About FLA, SWF, and FLV file types

Before you use Dreamweaver to insert content created with Adobe Flash, you should be familiar with the following different file types:

FLA file (.fla)

The source file for any project and created in the Flash authoring tool. This type of file can only be opened in Flash (not in Dreamweaver or in browsers). You can open the FLA file in Flash, then publish it as a SWF or SWT file to use in browsers.

SWF file (.swf)

A compiled version of the FLA (.fla) file, optimized for viewing on the web. This file can be played back in browsers and previewed in Dreamweaver, but cannot be edited in Flash.

FLV file (.flv)

A video file that contains encoded audio and video data for delivery through Flash® Player. For example, if you had a QuickTime or Windows Media video file, you would use an encoder (such as Flash® CS3 Video Encoder, or Sorensen Squeeze) to convert the video file to an FLV file. For more information, visit the Video Technology Center at www.adobe.com/go/flv_devcenter.

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