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Adobe Creative Suite 2 

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High-end graphics applications are generally expensive. Adobe offers you the opportunity to purchase three of its titles for around the price of one with its Creative Suite title.

Around two years ago Adobe came to the conclusion that what was suitable for office applications would also be appropriate for graphics applications. As a result the company decided to integrate its various graphics titles into a single offering and so Creative Suite was born. Following the successful launch of the original offering, we now have Creative Suite version2 (CS2) which is available in Standard and Premium editions. This review is based on the Standard package.

Of all the applications making up this suite, the one with the highest profile is Photoshop. Even though this title leads the field in photo editing, Adobe obviously felt that there are areas that could benefit from improvements and has come up with a number of enhancements and new features. One feature that appealed particular to me, and also appeared in various guises in the other applications, is the ability to save combinations of elements as named work spaces which could be re-used whenever needed.

A new red-eye tool allows for single click removal and you can adjust the size and shade of the pupil. The Spot Healing brush can be used to remove blemishes and other unwanted items. The Image Warp option provides the means to create 3D objects from a 2D source and a Vanishing Point filter proves useful when working with perspective. The Free Transform tool now has a Warp mode with 15 pre-set envelope-based distortions and also allows you create your own customised offerings. Other new features include a Reduce Noise filter; Smart Sharpen command; WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) font preview; multiple layer selection; and a new range of video-based actions and event-based scripting.

Illustrator is Adobe's vector drawing application. This latest version allows you to save palette arrangements but, unlike Photoshop, does not include shortcuts or menus in this otherwise useful feature. Setting up objects has been made simpler by the introduction of a context-sensitive Control palette. This feature gives access to settings relating to items such as fill and stroke colour, outline width, brush, opacity and size.

Live is a feature which plays an important role in Illustrator CS2. If you have ever struggled to convert a bitmap image into a vector graphic then you will really appreciate the product's Live Trace feature which makes this a relatively easy task. As the conversion creates a live link between the bitmap and vector copy, then any changes to the original will be reflected in the copy. Live Trace has 13 pre-set tracing options and allows for a manual approach.

Another live feature is that of Live Paint. Previously it had been complicated task, if not in some cases almost impossible, to fill an area bounded by lines that were not originally connected. Now with Live Paint you can select these lines and have them automatically connected before applying the fill. Again, as this is a live feature, any future editing will be compensated for by the software.

Providing the DTP (Desktop Publishing) capabilities of this suite is InDesign. Working closely with the other two main applications, InDesign can switch layer visibility on or off. It has excellent text handling features including drag & drop placement; dynamic spell checking; WYSIWYG font sampling; options for working with tables; and a new Word/RTF import filter that can map styles. Accurate page layout has been improved with the ability to specify baseline grids at text-based frame level and you can convert frames from one shape to another.

An Object style palette can be used to save any combination of object-level formatting settings as a named style. These settings can include fills, corner effects, transparency, text and anchored frame settings. For individual or selection of elements that you wish to save and re-use later, there is a Snippets feature.

Helping provide the close integration between the various applications is Adobe Bridge. This is a browsing and management tool for various graphical assets. Support is available for all Adobe file formats plus other graphic formats and the ubiquitous Microsoft Office files.

With the aid of a slider bar, you can adjust the size of image thumbnail previews of files. Bridge allows you to search using metadata plus browse stock image sites before downloading free low resolution images for checking before purchasing the high resolution version. Files can be saved as groups and then reloaded as required. A Compact Mode allows Bridge to act as a floating palette, making it easier to drag and drop files between the various applications.

The original Creative Suite introduced Version Cue which also acts as a file management tool. A new version of this software is included in CS2. Unlike Bridge, which is better suited to the individual user, Version Cue is more workgroup orientated. It allows work to be tracked and reviewed; new versions to be created; and manages control over who has access and editing rights to various files.

While the cost of CS2, at £786, might seem high, you do have to consider the price of the individual applications. Photoshop is priced at £516, Illustrator at £511 and In Design at £716. This means you are getting excellent value with CS2 but only if you make full use of the various applications. All things considered, CS2 consists of a powerful combination of applications that is more suited to a professional rather than casual user.

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/creativesuite/main.html

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