To get the most out of my workshop ‘Pragmatic Extension Development’ in Phoenix, Arizona on June 7th, attendees can make some preparations.
https://creativeproweek.com/phoenix-2023/creative-developers-summit/
(click link, scroll down to ‘Sessions’)
If any of the tasks listed below are unclear, or too daunting, don’t worry – I’ll take you through it at the workshop. Try to get as far into it as you can.
You need the Creative Cloud app installed, and the latest version of InDesign, and a few more Creative Cloud apps. Even though I’ll be using InDesign a lot, most of the material in the workshop applies to all ExtendScript-enabled or UXP-enabled Creative Cloud apps.
You need to have basic command-line git software installed, as well as a recent version of Node.js (https://nodejs.org/en).
On Mac, I recommend installing Homebrew (https://brew.sh/) or a similar package manager, and then using brew to install various necessary components like gh or node
You should also install the Github command-line tool gh (https://cli.github.com/).
A GUI client for git is also helpful. I use both
SourceTree (https://www.sourcetreeapp.com/)
SmartGit (https://www.syntevo.com/smartgit/).
You also need Visual Studio Code (https://code.visualstudio.com/) – not to be confused with Visual Studio. If you’re on an M1 Mac, you must install the Intel version or the Rosetta version, and run it in emulation mode.
Install the following extensions:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Adobe.extendscript-debug
If you’re on Windows, you also want the old ExtendScript Toolkit (in the Creative Cloud App, bring up the settings, then Apps then enable Show Older Apps, then install ExtendScript Toolkit)
Clone the repositories:
https://github.com/zwettemaan/UXPScriptSparker
and
https://github.com/zwettemaan/CEPSparker
somewhere on your computer, using your favorite git tool.
Please revisit this page regularly in the coming days – I might add some more ”things to do’ to it as I come to think of them.