Flash

SetBackgroundColor

Tag Info

Tag Number:

Tag Type:

Display

Tag Flash Version:

Brief Description:

Change the background color. Defaults to white if unspecified.

Tag Structure:

struct swf_setbackgroundcolor {
	swf_tag			f_tag;		/* 9 */
	swf_rgb			f_rgb;
};

This tag is used to specify the background color. It should always be included at the start of every .swf file (after the FileAttributes and Protect tags). Only an RGB color can be used (i.e. there is no alpha channel for that color, whatever the SWF version.)

To create a Flash animation that's transparent (so we can see the website gradient, for example) you use the wmode parameter in the HTML tag with the value "transparent", in which case the background color will be ignored and replaced by a fully transparent background. For example:

<embed width="440"  ...

DefineBitsJPEG

Tag Info

Tag Number:

Tag Type:

Define

Tag Flash Version:

Brief Description:

Define a JPEG bit stream.

Tag Structure:

struct swf_definebitsjpeg {
	swf_long_tag		f_tag;		/* 6, 21, 35 or 90 */
	unsigned short		f_image_id;
	if(f_tag == DefineBitsJPEG3 + f_tag == DefineBitsJPEG4) {
		/* sizeof(f_encoding_tables) + sizeof(f_image_data) + 2 when JPEG4 */
		unsigned long		f_offset_to_alpha;
	}
	if(f_tag == DefineBitsJPEG4) {
		unsigned short fixed	f_deblocking_filter_parameter;
	}
	if(f_tag != DefineBitsJPEG) {
		/* when DefineBitsJPEG, use JPEGTables instead */
		unsigned char		f_encoding_tables[<variable size>];
	}
	unsigned char		f_image_data[<variable size>];
	if(f_tag == DefineBitsJPEG3 || f_tag == DefineBitsJPEG41) {
		unsigned char		f_alpha[<variable size>];
	}
};

1. JPEG4 optionally accepts the f_alpha field. [To be verified]

FreeCharacter

Tag Info

Tag Number:

Tag Type:

Define

Tag Flash Version:

Brief Description:

Release a character which won't be used in this movie anymore.

Tag Structure:

Unknown

This tag was intended to be used to delete a character that would not be referenced any more. The tag is not used in any movie and is not defined in the Adobe Flash documentation.

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SWF Tags

The following table is a list of all the SWF tags defined in this documentation.

This table presents the tags sorted using their number. There are tables available to find tags by name, by version of Flash releases, and by type.

