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What's the difference between the Flash Player and Flash Projector?

By Adrien-Luc Sanders, About.com

Question: What's the difference between the Flash Player and Flash Projector?

Answer: The main difference between the Flash projector and the Flash player is the file type. The Flash player is a program that allows you to play SWFs, whether in an open player window or in a browser window. It must be installed on your computer for you to be able to play Flash content.

The Flash projector, however, is a standalone executable that allows you to run Flash content from your desktop without any plugins or additional players. This can be especially useful when distributing content via CD or DVD. When you export as a projector file, Flash saves your SWF as an executable program with a .exe (Windows) or .hqx (Macintosh) extension. Any user with or without the Flash player installed can run the executable.

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