Tag Archives: assistant

Package Assistant Pro

by Serge Jespers on 13. May, 2010 in AIR

A few months ago I released an early version of my Package Assistant application. The application made it easier to compile native installers for AIR 2. While it was a lot easier to use compared to using the command line the application wasn’t very user friendly. A few weeks ago I started working on a brand new version and I think you will like it!

When you first launch the application, it will ask you to enter the paths to ADT and your code signing certificate. When you have access to the AIR For Android Beta you can also add the AIR 2.5 ADT to package native Android installer packages. AIR For Android is currently in private beta but you can sign up to be notified when it is publicly available. When you have set your preferences, you are ready to go. Just point Package Assistant Pro to your application descriptor XML file and it will read and set all your parameters from it. Package Assistant Pro will also check if you correctly entered your code signing certificate password.

If you don’t mind playing around with beta quality software then check out http://bit.ly/papinfo for the downloads (available for OS X and Windows) and more information. If you run into an issue, have feedback and/or have a feature request, feel free to get in touch or leave a comment on this post.

Package Assistant Pro would not be possible without AIR 2. To learn how to use native processes in AIR 2, check out this article on Adobe Devnet.

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Package Assistant for AIR 2 update

by Serge Jespers on 05. Feb, 2010 in AIR

Update: A brand new version of Package Assistant is available. Check out this page for more info.

Just before the holidays, I released an alpha version of my AIR 2 Package Assistant application. As many of you know, AIR 2 allows you to build native installers. The only downside is that you have to use the command line in order to package these native installers.

I have just narrowed down the possible solution for the only reported problem. Some of you got an “Invalid input” error message and the packaging failed. I think this may be caused by forgetting to include the icons you use for the app. You have to include these in the final step where you add any additional files to the package.

I also updated the application so it now works with the AIR 2 Beta 2 runtime, which is available on Adobe Labs.

The Package Assistant application should still be considered in alpha phase. If you don’t mind testing alpha builds, go ahead and download the updated application. (Don’t forget to read these notes.)

If you find any other bugs or if adding the icons did not resolve the “invalid input” error message, feel free to leave a comment or email me directly.

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AIR 2 Package Assistant “public alpha”

by Serge Jespers on 23. Dec, 2009 in AIR, projects

Update: A brand new version of Package Assistant is available. Check out this page for more info.

I already sneaked this application last week but in case you missed that: I am building an application that makes it easier to package native installers for AIR 2.0. Instead of having to fiddle around with the command line to create installers, this wizard style application makes it very easy and straightforward.

Now before you go and install this application, there are a couple of things you should know.

  1. This is an early version of the application. It may not do what you thought it would do and it may even explode ;-). If that is the case, please let me know. I’m releasing it now to get some feedback and to improve version 2 ;-) The application should be considered alpha quality.
  2. It is currently OSX only. I ran in to a little snag with the Windows version but will try to get around that ASAP.
  3. It currently only supports PKCS12 code signing certificates.
  4. It’s not yet very user friendly if you make a mistake… If you for instance mess up your cert passcode, you’ll have to start over again. I’m also not saving the path to ADT.. These things are “on the list”.
  5. Additional files are supported but are always relative to the folder that holds the main SWF… This is one that needs a lot of testing. If your setup does not work, please let me know.
  6. If you have feature requests or you find a bug or something weird, please let me know. Just leave a comment to this post, send me an email or use the contact form on my blog.
  7. Did I already mention that this should be considered alpha quality?
  8. I think it’s fairly obvious but just in case: This application requires the AIR 2.0 runtime.

So… You’re still here. That must mean that you’re a geek like me and you don’t mind testing early builds of applications ;-). Good… Go ahead and download the application.

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