.FLA File Extension

2 file types use the .fla file extension.

Animate Animation

Developer Adobe Systems
Popularity
3.9  |  227 Votes
 

What is an FLA file?

An FLA file is an animation project created by Adobe Animate, a program used to draw and publish interactive animations. It contains graphics, video, text elements, audio, and other assets, along with project settings and metadata. FLA files may store various animations for advertising, entertainment, informational, and social media purposes.

More Information

Screenshot of a .fla file in Adobe Animate 2023
FLA file open in Adobe Animate 2023

Animate was formerly known as Flash, which Macromedia originally developed, but then merged with Adobe in 2005. Flash saved projects as FLA files, and users often exported them as .SWF animations and videos for use on the web, as most web browsers supported them via the Flash plugin.

As other technologies, such as HTML5, surpassed Flash, Adobe replaced the Flash software with Animate in 2016 and ended support for the Flash plugin in 2020. Now, FLA files are associated with Adobe Animate software

How to create an FLA file with Adobe Animate

You can create many types of animations with Animate, including website banner advertisements, tutorials, and playful cartoons, then export them to various multimedia formats. As you create your animation, you can save it as an FLA file to preserve your progress. To save an animation as an FLA file with Animate, select File → Save or Save As.

How to open an FLA file

You can open FLA files with Adobe Animate (multiplatform). To open an FLA file, select File → Open.

How to convert an FLA file

Adobe Animate can convert FLA files to several file types, including the following formats:

  • .MOV - Apple QuickTime Movie
  • .SWF - Shockwave Flash Movie
  • .AVI - Audio Video Interleave File
  • .WAV - WAVE Audio File
  • .JPG - JPEG Image
  • .PNG - Portable Network Graphic
  • .GIF - Graphical Interchange Format
  • .BMP - Bitmap Image
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Programs that open FLA files

Windows
Mac

Free Lossless Audio File

Developer Xiph.Org Foundation
Popularity
1.5  |  2 Votes
 

An FLA file may also be an audio file saved in the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) format. Some CD ripping software saves FLAC files with the .fla extension instead of the .FLAC extension. To use these files more easily, change their extension to .flac.

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Screenshot of a .fla file in Audacity
FLA file open in Audacity

FLAC is an open-source lossless audio compression format, used and recognized by many audio-related programs. In the past, some programs that created FLAC files could not assign file extensions longer than three letters. Thus, these programs saved FLAC files with the .fla extension. For example, Nero sometimes saved FLAC files with the .fla extension.

Other than using the .fla extension, FLA files are identical to FLAC files. Therefore, renaming the files to use the .flac extension will allow you to open and play them as you would any FLAC file.

How to open an FLA file

You can open an FLA file with VideoLAN VLC media player (multiplatform) or Audacity (multiplatform). If you change the file's extension to .flac, you'll be able to open it in additional media-playing and audio-editing programs.

How to convert an FLA file

You can use VideoLAN VLC media player or Audacity to convert FLA files to other audio formats. For example, Audacity can convert FLA files to the following formats:

  • .AIFF - Audio Interchange File Format
  • .WAV - WAVE Audio
  • .MP3 - MP3 Audio
  • .OGG - Ogg Vorbis Audio
  • .MP2 - MP2 Audio
  • .M4A - MPEG-4 Audio
  • .AC3 - Audio Codec 3
  • .WMA - Windows Media Audio

Programs that open FLA files

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