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EdP · 10-19-2005, 07:03 AM

Is there a way to download a shockwave file (SWF) so it can be played from the PC instead of from its web site?

**mairving** · 10-19-2005, 07:31 AM

Usually you can pick it out of your browser cache. Browser cache in XP/2000 in located in C:\Documents and Settings\your_username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files . You need to make sure that you can view hidden files to see the Local Settings folder.

EdP · 10-19-2005, 07:54 AM

Thanks for the quick reply, mairving ...

Unfortunately, no SWF file was in that folder, so I cleared it out and ran the SWF from the site again - no soap.

EdP

Statica · 10-19-2005, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdP

Thanks for the quick reply, mairving ...

Unfortunately, no SWF file was in that folder, so I cleared it out and ran the SWF from the site again - no soap.

EdP

You're using IE, right?

Stryker · 10-19-2005, 08:52 AM

Kind of an involved process... but it works:

1. right click on the page containing the flash object

2. select "View Source" to view the page source code

3. search/find (Ctrl+F) for the word "embed" in the source code

4. in the embed section of the code, look for the "src="http://www.xxxxxxx.com/xxx/xxxxx/xxxxxx/.swf" part
NOTE: you may have to add the "http://www.xxxxxxx.com/xxxxx/xxxxx/" part if the site uses a direct link method.

5. copy the location of the flash object and paste it into a notepad file(.txt)

6. modify the notepad file to contain an HTML link to the file as below, but replace the regular () brackets with <> brackets:
(a href="FLASH OBJECT LINK HERE")FLASH OBJECT LINK HERE(/a)

7. save the notepad file as "temp.htm"

8. double-click the temp.htm file to open it in a browser

9. right click the link you created and select "Save Target As..."

10. take a rest after all that!

Even easier, show me where the object is and I'll do all that junk for you.

Hope this mumbo-jumbo is helpful,
Stryker

EdP · 10-19-2005, 09:26 AM

Statica ...
I'm not using IE; using Firefox. Sorry for not noting that in my earlier post.

Stryker ...
Before I ask you to do that for me, I just *gotta* try it myself first. Thanks for taking the time to jot down all that and for the generous offer. You may hear from me again.

EdP

Statica · 10-19-2005, 10:04 AM

Mairving's directions fine if you use IE. Try it out, takes about 30 seconds.

EdP · 10-19-2005, 11:15 AM

Thanks, folks.

I couldn't work Stryker's solution because the source was all code - no text in there at all. As suggested, I opened up the web site in IE and sure enough, found the SWF file in the temp internet folder.

New problem - the only program on my PC that could play it is ZoomPlayer. IrfanView said that it had an unknown file format and Nero Media Player just gave up without a reason. The problem with ZoomPlayer is that the user interaction doesn't work properly.

The SWF is named "Falling Woman" and can be found here:

http://www.izpitera.ru/lj/tetka.swf

You can use your mouse to manipulate her in many ways. It's the first time I've ever been able to control a woman.

If you have a viewing program that will allow you to smoothly interact with the file, let me know.

Again ... thanks for the help.

EdP

EdP · 10-19-2005, 11:24 AM

ooops ... not Nero Media Player, Nero Show Time.

**mairving** · 10-19-2005, 11:54 AM

Place the file in your C: drive, up up Notepad and paste the following in it:

PHP Code:


			
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">



<html>

<head>

    <title>Flash</title>

</head>



<body>

<a href="C:\tetka.swf">Flash File</a>





</body>

</html>

Save the file as flash.htm (need to change the default from text file to all files when saving).

Double-click the file, click on the link and enjoy.

Warning: Do not publish this on any public website unless you get permission from the site owner.

EdP · 10-19-2005, 12:15 PM

Thanks, mairving

Invoking that file should open my default browser with a Flash File link which plays the SWF file. I can drag the SWF file into my open browser as well. I thought maybe a non-browser standalone program would run it.
Please understand that I'm not obsessed with this particular file, I'm lookiing for solutions to tomorrow's problems as well.

BTW ... when I invoke the htm file you detailed, I get an Alert:
"c is not a registered protocol"

**mairving** · 10-19-2005, 12:26 PM

Oh yeah, Firefox will play it by opening the swf file. Firefox will not.

As far as a future solution, a swf file is a flash file. The intended use of flash files is on web pages. Most are generally not saved and played locally but can be. Because of this I don't really know of another way to do it.

sgtspector · 10-19-2005, 12:54 PM

Just remember there is only the illusion of control.

Statica · 10-19-2005, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdP

Thanks, mairving

Invoking that file should open my default browser with a Flash File link which plays the SWF file. I can drag the SWF file into my open browser as well. I thought maybe a non-browser standalone program would run it.
Please understand that I'm not obsessed with this particular file, I'm lookiing for solutions to tomorrow's problems as well.

