Hack89.Install the Macromedia Plug-in in a Flash

Hack 89. Install the Macromedia Plug-in in a Flash

Add Flash and Shockwave support to Mozilla-based browsers and Konqueror.

Flash and Shockwave plug-ins have a rather mixed reputation among Internet users. Some people think that Flash and Shockwave are overused on web sites and, as the name itself suggests, offer more flash than substance. Others enjoy the ability to view interactive content on the Web like games and animated cartoons. Whichever side of this debate you rest on, if you want to view Flash-or Shockwave-based content on the Web under Linux, you need to install the Flash Player web browser plug-in.

Certain distributions have prepackaged installers to automate Flash player installation, but for the purposes of this hack, I'll describe the all-purpose, all-distribution method. The first step is to download the Flash Player package from http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/alternates. Scroll down to the Other Operating Systems table, choose the newest Flash Player package listed for Linux x86, and save it to your hard drive.

Next, open a terminal and extract the tarball you have downloaded:

 $ tar xvzf  flash_player_7_linux.tar.gz  

There is a shell script installer you can run; however, it's just as easy to copy the two plug-in files to your Mozilla plug-in directory. Change to the extracted directory and copy the following two files to your Mozilla plug-in directory as root (change the plugins directory to match your Mozilla plug-ins directory):

 [root@localhost ~]# cd  install_flash_player_7_linux  [root@localhost install_flash_player_7_linux]# cp libflashplayer.so \  flashplayer.xpt  /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins  

At this point, restart any browser you have open. If you use Mozilla-based browsers, you can go straight to testing the plug-in. If you use Konqueror, you may need to first scan for the new plug-in. To do this, launch Konqueror and click Settings Configure Konqueror. In the window that appears, scroll down and select the Plugins option from the list on the left. Make sure the directory where you added the plug-ins exists and then click Scan for New Plugins. The Shockwave plug-in should appear in the list of plug-ins shown in the Plugins tab in that window. Click OK to close the settings window.

To test the plug-in, visit http://www.shockwave.com and make sure that all of the content on the page is visible (if it isn't, you will see blank sections on the screen and your browser might prompt you to install a plug-in). If the plug-in isn't working, confirm that you have copied the two plug-in files to the Mozilla plug-ins directory and that they are readable by all users.