Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Gainford Amponsah -
Number of replies: 26

Please, what solutions do others have with regards to the Adobe Flash not being supported by various browsers? 

Is there any ideas available to resolve issues with legacy courses that we have created in Adobe Captivate and Storyline before Adobe stop supporting Flash now on our Moodle 3.5 Learning Management System?

Please, I will appreciate if members have found a way to resolve Adobe Flash problem that they can share. 

Thank you all. 

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In reply to Gainford Amponsah

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Howard Miller -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers
Go back to Captivate et al and re-export as something other than Flash. That's really the only answer.

The end of Flash has been talked about for years so it can't have come as a surprise.
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In reply to Gainford Amponsah

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Joost Elshoff -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Hi Gainford,

The Flash problem was solved when Flash became deprecated last year (I think it was). This end-of-life for Flash was announced well in advance, and shouldn't have caught instructional designers by surprise. Most SCORM editors / authoring tools have means on board to convert old Flash into newer HTML5 content, provided you updated your licenses for these tools.

Best solution I can think of is to rebuild your SCORM packages as HTML5 with the tool used to build them in the first place.

Also, if you're still running Moodle 3.5, you may want to consider updating to at least 3.9 LLTS.
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In reply to Joost Elshoff

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Howard Miller -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers
I've had quite of a lot of users - "I don't have the original files"... "I don't have the software any more". I can sympathise but that's about all sad
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In reply to Gainford Amponsah

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Marc Poirier -
Hello Gainford, I feel your pain, as I am presently converting 140+ flash assets into HTML content. Unfortunately, even though this was a well know situation, people still waited last minute to act, and got caught their pants down... This happened to me since the client gave me the contract in december 2020 LOL! The only solution I found so far was to use a software called Ruffle, that can still read flash animation, then convert those to HTML using a 3rd party software.

Cheers!

Marc.
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In reply to Marc Poirier

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
A Model-T Ford is not a stagecoach, and HTML5 is not Flash. It appears that you have some job security, Marc.
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Marc Poirier -
Not sure I follow you here Rick? What do you mean by job security? Indeed HTML5 is not flash, but flash got booted out because of security issues, as where HTML5 is the new platform for online gaming (mixed with JS, AJAX, etc. of course).

So far it has served me well, and I'm able to reproduce pretty much anything that was done in flash.
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In reply to Marc Poirier

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Okay, maybe I wasn't clear, and joking a little. If Ruffle converts Flash to HTML5 quickly, you are probably finished and can go on to another task. But if this conversion is still in progress, then you have some days of work cut out for you.

So, is Ruffle's conversion fast?
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Marc Poirier -
Ahhhh!!!! I get you now lol smile You got me scared for a bit.. I was like OH NO!! not another security issue!! ;) But to make the answer clearer . Ruffle does not convert flash to HTML5... At ALL!!! it just allows you to view the flash file... I have to recreate them from scratch in HTML5. So no quick fix! But if someone is desperate to get their flash file but can't view them, that's the alternative.

smile
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In reply to Gainford Amponsah

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Marc Poirier -
Yes, first off, if you do have it in Storyline (and have access to the original files), then just re-export and something else..

We did have to redo a bunch of gamification for a client that had a lot of assets in flash. This is something we offer if you are interested.

cheers!


(Edited by Helen Foster to remove advertising link - original submission Thursday, 8 July 2021, 3:52 PM)

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In reply to Gainford Amponsah

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Colin Fraser -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers
There is also a 3rd party viewer called Lightspark that may be useful. One way of dealing with this is to perhaps convert the files to mp4 format using Convertio, an online service I understand. (https://convertio.co//) this site claims to be able to do it. Or perhaps there is a tool or service convert to flv format, they play in VLC and MPV. If they are already flv, then Handbrake can convert them to mp4.

I do know that one guy ran the swf files and used a screen grabber, but I couldn't tell you which, maybe Screencast-o-matic, I know he has used that extensively. Good luck.
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In reply to Colin Fraser

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Melanie Scott -
Captivate still records as swf files. And I don't trust them. And have, so far, not found a way to convert swf to mp4 (that actually creates useable vids, a couple things convert but look horrible).
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In reply to Melanie Scott

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Marc Poirier -

1st off, why would you still want to use swf, knowing it is not supported? ... And I think it is important to understand that the .swf files, were used to create interactive experiences, things you cannot do with an .mp4, which is only a video file.. so to keep the interaction, html5 is your best alternative...

Marc.

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In reply to Marc Poirier

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Colin Fraser -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers
I use videos for new content, mostly, depending on the topic. I make them so they don't require interaction, I save that for assignments and quizzes, for which they can often refer to the videos for information. I really got to learn html5 properly, because there is always some interaction that would be very useful in most topics. Time is the problem right now, but once the pandemic has slowed dramatically, I might get to it.
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In reply to Melanie Scott

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
I left Flash around five years ago. But if one can still play Flash-based videos, I would use Camtasia and do a video-screen caption, save as mp4, and be done. Of course, Flash had many interactive features that are lost in an mp4 video.
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Colin Fraser -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers
Yep, me too, about the same time Rick, but I couldn't afford Adobe (and am now even more uncomfortable with the endless subscription model) so went to Screencast-o-matic, simple learning curve, cheap, many featured and I can import into a copy of Premier Pro CS4 (I bought second hand mumbledy years ago quite inexpensively, never registered, never been bothered with updates) and satisfactorily edit.
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In reply to Colin Fraser

