FAQ

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Contents

Installation And Setup

How do I install FDT?

We recommend you to download and install the FDT standalone version.

If you prefer to install FDT as part of your existing Eclipse 3.4+ instance, here the instructions:

  1. Install Eclipse
  2. Open Eclipse
  3. Choose "Help->Software Updates..."
  4. Select "Available Software" Tab and choose "Add Site..."
  5. Insert "http://fdt.powerflasher.com/update" in Location field and confirm with OK
  6. Please open "http://fdt.powerflasher.com/update" out of "Available Software" and select "FDT 4". The "FDT 4 Add-ons" category is optional. Depending features are only available if the corresponding plugins of third party contractors are pre-installed.
  7. Click "Install..." to start the installation.

How do I update FDT?

You can either manually check the FDT Update Site or use FDT's 'Check For Updates'.

To check automatically go to Help>Check For Updates:

Fdt automaticly update.png

To check manually go to Help>Install New Software>Work With>FDT Update Site

Manual update.png

What are the minimal installation requirements for FDT?

FDT is officially supported under Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. To get started with FDT please also install and download the FDT standalone version.

Does FDT run under Linux?

Yes ! Starting FDT4.1 release we have announced full support to Linux.

Register here to get your 30 days trial key and follow the eclipse intall instructions as an Eclipse plug-in

And do not forget to help us making a better support for Linux by letting us know about any problems or issues.

Can I download a trial of FDT4?

Register for a free download of FDT 4 here.

How long can I demo FDT 4?

You can play with all features of FDT enabled for 30 days, you can download a 30 day trial version here.

Where can I find the FDT Carbon Version for Mac OSX

In general we allways recomment to Mac OS X users to use the Cocoa Version of FDT. But we have Carbon versions available.

FDT 4 Carbon Version

FDT 3.5 Carbon Version

Can I use an existing workspace for FDT4?

Yes, it's possible to use an existing workspace but in this case you won't see the Profile-Launcher Button in the toolbar. Please right-click on the toolbar > Customize Perspective > Command Groups Availability and here check Profile.

Can I install the standalone version of FDT identically on more than one system?

To install FDT to more than one system, there is the option to create a "Property File" of the configuration details. In that case, you would have to start your first installation of FDT with the following command:

installername -f 'path to properties file'

and the following with:

installername -f 'properties file.'

FDT Installation fails (Unsupported major.minor version)

FDT needs at least Java 1.5 to run properly. Test your install of java here.

I'm on Windows and the Plugin repository isn't working

This is a temporary issue that will be fixed soon. Until then the current workaround is:

Paste the .jar files into the plugin directory of FDT, restart FDT and reset the perspective

haXe Plugin: download

Pflection: download

My Startup (Splash) Screen Is The Default Eclipse Screen

When FDT is installed as a plugin, we could overwrite the default splash screen but we've decided not to. It's a best practice among the Eclipse community to not override the standalone Eclipse install in this way. This is because the user may have another Eclipse based product installed. For example, if you've downloaded the standalone version of Aptana and then install FDT as a plugin - we'd be overriding the Aptana screen with our own.

Upgrading And Using Licenses And FDT Discounts

How can I upgrade my FDT 3.5 to FDT 4?

You cannot upgrade to FDT4 directly from FDT3.5. You need to download and install the FDT4 standalone version or install FDT 4 as a plugin to an Eclipse instance that doesn't had a FDT version installed before.

I'm a student. Do you offer special student licenses?

Students can buy all full versions and upgrades for 50 % of the retail price. Check out the special application form. Please keep in mind that we need a copy of your student's ID which proves that you're actually enrolled at an university or school and that you are entitled to take this particularly favourable offer.

Do you support developers of open source projects?

We are very interested in encouraging projects everyone benefits from. So please let us know what you're doing and we encourage your work with the give-away of a free key for FDT 4 Max license. Follow this link and fill out the application form. We will check out your project and get back to you as soon as possible.

Which versions should I get?

If you just started programming and want to structure your sources, you should go for FDT Pure. It provides you with a lot of cool features and will definitely shorten your development time. It's your entry into the world of professional coding. If you are already a professional and if you are used to working with professional development tools you should go for FDT Plus. A complete feature set supports you in handling your huge projects with bulky source codes and libraries. Your whole team can benefit from FDT Plus and how it simplifies your coding procedure. If you need solutions to tricky tasks and if you want to benefit from our latest achievements you should go for FDT Max. This version offers not only extended support, you can also team up with our experts to be part of well-priced training sessions, especially developed for our Professionals customers. FDT Max is for the experts among the experts!

