About the object and embed tags

The <object> and <embed> tags embed SWF files in HTML. The wrapper generated by Flash Builder hides the details of these tags from you for most common use cases.

Adobe recommends using SWFObject 2 rather than the <object> and <embed> tags to embed your SWF file, but these tags are useful in some cases, such as if you want to create a custom wrapper or if there is a likelihood that your users will have JavaScript disabled in their browsers.

For browsers with scripting disabled, the default HTML template uses the <object> and <embed> tags to embed your application. These tags are children of the <noscript> tag, which means that the browser executes them when scripting is disabled on the client. When you compile a project in Flash Builder, Flex Builder sets the values of the tokens within these tags for you. When you compile an application with the SDK, you must manually edit the template and set the values of these tags.

You can also use the <object> and <embed> tags tags in simple HTML wrappers. For more complex wrappers, or wrappers that support features such as Express Install, you should use the SWFObject 2 functionality as described in About SWFObject 2.

The <object> and <embed> tags support a set of properties that add additional functionality to the wrapper. These properties let you change the appearance of the SWF file on the page or change some of its properties such as the title or language. If you want to customize your wrapper, you can add these properties to the wrapper.

The <object> tag is supported by Internet Explorer 3.0 or later on Windows platforms or any browser that supports the use of the Flash ActiveX control. The <embed> tag is supported by Netscape Navigator 2.0 or later, or browsers that support the use of the Netscape-compatible plug-in version of Flash Player.

When an ActiveX-enabled browser loads the HTML page, it reads the values set on the <object> and ignores the <embed> tag. When browsers using the Flash plug-in load the HTML page, they read the values set on the <embed> tag and ignore the <object> tag. Make sure that the properties for each tag are identical, unless you want different results depending on the user’s browser.

The following are required attributes of the <object> tag:

height
width
classid

All other properties are optional and you set their values in separate, named <param> tags.

Although the movie property is technically an optional tag, without it, there is no reference to the SWF file you want the client to load. Therefore, your wrapper should always set the movie parameter in the <object> tag.

The following example shows the required properties as attributes of the <object> tag, and two optional properties, movie and quality, as <param> child tags:

<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="100" height="100"> 
    <param name="movie" value="moviename.swf"> 
    <param name="quality" value="high"> 
</object>

For the <embed> tag, all settings are attributes that appear between the angle brackets of the opening <embed> tag. The <embed> tag requires the height and width attributes. The <embed> tag does not require a classid attribute. As with the movie parameter of the <object> tag, the src attribute of the <embed> tag provides the reference to the application. Without it, there would be no SWF file, so you should consider it a required attribute.

The following example shows a simple <embed> tag with the optional quality attribute:

<embed src="moviename.swf" width="100" height="100" quality="high"></embed>

To use both tags together, position the <embed> tag just before the closing </object> tag, as the following example shows:

<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="100" height="100"> 
    <param name="movie" value="moviename.swf"> 
    <param name="quality" value="high"> 
    <embed src="moviename.swf" width="100" height="100" quality="high"></embed> 
</object>

When you define parameters for the <object> tag, also add them as tag properties to the <embed> tag so that the SWF file appears the same on the page regardless of the client’s browser.

If you are using the included HTML wrapper template, you will need to replace tokens such as ${height} and ${width} with absolute values before deploying the wrapper. For more information, see About the HTML template.

Not all properties are supported by both the <object> and the <embed> tags. For example, the id property is used only by the <object> tag, just as the name property is used only by the <embed> tag.

In some cases, the <object> and <embed> tag properties duplicate properties that you can set on the <s:Application> tag in the application source code. For example, you can set the height and width properties of the SWF file on the <object> and <embed> tags or you can set them on the <s:Application> tag.

The following table describes the supported <object> and <embed> tag properties:

