CS4 Save As and ActionScript Versions

Question

I'm curious as to which versions CS4 can save an FLA as. As
government contractors we are obligated to submit our FLAs as part
of our final deliveries, and some customers require the version to
be 8. For this and other reasons we need to be mindful when
considering upgrading.
Also, will CS4 allow us to create files as either AS2 (gotta
have that Tree component!) or AS3 in the same way that CS3 does?
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Ex Malterra,
> I'm curious as to which versions CS4 can save an FLA as.
Flash CS4 can save FLAs as CS4- and CS3-compatible files.
(By
comparison, Flash CS3 is able to save CS3- and 8-compatible
files. Flash 8
can save 8- and MX 2004-compatible files, and so on, back.
Always the
current version and the version before.)
> some customers require the version to be 8. For this and
> other reasons we need to be mindful when considering
> upgrading.
It can get tedious, but if you're using CS4 and want to save
for Flash
8, you'll have to Save As CS3, then open that file in CS3 and
Save As 8.
Keep in mind -- and this isn't new to CS4 -- you always risk
losing features
when you save to a previous version of Flash. For example,
Flash 8
introduced blend modes. If you use those and try to save your
file as an MX
2004 file, you'll lose that particular feature.
> Also, will CS4 allow us to create files as either AS2
(gotta
> have that Tree component!) or AS3 in the same way that
> CS3 does?
Yes. Flash CS4 supports all the versions of ActionScript as
Flash CS3.
That said, you can always use 3rd party components to meed
your needs, if it
comes to that. The Yahoo! Developer Network features free
(BSD license) AS3
UI components for Flash here, including a Tree:
http://developer.yahoo.com/flash/astra-flash/
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS4 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/5j55cv
"Luck is the residue of good design."