I'm a software reseller. Are you working with resellers?

Yes we work with resellers. To get the special reseller rates please contact us via our Sales contact form and provide us with all the necessary data about your company. With these information we will create your personal FDT reseller account which allows you to get the discount.

Contacting The Team For Support, Bugs, Feature Requests or Contributions

How Do I Use JIRA

Check out this tutorial.

What kind of support can I expect?

If you are a user of FDT 4 Max you can use our support form to get help within the next 24h. Please keep the following in mind: the more information we have, the easier it is for us to react quickly and satisfactory. So please give us a brief, but precise, description of your problem.

http://www.fdt.powerflasher.com/developer-tools/fdt/support/

I have a feature request or I found a bug - where do I post it?

Please use our FDT Jira database http://bugs.powerflasher.com

Configuring FDT

Can I Import or Export FDT Color Themes

FDT doesn't have official support for importing and exporting color themes. It can be done, but may require extra steps. The reason for this that color themes in Eclipse are saved within the workspace preferences - along with other preferences such as keystrokes. For now, the best is to Google 'Eclipse Color Themes'.

Here is a good link to start

Can I reset the default preference file in FDT?

Eclipse would re-create the configuration folder with all the configuration files by deleting the configuration folder and forcing Eclipse to start up using the default settings. However, the FDTs settings are partly stored in the workspace as well as in FDTs directory. When deleting these configurations there is also a chance that the workspace will get messed up. Even if it works without problems the user will have to set up each project he had in his workspace once again. It is recommend to make a fresh installation of FDT instead, that way you are on the save side.

Using FDT

Getting Started

We have devoted a section on our wiki to getting you running with FDT quickly. Check it out.

Is ActionScript 2 still supported?

While FDT4 has no longer support for AS2. You have the option to buy FDT 3.5 with AS2 support as a special bundle with FDT4 for US$99.

How can I reset the default Project Templates and Project Templates?

To reset the Project Types delete the folder projectTypes within the user-wide FDT configuration folder (/Users/username/FDT, C:\Users\username\FDT) and restart FDT.

To reset the Project Templates delete the folder projectTemplates within the user-wide FDT configuration folder and restart the New Project Wizard.

Where has the FDT Parser Preferences moved to?

Due to the new SDK Management we removed the parser settings and replaced the functionality with the FDT Compiler Preferences.

How can I define path variables for linked resources?

The preferences are now within the general workspace preferences (General - Workspace - Linked Resources). You can also click on the link within the FDT Welcome Screen to open them.

Why are there some wizards missing within Flash Explorer's New menu?

Please reset the FDT Perspective to refresh all entries. (Window - Reset Perspective...)

My profiler isn't working with FDT 4?

Please reset the FDT Perspective to refresh all entries. (Window - Reset Perspective...)

I changed the project's SDK but nothing changed in my .as3_classpath file

We moved the classpath in FDT 4 Milestone 2.

How do I get rid of the FDT 3 Compatibility folder? I only want to use FDT 4!

If you don't need downward compatibility anymore you can just delete any of its files. The folder is only existing if your project contains any legacy file.

How can I use trace() with AS3?

The Flex SDK which is included in the FDT stand alone installation has to be installed. Furthermore you need the Flash Debug Player to start your application. Please make sure that you're really using the DEBUG PLAYER. If you want to check which version of the Flash Player is installed on your system visit the Adobe Version test. If everything is installed correctly open your main class and start your application with "Debug As... --> FDT AS3 Application" (instead of "Run As..."). Two consoles in eclipse will open one for the compiler and one for the debugger. The console for the debugger shows the output of your traces.

I'm trying to import the fl package and I get an error...

Use "compc.exe" from the FlexSDK to create an SWC library out of the following folder:

<Adobe Flash CS3/4>\en\Configuration\Component Source\ActionScript 3.0\User Interface

Use this SWC as linked library within your project afterwards. Alternativly you can use the folder directly as "linked library".

How can I improve FDT's performance?

