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I'm not sure if Gen Y'ers in the UK are responsible for shaping my opinion of Blackberry or if I think the Blackberry Playbook is cool. Still, now that Adobe AIR is native on the OS, I'm excited about the possibilities. I just finished submitting my first app to the Blackberry app store, and I thought others might want to know how to create an app using Flash CS5 Professional. Here's the process:

First, visit the Blackberry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR and follow steps 1 - 5. This should provide you with all the tools you'll need to create a Playbook app (Flash Builder Pro, Adobe AIR SDK for Blackberry, VMWare, and the Blackberry Playbook Simulator).

I still prefer developing apps using Flash CS5 Pro for my GUI and the Flash Builder IDE for programming. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Lee Brimelow's tutorial should set you on the right path.

When you create a brand new Flash app in CS5 Pro, select "Adobe AIR 2" and set the stage size to 1024 x 600px. The reason I prefer to first use an Adobe AIR 2 template (instead of an ActionScript 3) is that a descriptor file is generated that I can later modify or overwrite.

Here's some boilerplate code I tend to start my Playbook apps.

Once you finish writing your app, the next step is to modify the application descriptor file. Again, I have some boilerplate descriptor file I prefer.

If you want to add a Splash Screen to your app, you'll need to include this XML file with the name "blackberry-tablet.xml". This file must live at the root app directory right beside your NameOfApp.swf. Remember, your splashscreen.png should also be 1024x600px in size.
The next step is to test your app on the Blackberry Playbook simulator. First things first, set the simulator to "dev mode" and make sure to set an IP address. From there, use the terminal-based compile line to launch the NameOfApp.bar within the simulator. My example on Snipplr.

If your app is working well, the next step is to return to Blackberry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR and complete steps 7 - 9. This includes registering for a pin, signing up as a vendor and signing your NameOfApp.bar file to publish on the Blackberry App World

This support thread was an absolute lifesaver THIS IS A MUST READ FOR COMMAND-LINE PUBLISHERS

Once your done building, now it's time to sign your App.bar file.

Signing your apps using Command Line (alt)
Configuring App Signing + Signing from Command Line

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