Common issues

• Installation Issues
• Build Issues
• Debugging Issues

Installation Issues

Adobe Flash Builder requires version 1.6 of the Java runtime, but the ActionScript & MXML extension requires Java 1.8 or newer. How can I use both at the same time?

You can safely install multiple versions of Java side by side. If you make Java 1.8 or newer the primary version of Java on your system, the ActionScript & MXML extension will find it automatically. If you prefer to make Java 1.6 the primary version, for some reason, you can use the nextgenas.java setting for the ActionScript & MXML extension to manually specify the path to Java 1.8 or newer.

Build Issues

"Unknown compiler option" error

Sometimes, when trying to use a compiler option in the compilerOptions field of asconfig.json, a build will fail with an "Unknown compiler option" error. This could happen if you try to use a new compiler options that the extension doesn't know about (sometimes, even advanced options that are less commonly used may result in this error).

As a workaround, try to add the option to the additionalOptions string instead. Then, create a new issue for the missing compiler option so that it can be added in a future version.

"Error: The actionscript task detection didn't contribute a task for the following configuration" error

This error may be displayed by Visual Studio Code for one of the following reasons:

• The current workspace may not have an ActionScript SDK configured, or the currently selected SDK is invalid. Choose a different ActionScript SDK for the current workspace.

• The chosen task may be misconfigured in your workspace's tasks.json file. Learn how to build an ActionScript project in Visual Studio Code.

• The location where you saved asconfig.json may be incorrect. This file should be saved in the root directory of your project. Check if you've accidentally placed it in .vscode/ or another incorrect sub-directory.

"Invalid version specified: '9.0.124'." compiler error

You may receive this error if the default target-player value in your workspace SDK is targeting a runtime that is older than Adobe Flash Player version 10.1. For example, this error may be reported when you select Adobe Flex 3.6 or older as your workspace SDK.

{
	"compilerOptions": {
		"target-player": "10.1"
	}
}

Your SDK must contain a playerglobal.swc file in the appropriate folder in the SDK for the specified target-player value. For version 10.1, it should be frameworks/libs/player/10/playerglobal.swc.

"Error: Unable to resolve root class of SWF" when class is in a package

Add your project's source directory to the source-path compiler option. This happens automatically only when the main class isn't in a package.

Debugging Issues

"Process terminated without establishing connection to debugger. error while loading initial content" error when launching an AIR application

Check that the XML namespace in your AIR application descriptor matches the version of your Adobe AIR SDK. For example, if you are using AIR SDK 27, the XML namespace should be http://ns.adobe.com/air/application/27.0. This error occurs when this XML namespace refers to an older version of Adobe AIR, but the SWF file is compiled with the swf-version set too high for that older version.

Alternatively, if you need to target an older version of Adobe AIR, but you need to compile with a newer SDK, set the swf-version compiler option to the appropriate value for the older version of AIR that you are targeting.

"Error launching SWF debug session. Runtime not found for program" message displayed when attempting to launch a SWF in Adobe Flash Player

Download the Adobe Flash Player projector content debugger for your platform from Adobe Flash Player Debug Downloads, and make it the default program that opens .swf files.

If you prefer not to set the default program for .swf files, you may use the runtimeExecutable field in your project's launch.json file. Set runtimeExecutable to the path of the Adobe Flash Player projector content debugger.

{
	"type": "swf",
	"request": "launch",
	"name": "Launch SWF",
	"runtimeExecutable": "c:\\Downloads\\flashplayer_sa_debug.exe"
}

On Windows, set it to the path to the ".exe" file. On macOS, set it to the path of the ".app" file.

Debugger will not stop at breakpoints on startup with Apache Royale

If you're launching your Apache Royale (or FlexJS) app in a web browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, the debugger may not stop at certain breakpoints when the page first loads.

As a workaround, add a debugger statement before the main class is instantiated in your HTML template file:

<script>
	debugger;
	new MainClass();
</script>

The debugger will automatically pause at this line. Press the green continue button in the debugger controls, or use the F5 keyboard shortcut, to resume debugging and access the breakpoints that previously didn't work.

Note: The debugger statement cannot be used in ActionScript. It must be added inside the JavaScript <script> tag on the HTML page.