Adobe® Flash® Builder™ 4 (formerly Adobe Flex® Builder™) software can help you accelerate development, build higher performing applications, and more easily integrate new projects with your existing infrastructure. This feature-packed release is a must-have upgrade for Flex developers, providing significant benefits for developing applications using both the Flex 3 framework and the new Flex 4 framework, including improved workflow for developers and designers through integration with the new Adobe Flash Catalyst™ interaction design tool. Learn more about all the new features included in Flash Builder 4.
Upgrade info
Upgrade to the Flex framework
“The level of excitement around this version is higher than any I've seen in the past.”
, Flex SDK Product Manager
- Watch Flex Product Manager, Deepa Subramanium, explain the new features in Flex 4
- Read "What’s new in Flex 4"
- Read an overview of the new Spark component architecture in Flex 4
- Watch Flex SDK Engineer, Ryan Frishbergshow, demo the new advanced skinning capabilities in Spark
- Read about the differences between Flex 3 and Flex 4
Upgrade to Flash Builder 4
“We've taken the development environment for creating great applications for the Flash platform in exciting new directions to deliver productivity to developers of all types.”
, Flash Builder Product Manager
- Read "What's new in Flash Builder 4" by Andrew Shorten, product manager for Flash Builder 4
- View complete list of 70+ new features in Flash Builder 4
- Watch Flash Builder Engineering Manager, Heidi Williams, explain the new features in Flash Builder 4
- Learn how to use the great new features in Flash Builder 4 to accelerate Flex 3 development
- Watch Christophe Coenraets show how to use the new Data Centric Development features with BlazeDS to access Java objects
Version comparison
Flex version comparison chart
| Enhanced feature | ||||
| Feature | Flex Builder 3 | Flash Builder 4 Standard | Flash Builder 4 Premium | Flex 4 SDK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data visualization | ||||
| Advanced Datagrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Datagrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting components | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Testing | ||||
| Performance profiler | Yes | No | Full | No |
| Memory profiler | Yes | No | Full | No |
| Network Monitor | No | No | Yes | No |
| FlexUnit support | No | No | Yes | No |
| Support for automated functional testing | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Interactive debugging | Yes | Full | Full | No |
| Design View | ||||
| CSS skinning and styling | Yes | Full | Full | No |
| Advanced text handling, text layout framework | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved animation engine — Adobe Pixel Bender® support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Designer/developer workflow | ||||
| Skin asset importing into Flash Builder | Yes | Full | Full | No |
| Importing of interaction design from Flash Catalyst | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Creation of custom Flash components | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Roundtripping support with Adobe Flash Professional | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Coding tools | ||||
| MXML and ActionScript® editors | Yes | Full | Full | No |
| Refactoring | Yes | Full | Full | No |
| Faster compilation time | Yes | Full | Full | Full |
| Command line builds | No | No | Yes | No |
| ASDoc tool tips | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Getter/setter and event handler code generation | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Template support | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| State-based code view | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Working with data | ||||
| Service introspection wizards | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Data/Services Explorer | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Drag-and-drop data binding to UI components | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Generation of sample server-side code | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Paging support | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Data management — change tracking, large data set handling | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| CRUD form generation | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Framework | ||||
| Spark skinning and component architecture | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New states MXML language support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FXG support — graphics primitives support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Updated layout model, 2D rotations, 3D support | No | Full | Full | Full |
| ColdFusion Development | ||||
| ColdFusion Builder software | No | No | Yes | No |
Eligibility chart
| You have | You want | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| No Flex products | Flash Builder 4 Standard Edition | US$249 |
| No Flex products | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$699 |
| Only the free Flex SDK | Flash Builder 4 Standard Edition | US$249 |
| Only the free Flex SDK | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$699 |
| Flex Builder 2 | Flash Builder 4 Standard Edition | US$99 |
| The free Flex 2 SDK and Flex Charting 2 | Flash Builder 4 Standard Edition | US$249 |
| The free Flex 2 SDK and Flex Charting 2 | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$699 |
| Flex Builder 3 Standard | Flash Builder 4 Standard Edition | US$99 |
| Flex Builder 3 Standard | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$499 |
| Flex Builder 3 Professional | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$299 |
| Flash Builder 4 Standard | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$499 |
| Flex Builder 3 for education | Flash Builder 4 Premium for education | US$349 |
| ColdFusion Builder | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$499 |
| Creative Suite 5 Web Premium | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$499 |
| Creative Suite 5 Master Collection | Flash Builder 4 Premium Edition | US$499 |
| *Upgrade pricing is available only for products listed above and requires a qualifying previous product with serial number. Upgrades for volume and education licensing are handled separately. Flash Builder 4 can be installed on either Mac OS X or Windows® using the same serial number. | ||
