"This program requires flash.ocx, which is no longer included in this version of Windows"

[Davidb01]

First, thanks for stopping by to help.

I'm trying to install swiff player (so I can add an .swf to my Microsoft Powerpoint lecture), but Swiff Player gives error:

"This program requires flash.ocx, which is no longer included in this version of Windows"

An online search was unfruitful. 

Resetting IE doesn't work.

I have Windows 7 32 bit, and I have installed (just today), Flash Player & Shockwave Player.

This next paragraph may or may not help (but is probably too much info):  

All this was working before I had to reinstall windows. They also upgraded my office to Office15 (how it shows in Program Files), so Powerpoint was upgraded (from my previous which was Office 2010. What I'm trying to do here is add a .swf as my 1st opening slide in my powerpoint. I noticed it's "there", but it no longer autoplays and right clicking on the swf placeholder (from when I'd placed it in that file years ago), no longer shows things like "properties" where I used to have features like loop/play immediately... I remember that you had to right click on that flash placeholder (I'd used SWIFF PLAYER to add it before) and then go down to "loop"...but that maybe too much unnec info--just in case it's helpful). So, anyway, because of the reformatting of Windows, I noticed this 1st slide no longer plays automatically on open. Therefore, I remember I had to also reinstall Swiff Player, which I did today, and then encountered that flash.ocx error above.

THANKS if you can help, and especially, thanks for your solutions.

[Kratika Agarwal]

Hi,

Can you please log a bug in our bugbase https://bugbase.adobe.com/

and share the Power point files with .swf embedded with steps to reproduce the issue.

Thanks

[Davidb01]

Skip the SwifPlayer part for now please. The situation has changed a little. I ended up adding the video within Powerpoint (Office 2015) itself.

I just used the "insert video" using ppt's own "insert video" icon (it's the 1st slide), and then hit F5 (run the slide show), it shows the 1st slide (but not the video), and advances to the next slide etc. So, then I noticed that, if you RIGHT click on the video placeholder, it shows "start" and then you choose "automatically", THEN it shows fine....EXCEPT (and here's my updated question) now, when I run the presentation (I try to see myself as the end-user), it gives "SECURITY ALERT:  Your current security settings do not allow this action". Of course I can go in and adjust my security settings, but that doesn't help the end-user since I want to make it so that it autoplays the video, but without security warnings. Hopefully you can help me here: my updated question:

What I'm hoping to learn now please is what's the best way to add an .swf video to Powerpoint (Office 2015) in Windows 7 32 bit SO THAT it's compatible with most users (so they don't get ActiveX, security warnings, etc). Looking for simple solution if possible. Thanks in advance very much for your solutions.

[jeromiec83223024 · Accepted solution]

You're running into a security feature in current versions of Office.  Flash content is click-to-play in office documents.  Unfortunately, one of the major vectors for malware infection inside enterprise networks was end-users clicking on legitimate-looking office documents with embedded plug-in content.  To mitigate this infection risk, embedded content like SWFs are click-to-play. If it were possible to circumvent the security dialogs, they would not provide a meaningful defense against this attack vector.

There's a guide on the Microsoft support side on embedding videos directly into your presentation:

Insert video into your presentation - PowerPoint

If you're looking to display a simple Flash animation, you're probably better off converting it to video.  You can do this directly from Flash Professional, as long as you have the original source files (.fla).   If you don't have the .fla, you might do the hacky thing and use a screen-capture utility like Adobe Captivate / Camtasia Studio / etc - to make a video recording of the animation playing on the local computer.

If you're looking to embed a complex Flash-based interactive element into the document, then you should probably think about putting those elements on a website and linking to them from the powerpoint presentation.  In my personal opinion, it would be better to move away from this use-case than to train your students to ignore the security dialogs which really do provide meaningful barriers to would-be attackers.

[Davidb01]

VERY helpful and thoughtful response. Thanks. I've been thinking each day to get back to your earlier, but was too busy, but wanted to make sure I showed my appreciation.  I like the idea of converting the swf to .mp4 since I don't have the .fla (it's created in a different tool, called mix fx). I wanted to find out if others here (I know you're with adobe of course) can recommend some good, free converters. I tried Doremi, but it looked blurry. I want the output to have an excellent quality. Thanks for some ideas. I do know I can search for "free swf to mp4", but I value the experience of intelligent, well-minded people. Thanks for your help so far Jerome! That did answer my question very well. Oh, in case it matters, it's not for embed. Thanks very much.

[birkant97750310]

Solved- I had a similar problem. Flash.ocx missing, and flash doesn't work in some programs. What I did is to uninstall Flash and reinstall it NOT using Chrome but FIREFOX, which on the Adobe Flash Player Download page gives you the option to install flash player WITH ACTIVE X. So, the key is to choose and download the Active X (for Internet Explorer) on the download page. After I downloaded this, everything started to work fine again. If I go to Control Panel/Programs and Features, I have Adobe Flash Player 28 ActiveX. However, if you download Adobe Flash by using Chrome, you don't have the Active X, which, I guess, is necessary to play flash on other programs. Hope this helps!

[Funnyboy]

Downloaded with IE8 and worked for me

Thank you