Figure 1-4. Note the location of the project.
The Flex Builder 3 interface
Let??™s have a look around to see what is familiar and what is different from the tools you may have used
before (see Figure 1-5). The Flex interface will look somewhat familiar to those who are used to working
with Dreamweaver (for example, the ability to jump between Design and Source views) and also to those
who are used to working in Flash (such as the row of components along the left). The interface may also
feel strange at the start. The Flex properties, for instance, are distinct from other programs. Probably most
designers will be wondering, ???Where are my drawing tools???? The answer is ???Gone,??? but don??™t worry??”Flex
plays very nicely with other software that??™s specialized for developing graphics. We will be looking at how
Flex works with Fireworks in Chapter 4, and how it works with Photoshop and Illustrator in Chapter 5.
Figure 1-5. Flex Builder in the Design view
The first interface part affected is the Navigator panel, which is at the top left of the screen. Notice that
in this panel we have our project name along with a couple of folders that Flex Builder created for us.
7
INTRODUCING FLEX AND FLEX BUILDER 3
The most important file here is atomReader.mxml. This file holds the main layout and design information
for our project, and can be considered similar to the index.html file in an HTML project. Your
main area within the center holds the MXML Editor (see Figure 1-6).
Pages:
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