Flash and Joomla News by Eyezberg

SWF Decompilers

A bad reputation for sometimes usefull tools: Decompilers allow you to read the ActionScript and extract ressources from SWF files.

Here are the best known of these tools, which might just come in handy some day when you need to look up in an swf which file it loads, or how that particular fonction works.. Range goes from free basic tool to commercial ones with many options:

• Flare

  is free, simple to use by right-clicking an SWF
  
  

• SWF Decompiler

  is very cheap but limited
  
  

• AVE Imperator

  is said to be good, haven't tested
  
  

• Sothink SWF Decompiler

  works well and allows you to recompile a fla from the swf
  
  

• Eltima Flash Decompiler

  has the same functionality
  
  

• ActionScript Viewer, aka ASV

  the best-known, very actively developed decompiler with many features and extensions
  
  

Flare

Flare processes an SWF and extracts all scripts from it. The output is written to a single text file. Only ActionScript is extracted, no text or images. Flare is freeware. Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions are available.

After installation, just right-click on any SWF file in Windows Explorer and choose Decompile from the context menu. There are no comments in SWFs, they are compiled away. No decompiler can recover what's not there, so don't expect any in the generated output..

Limitations:

• Flare isn't well suited for simple cut'n'paste. In the decompiled text file all frames, events and classes are shown together. To re-use it, you have to know where the code belongs to.
  
• Flare shows ActionScript I code even if source was ActionScript II. ActionScript II is mostly compiled to ActionScript I in SWF, with some additional instructions. There's no strong typing there, for example. While it would be possible to restore it, currently Flare can't do that.
• ActionScript III (Flash Player 8.5) isn't supported.

Website and download:

SWF Decompiler

This decompiler currently costs $4, not much really, but has limited features: it can NOT extract ActionScript, it can only:

• Extract Images.
• Extract MP3.
• Extract shapes and movie clips as separate SWF files.
• View SWF with a different background color.
• Save unprotected SWF (so you can import it in flash).
• Show SWF information (frame rate, size etc.).

Nothing much to say..

Website and download

AVE Imperator

IMPERATOR °FLA v3.4 generates FLA files with Flash 6 (MX), Flash 7 (MX 2004) or Flash 8 library from the selected input SWF (compiled with Macromedia's Flash), and thereby makes it possible to alter the content of a SWF even when the corresponding FLA got lost.

Furthermore it gives you the opportunity to extract all classes (*.as files) and included media files (pictures, sounds and videos) to separate files on your system.

It adds the two entries 'Save FLA..' and 'Save and Open FLA..' to the context menu appearing after right-clicks on SWF files in Windows explorer.

Currently (05 oct. 2006) priced 59 euros. 

Limitations:

Website and download:

Sothink SWF Decompiler

SWF Decompiler, which is compatible with ActionScript 2.0 completely, can export every SWF element such as ActionScripts, sounds, images, videos, shapes, frames, fonts, texts, buttons and sprites in various formats. Can extract the video file from a Flash movie and export it in *.flv format. 

Features

• Converts SWFs to FLAs completely and quickly.
• Decompiles Flash Movies (swf, exe).
• SWF in all versions can be imported, decompiled and converted to FLA（6.0 or 7.0 or 8.0 ）.
• Decompile, display and extract all Flash movie elements in groups, such as Shape, Morph Shape, Image, Sound, Font, Text, Sprite, Button, Frame and Action.
• Supports AS2.0 completely.
• Supports expanding the sprite frame by frame.
• Includes SWF Catcher for Firefox and IE to save online SWF files from your browser.
• Supports converting the swf that contains components to a fla file.
• Includes font linkage in the converted FLA.
• Supports exporting ActionScript in .as format.
• Supports converting swf that contains video to FLA.
• Can extract the video file from a Flash movie and export it in *.flv format.
• Besides recovering the static text to text, Sothink SWF Decompiler offers the function of converting static text to shapes.
• Has a built-in Flash viewer to view and play the Flash movies you select.

Website and download:

Eltima Flash Decompiler

Flash Decompiler is a powerful SWF to FLA converter with functionality to decompile Flash movies, convert SWF elements into multiple formats and replace them on the go.

• You can store sounds, images, videos, shapes, frames, morphs, fonts, texts, buttons, sprites and ActionScripts from any SWF file directly to your hard drive with one click.
  
• You can export Flash Video to AVI and FLA, save sounds as WAV and MP3, images - as PNG, JPEG and BMP, texts as RTF, TXT and HTML.
  
• Lets you convert the whole SWF file or only shapes, images, sounds, morphs and texts into FLA.
  
• Projector EXE files are decompiled the same easy way as common SWF files.
  
• Will give you detailed information about shapes, images, morphs etc, also tracking their placements in frames and sprites and even reflecting original names of frames, ActionScripts and sprites.
• The unique SWF Replacer feature of Flash Decompiler enables replacing images, colors, gradients and lines to make changes to SWF files even without previous conversion.
  
• A built-in explorer with SWF thumbnail view makes browsing for Flash movies very simple.
  

Website and download:

ASV

Action Script Viewer (ASV) is a SWF (Flash) decompiler which mainly

• lets you see the actionscript in SWF (Flash movie) files,
• lets you extract resources (bitmaps, sounds, videos, fonts etc., also outlines of vector symbols as actionscript or SVG or a JSFL Tool) from SWF files,
• lets you browse the internals of SWF files while providing infomation about frames, instance names, symbols, movie clips etc. and a timeline view with context sensitive preview,
• helps you reconstruct the FLA file for a SWF by exporting SWF resources and a JSFL command.

Currently (05 oct. 2006) priced $59.95

Can be extended by free add-on tools. Current available tools (for registered customers) are:

• ASV Projector Creator
• ASV IE Cache SWF Browser
• ASV FLV to Audio FLV Converter
• ASV SOL Viewer and Editor
• ASV MXP Viewer and Extractor

Website and download:

BONUS: Motion-Twin ActionScript 2 Compiler

MTASC is the first ActionScript 2 Open Source free compiler.

Website and download:

Comments (1) >>

Show/Hide comments

null said:

State the operating systems supported by the products. [from admin: all are for Windoze, never used a Mac. Next time say "please", it's just one more word to type...]

September 22, 2007

Write comment

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

Add Comment