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What software can I use to build Flash without Adobe Flash? I can't afford $500+ for the Adobe Software and wonder if there are freeware / shareware available for doing flash sites?

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Martin’s original question and the early replies are historically useful: correctly noted that timeline/tweening work could be done with simple builders while Actionscript-heavy projects traditionally required Adobe’s authoring tool, and pointed to an online service option. Both were valid in 2009, but the platform landscape has changed substantially since then. Adobe officially retired Flash Player on December 31, 2020 and began blocking Flash content in-player on January 12, 2021, so treating SWF as a target for new web work is no longer recommended. (adobe.com)

For new interactive content, author for web standards (HTML5 Canvas/SVG/WebGL + JavaScript) instead of SWF. Timeline-style, WYSIWYG work is still possible: Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) can publish to HTML5 Canvas and helps port existing FLA assets to JS-based output. For code-first projects, lightweight runtimes and engines such as CreateJS (EaselJS) or modern game/renderer libraries (Phaser, PixiJS) are the usual paths—these give the same kind of display-list and animation control that Flash developers expect, but target current browsers. ()

If maintaining or converting legacy Flash content is required, there are free/open toolchains and emulation options: historically, FlashDevelop plus the Flex/Flex SDK allowed ActionScript development without Adobe’s paid IDE; Haxe/OpenFL provides a Flash-like API that can target HTML5 and native builds; and Ruffle is an active open-source Flash emulator/WASM player for running many existing SWFs safely in modern browsers. For a migration workflow: inventory assets and ActionScript usage; export art as vectors/spritesheets; convert or rewrite logic in JS/TypeScript (or Haxe/OpenFL) where feasible; use Ruffle only for archival or interim playback. (github.com)

Cautions: do not install or run unauthorized old Flash Player builds (security risk); prefer migration to HTML5 for longevity and compatibility. The advice in the older replies still reflects the basic options, but the pragmatic starting point in 2025 is to plan migration to web standards rather than new SWF development. (adobe.com)

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Member Avatar for Alberts

If you just need to build websites, you can consider flash builder software such as A4DeskPro (http://www.a4deskpro.com).. However, if you want to do actionscrip and advance animation then you have to use Adobe Flash.

Member Avatar for chrishea

You can have a look at this online service. They charge an annual fee:
http://www.toufee.com

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