In association with my PCPro column (due to appear in the January issue), here’s how to create Flex 3 applications for absolutely nowt. Before I begin, however, there’s no doubt that the most productive and efficient way of developing for Flex is using Adobe’s Flex Builder: effectively a plug-in to the Eclipse IDE that adds visual drag and drop functions. If you’re a student or teacher (etc) you can get Flex Builder for free from freeriatools.adobe.com
Otherwise, to create Flex applications for free you need an editor (FlashDevelop) and the Flex SDK.
Step 1: Install the Java Runtime
FlashDevelop requires the Java Runtime. You may already have it (look in Control Panel) but, if not,you can download it from http://www.filehippo.com/download_java_runtime/
Step 2: Install FlashDevelop
Download FlashDevelop from FlashDevelop.org and install it to the location of your choice.
Step 3: Install Flex SDK
You can download the Flex SDK from Adobe’s website. Download it then extract the ZIP to a folder of your choice (eg c:/flex3sdk).
Step 4: Install Flex SDK documentation
Download the full documentation. Unzip it to a convenient location (eg within the same structure as the SDK)
Step 5: Configure FlashDevelop
In FlashDevelop Tools/Program Settings/ AS3Context: Find the “Flex SDK Location†field and browse to where you extracted it to. This allows you to compile Flex projects.
To test, go to Projects and select New. Choose Flex 3 Project. Make sure “Create Folders” is checked. You’ll find an MXML file within the SRC folder. Add a Flex element (eg a text field) and press F5 to see if it works.
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