Adobe® Flash Professional CS5
By Howard Berenbon
Adobe Flash has been the choice program for developing 2D and 3D animation for publishing online, on your desktop or for mobile devices, in the SWF format, known as “shock wave flash.” Flash CS5 Professional is Adobe’s latest edition with more features and improvements over last year’s model (CS4). It has some enhancements along new improvements to help make the designer’s work life easier.
Here’s What New and Improved in Flash CS5
New Text Engine
Take complete control over your text with print-quality typography via the new Text Layout Framework.
Code Snippets Panel new
Reduce the ActionScript® 3.0 learning curve and enable greater creativity by injecting prebuilt code into projects.
ActionScript Editor Enhanced
Speed the development process with an improved ActionScript editor, including custom class code hinting and code completion.
Creative Suite Integration enhanced
Enhance productivity when using Adobe Creative Suite® components such as Adobe Photoshop®, Illustrator®, InDesign®, and Flash Builder™.
Flash Builder integration new
Use Flash Builder as your primary ActionScript editor for Flash Professional projects.
Video improvements enhanced
Streamline video processes with on-stage video scrubbing and a new cue points property inspector.
Design immersive interactive experiences
Import your design from Photoshop CS5 Extended or Illustrator CS5 and then add interactivity and motion with Flash Professional to bring your work to life.
XML-based FLA source files new
Manage and modify projects using source control systems and collaborate on files more easily.
Wide content distribution enhanced
Publish content virtually anywhere, using Adobe AIR® for desktop applications and mobile platforms including the iPhone®*, or Adobe Flash Player for browser-based experiences.
*Subject to Apple's current requirements and approval.
Spring for Bones new
Create more realistic inverse kinematic effects with new motion attributes added to the Bones tool.
Deco drawing tools new
Add advanced animation effects with a new comprehensive set of brushes for the Deco tool.
Some History
Adobe Flash was originally developed by Jonathan Gay, a computer game programmer, while attending college (while in high school he was designing games on the Apple). In 1993 Jonathan formed a company called FutureWave Software with Charlie Jackson, owner of Silicon Beach Software who produced graphics and game programs for the Macintosh. In 1994 they developed a vector graphic drawing program called SmartSketch, and in 1995 they added an Internet graphics animation tool. In May of 1996 they released the animation tool as FutureSplash Animator and it was used by several sites including Disney’s Disney Daily Blast and Fox’s official The Simpsons Website. In December 1996 Macromedia purchased FutureWave Software and FutureSplash Animator became Macromedia Flash 1.0.
The Main Menu
The Flash CS5 Professional main menu is very similar to all the other Adobe Creative Suite products and very close to the CS4 screen. At the very top you’ll find the File, Edit, Commands, Window, Help and Essentials menus plus the new CS Live button (for instant access to the world for online help). On the far right you’ll find the Properties and Library panels. To the left of center, the screen differs slightly from CS4. You can Create from Template or Open a Recent Item through the Open folder, create a new file in various formats including Flash ActionScript 3.0, 2.0, Adobe AIR 2, iPhone OS (that’s new), Flash Lite 4, ActionScript File, Flash Java Script File, Flash Project, ActionScript 3.0 Class and ActionScript 3.0 Interface. Below this column you can access Flash Exchange online. To the right of Create New is a new column labeled Learn. There you have access to several Adobe Flash online tutorials including Adobe TV just with a single click on the topic. You also have links Getting Started, New Features and Developers. And below these links you’ll see the Timeline and Motion Editor panels.
Adobe Flash Professional CS5, IBM PC version, sells for $699 (upgrade for $199) and is available for the IBM PC or compatible with an Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 processor with Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 3; Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1; or Windows 7, 1 GB RAM, 1024 x 768 display with 16-bit video card , 3.5 GB Hard Disk space and DVD-ROM drive and QuickTime 7.6.2 required for multimedia features. Also available for the Mac OS with an Intel processor, Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6, 1 GB RAM, 2GB hard disk space, 1024x768 monitor resolution, 16-bit video card, DVD-ROM drive and QuickTime 7.6.2 required for multimedia features. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.
Click for Adobe Illustrator CS5 Review
Software Companies Mentioned
Adobe Systems Incorporated
345 Park Ave
San Jose, CA 95110-2704
URL: www.adobe.com
800-833-6687