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This page contains information on Flash, a proprietary format for delivering audio and video content, primarily over the Internet.
This page contains information on Flash, a proprietary format for delivering audio and video content, primarily over the Internet.


 
== Flash is non-free/proprietary software ==
 
== Flash is Non-Free Software ==


Adobe's Flash plugin cannot be included in Fedora because it is not free/libre and open source software.  Adobe does release a version of the Flash plugin for Linux, and this can be used in Firefox, Konqueror and other popular Internet browsers.  When Adobe releases a newer version of the Linux Flash plugin, it makes packages available for Fedora, but Fedora cannot include Adobe's plugin as long as it is unavailable as free and open source software.
Adobe's Flash plugin cannot be included in Fedora because it is not free/libre and open source software.  Adobe does release a version of the Flash plugin for Linux, and this can be used in Firefox, Konqueror and other popular Internet browsers.  When Adobe releases a newer version of the Linux Flash plugin, it makes packages available for Fedora, but Fedora cannot include Adobe's plugin as long as it is unavailable as free and open source software.


{{admon/important | Free alternatives to Adobe Flash | There are free and open source alternatives including [http://www.schleef.org/swfdec/ Swfdec]  and [http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/ Gnash]; both are available in Fedora's package repositories.  There are other open alternatives to Flash itself, including the patent unencumbered and free Ogg video and audio format. Fedora has complete support for such open formats, and Fedora 11 and above includes a version of Firefox web browser that plays Ogg files directly, without the need of external third party and proprietary browser plugins.}}
There are other open alternatives to Flash itself, including the patent unencumbered and free WebM,  Ogg Theora video and Ogg Vorbis audio formats. Fedora has complete support for such open formats, and Fedora includes several web browsers including Firefox, Epiphany etc that plays Ogg and WebM files directly, without any need of third party and proprietary browser plugins.
 
== Fedora 10, 11, 12 and Rawhide ==
 
This section contains information relevant specifically to installation of Flash on Fedora 10 or later releases.
 
=== Enabling Flash Plugin ===
 
Adobe offers several methods to install their 32-bit Flash 10 plugin.  In general, the YUM version is preferred, since it allows the plugin to be updated automatically through Fedora's normal update mechanism.  The YUM version simply installs the repository configuration files, after which you must install the Flash plugin separately.
 
To begin, refer to the Adobe site at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.  Select ''YUM for Linux'' to download, and confirm (or the .tar.gz version for the 64 bit alpha; see bottom).
 
 
This will download the adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm file. Installation of the repository file adobe-linux-i386.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d/ can be performed by installing the .rpm file. Issue the following command within the directory where you have downloaded the repository rpm file.
<pre>
su -c 'rpm -vhi adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm'
</pre>
 
The .rpm file also copies the adobe General Public Key (GPG key) to /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-adobe-linux but does not import it. To import the key, type:
<pre>
su -c 'rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-adobe-linux'
</pre>
 
The system is now ready to fetch rpm packages from adobe using yum. To verify this, take a look at the /etc/yum.repos.d/adobe-linux-i386.repo file that was just created. You should see something similar to the following:
 
<pre>
[adobe-linux-i386]
name=Adobe Systems Incorporated
baseurl=http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/linux/i386/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-adobe-linux
</pre>
 
Notice that the file contains the URL where the packages are located, whether or not the repository should be enabled, whether rpm should check downloaded packages from adobe against the GPG key, and the location of the key itself.
 
 
Now proceed to either the instructions for [[#For_i386 | 32-bit (i386) platforms]] or [[#For_x86_64 | 64-bit (x86_64) platforms]].
 
 
==== On 32-bit Fedora ====
 
After completing the adobe repository configuration, run the following command to install the Flash plugin and ensure sound is enabled:
<pre>
su -c 'yum install flash-plugin alsa-plugins-pulseaudio \
    libcurl'
</pre>
 
You may see messages indicating that <code>alsa-plugins-pulseaudio</code> and <code>libcurl</code> are already installed.  This is not a problem.  Note also that <code>nspluginwrapper</code> is already installed by default and will wrap the Flash plugin.
 
Next, you should [[#Checking_the_plugin | check the plugin]].
 
==== On 64-bit Fedora ====
 
=====32 bit wrapped version=====
 
These instructions will install a 32-bit plugin that will work with the 64-bit browser by being "wrapped" with nspluginwrapper.
 
After installing the repository configuration, run the following command to install the Flash plugin and ensure sound is enabled.
 
