Pour one out for DeadHomie.SWF: Flash panels in Photoshop are kaput

HTML has now replaced Flash as the mechanism for extending Photoshop & other Creative Suite apps. This plan has been public since last fall, and with last week’s CC 2014 release, the change has come to pass.

So adios, Configurator, Mini Bridge, Kuler, and crew. It was real, it was fun—it wasn’t all real fun. Here’s hoping that developers take advantage of the new path to build what matters in the real world. (Cloud-backed Library panel for collaborating through linked Smart Objects, anyone?)

5 thoughts on “Pour one out for DeadHomie.SWF: Flash panels in Photoshop are kaput

  1. John, Kuler has already been re-issued in a CC 2014 version. However, it doesn’t work, as yet, for many folks, at least in Photoshop …
    And, on the bigger picture, there are some difficulties with having the CC 2014 applications recognize third-party Add-ons (as they are, terminology-wise, now), even brand-new ones. So while this was indeed notified in public plenty in advance, there’s some in-Adobe catching- and patching-up to do right now.

  2. It’s caused huge consternation on the Photoshop forum with at least a dozen threads started by upset customers. There was also hassle getting the Extension Panel to show CC 2014, that needed it to be reinstalled manually because the desktop manager was not showing an update.

    I’m pleased to see that there is a new version of GuideGuide that works, but other than that and Kuler — which I can see but have not tested — nothing else works. The really annoying thing is that if you go Help > Browse Add-Ons… there is no indication of whether the listed extensions will work with 2014, and some of those extensions cost hundreds of dollars!

    So I have real sympathy for the people who think this has been poorly managed. The least Adobe could have done is place a pop-up in Browse Add-ons… warning people they should check compatibility before buying.

    1. Trevor, The Flash-to-HTML transition has indeed blown another hole in the Extensions scheme. And so it’s yet harder to figure how anyone, producer or user, can take it seriously. The collections of third-party add-ons which are made available by the likes of Envato, Creative Market, et al, don’t suffer all the complexities which Adobe has endowed to the Exchange … and they get more comprehensive month-by-month.
      It is truly a shame – this was *the* opportunity to simplify and streamline the scheme. And to not have what was planned-out working properly at the CC 2014 release date … well, I pay my subscription every month, and that generates a certain responsibility on the other side.

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