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Join the Adobe Acrobat User Community on Wed. November 18, 2009 for a free eSeminar on how to create highly branded, custom PDF Portfolio layouts using Acrobat 9's ActionScript API and Flex. PDF Portfolios let you combine Flex/ActionScript with PDF to redefine what a document can be. If you are a Flex developer and are interested in leveraging your skills in a new and exciting way, this eSeminar is for you.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
10-11am US Pacific (1-2pm US Eastern)

Free Registration: http://www.acrobatusers.com/events/1475/pdf-portfolios-developers

What you will learn:

What you need to get started with the Acrobat ActionScript API
How to bootstrap a basic Navigator in Flex Builder 3
How to bundle your Navigator's SWF file into a .NAV file for use in Acrobat using ANT
How to avoid the most common trouble spots
How to turn on the debugging options in Acrobat

Who should attend?

Flex developers interested in expanding their skills and market reach.
If you are an Acrobat developer or power user and have never worked with ActionScript or Flex, you might want to skip this one.

Skills required:

ActionScript 3
Flex Builder 3
ANT (recommended)

We have three free online seminars next week that will walk through the new features of Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst for you. Next Tuesday we'll have a session for PHP developers, on Wednesday we have a session on Flash Catalyst, and on Thursday we have a session for ColdFusion developers. Get more information on the seminars, and others that we have planned in the upcoming months.

The Flex, ActionScript and AIR posters are now shipping. We've fixed the problems with serial numbers and the form (at least we think we have) and some of the posters have started making their way out to those of you who have requested them.

If you'd like a set of the posters, here's what you need to do:
Register your copy of Flex Builder 3, Standard or Professional. Fill out the form, and then you'll be forwarded to the poster request form.

If you've already registered your copy of Flex Builder 3 and didn't request the posters, or if you received an error with the poster form before and can't re-register your copy of Flex Builder 3, then you can head directly to the poster request form and request a set of posters be sent to you.

If you bought your copy of Flex Builder 3 online through the Adobe.com store, your copy of Flex Builder 3 is already registered automagically. You can head directly to the poster request form to request a set of posters be sent to you.

The posters are also available online in high quality PDF format (Warning! 97 MB zip file) if you prefer to print them yourself.

Anyone with a valid Flex Builder 3 serial number should be able to register and receive a set of posters: this includes all education customers who receive Flex Builder for free, upgrades, volume license customers, etc...

If you have problems, please post them as comments in this blog entry.

Thanks for your understanding and support while we worked through some of the issues with the posters.

We're aware of a few problems with people who are trying to receive the posters with the purchase of Flex Builder Standard or Pro. Here's what we know, and what we're doing to fix it.

Flex education serial numbers are not working. We're aware of this problem and do intend on fixing it. If you're getting a serial number for Flex Builder from the free Flex Builder for education program, we plan on allowing you to get the posters for free.

Flex volume customers are unable to request posters. Again, the serial numbers for people who purchase volume licenses for Flex Builder are not recognized. We're aware of this problem and are working to fix it.

Online store customers have their software registered automatically. When they try and use the existing process for posters, they get a message saying that the software is already registered. If this is you, you can go directly to the poster request form and submit the form.

The posters are nearly ready to be sent out. We haven't shipped out any of them just yet, but we plan on starting to send them this week.

As you can imagine, there are lots of people involved in this, and since its not something that Adobe has ever done, its new to everyone. We really, really appreciate your patience with us.

- Mike Potter
Flex Product Marketing

Those of you waiting for Flex, ActionScript and AIR posters will have to wait a bit longer for them. We had a few last minute changes that we had to get in last week, and have now handed off the final files to the printer. They will be printing them over the next week or so, and we'll need time to assemble the posters (and free offers from partners like O'Reilly, Figleaf and Lynda.com) into a bundle to ship out. We expect to be shipping the posters out the week of March 17th.

The posters are available to anyone who purchases a copy of Flex Builder 3 Standard or Professional. Once you've got your copy, go to Help -> Register Flex Builder... to register your copy and then follow the links to the poster form. You can also get to the registration page online.

If you'd like a copy of the posters and don't want to buy Flex Builder, you can download a .zip file (warning: 97 MB file) with a print quality PDF in it, and print them at any printer.

- Mike Potter

The big day has finally arrived! Flex 3.0 and Adobe AIR 1.0 have arrived. The software shouldn't be that new to people - its been available on Adobe Labs in beta form for a few months now. Here's a run down of new sites and new things available to Flex customers and those interested in Flex.

If you'd like to buy Flex Builder 3.0 its available in two versions: Flex Builder 3 Standard and Flex Builder 3 Professional. Both are available right now from the Adobe online store. Standard is $249 US, Professional costs $699. Upgrades are available as well - get all the details on upgrades.

Those of you purchasing Adobe Flex can receive a set of Flex, ActionScript and AIR posters by registering your product with Adobe. In Flex Builder 3.0 final select Help -> Register Flex Builder or go to this website. Register your copy, then follow the links to the form to request your set of posters, mailed to you free of charge. Along with the posters you'll receive offers for discounts from Adobe partners like Lynda.com, O'Reilly, Total Training, and Figleaf.

You can download a trial version of Flex Builder 3 Professional - the download is now a 60 day trial, not a 30 day trial. When you download the trial version, you'll have the option of subscribing to 7 email messages from Adobe to help you with your trial. Subscribing to these messages will NOT subscribe you to other communications from Adobe (yeah!) - only those helpful tips to help you develop Flex applications. (That's the Flex marketing team working for you!) Hopefully you find those messages helpful. Also, if you use the above link, you won't have to login to Adobe.com to download Flex. Sweet!

