How can I view .swf files within Mac OS X?

Question

I have been sent a number of .swf files as attachments. I wish to view these within Mac OS X. I used to drag them directly into Safari and it would display them. However, after installing Safari 4 I only get a blank white window content when I do this.

How can I view these files on my Mac for free?

Answer 1

http://mac.eltima.com/freeflashplayer.html

Update: That link will take you to the free software I was talking about, but just noticed as of July 2010, the company is changing the software name to elmedia player.

Answer 2

I have Safari v.4.0.3 and Flash Player plugin v.10,0,12,36 (Debug player) installed in Mac OS 10.5.8 and opening .swf files in the browser works just fine for me. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that I have the debug version of Flash Player, but I suspect it'll work with the standard version as well, like it always has before Safari 4. So try updating your Flash Player and see if it'll work after that.

If you'd like to open .swf files outside of your browser, you can install Adobe's standalone ("projector") Flash Player.

p.s. You can check the version of your Flash Player plugin by going to http://playerversion.com

Answer 3

Just Get Perian. It's free and can play just about anything. It has almost every Codex available. Just install and go.

http://perian.org/

Answer 4

I recommend using VLC Player, which is available at: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

VLC Player rocks, it plays most formats and is multi-platform.