TheRealTimeWeb.com: R.I.P: FlashPaper Is Dead

R.I.P: FlashPaper Is Dead

Posted by Stefan Richter in Off topic | 17 Comments

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.

Tweet Follow @stefanrichter
Posted on September 8, 2008 at 11:24 AM. 8757 views. 17 comments. Print

TweetBacks

Comments

[Add Comment] [Subscribe to Comments]

#1 by Joe Hakooz on 9/8/08 - 2:30 PM

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).
#2 by James Cannings on 9/10/08 - 10:36 AM

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!
#3 by gianfranco torlone on 9/11/08 - 8:56 PM

I hope to replace FP with a component such as Adobe Flex Digital Edition
#4 by jay on 9/11/08 - 10:01 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...
#5 by Stefan Richter on 9/12/08 - 9:55 AM

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
#6 by erixtekila on 9/22/08 - 3:07 PM

Adobe should opensource FlashPaper in order not to discontinue it.
#7 by Billigfl on 10/15/08 - 11:21 AM

Jay, this sounds great. Sounds like you ease us Flashpapers death.
#8 by Joe Moore on 10/20/08 - 9:14 AM

this looks great!
how can i get it please?

thanks
#9 by wilcina longdon on 10/25/08 - 11:04 PM

This looks like it would work as a replacement.
How can I get it please?
#10 by Dave B on 11/12/08 - 10:59 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
#11 by Dave B on 11/12/08 - 11:01 PM

please send infos how to get it to the email: dave
#12 by Luis Alfonso on 12/30/08 - 1:29 AM

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...

Please send me the info Jay... i need it! Thanks for sharing...
#13 by Robert Lawrence on 1/26/09 - 9:44 PM

Yes, I am interested in a flashpaper alternative as well. Let me know. Thanks!
#14 by Stefan Richter on 2/5/09 - 4:41 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.
#15 by Javier Rodr on 3/31/09 - 1:35 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
#16 by Johnny on 6/3/09 - 10:12 PM

Hey Jay,
Can I get the tool?
Thanks

Johnny
#17 by surendran on 6/17/09 - 1:21 PM

can i have the alternative you are talking about

i am really desperate for it

can you share pls