Beginner's Guide to Adobe Flash/Publishing/SWF Files

An SWF file (or "swiff") is the resulting file created by flash after the movie is published through the Publish option under File>Publish. It is a vector-based file produced by Flash intended for small-scale production on the Internet. It stands for Small Web Format. A file of this format is called a Shockwave Flash Object. SWF is currently the dominant format for displaying animated vector graphics on the web.