What is “Flash”?

No, we’re not talking about the flash on your Digital Camera. We’re talking about Macromedia (now Adobe) Flash, a special program that allows you to see animation and video on web sites. Flash is a free program that is downloadable from Adobe’s web site (http://www.adobe.com/) and through many other web sites that use it. (The Flash Player or viewer is free; the Flash video clip creation program is not free.) Here’s how you can download and install the Flash Player:

1) Close all open programs and windows except your web browser.

2) Type http://www.adobe.com/ in the Address box of your web browser, then click on the green Go button, or press the Enter key on the keyboard.

Tip: To speed up the entering of web site addresses in your Address box, type the unique part (such as adobe), then hold down the Ctrl key and press the Enter key. The computer will automatically surround the adobe with http://www. and .com and take you to that web site.

3) Click on the Get Adobe Flash Player button on Adobe’s home page.

4) Click on the Download Now button. This will download a file called install_flash_player.exe (or equivalent) onto your computer.

5) Return to the desktop or wherever you downloaded the install_flash_player.exe file.

6) Double-click on the install_flash_player.exe file.

7) Wait a few moments for your computer to install the Flash Player.

8) Whenever you go to a web site that has Flash, the Flash Player should automatically start and show you the animation or video clip.