3 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,352,164

Firefox Portable browser, equipping with Flash
To be properly portable, meaning keeping its files contained within a folder that can be copied from computer to computer or ran from an externally connected device (such as a USB memory stick), the files required for Flash Player would ideally be contained within that same folder.
The organization that develops Firefox stopped support for loading plugins from app folders with Firefox 71 and above, so the files are only useful for portable versions of Firefox 70 or earlier.
This website provides the files and some instructions: https://rejzor.wordpress.com/portable-adobe-flash/

The files are on this page: https://filedn.com/lnvPcX6U6VsRaDgiBorwzF7/Adobe%20Flash%20Portable/
Get NPSWF32_32_0_0_371.7z for 32-bit and get NPSWF64_32_0_0_371.7z for 64-bit modes of Firefox. Firefox Portable is dual-mode 32-bit and 64-bit software, so both versions of Flash are useful to have too. Extract the files FlashPlayerPlugin_32_0_0_371.exe and NPSWF32_32_0_0_371.dll from the 7z file for 32-bit, and extract the file NPSWF64_32_0_0_371.dll from the 7z file for 64-bit.
To equip a Firefox Portable yourself, first get a portableapps.com Firefox 70 or earlier (it will be in a zip file), extract (unzip) it, go to the Firefox folder Data\plugins, and put in the Flash plug-in files that you extracted from the two 7z files.
This site has many earlier versions of Firefox Portable from https://portableapps.com/:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableapps/files/Mozilla%20Firefox%2C%20Portable%20Ed./
Alternatively, you can download a version of Firefox Portable 70 already equipped with Flash Player:
https://www.reddit.com/r/flash/comments/kwdwci/simple_solution_to_use_flash_after_january_12_2021/
That Firefox Portable file is available at: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnzhymuA0WxUgawGkXsnoWYxyzEJ_Q?e=aTy0Xv

boof (OP) double-posted this 3 months ago, 2 days later, 3 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,352,606

Upon running the Firefox Portable, be sure that the the Firefox setting "Automatically install updates (recommended)" is disabled to prevent any change that would cause the Flash Player to not work anymore. When starting, Firefox tries to load the system installation of the Flash plug-in if it finds any, regardless of what we have done with the Firefox Portable. You need to change settings in the Configuration Editor (enter "about:config" in Firefox's address bar) to disable this behavioar. Specifically, check that app.update.auto, app.update.checkInstallTime, app.update.enabled, and app.update.service.enabled are all set to false. Set plugins.load_appdir_plugins to true. (If all of that did not work, try other settings that you find by searching about:config for plugin or flash.) Also, delete any links to update servers for settings that start with "app.update...". Delete the file named updater.exe (two of them?) that you can find in the Firefox Portable folder.

To enable drag-and-drop and loading of swf files locally, set plugins.http_https_only to false in about:config.

boof (OP) triple-posted this 3 months ago, 2 days later, 3 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,353,194

On particularly high-definition monitors, Flash might not look very good. The effect has to do with how Flash Player is not "DPI aware" (DPI is dots-per-inch) and does not do special processing that would make it look better. In about:config, Try setting layout.css.devPixelsPerPx to 1 to disable Firefox's DPI awareness (which is enabled with the default value -1) and see if that agrees any better with Flash Player's display. You can adjust to other values such as 0.5 or 2 for scaling half or twice as much.

Anonymous F joined in and replied with this 3 months ago, 12 hours later, 3 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,353,254

This thread is very informative and helpful. I came here from the summoning angels topic, and began to peruse some of other all-time greatest topics here. I believe this one will go down in history as one of the best

Anonymous G joined in and replied with this 3 months ago, 13 minutes later, 3 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,353,255

@previous (F)

What other topics did you enjoy?

Anonymous F replied with this 3 months ago, 4 hours later, 3 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,353,284

@previous (G)
Just this one.

boof (OP) replied with this 3 months ago, 1 day later, 4 weeks after the original post[^] [v] #1,353,602

other portable browsers
This site provides a download link to portable Basilisk with Shockwave and Flash Player plug-ins (32-bit):
https://habbolegacy.com/help/browser
https://www.mediafire.com/file/4dltkhxuloi898u/Basilisk-Portable.zip/file
Here, a portable Basilisk is provided with Flash Player, and plug-ins for sid, mod, and midi files:
https://archive.org/details/basilisk-portable-with-flash_202502
Here, another portable Basilisk was provided, but the link to it was bad when I checked:
https://old.reddit.com/r/flash/comments/189xjvb/how_to_run_flash_content_in_2023/
Here is another portable Firefox with Flash, and also a Chrome portable with Flash:
https://archive.org/details/Firefox_Chrome_Adobe_Flash
Instructions on using portable Pale Moon and Flash Player are given here:
https://www.deviantart.com/redballbomb/journal/A-way-to-save-flash-player-865991461
The Pale Moon instructions originally came from this link, which also has information about Java and Shockwave:
http://andkon.com/arcade/faq.php

boof (OP) double-posted this 2 months ago, 2 days later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,354,031

