Flash CS4 and ActionScript 2.0

Question

Hello
Was wondering if you could recommend the publish and save
settings in Flash CS4 when working with ActionScript 2.0.
What are my publish settings?
Flash Player 8 or 9?
Script: ActionScript 2.0
Should I be saving the project as CS4 or CS3?
- I no longer have the ability to save the file as Flash 8 in
CS4.
- It looks like I lose my XML files when I save as CS3
Are there any other settings that need to be changed?
Thanks in advance
M

Answer 1

troika22,
> Was wondering if you could recommend the publish and
save
> settings in Flash CS4 when working with ActionScript
2.0.
Ultimately, it depends on what version of Flash Player
you're aiming
for.
> What are my publish settings?
> Flash Player 8 or 9?
> Script: ActionScript 2.0
There are numerous reasons you might decide to code a
project in AS2.
You might, for example, not yet have "taken the plunge" to
AS3, so you may
not be comfortable with it yet. Your project requirements
might dictate
that you support as low as Flash Player 6 (may ad agencies
have such
requirements). You might be updating an existing project,
already built in
AS2.
In any of these cases, your publish settings will be
determined by the
version of Flash Player you're targetting. Flash Player 8 was
the first to
support blend modes and filter effects (drop shadow, etc.),
so in order to
support that, you would have to publish to Flash Player 8. If
you don't
need those, and if your code itself doesn't rely on features
that require
Flash Player 7, you may as well publish to Flash Player 6 and
reach the
greatest number of potential viewers. (The farther back you
go, the more
likely your viewer will have Flash Player installed, because
not everyone
decides to upgrade. That said, most people seem to upgrade.)
> Should I be saving the project as CS4 or CS3?
If you're working with a team and some of those people use
Flash CS3,
you'll have to save it as CS3 any time you want to share the
file;
otherwise, save it as CS4. The FLA settings are independent
from the SWF
publish settings.
> - I no longer have the ability to save the file as Flash
8 in CS4.
Correct. Each edition of the IDE only save to the previous
edition, as
far as source files go. But each edition of the IDE is
capable of
*publishing* as far back as you like.
> - It looks like I lose my XML files when I save as CS3
Which XML files are those?
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS4 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/dpsFoundationFlashCS4
"Luck is the residue of good design."