About FLA Import

You can export files from Flash and import them in Harmony to transfer character rigs, props and backgrounds.

Flash import is available on all three editions of Harmony on Windows and macOS. It is not possible to do so on GNU/Linux versions.

On the Flash side, users can work with these versions:

  • Adobe Flash CS5
  • Adobe Flash CS5.5
  • Adobe Flash CS6
  • Adobe Flash CC
  • Adobe Flash CC 2014
  • Adobe Flash CC 2015
NOTE Exports from older versions of Flash are not possible.

At the scene level (top timeline), you must have a symbol, such as a movie clip or graphic. Colour shapes, shape lines, drawing objects, groups and bitmaps at the scene level won’t be exported. If these elements are present, you will be prompted to perform a clean up of the scene level. For details on importing Flash files, see Flash Export and Import Guidelines

As part of preparing to import Flash files in Harmony, you must add an extension to Flash using Adobe Extension Manager—see Installing the Export to Harmony Option.

It is important to use the correct version of Adobe Extension Manager:

  • If more than one version of Flash is installed on your computer, be careful where you install the extension. If it's added to Adobe Extension Manager of Flash CS6, the extension will only be added in this version and not the other.
  • If you have a previous version of the extension, you must remove it first and install the latest extension—see About FLA Import.

Harmony includes a script specially created to import FLA Export packages. You must add this script to your interface in order to use itsee Displaying the Import Flash Scene Icon.

When you export your FLA files, a folder will be created that contains the stage.tpl and export.json files, as well as all the .swf and.txt files in your scene. The export.json file is used by a Harmony script to organize and construct the hierarchy from your exported files.

Once the Flash project is successfully imported into Harmony, here's how the hierarchy was constructed:

  • Each symbol has its own peg in which all the transformation information is stored.
  • The pivot information is stored in the peg's Layer Properties (Pivot fields). The pivot information came from the rotation point of the symbol in Flash.
  • Registration point of the symbol in Flash represents the centre of the drawing space in Harmony. Therefore, the position of the drawing inside a symbol will be exactly the same in Stage.

  • One colour palette is created for each Flash import. One colour swatch is created per RGB value. If you have more than one zone using the same colour, they will be linked to the same colour swatch.
  • If there are masks in your Flash project, they will reconstructed in Harmony using Cutter effects. Harmony is now able to understand when more than one symbol share the same mask in Flash. Each symbol sharing the same mask will be grouped by a composite and connected to the cutter.