Flash player software and general player software that handles Flash:
Be aware that some of these rely on Adobe Flash player already being installed.
https://www.globfx.com/products/swfplayer/ -Swiff Player, a Flash player
http://www.swffileplayer.com/ -SWF File Player, a Flash player
https://www.softsea.com/download/SWF-File-Player.html
https://www.vector-ski.ru/vecs/arflashplayer.htm -ARFlashPlayer, a Flash player
https://www.swfmax.com/ -SWF.max Player, a Flash player
https://ruffle.rs/ -Ruffle, a Flash player and browser extensions
https://lightspark.github.io/ -Lightspark, a Flash player
https://github.com/lightspark/lightspark/releases/expanded_assets/0.8.7 -list of files for download
https://www.y8.com/download-app -Y8 Browser, but not a browser, it is a Flash player. skeevy?
the file to download is not an offline-capable installer.
https://github.com/radubirsan/FlashBrowser/releases/tag/v0.81 -FlashBrowser, a flash player
https://github.com/radubirsan/FlashBrowser/releases/expanded_assets/v0.81 -list of files for download
https://gitlab.com/cleanflash/installer -Clean Flash Player, modified Flash Player built from Chinese version
https://ccm.net/downloads/video/6471-e-m-total-video-player/ -Total Video Player, general, handles Flash too
https://www.kmplayer.com/pc -KMPlayer, general video player, handles Flash too
https://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/ -GNU Gnash, a Flash player that never got developed
http://tulrich.com/geekstuff/gameswf.html -gameswf, a Flash player that never got developed

boof (OP) triple-posted this 2 months ago, 2 days later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,354,481

methods to enable Flash:
Here are various instructions to make Flash Player work on Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer 11:
https://superuser.com/questions/1616866/use-flash-player-after-12-jan-2021
This K-lite codec pack enables software such as Media Player Classic to play swf files:
https://codecguide.com/download_k-lite_codec_pack_mega.htm
The Flash Patch works to allow use of Flash Player version 32.0.0.465:
https://github.com/darktohka/FlashPatch
Reddit had a guide about restoring Flash Player usage on Windows 10:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210128133540/https://www.reddit.com/r/flash/comments/l2fb7e/guide_how_to_restore_flash_on_windows_10/

boof (OP) quadruple-posted this 2 months ago, 2 days later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,354,907

Flash swf content sources:
https://archive.org/details/flasharchive -list of collections of files for download
https://flashpointarchive.org/ -Flash software and content source, 1.9 MB exe file for online installation,
1.1 GB 7z file for offline installation
https://flashmuseum.org/ -place to look at converted Flash movies and games in modern browser
http://swfchan.com/ -another place with swf files
https://edmullen.net/fclock.php -collected Flash clocks
https://beatablemeat.github.io/games/ -games

Anonymous H joined in and replied with this 2 months ago, 2 days later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,355,459

Thanks

Anonymous I joined in and replied with this 2 months ago, 15 minutes later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,355,460

> No mention of Dagobah Flash Gallery
You had one job.

boof (OP) replied with this 2 months ago, 10 hours later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,355,555

@1,355,459 (H)
Certainly
@previous (I)
here it is: https://dagobah.net/

(Edited 7 minutes later.)

boof (OP) double-posted this 2 months ago, 3 days later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,356,322

ongoing discussion about Flash:
The reddit site is mostly people seeking help with finding or playing a specific Flash work.
https://old.reddit.com/r/flash/
https://old.reddit.com/r/flash/comments/tqa7ex/how_to_get_adobe_flash_player_again_in_2022/

boof (OP) triple-posted this 2 months ago, 2 days later, 1 month after the original post[^] [v] #1,356,760

Many sites had Flash animations prior to the ubiquity of youtube. There was Icebox (Hard Drinkin' Lincoln, Mr. Wong), Homestar Runner (featuring Strongbad's emails), Rather Good, Albinoblacksheep, and Weebl come to mind. They are still around, though you are more likely to be seeing youtube equivalent videos.

Minichan