Flash-based uploaders: SWFUpload, … and Adobe Flash Player 10

I know quite a few of the Rails developers are using SWFUpload to  
simulate AJAX uploads (including filetype/size filtering and client- 
side upload progress) and I need to bring this to your attention  
(taken from http://swfupload.org/forum/generaldiscussion/551):

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SWFUpload v2.1.0 does not work properly in Flash Player Beta 10.  
SWFUpload will load but will not respond to browse requests.
The response from Adobe on the Adobe Forms is that a security change  
in Flash Player 10 prevents indirect calls display to File Dialogs.

This means that the SWFUpload JavaScript API cannot trigger the File  
Dialog in Flash. Which means SWFUpload is permanently broken for Flash  
Player 10.

We have 4 options:

1. Hope Adobe will have mercy and roll back this change and save  
SWFUpload.
2. SWFUpload support ends at Flash Player 9 and is not moved to Flash  
Player 10 (in other words, the project dies in 6 months to a year  
after the release of Flash Player 10).
3. Change the SWFUpload whole design philosophy dropping the  
JavaScript API (at least the portion that triggers File Dialogs and  
starts/stops/cancels uploads) and forcing a Flash Movie UI on our users.
4. Try to implement a kind of mix of Flash UI and HTML UI and  
complicate things by making the Flash UI configurable enough to match  
the HTML UI.

Unless Adobe is going to take their FileReference APIs serious and fix  
the bugs that are plaguing us (mod_security issues, data return  
issues, IO Error issues, Linux compatibility, etc) then I don't see a  
very bright future for any Flash based upload component. Is it worth  
the fight?

---------------------------------------------------------

The release is still quite a few months away, but if we want to keep  
using the one solution that actually makes sense and has the necessary  
features to stop people from uploading invalid files before getting  
the message they made a wrong upload, there will need to be Flash file  
upload users telling Adobe how much they need this feature. For once,  
there was a valid use of Flash without screwing up your UI that  
gracefully degraded without a hitch. Blogging, speaking to contacts  
within Adobe, … and then cross our fingers and hope (even pray) that  
our small little voice is heard within a huge company.

Best regards

Peter De Berdt

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