Offline Editor (2.0) – Scratch Wiki

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The offline editor

The Scratch 2.0 offline editor is a version of Scratch 2.0 that can be downloaded and installed on a computer, as opposed to being used in a web browser like the Online Editor. It was useful for those who wish to use Scratch without an internet connection or for teachers who wish for their students not to participate with the online community. It can be downloaded here.

System Requirements

For Scratch 2.0 to run properly, the following minimum system requirements are required:[1]

• Windows, Mac, or Linux operating system
• Adobe AIR version 2.6+
• Over 23 megabytes of free hard drive space

Downloading

Adobe AIR is downloaded and installed first. While the Windows and Mac OS X links simply direct to Adobe’s site, Adobe no longer supports Linux or Mac OS X 10.5 and earlier versions, so Scratch provides a link to the last supported version.

The Scratch 2.0 offline editor is installed next. It is provided as an .EXE file for Windows, a .DMG file for Mac, and a .AIR file for Mac OS X 10.5 and older operating systems.

Downloading Adobe AIR

Adobe AIR is no longer officially supported by Adobe but can be downloaded here from HARMAN, who is providing continued support.[2] However, Scratch 2.0 will not work with AIR 33 on Mac.[citation needed]

Downloading Scratch 2.0

The Scratch offline editor can be downloaded from the Scratch site. There are two things that must be downloaded: Adobe AIR – a runtime system for desktop applications – and the editor itself. The system requirements for Scratch 2.0 include either a Mac OS X, Mac OS 10.5 & older, or Windows software.

Information

The File menu of the offline editor

The offline editor has a few differences from the online editor. The File menu has different options, including a “Check for updates” option and a “Quit” option which closes the Scratch program. Projects can be shared to the Scratch website, by accessing the File menu and clicking “Share to website”. Projects were named by saving the project to one’s computer (unlike the online editor, where text input above the stage is used). The offline editor still displays the name above the stage, though.

The tips menu also shows in full-screen mode in the offline editor. The top-right of the project editor, instead of displaying the login link or one’s username, does not display anything.

The offline editor saves all projects in .sb2 format. There were no major differences between the offline and online editors, apart from optimization for offline use. The Scratch offline editor had received many updates and could update itself.

Cloud variables are also not available in the offline editor, presumably because users cannot log in.

Uploading

See also: Project Sharing

Uploading is supported and is a similar process as Scratch 1.4’s; however, it does not allow project instructions, notes, or tag inputs directly from the upload. There is a 50 MB project size limit,[3] though the majority of projects did not reach that file size. However, users could bypass this limit by uploading an .sb2 file onto a project on the Scratch website. The projects were uploaded to the Scratch website, but they were not shared unless Scratchers share them by themselves.

Usage Survey

Usage Survey

In version 460, a new feature allowing usage data from the offline editor to be automatically sent to the Scratch Team was added. It collected the language in use, block usage, and some action reports like uploading, saving, and loading. When the offline editor was first opened, a dialog was shown. If “No, thanks” was chosen, it did not send this telemetry. On Windows, the choice was stored in the following directory:

C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\edu.media.mit.Scratch2Editor\Local Store\#SharedObjects\Scratch.swf\scratchLocalData.sol

To change the setting, the file could be deleted.

See Also

References