BTW ... when I invoke the htm file you detailed, I get an Alert:
"c is not a registered protocol"

Try this:
save the following as flash.html in the SAME location as the swf file (say hello.swf)

PHP Code:


			
<html><body>

<OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"

codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"

WIDTH="550" HEIGHT="400" id="myMovieName">

<PARAM NAME=movie VALUE="hello.swf">

<PARAM NAME=quality VALUE=high>

<PARAM NAME=bgcolor VALUE=#FFFFFF>

<EMBED src="hello.swf" quality=high bgcolor=#FFFFFF WIDTH="550" HEIGHT="400"

NAME="myMovieName" ALIGN="" TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash"

PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">

</EMBED>

</OBJECT></body></html>

EdP · 10-19-2005, 04:14 PM

Sgtspector ..

I'll go with the illusion if that's all I can have ;o)

practical · 10-19-2005, 10:02 PM

Also you can look up a program called SoThink Flash Decompiler. It will not only save flash files, it can produce a .fla file that you can later alter.

It works great for simple movies with minimal functionality, but for more advanced movies it doesn't do such a good job.

juppy · 10-19-2005, 11:13 PM

I've been using the Maxthon browser for awhile now and it came with a nifty little plugin called Flash Save. All you do is go to the address where the swf file is at, click the Flash Save icon in the toolbar, and it'll bring up a new window and ask which file you want to save. Usually there's only the one that you're currently on....click that and tell it where to save it and you're done. I believe it was one of the plugins that came packed with the Maxthon download. If not, you can get it from their help site along with other handy plugins to do such things as viewing source code or re-enabling the right click feature on pages that have it disabled. Only real requirement is that you have to have IE 5 or higher installed on your computer. I guess it uses the core files from that....dunno. I tried to get you a link in case you wanted to try it, but www.maxthon.com seems to have a problem at the moment, so here's another download site that you can get it from if you want to try it out. CLICK HERE

EDIT: Bout forgot.....when you try to load the file it will probably ask you what program to use. I just use the Maxthon browser to load it but I would imagine IE or FF would work too.

ghost2003 · 10-19-2005, 11:16 PM

Media player classic can play flash files. But im not sure if it does out-of-the-box though. All you need to do is double click the file and it works.

I think you could also associate .swf files to IE and it would open IE to play them.

EdP · 10-20-2005, 06:30 AM

Thanks to all! I am more than satisfied.

Great forum.
EdP

10-19-2005, 07:03 AM	#1
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Download SWF? Is there a way to download a shockwave file (SWF) so it can be played from the PC instead of from its web site? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 07:31 AM	#2
mairving Staff Premium Member Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Arlington, TN Posts: 5,538	Usually you can pick it out of your browser cache. Browser cache in XP/2000 in located in C:\Documents and Settings\your_username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files . You need to make sure that you can view hidden files to see the Local Settings folder. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ Want to Make $$$$ with your Computer? No Risk! Simply press shift-4 four times in a row

10-19-2005, 07:54 AM	#3
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Thanks for the quick reply, mairving ... Unfortunately, no SWF file was in that folder, so I cleared it out and ran the SWF from the site again - no soap. EdP Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 08:52 AM	#5
Stryker It can never be too quiet Join Date: May 2004 Location: Burlington, Ontario Posts: 1,090	Kind of an involved process... but it works: 1. right click on the page containing the flash object 2. select "View Source" to view the page source code 3. search/find (Ctrl+F) for the word "embed" in the source code 4. in the embed section of the code, look for the "src="http://www.xxxxxxx.com/xxx/xxxxx/xxxxxx/.swf" part NOTE: you may have to add the "http://www.xxxxxxx.com/xxxxx/xxxxx/" part if the site uses a direct link method. 5. copy the location of the flash object and paste it into a notepad file(.txt) 6. modify the notepad file to contain an HTML link to the file as below, but replace the regular () brackets with <> brackets: (a href="FLASH OBJECT LINK HERE")FLASH OBJECT LINK HERE(/a) 7. save the notepad file as "temp.htm" 8. double-click the temp.htm file to open it in a browser 9. right click the link you created and select "Save Target As..." 10. take a rest after all that! Even easier, show me where the object is and I'll do all that junk for you. Hope this mumbo-jumbo is helpful, Stryker Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ Athlon XP 2800+ • Asus A7N8X (nVidia Nforce2) • Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB • 2x512MB KVR DDR PC3200 Dual Channel • 120GB Seagate 7200RPM 8MB • 160GB WD 7200RPM 8MB • Liteon DVD±RW DL • AOpen DVD±RW DL • Vantec Ion2 350W PSUSend me your picture for the Member Photo Gallery

10-19-2005, 09:26 AM	#6
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Statica ... I'm not using IE; using Firefox. Sorry for not noting that in my earlier post. Stryker ... Before I ask you to do that for me, I just gotta try it myself first. Thanks for taking the time to jot down all that and for the generous offer. You may hear from me again. EdP Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

