I had previously posted about the offline help and language reference locations in Flash CS4 which allows you to access the local copy of the language reference from within a web browser. But did you know that you could also access these local files from within the Flash CS4 help panel?
Normally when you access the help panel in Flash CS4 it automatically tries to load the online version of the documentation and language reference. I assume Adobe chose to do this so they could keep it updated and you could benefit from other user's comments in the Live Docs.
To access the local copy of Flash CS4 help and the language reference, just tell Flash to “keep you offline”:
Go to Window > Extensions > Connections. In the panel that pops up, click the arrow at the top-right and select “Offline options”. From there you can check the box for “Keep me offline”. Flash will then always default to using the offline help.
I should note that doing this may also prevent you from using any other panels which call out to the internet, such as Kuler and the Flash startup/new file screen. As of now I'm not using any Internet-connected panels and I have the splash screen set to not show on startup, so this works quite well for me.
Yes, you could track events prior to this announcement by manually calling the JavaScript function embedded within the HTML page via ExternalInterface and passing it a unique identifier, but now you have two new options: either use the simple Flash or Flex component, or use the Flash or Flex AS3 tracking library. It should be noted that all four of these methods are being released as open source under the Apache 2 License.
Despite the let down of non-US pricing being 1.6 times the US cost once again, and also some comments on the CS4 logo, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I'd have to agree, but I also think that not too much new information was provided today other than pricing. At least for Flash CS4, I had seen and/or heard about all but one of the features discussed today at various conferences over the past year or more. The one new feature to me: Procedural modeling with Deco and Spray Brush. Nice small surprise feature addition.
While the enhancements across all of the CS4 apps are worth noting, I mainly work in Flex and Flash, so the rest of this post will focus on Flash CS4. There are some great posts out there already this morning, so I'll link to those instead of regurgitating the same content:
Keith Peters - I like Flash CS4
Keith does a great job going over some features as it applies to developers, and describes how some minor changes (aka the not-hyped ones) have really solved some of his pain points while working in the IDE. Keith has also posted some screenshots of the new interface.
Jen deHaan - Flash CS4: The photo tour of features
Jen has re-started her blog, now focusing it on Flash CS4 and the new motion model for animation. This post has the most thorough collection of Flash CS4 screenshots. I would also say the most official seeing as how Jen works for Adobe. If you can't wait until the release to check everything out, this is the blog post to read.
According to Flash Platform Evangelist Lee Brimlow, Adobe will announce the CS4 suite on September 23rd via a web broadcast that you can register for today. The news is also posted on Adobe.com, so it is safe to say this is official.
Lee is careful to mention, however, that this is not the release date for CS4 -- just the announcement of new features and what one can expect when CS4 is available for purchase. I'm guessing that, like Adobe did with CS3, they will post additional betas such as Flash CS4 to Adobe Labs for everyone to play with after the announcement on the 23rd. Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4 and Soundbooth CS4 betas are already available for download on Adobe Labs.
I finally got around to watching the 360|Flex keynote with Mark Anders, Justin Everett-Church and more, and just like somanyothers have blogged, there is some really great information included on Flex 4 (Gumbo), Thermo, Flash Player 10 and more. While the video is over an hour long, it is worth the investment in time:
To access the local copy of Flash CS4 help and the language reference, just tell Flash to “keep you offline”:
