Adobe CFC Generator (ColdFusion Builder 2 Extension) available on RIAForge

If you are a ColdFusion Builder 1 user, you know that Adobe CFC Generator (a ColdFusion Builder extension used to generate a traditional CFC or an ORM CFC from a set of database tables) is available by default when you install ColdFusion Builder. In ColdFusion Builder 2, however, there is no direct support for this extension.

Note: You can see an Adobe CFC Generator.zip available in the extensions folder of the ColdFusion Builder 2 installation directory. It’s a bug. If you try to deploy the extension, you encounter the following issue:'Installation Error: Cannot find "ide_config.xml" file'.

Therefore, if you want to deploy Adobe CFC Generator, you have to perform the following steps:

1. (If you have already received the error message Cannot find "ide_config.xml" file' , else ignore this step) Remove the folder Adobe CFC Generator from the webroot of your ColdFusion server.
2. Download Adobe CFC Generator from the following URL: http://adobecfcgenerator.riaforge.org/   
3. Deploy the extension to your ColdFusion server.

Note: If you have installed ColdFusion Builder 1, you can instead copy the Adobe CFC Generator.zip available in the extensions folder of the ColdFusion Builder 1 installation directory. That is, the extension available in ColdFusion Builder 1 and RIA Forge are simply the same. 

References

• The Adobe CFC Generator section in the ColdFusion Builder documentation explains how to use the extension. But there is a topic Install Adobe CFC Generator in this section which provides incorrect information. So ignore it and instead take the information provided here.
• Ray Camden discusses the issue about this extension in his blog at the following URL: http://www.coldfusionjedi.com/index.cfm/2011/3/10/The-right-and-wrong-way-to-package-a-ColdFusion-Builder-extension#c8CC43286-B7EA-91F7-5E59788F50FC06BB
• Krishna, Adobe Engineer provides a solution for the issue related to Adobe CFC Generator in the Adobe Forum discussion at the following URL: http://forums.adobe.com/message/3669930#3669930.

ColdFusion Builder Express Edition: A Free Version of ColdFusion Builder 2

ColdFusion Builder 2 is free for 60 days. But beyond this trial period, you can continue to use the IDE, but with limited features. How's that?

How does ColdFusion Builder switch to Express Edition?
After the trial expires, when you launch ColdFusion Builder, you get the following prompt:

Also, the following message is displayed:

 

In the Adobe ColdFusion Builder Trial Screen, you have the following two options:

• Purchase ColdFusion: Click Buy Now button to purchase license.
  
• Continue using the Express Edition: Exit the screen by closing it. After you close the screen, ColdFusion Builder automatically switches to Express Edition, the light weight free version of the tool.

How is Express Edition different from the full-featured edition?
The following table shows the major feature differences between the two editions.
Note that the list attempts to only list the key features. Some features may be missing in both the columns.

Express Edition	Full-featured Edition
Editor	Editor
Code assist	Code assist
Syntax highlighting	Syntax highlighting
Server Manager	Server Manager
RDS	RDS
Run Preview Page	Run Preview Page
Extenstions (except callback and code assist contribution)	Extenstions (except callback and code assist contribution)
	Code assist for extensions
	Code insight
	Extension callback
	Connection to remote server
	Quick fix
	Debugging remote projects
	Refactoring
	ColdFusion search
	Code formatting
	FTP support
	Log viewer
	Local file browser
	Code hyperlinks
	Hover help

How will I recognize if I am using an Express Edition of ColdFusion Builder?

• When you attempt to use the features such as Quick Fix, Refactoring  Advanced Search & Replace, Code Formatting, FTP Connection, you are prompted with the following message:

• For extensions, you won’t have Code Assist and Callback features working.
• When you try to add server in the Server Settings dialog box, the option to select Remote Server is disabled.
• You won't see the remote server that you added to ColdFusion Builder 1workspace or ColdFusion Builder 2 workspace.
• You cannot use Code Insight.
• You cannot see the Log Viewer & Local File Browser. 
• If you verify the log (<ColdFusion Builder Workspace path>\.metadata\.log), you can see the following message:

!MESSAGE Standard Edition trial expired. Only the ColdFusion Builder 2 Express Edition features are now available. Features such as Code Assist  for Extensions, Remote Server & Remote Projects, Code Insight, Quick Fix, Refactoring, Advanced Search & Replace, Code Formatting, FTP Connection, Log Viewer & Local File Browser are not available in Express Edition. To use Standard Edition that has all the features, enter the license key and restart ColdFusion Builder. To continue using the Express Edition, close the License window.

