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Flash 5 release notes
This document addresses issues that are not discussed
in the Flash documentation and may be updated as more information
becomes available.
| System requirements
|
Authoring
|
| Windows |
|
Macintosh |
| 133 MHz Intel Pentium processor, Windows
95/98, NT4, 2000, or later |
|
Power Macintosh with MacOS 8.5 or later |
| 32 MB of free
available system RAM |
|
32 MB of free
available system RAM |
| 40 MB of available
disk space |
|
40 MB of available
disk space |
| 256-color
monitor capable of 800x600 resolution |
|
256-color
monitor capable of 800x600 resolution |
| CD-ROM drive |
|
CD-ROM drive
|
| |
Playback
|
| Windows |
|
Macintosh |
| Microsoft
Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, or Me |
|
System
8.1 or later (Classic) and System OS X 10.1 (Carbon) |
| Netscape
plug-in works with Netscape 3 or later |
|
Netscape
plug-in works with Netscape 3 or later, and Microsoft
Internet Explorer 3.0 or later |
| ActiveX control
works with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 or later (Windows
95 or later, Windows NT) |
|
Plug-in
for OS X works with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1
(version 3408 or later), and Netscape 6.2 or later |
|
Issues for both Windows and Macintosh
|
| Backward compatibility
of authoring tool - You cannot open a Macromedia
Flash 5 authoring file (.FLA) in Macromedia Flash 4
due to the additional features in Macromedia Flash 5.
However, you can export your Macromedia Flash 5 authoring
file as a Flash Player version 2, 3 or 4 movie for deployment
purposes. (Flash Java Player requires Flash 2 version
movies.) Once you open and save your FLA file in Macromedia
Flash 5, you will not be able to use it in the Macromedia
Flash 4 authoring environment. |
|
Backward compatibility of
Player - see the Flash
Player 5 release notes.
|
Browser
support - Netscape Navigator/Communicator
3 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 are supported and
have been tested with this release; however, we recommend
that you use later versions of these browsers for best
results. In addition, we strongly recommend using Netscape
or version 5 of Internet Explorer when viewing the Help
system on the Macintosh.
On either platform, if you have multiple browsers and
wish to use a different browser as the display browser
for help, do the following:
| 1 |
In the Flash
5 folder, create a folder named Browser. |
| 2 |
Drag an alias (Macintosh) or create a shortcut
(Windows) in this folder of the browser you
want to use as the default.
|
|
|
Macromedia Generator
- Generator variables used in Flash 5 ActionScript
are treated as strings and must be enclosed in double
quotes (for example, "{genvar}").
|
|
Macromedia Fireworks PNG import
- Macromedia Flash 5 contains several new features
to improve integration with Macromedia Fireworks,
including the ability to launch and edit bitmaps from
the library using Fireworks. In addition, Fireworks
PNG files are recognized during import and several
new options are now available to import parts of the
Fireworks specific information in the PNG file. For
typical use however, PNG's should be imported as "flattened"
bitmaps from Fireworks.
To import additional information from Fireworks,
such as vector data, it is recommended that you use
the SWF file export facilities of Fireworks, which
provide excellent fidelity during this transfer process.
Fireworks vector data imported through PNG files should
be used primarily to retrieve information not present
in a SWF export, such as guide information.
When importing vector data using Fireworks PNG files,
you may see a number of artifacts in the imported
data, such as:
| • |
Reversed object
stacking order. |
| • |
Symbol instances
not placed in the correct position on the stage. |
| • |
Incorrect
positioning of text in containers with multiple
paragraphs with mixed alignments. |
| • |
Missing paths
in composite paths. |
| • |
Missing masking
objects inside of groups. |
| • |
Incorrect
gradient fills and blending modes. |
| • |
Missing vector data.
|
Note: Importing
data in this manner can take a number of minutes.
|
| Video drivers
- You may experience some problems with Flash 5, particularly
with some of the drawing tools, if you do not have the
latest video drivers installed for your video card.
Visit your hardware vendor on the Web to obtain the
latest drivers for your machine. |
| Macintosh-only
issues |
|
5.0a Update -
Flash 5.0a is an update to Flash 5.0 for Macintosh
only. This update provides overall improved reliability
and stability for the Flash 5 Macintosh authoring
environment. You may download this update from the
Flash
Support Center Downloads page.
For additional information on Flash 5.0a, please
refer to the 5.0a ReadMe.
|
|
Problems opening Windows
created files on a Macintosh - Double-clicking
on a FLA file created on Windows will not open on
Macintosh. This is due to differences between the
Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
There are several ways to correct this:
| 1 |
Use the PC
Exchange control panel to map the .FLA file extension
to
Flash. This will allow you to double-click the
file to open it. |
| |
Or |
| 2 |
Open the file from inside Flash by selecting
File > Open and
choosing All Files rather than All Formats.
The file can be opened
and saved on a Macintosh. It should then open
normally when
double-clicked.
|
| |
Or |
| 3 |
Use a utility
such as Drop-Info or ResEdit to edit the file's
Type
and Creator. |
| |
| |
Type
|
Creator
|
| FLA files (editor) |
SPA<space> |
MFL2 |
| SWF files (player) |
SWFL |
SWF2 |
In the example, <space> represents the space
bar character. |
|
|
Color Pickers
-There is a known issue with using the Color Picker
to define a background color with a color outside
of Flash. Using colors from within Flash will avoid
this issue. In addition, the Apple Color Picker can
disappear behind the application if you option click
outside of Flash.
|
|
Wacom tablets
- There is a known issue with using Wacom tablets
on a Macintosh running OS 9.0 and Flash 5. Use of
the numbered Tablet buttons, located on the top menu
strip of the Wacom tablet, while in Flash 5 will cause
the system to crash. It is recommended that users
disable their Tablet buttons to avoid accidentally
hitting them while running Flash 5.
To disable the Tablet buttons do the following:
| 1 |
Open the Wacom
Tablet Control Panel, located in Apple menu >
Control Panels. |
| 2 |
Click "Add Application to List", select "Flash
5" from your Macromedia Flash 5 folder, and
click "Open".
|
| 3 |
Verify that
Flash 5 appears in the Selected Application text
field and click OK. |
| 4 |
With the Flash
5 icon highlighted in the "Applications with customized
tool settings" box, click on the tab labeled "Tablet
Buttons". |
| 5 |
For each of
the numbered buttons, select "Ignored" from the
pop-up menu. This will disable these buttons while
you are working within Flash 5.
The Tablet Buttons will still work with all of
your other applications. |
|
Browser support
- Netscape 3 and Internet Explorer 3 are supported and
have been tested with this release; however, we recommend
that you use later versions of these browsers for best
results. In addition, we strongly recommend using Netscape
or version 5 of Internet Explorer when viewing the Help
system on the Macintosh. Your default browser used to
display Help files will be the first version of Netscape
Navigator or Communicator found by Flash 5.
If you have multiple browsers and wish to use a different
browser as the display browser for help, do the following:
| 1 |
In the Flash
5 folder, create a folder named Browser. |
| 2 |
Drag an alias of the browser you want to use
as the default into this folder.
|
|
| Windows-only issues |
| Macromedia Generator
- If you choose to install both Flash 5 and
the Generator Authoring Extensions, the installation
may pause for a short while between the two installations. |
| |
Reporting
a bug to the Flash team
Found a bug? Your first step should be to contact Macromedia
Customer Support. They can help you resolve issues and
they can also log bugs. If you are no longer eligible
for support, please use the Bug
Report form.
Thank you for using Flash, and for taking the time
to send us your feedback!
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