I wrote about how to setup FlashDevelop with Flex Framework last time, but all my old blog entries are taken down when I revamp this site. So, this is just a reblog of the old entry with some minor changes. Hopefully it will be easier to follow this time.

Introduction

FlashDevelop is an open source script editor which primary use for editing ActionScript (Can be use for XML, HTML, CSS… etc as well). Flex is a free open source framework use for compiling Flash SWF. Both of them are free and open source, so it is good for those who want to learn ActionScript without purchasing Adobe Flash.

Steps to Setup

Below is a brief steps on how to setup FlashDevelop with Flex Framework.

• Download and install Java runtime.
• Download and install FlashDevelop.
• Download and extract Flex SDK.
• Launch FlashDevelop.
• Go to Tools>Program Settings>AS3 Context>Flex SDK Location. Fill in the location where you extract flex SDK.
• Go to Tools>Program Settings>Flash Viewer>External Player Path. Fill in the location of the debug Flash player 10. It is include in the flex SDK package in this location \runtimes\player\10\win.
• Done. You can compile flash10 stuff now. Just create a new project, and edit the Main.as in the src folder

Different Flex Framework Version

You can use different version of Flex Framework for different projects. Just set a custom path in the project properties at

• Project>Properties>Compiler Options>Custom Path to Flex SDK

This will be useful to test if your project got screw with a new Flex SDK release without affecting other projects.

Using Preloader

If you want a preloader in your AS3 project, just start a new project and choose “AS3 Project with Preloader“. You will want to add in your own script inside the “progress” function. You can check how many percents of content are loaded by using the following script.

percent = e.bytesLoaded / e.bytesTotal * 100

Free Adobe Flash Builder 4 Standard

Actually Adobe is providing free copies of Flash Builder 4 Standard to students, event attendees, and people who are jobless now. You can get your copy in this page.