Property	Type	Description
align	String	Specifies the position of the SWF file. The `align` property supports the following values: `bottom`: Vertically aligns the bottom of the SWF file with the current baseline. This is typically the default value. `middle`: Vertically aligns the middle of the SWF file with the current baseline. `top`: Vertically aligns the top of the SWF file with the top of the current text line. `left`: Horizontally aligns the SWF file to the left margin. `right`: Horizontally aligns the SWF file to the right margin.
allowNetworking	String	Restricts communication between the HTML page and the SWF file. This property affects more APIs than the `allowScriptAccess` property. The `allowNetworking` property supports the following values: `all`: No networking restrictions. Flash Player behaves normally. This is typically the default. `internal`: SWF files cannot call browser navigation or browser interaction APIs (such as the `ExternalInterface.call()`, `fscommand()`, and `navigateToURL()` methods), but can call other networking APIs. `none`: SWF files cannot call networking or SWF-to-SWF file communication APIs. In addition to the APIs restricted by the `internal` value, these include other methods such as `URLLoader.load()`, `Security.loadPolicyFile()`, and `SharedObject.getLocal()`. For more information, see ActionScript 3.0 Developer's Guide.
allowScriptAccess	String	Controls the ability to perform outbound scripting from within the SWF file. The `allowScriptAccess` property can prevent a SWF file hosted from one domain from accessing a script in an HTML page that comes from another domain. Valid values are as follows: `always`: Outbound scripting always succeeds. `samedomain:` Outbound scripting succeds only if the application is from the same domain as the HTML page. `never`: Outbound scripting always fails. Using this value is deprecated and not recommended, and should not be necessary if you do not serve untrusted SWF files from your own domain. If you do need to serve untrusted SWF files, Adobe recommends that you create a distinct subdomain and place all untrusted content there. This property affects the following operations: `ExternalInterface.call()` `fscommand()` `navigateToURL()`, when used with `javascript` or another scripting scheme `navigateToURL()`, when used with window name of `_self`, `_parent`, or `_top`. For more information, see ActionScript 3.0 Developer's Guide.
archive	String	Specifies a space-separated list of URIs for archives containing resources used by the application, which may include the resources specified by the `classid` and `data` properties. Preloading archives can result in reduced load times for applications. Archives specified as relative URIs are interpreted relative to the `codebase` property.
base	String	Specifies the base directory or URL used to resolve relative path statements in ActionScript.
bgcolor	String	Specifies the background color of the application.
border	int	Specifies the width of the SWF file’s border, in pixels. The default value for this property depends on the user agent.
classid	String	Defines the `classid` of Flash Player. This identifies the ActiveX control for the browser. Internet Explorer 3.0 or later on Windows 9x, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows ME, and Windows XP prompt the user with a dialog box asking if they would like to auto-install Flash Player if it's not already installed. This process can occur without the user having to restart the browser. This property is used for the `<object>` tag only. For the `<object>` tag, you set the value of this property as an attribute of the `<object>` tag and not as a `<param>` tag.
`codetype`	String	Defines the content type of data expected when downloading the application specified by the `classid` property The `codetype` property is optional but recommended when the `classid` property is specified; it lets the browser avoid loading unsupported content types. The default value of the `codetype` property is the value of the `type` property.
data	String	Specifies the location of the application’s data; for example, instance image data for objects that define images.
declare	Boolean	Makes the current SWF file’s definition a declaration only. The SWF file must be instantiated by a subsequent object definition referring to this declaration.
devicefont	Boolean	Specifies whether static text objects for which the `deviceFont` option is not selected are drawn using a device font anyway, if the needed fonts are available from the operating system.
dir	String	Specifies the base direction of text in an element’s content and attribute values. It also specifies the directionality of tables. Valid values are `LTR` (left-to-right text or table) and `RTL` (right-to-left text or table).
flashVars	String	Sends variables to the application. The format is a set of name-value pairs, each separated by an ampersand (&). Most browsers support string sizes of up to 64 KB (65535 bytes) in length. The default value of this property is typically an empty string. The value of this property is URL encoded prior to being sent to the application. For more information on using `flashVars` to pass variables to applications built with Flex, see Communicating with the wrapper.
height	int	The height of the application SWF file. For the `<object>` tag, you set the value of this property as an attribute of the `<object>` tag and not as a `<param>` child tag.
hspace	int	Specifies the amount of white space inserted to the left and right of the SWF file. The default value is typically not specified, but is generally a small, nonzero length.
id	String	Identifies the SWF file to the host environment (a web browser, for example) so that it can be referenced by using a scripting language such as VBScript or JavaScript. The `id` property is only used with the `<object>` tag. It is equivalent to the `name` property used with the `<embed>` tag.
lang	String	Specifies the base language of an element’s property values and text content. The default value is typically `unknown`. The browser can use language information specified using the `lang` property to control rendering in a variety of ways.
menu	Boolean	Changes the appearance of the menu that appears when users right-click over an application in Flash Player. Set to `true` to display the entire menu. Set to `false` to display only the About and Settings options on the menu. The default value is typically `true`.
