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I created a .swf file and want to play it on my computer. At first, I realized I did not have Adobe Flash for Firefox, so I installed it this way. Then, I tried playing the .swf file again, and now the following message shows up

application/x-shockwave-flash decoder is required to play the file, but it is not installed

I looked it up on the Ubuntu Software center but could not find it. Could somebody tell me how to install it? Here is some info about my computer

EDIT: At first, I tried opening the file with the default video player on Ubuntu and this is what appears. Afterwards, I tried opening the file using Firefox and now this appears. Every time I click on "Ok" another tab is opened with the same message.

eemg
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  • If you don't get a better solution, Google Chrome has its own bundled Flash player. My understanding is that it's going to be disabled at the end of this year, but it *may* play your file for now and may be worth trying. Chromium does *not* come with the bundled Flash player. – KGIII Oct 16 '20 at 00:49
  • @GunnarHjalmarsson I've edited my question – eemg Oct 16 '20 at 01:13
  • @KGIII If it is going to be disabled, is there any other software I can use to open the file? – eemg Oct 16 '20 at 01:17
  • Flash isn't long for the world. After it is disabled, the [Pepper Flash](https://wiki.debian.org/PepperFlashPlayer) plugin will still exist, though I'm not sure how you'd go about using it. Even [Adobe](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/adobe-flash-end-of-support) is killing Flash at the end of this year. Your best bet is to start moving to another format. – KGIII Oct 16 '20 at 01:26
  • @GunnarHjalmarsson I checked that it works using the page you mention (it does work). I also see "Shockwave Flash" in my enabled plugins. In fact, [this](https://imgur.com/733qaT4) is what appears, and if I click on "Update now" another tab is opened with [this message](https://imgur.com/qHPo4uj) – eemg Oct 16 '20 at 14:54
  • @eemg: You seem to have an old outdated version of Flash (the 31 variant) installed together with the newer one. Maybe try to remove the old one somehow. – Gunnar Hjalmarsson Oct 16 '20 at 15:01
  • @GunnarHjalmarsson I uninstalled the old version but still get the same message "application/x-shockwave-flash decoder is required to play the file, but is not installed". – eemg Oct 16 '20 at 15:17
  • @eemg: Then I'm out of ideas, sorry. – Gunnar Hjalmarsson Oct 16 '20 at 15:32

2 Answers2

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Flash is deprecated technology and the (Shockwave) Flash decoder is no longer part of the Ubuntu Software Center. Please use the standalone Adobe Flash Player Projector available for download on Adobe's website here:

https://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/debug_downloads.html

The Linux version is in a nested archive, so you will need to click twice to get to the actual program.

muru
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  • Note that this is no longer valid - Adobe no longer provides downloads for Flash player, even legacy versions. And I would not trust any third party links to be 'safe' or not. – Thomas Ward Nov 14 '22 at 14:25
  • I found a perfectly functional Flash Player Projector [here](https://archive.org/details/adobe-flash-player-projector). Using `lsof` and `strace` it does not appear to do anything harmful, although @ThomasWard has a valid point. – Jos Apr 13 '23 at 15:34
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You can view most Flash files on Linux with Lightspark:

https://lightspark.github.io/

It's free and open source.

Jacket
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