.SWF File Description

The SWF (Small Web Format) file format is a proprietary vector graphics file created by Adobe's (formerly known as Macromedia) "Flash" application.

SWF files often contain animations or interactive applets and are also sometimes used to create menus for DVD movies and TV commercials. Due to the small size of these files SWF are most often published on the internet, sometimes seamlessly integrated with standard text web pages to make them more interesting.

The Flash application creates these SWF files in a compressed and un-editable format (although it is possible to edit .SWF files via reverse engineering), ready for publishing. During the editing phase, Flash uses the .fla extension/format.

SWF files are most often played within a web browser. To play a flash movie, you will need to download the free Flash player plugin which is available from the Adobe website. Adobe claims that over 97% of web users have the SWF plugin installed!

Other Information For .SWF File Extension

• Company:

  Adobe Systems Incorporated.

• File Type:

  Macromedia Shockwave Flash Object File

• Identifying Characters (Hex):

  46 57 53

• Identifying Characters (ASCII):

  FWS