Accessibility

Flash Player Article

 

Future-Proofing Flash Player Detection Scripts


Michael Williams

Michael Williams

Macromedia Flash Software Engineer

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Checking for More Than Just the Version You Need
  3. The Right Way to Detect
Created:
11 July 2005
User Level:
Intermediate, Advanced

Each new release of Macromedia Flash Player brings opportunities to create even better experiences. One of the most challenging aspects of deploying Flash content is building a robust detection script that withstands the test of time. The upcoming release of Flash Player, codenamed "Maelstrom," introduces some new features which make detection and installation a great deal easier than before. After it is released, we will provide a comprehensive guide to detecting and installing Flash Player on your website.

In the meantime, however, as the Flash Player team performs ongoing compatibility testing, we've noticed that some popular sites perform player detection in such a way that visitors with Flash Player versions greater than the required version are not permitted to view the content. This prevents our quality assurance team and our beta testing community from being able to discover compatibility issues proactively with the new version of Flash Player. Moreover, detection scripts that aren't updated by the time Macromedia releases Flash Player 8 will prevent users who have the latest version from entering your site.

Mending your detection scripts, if it is necessary, can be done easily and quickly and tested for virtually all script- or SWF-based detection scripts that encompass all versions. Doing so will simplify detection on your site and ensure that you don't unnecessarily shut out visitors.

This article covers two important topics:

  • Checking and, if necessary, updating your existing detection scripts to ensure that they function properly when visitors who have Flash Player 8 begin frequenting your website
  • Script-based detection of the Flash Player minor revision in Microsoft Internet Explorer
Page 1 of 3
Next Page

About the author

Michael Williams is a software engineer at Macromedia. He is responsible for evangelizing and implementing technologies related to Macromedia Flash. Prior to Macromedia, Michael spent three years doing research and development at the Walt Disney Company. He was also a member of the Macromedia Flash Advisory Board. At Disney/Go.com, Williams developed and implemented web content and applications for various corporate sites, including Disney.com, Disneyblast.com, Movies.com, ESPN.com, and ABC.com. Michael helped Disney create core systems and standardize on a single platform after the acquisition of Infoseek.