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Yep, Colin, many other choices besides Camtasia, and I was using Camtasia as an example. I know the Mac has a screen-video capture utility, probably Windows 10 does too.
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Melanie Scott -
The funny thing is...Camtasia's screen capture is pretty good these days and, as far as I can see, doesn't record as swf (they have their own special format that then converts to what you want). And the Captivate recorded swf have nothing special in them. I could record the same stuff with snagit. The only extra is the little word bubbles/text boxes they call captions (dude, captions are something totally different!), thoroughly confusing accessibility newbies (but doesn't it have captions already? No, Captivate lies). And those I can add to a static image and get the same basic result. Okay...rant over.
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In reply to Melanie Scott

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by chris jordan -
Good day, Gainford. I understand your frustration because I'm in the middle of converting 140+ flash assets to HTML content. Sadly, despite the fact that this was a well-known scenario, individuals waited until the last minute to act, and were caught off guard... Since the customer granted me the contract in December 2020, this has occurred to me! So far, the only alternative I've discovered is to use a programmed called Ruffle, which can still read flash animation, and then convert it to HTML using a third-party programmed.
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In reply to Melanie Scott

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Yes, Melanie, SnagIt also has screen-video recording, but I use Camtasia because sometimes I need to edit the videos a little.

I have been away from Captivate for a while, but years ago, I learned (from Adobe) that Captivate was using non-mp4 formats (perhaps swf) for its videos. So if I captured in Captivate, I could not easily import the videos into other software, like Camtasia or Premiere.

When I use Camtasia to capture screen video, yes, the Camtasia file is its own format. But you can export to mp4, which is what I do.

Captions? Camtasia can auto-generate these, but the quality is not as good as Rev.com. So I always use Rev.com for captions and then use the .srt files within Vimeo. Rev.com can export to other caption formats, too.
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Melanie Scott -
Yup. That is what I use Camtasia for too. Most of my videos come out of zoom (or similar) and there is a transcript feature (I'd say 80% accurate...the other 20% is hilarious) which can be easily converted to srt...which is how I caption in Camtasia.

Putting video in Captivate and trying to (actually) caption is an exercise in self harm. It is horrible. Every other software I've ever looked at allows an srt or vtt import (including h5p!) but no...not Captivate.
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Colin Fraser -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers
I looked at rev.com and saw $$$$$$, and being an educational socialist, I'm just not going to cough up that kind of cash. Okay, Google's captioning service, as used by Screencast-o-matic, has trouble with my accent, but it's easy to edit captions, just another half-hour's work or so. I can also export the captions, but never bothered, only useful for that one video anyway.
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In reply to Colin Fraser

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Yes, Colin, seems expensive. And perhaps you hit upon a process (Google's captioning) + 1/2 hour work gets you there. And since your time is only worth around $10US/hour, you have the optimal cost solution. 😀

When I did an investigation a few years ago, for me to achieve Rev.com accuracy for a 20-minute video took me around 3 hours.  And I earn big-big bucks!!!  😇  So the Rev.com cost was the most cost-effective solution.

Incidentally, the cost of having outsiders doing captioning has been investigated a lot by my university.  So far, Rev.com is still the chosen solution.  But this can change quickly if some other company could outdo Rev.com.  I am looking forward to the day that smartphones do this automatically for any spoken word, then we will not need to administratively create captions.  I do believe that this will happen, just as smartphones (tablets, and computers) can now "read" words.

Also, as a point of reference, Rev.com does provide "auto-captioning" for $.25US/minute (instead of $1.25US/minute), but I tried it and found it to be too inaccurate.

(I am not associated with Rev.com, nor do I own any financial interest in Rev.com.  No "ad" intended in my post.)
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Colin Fraser -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers
This is what I do when not at work. as a teacher, I have no life. smile smile But I am not sure if I am just a cheapskate, or I have a genuine disgust of the essential idea of profiteering in Education. The Western Price Model is no longer serving us well in a number of areas, (Education, Health in particular). I am of the view that Education is a social necessity and should never be used, or held to ransom, for profit. It just seems that the more money some people have the lower their interest in ethical decisions or even minimum social support. They may miss the point in that the people who are making them money need skills they won't develop if they do not have a modicum of education behind them. 
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In reply to Colin Fraser

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Rick Jerz -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers
Yep, I understand, Colin. So we are back to the original post by Gainford Amponsah. Can you or anyone else help Gainford convert his Flash files, for free?  Any (education) volunteers?  😀
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In reply to Rick Jerz

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Marc Poirier -

Then I'd suggest if we wants free, and still keep the interaction, then he should get his hands on CONSTRUCT3 software, and do it himself... Don't know who can pay bills working for free! but if there are, great!! 

;)

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In reply to Marc Poirier

Re: Adobe Flash not being supported on browsers

by Colin Fraser -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers
No, Marc, nothing is free, except that which we donate without expectation. I didn't say free, I am suggesting that society pays for it, via the tax system. This means everyone pays taxes to support it, on a sliding scale depending on your total income, not your political influence. A fried chicken doesn't care how much you earn, it's the same price for everyone, but if you can afford to buy a thousand a day, then why can you not support students in schools, teachers in education, pay decent wages to people, like they don't do with your southern neighbours.

And Rick, if I had the skills, the software and, when I finally retire, the time, I would likely offer, just not this year, but this sort of volunteering is very much on my mind for my future.
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