The Shockwave plugin allows you to play Shockwave movies in your browser. This article explains how to set up Shockwave and where to find help for Shockwave if you have further questions.
- The Shockwave plugin enables playback of animated content such as games, interactive demos, and online training. Shockwave content is created with Adobe Director.
An official plugin is not available for Linux. The CrossOver Office application for Unix platforms (including Linux) enables the use of Windows browser plugins, including the Shockwave plugin.
Table of Contents
Checking for Shockwave
Checking through Adobe.com
Although Shockwave is not included with Firefox by default, you can check to see if you have installed it previously. To check, complete the following steps:
- Visit http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/
- If your screen looks like the following, then Shockwave is not installed.
- To install Shockwave, click the puzzle piece icon and follow the on-screen instructions.
Checking through Firefox
Additionally, you can check to see if you have the Shockwave player plugin using Firefox:
- Open Firefox.
- At the top of the Firefox windowOn the menu bar, click the menu, and select to open the Add-ons window.
- In the Add-ons window, select the panel to display a list of installed plugins.
- Look for the entry: Shockwave for Director.
- If this entry is present, then Shockwave is already installed.
Installing Shockwave
If you have not installed the Shockwave plugin, please complete the following instructions:
- Go to http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/
- Click . A Download dialog box appears:
- Click to save the file. You should be able to see a download progress bar.
- When the file is downloaded, click Open in the Download Manager.
Uninstalling Shockwave
- In your Windows Taskbar, click the Start Menu. Then, click .
- In the list of Control Panels, select Add or Remove Programs. The Add or Remove Programs dialog appears.
- To remove Shockwave, click the button.
The image "remove_adobe_shockwave.PNG" does not exist.
- The Shockwave Player plugin is uninstalled.
Alternatively, you can download the Shockwave uninstaller from the Adobe website. Save the file to a folder of your hard disk, close all the programs and run the uninstaller; follow the instructions on the dialog boxes.
To uninstall the Shockwave player on a Macintosh OS, download the installer from this link. This program can also be used to uninstall Shockwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Firefox consume so much memory after installing Shockwave?
The Shockwave plugin can use up to 100 MB in a very short period of time. If you are constrained for RAM on your system, please uninstall Shockwave by following the instructions above.
Why is Shockwave still not working on my system?
One area to examine is Compatibility mode. On some systems, Shockwave fails to work properly unless it is run in Compatibility mode:
- On your local computer, navigate to the Firefox folder. Typically, this location is the following:
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox - Right-click the Firefox icon. Select .
- Click the tab.
- Verify that Run this program in compatibility mode for... is selected.
- From the drop-down menu, select Windows 2000.
- Click .
Where can I find additional resources about using Shockwave with Firefox?
- If your question is not answered here, you may want to check out the Adobe.com Shockwave Player Support FAQ.
- For more information about using Shockwave with Firefox, see the Mozdev.org Shockwave page.
What if I am still having problems?
If you continue to experience problems, you can Submit an error report to Adobe.
Based on information from Shockwave (mozillaZine KB)
