Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Killer Tips

Why's My File So Big?

Have you ever published your final movie and almost fainted because of how big your SWF file turned out to be? How did such a simple project turn out to have such a big file? The good news is there's a way to find out just that.

In your document's Publish Settings (CTRL-SHIFT-F12 or OPT-SHIFT-F12 on the Mac), go to the Flash tab. Put a check next to the box that says "Generate Size Report" and Publish your movie. The Output window will open and show you a detailed run-down of how many bytes each asset in your movie contributes to the overall size. You'll also find a new text file in the directory where your SWF is published with the same information stored there.

I'll tell you right now that most of the times when I generate these things, I find that a font is the culprit. Whoever the bad guy is, you'll find him here for sure.