I’ve recently been looking into the kind of utilities that wrap your flash movie so that it becomes a desktop application, and trying to figure out which one is best, or which one does exactly what I would want it to do. They all look pretty similar, but their features can be split into different categories.

For instance, SWF Studio seems to use fscommands exclusively, which personally I think would hinder the development of a desktop application. An actionscript 2 library with event delegation would suit me much better, such as the one included in mProjector v2.

This relatively new version of the software seems to be one of the front runners in my short period of research. My only gripe with it, is that the application that you create seems to be stuck with an unchangeable ‘About’ menu, that brands all your hard work with their logo and website. Maybe they provide licensing options for this, but you’re already paying a lot of money for the privilege.

One of the other front runners is Screenweaver. This software has the added option of being able to open multiple windows (swf’s), and pass objects and messages between them. This was one of the selling points for me, since no other utility of this type seems to do this (correct me if I am mistaken, please). But no software choice is without its issues, and my issue with Screenweaver may be trivial, but their website has not been updated for 10 months now, their support forums have been down for quite a while, and they did not answer my questions when I sent them a ticket.

For me, support rates very highly in my software purchasing decisions, a forum where you can see the problems (and subsequent solutions) is essential.

So, the three swf2exe utilities I have listed here appear to be the best in my opinion. Screenweaver appears to be technically better, mProjector lacks a few features for me, SWF Studio uses fscommands but looks pretty solid. I should also give an honorable mention to Jugglor v2, which also has an fscommand interface.

Update: So I sent a quick email to Screentime regarding mProjector and their branding in the About menu. I received a prompt reply informing me that they have lots of requests to change the About menu so there will be a new version soon. I like a company that listens to their customers!

Update 2: Apparently, SWF Studio v3 is on the horizon according to their forums (very soon too). This new version will include an actionscript library to replace those fscommands. This is good news and I’m glad all the major swf projector utilities are going this way.