For Fedora 10:
<pre>
su -c 'yum install flash-plugin nspluginwrapper.x86_64 \
    nspluginwrapper.i386 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i386 \
    libcurl.i386'
</pre>
 
For Fedora 11:
<pre>
su -c 'yum install flash-plugin nspluginwrapper.x86_64 \
    nspluginwrapper.i586 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i586 \
    libcurl.i586'
</pre>
 
For Fedora 12:
<pre>
su -c 'yum install flash-plugin nspluginwrapper.x86_64 \
    nspluginwrapper.i686 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i686 \
    libcurl.i686'
</pre>
 
You may see a message indicating that <code>nspluginwrapper.x86_64</code> is already installed.  This is not a problem.
 
=====64-bit alpha=====
 
Adobe also has a pre-release version of a 64-bit plugin. Until this is supported via yum, you will need to do the following:
 
# Download the .tar.gz version from Adobe [http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/64bit.html here].
# Use "gtar -xzvf" to extract libflashplayer.so and put it in either in {{filename|/usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/}} or {{filename|~/.mozilla/plugins/}}.
# Restart Firefox.
# OR: An rpm for the 64bit alpha flash can be found [http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=205642&highlight=flash+64+bit  here]
 
{{admon/note | No security updates for pre-release | The pre-release does not receive security updates on the same regular schedule as release versions.  Your computer may be at risk by running the alpha version.  Until a yum repository is supported, you must manually check the Adobe site for new releases.}}
 
=== Checking the plugin ===
 
After the installation, exit all copies of '''Firefox''' and start it again to enable the plugin.  Then type the following text in the Firefox address bar:
<pre>
about:plugins
</pre>
 
A section similar to the following should appear:


[[Image:Flash-check-2.png]]
== YouTube, Vimeo and WebM support ==


This information tells you that the Adobe Flash plugin has been successfully installed.
Google has open sourced an implementation of VP8 video format and combined it with Ogg Vorbis audio and an adaptation of the Matroska container, creating a new format for free and open video and audio called WebM.  YouTube is switching over to using WebM extensively and Fedora has embraced this format as well.  Current versions of Fedora support WebM by default.  


=== SELinux problems ===
The Vimeo videoportal makes intensive use of javascript, and can in most cases be accessed without the need for Flash.


In some cases, <code>nspluginwrapper</code> produces SELinux AVC errors, some of which may prevent viewing Flash content. Changing the relevant SELinux boolean may resolve this problem, but eliminates a great deal of additional security when using <code>nspluginwrapper</code>. To make the change, run the following command:
Youtube will automatically forward your Webbrowser to the right version, where no flash is needed if Flash is not installed on your system. Vimeo does that even more often, even if a flash player is installed.  


<pre>
{|
su -c 'setsebool -P allow_unconfined_nsplugin_transition=0'
|-
</pre>
| style="border-width: 0;" | {{admon/tip | Worth to mention | Note that not all videos are available in WebM, or an open webmedia formatm yet, but the majority of them should play just fine. }}


=== <code>libflashsupport</code> deprecated ===
== Flash plugin ==


The <code>libflashsupport</code> package is no longer needed with Flash 10 and has been removed from Fedora 10.  The Flash plugin now calls the appropriate ALSA functions directly, and in the default configuration ALSA delivers sound to PulseAudio.
For information on installing the plugin, refer to [https://ask.fedoraproject.org/en/question/10217/ Ask Fedora Flash page]

Revision as of 14:39, 10 November 2014

This page contains information on Flash, a proprietary format for delivering audio and video content, primarily over the Internet.

Flash is non-free/proprietary software

Adobe's Flash plugin cannot be included in Fedora because it is not free/libre and open source software. Adobe does release a version of the Flash plugin for Linux, and this can be used in Firefox, Konqueror and other popular Internet browsers. When Adobe releases a newer version of the Linux Flash plugin, it makes packages available for Fedora, but Fedora cannot include Adobe's plugin as long as it is unavailable as free and open source software.

There are other open alternatives to Flash itself, including the patent unencumbered and free WebM, Ogg Theora video and Ogg Vorbis audio formats. Fedora has complete support for such open formats, and Fedora includes several web browsers including Firefox, Epiphany etc that plays Ogg and WebM files directly, without any need of third party and proprietary browser plugins.

YouTube, Vimeo and WebM support

Google has open sourced an implementation of VP8 video format and combined it with Ogg Vorbis audio and an adaptation of the Matroska container, creating a new format for free and open video and audio called WebM. YouTube is switching over to using WebM extensively and Fedora has embraced this format as well. Current versions of Fedora support WebM by default.

The Vimeo videoportal makes intensive use of javascript, and can in most cases be accessed without the need for Flash.

Youtube will automatically forward your Webbrowser to the right version, where no flash is needed if Flash is not installed on your system. Vimeo does that even more often, even if a flash player is installed.

Idea.png
Worth to mention
Note that not all videos are available in WebM, or an open webmedia formatm yet, but the majority of them should play just fine.

Flash plugin

For information on installing the plugin, refer to Ask Fedora Flash page