One of the most versatile plugins for the browsers is Adobe Flash. Users need it for viewing still images, multimedia, streaming audio and video, along with animating texts, drawings, etc. Adobe Flash also captures the input of the user’s mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera.
Here, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about Adobe Flash For Firefox.
Testing Flash
Before beginning, you will have to find out if you have Flash installed in your browser and if it is working fine. You can test the Flash Player by going to the Adobe testing page on its website. It will tell you if Flash is installed or not on your browser. If Flash is not installed, you will have to install the plugin.
Installing Flash Plug-in
For installing Flash Plug-in, you will have to download the Flash Installer from the Adobe’s Flash Player download page. After the download is done, click on the Firefox menu and select exit. The browser will be closed. Now, launch the installer and follow the instructions for completing the download.
Update Flash Player In Firefox
Usually, Flash Player updates itself automatically or keeps notifying you to do that. However, if the test of Adobe page says the player is outdated, you wouldn’t need to wait for an automatic update. For updating the Flash Player manually perform the following:
- Open Firefox, go to the Menu and click on Add-ons.
- Select the option that says Check to see if your plugins are up to date.
- The next page will list the current status of your installed plugins. The red ones are vulnerable and outdated, the blue are the ones Firefox couldn’t check for you and the Green plugins are updated.
- Click on the red button Update now next to Shockwave Flash.
- Uncheck the optional offer and click on Install now.
- You will see the Initializing message for a while.
- A little pop-up window will ask for saving the file, save it.
- In the top right corner of Firefox, you will see a blue arrow indicating that the updated file is being downloaded.
- Once the process is finished, click on the “Download Arrow” and select the updated file.
- Click Yes on the window asking for permission to make changes in your system.
- Click Run when prompted if you really want to open the updated file.
- After the downloading and installing is done, click finish.
You have updated the player manually.
Enable Flash In Firefox
Before you enable the Flash Player, make sure it is downloaded and installed. To enable Flash,
- Open Firefox and click the Tools option
- In the drop-down, click the Add-ons option
- Choose Plugins of the options on the left side of the screen.
- Scroll down the list of Plugins until you find Shockwave Flash.
- Click the drop-down box on the Shockwave Flash plugin and choose Always Activate.
- Close your browser.
You have enabled the Flash in Firefox.
Set Adobe Flash to “click to play” on Firefox
For displaying contents on some websites, you need Flash. However, hackers often use the security flaws of Flash for running malicious software on your computer and gaining access to your system. One way to remain safe from this is to disable or remove Flash. But what will you do when your trusted websites need Flash for doing what you want them to do? For that, you can change the settings of the plugin for making Flash run only when you click to activate it.
- Click the menu button
- Choose Add-ons
- Select the Plugins panel in the Add-ons Manager tab
- Look for Shockwave Flash on your list.
- Set it to ‘Ask to Activate’
Now, if you need to use Flash on the website, click on the Activate Adobe Flash prompt and it will be good to go.
Troubleshooting
Now that you have installed, updated and enabled Flash, you will face some issues as well. However, you will be able to get out of them unscratched by following the solutions:
Flash plugin not working
If the Adobe test page tells you that your Flash is not working, even if you have the updated version, chances are high that your Flash plugin may be disabled in the Add-ons Manager.
- Click the Menu button
- Choose Add-ons
- The Add-ons Manager tab will open.
- Select the Plugins panel
- If Flash is disabled, select Ask to Activate option in its drop-down menu.
Flash Plugin Not Working On Certain Websites
There’s not much you can do if Flash isn’t working on certain websites. With some websites, Flash might cause security, speed or stability problems and hence, Firefox blocks the Flash Plugins for certain sites.
Flash Works In Internet Explorer Or Chrome But Not In Firefox
Flash comes in three different versions,
- ActiveX version for Internet Explorer
- Chrome version built into the browser and
- a plugin version for Firefox and some other browsers.
So you have to have the updated plug-in version if you want Flash Player.
“Activate Adobe Flash” Prompts
By default, the Flash plugin is set to “Ask to Activate” in the Add-ons manager. All you have to do is click on the “Activate Adobe Flash” message. This will allow the Flash content to load. If it doesn’t do so, reload the page and try doing that again.
Playing Flash Videos Makes Firefox Hang
These steps will help you get rid of this problem.
- Pause or stop Flash in other tabs and close the tabs.
- Update the Flash Player.
- Disable hardware acceleration in Flash settings.
- Update your graphics drivers or
- Disable Flash protected mode.
One of these actions will resolve this issue.
Other Flash Problems And Solutions
An extension, theme, or hardware acceleration in Firefox can cause other Flash problems. Sometimes, you might face issues with the general audio and video streaming. If nothing makes your Flash work, makes it stop acting strangely or getting into other errors back to back. Instead, update the player or reinstall it.
That’s all about Adobe Flash For Firefox. It will help you to mitigate your struggles with Flash in Firefox.
