Chapter 2: What s New in Macromedia Studio MX

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A new streamlined, easy-to-use interface is common to each of the applications in Studio MX. A Property inspector is now in Fireworks and Flash as well as in FreeHand MX (released after Studio MX shipped). Windows users will see an integrated workspace, but for Macs the panels will still float on the side of the Document window. Dreamweaver users can choose to use the new MX workspace or they can continue to use a Dreamweaver 4 workspace.

What's New in FreeHand 10

FreeHand 10 includes many changes to increase your productivity. The major changes are listed here. Refer to Chapter 14 for an in-depth look at the FreeHand MX changes.

Brush strokes

You can now convert any stroke into a custom brush stroke. What's a brush stroke? Basically, it's a graphic that follows a path. You can distort it to stretch the entire length of the stroke, or iterate it along the path, according to your needs. The graphic element you use to make the brush can be made from strokes and fills, text, geometric shapes — anything you can make in FreeHand.

Contour gradient fill

There's now a new way to make a gradient fill in FreeHand. Whereas a linear fill changes color in a straight line, and a radial fill has its color change in a bull's-eye shape, the new contour fill follows the outer shape of the object it fills. Think of a bull's-eye series of rings applied to an irregular shape, with each ring changing slightly in color. The center point of the contour fill can be moved by use of a control knob, and the taper can be set to increase or decrease the abruptness of the color shift.

Navigation panel

Prior to the introduction of the Studio MX, Macromedia added the Navigation panel to FreeHand 10. This added integration with other Studio MX programs is even more evident now. The Navigation panel not only allows you to link a URL to graphics on a page, but it provides the framework for some basic actions so you can make a basic page — or site — to test your design. The resulting FreeHand artwork can be used in Dreamweaver or Flash for further work.

Library panel

Prior to FreeHand 10, there was no library, but a Symbols panel acted as a repository for symbols. Macromedia has augmented this panel, and the new Library holds master pages, symbols, and custom brushes. You can export any of the Library's contents so they may be imported into another FreeHand document, and it's all handled through the library and its Options menu. The use of symbols in the library allows recurring files such as logos or key elements to be shared among other members of a team, or as a quick and easy filing system.

Master pages

Master pages will be a boon to anyone working on multipage documents, or repetitive production projects. If you've been working with Adobe Illustrator, this concept may seem strange in a drawing program, since Illustrator only allows single-page documents. The master page can be as simple as a blank page with guidelines, or as complicated as a navigation panel for a Web site. Key elements and layouts can be developed one time and used again and again without the need to build anything from scratch — and the master pages can be shared among computers and across operating system platforms.

Pen Tool features

The Pen tool underwent several modifications between FreeHand 9 and 10. There's a QuickTime movie on the CD-ROM (PenToolTheMovie.mov) that shows how the Pen tool's Smart Cursors work and what to expect from the tool. If you enable Smart Cursors in FreeHand's Preferences, small icons will appear near the tool tip of the Pen and Bezigon tools that tell you what the next click of the mouse will do — add a point, delete a point, close a path, and so on. The tool's attributes are explained fully in Chapter 6.

Enhanced tools panel

The Tools panel now includes a Subselect tool that you use to select objects within a group, modify paths between points, and other specialized effects explained in Chapter 6. The Hand, or Grabber, tool was also added so you can move the pasteboard around the monitor without scrolling. New graphic icons for Freeform, Zoom, and Line match the same icons in Fireworks, but the tools work exactly as they did in prior versions.

Color boxes

In prior versions of FreeHand, you went to the Swatches panel to choose colors that have been added to your document. Now there is a second location at the bottom of the Tools panel. The top color box indicates stroke colors; the bottom color box controls fill colors. At first I felt that this box was pure eye candy, but I've grown to rely on it, and use it more than I use the Swatches panel after I get a drawing or layout underway.

Editing symbols

Symbols can be made from any object in a FreeHand document. The symbol is saved in the Library and can be placed in any document while retaining every attribute of the original. You will read more on symbols in Chapter 8, but in short, FreeHand 10 makes symbol editing easy and efficient. Just click and drag the symbol's icon from the Library preview window onto the desktop, and use the symbol as if you had just made it. Changes made to a symbol will be reflected throughout all the instances of that symbol in the document, which is a real time-saver in complicated layouts.

File Info dialog box

While this feature may not be of use to many users, it's a nice one to have if you're involved in the newspaper industry. This feature is described as the industry-standard file information for cataloging files destined for news media. Just go to Xtras ® Other ® File Info, and fill out the form. The information contains name, copyright information, captions, titles, dates, and more that are used by the International Press Telecommunications Council Protocol (IPTC) to keep track of information about graphics and photos used in the publishing industry.

Flash integration

The vector artwork done in FreeHand can be utilized directly in Flash. You can draw and test simple animations in FreeHand, but Flash is a much more powerful animation tool. Doing all the groundwork in FreeHand can save you a lot of time and provide superior results, due to the larger drawing and graphic toolset. After building an animation, it's a simple matter to export the file in SWF (ShockWave Flash) format that can be utilized in Flash. A Flash Anti-alias preview is one of the optional ways to view your artwork in FreeHand and gives you a hint of what your work will look like in Flash.

Print Area feature

Select a single print area from the entire pasteboard with the new Print Area feature. Use the Page tool to align multiple pages together in reader's spreads, and then print them on the same sheet of paper.

Unsaved Document indicator

When you've made a change to a document, or printed it, the Save icon in the Main toolbar is grayed out. In version 10 of FreeHand, there's now also an asterisk (*) after the file's name in the document's title bar. When you save the document, the asterisk goes away.

Working conditions in OS X and Windows XP

FreeHand 10 works a little faster under OS X than OS 9x, and it's more fun to work with the program on OS X, but basically you won't notice anything different about the program. And that's the way it should be.

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