Adobe AIR is great cross-platform runtime environment that allows developers to create Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) that run directly on the desktop. Applications built on Adobe AIR are as diverse as they are handy… everything from productivity tools like Adobe’s Kuler Desktop to Twitter client TweetDeck. AIR is an extremely robust and extensible RIA development tool with few limitations and supports several authoring languages and platforms including HTML, JavaScript, AJAX, Flex, Flash and Actionscript. With basic programming knowledge, and just a few tools below, you could quickly be off and running building the AIR app of your dreams… producing a distributable desktop app or widget, compatible across all operating systems and accessible whether the user is online or off. Additionally, developers can utilize these tools to help cut production time in design and development. And, whenever we can cut production time while maintaining both the form and function… it’s a beautiful thing!
Download the latest version of Adobe AIR here: Adobe AIR 1.5.2 (21.5mb).
Following are 25 great Adobe AIR applications for Web Designers, Developers and Graphic Designers.
Adobe Air Web Design Tools
Design View »
Description: GUI tool for Flex applications layout composition
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RichFLV »
Description: RichFLV let`s you edit flv files.
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Description: Snippage lets you easily make widgets out of parts of any web page. You do so by opening “snips” which are little web browsers you can crop down.
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Pixus »
Description: Easily measure any screen object size. Plus, with overlay mode and presets, you can also preview the design in the actual environment. Ideal for web and interface designers.
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Lita – SQLite Administration Too »
Description: A free, multi-platform administration tool for SQLite Databases.
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Em based layouts – Vertical rhythm calculator »
Description: Web developers using XHTML and CSS, will find this tool extremely usefull.
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htmlText Editor »
Description: htmlText Editor is mainly used by Flex developers, it provides a shortcut to having htmlText generated in a WYSIWYG type editor.
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Adobe Air Graphic and Image Tools
Shrink O-Matic »
Description: Shrink O-Matic is an application that can easily (batch) resize (shrink) JPGs, GIFs and PNGs.
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BetaDesigns Caliper »
Description: The Calilper floats above other applications on screen and can be used to measure anything on your monitor.
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Random Pattern »
Description: An app that renders paterns based on given parameters. A rendered image can be used as a base of a mosaic. Preset parameters can be saved and loaded (in xml file format) and output image can be saved as SVG document.
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ImageSizer »
Description: ImageSizer is an application built to resize, optimize and rename a batch of jpg images and outputting them as a single compressed zip file.
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JustResizeIt! »
Description: Simply drag and drop images, wait a few seconds, and then drag and drop resized images into an e-mail, an office document, or a folder.
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Fractal4D »
Description: Fractal4D enables you to draw detailed fractal swirls that can then be exported as a vector or as a plain PNG.
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Adobe Air Color Tools
Contrast-A »
Description: Contrast-A allows users to interact with a 3-dimensional RGB color space, experiment with color combinations, check the contrast according to both WCAG 2.0 and 1.0 and see the results for different types of color deficiency. Custom color palettes can be created, printed and saved.
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Kuler Desktop »
Description: Import kuler themes directly into Creative Suite 3 & 4 Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. Browse and search color themes from kuler (kuler.adobe.com).
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Color Browser »
Description: Color Browser is a great way to organize your favorite color palettes locally.You can import ASE files into the application.
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COLOURlovers Desktop Color Finder »
Description: Use the Desktop Color Finder to search the entire COLOURlovers database.
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Adobe Air Image/Screenshot Capture
QuickScreen »
Description: QuickScreen is a minimalist application interface allowing you to take screenshots, resize, cut a selection, cancel, restore and save.
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Webcam to GIF »
Description: Convert images captured with a webcam to an animated GIF.
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Snapshooter »
Description: Write a valid web address and hit the “Take snapshot” to save an instant picture of any webpage to your desktop.
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Websnapshot »
Description: Enter the Url and press Snap. With Auto Save Checked, the thumbnails are immediately saved to your “save” folder.
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SWFShot »
Description: SWFShot is an app that allows you to create high resolution images of Flash content from the users hard drive.
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Adobe Air Font Management Tools
.merlin »
Description: TrueType font organizer. Retrieves font name from the file, renames file and organizes based on first letter into a folder.
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Font Picker »
Description: This simple tool shows you all the fonts installed on your computer and helps you choose which one is most suitable for a particular project.
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Adobe Air Icon Tools
Icon Generator »
Description: Icon Generator is a little application that lets you generate a CS3 or Web 2.0 style icon.
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