New snippets panel for Flash CS4

Many of you will remember my snippets panel that I released a while back for Flash CS3. Well I have rebuilt it from scratch for Flash CS4. First of all I wanted to build it in Flex so I could take advantage of all the nice layout stuff. I also skinned the panel so it looks right at home with the other panels. Lastly I simplified the panel quite a bit to avoid bugs. All you do is click Edit XML and you will be able to edit it inside of Flash. When you are done just click Refresh to update the panel. The XML structure has also been changed to use CDATA sections for the code which makes it easier to create new snippets. You should be able to figure it out by looking at the XML file. Now it is important to note that the old panel will work in Flash CS4 and this version will work in Flash CS3.

To install, download the ZIP file and extract the contents to your WindowSWF directory. You can find that directory at the following locations:

Mac: /[USER]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash CS4/en/Configuration/WindowSWF

Windows: \Documents and Settings\[USER]\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Flash CS4\language\Configuration\WindowSWF

On Windows the path may be slightly different based on your OS. I’m sure you can do some investigation and find the directory.

Enjoy!
Lee


Commentary

  1. Dave Gamez says:

    Hey it looks nice very well integrated with the all the rest of the panels.

  2. Dan says:

    Very Nice! Snippets is extremely handy, thanks!

  3. kathryn says:

    cool! i’m on Win XP, and used this path:

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\en\First Run\WindowSWF

    i’m going to consider teaching this to my actionscript students. there is a lot to cover in a semester, and using snippets for things like conditional blocks and loops might help us spend less time on syntax errors and more time making cool stuff.

  4. Vladimir says:

    Hi Lee, thanks for this nice extension.
    Is there any tutorial how to write those custom extensions/panels?

  5. Nice one Lee,

    seems to work great.

    This path worked for me under Vista btw:
    C:\Users\milan\AppData\Local\Adobe\Flash CS4\en\Configuration\WindowSWF

  6. Rama says:

    running test it, thx lee :)

    PS: how did you skinned the panel with CS4′s feel? is there a flex theme downloadable?

  7. Jerome says:

    Hello,
    Can you also post your skin file please ?

  8. Adam says:

    Thanks, I have been waiting for this! However I can’t seem to find my WindowSWF folder for Flash CS4 in Windows XP :(

  9. Iván says:

    A must-have extension!
    It could be a good idea to preview the selected snippet.

  10. dub says:

    Thanks Lee :)

    I think the path for Vista is:

    \Users\[USER]\AppData\Local\Adobe\Flash CS4\en\Configuration\WindowSWF

  11. Great stuff Lee! Thumbs up. :-)

  12. Steven Sacks says:

    Awesome work, Lee! This is like getting a reach around while being whipped with razor wire and having cigarettes put out on the tops of your feet, which is roughly the equivalent experience of using the Flash IDE Actions panel. ;)

  13. jon says:

    this feels kind of like “beginner mode” is back in flash heh.

  14. vamapaull says:

    Great work!!
    Thanks! :D

  15. john says:

    @jon
    Exactly! Wasn’t it a GOOD thing when Flash killed this type of thing?

  16. Nice! so usefull, can u explain how do extensions like this, interaction flash ide etc?
    Thanks!

  17. This will work great for a few designer friends that want to start flash development. It does save a little time for myself, but this is a great tool for beginners!

    Great work once again!

  18. Abel Hernandez says:

    Amazing !!!, thanks Lee

  19. Jesse Newhouse says:

    Thanks Lee, You the man!

  20. Jesse Newhouse says:

    Thanks Lee, You the man!!

  21. Ivan Zornic says:

    Excellent, just excellent.

  22. Michael Ryan says:

    I got it installed in the specified folder, so where do I go to make it appear?

  23. Nerath Khat says:

    I have installed in specified folder but cannot find the installed window anywhere? help anyone?

  24. dev.My says:

    i little bit confuse, this version work on CS4 or CS3?

  25. RonDarby says:

    @MikeR and @NeraK

    a better how to, http://theflashblog.com/?p=336

    Thanks Lee
    PS I really enjoyed your session at FlashCamp, you were the star.

  26. YEAH! ..you heard me Lee?! :D

    Thank you so much for this cute little thing.

    -It helps me a lot because im not the guy who only coding actionscript, so this is very useful when i come back into flash and need to catch-up a little bit and so..

    Thank you!

  27. Matt says:

    I’m so easily pleased – after all the amazing, high-tech, super-cool, 3D engines, bone tools and the like, just this simple little widget suddenly makes my life so much easier.

    I know I’ll be using this a lot and enjoying not having to type out function code again and again!

    Thanks Lee!

  28. darien says:

    What about organize the snippet with foldering system. What do you think?

  29. Splengy says:

    thank you Lee.
    without your work i would be miles behind where i am now.

  30. Nerath Khat says:

    I get this error after i try to use a script i have added to the xml.

    The following JavaScript error(s) occurred:

    SyntaxError: unterminated string literal

  31. worked says:

    Hey there- Appreciate the extension. Seem to be having an issue with it though. I extracted the files in the correct location, and installed the updated CS3 extension. It shows up in CS4, but with the previous snippets, not the ones shown above. Little help?