ID	Tag Name	Type	Comments	Version
74.	CSMTextSettings	Define	Define whether CSM text should be used in a previous DefineText, DefineText2 or DefineEditText.	8
51.	CharacterSet	Define	It looks like this would have been some sort of DefineSprite extension... did not make it out either.	5
63.	DebugID	Define	This tag is used when debugging an SWF movie. It gives information about what debug file to load to match the SWF movie with the source. The identifier is a UUID.	6
87.	DefineBinaryData	Define	Defines a buffer of any size with any binary user data.	9
6.	DefineBitsJPEG	Define	Define a JPEG bit stream.	1
21.	DefineBitsJPEG2	Define	Defines a complete JPEG image (includes the bit stream and the tables all in one thus enabling multiple tables to be used within the same SWF file). Since Flash version 10, the data can also be set to a valid PNG or GIF89a. There is no need to specify the image format in the tag since the data describing the image includes the necessary information.	2
35.	DefineBitsJPEG3	Define	Defines a complete JPEG image, i.e. a verbatim JPEG image file. The JPEG image is then followed by an alpha channel. Note that the alpha channel uses the Z-lib compression. Since Flash 10, the supported image formats are JPEG, PNG and GIF89a.	3
90.	DefineBitsJPEG4	Define	Defines a complete JPEG (the image formats supported are JPEG, PNG and GIF89a) and includes a deblocking filter parameter. The JPEG image is then followed by an alpha channel. Note that the alpha channel uses the Z-lib compression.	10
20.	DefineBitsLossless	Define	A bitmap compressed using ZLIB (similar to the PNG format).	2
36.	DefineBitsLossless2	Define	Defines an RGBA bitmap compressed using ZLIB (similar to the PNG format).	3
7.	DefineButton	Define	Define an action button.	1
34.	DefineButton2	Define	Define an action button. Includes a color transformation.	3
23.	DefineButtonCxform	Define	Setup a color transformation for a button.	2
17.	DefineButtonSound	Define	Defines how to play a sound effect for when an event occurs on the referenced button.	2
50.	DefineCommandObject	Define	?	5
37.	DefineEditText	Define	An edit text enables the end users to enter text in a Flash window.	4
10.	DefineFont	Define	List shapes corresponding to glyphs.	1
48.	DefineFont2	Define	Define a list of glyphs using shapes and other font metric information.	3
75.	DefineFont3	Define	Define a list of glyphs using shapes and other font metric information.	8
73.	DefineFontAlignZones	Define	Define advanced hints about a font glyphs to place them on a pixel boundary.	8
13.	DefineFontInfo	Define	Information about a previously defined font. Includes the font style, a map and the font name.	1
62.	DefineFontInfo2	Define	Defines information about a font, like the DefineFontInfo tag plus a language reference. To force the use of a given language, this tag should be used in v6.x+ movies instead of the DefineFontInfo tag.	6
88.	DefineFontName	Define	Define the legal font name and copyright.	9
46.	DefineMorphShape	Define	This is similar to a sprite with a simple morphing between two shapes.	3
84.	DefineMorphShape2	Define	Declare a morphing shape with attributes supported by version 8+.	8
78.	DefineScalingGrid	Define	Define scale factors for a window, a button, or other similar objects.	8
86.	DefineSceneAndFrameData	Define	Define raw data for scenes and frames.	9
2.	DefineShape	Define	Define a simple geometric shape.	1
22.	DefineShape2	Define	Brief Description: Define a simple geometric shape.	2
32.	DefineShape3	Define	Brief Description: Define a simple geometric shape.	3
83.	DefineShape4	Define	Declare a shape which supports new line caps, scaling and fill options.	8
14.	DefineSound	Define	Declare a sound effect. This tag defines sound samples that can later be played back using either a StartSound or a DefineButtonSound. Note that the same DefineSound block can actually include multiple sound files and only part of the entire sound can be played back as required.	2
39.	DefineSprite	Define	Declares an animated character. This is similar to a shape with a display list so the character can be changing on its own over time.	3
11.	DefineText	Define	Defines a text of characters displayed using a font. This definition doesn't support any transparency.	1
33.	DefineText2	Define	Defines a text of characters displayed using a font. Transparency is supported with this tag.	3
42.	DefineTextFormat	Define	Another tag that Flash ended up not using.	1
38.	DefineVideo	Define	Apparently, Macromedia did have a first attempt in supporting video on their platform. It looks, however, as if they reconsidered at that point in time.	4
60.	DefineVideoStream	Define	Defines the necessary information for the player to display a video stream (i.e. size, codec, how to decode the data, etc.). Play the frames with VideoFrame tags.	6
82.	DoABC	Action	New container tag for ActionScripts under SWF 9. Includes an identifier, a name and actions.	9
72.	DoABCDefine	Action	New container tag for ActionScripts under SWF 9. Includes only actions. This tag is not defined in the official Flash documentation.	9
12.	DoAction	Action	Actions to perform at the time the next show frame is reached and before the result is being displayed. It can duplicate sprites, start/stop movie clips, etc. All the actions within a frame are executed sequentially in the order they are defined. Important: many actions are not supported in Adobe Flash version 1. Please, see the reference of actions below in order to know which actions can be used with which version of Adobe Flash.	1
59.	DoInitAction	Action	Actions to perform the first time the following Show Frame tag is reached. All the initialization actions are executed before any other actions. You have to specify a sprite to which the actions are applied to. Thus you don't need a set target action. When multiple initialization action blocks are within the same frame, they are executed one after another in the order they appear in that frame.	6
58.	EnableDebugger	Format	The data of this tag is an MD5 password like the EnableDebugger2 tag. When it exists and you know the password, you will be given the right to debug the movie with Flash V5.x and higher. WARNING: this tag is only valid in Flash V5.x, use the EnableDebugger2 instead in V6.x and newer movies and Protect in older movies (V2.x, V3.x, and V4.x).	5
64.	EnableDebugger2	Format	The data of this tag is a 16 bits word followed by an MD5 password like the EnableDebugger tag. When it exists and you know the password, you will be given the right to debug the movie with Flash V6.x and over. WARNING: this tag is only valid in Flash V6.x and over, use the EnableDebugger instead in V5.x and Protect in older movies (V2.x, V3.x, and V4.x).	6
	End	Format	Mark the end of the file or a Sprite. It can't appear anywhere else but the end of the file or a Sprite.	1
56.	Export	Define	Exports a list of definitions declared external so they can be used in other movies. You can in this way create one or more movies to hold a collection of objects to be reused by other movies without having to duplicate these in each movie. A single export is enough for an entire movie (and you should have just one).	5
52.	ExternalFont	Define	It looks like accessing a system font was going to be another tag, but instead Macromedia made use of a flag in the existing DefineFont2 tag.	5
-1.	File Header	Format	Although it isn't a tag per say, we consider the file header as being a tag because it represents a block in the flash file. Since version 8, it can be complemented by the FileAttributes tag.	1
69.	FileAttributes	Format	Since version 8, this tag is required and needs to be the very first tag in the movie. It is used as a way to better handle security within the Flash Player.	8
43.	FrameLabel	Define	Names a frame or anchor. This frame can later be referenced using this name.	3
31.	FreeAll	Define	Probably an action that would be used to clear everything out.	3
3.	FreeCharacter	Define	Release a character which won't be used in this movie anymore.	1
47.	GenerateFrame	Define	This may have been something similar to a New in an action script and thus was removed later.	3
49.	GeneratorCommand	Define	Gives some information about the tool which generated this SWF file and its version.	3
57.	Import	Define	Imports a list of definitions that are to be loaded from another movie. You can retrieve objects that were exported in the specified movie. You can have as many import as you like, though you should really only have one per referenced movie.	5
71.	Import2	Define	Imports a list of definitions from another movie. In version 8+, this tag replaces the original Import tag. You can retrieve objects which were exported in the specified movie. You can have as many import as you like, although you should really only have one per referenced movie.	8
8.	JPEGTables	Define	Define the tables used to compress/decompress all the SWF 1.0 JPEG images (See also DefineBitsJPEG.)	1
77.	Metadata	Format	This tag includes XML code describing the movie. The format is RDF compliant to the XMP as defined on W3C.	8
40.	NameCharacter	Define	Define the name of an object (for buttons, bitmaps, sprites and sounds.)	3
25.	PathsArePostscript	Define	The shape paths are defined as in postscript?	3
4.	PlaceObject	Display	Place the specified object in the current display list.	1
26.	PlaceObject2	Define	Place, replace, remove an object in the current display list.	3
70.	PlaceObject3	Display	Place an object in the display list. The object can include bitmap caching information, a blend mode and a set of filters.	8
41.	ProductInfo	Define	This tag defines information about the product used to generate the animation. The product identifier should be unique among all the products. The info includes a product identifier, a product edition, a major and minor version, a build number and the date of compilation. All of this information is all about the generator, not the output movie.	3
24.	Protect	Define	Disable edition capabilities of the given SWF file. Though this doesn't need to be enforced by an SWF editor, it marks the file as being copyrighted in a way. WARNING: this tag is only valid in Flash V2.x, V3.x, and V4.x, use the EnableDebugger instead in V5.x and EnableDebugger2 in V6.x and newer movies.	2
5.	RemoveObject	Display	Remove the specified object at the specified depth.	1
28.	RemoveObject2	Display	Remove the object at the specified level. This tag should be used in movies version 3 and over since it compressed better than the standard RemoveObject tag. Note that a PlaceObject2 can also be used for this task.	3
65.	ScriptLimits	Define	Change limits used to ensure scripts do not use more resources than what you choose. In version 7, it supports a maximum recursive depth and a maximum amount of time scripts can be run for in seconds.	7
9.	SetBackgroundColor	Display	Change the background color. Defaults to white if unspecified.	1
66.	SetTabIndex	Define	Define the order index so the player knows where to go next when the Tab key is pressed by the user.	7
1.	ShowFrame	Display	Display the current display list and pauses for 1 frame as defined in the file header.	1
19.	SoundStreamBlock	Define	A block of sound data (i.e. audio samples.) The size of this block of data is defined in the previous SoundStreamHead tag. It is used to download sound samples on a per frame basis instead of all at once.	2
18.	SoundStreamHead	Define	Declare a sound effect which will be interleaved with a movie data so as to be loaded over a network connection while being played.	2
45.	SoundStreamHead2	Define	Declare a sound effect which will be interleaved with a movie data so as to be loaded over a network connection while being played.	3
15.	StartSound	Display	Start playing the referenced sound on the next ShowFrame.	2
15.	StopSound	Display	Start playing the referenced sound on the next ShowFrame.	2
76.	SymbolClass	Action	Instantiate objects from a set of classes.	9
29.	SyncFrame	Display	Tag used to synchronize the animation with the hardware.	3
61.	VideoFrame	Define	Show the specified video frame of a movie.	6

