Why can’t we embed (not upload) a SWF?

  • Unknown's avatar
    macloo · Member ·

    Many people here have asked how to upload a SWF (Flash file). The answer is that WordPress.com does not permit it.

    Well, what if I have SWFs on another site or server, running there, and all I would like to do is embed that content on my WordPress.com blog? This is not permitted, but why not?

    There is no security risk, any more than there is a risk in embedding a JPG image file in a WordPress.com post.

    Slideshare.com is a great example — we could embed the SWF that resides at Slideshare.com without uploading anything to WordPress.com.

    I am asking for a better explanation than “security risk,” because that one is not valid.

  • Unknown's avatar
    teck07 · Member ·

    You could always link to the video…

  • Unknown's avatar
    raincoaster · Member ·

    Jpgs have also been used for hacks, but not as often or as nastily as Flash, which took down all of Myspace and caused havoc at Blogger last year.

    Use the Vodpod widget or button to embed things which are not permitted directly in WP.com.

    Slideshare, of course, has been permitted at WP.com for quite some time:

    http://faq.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/slidesharenet-slideshows/

  • Unknown's avatar
    macloo · Member ·

    Well, allow me to be more specific.

    I’m a journalism educator, and the standard application for producing audio slideshows at news organizations is Soundslides (http://soundslides.com/). It is a very inexpensive app that was developed by a career photojournalist.

    Because it is a standard app in our business, we teach students how to use it. We would like them to be able to embed their slideshows in a WordPress.com blog. Lots of us are encouraging students to practice with WordPress.com blogs.

    Soundslides generates a folder containing all the assets for a slideshow. In the folder is one single SWF, which acts as the engine for the audio slideshow.

    If we could embed THAT SWF in a blog post, we would be all set!

    But I tried the Vodpod method — and no luck.

  • Unknown's avatar
    macloo · Member ·

    P.S. There is a Soundslides plug-in for self-hosted WordPress blogs:

    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-soundslides/

  • bubel · Staff ·

    If you have access to a web server (if you are an educator, you may have technology resources available, depending on your particular institution), you can create as many student blogs as you may like using the WordPress.org software. You will not be able to embed those files onto WordPress.com, but feel free to drop Support a line and request the feature support.

  • Unknown's avatar
    macloo · Member ·

    Thanks, but self-hosted blogs are not the best solution for us, because we would like the students to have full control of their blogs. A university resource is owned (and controlled) by the university, and the student does not have the privileges of someone who is paying for hosting on a commercial site.

    If you want them to have individual blogs, I think WordPress.com is a better solution that relying on a university IT dept. For one example, they would never be allowed root access and could not upgrade the WP software. Some IT people wouldn;t look after that for you, either.

    I will e-mail Support. Thanks again.

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