  32. steve says:

    hey there !

    i have the same issue with the new snippets, everything installed to the right places, but in CS4 the old snippets are still showing up…
    I must be missing something..

    I am working with Windows XP here..

    any ideas?

    thanks 2 all

    Steve

  33. Pedro says:

    Can someone tell me the path for the files in XP?

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\en\First Run\WindowSWF ::doesn’t exist, so i created it manually, but still doesn’t work.

  34. JamesSaintJames says:

    Remember!!!!!….You must go to Tools > Folder Options > View > then select show hidden files or folders. You will not be able to locate the path in most cases because it is hidden. I’m a Mac guy but use a PC at my day job. I was having the same problem until I figured this out.

    This Snippets thing saves tons of time. Considering we rarely use class files due to certain restrictions. But the time line code for some of the class files we do use as well as any other code is easily accessible. No more searching around in different FLA’s. Thanks :)

  35. AmerSoft says:

    Great Work , Thank you .

    what you think of adding the DOUBLE_CLICK on an item to do the copy ?? , it is faster and easier than select an item and then go down to the copy button every time.

    Can you add this behavior?
    Thank you very much.

  36. André says:

    Hey, nice work, i was searching for this… i have made a component very usefull for flash CS4 too

    http://www.4shared.com/file/103233862/5cec4de9/CustomActions.html

    create the custom actions file from .as documents, it reads the whole .as file and generate the .xml for custom actions and automatic insert into the CustomActions folder inside the ActionsPannel folder of flash in the config dir

  37. Jk_ says:

    Amazing tool! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your talent.

  38. Jk_ says:

    It could be very useful to add a new Snippet function to your component. Usually when i start working on new project, i first browse old ones to copy functions that i will reuse. If we could just select the part of code we need and click on a button on your snippet component to save it in the XML file, it will be a HUGE time saver. Anyway, this tool is great…

  39. Marc says:

    sweet! thanks lee!

  40. Paul says:

    This is great, made my life so much easier! Wondering if it would be possible to have an option to change the xml file location though. I’ve been using DropBox on my mac and would love to have the snippets.xml be synced between home and work automatically. Thanks again though!

  41. Alain says:

    Great great great extension. would be so much better if you can add the snippet directly to the code by pressing defined shortcut

  42. Jackson says:

    In case this helps anyone else, there seems to be a bit of inconsistency with the location of the WindowSWF directory. On my CS$ install on XP, the location is:

    C:\Documents and Settings\jxson\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Flash CS4\en\Configuration\WindowSWF

    (jxson) of course being my XP username. Hope this helps someone, as I couldn’t find it anywhere else. Further, if you do a serach for the directory, in addition to the (Tools)->(Folder Options)->(View)->(Show hidden files and Folders) setting, you must also tell the windows search to search hidden files and folders. this option is under the (More Advanced Options) section of the Windows Search function.

  43. Ray says:

    Thanks, this is a very helpful tool…

  44. jeff says:

    where do you put the snippets code for windows 7?

  45. Aner says:

    You are the best Mr Brimelow, thanks so much for this.

  46. Vince says:

    I tried to make it work on Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2 but it won’t do the “copy to clipboard” instruction when I click on the button. My Flash CS4 version is 10.0.2

    Did anynone encounter this problem too?

  47. Vince says:

    Ok it works fine, my mistake. I thougth it would copy the code directly on the ActionScript Panel then i realised I had to paste the code once I clicked on the “Copy to clipboard” button.

    Thanks Lee

  48. zk says:

    Cannot get it to work…

    I use Win XP sp3, and Flash CS4.

    I´ve found WindowSWF directory in 3 locations:

    Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Flash CS4/Common/FirstRun
    Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Flash CS4/en/FirstRun
    Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Flash CS4/en/Configuration

    I put the swf and xml files into all locations, reinitialized flash, and it still does not work :/

  49. awariat says:

    very nice
    but could you change from “copy to clipBoard” to doubleClik snippett?

  50. anne says:

    hi! great, I was looking for something like this.
    I removed all of your snippets to add my own ;-)
    But it works like a charm thanks!

  51. David says:

    Hi Lee!
    Does anyone else have problems with this plugin in the retail version of FB4. Haven’t tried the plugin in the FB Beta where it seems to have been working fine.
    The snippet panel does all sorts of strange things for me in FB4, In order to see a newly added snippet I have to press the refresh button, I can’t seem to edit snippets (no response from right click->edit or the edit button) and “insert snippet” doesn’t work for me. Can anyone else confirm that it isn’t just my computer? I love the snippet panel and I’m looking forward to having it work with FB4. Thank you for a great blog! Been reading for a long time, but this is my first comment.

  52. David says:

    Ment to comment on the snippet panel for FB4.. /D

  53. Bien says:

    Hi! i copy and paste the files inside

    c:/adobe/adobe flash cs4/en/FirstRun/WindowsSWF/

    after i restart my flash application nothing happen I check windows>other panels

    Help please……:(

  1. [... Many of you will remember my snippets panel that I released a while back for Flash CS3. Well I have rebuilt it from scratch for Flash CS4. First of all ...]

  2. [... Many of you will remember my snippets panel that I released a while back for Flash CS3. Well I have rebuilt it from scratch for Flash CS4. First of all ...]

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