ColdFusion Builder 2 Documentation and Related Resources

Storm (code name of ColdFusion Builder 2) is out the door; ColdFusion Builder 2 is now available.

If you are searching for documentation and other resources that can help you get started with this Eclipse-based integrated development environments (IDE), this is the one stop location:

Documentation

• ColdFusion Builder 2 Release Notes: Provides information on how to activate ColdFusion Builder, its new features, and the list of known issues.
• Installing Adobe ColdFusion Builder 2.0
• Using ColdFusion Builder 2.0

ColdFusion Developer Center Articles

• What's new in ColdFusion Builder 2: In this article, Ramchandra Kulkarni provides an overview of the ColdFusion Builder 2 features, to help you take full advantage of all the productivity tools provided in ColdFusion Builder 2.
• Getting started with ColdFusion Builder 2: In this Adobe TV video tutorial, Adobe Platform Evangelist Terry Ryan shows you how to use the newest features in ColdFusion Builder 2.

ColdFusion Builder Team Blog

• ColdFusion Builder: Provides latest news, updates, and other helpful information from the ColdFusion Builder team.

Movie Tutorials

• What's new with extensions in ColdFusion Builder 2: Raymond Camden presents several extensions he has created in ColdFusion Builder 2 that are powerful and effective coding time-savers. Watch the video tutorial and follow along with the transcript and source files provided in this article.
• QuickFix feature in ColdFusion Builder 2: Learn about the smart functionality in ColdFusion Editor which helps you generate methods, CFC/CFM files based on their usage in code. You can quickly complete your code statements, revisit, and resolve the problem components making the coding process much simpler.
• Editor Enhancements in ColdFusion Builder 2: Walks you through the editor enhancements in the release.
• Set up a project and configure webserver in ColdFusion Builder
• Debug ColdFusion applications using ColdFusion Builder

 Blogs on specific features

Getting started experience

• ColdFusion Builder Start Page: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sandeep Paliwal elaborates on the getting started experience.

Express edition

• ColdFusion Builder 2.0 Express Edition: Ben Forta's notes on the free lightweight version of ColdFusion Builder.

Extension enhancements

• ColdFusion Builder 2 Extensions - Understanding Callback Commands: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sandeep Paliwal explains the possibilities of callback commands in ColdFusion Builder 2 extensions.
• How to contribute to code assist from extensions: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sandeep Paliwal provides answers to the frequently asked questions about contributing to Code Assist using extensions.
• What's new with extensions in ColdFusion Builder 2: Raymond Camden presents several extensions he has created in ColdFusion Builder 2 that are powerful and effective coding time-savers. Watch the video tutorial and follow along with the transcript and source files provided in this article.

Quick Fix

• Quick Fix in ColdFusion Builder: 
• ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sagar Ganatra demonstrates the usage of Quick Fix.
• QuickFix feature in ColdFusion Builder 2: Learn about the smart functionality in ColdFusion Editor which helps you generate methods, CFC/CFM files based on their usage in code. You can quickly complete your code statements, revisit, and resolve the problem components making the coding process much simpler.

ColdFusion Builder Search

• ColdFusion Builder Search\Replace: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sagar Ganatra explains the features of ColdFusion Builder search.
• Tag search: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sagar Ganatra explains how to find tags that match your search criteria.

 Key-board shortcuts

• A cheat sheet of keyboard shortcuts in ColdFusion Builder: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sagar Ganatra lists all the shortcuts in ColdFusion Builder. 
• ColdFusion Search vs Eclipse Search: 
  ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Kiran Sakhare provides a comparison between Eclipse Search and ColdFusion Builder search.
• Keyboard shortcuts in ColdFusion Builder: 
  ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sagar Ganatra explains the keyboard shortcut enhancements in ColdFusion Builder 2.

Code Formatting

• CFML Code Formatter – An Introduction: ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sandeep Paliwal explains how to enforce coding guidelines using CFML Code Formatter.