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Google Swiffy extension exports Flash to HTML5, ActionScript fans rejoice
If you were bummed that you'd have to pick up some new coding skills when Adobe announced that Flash for mobile was finito, cheer up friends. Harken back to the summer months when Google unveiled its Swiffy conversion tool that turns those aging SWF files into browser friendly HTML5 animations. Now the folks in Mountain View have created an extension for the Flash desktop app that allows you to export your working files to something a little more up to date with a single click -- or a combination of keystrokes for you pros. So if you're worried you'd have to brush up on your coding wizardry, it seems you're safe... for now. If you're sporting Flash CS4 or newer, hit that source link to download the goods.
Google helps developers deliver Flash content to HTML5 with Swiffy
With minimal fanfare, Google has released Swiffy. It lets developers convert Flash SWF files to HTML5 so they are usable on Mobile Safari and other platforms that do not support Flash. For Adobe, the company that created Flash and aimed to have it to be the major animation and video standard on the web, this means that designers and animators can continue to use the well-known (and expensive) Flash authoring environment while addressing the growing number of HTML5 clients. The utility won't convert Flash videos, but seems to work quite well on web animations. You can see some examples from Google here and here. If you're viewing the demos from Safari with the Flash Player plug-in on a Mac, you'll see both windows, the original Flash version, and the translation. If you view on Mobile Safari, you'll only see the translation on the right. If you'd like to test it all yourself, Google will let you upload an SWF file and you'll get an instant conversion. Steve Jobs has famously resisted Flash on iOS products, saying it crashes and is a battery hog. It's not clear exactly where Google is positioning itself here, as the company's Android mobile OS does support Flash, but relatively few devices have enabled it (and even fewer in a way that customers like). Google has posted an FAQ on Swiffy with more details.
Google unveils Swiffy: turns high maintenance Flash animations into HTML5
Still hanging on to those sweet site loaders hoping they'd be of use again someday? Perhaps the time has come -- for some ads and animations, that is. Google Labs has cooked up Swiffy, which takes an antediluvian SWF file and creates an HTML5 version that will run in most current browsers (Chrome and Safari, for example). The converted file is pretty close in size to the original; however, the company warns that the project is fresh out of the oven, so it won't convert your entire Flash library just yet. Even still, software that makes existing animations useful without starting from scratch? Sign us up! Check out the source link for the FAQs and some of Swiffy's handiwork, then test drive this bad boy yourself.
