How to Download Embedded Flash Files using your Browser

thumbnail1Today, Flash is everywhere. Animations, music, games, advertisements or even streaming presentations. Speaking of games, here’s a list of site with the best flash games.

The use of Flash plug-ins in browsers is now almost obligatory. Yes, it’s easy to view and enjoy the rich media content delivered by interactive Flash embedded pages. But what if I want to download some of these files as keepsakes? The greatest benefit ““ I can watch them offline in my own jolly time. Convert them to a format of my choice. Or embed them again in a PowerPoint presentation. Or even transfer them to my mobile phone.

Flash animation files are embedded as SWF (Small Web Format) files in webpages. Rather than depending on any software or a third-party website, downloading Flash content is dead simple. The only tool required is a browser and a bit of patience to do the rummaging around.

Just one note: As we will be heading into the internet cache folders of the respective browsers, it pays to clear it of all old files before navigating to the desired page. It makes the Flash file search a lot easier.

So, here’s how to do it in three of our popular browsers.

Download SWF files using Firefox

  1. Fire up Firefox and browse to the page which contains the embedded SWF Flash file that you are eyeing to download. Let the SWF file stream through once completely.
  2. On any empty part of the page, right-click and select the Page Info context menu option. Or alternatively, go to Tools ““ Page Info.

    1_ff_rightclick

  3. Select the Media tab. The Media tab lists all image formats, icons, style sheets and flash files that were rendered by the webpage.

    2_ff_media-tab

  4. Look amongst the items to find the particular file with the SWF extension. The type column will show up with an Embed filetype. Highlight the file and click Save as to save the file on your hard drive.

Download SWF files using Internet Explorer

In IE8, we have to head to the Temporary Internet Files folder which stores all rendered files during a browsing session. (It can be directly accessed from here in Windows XP – C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files.)

  1. Go to the IE Menu bar. Click on Tools ““ Internet Options.
  2. On the General tab, click on Settings under Browsing History.
  3. The Temporary Internet Files and Browsing History box opens up.

    3-ie-internet-options

  4. Click on View Files. You will get all the rendered webpage elements in this folder.
  5. To rummage about effectively amidst the mass of files, choose View ““ Arrange by Type from the menu. Also go to Tools ““ Folder Options, and uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types option.
  6. Seek out your SWF files, copy and then paste it to your preferred location.

    4_ie-right-click

Download SWF files using Opera

In Opera, downloaded SWF files can be accessed in two simple ways ““

  • Type opera:cache in the address bar.
  • Go to Tools ““ Advanced ““ Cache from the toolbar.

5_opera-menu

Either way, a huge list of downloaded page elements opens up with their URLs. Search for a file with the .swf extension. Alternatively, you could search (Ctrl+F ) and hunt it down, with swf as the search query.

Right-click on the particular file and choose either Saved Linked Content As or Save to Download Folder to save the SWF file on the hard disk.

6_opera-cache

After downloading the SWF file, one can use the Adobe Flash Player to view the Flash file or a supported media player like Media Player Classic. Or, an easier way would be to just open it in a browser by right-clicking it and selecting the browser of choice.

These are the ways we can use to single out the Flash files from a webpage. In my experience, I personally have been more comfortable with Firefox than the other two. I am still searching a way perform this in Chrome but it is proving impossible without third-party support. Numerous third-party tools can do the same job better by converting it to a format of your choice. But it always pays to know that you can fall back on a browser alone.

Aibek had the same idea about offline Flash files when he covered How To Download and Play Flash Games Offline in a previous post. That post extends the possibilities of the fun we can have with Flash files.

What about you? Do you let it play on the webpage or do you dig under and take a Flash file offline?


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Saikat Basu

Saikat is a techno-adventurer in a writer's garb. When he is not scouring the net for tech news, you can catch him looking for life hacks and learning tidbits. You can find him on Google+ & Twitter watching over the world.

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Hide 37 Comments

  • The Computer Lady May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    Thanks so much for the information. I have been trying to figure this out for a while? What about embedded videos?

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  • shaneecy May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    “Flash animation files are embedded as SWF (Small Web Format) files in webpages.”
    –i believe that SWF means “Shockwave Flash” file, not small web format file.

    good article, though i still prefer to use file2hd.com (thx to whoever wrote the offline flash game tut) because its less complicated :)

    | Like
  • Hal May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    The most simple way to do this is use the Firefox extension Downloadhelper. Easily download just about any media without opening backend windows.

    | Like
    • Andrew J June 1, 2009
      0 likes

      I also use the Downloadhelper extension for Firefox. It really is the simplest way to capture flash video – what could be easier than clicking the extension’s browser icon and saving the flash file?

      | Like
  • Mickey May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    Shaneecy, SWF was originally called Shockwave Flash but Macromedia changed it to Small Web Format

    Nice article, and I am sure this will come in handy for some people

    | Like
    • Saikat June 8, 2009
      0 likes

      Yes, Mickey…that’s true. But what’s surprising is that this fact is so difficult to establish. In fact, it’s not even mentioned in the SWF specification doc which is 278 pages long!!!

      | Like
  • Gringo May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    Yeah ! But doesn’t work for some sites, even with software like Orbit that are almost perfect for retrieving content from youtube, or dailymotion.

    | Like
  • fractal May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    One problem that is overlooked here is the fact that Flash files have the ability to load content dynamically. For instance, the swf that you save locally may need to load images, text, code or even other swf’s in order to render correctly.

