Once
you have an Adobe® AIR™ Runtime Distribution License Agreement with Adobe®
Systems Incorporated, you may redistribute the Adobe AIR installer
and installer files. This guide provides instructions on configuring
and using the runtime installer.
Obtaining permission to redistribute the runtime
To obtain permission to redistribute Adobe AIR, read the
Adobe AIR Runtime Distribution Agreement and apply for a license:
Adobe® AIR™ Runtime Distribution
.
Also, be sure to read the Adobe AIR FAQ page, which contains
important information on the runtime distribution and license terms:
Adobe® AIR™ Runtime Distribution FAQ
.
Important:
You may distribute Adobe AIR with your
product only if you follow the Adobe AIR Runtime Distribution License
Agreement application process and are then approved by Adobe. Otherwise,
users can download and install Adobe AIR from the adobe.com site.
Installer files and options
There are two options for distributing Adobe AIR:
-
Stand-alone Adobe AIR Runtime distribution—Use this Adobe
AIR Runtime Installer if you plan to distribute the Adobe on individual
systems, on an intranet, or via an enterprise setting. See the next
section,
Using the stand-alone runtime installer
-
Bundled deployment of Adobe AIR Runtime Installer files—this
is also known as a “sidecar installation.” Use this to include the
Adobe AIR installer on a CD, DVD, USB, or DMG. This option lets
users install an AIR application and the runtime simultaneously.
See
Using the bundled runtime installer
.
In addition to the files for each of these two options, the Adobe
AIR download site also includes the following:
-
A link to this documentation.
-
The AIR Redistribution Helper (ARH) utility, which you can
use to streamline the install process. See
Using the ARH utility
.
-
The OSID Generator application has been replaced by the ARH
utility. The OSID Generator program is still supplied for developers
who have existing installation code. If you are developing a new
installer, use ARH instead. The OSID Generator helps you discover
the file path to an installed AIR application, given the application
ID and publisher ID of the application. See
Using the OSID Generator application
.
-
The
Adobe AIR logo. You may download the logo and use it in accordance
with the Adobe AIR Runtime Distribution License Agreement you accepted
and the “Includes Adobe AIR Logo Usage Guidelines” found at
Includes ADOBE® AIR™ 3rd-party guidelines
for the ”Includes Adobe AIR” badge
.
Using the stand-alone runtime installer
Once Adobe has approved your request to distribute Adobe
AIR, you can include the stand-alone runtime installer file on individual
systems or on an intranet. For Windows, this installer is an EXE
file. For Mac OS, this is a DMG file. For Linux, this is an RPM,
DEB, or BIN file. Administrative users can run this file to install
Adobe AIR.
Important:
The Adobe AIR Runtime Distribution Agreement
does not allow you to distribute the Adobe AIR installer from your
web site. However, you can use the Adobe AIR seamless install feature
on your web site, which downloads and installs the Adobe AIR Runtime
on end-user system as part of the AIR application installation.
For details, see
Distributing, Installing, and Running AIR
applications
and
Updating AIR applications
.
If
you need to redistribute Adobe AIR using an enterprise deployment
tool, contact Adobe for available options: license-air-enterprise@adobe.com.
Using the bundled runtime installer
You can include a bundled installer on a CD, DVD, USB,
or DMG. The user can use this installer to simultaneously install
your AIR application and install or update the Adobe AIR installer
(as needed).
Note:
This is like the seamless install feature, which
also lets a user install Adobe AIR and an AIR application simultaneously.
However, the seamless install feature installs from a web page,
not from a disk.
-
Download the bundled runtime installer from the runtime
redistribution download site. For Mac OS, this is a DMG file. For
Windows, this is a ZIP file. For Linux, this is a tar.bz2 archive.
Extract the contents of the file to a directory, which this document
refers to as the
bundled runtime installer directory
.
On
Linux, extract the file using the following command:
tar xvf AIR_Linux_installer_files.tar.bz2
-
Rename the Adobe AIR installer to match your application
name. For example, on Mac OS or Linux if your application is named
MyApp 2.0, rename the installer MyApp 2.0 Installer. On Windows,
rename it MyApp 2.0 Installer.exe.
-
On Linux, rename
setup
to
MyApp 2.0 Installer
-
On Mac OS, rename MacOS/Adobe AIR Installer to MacOS/MyApp
2.0 Installer
-
On Windows, rename Adobe AIR Installer.exe to MyApp 2.0 Installer.exe
-
In the bundled runtime installer directory, add a text file
named .airinstall.cfg (note the initial dot).
-
Edit the .airinstall.cfg to include the relative path to
the AIR file to be installed.
You can deploy the contents of the bundled runtime installer
directory on a CD, DVD, USB, or DMG and instruct the user to double-click
the renamed installer file.