movie	String	Specifies the location of the SWF file. The `movie` property is only used with the `<object>` tag. It is equivalent to the `src` property used with the `<embed>` tag.
name	String	Identifies the SWF file to the host environment (a web browser, typically) so that it can be referenced by using a scripting language. The `name` property is only used with the `<embed>` tag. It is equivalent to the `id` property used with the `<object>` tag.
quality	String	Defines the quality of playback in Flash Player. Valid values of quality are `low`, `medium`, `high`, `autolow`, `autohigh`, and `best`. The default value is typically `best`. The `low` setting favors playback speed over appearance and never uses anti-aliasing. The `autolow` setting emphasizes speed at first but improves appearance whenever possible. Playback begins with anti-aliasing turned off. If Flash Player detects that the processor can handle it, anti-aliasing is turned on. The `autohigh` setting emphasizes playback speed and appearance equally at first, but sacrifices appearance for playback speed if necessary. Playback begins with anti-aliasing turned on. If the actual frame rate drops below the specified frame rate, anti-aliasing is turned off to improve playback speed. Use this setting to emulate the View > Antialias setting in Flash. The `medium` setting applies some anti-aliasing and does not smooth bitmaps. The `high` setting favors appearance over playback speed and always applies anti-aliasing. The `best` setting provides the best display quality and does not consider playback speed. All output is anti-aliased and all bitmaps are smoothed.
salign	String	Positions the SWF file within the browser. Valid values are `L`, `T`, `R`, `B`, `TL`, `TR`, `BL`, and `BR`. `L`, `R`, `T`, and `B` align the SWF file along the left, right, top, or bottom edge, respectively, of the browser window and crop the remaining three sides as needed. `TL` and `TR` align the SWF file to the top-left and top-right corner, respectively, of the browser window and crop the bottom and remaining right or left side as needed. `BL` and `BR` align the SWF file to the bottom-left and bottom-right corner, respectively, of the browser window and crop the top and remaining right or left side as needed.
scale	String	Defines how the browser fills the screen with the SWF file. The default value is typically `showall`. Valid values of the `scale` property are `showall`, `noborder`, and `exactfit`. Set to `showall` to make the entire SWF file visible in the specified area without distortion, while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the SWF file. Borders may appear on two sides of the SWF file. Set to `noborder` to scale the SWF file to fill the specified area, without distortion but possibly with some cropping, while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the SWF file. Set to `exactfit` to make the entire SWF file visible in the specified area without trying to preserve the original aspect ratio. Distortion may occur.
src	String	Specifies the location of the SWF file. The `src` property is only used with the `<embed>` tag. It is equivalent to the `movie` property used with the `<object>` tag.
standby	String	Defines a message that the browser displays while loading the object’s implementation and data.
style	String	Specifies style information for the SWF file. The syntax of the value of the `style` property is determined by the default style sheet language. In CSS, property declarations have the form "name:value" and are separated by a semicolon. Styles set with this property do not affect components or the Application container in the application. Rather, they apply to the SWF file as it appears on the HTML page.
`supportembed`	Boolean	Determines whether the Netscape-specific `<embed>` tag is supported. The `supportembed` property is optional, and the default value is typically `true`. Set to `false` to prevent the `<embed>` tag from being read by the browser.
`tabindex`	int	Specifies the position of the SWF file in the tabbing order for the current document. This value must be a number between 0 and 32767. User agents should ignore leading zeros.
title	String	Displays information about the SWF file. Values of the `title` property can be rendered by browsers or other user agents in different ways. For example, some browsers display the title as a ToolTip. Audio user agents might speak the title information in a similar context.
type	String	Specifies the content type for the data specified by the `data` property. The `type` property is optional but recommended when data is specified; it prevents the browser from loading unsupported content types. If the value of this property differs from the HTTP Content-Type returned by the server, the HTTP Content-Type takes precedence.
usemap	String	Associates an image map with the SWF file. The image map is defined by a `map` element. The value of `usemap` must match the value of the `name` attribute of the associated `map` element.
`vspace`	int	Specifies the amount of white space inserted above and below the SWF file. The default value is typically not specified, but is generally a small, nonzero length.
`width`	int	The width of the application SWF file. For the `<object>` tag, you set the value of this property as an attribute of the `<object>` tag and not as a `<param>` tag.
`wmode`	String	Sets the Window Mode property of the SWF file for transparency, layering, and positioning in the browser. Valid values of `wmode` are `window`, `opaque`, and `transparent`. Set to `window` to play the SWF in its own rectangular window on a web page. Set to `opaque` to hide everything on the page behind it. Set to `transparent` so that the background of the HTML page shows through all transparent portions of the SWF file. This can slow animation performance. To make sections of your SWF file transparent, you must set the `alpha` property to 0. To make your application’s background transparent, set the `backgroundAlpha` property on the `<fx:Application>` tag to 0. The `wmode` property is not supported in all browsers and platforms.

The <object> and <embed> tags can also take additional properties that are not supported by applications built with Flex. These unsupported properties are listed in Unsupported Flash Player properties.