    If a Flash developer doesn’t want you getting at the Library or ActionScript, you’re likely going to be left with an empty container that does nothing at all. This is usually the case with games and more complex animations or interactive movies.

    | Like
    • cristiano007 June 1, 2009
      0 likes

      You’re right, I’ve seen this in many photo galleries sites, very bad. Anybody has a walkaround for this problem?

      | Like
  • Adam Hill May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    Try Flashgot plugin for Firefox

    | Like
  • Abhijeet Pathak May 31, 2009
    0 likes

    From “Shockwave Flash” to “Small Web Format” becaure Macromedia acquired it.. Then I guess it should be now called ASWF (Adobe Small Web Format) as Flash is their product now.. :-P

    | Like
  • Yanguang June 1, 2009
    0 likes

    I use my own little method to download embedded flash media, using Adblock Plus (as weird as it sounds)

    yanguang.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/how-to-use-adblock-to-download-media-files/

    | Like
    • striipes September 25, 2009
      0 likes

      Thanks for the tip of using adblock
      Works perfect for what I needed to download

      | Like
  • aerobroken June 1, 2009
    0 likes

    Sweat find and share! I have been looking for this hack..

    | Like
  • Brave Littlle Meme June 1, 2009
    0 likes

    Safari can do this without any third-party add-on. Just load the window containing the flash file and look under the Activity Window (Manu > Window > Activity) for whatever has a rapidly growing byte count. Double-click that entry and the file will be saved in your download folder.

    | Like
    • undahpresha July 29, 2009
      0 likes

      Thank you for this tip! Never had a clue that Safari was capable of this!

      | Like
  • Sid June 1, 2009
    0 likes

    Doing this in Chrome is as easy too.

    1. Ctrl+U [Page Source].
    2. Ctrl+F [Find]
    3. Type “swf”
    3. Keep hitting F3 till you come to the swf file you need.
    4. Chrome will present it to you as a clickable hyperlink – so all you have to do is to right-click and save.

    PS: I do this ALL the time :)

    | Like
  • ChromeISCool June 1, 2009
    0 likes

    You can find it in Google Chrome by typing “about:cache” into the address bar. It helps if you clear the cache out first.

    | Like
  • www.coredownloadz.co.cc June 2, 2009
    0 likes

    yea….. Downloading flash files using Google chrome is the most simplest.

    Thanks for this article

    | Like
  • cristiano007 June 2, 2009
    0 likes

    AdBlock Plus is the way to go for dynamically loaded media! Thanks!

    | Like
    • Bunda June 2, 2009
      0 likes

      Well, Adblock is not for that certainly – but is there any sense in installing one more Firefox-addon just for downloading a few files? For me not.
      If I want to make an offline collection of hundreds of flash games – I use an addon.

      So if I stumble into a good flash game or video once in 1-2 months – I use a simple way but without installing another addon.

      | Like
  • monte cabet June 2, 2009
    0 likes

    The firefox addon downthemall works here too. Look for it in the “Pictures and Embedded” tab…

    | Like
  • Diego Ripley June 2, 2009
    0 likes

    There’s also DownloadHelper

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006

    | Like
  • Saikat June 8, 2009
    0 likes

    Thanks Sid, actually I tried this before I wrote the article. but the files wouldn’t play. While it would when downloaded thru the remaining browsers. Probably a glitch, I couldn’t figure out at that time. There are of course a few programs that help out Chrome with this job just like the many add-ons for FF.

    | Like
  • vas June 9, 2009
    0 likes

    Hi, all frnds….

    | Like
  • vas June 9, 2009
    0 likes

    hi, all frnds….

    I want to download one photo gallery from one webpage but it cant download. pls anyone help me… thanks..

    | Like
  • vas June 13, 2009
    0 likes

    hi, Nacho
    thanks for your reply
    i want to give you url for that photo gallery but here it doesn’t allow me so how can i give to you.
    and i use that downThemAll but still i can’t download it.

    many thanks.

    | Like
  • ggstarling June 17, 2009
    0 likes

    Hello all!
    This morning I have found a very fresh cartoon about the office workers everyday life.
    I recommend this for all to elevate your mood.
    I helped))
    You can watch this toon <a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOyuf2MEwtE
    here

    Dont be sad – be happy))

    | Like
  • Kurt July 12, 2009
    0 likes

    For anyone who isn’t helped by the above: I found a flash file that, for whatever reason, was not downloaded into the cache, but into the Documents and Settings\Default\Local Settings\Temp directory as a .tmp file. If I tried to copy it, even when the movie was stopped, I’d get a “file in use” error. If I closed the window containing the movie, the .tmp file disappeared. If I used the source code window to find the file, there was none. I solved the problem by using freeware program ShadowCopy, which can copy files that are still open. Info for anyone else who has this problem.

    | Like
  • Saikat July 12, 2009
    0 likes

    Thanks for the info. I guess this is the link to the freeware.

    | Like
  • hannah September 21, 2009
    0 likes

    safari is just option+command+a
    already knew how to do this, though. I was thinking maybe there was another option..

    | Like
  • flash files September 30, 2009
    0 likes

    great information on flash files. thanks

    | Like
  • dOPEpHIZH October 7, 2009
    0 likes

    Is there a easy way to download .SWF files that are “hidden” behind a preloader?

    | Like
  • satya November 29, 2009
    0 likes

    thanx a lot

    | Like
  • Utku Demir January 24, 2010
    0 likes

    Hi.

    Another way to download with Chrome is typing “about:cache” in adress bar. Right clicking and clicking “Download” works. Like Firefox.

    And sorry for my bad English :).

    | Like