You can also call the AIR installer from a bootstrapper application.
A bootstrapper application is a native application that manages
multiple processes (such as the installation of many files and applications).
You can also use a bootstrapper application to manage the process
of downloading all files and calling the appropriate installer commands
when downloaded. The bootstrapper application can provide a custom
user interface (for example giving users options to install other files
or applications). The ARH utility can be used to initiate most of
the AIR-related tasks of the installation.
You can use a tool to bundle all of the files into a self-extracting
executable file. A bootstrapper application can load this self-extracting
executable file and run the installer.
For Linux, support for bundled runtime installation was added
in AIR 2.
Note:
On Mac OS, take care to preserve the symbolic links when
repackaging the installer files. Do not unpack or repack the files
on a file system that does not support symbolic links.
Silent installation
Generally, the AIR Installer presents its own user interface
while installing the runtime and the AIR application. The
silent installation
feature
lets you install an application without presenting or interacting
with the AIR Installer interface.
You can use silent mode to install Adobe AIR using an enterprise
deployment tool (such as Microsoft SMS, IBM Tivoli, or any deployment
tool that allows silent installations that use a bootstrapper).
To run the Adobe AIR installer silently, start the Adobe AIR
installer with the following command-line options:
-silent {-eulaAccepted -pingbackAllowed ( -location <loc> ) -desktopShortcut -programMenu} path
-
silent
—The
-silent
option tells
the AIR installer to run in silent mode.
-
eulaAccepted
—With the optional
-eulaAccepted
option
specified, if the AIR application installer installs Adobe AIR,
it records
acceptance
of the Adobe AIR end-user license agreement
(EULA). The Adobe AIR installer records this acceptance
for all users
of
the target computer.
Important:
Use the
-eulaAccepted
option
only if your organization has agreed to the Adobe AIR end-user license
agreement. You can only specify the
-eulaAccepted
option
if the organization has agreed to the Adobe AIR end-user license
for all users of the computer. You can only specify the
-eulaAccepted
option for deployment within an intranet.
If
you do
not
include the
-eulaAccepted
option
and Adobe AIR is installed during a silent installation, Adobe AIR
will later present the Adobe AIR end-user license agreement to each
user of the machine. Users see the end-user license agreement (with
the option to accept it) upon first running an AIR application.
If
used, specify the
-eulaAccepted
option immediately
after the ‑
silent
option.
-
pingbackAllowed
— Allows the installer to check for
updates to the AIR runtime and report a successful install to Adobe
over the Internet. No identifying information is transmitted.
-
location
—The optional
-location
option
provides the location (an absolute file system path) to install
the AIR application. The default location is the standard application
installation location.
-
desktopShortcut
—The optional
-desktopShortcut
option
causes the installer to install a desktop shortcut for the installed
AIR application. If you do not specify this option, no desktop shortcut
is installed.
-
programMenu
—The optional
-programMenu
option
causes the installer to install a program menu shortcut for the
installed application (on Windows). If you do not specify this option,
no program menu shortcut is installed.
-
path
—The
path
option specifies the
path to the AIR file to install.
The AIR application installer
installs the correct version of Adobe AIR on the target computer,
as required by the AIR application to be installed. For example,
if the AIR application to be installed requires the AIR 1.1 runtime,
and the end user’s computer has only AIR 1.0 installed (or no version
of AIR installed), the installation process installs the AIR 1.1
runtime along with the AIR application. The version of the AIR application
installer must be compatible with the version required by the AIR
application.
You
cannot
use the silent installer option
to update an
installed
AIR application. This is because the
AIR installer cannot determine whether the version to be installed
is newer than the installed version, and it would pose a security risk
to downgrade the application.
To install or update the runtime
only, use the
-silent
option without specifying
a
path
or any other options.
Silent uninstallation
You can silently uninstall an AIR application using the
ARH utility.
While ARH is the recommended method, you can also use the following methods:
On Mac OS, use
rm -rf
to remove the AIR application
installation directory.
On Windows:
-
Use the OSID generator to look up the upgrade GUID
for the application (see
Using the OSID Generator application
).
-
Pass the upgrade GUID as the
lpUpgradeCode
parameter
to the
MsiEnumRelatedProducts()
function. The function
stores the product GUID in the buffer passed as the
lpProductBuf
parameter
to the function.
-
Pass the product GUID to
msiexec /x
(or
an equivalent).
