Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Installing and Activating Flash Professional CS5

As with most programs, before you can use Flash, you need to install it on your computer and activate it. Flash Professional can arrive on your desktop via several routes. Your copy may come on a DVD, or it may arrive via a download from Adobe's online store. You may have purchased Flash Professional separately or as part of one of the Creative Suites. Also significant, your copy is for either a Windows PC or a Mac. These purchasing and system circumstances affect the installation process, especially the first few steps. Once the installer starts running, the process is almost identical on Windows and the Mac.

First steps for Windows

First steps for Windows

When you start the Flash install file that was download or included on the disc, you may be prompted for a folder location where the installation can copy and expand some of the installation files. Initially, a folder on your desktop is specified, and usually this is a good option. If you want to choose a different location to manage disk space or for some other reason, just click the folder icon and navigate to a new folder. When you click the Next button, the extracting and copying begins. When all the installation files are ready, the installer application appears.

First steps for Macs

For Macs, your installer is on a disc or in a .dmg (disc image) file. Double-click the .dmg, and you see a list that includes a red Install application. Double-click Install, and the installer starts ...