Flash animations are a classic form of internet media, and in principle can only be streamed from the web. If you want to watch the animation whenever you want, you will have to save it to your computer. While saving a flash animation isn't as easy as saving a standard file, it is possible to do so if you have the right browser.
Steps
Method 1 of 6: View Page Info in Firefox
Step 1. Open the video site in Firefox
Navigate to the Flash animation you want to view. Firefox is the easiest browser to use if you want to download a Flash file directly from a website.
This method will not work with YouTube, Vimeo and other streaming sites. This is for Flash animations and games on sites like Newgrounds. To be able to download YouTube videos, you need method 4. If you right click on the video itself, you will not find an option to view the page source. You have to click somewhere in the page where there is no video or link
Step 2. Visit the website with the animation you want to view
Once the animation has loaded in Firefox, right-click on the page. Make sure you click on the background of the page, not on the Flash object itself.
Step 3. Select “View Page Info” from the menu
This will open a box with detailed information about the website you are viewing. At the top of the box, you'll see a series of tabs with different types of information about the site.
Step 4. Click on the Media icon
Displays a list of all the site's multimedia objects, such as buttons and banners. It also contains the animation.SWF file. Click on the Type column header in the list to select by object type.
Step 5. Locate the Flash file
The video will be in.SWF format and will be listed as "Object" or "Embed" in the Type column. The name of the file is often the same as the title of the animation on the website. Select it from the list and click "Save As…". Give the file a name of your choice and click Save.
Step 6. Play the video
Once you have downloaded the video, you can open it in any browser that has Flash installed. When you first try to play the file, Windows may tell you to specify a program to do so. If your browser is not in the list of suggested programs, search your computer. Most browser programs are located in the Program Files folder on your hard drive, in a folder with the developer's name (Google, Mozilla, etc.).
You can also click on the file and then drag and drop it into your browser window
Method 2 of 6: Copying SWF files from the browser cache
Step 1. Open Internet Explorer
To view your Temporary Internet Files, open the Tools menu and then select Internet Options. In the General tab, select Settings and then View files. You can also search your computer for Temporary Internet Files if you are not using Internet Explorer.
Step 2. Right click and sort the files by address
Find the address of the website where the file is located. The website may still have part of the address in front of it, such as farm.newgrounds.com.
Step 3. Locate the files with a SWF extension
This is the extension for Flash files. This could be movies or games, or even advertisements. Look for a file with a name similar to the video you're trying to download. Right click on the file and select Copy. Paste the file in a folder that you can easily find again.
Step 4. Play the video
Once you've copied the file to a new location, you can open it to view the animation. You can open the file in a web browser or a standalone SWF player.
To open the file in a browser, click and drag the file into the browser window
Method 3 of 6: Finding the page source in Chrome
Step 1. Go to the website that contains the animation you are looking for
Once the animation has loaded in Chrome, right-click on the page.
Step 2. Select "View Page Source"
This will open the source code of the page, in a new tab.
Step 3. Look for the flash animation
The easiest way to do this is to press Ctrl + F to open the search box. Type ".swf" or ".flv" to search for flash files on the website.
Note: Not all video files can be found this way, especially if they are opened with another player. If you cannot find the file you are looking for, use one of the other methods
Step 4. Copy the partial url of the flash file
This is usually a long string of characters, separated by backslashes, surrounded by quotes and closed by a flash extension (e.g. “content/dotcom/en/devnet/actionscript/animationname.swf”). Select everything inside the quotes, but not the quotes themselves, and copy it by pressing Ctrl + C.
Step 5. Open a new tab
Type in the base URL of the web page where you found the flash video. For example, if you found it on example.com, type "www.example.com". However, do not press Enter yet.
Step 6. Paste the partial url
Paste the url you copied from the page source at the end of the base url, and press Enter. This will open the flash video itself. Just make sure you didn't include any of the quotes.
