Best SWF Editor: Program Overview

Most users of computer systems, one way or another, faced with Flash-animation. In this format, many cartoons, banners on websites or even simple Internet games are made. But what are SWF files and how are they created or edited, if some changes need to be made to the finished project? This and many other things will be discussed later.

What are SWF files?

Few think about what is actually a SWF animation file, considering it to be a normal video.

In fact, the files themselves are compiled derivatives from the original FLA format, which in turn is a project in which you can see and change the original structure. Naturally, this requires some SWF file editor. But which one? Today, because to create and edit Flash-animation created so many programs that they are quite easy to get confused.

How to open a SWF file?

We'll return to the editors a bit later. In the meantime, consider what to open a SWF file in the simplest situation. There are at least two options: either use a software player that supports this format (KMPlayer), or start playback in a web browser.

In the second case, for a correct playback, a mandatory condition is the presence of an installed Flash Player plug-in from Adobe or its analogue in the form of an expansion of Macromedia Flash, which, in general, is the same.

The principle of editing a finished Flash movie

Now a few words about how the editing of the finished project is carried out in general terms. The SWF-editor of the most primitive type can not open the file just like this, because the finished SWF-file, as already mentioned, is compiled and contains a minimum of information about the initial structure.

Thus, before you can use the simplest SWF file editor, you first have to translate the finished file, so to speak, in a readable form. In other words, it must be decompiled into the original form of FLA. For this purpose, special utilities are used, which will be discussed separately.

The best editors for creating animations from scratch

Nevertheless, to create a video (and not to edit it) at the initial stage, you can apply the simplest applications, and entire software packages of a professional level.

All of them can not be described, but among the programs intended for this, several most popular ones can be distinguished:

• Alligator Flash Designer.
• SWiSH Max.
• Adobe Flash Professional.
• Corel RAVE
• Sony Vegas Pro.

Alligator Flash Designer

This SWF editor in Russian from all the further presented is the simplest and is intended primarily for the rapid creation of animated banners that will be used on websites on the Internet.

There are not many tools available to a novice web designer, however there are about a hundred and thirty different effects, the possibility of creating animated text, pictures or inserting sound. The interface to the limit is simple and understandable, so this application is very suitable for mastering the basics of creating this type of animation.

SWiSH Max

This animation file editor is very similar to the previous utility, although it looks somewhat more difficult for a beginner.

With its help you can create more professional works of good quality. Deal with it will be able to any user due to the fact that the application itself provides the availability of video lessons explaining the basics of creating animation clips.

Adobe Flash Professional

The SWF file editor Adobe Flash is a professional-level software package, which not everyone can master from the first time.

In his arsenal there are so many tools that, according to many professional web designers and animators, with their help you can realize any imagination. By the way, if you look at the world software ratings of this direction, Adobe Flash CS and CC applications are the absolute leaders.

Corel RAVE

Before us is another professional SWF editor, which has capabilities comparable to the previous package from Adobe.

From the most interesting you can note the ability to draw two-dimensional objects, determine their movement along a predefined path, bind to the specified path, create a duplicate of the animated object to change only the size, color or location, after which the program automatically performs the necessary transformations and animates the image. Naturally, this is not all that this application is capable of. To study it and admire all new and new opportunities can be very long.

Sony Vegas Pro

This package for working with video for sure in the view does not need. It is known even by those who have never worked with multimedia of this type. Of course, this is not the SWF editor as such, but there are tools for creating animations in it, and very worthy of attention.

The program allows you to create and edit animation clips (in this case, the emphasis is on them) using more than 200 effects, editing can be done based on 8-bit mode, and at the finalization stage for quality improvement switch to 32-bit. You can also use color filters to eliminate differences in different fragments, set the storyboard frequency at 30 fps and higher, and set the most varied aspect ratios, including even transformations and transitions between them (4: 3, 16: 9, 16: 10), etc. In general, there are enough tools.

Additional tools for working with Flash

Speaking of creating and editing animation clips, you can not ignore some additional utilities that can be useful in the work. In particular, it concerns the conversion of the final SWF file to the original format of the FLA project by decompiling (code formatting), as well as some additional tools used to improve the image quality and reduce the size of the final file without losing quality.

Among the most necessary programs are the following:

• Flash Decompiler Trillix.
• Sothink SWF Decompiler.
• Flash Optimizer.
• Sparkle SWF Optimizer.

Flash Decompiler Trillix

This program will be needed by a novice user to convert the SWF file to FLA format so that the project can be opened even in the simplest editor and make the necessary changes to it.

In fact, this is an advanced converter with the capabilities of the editor, in which changes can be made "on the fly." It can also be used for batch conversion. And all this is done without the mandatory installation of plug-ins Adobe and Macromedia.

Sothink SWF Decompiler

This program is also a decompiler-editor, however, paid. Its possibilities are very interesting. It is focused on the rapid creation or editing of banners, commercials and even Flash-games.

For beginners, the application provides for a special "Wizard" based on the choice of the type and structure of the future project from the available templates. In addition, you can work with the source code, apply all sorts of filters, effects, or create vector images in a special environment WYSIWYG.

Flash Optimizer and Sparkle SWF Optimizer

These two small utilities, as the name implies, are some optimizers that allow you to reduce the size of the finished SWF file to save space without losing quality. Especially they will be useful to all those who place their work on the Internet or are engaged in the creation of banners and online Flash-format games.

As stated on the official websites of developers, these utilities allow you to compress and reduce the size of the source object by as much as 70%. They have several types of optimization with the use of automatic conversion after setting the necessary parameters.

What to use?

Finally, the most important question: "What of all this you choose?". We think that beginning animators and web designers should start with the simplest utilities. Those who have at least a little understanding of creating and editing SWF-clips, no doubt, will suit professional utilities. There is a choice for the user. However, if you want and study the help information that is available in most of the presented applications, mastering the work with them can be very simple. But which editor is better? By the right of a palm tree belongs to the development of Adobe, although the rest of the editors and decompilers should not be discarded.