Installing Flash on Ubuntu

Notes
Installing the package using Ubuntu repositories (terminal)
Installing from the Adobe website (terminal)
Installing for only one user (point-and-click)
Installing the package using Ubuntu repositories (point-and-click)

Notes

About Flash
Flash 9 was released by Adobe in mid-January of 2007. This page covers four ways of installing Flash 9 in Ubuntu. By installing Flash using any of these methods, you're agreeing to this End User License Agreement from Adobe.

If you have Ubuntu AMD64
Flash doesn't natively work on the Ubuntu 64-bit edition. There is a workaround, though:
Howto Install 32 bit Firefox with Flash w/sound and Java for AMD64

If you're not using Firefox
The standard plugin folder in Ubuntu is for Firefox. If you're using Opera or Konqueror, you may have to scan for plugins or specify the proper plugins folder.

Brief summary of the four installation methods

The first method is better for people who are using Edgy Eft (Ubuntu 6.10) or Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04) with extra repositories enabled.
The second method uses the official .tar.gz from the Adobe website and is most appropriate if you're using Dapper Drake (Ubuntu 6.06) or earlier.
The third method is a point-and-click method that works if you are the only user who needs Flash on your computer (Flash gets installed locally for the logged in user—not system-wide for all users)
The last method is really the same as the first method, but it uses a point-and-click method for enabling extra repositories and installing Flash.

Installing the package using Ubuntu repositories

Assuming you're using Edgy Eft (Ubuntu 6.10) or Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04) and have extra repositories enabled (specifically, the Edgy backports repository), you can update to/install Flash 9 by pasting this single command into the terminal:

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install flashplugin-nonfree

Installing from the Adobe website

Paste these commands into the terminal. Below each command, I'll also explain what the command does.

sudo apt-get remove flashplugin-nonfree

This will remove Flash 7 if you have that already installed using the package manager. If the terminal tells you Package flashplugin-nonfree is not installed, so not removed or E: Couldn't find package flashplugin-nonfree, that's fine. We just wanted to make sure it wasn't installed.

rm ~/.mozilla/plugins/*flash*

Then, we remove any possibly locally-installed Flash plugins from your user profile. If the terminal moves to the next line, it means we actually removed the previously locally-installed Flash plugin. If you get a message saying rm: cannot remove `/home/username/.mozilla/plugins/*flash*': No such file or directory, then it means you never had it locally installed to begin with. In either case, you should proceed to the next command.

wget -c http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz

This command downloads the Flash plugin from the Macromedia website. The -c option allows you to continue the download later should it get interrupted.

tar -xvzf install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz

Now, we unzip the .tar.gz file, which will then create a folder for us with the plugin inside.

For Ubuntu 6.06 and later

sudo mv install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/
sudo mv install_flash_player_9_linux/flashplayer.xpt /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/

For Ubuntu 5.10 and earlier

sudo mv install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
sudo mv install_flash_player_9_linux/flashplayer.xpt /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/

These commands move the Flash plugin to the appropriate plugins folder.

rm install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz

Now that we have Flash installed, we don't need the .tar.gz any more, so let's remove it.

rm -r install_flash_player_9_linux

We can also remove the folder that used to have the plugin in it. If the terminal asks you rm: remove write-protected regular file `install_flash_player_9_linux/flashplayer-installer'? just type y for yes.

In order for Flash to get recognized properly, you may want to restart Firefox or make sure your non-Firefox browser points to the right plugins directory.

Installing for only one user (point-and-click)

If you're the only user on your machine, there may not be a reason to install Flash systemwide.

To install it locally, just visit a website that requires Flash. For this example, I'm visiting the website for the Rhode Island School of Design.

Click the Install Missing Plugins button. An Available Plugin Downloads dialogue will appear. Click Next to go to the next step.

Check the I agree box for the Adobe Software End User License Agreement. Then click Next

Wait for Flash to download.

Click Finish

Now Flash is installed, and you should be able to view the website that requires it.

Installing the package using Ubuntu repositories (point-and-click)

Synaptic Package Manager Installation
If you want to install Flash system-wide (for all users), and you are deathly afraid of highlighting four commands, copying them, and then pasting them into the terminal, then you can install Flash graphically using Synaptic Package Manager.

First, go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. You'll need to be an admin user (the first user created during installation is an admin—you can always make other users admin too if you go to System > Administration > Users & Groups). Enter your user password when prompted.

First, you'll have to enable extra repositories to have more software (including Flash) become available. Go to Settings > Repositories.

Make sure all the boxes are checked (or ticked), except for the CD-ROM one at the bottom.

You'll be told that information needs to be reloaded. Click Close.

Then, click Reload and you'll see the package information downloading.

Once Synaptic has checked to see what software is available, click Search and search for the term flash.

Mark flashplugin-nonfree for installation by right-clicking it and selecting Mark for Installation

You'll be told you also have to mark another package. Go ahead and Mark it.

Then, click Apply.

Wait for the changes to apply.

Accept the licensing agreement by clicking Forward.

Wait for Flash to install.

Now it's installed for all users.