To improve the FDT performance you can try the following suggestions:

  • Remove unused SDKs from FDT
  • Close unused project
  • Uncheck "build automatically"
  • Raise the memory value in eclipse.ini adding the following two lines:
    • Xms128m
    • Xmx768m

Note: On a machine with only 1 gb of ram, lowering the value to 512mb will improve the performance

Things Are Slow or I'm Getting Odd Errors

Try cleaning your workspace / projects and resetting the compiler.

Clean.png Reset compiler.png

I'm getting this ERROR 403...

Please check the settings of your firewall.

  1. Preferences...
  2. Select Install/Update
  3. Select "Enable http proxy connection"
  4. Insert proxy address and port
  5. try again

When I Debug or Profile My Application, The Perspective Doesn't Change

Check out your Perspectives settings:
Prespective control.png
There's an option to: Open associated perspective when an application suspends. Also take note that when you have FDT SWF Application selected within the Application Types/Launchers section you have the appropriate settings under Modes/Perspectives.

How Do I Get FDT to Ignore Specific Files or Folders Such as .SVN

Within the Flash Explorer, there is a filter option for what types of files and folders are visible.

Ignore svn.png

Why is the flex.swc included in AS3 projects

There are various reasons for this, but most notably it has to do with the use of the [Embed] metadata tag. With the use of such a tag the Flex compiler will pull in additional classes, from the mx package, to handle the asset embed.


[Embed(source="FDT.jpeg")]


The use of code like the snippet above will result in the addition of classes such as BitmapAsset. The tricky part is that if the classes are omitted, the compiler will not throw a compile time error. Rather it will throw a runtime error.

Check this video tutorial:

How Can I Profile a SWF I Create Via Flash Authoring

The best way of doing this is to use one of FDT's Ant tasks.


Check this video tutorial:

How Do I Use The New Mobile Components In Flex Hero?

  1. You'll first need to download the new Hero SDK.
  2. Add the Hero SDK using FDT's SDK Management
  3. Add mobilecomponents.swc to your classpath

Also see this post by Marvin Blase on using using Hero and FDT.

Select mobile.png

FDT Beta

FDT Beta can be downloaded either as a standalone or via FDT's update site. To ensure that you're current workflow for ongoing projects isn't disrupted, we suggest installing the standalone FDT Beta separately from your production version of FDT.

Downloading Or Updating Existing FDT Install

Standalone install: Download FDT Beta for Windows

Download FDT Beta for OSX

Via FDT's Update Site: To download FDT beta, within FDT you’ll need to either create a new download site or edit the existing beta site. The URL is:

http://fdt.powerflasher.com/update_beta/build

To create a new site or edit an existing update site go to 'Help>Install New Software...'

Beta 1.png

Once here you can edit an existing Beta site by going to "Available Software Sites" or create a new site by clicking 'Add'. After either one, you'll need to add the URL like below:

Beta 9.png

When the site is added, select it from the 'Work with:' menu and check off FDT.

Beta 7.png

How FDT's Versioning Works

We use a popular numbering system most of you are already familiar with:

[major].[minor].[maintenace].[build]

[major] - Major breakthroughs in development.

[minor] - Some improvements or expansion on existing features

[maintenance] - Mostly bugfixes for a minor or a major release- you could call it Patch or Hotfix.

[build] - While a version is still in beta we will include a build number that will denote which version the beta is associated with. For example, 4.1.0.2322 is a beta build for 4.1.0.

Using our upcoming release, 4.1 as an example, let's look at a release cycle for it. For 4.1, we fixed a few issues and added some small improvements - so it's a minor release. Moving forward, we start incrementing the build number to hint that we're making improvements but it's not ready for prime time. At this point you'll start seeing versions like this: 4.1.1.1190, 4.1.1.1193 and 4.1.1.1201.

If we're happy with the quality, we'll release a stable minor build, 4.1.1, and then start again: 4.1.2.1213, 4.1.2.1216...

What Should I Do If I Find a Bug In FDT Beta

If you come across a bug while using a beta version of FDT, please search JIRA if it has already been logged, and if it hasn't please create a bug report.

How Do I Use JIRA

Check out this tutorial.

Miscellaneous

How Do I Know What Edition of FDT I Have installed

Go to 'Help>FDT License' and the FDT license box will appear. This will tell you the registered email, version and a preview of the key that is associated with your installation of FDT. Licence.png

Get FDT5