This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Approach for legacy site that use Flash or other legacy tech

SAI157
SAI157
more options

Mozilla announced last year that it will stop support some legacy technology and as we know Firefox will block flash starting August 2016.

What are some ways to deal with site that still using Flash or legacy technology, so the apps do not break. Chrome introduced Legacy Browser Support (LBS) plugin that redirected sites. Is Mozilla going to introduce any such tool or other approach, so it does not effect user experience and gives developers more time to make their apps compatible.

This is an open question, and I am looking to hear bunch of ideas as to what would happen an Enterprise network for those sites.

Mozilla announced last year that it will stop support some legacy technology and as we know Firefox will block flash starting August 2016. What are some ways to deal with site that still using Flash or legacy technology, so the apps do not break. Chrome introduced Legacy Browser Support (LBS) plugin that redirected sites. Is Mozilla going to introduce any such tool or other approach, so it does not effect user experience and gives developers more time to make their apps compatible. This is an open question, and I am looking to hear bunch of ideas as to what would happen an Enterprise network for those sites.

All Replies (2)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
more options

SAI157 said

Mozilla announced last year that it will stop support some legacy technology and as we know Firefox will block flash starting August 2016.

Most Flash will NOT be blocked in Firefox 48. There will be a specific list of SWF files that are blocked, based on their apparent use in tracking (browser fingerprinting or settings Flash "supercookies"). So far, this list is pretty short and it's unlikely to affect typical web use.

It's conceivable that at some point, Firefox will no longer automatically activate Flash by default on sites, but require site-by-site activation, as is common for most other plugins. Users may need guidance in how to use that feature if they haven't encountered that before.

Regarding the longer term issue of NO Flash plugin:

Some Flash-based sites might never be updated. There either will be another technology to view those sites or there won't. Mozilla had a project called Shumway to convert Flash to HTML5 on the fly, but that is no longer expected to be built into Firefox. Others could use its code for an extension or... who knows??

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
more options

I don't know whether it's relevant to your legacy sites, but you may be familiar with Oracle's approach to this problem: Java Web Start.

https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_webstart.xml

Adobe has a stand-alone version of the Flash player for developers, it might be called the Projector. I don't know if there is a way to send Flash content from a web page to the stand-alone player and have it end up with the same connectivity supplied by a browser. You could try Adobe's forums to follow up on that or other possibilities.