TechNote (Archived)

Rosetta mode not supported for Flash Player 9 on Intel-based Macintosh computers

Issue

Rosetta mode is not supported for Flash Player 9 on Intel-based Macintosh computers.

Reason

Flash Player 9 is available as a universal binary that includes both a version of Flash Player that runs natively on Intel-based Macs and a PowerPC version that can run in Rosetta. Rosetta is a special mode that runs older legacy PowerPC applications on Intel-based Macs.

For more information about Adobe support for Intel-based Macs, see this FAQ.

Solution

For playback in Native mode, the Player you use to view Flash content must be running in Native mode. To determine if your browser or application is running in Native mode, follow these steps:

Locate your browser or application. An example might be: Macintosh HD:Applications:Safari
Select the application icon and 'Get Info' using one of these methods:
- Press Control-I.
- Select File > Get Info.
- Right-click the file and select 'Get Info'.
- Control-click and select 'Get Info'.
Under the General tab, you should see a checkbox labeled 'Open using Rosetta'.
If this is checked, then you are using Rosetta. If it is unchecked, then the application is running natively. If the browser is running natively, then it will automatically use the native version of Flash Player.

If you switch your application from Rosetta mode to Native mode, then you must quit the application completely so it will run in Native mode next time you start it.