For those of you just learning Flex, you'll want to visit the new Flex 3 Getting Started wiki site. Its extremely helpful and will help you get your first Flex application up and running quickly.

Adobe also launched some new websites today. opensource.adobe.com is now a site for all of Adobe's work in the open source community, including the work with the Adobe Flex SDK. Check it out. There's also a new microsite on adobe.com site about rich Internet applications.

Adobe user groups throughout the world will be holding launch events in the next few weeks. Check out this list of Adobe Flex user groups to find one near you, visit their website and join them for a great party. Most (if not all) will have exclusive swag for this launch that you won't want to miss. Trust me.

The Adobe Flex product page and the Adobe Flex developer center have undergone major renovations in an effort to simplify navigation.

360 Flex is on in Atlanta this week. If you didn't get there you're missing out on a huge party celebrating Flex and the release. Don't miss out on the next one - subscribe to their blog or head over for 360 Flex in Europe in April.

The onAIR Tour is heading to Europe this spring. Check out the tour to learn more about Flex and AIR with Adobe evangelists.

Finally, along with the release, we've started a new ad campaign as well. You'll notice ads for Flex and AIR on developer sites throughout the web, leading to pages on Flex.org and TryAdobeAir.com. When you see the Flex ad on a site watch the stars on the ad closely for a surprise. (HInt: watch the stars in the bottom right of the ad closely.)

The campaign name is "on".

Its on the web. Its on the desktop.

Most importantly, with it you're well "on" your way to building awesome rich Internet applications.

Enjoy!

Mike Potter
Proud Adobe Flex Team Member

This is a draft of an article I'm hoping to post on the Flex Developer Center that outlines the various ways that developers can promote Flex applications that have been built.

Developers love to see applications that other developers have made. Seeing the work of others inspires them, and gives them ideas to add to their own applications.

Once you’ve built something great with Flex, you want to make sure that as many people as possible see your application. Adobe has several free resources and programs available that help you promote your apps. In this article I’ll list the main ones.

The Flex.org website is a community site for Flex developers. The Flex Showcase on Flex.org allows any developer to add their application to a central location, where other developers can see the work that they’ve done. Any Flex application can be added to the Flex Showcase, which is the most popular page on Flex.org. Since its launch, over 350,000 people have checked out the Flex Showcase, which was updated in September to a Flex application. In January alone, the Flex Showcase received over 70,000 visits.

There are currently over 200 applications in the Flex Showcase. There’s an RSS feed that anyone can subscribe to in order to be updated when new applications are added to the Flex Showcase. Instructions are up on how to add your own application to the Flex Showcase.

“The Flex Showcase, without a shadow of a doubt, has been the single most important source of valued visitors for Activa Live Chat. The showcase has led to countless connections with developers from around the world who have expressed interest in our product and their feedback has been key in developing things like the SDK for the upcoming release of Activa Live Chat 2. We've also gained incredible exposure from customers interested in the next generation of Web applications - specifically RIAs - and they look for them on the Flex Showcase. This includes developers from top tier enterprises who frequent the showcase looking for applications that meet their unique needs. So in all, the Flex Showcase has been invaluable to our efforts on both a development and a marketing side.” – Jeff Kazmierski, Activa Live Chat

Applications can also be submitted for Adobe Site of the Day consideration. The work must be completely original and not require the user to register. When submitting the application, you can decide how else Adobe can use your project: whether to include it in Adobe newsletters such as the Edge, include it in corporate presentations or even whether Adobe can use it in banner advertisements.

The Adobe Customer Success Program allows business leaders to highlight how their company has benefited from Adobe software. Program participants are normally senior managers or senior executives. To apply for the program, fill out and submit the application form.

Adobe technical evangelists are another great way to get publicity for your application. Adobe employs a number of well-known bloggers, including Ryan Stewart who blogs for ZDNet. A number of blogs are available to highlight your applications, including RIApedia.com, Ryan Stewart’s blog, James Ward’s blog, Ted Patrick’s blog and more. Flex.org has a list of Flex team members who blog. Find an Adobe technical evangelist who blogs about a product you use, and tell them about it.

Flex user groups are a great way to present your product to enthusiastic and passionate Flex developers in your area. Flex.org has a list of Adobe Flex user groups throughout North America, with links to their user group website. Contact the user group manager to arrange a presentation at the user group – most user groups love having someone present a real application.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to promote your Flex application. However, the most important thing to remember is that you can't promote anything that hasn't been built yet - isn't time you started developing with Flex?

- Mike Potter

The new reduced price for Flex Builder is now available on the Adobe.com online store, and is also reflected on the Flex product page. As a reminder, Flex Builder is now available for $249 US. Similar price reductions should be in effect on all the international stores as well.

Facebook announced a new ad service today that allows products and companies to create pages on Facebook. Not wanting to waste any time, we've setup a page for Flex on Facebook. Check it out and check out the Flex Facebook Group while you're there too.

Today we announced that we will be making Flex Builder free for students and faculty. We're still working out the final details, but soon students will be able to download Flex Builder at no charge. A simple form will have to be filled out, along with proof of enrollment, and then you'll be granted the ability to download Flex Builder with Charting at no charge. Look for more details on the Flex Developer Center in a few weeks time. We'll be posting more details in the official Flex Facebook Group when they're available.