Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Appendix A. Installation and Help

It’s 2:00 a.m., you’re this close to finishing your animation, and you run into a snag. If you can’t find the answer to your question in the pages of this book, you have plenty of other possibilities. First of all, Flash has its own built-in help system, which may give you the answer you need on the spot. For more complex problems, you can seek technical support from the developer (Adobe, as mentioned on Flash Video Workshop Tutorials) or from fellow Flash fans via the web. This appendix outlines all these options.

First, in case you need help getting Flash installed on your computer, some basic instructions follow.

Flash CS5 Minimum System Requirements

While the Flash box lists minimum requirements, minimum is the operative word. You’ll want at least 20 GB free on your hard disk—not just for the program installation, but to give you room to create and store your Flash masterpieces and import additional files (like previously created images, sound files, and movies) from elsewhere.

Adobe lists the minimum amount of computer memory as 1 GB for both Macs and PCs, but as usual, you won’t be sorry if you have two to four times that amount. The same is true of processor speed. For a PC, the minimum requirement is a 1 GHz processor (not much of a stress for today’s new computers). For Windows operating systems, Flash works with Windows XP with Service Pack 2, Vista, or Windows 7. If you have a PC that’s 4 or 5 years old, you may want to double-check the processor ...