How to install Air 3.9 SDK into FB 3.7

Report · Sep 23, 2013

I cannot understand why Adobe doesn't make installers to update the SDK's more automatically. I have broken apps because of iOS 7, and must use the 3.9 AIR SDK to fix this problem, and resubmit my apps. What is so frustrating is to download the 3.9 Beta SDK, but have no clear instructions on how to install it into FB 3.7. Why isn't there an installer? How can a company with the massive brainpower of Adobe be incapable of writing an installer that figures out where to put the SDK?

In my FB preferences panel, under "installed AIR SDK" the field is read-only. And it refers to a folder AIR SDK location: /Applications/Adobe Flash Builder 4.7/eclipse/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722/AIRSDK .

And if I am just make AIR apps, do I need to be concerned with Flex? Is flex somehow related to making iOS and Android Apps in AIR? The relationship of Flex is so murky.

Do i do an overly into the 4.6 folder ?

Is there a newer version of FB yet?

Report · Oct 01, 2013

I have wasted a whole day trying to update FB 4.7 to AIR 3.9 on Mac. I have replaced the files in the /eclipse/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722/AIRSDK folder but the files in the /sdks/4.6.0/ folder still show the AIR 3.1 (???) version. It's like FB doesn't even care about what AIR version is in the AIRSDK folder (currently the default 3.4 version is in there) because I can only compile my project with xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/air/application/3.1" in the app xml file.

I have also tried overriding the files in the /sdks/4.6.0 folder with the latest air 3.9 for flex files, but this leads to not even being able to add this sdk in flash builder (it gives me a "can't find flex sdk" kind of error).

Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?

Report · Oct 01, 2013

Below are steps to overlay AIR SDK into FB4.7

1. Exit Flash Builder.

2. Back up the AIR SDK availabe at Application/FB4.7/eclipse/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.3497 22/ by copying the entire directory and rename it to something AIRSDKversion. Now, you have two folder AIRSDK(default one) and AIRSDKversion(copied one).

3. Download the appropriate AIR SDK file for your operating system e.g. http://www.adobe.com/devnet/air/air-sdk-download.html unzip and save it on your MAC OS X.

4. On Terminal, run the below command

sudo ditto /path/air3-9_sdk_sa_mac /Applications/Adobe\ Flash\ Builder\ 4.7/eclipse/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722/AIRSDK

/path/air3-9_sdk_sa_mac -> path where you downloaded the AIR SDK

/Applications/Adobe\ Flash\ Builder\ 4.7/eclipse/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722/AIRSDK -> path where you overlay the new AIR SDK

5. (Optional) To access the new AIR 3.9 APIs, update your application descriptor file to the 3.9 namespace.

To update the namespace, change the xmlns attribute in your application descriptor to: <application xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/air/application/3.9">

6. (Optional) To ensure that the output SWF file targets SWF version 22, pass an additional compiler argument: -swf-version=22.

Hope this will help.

Regards,

Nimit

Report · Oct 02, 2013

Hey Nimit,

Thanks for the reply. I have already tried doing that but my problem is with the /Flash Builder 4.7/sdks/4.6.0/ folder. The files there still have the air 3.1 version and I cannot update the namespace to anything higher than that. I tried using the AIR 3.9 sdk for flex developers to replace those files but it won't work at all (I can't even add that sdk in flash builder).

Any idea what's wrong? thanks.

Report · Oct 02, 2013

Could you please share the steps that you had followed.

-Nimit

Report · Oct 02, 2013

I have downloaded the "AIR 3.9 SDK & Compiler Beta", unzipped it and copied these files into the com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722/AIRSDK folder - that means a bunch of files have been replaced. (I couldn't run the command line in the Terminal, it was giving me a "can't get real path for source" error).

Anyway, i'm NOT a Mac user, I updated to air 3.9 on Windows without problems - all I had to do was to replace air files in the sdks/4.6.0/ folder. Why must Mac be this complicated? ><

and another question: isn't that 'tutorial" incomplete? what about the actual flex SDK that has AIR merged into it? for sure that needs to be updated, as well, so why isn't there anything about it?

----------------

EDIT: I did succeed in the end. The problem was Mac replacing files the wrong way if you're not using the Terminal. I got it to work in the end (the Terminal), and I have used the rsync command to replace the files. For anyone still having problems with this, here's what I did:

1. update the AIR SDK

- duplicate your "AIRSDK" folder located at /Flash Builder 4.7/eclipse/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722/ and rename it to something like "AIRSDK_backup"

- download and unzip the AIR 3.9 SDK & Compiler Beta [link]

- in the Terminal, navigate to the unzipped folder of the downloaded file, and run this command:

rsync ./* -avl /Applications/Adobe\ Flash\ Builder\ 4.7/ecplise/plugins/com.adobe.flash.compiler_4.7.0.349722\AIRSDK/

2. Update the Flex SDK

- duplicate your "4.6.0" folder located at /Flash Builder 4.7/sdks/ and rename it to something like "4.6.0 (3.9)"

- download and unzip the AIR 3.9 SDK for Flex Developers [link]

- in the Terminal, navigate to the unzipped folder of the downloaded file, and run this command:

rsync ./* -avl /Applications/Adobe\ Flash\ Builder\ 4.7/sdks/4.6.0\ (3.9)/

That's it! Hope this helps anyone who is still stuck.

For Windows: skip step 1 entirely and just copy/paste (replace existing files) the "AIR 3.9 SDK for Flex Developers" in /Flash Builder 4.7/sdks/4.6.0/

p.s. adobe forums login is broken on Chrome.

Report · Oct 03, 2013

Easiest way I found to install AIR 3.9 with FB 4.7 (on a Mac in this case) was to use the Apache installer: http://flex.apache.org/installer.html

I know not everyone uses the Apache Flex SDK but it works well and installs whatever version of AIR you want along with the Flex SDK.

Report · Jun 30, 2014

This is the best and fast method to update Flash Builder with latest sdk versions.

I don't know why Adobe didn't ever released a tool like that!!

Report · Oct 14, 2013

Thank you exanimo123... saved me a lot of trouble.

Report · Nov 14, 2013

Thanks you very much. I was stuck on this one for a couple hours as well...