To view the demo in its own window, click here.

1. Open the following files:
a) /install_dir/sdks/3.5.0/bin/jvm.config
b) /install_dir/sdks/4.0.0/bin/jvm.config

2. Locate the following line found under # Arguments to VM:

java.args=-Xmx384m -Dsun.io.useCanonCaches=false

3. Increase the memory size to a larger value like the following example:

java.args=-Xmx512m -Dsun.io.useCanonCaches=false

The max you set this value to is determined by your available memory along with some workflow considerations but this should alleviate your heap issues and smooth out Flash Builder compilations considerably…

Whether you’re upgrading because you’re using BETA versions that change rather frequently or upgrading to the next major release, you don’t want to lose all your hard work invested in configuring your setup. Here’s how I handle it and hopefully it’s useful to you. If you have other cool ways to persist workflows between upgrades, please share them.

Workspaces

I’ve created a workspaces folder in a custom directory on my HD where I store all the workspaces I like to use with Eclipse-based IDEs. I separate them by IDE and then by purpose. So for Flash Builder, my workspace hierarchy is like this:

/workspaces
  /_fb4
    /air
    /as
    /flash
    /flex

This is where all of my IDE preferences and workbench layout settings are stored. Centralizing them here allows me greater flexibility when upgrading since I never have to worry about any changes to installation procedures overwriting my custom settings. Nevertheless, I backup my workspaces prior to upgrading and since their small text files it only takes a second to archive.

Documents Directory

On OSX, the Flash Builder installer creates an Adobe Flash Builder 4 directory in your Documents directory. The installation instructions advise you to uninstall any previous versions of Flash Builder before installing the new version. Following this advice will delete this folder if it already exists. So, be sure to back this up prior to uninstalling your current version. That way you can cherry pick anything you need after installing the new version.

Applications Directory

You should also backup up your program installation in your Applications directory for the same reasons as with the folder in your Documents directory. If you’ve heavily modified your install with additional plugins, etc., this is vital!

Plugin Restoration

Where are all my cool plugins? They got wiped during the upgrade process but if you followed my advice and backed everything up, you’ll be back up and running in a minute or two. There are generally (2) locations where plugin info is stored for Flash Builder. If you pull the data from your backups and place them in the following locations, you should have full access to all your plugins post-upgrade (provided they still work with the latest release)

#1 – /Documents/Adobe Flash Builder 4/.metadata/.plugins
#2 – /Applications/Adobe Flash Builder 4/plugins

Although this post is slanted more towards upgrading on OSX, it should be similar for other operating systems. Any issues, let me know…

I’m truly honored to have been chosen as a member of this select group and look forward to expanding my community efforts throughout this new year. Having missed FlashCamp Brasil this past weekend, this revelation makes the trip to FITC Amsterdam that much more rewarding. See you there!!