Question

Having only ever developed Flash for web I’m unfamiliar with methods of compiling a single executable file for both Mac and PC.

What I have at the moment is a whole mess of files and folders comprising .fla, .swf, .as classes, gallery images and videos and need to supply my client with a single ‘solid’ file to hand over to the end client.

The end product doesn’t need to be both Mac and PC compatible as I can supply them with two versions, but a cross-platform version would be ideal.

Should I be using a third party to compile in this way or should I be looking to re-distribute my job via Flash Builder (I’ve never used this before) or is it possible to achieve all this in Flash itself?

BONUS ROUND!
Finally, just in case it’s a possibility, is there a chance that this might also run on an iPad?!

Thanks very much for reading and I eagerly await some wisdom!
Kev

I’m using a Mac (Intel) and Adobe CS5.

Answer 1

Some of this could depend on what your client requirements are, but…

1. In Flash Pro you can create a projector, which I think is an exe.
2. Use AIR; and give your client an .AIR file. The end users will need the AIR Runtime installed for the program to run.
3. Create a desktop native installer with AIR. I think this will still have a dependency to the AIR runtime being installed.
4. Use AIR 3.0 and Captive Runtime features to provide your client with a DMG or EXE. Flash Pro does not offer this as a feature yet; but it is expected for the next version. Flash Builder just released an update which supports Captive Runtime.
5. Use a third party tool, such a Zinc to turn your SWCs into executable files.

And yes, you can generate a native app for the iPad [or iPhone] using the same tools. But it seems unlikely that you’ll want to because such an app will probably have different performance requirements and different UI Requirements.