“Adobe has just posted a rather comprehensive FreeHand to Illustrator Migration Guide as well as a brief technical resource paper to their Design Center. Although it’s thoughtful of Adobe to put together such helpful guides for longtime FreeHand users, one can’t help but think the writing is on the wall for FreeHand and its users. Nevertheless, the guides appear to be helpful and worth a look if you happen to be considering the switch,” George Penston reports for Creative Toolbox. “It’s interesting to speculate what Adobe is planning on doing with all the competing products they now have in their product lineup. I think many of us felt FreeHand would be the first or obvious casualty of the acquisition…”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Nick” for the heads up.]
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Related article:
What will users lose as Adobe swallows Macromedia? – April 19, 2005
Adobe to acquire Macromedia in $3.4 billion stock deal – April 18, 2005
Okay?
Yeah – it handles type so well that every time I open up the file the type has re-wraped differnetly
the align functions in illustrator (as for all Adobe apps) are just as close to stupid as it gets. It’s still not possible to lock one object, select it – then us it as a (locked) reference object. BTW, this even works with single bezier points in FH. Calling this an important feature would be the understatement of the century. Can Illustrator do this? No. Do illustrator lemmings care? No. That is – until I show them what this means as of workflow enhancement. Now, this is just one out of many many things so much better solved in FH. Heck, Illustrator can’t even clone objects. Wait, I still run CS1 – maybe they copied some stuff from FH in CS2, dunno.
btw, sorry if this is a double post – MDN seems strange today
ipodboy — that’s because you’re 12 and don’t know how to manage your fonts yet.
Also, this just in: You’re a tool.
Adobe will be combining Freehand and Illustrator, to create Adobe Frustrator.
Can’t clone objects? wow I guess Illustrator’s copy-paste in front or in back (damn I can control where it goes) must have passed you by..I think that it has been in Illustrator at least since version 6.
“…I use both and the latest version of Freehand sucks compared to Illustrator…”
mind elaborating upon that statement…for the rest of us not seeing the truth as clearly as you? Maybe an example of one issue – and how you solve it in illustrator and then – how you cannot solve it in freehand. Thanks, I’m just curious.
Okay? I think you are the Tool and Yes I do know how to manage my fonts – it is just inexcusable that just changing the color of text will re-wrap type in Freehand. All your cutsie little things in Freehand are not well suited for real production. Don’t get me wrong Illustrator has a lot of improving to do but it is still miles ahead of Freehand in terms of production.
Very well done, Ted. Adobe Frustrator. It will be like dating a chick for months who tells you no when you make your move. The package will include 2 large blue balls.
Do you really want to know where my “freehand” has been today?
Cool trick: hold command and option and one can select text vertically. Amazing, you learn a new thing about Mac OS X everyday.
hey, “whatever” – copy+paste (in front or wherever) is a 2-click procedure whereas clone is a 1-click task. Just FYI.
And the second click in Freehand is to move it to the position you need it in at least in Illustrator you are done.
Hey guys who are bashing Freehand . . .
Freehand is indeed superior in many ways over Illustrator. Just because print shops use Illustrator as a standard does not make it better. Most print houses are not technologically advanced. They are the lowest level of the industry.
We all know that IE has a majority share of the market, so does Windows. Are they better?
Adobe’s products are not superior, they just have had an upper hand in marketing and getting their products setup as standards.
Both Illustrator and Freehand have their strengths. But both could really use an overhaul as well.
If Freehand is so good then why do ALL printers accept files in Adobe Illustrator and only a few accept Freehand files? This should tell you something.
did anyone try to run freehand in Rosetta? Does it break? That would be a dealbreaker for me.
My poo is a plug.
What happens when it pops out?
“A Real Design Professional” you try to get printing plats correct out of Freehand then you will understand why printers use Illustrator – and It isn’t Adobe’s Marketing
If Freehand is so good then why do ALL printers accept files in Adobe Illustrator and only a few accept Freehand files? This should tell you something.
Most printers around these parts take both types. And one in particularr I know of prefers Freehand.
DAMN. I am going to miss Freehand.
That was the better app. I especially loved that perspective guideline tool.
Give me that name of that printer and I will make sure to stay miles away from them. – I guarantee they aren’t printing anything that matters.
Hey a real design professional:
I am sure there is a prepress house that just loves when your jobs come in and they have to fix them. NEVER ask a designer what the best program is. Ask a prepress technician who has to fix all YOUR shit to make YOU look good for YOUR client. Freehand has always generated more postscript errors when RIPping files than Illustrator. Most “professionals” — and YOU use the term loosely because you are a designer — open your Freehand EPS files in Illustrator anyway. Unless you are the kind of ass that gives them Freehand native format files.
So remember that the next time you enter a piece to win some stupid design award because somewhere there is a prepress expert who made your job work on press AND YOU DON”T HAVE A F*CKING CLUE.
“whatever”, sorry – I don’t understand your workflow.
“…And the second click in Freehand is to move it to the position you need it in at least in Illustrator you are done…”
Now, why would I move it after I cloned it? The point of cloning is that I don’t want to move it. If I wanted to duplicate/replicate an object, group, outline or whatever to a different position – I would just hold alt. and drag it manually.
I agree that there might be some better features in Freehand but for the overall application Illustrator wins so hopefully what comes out of this is that they will add some of these features to Illustrator. I am sure that the reason that they are killing it is that it is not worth the cost to bring the antiquated code up to a level to convert it to a universal app
To place it in front or behind the original object – Sometimes I want it in front and some times in back (all right no smart comments on that please)
If I clone is it on top of the original object of behind?
I am waiting for your reply, real design “professional”.
“Clone” is the same thing as “Copy in Front” or “Copy in Back”
erich is right.