When you double click on an FLA file it opens the last version of Flash that you used instead of the version of Flash that was used to create the FLA. If you have multiple versions of Flash installed, every click to open an FLA file is like rolling the dice. If you lose you get the "Unexpected file format" message, which really means "open me in the right version of Flash please".



If the last version of Flash you had open was MX 2004 and you double click on a version 6 (Flash MX) FLA file it will open, but it can take a looong time and then you still have to close Flash MX 2004 and reopen the FLA in Flash MX so you can edit it without making a mess of the FLA.

Admittedly the amount of time lost isn't huge, but it sure is annoying and life would be so much easier if the FLA was just opened in the right version of Flash. Well, I finally got fed up and created a utility that will do this... the Flash Version Checker and Launcher or FLAver for short.

When you install FLAver it hijacks the FLA format from Flash and associates all FLA files with FLAver.exe so when you double click on an FLA file it is opened by FLAver first. FLAver doesn't actually open the FLA file for editing, it just looks that the version of the FLA file and at the versions of Flash you have installed and chooses the closest version match for the FLA file. If you try to open an FLA file and you don't have a version of Flash that can open those FLA files FLAVer will present you with an error message like the one below, otherwise the FLA just opens in Flash and you can go on about your business.



Download your FREE copy of FLAver today.

About Northcode
Northcode Inc. is a provider of software and custom development solutions for the multimedia marketplace. Our flagship product, SWF Studio, allows users of Macromedia Flash to take Flash "beyond the browser" and enter new markets developing desktop applications, screensavers, CD-ROM front-ends and more. We're on a mission to enable Flash users to enter these new application spaces and compete directly with mainstream development languages like Visual Basic, Delphi and C++.

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