Flash Tracer alternative on Mac OS
July 6, 2008 – 3:09 amUsing Mac OS I was looking for some tool like Flash Tracer extension for Firefox, where you could see all traces from a Flash Player application. I’m using Safari as my default browser so FlashTracer was out of discussion. Here is how you can do it:
Go to Macintosh HD > username > Library > Application Support > Macromedia.
In here you need to create a new file mm.cfg. You should have there a file FlashAuthor.cfg so copy / paste / rename it will do the work too. Open it with a text editor of your choice and paste the following lines:
ErrorReportingEnable=0
TraceOutputFileEnable=1
MaxWarnings=0
If you’re running Flash Player 9.0.28.0 debug version or newer this is all you need to do in this file. However if you are running an older version you need to add an additional line:
TraceOutputFileName=Macintosh HD:Users:username:Desktop:flashlog.txt
This will create the output file on your desktop. Of course you can change the location as you like.
Now quit your browser, open a Terminal instance and run these commands:
1. cd path-to-flashlog-file where path-to-flashlog-file is Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash\ Player/Logs/
2. tail -f flashlog.txt.
This will assure that all Flash Player trace() calls will appear in the Terminal window. A handy tool but dont forget to manage your calls to the trace() method thru a manager class so you can disable traces at release-time. Happy debugging.
12 Responses to “Flash Tracer alternative on Mac OS”
Why looking for an alternative to Flash Tracer? Its work for me in the past on the Mac.
If you just want alternatives - you can look at these debugging tools:
RED|bug http://www.realeyesmedia.com/redbug/
Arthropod http://arthropod.stopp.se/
By John on Jul 6, 2008
Well, first of all Flash Tracer was running as a Firefox Add-On so if you are using Safari (i do) you can’t use Flash Tracer.
Second, these are good third-party debugging tools but it makes it harder to use them as you need to install them, configure them, use their own API and use their own logging interface. Too much for a fast-deployment. BTW I registered for RED|bug and didn’t received any activation mail, see the issues ?. Didn’t use it but a second drawback i see its the Message column, what if you trace something with ObjectUtil.toString() ? You wont see it properly.
The console/flashlog.txt on the other hand has some advantages over that because first you are not using any third-party software and second what you send in trace() > ends in console, its as simple as that.
It really depends on which tool you feel more comfortable with, either third-party or the flyweight console.
Oh and by the way with the flashlog approach you can see other’s trace() logs if they didn’t disable them by some method at release-time. Ups :).
Adrian.
By Adrian Aioanei on Jul 6, 2008
Gotcha. Sorry missed the part about you using Safari as your main browser.
Another option would be to write a quick AIR app that reads the flashlog.txt file and displays it in a little window and maybe records it back to a SQLLite DB for historical purposes.
By John on Jul 6, 2008
That’s for sure, you can wrap the basic flashlog functionality into a larger process of debugging according to your needs. AIR is a good solution indeed.
Adrian.
By Adrian Aioanei on Jul 6, 2008
On disabling traces at release time:
The Flash IDE itself (if you are using it) provides a convenient method for this: Under File/Publish Settings/Flash Tab, check the option: “Omit Trace Actions” (I am only guessing the english commands/menu names as i have a german installation running)
Sebastian.
By sebastian on Jul 7, 2008
You can make life even easier by opening Terminal Preferences>Settings and creating a new preset file that runs ‘tail -f “~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/Logs/flashlog.txt”‘ upon launch (By selecting “Run inside shell” and entering the command in the text box). You can then drag this “preset” from the list to your desktop (or to the right side of your dock), and tada! An always-ready FlashTracer app. This is the way I’ve been debugging Flash for more than a year now, and it’s hard to beat.
By veryVito on Jul 7, 2008
Hey veryVito nice piece of information. Any idea why it gets adding new items in the Settings list every time i open the saved FlashTracer.terminal file ? It’s adding like FlashTracer 1, FlashTracer 2 and so on.
Other than that nice tip will surely use it too.
Adrian.
By Adrian Aioanei on Jul 7, 2008
@sebastian Yes the “Omit Trace Actions” is a nice feature for Flash IDE. Unfortunately it’s not present in Flex Builder (which I’m using) anymore. Too bad.
Adrian.
By Adrian Aioanei on Jul 7, 2008
@veryVito figured it out, the item from the Settings that you drag its actually well … a settings window … that’s why it keeps adding items in the list. The proper way to do it is by Terminal menu Shell > New Window > Flash Tracer. Thanks again for the tip.
Adrian.
By Adrian Aioanei on Jul 7, 2008
you can create a symbolic link and use Console.app in /Applications/Utilities to watch it
heres the command
$ln -s /Users/YOUR_USER_NAME/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash\ Player/Logs/flashlog.txt ~/Library/Logs/flashlog.log
By jvc on Jul 7, 2008
@Adrian, oops. Sorry for the confusion — That’s what I get for typing up a quick-and-dirty shortcut without checking to make sure I’d actually done it that way (It’s been a while since I set up the original shortcuts I use). In reality, it seems this is how I’ve done my 1-click setup: Indeed, open the terminal and use the Terminal menu Shell > New Window > Flash Tracer to create the new window. Then, close any other terminal windows you might have open, and use Window>Save Windows as Group. You can then use Preferences>Startup to set this window group as the default startup group. Now launching Terminal will always open the trace output (but you’ll need to press CMD-N to open a new window if you want to do other terminal tasks). Not sure why I thought you could use the settings files that way (I use to use iTerm; perhaps it’s phantom memories)
By VeryVito on Jul 7, 2008
This terminal tracer is a nice idea, but this is not flexible at all. There’s no filtering, no search, no always on top mode and many other features. I am using this tracer and seems that this is the best flash developer has for today
http://code.google.com/p/flash-tracer/
By Hancook on Jul 17, 2008