Q I have a very old Flash self-contained Projector file that will only play under Mac OS 9. Its original Director components have been lost. How can I convert it to play under OS X?

A Most Macromedia Director projects consist of a bundle of Flash files that make up the various parts of the project. Try copying it across to your OS X system, and Control-clicking the icon to bring up Finder’s contextual menu. If this includes the command to Show Package Contents, use that to open it up as if it were a folder.

You may then be able to convert component parts using a utility such as Flash Decompiler or SWF Toolbox. These and other Flash-related utilities can be obtained from Eltima, although only a small range of their products support Macs.

Updated from the original, which was first published in MacUser volume 27 issue 11, 2011.