Making the switch from Flash to HTML5 content just became a bit easier thanks to a new tool released from Google Labs. Called Swiffy, this web utility is able to convert .swf files into a JSON file which is seen by web browsers as a JavaScript object.

Swiffy is an online tool, so it’s simple to use. The .swf file is uploaded and the JSON output is spit out alongside the original Flash content for comparison purposes. There’s a gallery of four conversion samples available for those who’d like to see examples of the tool’s work but have no .swf files to upload.

Google stated on its Google Code blog that Swiffy’s conversion process results in a file that’s about the same size as the original .swf, which will be good news for developers. However, the same post also made note that this project is very much a Google Labs product, and as such it can’t be expected to convert all Flash content perfectly. At the moment, it’s most comfortable when working with animations or advertisements.

Although new to Google, this isn’t the first Flash-to-HTML5 tool to hit the web. Adobe made its own solution, called Wallaby, available in March. According to the Swiffy FAQ, Adobe is supportive of this new utility and believes that “anyone creating rich or interactive ads can continue to get all the authoring benefits of Flash Pro and have the flexibility to run the ad in the Flash Player or HTML depending on what’s available on the system“.

Source: Google Code, ZDNet