Away3D can be downloaded from two different locations. The first location is the download page on the Away3D website at http://away3d.com/downloads. Here you will find links to ZIP files for the stable releases of the Away3D engine. These releases have been tested and are deemed to be of a high enough quality to be used in production.
The second location that Away3D can be downloaded from is the SVN repository hosted on Google Code at http://code.google.com/p/away3d/. The code in the SVN repository represents the current, up-to-the-minute state of Away3D. Using this code gives you access to the latest features and bug fixes that have not yet made their way into a stable release. However, this code is still in the process of being tested, so is generally not recommended for everyday use.
Unless otherwise stated, all the examples in this book have been compiled against Away3D version 3.6, which is the latest stable release at the time of writing. This file can be downloaded from the Away3D website at http://away3d.com/downloads or by using the direct link http://away3d.com/download/away3d_3_6_0.zip. If you are downloading the ZIP file from the download page, click on the Flash 10 link under the heading Version 2.6.0 / 3.6.0.
Tip
Away3D is a very active project, with new releases made every few months. It is possible that by the time you are reading this, the download page or direct link has been changed from what has been described above. If that is the case you can download away3d_3_6_0.zip from the Packt website.
The examples presented in this book may work with later versions of the Away3D engine, but using version 3.6 will guarantee compatibility.
Once you have downloaded the ZIP file, you will need to extract it to a convenient location somewhere on your computer. Remember this location, because you will reference it later when you set up your development environment.
SVN provides a convenient way to get access to the very latest version of Away3D, and tools, such as TortoiseSVN, make accessing the Away3D SVN repository a straightforward process.
TortoiseSVN is a popular and free SVN client that integrates with Windows Explorer to provide easy access to SVN repositories. Use the following steps to download and install TortoiseSVN, and then use it to download the Away3D source code:
- Download TortoiseSVN from http://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.
- Install TortoiseSVN using the default settings, and reboot your computer.
- Once your computer has booted back up, create a new folder in a convenient location that will be used to contain the Away3D source code. For simplicity, you may want to consider creating a folder called
Away3Din the root folder of drive C. - Right-click on your new folder and click on the SVN Checkout option.
- You will be presented with the Checkout dialog box. Enter http://away3d.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/fp10/Away3D/src into the URL of repository textbox.
- Click on the OK button to download the Away3D files.