Actionscript seems to be a little too hardcore for my needs at this point... Going to file the link away, though, in case I ever get around to trying my hand at actually learning Flash.
Was able to (after a bit of trial and error), figure out how to get the vector graphics out to Illustrator using free/trial version software - good for anyone who isn't going to be doing this sort of thing on a regular basis...
The quick tutorial:
Used Flash Decompiler 1.52 trial version (
http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat/10/9/2/10-9-2-59.shtml) to decompile the SWF files with the desired graphics, and the 30 day trial version of Macromedia Flash MX (
http://www.macromedia.com) to convert them to .AI files for use in Illustrator.
When you load the SWF file into Flash Decompiler, you see a list of different types of objects along the right side of the screen. "Frame" is the one of interest for this purpose. Expand the Frame heading and tick off the checkboxes for the frames you want to convert. Once you've got the ones you want, go to the File menu and click Export. There are no file format options on the Export menu for frames - just change the save path as desired and click "Export". This gives you a small, editable .SWF file containing the single frame and all it's component shapes.
Fire up Flash MX and create a new Flash document. On the file menu, select Import > Import to Library and direct it to one of your newly created individual frame .SWF files. The single frame video clip and it's shapes will be loaded into the library for the current document. Under the "Window" menu, make sure Library is checked (or just press CTRL+L). Once you have the library up (in the lower right corner of the screen by default), you should see a list of graphics, with the top one named "Frame_xxx.swf", where "xxx" is the number of the frame you exported from Flash Decompiler. Click and drag this SWF object into the document area. You should then see your frame in your new document. In the File menu, chose Export > Export Image. In the Export Image dialog, change the Save As Type box to read "Adobe Illustrator (*.ai)". Name your file, click OK. A box will pop up asking what version of Illustrator to save the file for. If you're using an older version, select that one from the list - otherwise just choose the newest one.
You should be left with a .AI file you can open in Illustrator and do with as you wish.
Turns out it's not that bad. Obviously if you're following these directions and using the trial software, be sure to register/buy it if you plan to keep it and use it for an extended period of time. Flash MX 2004 is a bit pricey, but Flash Decompiler is only $39.95 (which shouldn't be a huge expense for folks who are into collecting arcade games).... Looks like you can pick up older versions of Flash at significantly reduced prices - I've not tried it, but I'd imagine any relatively recent version should work similarly for doing this since it's a fairly basic operation... If you're going to go that route, be sure to research that before you buy.
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Topic: AI from SWF? (Read 2866 times)
