.FLA File Format – Files in an XFL document

XFL document (Flash CS5 and later, ZIP)

An XFL document is a set of files in fixed places. In the .fla they are members of the ZIP archive; in the uncompressed form they are files in a folder. A typical document holds:

DOMDocument.xml                 the document
Hello.xfl                       PROXY-CS5, the marker
mimetype                        application/vnd.adobe.xfl
LIBRARY/                        the library, as folders
LIBRARY/Tween 1.xml             a symbol
LIBRARY/Assets/                 a library folder
LIBRARY/Assets/Other/minimap.png   an imported image, as it was
bin/M 31 1372941248.dat         a bitmap in Flash’s own form
bin/SymDepend.cache             a cache of symbol dependencies
META-INF/                       metadata
META-INF/metadata.xml
PublishSettings.xml             publish profiles
MobileSettings.xml              mobile settings
Members of each kind, with names taken from real documents. The marker file is named after the document.
MemberHolds
DOMDocument.xmlThe document (below).
name.xflNine bytes, PROXY-CS5: the marker.
mimetypeapplication/vnd.adobe.xfl; see The ZIP container.
LIBRARY/…One XML file a symbol, in the library’s folders, and imported files.
bin/M n stamp.datBitmaps.
bin/*.swf, bin/*.swcCompiled clips and components.
bin/SymDepend.cacheA binary cache of symbols.
META-INF/metadata.xmlXMP metadata.
PublishSettings.xmlThe publish profiles.
MobileSettings.xmlMobile settings; empty in the files seen.

DOMDocument.xml

The document itself, in UTF-8 XML. Its root element <DOMDocument> gives the stage size, background colour, the release that saved it and the xflVersion. Its children list the library’s folders, fonts, media and symbols, and hold one <DOMTimeline> for each scene, with its layers, frames, shapes and scripts. It is the one member every XFL document must have. See DOMDocument.xml.

LIBRARY/

The library, as a tree of folders that matches the folders in Flash’s Library panel. Each symbol (movie clip, button or graphic) is an XML file named after it, such as LIBRARY/Tween 1.xml, whose root element is <DOMSymbolItem> and which holds the symbol’s own timeline. DOMDocument.xml lists these files in its <symbols> element, by paths relative to LIBRARY/.

Imported files, such as PNG and JPEG images, are also kept here as they were imported, for example LIBRARY/Assets/Other/minimap.png, beside the copy in Flash’s own form in bin/ that the bitmap item points to. See The library.

bin/

Binary data that the XML refers to by file name:

  • M n stamp.dat – a bitmap, either the JPEG file itself or Flash’s lossless bitmap. A bitmap item’s bitmapDataHRef attribute names it, such as M 31 1372941248.dat. The second number looks like a Unix time stamp in seconds, as in the stream names of Flash CS4’s binary documents. See Bitmaps in bin/.
  • *.swf and *.swc – compiled clips and components, named by the swfScmHRef attribute of a <DOMCompiledClipItem>. These are the only places an XFL document holds compiled code.
  • Some .dat files of 1,296 or 1,584 bytes are all zeros. They go with components; what they are for is not established.

bin/SymDepend.cache

A small binary cache that Flash keeps of the document’s symbols. It starts with a 32-bit number; what follows appears to be a date written as eight 16-bit numbers (year, month and so on), then counted names of symbols. This reading is an inference and the full layout is not established. The explorer does not decode it.

META-INF/metadata.xml

XMP metadata, as in other Adobe files: an <x:xmpmeta> packet with the program that created the document (xmp:CreatorTool, for example “Adobe Flash CS4 Professional” in a document first made in CS4 and later saved as XFL) and the format (dc:format, application/vnd.adobe.fla).

PublishSettings.xml

The publish profiles: which files to make when the document is published, their names, the Flash Player version to target, the ActionScript version, the document class and the class paths. Its root is <flash_profiles>. See Publish settings.

MobileSettings.xml

Settings for publishing to mobile devices. The member was present but empty in every file seen.

The .xfl marker

A file named after the document with the extension .xfl, holding the nine ASCII bytes PROXY-CS5 (50 52 4F 58 59 2D 43 53 35). In the uncompressed form this is the file Flash opens; in the .fla it is stored as an ordinary member.