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

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/F...tion.html#addE
ventListener()

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/F...0.0/index.html <- you got it here...


http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS3LCR/F...tion.html#addE
ventListener() <- 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.

Well, there is this one downloadable Help document for Flash:

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Flash/10...h_cs4_help.pdf

Unless I'm mistaken, this document isn't accessable from within Flash. F1 Help
is all online. And this is just the general Help file. Where are all the other
Help documents that used to be there:

Flash Examples
Learning ActionScript
ActionScript Language Reference
Using Components
Extending Flash

and so on.

In some ways, the old Flash help was a bit TOO fragmented, divided up into
these different documents. But oine could search specific topics from withing
Help and find a wealth of information. Now it's just bare bones.

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.

What's more, what happened to all the "Learning Flash" tutorials that were
right there in the Help menu? I don't need them, but in the past those
tutorials were great for beginners and I used to point all newcomers there. Now
they have to go to the online tutorials, many of which are useful. But, again,
access is slow, there is no access without a web connection, and they are not
as detailed as the old tutorials, which you could foloow, step-by-careful-step
at your own pace, and also contained links to more detailed Help information.

And like bnailWedge said, the context-sensitive Help is a frustrating mess.

In CS4 I actually feel Help-less. This was a really bad decision by Adobe to
put all help exclusively online. I note in another post, I think on the
Photoshop forum, someone from Adobe said there's no going back.

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/ActionSc...rogrammingAS3/

> ActionScript Language Reference

AS3: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS3LCR/F...0.0/index.html
AS2:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS2LCR/F...LangRef_1.html

> Using Components

AS3: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/ActionSc...ComponentsAS3/
AS2:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AS2LCR/F...ponents_1.html

> Extending Flash

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Flash/10...ash/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/...?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."

I may be out of step but I have never thought Adobe help was very good on any
of the other products I've used . Most wouldn't pass any usability I'm aware of.

BUT - this is 2008 almost 2009 last I checked. For the price of Flash this is
about the poorest excuse that I've heard. "Its too complex..." jeez!

David,

If the AS3 reference guide is intalled with Flash CS4, they've hidden it
really well inside an Easter Egg or something. I don't see it anywhere. The
Using Flash is only available as a PDF download through the link I posted above.

Yes, I can see the slight advantage of online Help being updateable. But
Macromedia used to sometimes do that with their inbuilt Help files and prompt
users to download it. Of course, I wish Macromedia had put as much effort into
issuing bug-fix patches to Flash, but it seems that culture of never fixing
bugs continues with Adobe Flash.

A funny thing...I have loved Flash to an almost pathological degree since I
first started working with Flash 4 eons ago. My enthusiasm for it influenced my
whole career to veer toward Flash animation as the majority of my work. I think
many others have had the same experience. Yet since Adobe took over, somehow
Flash stopped being so attractive and fun. CS3 was buggy and crashy and had
nothing worthwhile new for a non-developer. As much as I really like all the
new animation features in Flash CS4, the program itself feels wobbly, is filled
with minor but annoying bugs (which as usual will probably not be fixed until
we buy CS5), no longer has onboard Help, and I hate the new look: so cold and
clinical. I'm much happier working in Flash 8, even without AS3 or IK.

I'm falling out of love with Flash for some reason. And stupid decisions like
getting rid of the Help files, based probably on a survey of a small number of
expert beta testers who don't need Help files anyway, just make the program
less fun. I always thought Flash help was better than in most programs, and I
liked the context sensitive Actions help.

Sorry to be so sour. I'm actually in a tremendous mood today, working on an
animated cartoon. In Flash 8.

Bob,

> For the price of Flash this is about the poorest excuse
> that I've heard. "Its too complex..." jeez!

Careful! Don't take a snippet, relayed by me from memory, as something
to hang your hat on. My aim was to provide context for an explanation -- to
show that the decision wasn't arbitrary or without purpose. You might
*disagree* with the decision or purpose, and so might I, but neither of us
fully understands them without better explanation than I can offer. In
other words, the tidbits I shared aren't Adobe's official excuses or
explanations, so don't blame Adobe for something I said.

> I may be out of step but I have never thought Adobe help
> was very good on any of the other products I've used .

You're not out of step. That's your cumulative view of the Help docs,
and your view is as valid as anyone else's. Personally, I think the content
of the Help docs is great, and has been for years. The challenge -- in
Flash CS4, at any rate -- is searching the content.


David Stiller
Co-author, ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide
http://tinyurl.com/2s28a5
"Luck is the residue of good design."

Walter,

> If the AS3 reference guide is intalled with Flash CS4,
> they've hidden it really well inside an Easter Egg or
> something. I don't see it anywhere.

Here's how you can find it (and yes, it'll seem a bit like a Nintendo
cheat code sequence or Easter Egg) ...

1) Go to Window > Extensions > Connections. This opens a Connections panel.

2) Open the context menu of this panel (upper right, under the X that closes
the panel) and select Offline Options.

3) Select the "Keep me offline" checkbox and click OK.

