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Basic Questions Concerning Acrobat Embedding of SWF Content

Forum Index > Rich Media/Flash > Basic Questions Concerning Acrobat Embedding of SWF Content
2011-09-03 23:50:43
tcorbet
Registered: Jul 16 2011
Posts: 2

I apologize for what will be simple questions. I have spent several hours searching as many Adobe-related forums as possible and can't seem to find clear, correct answers.
 
A. Does an Acrobat reader, when encountering embedded SWF content, attempt to render it by itself, or does it depend upon there being a Flash Player available on that host?
 
B. If Acrobat does not depend upon there being a Flash Player, what is the migration/upgrade procedure to be followed with new releases of the Flash Player? As you are all, no doubt, aware, this has been a very active summer for releases of Flash and Flex applications. So, let me be more specific:
 
i. at the present time, if I embed a Flex-produced .swf version 11 file in a PDF, will clients with the most current Adobe X Reader be able to use it?
2. if, in a couple of weeks, Flash Player 11 is released, will my clients be able to use an embedded .swf [version 13] written to use the Molehill facilities?
 
C. Clearly I don't have a clue as to how the Acrobat and Flash Player products are meant to be merged to deliver the best RIA experience, so let me take my ignorance a step further. Suppose I have an AIR-authored .swf file -- not one even using any of the Molehill features, just taking advantage of the 3D API introduced almost two years ago, will that play if embedded in a PDF and opened by Reader 9.x; how about Reader 10.x?
 
Thank you.
 

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2011-09-04 03:15:07
#1
UVSAR
Expert
Registered: Oct 29 2008
Posts: 1357
Rich Media annotations in the Adobe Acrobat X Family play *only* within the embedded and sandboxed copy of Flash Player - they do not and cannot use an externally-installed copy of Flash Player.

"Legacy media" annotations created in Acrobat 9 or earlier must have an external playback host installed. Acrobat 9 Pro can create both Rich Media and legacy media, Acrobat 8 can only create legacy media, Acrobat X can only create Rich Media. Playback of legacy media is disabled on the current versions of Acrobat and Adobe Reader, for security reasons.

Updates to the sandboxed Player are provided via the updates to Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Updates to the standalone Flash Player have no effect, and end users cannot perform a manual update or use features from a pre-release version. Except in cases where a security issue is identified, updates to the Adobe Acrobat Family occur approximately once a quarter, and are not in sync with the releases of Flash Player.

As of today, the version of Flash Player embedded in the Adobe Acrobat X Family is 10.3.181.22. This embedded version has restrictions on network and file access, use of local shared objects, etc. but the graphics subsystem is implemented as normal. SWF files targeting features from higher builds will not run.

We do not discuss any features of yet-to-be-released software, nor will we confirm if any features proposed for the standalone Flash Player product line will be supported by the embedded version in the Acrobat Family.
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2011-09-04 10:05:13
#2
tcorbet
Registered: Jul 16 2011
Posts: 2
01. Thank you for a prompt, helpful, comprehensive answer. I've not previously encountered the "Accept this Answer" check mark. I feel that I ought to click it as a sort of "thank you note", but that seems like it might have the effect of shutting down this thread, whereas I would like to follow up just a bit.

02. It was most heartening to see that the version of the 'embedded, sandboxed' Flash Player is very current AND to know about an aggressive, approximately-quarterly, upgrade/release cycle. Can you, or someone, tell me what the behavior of the Acrobat Reader Family is if a user opens a PDF with embedded Flash content requiring a newer version than that host currently has installed? Is there a "nice" diagnostic message, or does the launch/run of the embedded code simply fail? Assuming there is some "nice" behavior, does it link, in any way to a "nice set of clicks" that could be used ro obtain a more current release, or are application developers supposed to handle those requirements?

03. I understand "not discussing yet-to-be-released" software features. For most products there are channels of communications where application developers can gain a sense of a "roadmap" and influence the allocation of development priorities. It is not clear, when one product group essentially incorporates another product group's functionality how/where to stay abreast and involved.

I am pretty well acquainted with the manner in which the AIR folks plan/decide the manner in which they want to deal with core Flash Player functionality in deployments where the strictures of a tightly-sandboxed architecture can become counter-productive, and participate in those forums, but -- as you can see -- am woefully ignorant of the comparable Acrobat - Flash integrations. I have just now, perhaps unadvisedly, thought to look at Acrobat as 'just another delivery vehicle' for core functionality that starts in the Flash Player. So, finding a roadmap, or helping to drive one, which would increase the likelihood that code [and related infrastructure support] developed once could be successfully deployed to different marketplaces using Acrobat would be very helpful.

As a starting point, for example, if "incubator", "alpha" or "beta" functionality promulgated by the Flash Platform folks is not and probably will not ever find its way into the Acrobat-embedded version of the player, that information could guide our own development decisions. It does not mean that we would not consider Acrobat as a delivery vehicle, and it does not mean that we would constantly badger the Acrobat team. There could be very valid reasons that you do not want to consider opening access to some Flash Player functionality in the context of your Reader product; we just need a means for being able to identify the curves along the roadmap in a timely manner so as to most productively employ the range of technologies Adobe is making available.
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