MIME is Required
 Checking the MIME
   Setting the MIME   

Failure to have the MIME set properly can result in some visitors getting a blank picture or having other symptoms including crashing browsers. A visitor who gets one of these symptoms is rarely happy and most often just goes away. This is something most of us want to avoid. Unfortunately, since Flash is relatively new, many servers do not have the MIME set for Flash and this needs to be taken care of.

Another problem is just viewing a site does not tell you whether or not the MIME is set properly. There is no way to tell which visitors are going to have problems or even what problems they will have if the MIME is not set. Two different visitors with identical browsers can get completely different symptoms (including seeing a normal picture).

You should get the ISP or web server administrator to set the MIME type for Flash before a site goes live. Meanwhile, if your MIME is not set, please be aware that at least some of your visitors may have unwanted symptoms. Note, it is easy to check the MIME youself and there are two ways to check it from a browser on your desktop:

1) The Netscape Browser Test.
2) A special set of Test Files.
Details on using the Test Files.

If you have any questions about whether the MIME is setup correctly, upload the test files and relay the URL to the person responsible for getting the MIME set. The test files provide a unequivocal answer as to whether the MIME is set or not.

If you need more help just ask.