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Flash
Flash is a multimedia platform that allows developers to incorporate animation, sound, video and interactivity into a standalone product or onto a web page. Its uses range from simple web page decorations and banner advertisements to fully interactive training and electronic forms.
Developers may use the term Flash to refer to many different products that incorporate these features, regardless of how they are created or played back. This can be confusing for non-technical personnel; it also complicates a discussion of accessibility. It is helpful, therefore, to introduce some basic terminology and to establish parameters for this course.
Flash: The Author and the Player
Creating Flash and playing Flash require two different kinds of software:
- Developers need an authoring tool to create Flash content and to package it into the product the end user sees.
- Users generally need a player to run the end product on their computers as a standalone product or within a web page.
Developers first use an authoring tool to create Flash content in a format, such as an .fla file, that developers can edit, but which users cannot play. They then use the same tool to package the content into an end product, an .swf (or Shock Wave Format) file that the user can play, but which can no longer be edited, regardless of the authoring tool that was used to create it. The .swf file may be compiled as an .exe or .app file to avoid the need for a player on the user's computer.
Writing Flash
Flash authoring tools include:
- Adobe Flash (Adobe Systems, Inc.)
- Flex (open source framework by Adobe Systems, Inc.)
- Adobe Captivate (screen recording software by Adobe Systems, Inc.)
- Camtasia Studio (screen recording software by TechSmith Corp.)
- Articulate Studio (Articulate Global, Inc.)
- Viewlet and Composica (Qarbon, Inc.)
Developers can extend the capabilities of these authoring tools by adding commands in a scripting language, such as:
- ActionScript
- JavaScript
- VBScript
- JScript
Playing Flash
To display Flash content, a user needs to have a player for Flash installed on his or her computer. Most use Adobe Flash Player, which is available in multiple versions as a free download.
Users with disabilities use assistive technology in conjunction with a Flash Player to experience Flash presentations.
Versions Assumed in this Course
As developers know, software applications can be unpredictable when they are combined in new or different ways. In order to focus on applying the principles of accessibility to Flash, this course assumes that you are using the following software:
- Adobe Flash CS4 Professional for authoring
- ActionScript, version 3.0
- Adobe Flash Player, version 10
We have found Adobe Flash CS4 produces accessible results more consistently than earlier versions of Adobe Flash and more reliably than other authoring tools. In addition, Adobe Flash CS4 works more readily with ActionScript, which provides additional accessibility capabilities. Regardless of which software you use, there is no substitute for testing.
Select Next to learn about testing Flash for accessibility.
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