Notices

Can the IT run flash swf files by itself or does it need to be in a webpage? I'm wondering if flash apps like the flash games and online flash drawing app could be played offline.

You can open swf files from file manager; they appear in the browser and work without problems.

do they run better downloaded or online

Is there really a difference?

AFAIK, most Flash apps are downloaded to client, then played by locally by the client.

In instances where Flash apps are used as containers, and data is pulled down as and when required, I would argue that the performance of the Flash app is dependent on the quality of the data connection

I THINK they would run better downloaded. If you run it online through a website, you could have plenty of other stuff (flash ad's for example) that could bog your IT down.

Point the browser directly to the .swf and just run the flash app (without the other crap). Now whether is actually improves performance on the flash game, I don't know; however, I do know it's a lot easier to play (don't have to mess with scrolling or zooming as much).

BReady

Actually, it will help if you play directly the .swf file instead of having it in an .html file.
Anyway, I think it would even better if swf file could be played outside of the browser; there would not be the overhead of the browser impeding on the performances of the flash file.