What is a .SWF file?
SWF is the compiled Flash format that ran web animations and games. Played by the old Flash Player.
- Did you know
- SWF powered web games and animation for two decades until Adobe retired Flash at the end of 2020.
- SWF first meant ShockWave Flash, later reframed as the backronym Small Web Format to avoid confusion with Shockwave.
- At its peak, Adobe claimed Flash Player reached 99 per cent of internet-connected desktop PCs - a disputed figure, but one that made SWF among the most widely deployed formats ever.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify Adobe project files and read their metadata: Photoshop (PSD, PSB), Illustrator (AI), InDesign (INDD), After Effects (AEP, AEPX, AET) with composition / layer / effect and asset extraction, Premiere Pro and Elements (PRPROJ, PREL) with sequence and media counts, XD, Animate (FLA), and Lightroom.
- Depth of analysis
- .SWF is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .SWF file
- Drag a .SWF file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.