New features good! Trusty old features...missing.

Question

Flash CS4...
I don't use the HELP functionality except for ONE thing, a
reference guide for AS3 classes. In CS3 it sat in a tab right next
to my ACTIONS tab and I would toggle back and forth between the two
as a part of my work process. Now, the help only resides in an
online HTML page (slow as molasses) and when you hit Help from the
top nav, it takes you to all of the noob stuff. I liked the ability
to turn off the noob stuff and only display the AS3 class
reference.
Now if you right click a method or property in the Actions
window, to pull up HELP on that item, it will pull that reference
up in an online HTML page (that is super slow). The problem with
that is,...there is no left nav frame that allows you to skip
around in that particular class. Since the reference it pulls up is
often taken WAY out of context, this presents a huge functionality
problem.
For example, in CS4, type addEventListener into the actions
window. Then right click on it and select help. A new HTML page
pops up with the information you want right? No. Here is what you
get -
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS3LCR/Flash_10.0/flash/data/SQLConnection.html#addEventListen er()
Now if the context of your question was about how to
addEventListener to a button in a swf (a far more likely occurance
than say a SQLConnection in an AIR app) then you just got screwed
and LOST at the same time.
The Adobe help docs have never been good in this respect, but
one would figure that, if they are taking this endeavor completly
online then it would stand to reason that they would, based on user
page requests open the help doc most likely to be of assistance.
AND if it is not the context for the method you are looking for,
that it would list other areas that might be of more relevance to
your particular issue. Perhaps it would even be of benefit to,
instead of jumping to the first occurance in the online docs, have
the query run through Google (addEventListener
site:help.adobe.com)...At least Google would give several options
that might have one that relate to something you are doing.
The core of addEventListener goes back to flash.events, not
flash.data. I don't get the logic in driving people to flash.data.
Another thing to help this out would be to put the sidebar into any
direct help requests, from the ACTIONS panel, so that the user can
easily see the other classes and get to the proper one if Flash
takes them on a misguided tour. The way it is now, it takes a bit
of digging to pull up the AS3 class reference with the left hand
side bar. Why can't this FULL version of the AS3 reference docs not
display with the initial search request?
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS3LCR/Flash_10.0/index.html
<- you got it here...
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS3LCR/Flash_10.0/flash/data/SQLConnection.html#addEventListen er()
<- why not here as well?
Please tell me that the old help functionality is in CS4, but
I just need to turn it on in a hidden preference area.

Answer 1

Walter and bnailWedge,
I hear you, both. I, too, am disappointed with the CS4 Help
on many
levels. The content is still very good -- that's an important
point -- but
I agree it has become very difficult to navigate and even
worse to search.
Fortunately, you can use your browser's built in tools to
help. Bookmarks,
for example, come in handy once you've figured out where your
resources are.
And in-browser/in-page search can help you pinpoint things
quickly.
For what it's worth, I do remember having conversations with
Adobe
engineers in which some of the reasons for this choice were
explained to me.
These included the fact that install files were getting
exceedingly complex
across the board. Part of this challenge was mitigated by
omitting portions
of the Help docs for local installation. In addition -- and
this one is
pretty self-evident -- the docs are more manageable and
updateable when
maintained on a server. There were additional reasons given,
but none of
them seem to have stuck in my brain, perhaps because they
didn't seem
compelling enough to me. For better or worse, this system has
been adopted
across the board for every app in the CS4 suite.
To clarify an earlier statement by Walter, Flash CS4 does
install the
ActionScript 3.0 Language and Components Reference and (I
think) the Using
Flash CS4 Professional guide locally, but everything else --
ActionScript
2.0 Language Reference, JSFL reference, the beginner's guides
-- are not
installed. But at least they'e online, and they're all linked
from within
the starter page(s) visible when you press the F1 key.
> Where are all the other Help documents that used to be
there:
>
> Flash Examples
Not sure which ones you mean. There are samples mixed with
the API
documents, but if you ask specifics I'll try to find them for
you.
> Learning ActionScript
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/ActionScript/3.0_ProgrammingAS3/
> ActionScript Language Reference
AS3:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS3LCR/Flash_10.0/index.html
AS2:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS2LCR/Flash_10.0/help.html?content=Part2_AS2_LangRef_1.html
> Using Components
AS3:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/ActionScript/3.0_UsingComponentsAS3/
AS2:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS2LCR/Flash_10.0/help.html?content=Part3_Using_V2_Components_ 1.html
> Extending Flash
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Flash/10.0_ExtendingFlash/index.html
> The online Help is more frustration than help, takes
FOREVER, and
> is no help on my laptop when I'm not online, or in a
place where I
> pay for wifi by the byte.
That was one of the biggest issues I mentioned directly to
the Flash
team. Believe me, they're aware of these points, but because
the Help files
aren't directly related to the Flash install anymore --
outside of the two
(I think) examples I mentioned earlier -- it's Adobe the
Mothership that
needs to hear your feedback. Do bring these issues up!
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform
They really do read through user feedback.
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS4 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/5j55cv
"Luck is the residue of good design."