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About SWF

Brief History

At the very beginning, a company created the SWF format to generate small vector animations on the Internet called Shockwave Flash (hence the name of the format, SWF.) It also included images. This company was bought by Macromedia around 1997 (if I recall properly). This is when Flash v3 was created. Since then, Macromedia created a new version about once a year up to version 8. At that time (in 2005/2006), Macromedia sealed a deal with Adobe which wanted to use the SWF format in their PDF files.

Today (May 1st, 2008), the SWF format is available for free to all.

There was ...

DoAction
End

SWF File Format Reference

The Flash File Format Explained

The SWF file format is used for Flash. SWF stands for Shockwave Format1, the very first company that created the Flash animation format later bought by Macromedia and now owned by Adobe.

The following book is an attempt in describing the binary file ...

1. There are many people who found other names for the acronym such as Shockwave Flash, Shock Wave File, Small Web Format, Serious Wow Factor, and SWIFF. History of man kind is confronted with the same problems, unfortunately. And no... it really has nothing to do with the Swiss Wrestling Federation!

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LinuxWorld Conference & Expo 2008

Thu, 08/07/2008 - 00:06 — Alexis Wilke

This year, 2008, I decided to register and go to LinuxWorld. It is in August and my kids are not at school so it was easy to manage. Also, I had to go to the French consulate to get a birth certificate for my daughter. In other words, I had the chance to do two things at once!

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AJAX, CSS, HTML, XML, SOAP, LAMP… and now Web 2.0?

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 22:25 — Alexis Wilke

Dear reader,

Yes. With all these terms, it is quite easy to get lost.

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The web has got it’s own set of languages! It