On Linux, pass the application ID and publisher ID for the application
to the package manager (such as RPM or Debian), as in the following:
sudo dpkg –P HelloWorld.e146c51663394ee63585200f02ce0969fc8dd73c.1
sudo rpm –e HelloWorld.e146c51663394ee63585200f02ce0969fc8dd73c.1
Runtime installer exit codes
The Adobe AIR installer outputs the following exit codes:
Exit code
|
Description
|
0
|
Successful install
|
1
|
Successful, but restart required for completion
|
2
|
Usage error (incorrect arguments)
|
3
|
Runtime not found
|
4
|
Loading runtime failed
|
5
|
Unknown error
|
6
|
Installation canceled
|
7
|
Installation failed
|
8
|
Installation failed; update already in progress
|
9
|
Installation failed; application already
installed
|
The AIR installer automatically creates log files in the following
locations:
-
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Local
Settings\Application Data\Adobe\AIR\logs
-
Windows Vista / Windows 7: C:\Users\user name\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\AIR\logs
(Note that some of these folders are hidden by default.)
-
Mac OS X: Open "Console" to view logging.
-
Linux - an Install.log file is automatically created during
installation in the following folder: ~/.appdata/Adobe/AIR/Logs
Using the ARH utility
The AIR Redistribution Helper (ARH) utility is a small
executable that you can use as part of a custom installer.
To check whether the runtime is installed:
arh -isRuntimeInstalled
ARH exits with code 0 if the runtime is installed. It exits with
code 1 if the runtime is not installed.
To get the installed AIR version number:
arh -runtimeVersion
To install an application:
arh -installAppSilent {( -location <loc> ) -desktopShortcut -programMenu } <file>
-location — the install location.
-desktopShortcut — if present a desktop shortcut icon is added.
-programMenu — if present, an entry is added to the program menu
(Windows only).
file — the AIR file to be installed.
To uninstall an application:
arh -uninstallAppSilent <appid> <pubid>?
appid — the application identifier specified in the application
descriptor.
pubid — Required if and only if the application specifies a publisher
ID. Publisher IDs are deprecated as of AIR 1.5.3. Only applications
created prior to AIR 1.5.3 should use a publisher ID.
To query the state of an installed application:
arh -isAppInstalled <appid> <pubid>?
appid — the application identifier specified in the application
descriptor.
pubid — the publisher ID, if used by the application.
To locate an installed application:
arh -appLocation <appid> <pubid>?
To obtain an installed application's version (as a string):
arh -appVersion <appid> <pubid>?
appid — the application identifier specified in the application
descriptor.
pubid — the publisher ID, if used by the application.
To update the current user's runtime state:
arh -updateUserState
Updates the current user’s registry and configuration settings
to reflect the fact that the application has been installed for
that user. This command must be run from a non-elevated process
(in other words, using the user’s account, not a separate administrator
account).
If the updateUserState command is not performed, the AIR in-browser
will not be able to detect the AIR application.
Using the OSID Generator application
The OSID generator application has been
supplanted by the ARH utility. You can use ARH to detect and uninstall
AIR applications directly.
An OSID, or
operating system identifier
, is a platform-specific
identifier for an installed application. The OSID Generator application
reports the OSID of an AIR application. The OSID for an application
is the same on every computer. The OSID generator uses the application
ID and either the publisher ID string, or, if a publisher ID is
not used, an empty string.
Note:
Prior to AIR 1.5.3, every application was assigned a publisher
ID that was based on the certificate used to apply the application
signature. While a publisher ID is no longer assigned automatically,
applications published before AIR 1.5.3 can still use one. Such
an application still uses the same publisher ID even after being
updated to AIR 1.5.3 or later.
In AIR 1.5.3, or later, both the application ID and the publisher
ID, if used, are specified in the application descriptor file.
For AIR applications published before AIR 1.5.3, you can determine
the publisher ID by reading the contents of the
publisherid
file,
which is in the META-INF/AIR directory in the installed AIR application.
On Mac OS, the OSID Generator application returns a bundle identifier.
To find the application, pass the OSID as the
inBundleID
parameter
of the LaunchServices
LSFindApplicationForInfo()
function.
The object passed as the
outAppURL
parameter of
the
LSFindApplicationForInfo()
function is set
as a pointer to the application.
On Windows, the OSID Generator application returns a globally
unique identifier (GUID). This GUID is the upgrade GUID as well
as the component GUID of the component containing the main application
executable. You can use these to locate the installed application:
-
Use the Windows Installer
MSIEnumRelatedProducts()
function
to find an associated product GUID. Pass the upgrade GUID as the
lpUpgradeCode
parameter.
-
Use the Windows Installer
MSIGetComponentPath()
function
to obtain the path to the application’s executable. Pass the product
GUID as the
szProduct
parameter and pass the component
GUID as the
szComponent
parameter.
-
Before installing the AIR application, a bootstrapper application
can use the OSID to query the system to get the path to the currently
installed AIR application (if it is installed).
On Linux, OSID returns the name of the native package for the
application.
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