Distributing Animate Extensions

[kilopop2000]

For someone used to the pre CC versions of Flash where you could make your own .mxp files to share using Extension Manger, the way to do the same in Animate CC2020 is not as clear. It's .zxps now, sure, so is the Adobe Exchnage program the only way in which to package and distribute .zxps? If so, is it possible to distribute privately rather than for sale or free public access as an individual Adobe Creative Cloud account subscriber?

[n. tilcheff]

Hi mate,

Extensions are just a bunch of files that need to be copied to specific folders in Animate config.

These may include commands, tools, SWFs, etc.

Packaging may be simple and handy, but by no means necessary.

You can manually copy the files and the extensions will work just fine.

I don't know if you are familiar with our work, but a long time ago we decided that we did not want to be at the mercy of the constantly changing file types and market place and developed our own install script.

We distribute Flanimate Power Tools independently of Adobe Exchange and they work with all versions of Flash/Animate newer than Flash 8.

So to your question: Yes, you can distribute privately. Just zip and let people know where to put the files.

For example, we have described the process of manual installation of EDAP Tools here.

Hope this helps!

ps. I believe that you can use any application that allows you to build installers also.

[kilopop2000]

Thanks Nick. You've helped to clear up some of the confusion around this. Looks like creating an install script that unpacks a .zip into the correct folder would be the best approach. Any tips on where to start that?

Thanks very much.

[n. tilcheff]

Hi again, mate,

I'll tag Vlad to have a look. He should be able to give some practical advice.

If you only target Windows I believe that an application such as Inno Setup might be all that you need.

[Vladin M. Mitov · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can try to create a self-extracting rar or 7-zip. Here is a discussion about this:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/27904532/how-do-i-make-a-self-extract-and-running-installer

Also, you can create zxp - there are tools for this, such as
npm zxp-builder ( https://www.npmjs.com/package/zxp-builder )
or
Adobe Extension Builder (https://labs.adobe.com/downloads/extensionbuilder3.html)

But, since Adobe Extension Manager is no longer available by default, anyone who wants to install your extension, will need to have Anastasiy’s Extension Manager installed.

[kilopop2000]

Hey thanks Vlad. Really appreciate your very helpful advice. This is going to smooth things out in my FutureSplash pipeline. 

[Multoman]

Hi. In addition to the topic, I want to note that jsfl has FLfile object with its help you can make an installer of scripts or plugins through Animate