Specifications

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Chapter 17: Using Express Install
After developing an application, you want to ensure that all users can run it and that they have a current version
of the Adobe® Flash® Player. In most cases, the player is an ActiveX control running inside Microsoft Internet
Explorer or a plug-in for Netscape-based browsers. You edit the wrapper to include version detection logic, and
logic that installs a newer player on the client if necessary. This is known as Express Install. It is sometimes also
known as Player Product Install.
Express Install requires that the client have Flash Player 6.0.65 or later installed on MacOS or Microsoft Windows,
and that the browser has JavaScript enabled.
Topics
About Express Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
Editing your wrapper for Express Install. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334
Alternatives to Express Install. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
About Express Install
Adobe® Flex® includes code and applications that make the updating process for the player simple for you and
nearly transparent for the client. These files are located in the sdk_install_dir/templates directory for Flex SDK and
the install_dir/sdks/3.0.0/templates directory for Adobe® Flex® Builder™.
The recommended method of ensuring that Flash Player can run the Flex application on the client is to use
Express Install. With Express Install, you can detect when users do not have the latest version of Flash Player, and
you can initiate an update process that installs the latest version of the player from the Adobe website. When the
installation is complete, users are directed back your website, where they can run your Flex application.
Express Install runs a SWF file in the existing Flash Player to upgrade users to the latest version of the player. As
a result, Express Install requires that Flash Player already be installed on the client, and that it be version 6.0.65 or
later. The Express Install feature also relies on JavaScript detection logic in the browser to ensure that the player
required to start the process exists. As a result, the browser must have JavaScript enabled for Express Install to
work.
If the player on the client is not new enough to support Express Install, you can display alternate content, redirect
the user to the Flash Player download page, or initiate another type of Flash Player upgrade experience. For infor-
mation on using alternative Player upgrade techniques, see “Alternatives to Express Install” on page 338.