gProject panel is now available!

I've never been happy with the project panel that ships with Flash, so when we had some spare cycles in the office, I decided it was time to rectify it. The result is a very robust project panel that incorporates all of the features we've been able to dream up in a tight, easy to use package. We are polishing it up now, and expect to start selling it in the next couple weeks (don't worry, we're staying simple with this - paypal or somesuch, so no unpredictable delays on this one).

Here's some screenshots of this puppy. I'll try to list all the visible features on each. I'm really excited about this panel. It's been a huge productivity booster for us, and I'm sure it will be the same for other developers.

  • Reads project directory - no more adding files manually
  • Access to multiple projects from dropdown - saved in prefs
  • Opens last project opened on restart
  • Double-click to open files in IDE
  • Right-click for context menus for all files/dirs
  • Smart "Test Project" button (bottom left), with multiple modes (open anchor SWF, compile anchor FLA and test, compile current FLA and then open anchor SWF, etc)
  • Project menu, showing different options.
  • Multi-compile list (behind project menu) - FLAs can be added to the compile list via context menu.
  • Clicking compile button (bottom left) compiles full list at one go.
  • All class preferences can be set at the panel level, or the project level
  • Can change the default class path (where new classes are created)
  • Can set up custom templates for new classes, and unit tests
  • Support for AS2Unit and ASUnit unit testing frameworks
  • Quickly create and open new files and directories from within the project panel
  • Class creation: Definitely my favourite feature!
  • Type in a full class name, including package path, gProject will create the class file (including the package directories) based on a template (which can be specified per project or globally), and open it for you...
  • Select a MovieClip symbol from the library, and create a bound class - gProject will create the class, bind it to the symbol, update the clip's linkage, and organize it in the library automatically.
  • Choose "Fill UI Elements" and gProject will inspect the symbol, and prepopulate the new class with properties reflecting the named clips and textfields in the symbol. It even ships with a JSFL that lets you update those class properties automatically later.
  • Check "Create Unit Test", and gProject will automatically create a unit test class for you using a template of your choice, and according to the unit testing framework you chose for the project or globally (currently we support ASUnit and AS2Unit).
  • Remembers your settings, so you don't have to re-type the package, or set up the checkboxes each time.
  • Standardizes your class structure through the use of templates.
  • Seriously, this is REALLY cool in use.
  • Pin directories in your project to reduce clutter (note the "Pinned: /gskinner" header in the screenshot)
  • View last modified dates and other file info without leaving Flash

Again, I think this is easily the coolest Flash extension we've built to date - it has really helped us to develop more quickly, and in a more standardized manner. We considered releasing this one free, but we've invested a lot of time and effort into it. We will be releasing another couple of free panels over the next little while though, so keep checking the gBlog.