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10-19-2005, 10:04 AM	#7
Statica Premium Member Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 9,231	Mairving's directions fine if you use IE. Try it out, takes about 30 seconds. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 11:15 AM	#8
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Thanks, folks. I couldn't work Stryker's solution because the source was all code - no text in there at all. As suggested, I opened up the web site in IE and sure enough, found the SWF file in the temp internet folder. New problem - the only program on my PC that could play it is ZoomPlayer. IrfanView said that it had an unknown file format and Nero Media Player just gave up without a reason. The problem with ZoomPlayer is that the user interaction doesn't work properly. The SWF is named "Falling Woman" and can be found here: http://www.izpitera.ru/lj/tetka.swf You can use your mouse to manipulate her in many ways. It's the first time I've ever been able to control a woman. If you have a viewing program that will allow you to smoothly interact with the file, let me know. Again ... thanks for the help. EdP Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 11:24 AM	#9
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	ooops ... not Nero Media Player, Nero Show Time. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 11:54 AM	#10
mairving Staff Premium Member Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Arlington, TN Posts: 5,538	Place the file in your C: drive, up up Notepad and paste the following in it: PHP Code: `<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>Flash</title> </head> <body> <a href="C:\tetka.swf">Flash File</a> </body> </html>` Save the file as flash.htm (need to change the default from text file to all files when saving). Double-click the file, click on the link and enjoy. Warning: Do not publish this on any public website unless you get permission from the site owner. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 12:15 PM	#11
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Thanks, mairving Invoking that file should open my default browser with a Flash File link which plays the SWF file. I can drag the SWF file into my open browser as well. I thought maybe a non-browser standalone program would run it. Please understand that I'm not obsessed with this particular file, I'm lookiing for solutions to tomorrow's problems as well. BTW ... when I invoke the htm file you detailed, I get an Alert: "c is not a registered protocol" Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 12:26 PM	#12
mairving Staff Premium Member Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Arlington, TN Posts: 5,538	Oh yeah, Firefox will play it by opening the swf file. Firefox will not. As far as a future solution, a swf file is a flash file. The intended use of flash files is on web pages. Most are generally not saved and played locally but can be. Because of this I don't really know of another way to do it. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 12:54 PM	#13
sgtspector Member (11 bit) Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Mt. Hope, NY Posts: 1,213	Just remember there is only the illusion of control. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ Asus P5ND2-SLi-Deluxe Mobo, Intel 3.0ghz P4 w/ht, 2 GB CORSAIR 667 DDR2, 1 GB Ultra DDR2 533 mhz PC4200 ram, BFGTech Nvidia 6600 GT OC SLi video card, WD 4000KS OEM SATA II HDD, Seagate 320gb SATA II HDD 7200rpm, WD 320 gb SATA II HDD, Creative Soundblaster Audigy Platinum, Sony DRU 720 DVD-RW, LG GCE8240B CD-RW, Maddog Multimedia 500w modular PSU & WinXP Pro SP2, Samsung BF960 19" LCD.

10-19-2005, 04:14 PM	#15
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Sgtspector .. I'll go with the illusion if that's all I can have ;o) Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 10:02 PM	#16
practical Member (2 bit) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3	Also you can look up a program called SoThink Flash Decompiler. It will not only save flash files, it can produce a .fla file that you can later alter. It works great for simple movies with minimal functionality, but for more advanced movies it doesn't do such a good job. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

10-19-2005, 11:13 PM	#17
juppy Professional Cow Tipper Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Enid, OK, U.S.A. Posts: 2,859	I've been using the Maxthon browser for awhile now and it came with a nifty little plugin called Flash Save. All you do is go to the address where the swf file is at, click the Flash Save icon in the toolbar, and it'll bring up a new window and ask which file you want to save. Usually there's only the one that you're currently on....click that and tell it where to save it and you're done. I believe it was one of the plugins that came packed with the Maxthon download. If not, you can get it from their help site along with other handy plugins to do such things as viewing source code or re-enabling the right click feature on pages that have it disabled. Only real requirement is that you have to have IE 5 or higher installed on your computer. I guess it uses the core files from that....dunno. I tried to get you a link in case you wanted to try it, but www.maxthon.com seems to have a problem at the moment, so here's another download site that you can get it from if you want to try it out. CLICK HERE EDIT: Bout forgot.....when you try to load the file it will probably ask you what program to use. I just use the Maxthon browser to load it but I would imagine IE or FF would work too. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ Excellent guess, Kreskin! Wrong...but excellent. quote from Space Quest 6

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10-19-2005, 11:16 PM	#18
ghost2003 Lest we forget Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,870	Media player classic can play flash files. But im not sure if it does out-of-the-box though. All you need to do is double click the file and it works. I think you could also associate .swf files to IE and it would open IE to play them. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ redqueen: Antec Sonata, Pentium-D 2.5GHz, MSI G31M3-L, 2GB ram, 320 GB HDD, OpenBSD hal9000: Lenovo T61, 2GB ram, 120 GB HDD, FreeBSD

10-20-2005, 06:30 AM	#19
EdP Member (8 bit) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 131	Thanks to all! I am more than satisfied. Great forum. EdP Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

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