This might be a simple-minded question because I haven't used a flash screen before. (No call for it.) But I have to wonder if file type .SWF happens to have a formal association in your computer at the executable level.
The reason that you can display a .BMP file is because Windows knows what a .BMP file is. It is a registered association. You can launch a variant of PAINT or something else that can view .BMP files without pain. Similarly, there is a way to launch any other type of file as long as the file has something to launch that understands that file type. HAS to be registered.
The .SWF association I see in my computer, at least, is NOT an executable file. It requires an encapsulating environment because it is part of a browser's list of application plug-ins. You have to launch an executable, not an environment, so I tend to think you can't launch a ShockWave File in the normal manner.
On the other hand, there IS such a thing as a shockwave .OCX file (ActiveX) that you could activate from Access by (1) adding the .OCX file to your list of references and (2) registering the .OCX file. Both are controlled from a code window (open any module) by clicking the menu bar Tools option. Add the reference first, then register it second. Both of the dialog boxes have a browse feature you can use to locate the .OCX file. Look up "References" in the help files if you aren't sure about them.
If you are willing to wait a moment, you could try this. Instead of a static .BMP file as a "splash" you could make a startup form that uses object automation on the animated splash file while it is starting up. Put something in the Form_Load code that kicks off the .SWF for you.
Having now said that, I tend to agree that an opening animation is probably a nasty trick to play on users. That didn't stop me from making an opening automation, either, but my automation is not of the shockwave variety. It is just a flashing text box that changes size and color on a timer to get the attention of the viewer focused on a specific location.