4) Go to Help > Flash Help and the local Help documents will open in a
browser. For me, the path looks like this:

file:///C:/Program Files/Common
Files/Adobe/Help/en_US/Flash/10.0_UsingFlash/WS816BB12E-70DE-48c7-9C6C-4735B11BC9E9.html

.... and sure enough, the documents that show are Using Flash CS4
Professional and the ActionScript 3.0 Language and Components Reference.

Be aware that selecting the offline setting keeps you from using other
oneline features, such as the Kuler extension (which only makes sense).

> Yes, I can see the slight advantage of online Help being
> updateable. But Macromedia used to sometimes do that with
> their inbuilt Help files and prompt users to download it.

I remember that (Flash 8, for example), and I agree, that approah sounds
better.

> A funny thing...I have loved Flash to an almost pathological
> degree since I first started working with Flash 4 eons ago.
> My enthusiasm for it influenced my whole career to veer toward
> Flash animation as the majority of my work. I think many others
> have had the same experience.

Yes, count me in! Though I wish I did a bit more animation.

> Yet since Adobe took over, somehow Flash stopped being so
> attractive and fun. CS3 was buggy and crashy and had nothing
> worthwhile new for a non-developer.

I suppose it's somewhat luck of the draw, but I never had any buggy or
crashy experiences with CS3 (maybe not *never,* but it certainly wasn't
prone to crash on me -- and honestly, neither is CS4). I don't deny a
stronger trend nowadays that Flash is for developers (as opposed to
designers), but I wouldn't be so quick to correlate that with the
acquisition by Adobe. Remember, it was Macromedia that developed and
released Flex.

> decisions like getting rid of the Help files, based probably on a
> survey of a small number of expert beta testers who don't need
> Help files anyway, just make the program less fun.

Actually, a number of beta testers, myself included, spoke out against
the current organization of Help files. My feeling is that the folks
involved with individual applications really do get it, if that's any
consolation. To me, it's only the Help docs organization and search that's
the problem here -- and that's a suite-wide issue. Personally, I think
Flash CS4 is a very strong release. The new tools are really useful, and
they're available to designers (think IK, 3D, Deco tool, Motion Editor,
etc.) and developers alike. Granted, neither CS3 nor CS4 feel buggy or
wobbly on my system.


David Stiller
Contributor, How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS3
http://tinyurl.com/2cp6na
"Luck is the residue of good design."

I havn't moved to CS4 yet but reading this I do hesitate.
I use the Help very much when coding and find it very accessible in CS3, and
as said earlier just write addEventListener, mark it and rightclick to get help
on it if you forgotten how to use it. And the search in CS3 works quite
satisfactory in my mind. And the best part, you get it INSIDE flash and (as I
use it) in a tab just next to the Actions so I can fast and easy flip between
the two.
I would like to keep it like that or in a VERY similar way but as I understand
it now I will not be able to in CS4?

I understand it is easier to make updates online and to search online for your
answers (when the context is filtered via relevance), but like Walter stated,
that doesn't do the offline user any good.

The Adobe tools themselves are rather sophisticated. I would think that Adobe
could use them come up with a Flash/AIR solution to resolve this. Perhaps a
component for Flash that you can use as a tab (like the old way) that would,
when online, go grab the latest help center updates and write them into the
local apps database. And any search on an item could then log history both
locally and globally online. So if you are consistently searching for
addEventListener in regards to buttons, you would begin to see those results
happen first, below that you would see what the world is searching for the most
when they are looking up addEventListener. Below that are all of the
non-contextual searches (like flash.data) that seem to pop up when least
desired. Imagine if Google operated like the current help docs do. We would
never find anything we wanted. Context is everything when searching.

We the development community, might be able to come up with a solution for
this, but we would need some sort of API to connect to the help docs
information database with. Otherwise, the onus is on Adobe to fix this
problem. Hopefully there is a solution soon. One quick fix would be to launch
Google when doing searches from the actions panel and let Google do the heavy
lifting. The way it is, we are going to go to Google anyhow cuz the help docs
went from bad to worse IMO.

Gibbah,

> I use the Help very much when coding and find it very accessible
> in CS3, and as said earlier just write addEventListener, mark it
> and rightclick to get help on it if you forgotten how to use it.

CS4 still does this just fine. In fact, like CS3, the current version
is smart enough to detect what version of ActionScript you're using, and it
opens the Help docs to the relevant language reference. I happened to be in
an AS2 FLA just now with an import directive, so I put my cursor inside the
word "import" and right-clicked. I chose View Help, and the AS2 docs opened
to the "import" page. I created a quick AS3 FLA and did the same. This
time, the AS3 docs opened to the "import" page.

> And the search in CS3 works quite satisfactory in my mind.

I agree, though personally, I felt the search was even better in Flash
8. To my thinking, only the search and overall organization of the CS4 Help
docs is lacking. The content is still good (my opinion), and the context
sensitive access is still a valuable feature. This feature is still
present.

> And the best part, you get it INSIDE flash and (as I use it) in a tab
> just next to the Actions so I can fast and easy flip between the two.

Understandable, that is no longer possible because the Help is in a
browser, but I often found it a bit scrunched to flip back and forth between
my Actions panel and Help panel. As it is, when I'm in CS4, I Alt-Tab
between Flash and the browser, which works fine for me.


David Stiller
Adobe Community Expert
Dev blog, http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."