SWFObject release notes

SWFObject v2.1 (July 6th, 2008)

• Updated years in copyright notice

SWFObject v2.1 rc2 (June 24th, 2008)

• Fixed a bug in the getQueryParamValue method [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=115 ]

SWFObject v2.1 rc1 (June 19th, 2008)

• Added one additional try-catch block to avoid potential script crashes in Internet Explorer [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=76 ]

SWFObject v2.1 beta7 (June 6th, 2008)

• Fixes SWFObject 2.0 and External Interface related memory leaks [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=84 ]
• New explicit SWF removal code - especially needed to completely and safely remove a SWF in IE - via the new swfobject.removeSWF(objectIdString) method [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=76 ]
• Solves IE 5.0/5.5 support issues [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=77 ]
• Fixes alternative content display issues for Safari 3+ with plug-ins disabled [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=74 ]
• Additional object detection tests to avoid script errors in IE in case an object element is removed during a visit [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=86 ]
• Removal of isDomLoaded tests from various methods of the public API to enable that dynamically inserted scripts - including bookmarklets - can use these functions (e.g. the swfobject.createSWF and swfobject.removeSWF methods) [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=88 ]
• Dynamic publishing could previously fire multiple instances of Adobe Express Install [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=87 ]
• Shortened version strings can be used, so "9.0.0" can now be written as "9" [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=81 ]
• Fixed dynamic publishing reference issues when using a shared param or attributes JavaScript Object [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=90 and http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=91 ]
• Added a filter to the swfobject.getQueryParamValue method to secure the library from XSS attacks

SWFObject v2.0 (March 14th, 2008)

• Added an extra check in the Internet Explorer object cleanup code to test if the object still exists before calls are made upon it (e.g. to avoid errors when an object gets deleted by scripting); issue report 49 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=49 ]
• Optimized the visibility mechanism a bit: now only dynamic style sheets are added when the DOM hasn't been loaded yet, otherwise the element.style.visibility property is set; issue report 51 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=51 ]

SWFObject v2.0 rc4 (February 28th, 2008)

• Includes a couple of file size optimizations
• A few code enhancements, e.g. consistent typing for internal version numbering

SWFObject v2.0 rc3 (February 19th, 2008)

• Includes file size optimizations resulting in a 19% smaller file size, by:
• Use of constants for recurrent Strings
• Use of only one var keyword per scope (where structure and readability wasn't hurt)
• Using YUI compressor [ http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/compressor/ ] instead of Dojo Shrinksafe

SWFObject v2.0 rc2 (February 11th, 2008)

• IMPORTANT! API updates:
• swfobject.createSWF(attObj, parObj, el) has now become swfobject.createSWF(attObj, parObj, replaceElemIdStr)
• swfobject.createSWF(attObj, parObj, replaceElemIdStr) now returns the newly created object element, a request made by many JavaScript developers, e.g. Issue report 17 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=17 ]
• A dynamically embedded object element (using swfobject.createSWF or swfobject.embedSWF) now automatically inherits the id attribute from the alternative content container element if no id is defined for the object element in the attObj JavaScript Object, also a request made by many web authors, e.g. Issue reports 17 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=17 ] and 19 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=19 ]
• Fixed an express install related bug: percentages for width and height are not supported; Issue report 28 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=28 ]
• Added workaround for potential Norton AV issue; Issue report 33 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=33 ]
• A series of code enhancements as described in Issue report 27 [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=27 ]

SWFObject v2.0 rc1 (December 3rd, 2007)

• Fixed addDomLoadEvent issue for Internet Explorer: if embedSWF was called after the DOM was loaded (e.g. AJAX-loaded content), the resultant call to createSWF was incorrectly run (an old cached version was shown instead) [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=22 ]

SWFObject v2.0 beta6 (November 2nd, 2007)

• Added the swfobject.getObjectById(objectIdStr) and swfobject.getQueryParamValue(paramStr) methods to the API [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/wiki/api ]
• Fixed an express install callback related bug [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=14 ]

SWFObject v2.0 beta5 (October 16th, 2007)

• Extended the API to suit the needs of JavaScript developers [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/wiki/api ]
• Removed the fixOutOfMemoryError method, and added the solution of the issue to the FAQ for web authors [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/wiki/faq ]

SWFObject v2.0 beta4 (October 15th, 2007)

