Flash animations are a classic form of internet media, and can typically only be played on a website. If you want to watch an animation whenever you want, you will need to save it to your computer. While saving a flash animation isn't as easy as saving a standard file, you can do it with the right browser. Start reading from step 1 to learn how.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: View Page Information on Firefox
Step 1. Open the site with the video on Firefox
Navigate to the Flash animation you want to watch. Firefox is the browser that offers the simplest procedure for downloading a Flash file directly from a site.
This method will not work on YouTube, Vimeo, and other streaming sites. You can use it for Flash animations and games on sites like Newgrounds. To download videos from YouTube, use Method 4. If you right-click on the video itself, you will not see the View Page Information item. You will need to click anywhere on the page other than the video or link
Step 2. Visit the site that contains the animation you want to save
Once the animation is loaded in Firefox, right click on the page.
Step 3. Select "View Page Information" from the context menu
A window will open with detailed information about the site you are viewing. At the top of the window, you will see a series of tabs that contain various information about the site.
Step 4. Click the Movies icon
You will see a list of all the multimedia objects contained on the site, such as button graphics and banners. You will also see the. SWF file representing the animation. Click on the Type column of the list to sort the objects by type.
Step 5. Find the Flash file
The movie will be in. SWF format, and will be listed as "Object" or "Embedded" in the Type column. The filename will often be similar to the animation title on the website. Select it from the list and click on "Save as". Give the file any name you like and click Save.
Step 6. Play the movie
Once downloaded, you will be able to open it in all browsers that have Flash installed. When you first open the file, Windows may tell you that you need to specify a program. If your browser is not in the list of suggested programs, search for it on your computer. Most browsers are located in the Program Files folder on your hard drive, in a folder with the name of the developer company (Google, Mozilla, etc.).
You can also click and drag the file into the browser window to open the file
Method 2 of 4: Copy SWF Files from Browser Cache
Step 1. Open Internet Explorer
To view Temporary Internet Files, open the Tools menu and select Internet Options. On the General tab, select Settings and then View Files. You can search for Temporary Internet Files on your computer if you are not using Internet Explorer.
Step 2. Right click and sort files by address
Find the website address where you found the file. The website might have a prefix like farm.newgrounds.com.
Step 3. Find files with SWF extension
This is the extension of Flash files. They can be movies, games or advertisements. Look for a file with a name similar to that of the video you want to download. Right click on the file and select Copy. Paste the file into an easy-to-access folder.
Step 4. Play the movie
Once the file is copied to a new location, you can open it to watch the animation. You can open the file in a web browser or standalone SWF player.
To open the file in a browser, you can click and drag it into the browser window
Method 3 of 4: View the Page Source on Chrome
Step 1. Visit the site that contains the animation you want to save
Once the animation is loaded in Chrome, right click on the page.
Step 2. Select "View Page Source"
This will open the page's source code 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 field. Type ".swf" or ".flv" to search for flash files on the website.
Note: You won't be able to find all animated files this way, especially if they are opened with another player. Use one of the other methods if you can't find the file you want
Step 4. Copy the partial URL of the flash file
This will usually be a long string of information separated by backslashes, enclosed in quotes and ending with a flash file extension (for example: “content / dotcom / en / devnet / actionscript / animationname.swf”). Select all the text inside the quotes, without including them, and copy it with Ctrl + C.
Step 5. Open a new tab
Type in the base URL of the page where you found the flash animation. For example, if you found it on Example.com, type "www.example.com". Don't press Enter yet.
Step 6. Paste the partial URL:
paste the URL you copied from the page source to the end of the base URL and press Enter. Only the Flash animation will open. Make sure you haven't included the quotes.
Step 7. Click on the Chrome menu icon
You will find it in the upper right corner of the program window. Select "Save Page As" and save the file to an easy-to-find folder on your computer. Give it a name that helps you find it.
Step 8. Play the movie
Once the file is saved to your computer, you can open it to watch the animation. You can open the file in a web browser or with a standalone SWF player.
To open the file in a browser, you can click and drag it into the browser window
Method 4 of 4: Using a Download Manager
Step 1. Install a download manager as an add-on
Firefox is the browser that offers more add-ons, and you can download it for free from the Mozilla website. One of the best-rated download extensions is free and is called DownloadHelper.
- DownloadHelper will give you the ability to download media files on whatever website you are visiting. This includes Flash movies and games. You can also use this extension for YouTube videos.
- You can download standalone download managers that work similarly if you don't want to use Firefox.
Step 2. Visit the site that contains the animation you want to save
When the animation plays, the DownloadHelper icon will start rotating in the upper right corner of the window. A small arrow will appear next to it. Click on the arrow to open the download options menu.
Step 3. Select the file
When you click the arrow, you will see a list of all media files on the page. If the animation had an ad, you will see both. The animation may have a filename that does not match the title.
Step 4. Wait for the download to complete
Once the file is selected, the download will begin. You can check its progress in the Firefox Downloads window. You can access the window by clicking on the Firefox menu and then on Downloads.
Advice
- A Flash animation usually ends with the extension *.swf *.flv, although this can vary.
- Once you have saved the file, you can open it with a web browser or with a specific program for running Flash animations (such as Adobe Flash Player or Adobe Shock Wave).
