FlashComGuru.com - The Original Flash Video, Flash Media Server and Flash Platform Resource: R.I.P: FlashPaper Is Dead

Posted At : September 8, 2008 9:24 AM | Posted By : Stefan Richter | Related Categories: Off topic

Adobe is discontinuing the development of FlashPaper, effectively killing the product. While always living life as a bit of niche product I found it extremely versatile and especially useful to convert Powerpoint documents to SWF. Many sites still rely on this capability for showing documents in a Flash friendly format.

There have always been doubts about the future of FlashPaper ever since the Macrodobe merger and this recent announcement confirms that those doubts were valid. Farewell FlashPaper, I'll most certainly miss you.

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Very unfortunate. FlashPaper by far did the best job of converting PPT to SWF. I've testing dozens of other products out there and they never maintain formatting very well.

It would be great if PDFs could be loaded into Flash Player... without the toolbars. Better yet, if PPT supported SWF output(yeah right).

# Posted By Joe Hakooz | 9/8/08 2:30 PM

We have been using FlashPaper for the last 2 years to write a powerful aplication for a large publishing company. We use it to convert all their Quark \ InDesign documents into SWFs (it does a very good job!). The SWFs are embedded into the application and we can use the API to implement searches etc, etc.

By discontinuing it, Adobe seem to have left a big hole! Until we can integrate PDF files into an AS3 project and have an API to interact with that object then we are a bit stuck.

Certainly the last 2 years of my programming life would not have been possible without FlashPaper as its API and accuracy of conversion is the only thing that has allowed the product to have been built!

I'm keen to see how Adobe fill the hole!

# Posted By James Cannings | 9/10/08 10:36 AM

I hope to replace FP with a component such as Adobe Flex Digital Edition

# Posted By gianfranco torlone | 9/11/08 8:56 PM

I've developed something similar to FlashPaper using open source technologies. While the output isn't as quality as what you get with FlashPaper it is pretty decent. You can upload PDF files via a CMS and run a few scripts to get the files you need.

http://about.puma.com/pdfViewer/pindex.jsp?docId=9...

If others would use it I'd be happy to share...

# Posted By jay | 9/11/08 10:01 PM

Hello Jay,
I'd very much like to take a look at what you've built and how you approach this. It sounds like a useful project.

Stefan

# Posted By Stefan Richter | 9/12/08 9:55 AM

Adobe should opensource FlashPaper in order not to discontinue it.

# Posted By erixtekila | 9/22/08 3:07 PM

Jay, this sounds great. Sounds like you ease us Flashpapers death.

# Posted By Billigfl | 10/15/08 11:21 AM

this looks great!
how can i get it please?

thanks

# Posted By Joe Moore | 10/20/08 9:14 AM

This looks like it would work as a replacement.
How can I get it please?

# Posted By wilcina longdon | 10/25/08 11:04 PM

Wow I also need it, but without the button to make a pdf out of it - instead of that with the print button. how can I get it? are there similar products - open source maybe? infos to (dave

# Posted By Dave B | 11/12/08 10:59 PM

please send infos how to get it to the email: dave

# Posted By Dave B | 11/12/08 11:01 PM

# Posted By Luis Alfonso | 12/30/08 1:29 AM

Yes, I am interested in a flashpaper alternative as well. Let me know. Thanks!

# Posted By Robert Lawrence | 1/26/09 9:44 PM

I'll blog this soon but check out Print2Flash, they are the guys who used to develop Flashpaper before it was sold to Macromedia.

# Posted By Stefan Richter | 2/5/09 4:41 PM

There is a program to open the links in a PDF to convert it to Flash?Neither print2flash nor FlashPaper links open a pdf in a browser.

(Sorry for my english)

greetings

# Posted By Javier Rodr | 3/31/09 1:35 PM

Hey Jay,
Can I get the tool?
Thanks

Johnny

# Posted By Johnny | 6/3/09 10:12 PM

can i have the alternative you are talking about

i am really desperate for it

can you share pls

# Posted By surendran | 6/17/09 1:21 PM

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