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I have inherited a Flex application which needs some minor changes.

What software do I need to install to be able to build the application?

I have written Delphi/C++/SQL code for nearly 30 years, but have no experience with Flex. I maintain the database for the system, but the UI developer died unexpectedly.

A. Morgan
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  • Condolences on the loss of your coworker, and good luck getting the Flex app set up and building so you can make changes. – Brian Sep 26 '18 at 16:21
  • Thanks! He was a good friend and a great person to bounce ideas off. He will be sadly missed. – A. Morgan Sep 27 '18 at 06:50
  • I have checked out the source code, and installed SDK-4.6 and Flash Builder 4.7. I have tried importing the project, by file and by folder without success. Open wants .fxp or .fxpl. The closest I can find are .fxpProperties and .flexProperties. A search of the full folder structure does not find any matches. – A. Morgan Oct 09 '18 at 12:30
  • I used to have an option for Import From SVN. There might also be an option for File > open projects from file system, or something similar. Unfortunately, I don't have Flash Builder installed anymore, so I can't check the exact command. – Brian Oct 09 '18 at 15:44

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It depends on how the UI developer had it set up and the details of the application. Your best bet is to get access to their machine and examine the workspace they have set up.

At the very least, you need to install the relevant Flex SDK from Adobe or Apache (Adobe donated the Flex SDK to Apache in 2011, but I don't know whether a legacy application would use the Apache version).

You'll also need an IDE -- Adobe's Flash Builder, FlashDevelop, or FDT (search Flex FDT) are the most likely tools to download.

You may also need Ant or Maven.

The simplest path for Flex apps is to write them in Flash Builder and hit the Publish button to deploy, but scripted builds for more advanced applications were also fairly common with Flex.

To find out which version of Flex you need to use is a little harder. Unfortunately, it's not guaranteed to be listed in any one location. These questions may help, but it's definitely a trial-and-error process:

getting swf version info

How to know exact flex sdk version from existing project files?

Is older version of flex SDK really required?

Flex Builder cannot locate the required version of flash player

Brian
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  • Thanks for the pointers! I don't have access to his machine (literally on the other side of the world), but I can start setting up the environment. I seem to recall WebORB being involved. Is there a way I can see in the code what version of the SDK it was built with? – A. Morgan Sep 27 '18 at 06:53
  • @A.Morgan That can be tricky. I've updated this answer with some pointers to other questions that address that. Good luck! – Brian Sep 27 '18 at 16:10