• Added extra checks to ensure safe object enumerations
• Fixed Safari bug: class is an ECMA4 reserved keyword, so for dynamic publishing styleclass should be used instead to specify the class attribute

SWFObject v2.0 beta3 (October 9th, 2007)

• Added documentation to the uncompressed swfobject.js file
• Removed the 'click-to-activate' active content fix for the static publishing method, because the Opera fix appears to be unstable (it only works for some versions of Opera 9+) and in Internet Explorer 6+ the 'click-to-activate' mechanism is only removed after an entire page including all its assets are loaded (by replacing a SWF by itself), which has the major drawback that this SWF will be reinitialized and animations/sound/video will restart playing. For now the static publishing method does not offer a solution for the 'click-to-activate' active content problem. Those who by all means want to avoid this mechanism should use the dynamic publishing method instead. More info about this issue: [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=6 ]
• Fixed script crash in Internet Explorer when ActiveX is disabled [ http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/issues/detail?id=8 ]
• Added an additional test within the callDomLoadFunctions method for Internet Explorer on Windows (which tries to append and remove a childNode and catches a thrown error) to avoid that it executes the DOM dependent part of the script too early (in this case it degrades to unload)
• Made sure the script degrades properly in case no Flash plug-in is installed (we introduced a flow bug in beta1)
• Also applied the fixOutOfMemoryError method (occurs when unloading a web page in IE using fp9 and multiple SWFs using ExternalInterface) and fixObjectLeaks method (removes hanging audio/video threads when unloading a web page in IE using fp8+ and innerHTML/outerHTML) to the dynamic publishing method (flow bug)
• Fixed a broken-loading-file-reference bug in Internet Explorer (when the display of alternative content is forced, we now wait until the onload event fires to remove the hidden SWF)
• Did some file size optimization (e.g. removed some unnecessary feature tests)

SWFObject v2.0 beta2 (October 3rd, 2007)

• We fixed a bug in the compressed version of the library, which caused that the active content fix was never applied to Internet Explorer 6+

SWFObject v2.0 beta1 (October 1st, 2007)

• We changed both the project's and library's name from SWFFix to SWFObject
• For the static publishing method (option 1) the second argument (Flash player version string) is now required
• To make the library less dependent on user agent string detection, we now detect Internet Explorer's and Opera's features by using proprietary feature testing (conditional compilation for Internet Explorer and window.opera and window.opera.version for Opera). The user's operating system is now determined based on a cascading approach, with the following priority: Internet Explorer condtional compilation, navigator.platform based detection, navigator.useragent based detection
• We added a try-catch block around the document.write statement (that inserts a deferred script to simulate a DOMContentLoaded event for Internet Explorer) to ensure it properly degrades to the onload event and to avoid an Operation Aborted error (which indicates that you try to access Internet Explorer's DOM, while it is locked and it is not ready for DOM manipulations yet)
• We added a lot of feature tests to ensure that every feature is tested before it is called upon. This to improve the library's overall stability and future proofness
• We fixed small flow bug in the main() function
• We merged the fixActiveContent() and fixIEActiveContent() methods
• We ran the library through the JSLint JavaScript verifier [ http://www.jslint.com/ ] and polished some code here and there to ensure the library's syntactical correctness

SWFFix v0.3 public alpha (August 20th, 2007)

• The API got an overhaul to optimize the library's usability. It is more simplified and looks like:
• SWFFix.registerObject(objectIdStr, swfVersionStr, xiSwfUrlStr); [ We removed the object notation. ]
• SWFFix.embedSWF(swfUrlStr, replaceElemIdStr, widthStr, heightStr, swfVersionStr, xiSwfUrlStr, flashvarsObj, parObj, attObj); [ Is new and replaces the previous dynamic embed method. It now also supports express install and is closer to the SWFObject/UFO notation. ]
• SWFFix.getFlashPlayerVersion();
• SWFFix.hasFlashPlayerVersion(versionStr);
• We compressed the library (with Dojo Shrinksafe: [ http://alex.dojotoolkit.org/shrinksafe/ ]) for file size optimization, and created a SRC directory that includes the uncompressed library (for means of development) and express install source files
• We fixed an express install related bug and now check if a SWF's height is 137px (instead of the earlier 130px) or higher to avoid Download.Fail status calls to fire

SWFFix v0.2 public alpha (July 25th, 2007)

• Initial release