Setting up Flash on the mac ready to create applications for Android is fairly easy but requires a few stages. Lee Brimelow has an excellent video tutorial over at gotoAndLearn() which demonstrates how to setup the environment on a windows based computer. Mac users should be able to follow the same tutorial with no problems, alternatively follow these steps and you will be ready to go in no time.
1. Download and unzip the Android SDK
Although we will not require the SDK to build apps using Air, the SDK kit contains some tools that will be required for transferring the app over to your phone. It also contains a handy tool for grabbing screenshots from the phone, as well as the emulator used for testing the app on your mac (both will be covered in future posts)
2. Open the Android installer
Inside the folder you have unzipped, you will find a folder called “tools”. Open this and click the file titled “android”.
If you see a box titled “Choose packages to install”, you can close this box which should allow you to continue to the “Android SDK and AVD Manager”.
On the left hand side, click the “installed packages” option. This should show you that Android SDK Tools has been installed onto your mac. As we will not require the SDK to build the app it is not important that the latest version is installed, but this can be done if you wish. Once installed you can now close the SDK and AVD Manager.
3. Check that the mobile device has connected correctly
Open Terminal, found in applications/utilities on your mac, and enter the file path to the tools folder in the Android SDK. The file path can be found easily by highlighting any of the files found within the Android SDK/tools folder, and pressing cmd+i to open the information about that file. You can then simply copy the information found under “where” and paste it into Terminal. After the file path, type “/adb devices” as shown below.
Now when you press “enter”, the mobile device connected via USB should be displayed. Once this has been succesfully completed you are ready to install the Air components for Flash CS5.
4. Download and Install the Air Components
Air 2.5 extension for Flash CS5
Follow the link to the Adobe Labs page where you will find the download file for the Flash CS5 extension for Air 2.5 and instructions on how to install via the Adobe Extension Manager.
5. Open Flash CS5
Once the extension has been installed, you can now open Flash. On the welcome screen you should have a new template available to you, titled “Air for Android”. Once you have selected your template, you are ready to start building your application.
6. Air Android Settings
On the right hand side of the screen you will see a new setting titled “AIR Android Settings”. Some of the options in here will be required before you are able to publish the app to your phone. Before opening these settings, make sure you have saved your project.
The first page of the settings allows you to name the app, the file name for the app and give it a version number which is required for future updates. Other options here include the aspect ratio, full screen and auto orientation. The render option allows you to render via the devices GPU which can help to optimize the performance of your app.
The next page of the Android settings requires you to create a certificate for your application. Clicking “create” will take you through the setup, and create a file which you will need to save. Then going back to the AIR Android settings the file can be imported. Part of the setup will require you to create a password, which will also be required in the Air Android Settings. It is also useful to select the box to remember the password for the current session. Another handy setting on this page is the option to export the application to your device, and also to launch the application automatically.
The third page of the settings is where you add the icons for your application. You will need to create three different versions of your icon, using different sizes for each of the available devices. The dimensions are 36×36, 48×48 and 72×72.
Finally the last page contains the permissions file required for publishing the app. Here you need to select any of the device components you will be using.
Once complete you can press publish, which will now install and open the application on your Android device.
