Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 711)

705 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Rendering and exporting
Last updated 12/21/2009
Note: Mac OS provides the total amount of Texture Memory available on the display card in the OpenGL Information
dialog box; Windows does not.
More Help topics
“ Render settings ” on page 697
“ Preview video and audio ” on page 195
Rendering and exporting for Flash Professional and
Flash Player
You can render and export movies from After Effects as movies that can play in Adobe Flash Player. SWF files play
natively in Flash Player, whereas an FLV or F4V file must be contained in (or linked to from) a SWF file to play in Flash
Player. You can also export compositions to Flash Professional as XFL files.
For a video tutorial comparing various aspects of the integration between After Effects, Flash Professional, and Flash
Player, go to the Adobe website at
www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4105_xp .
For a video tutorial on exporting to XFL format, go to the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4098_xp .
For a video tutorial on rendering and exporting to FLV and F4V formats, go to the Adobe website at
www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4097_xp .
XFL
XFL files are representations of compositions that can be opened in Flash Professional CS4. XFL files are essentially
the XML equivalent of FLA files.
SWF
SWF files are small files that play in Flash Player. They are often used to deliver animated vector graphics (such as
cartoons), audio, and other data types over the Internet. SWF files also allow viewer interaction, such as clicking to
follow a web link, control animation, or provide input to a rich internet application (RIA). SWF files are the output
created from FLA files.
FLV and F4V
FLV and F4V files contain only pixel-based (rasterized) video, not vector graphics, and they aren’t interactive. FLA
files can contain and refer to FLV and F4V files, which are then embedded or linked in SWF files that play in Flash
Player.
More Help topics
“ Working with Flash and After Effects ” on page 40
“ Basics of rendering and exporting ” on page 688
Export a composition as an XFL file to Flash Professional
You can export a composition from After Effects to the XFL format for further modification and use in Flash
Professional CS4. For example, you can use ActionScript in Flash Professional to add interactive animation to each of
the layers from an After Effects composition.