Macromedia
Flash Player 5
Netscape Plug-in for Linux
15 February 2001


Macromedia is proud to release the Macromedia Flash Player 5 Netscape plug-in for
the Linux operating system.


Supported Distributions
-----------------------

The Macromedia Flash Player plug-in requires an Intel x86-based Linux
distribution with ELF binary support.  The distribution must
support the GNU C library (glibc 2.0 or greater).  Distributions
that meet these requirements include:

 - RedHat 5.x, 6.x, 7.0

The plugin should work for more recent distributions as well. 

MkLinux for Power Macintosh is not currently supported.


Supported Browsers
------------------

Netscape Navigator 4.0 or greater is required.  The glibc version of
Netscape Navigator must be used.


Installation
------------

The following section assumes that you have unpacked the archive
flash_linux.tar.gz into the top level of your user directory.  Your
user directory is referred to as $HOME.

The Macromedia Flash Player can be installed in two ways:
  - Install the Flash Player system-wide, making it available
    to all users of the computer.
    or
  - Install the Macromedia Flash Player in a user account, making it
    available only to that user.


Installing the Macromedia Flash Player System-Wide:

You will need root access to the computer to install the Macromedia Flash Player
system-wide.

1. Copy the Macromedia Flash Player (libflashplayer.so) into the Netscape 
   plug-in directory.

cp $HOME/flash_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/netscape/plugins

2. Copy the Macromedia Flash Player Java class file (ShockwaveFlash.class)
   into the Netscape plug-in directory.

cp $HOME/flash_linux/ShockwaveFlash.class /usr/lib/netscape/plugins

3. Start Netscape.

netscape &

4. Verify the installation by typing about:plugins in the location bar.
   You should see the Flash Player listed as "Shockwave Flash 5.0r48"

5. To test the Macromedia Flash Player go to:

http://www.flash.com/

(NOTE: If the Web site www.flash.com does not automatically detect that
       you have the Flash Player installed, click on the link
       "If you know you have Flash, click here")


Installing the Macromedia Flash Player in a User Account:

1. If you have not already used Netscape from the user account,
   launch Netscape and close it.  This will create a Netscape
   preferences directory (.netscape) in your home directory.
   The preferences directory will be named:

$HOME/.netscape

2. Create a plugins directory in the Netscape preferences
   directory.

mkdir $HOME/.netscape/plugins

   If the mkdir command reports the error "cannot make directory:
   File exists", do not be alarmed.  This means only that the
   directory was already present and did not need to be created.

3. Copy the Macromedia Flash Player (libflashplayer.so) into the Netscape 
   plug-in directory.

cp $HOME/flash_linux/libflashplayer.so $HOME/.netscape/plugins

4. Copy the Macromedia Flash Player Java class file (ShockwaveFlash.class)
   into the Netscape plug-in directory.

cp $HOME/flash_linux/ShockwaveFlash.class $HOME/.netscape/plugins

5. Start Netscape.

netscape &

6. Verify the installation by typing about:plugins in the location bar.
   You should see the Macromedia Flash Player listed as "Shockwave Flash 5.0r48"

7. To test the Macromedia Flash Player go to:

http://www.flash.com/

(NOTE: If the Web site www.flash.com does not automatically detect that
       you have the Flash Player installed, click on the link
       "If you know you have Flash, click here")



Troubleshooting
---------------

Q: When I try to visit a Web site that contains Flash content, I get the
   error message "Unknown type application/octet-stream".

A: The Web site you are attempting to view needs to properly configure
   their Web server with the MIME types for Flash content.  Specifically,
   they must add the MIME types:
      .spl   application/futuresplash
      .swf   application/x-shockwave-flash
   You might want to let the Webmaster of the site know of the problem.


Q: My Linux system is RedHat 6.0.  When I browse to a Web page containing
   Flash content, the browser reports "Starting Java" and then crashes.

A: This is a Java-related bug in the RedHat 6.0 distribution.  Red Hat
   has documented the problem and provides a fix on their Product Support
   FAQ Web page:

   http://www.redhat.com/support?faq


Optimal X Server Configuration
------------------------------

Flash Player should work with any X server configuration.  However,
optimal performance is achieved at the following color depths and
color mask settings:

         Depth: 8
        Visual: PseudoColor

         Depth: 15
Bits Per Pixel: 16
        Visual: TrueColor
      Red Mask: 0x00007C00
    Green Mask: 0x000003E0
     Blue Mask: 0x0000001F

         Depth: 16
Bits Per Pixel: 16
        Visual: TrueColor
      Red Mask: 0x0000F800
    Green Mask: 0x000007E0
     Blue Mask: 0x0000001F

         Depth: 24
Bits Per Pixel: 24
        Visual: TrueColor
      Red Mask: 0x00FF0000
    Green Mask: 0x0000FF00
     Blue Mask: 0x000000FF

         Depth: 32
Bits Per Pixel: 32
        Visual: TrueColor
      Red Mask: 0x00FF0000
    Green Mask: 0x0000FF00
     Blue Mask: 0x000000FF

         Depth: 32
Bits Per Pixel: 32
        Visual: TrueColor
      Red Mask: 0x000000FF
    Green Mask: 0x0000FF00
     Blue Mask: 0x00FF0000

In addition, the X server's image byte order must match the host byte
order in order to achieve optimal performance using one of the above
configurations.

Macromedia Flash Player takes advantage of the the MIT-SHM Shared Memory
Extension.  This will boost performance on supported systems.


Known Bugs
----------

Some web sites use JavaScript detection and may default to a 
non-Flash page for users who are not on Macintosh or Windows 
platforms. Some web sites may have a link you can click to get 
to the Flash content. 

RealFlash is not supported by RealAudio on the UNIX platform.


Technical Issues and Reporting Bugs
-----------------------------------

The Webplayers Discussion Group provides an open forum to discuss 
technical issues regarding Macromedia Players. Also of interest are 
the Flash, Flash Site Design, and Generator DiscussionGroups. 
Macromedia Technical Support actively monitors these groups, as 
well as hosting a community of users there. Descriptions and links 
to these discussion groups can be found at: 
 
http://www.macromedia.com/support/forums/


Bug reports may be sent to flashplayerunix@macromedia.com 
To allow us to investigate reported bugs, please include the 
following information:

1) Platform and version
2) Netscape version
3) Reproducible steps including a URL to the web site where the 
   problem was encountered.

If we need further information about a bug, you will be contacted.  An
automated reply will be sent to assure you that we have received your
bug report.  Due to the volume of mail received we are not able to
individually respond to each report.


