FYI, I have put together a list of all of the links to discussions / comments on the Macromedia Central Public Beta.
There has also been discussion on Flash Coders, Flash Lounge and CF-Talk.
You can keep up with discussion / comments on Central with MXNA by using the following link:
We have just launched a public beta of Macromedia Central in conjunction with Intel’s one unwired day. The beta is focused on giving users a chance to check out Macromedia Central before the final version is released.
The public beta includes:
You can install Central from the Central Product page (Windows and Mac)(Flash Player 6,0,65,0 or higher required).
We have also published some more information on Central, including:
Flash 2004 / Flash 2004 Pro have been available for a couple of weeks now. I have seen the full range of responses from raves to rage. So, now that you have had a couple of weeks to play with it, what do you think?
What do you love? What do you hate? What problems have you run into? What features have you found that you could not live without now? What is your general impression?
The Macromedia DevNet center just published an article that I wrote that gives an update on the status of Macromedia Central.
The main points?
The article also shows some new screens of the new ToolTips, and Blast! feature (which allows applications to share data with each other).
If you use a Mac and are interested in checking out the Macromedia Central beta, then send me an email at mesh@macromedia.com. We want to ensure that we have plenty of testing and developers on the Mac platform.
One of the things that Macromedia Central makes extensive use of is the ActionScript LocalConnection object. Below is the beginning of a list of resources I have begun to put together that discuss the LocalConnection object. I figured that it might be useful for some people, so here it is.
If you know of any articles or resources that I missed, then post them in the comments.
My favorite feature of Flash 2004 is the addition of an extensibility layer into the IDE. This allows you to use JavaScript (JSFL) to script the IDE.
Did you know that you can execute JSFL files from outside of Flash? There are two ways to do this. The first is to simply double click the jsfl file. Flash 2004 will open up and execute the JSFL contained within the file.
The second is to call the Flash 2004 executable from the command line passing the JSFL file as the first argument:
Oscar Trelles, commenting on Sean Voisen’s post about Central notes that he feels that discussion about Macromedia Central has died down recently and wonders if it is still on track.
Well, considering that Central is still in beta, we have actually been talking about it quite a lot. In fact, I think that we have been more open about Central than any other pre-release product. Of course, the past couple of weeks all of then attention has been focused on the MX 2004 launches (and rightfully so), but now that they are out the door, you will begin to hear even more about Central.
If you keep up with the community weblogs, then you probably already know that Macromedia Flash and Flash Pro 2004 are now available from our website. If you have been waiting to check out the new tools, head on over to the Macromedia website, and you can download a 30 day trial. If you are a DevNet Pro subscriber, then you can download the full version of Flash Pro from your subscription portal.
So, what is my favorite new feature? Well, I am excited about the new components (tons of them) and ActionScript 2.0, but I my favorite feature is the extensibility layer, which allows you to create reusable commands and behaviors as well as script the IDE. You can do some really cool stuff with the extensibility layer (such as compiling and publishing SWFs from the command line).
Rob Burgess is giving the keynote address at Seybold 2003 San Francisco tomorrow morning (September 9). If you are in the San Francisco area and would like to attend you can download a free pass for the keynote from the Macromedia website.
Should be pretty cool. I plan on being there so if you see me, stop by and say hi.
You can find more information on Seybold here.
You can find more information about the free pass here.
