Avoid lengthy Flash compilation times when only external ActionScript has changed
I am working on a large Flash project (.fla file size is 80MB and it takes about 4 minutes from ctrl-enter to swf). I am not working on the Flash side, only on some code in a text editor. These incredibly slow compilations really do put in my code-test-code loop. Is there a way to tell Flash "I haven't changed anything in the .fla, recompile only the included .as files and relink the swf"?
There is no way to do what you describe. However, you can split your project into multiple SWFs. For example, if the bit you are currently working on is somewhat encapsulated, you can create a new FLA for it, work on it individually, and load the main content at runtime. Alternatively, if your main project has particularly heavy content (like fonts or audio or video) that gets reworked every time you publish, you can split that content into a separate file. (For example, put the audio track in your own SWF and load that SWF dynamically instead of putting it on stage.) Of course, these changes can be reverted at the end of the project if needed.
A separate note on audio - if you have audio in FLA that is exported as MP3 or the like while you are working in FLA, change the audio export setting to "RAW". This way Flash will write out the raw audio rather than rewrite to MP3 every time, which is one of the slowest parts of publishing. The only downside is that the SWF will be much larger, so just set the settings back to MP3 (or whatever) before exporting the final version.
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boring-kill-kill version: keep a copy and delete what you don't need for your current problem .
Let's say you are working on some specifics of opening / running your project, just remove any library items you don't need.
After a copy of the perfect frames / scenes / clips, etc. from yours myProject_testversion.fla
to yours myProject.fla
. This has been working for me since the Stone Age, and I know how stupid it is, but man! These Ctrl + Enter-and-wait sessions are not meant for your life.
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