Step 7. Click on the Chrome menu
The button is located in the top right corner of the Chrome window. Select "Save page as" and save the file somewhere on your computer where you can easily find it again. Give it a name so you can quickly find it again.
Step 8. Play the video
Once you have saved the file, you can open it to watch the video. You can view the file in a web browser, or with the separate (standalone) SWF player.
To open the file in a browser, click on it and drag it into the browser window
Method 4 of 6: Using a download manager
Step 1. Install a download manager
Firefox is the most popular browser when it comes to adding extensions, and it can be downloaded for free from the Mozilla website. One of the best free extensions for downloading content is DownloadHelper.
- DownloadHelper gives you the option to download media files from any website you visit. This means that you can also save Flash videos and games. This extension can also be used for YouTube videos.
- You can download standalone download managers that function in the same way if you prefer not to use Firefox.
Step 2. Go to the website with the video you want
When the video starts playing, the DownloadHelper icon will spin in the top right corner of the screen. A small arrow will appear next to it. Click the arrow for multiple download options.
Step 3. Select the file
When you click on the arrow, you will see a list of all media files on the page. If the video has an advertisement, both will be shown. The video has a file name that does not match the title.
Step 4. Wait for the download to complete
Once you have selected the file, the download will begin. You can monitor the progress in the Firefox download window. This window can be found by going to the main Firefox menu and clicking Downloads.
Method 5 of 6: Using an iOS device
Step 1. Download and install an app that can play Flash files
Flash does not support iOS devices. This means that you need an app to play Flash files. There are several apps available through the App Store, including Puffin Browser Free, Photon Browser, and iSwifter.
Step 2. Open a website with Flash in your new browser
You cannot download Flash files from websites running iOS (unless an official download option is provided), so you will have to use the new browser to load the Flash files while visiting the page. Flash performance in the browser depends on the age of your iOS device.
Step 3. Download Flash files to a computer and then move them to your iOS device
If you really want to access the Flash files on your iOS device, you will need to download them to your computer before using any of the above methods. Once downloaded, you can email it to yourself or use a cloud storage to send it to your iOS device and open it with your Flash browser.
Method 6 of 6: Using an Android device
Step 1. Enable the installation of apps from unknown sources
Adobe no longer supports Flash for Android, and all official apps have been removed from the Play Store. You will have to manually install an older version of Flash. This makes your device a lot more insecure, because Flash is no longer updated by Adobe.
- Open Settings and select "Security"
- Check the box next to "Unknown sources".
Step 2. Download a Flash Player APK file on your Android device
Use your Android browser to download the latest version of Android here. This may not work on newer versions of the Android operating system.
Step 3. Run the APK file after downloading
When the download is complete, tap the notification bar to install it.
Step 4. Download Flash files on your computer and move them to your Android device
It is not possible to download Flash files to your Android device unless the Flash file itself has a Download option. To get embedded Flash videos and games, use one of the above methods to download the file to your computer, then move it to your Android device.
- You can move files by connecting your Android device to your computer via USB. You can then drag and drop the downloaded files into a folder on your Android device, just as if it were a USB drive.
- Alternatively, you can use a Flash browser like Puffin or Photon to visit websites with Flash content and then just view the content on the site. It's necessary if your newer device doesn't support the Adobe Flash Player app. Chrome for Android does not support Flash, even if the Flash Player is installed. If you have Flash Player installed, you can use the default web app or browser app to view Flash content.
Step 5. Open the Flash file
Use a file manager to find the Flash files you've moved to your computer. When you tap on the Flash file, you will be asked what you want to use to open it. Select one of the Flash browsers or your default browser, if Flash Player is installed.
You may need to open browser settings to enable Flash before you can play Flash content
Tips
- Flash videos usually end in.swf or.flv, but this can vary.
- Once you've saved the file, you can open it with a web browser or with a program designed to run flash animations and videos (such as Adobe Flash Player or Adobe Shock Wave).