HowTo Install a Flash Player

[Soul Singin']

Here's a good method:

First, install Gnash. ... Really. Install Gnash and use Gnash as your Flash player. You don't want Adobe setting monster cookies on your system.

OK. Now let's be honest. Some sites simply don't work with Gnash . With any luck, we should have a much better Free/Open Source plugin soon, but in the meantime there may be a site that you absolutely must view and you absolutely must use Adobe Flash to view it.

So here's what you do: Download the DEB from Adobe's website, but do NOT install it. Instead crack it open (e.g. with Ark) or from the command line:

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mkdir extract_flash/
dpkg-deb -x install_flash_player_10_linux.deb extract_flash/

Then move the library to a "storage directory" and get rid of everything else:

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mkdir /home/xxxx/.store-adobeflash/
mv extract_flash/usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin/libflashplayer.so  /home/xxxx/.store-adobeflash/.
rm -r extract_flash/

Finally, for the sites that you absolutely must view with Adobe Flash, set up a pair of scripts which automatically install and remove the Adobe Flash library. For example, Gnash is working great, but this one particular site doesn't work with Gnash and you absolutely must view the site and you absolutely must use Adobe Flash. At that point, you'll close Iceweasel and run the following script (which I place in my /home/xxxx/.bin/ directory):

/home/xxxx/.bin/install_adobeflash.sh

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#!/bin/bash

## simple script to install Adobe Flash
## separate script removes it and the cookies it leaves behind

## remember that you'll have to restart Iceweasel to use it

cp /home/xxxx/.store-adobeflash/libflashplayer.so /home/xxxx/.mozilla/plugins/.

exit

Then, after you've viewed the site, close Iceweasel once again and get rid of that horrid, proprietary plugin with the following script:

/home/xxxx/.bin/remove_adobeflash.sh

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#!/bin/bash

## this removes Adobe Flash and the cookies it leaves behind
## remember that you'll have to restart Iceweasel to revert to Gnash

rm /home/xxxx/.mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so

rm -r /home/xxxx/.adobe/
rm -r /home/xxxx/.macromedia/

exit

Hope this method keeps you sane!
- Soul Singin'
.

[Tweenman]

Is this still the best/cleanest way to go about this for Lenny?

[bugsbunny]

Is this still the best/cleanest way to go about this for Lenny?

For lenny and adobe flash:
1) Enable backports
instructions [Debian Backports]
2) Install flashplugin-nonfree

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# aptitude install flashplugin-nonfree/lenny-backports

That should be it. If you ever need to upgrade to a newer version:

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# update-flashplugin-nonfree --install

will do the trick