*** From the Archives ***
This article is from April 15, 2003, and is no longer current.
The Creative Toolbox: FreeHand MX Integrates and Innovates
When Mac OS X was first released in 2001, one of the first core graphics applications to run on it was FreeHand 10. That’s just one of the “firsts” FreeHand has brought to the market throughout its history: it was one of the first popular illustration products to offer layers and the work-in-preview mode way back in version 3; and it was also one of the first illustration products to offer transparency capabilities and true multiple page support (of varied sizes even). Other packages such as CorelDRAW and Deneba Canvas could arguably challenge Freehand for some of these firsts, but FreeHand’s status as a more popular product in the graphics industry made these features must-haves, often forcing competitive products to follow suit. FreeHand has definitely paved the way for innovative features in an illustration application.
Now with version 11, also known as FreeHand MX, Macromedia has given FreeHand the full MX treatment. Bearing Macromedia’s MX suffix not only promises a unified, consistent user experience and tighter integration with other MX products, but also better support for current operating systems, such as Mac OS X and Windows XP.
Macromedia also decided to include FreeHand MX as part of Macromedia Studio MX, making this offering of the Macromedia product suite even, um, sweeter than it was before. Full versions of just about every new product bearing the MX name (except Director MX) are now included with Studio MX. But whether you’re deciding to upgrade your version of FreeHand or considering buying it for the first time as part of the suite, you need to know what else is new to this release other than its name.
Getting Objective about Things
One of the major pain-points when building a moderately complex piece of artwork with an illustration product is managing all the hundreds of objects that make up the file. Layers help relieve this problem, but when you start building up objects to create a certain effect, you find yourself constantly grouping, ungrouping, selecting, and locking, which makes layers not all that helpful. Macromedia seems to have recognized this as a problem and offered up a solution in the form of the new Object panel.
Borrowing to some extent from Adobe Illustrator’s Appearance palette that lets you to work with multiple effects simultaneously, the Object panel in FreeHand MX allows you to manage multiple attributes of an object. That’s right, now almost any object can have multiple attributes assigned to it — strokes, fills, effects, etc. Changing the stacking order of these attributes affects the overall appearance of the object allowing for far greater flexibility and control than ever before (see Figure 1). For example, it’s possible to set the fill of an object as transparent yet leave the stroke solid. Unfortunately, this level of control and its inherent complexity can quickly become overwhelming, although Macromedia does a reasonable job of handling the user-interface challenge by using an outline-like control akin to the folder structure in an operating system file list.
Figure 1: The new Object panel allows for multiple attributes to be applied to a single object. As a result, managing built-up effects becomes, well, manageable.
The Object panel also includes an assortment of new effects — raster effects such as blur, shadow, and transparency, and a handful of vector-based effects — that can be applied to an object many times over. What makes these effects so compelling is that they remain editable. Not happy with the amount of blur you assigned an object? Just select the Blur attribute in the Object panel and adjust it (see Figure 2). Although Illustrator has similar functionality, many Photoshop users are programmed into thinking once a raster effect is applied, it’s applied for good (or bad). That’s not the case with FreeHand.
Figure 2: New live effects (both vector and raster or bitmap-based) are available from a button menu within the Objects panel.
The Object panel and its underlying functionality is one of the more compelling tools in FreeHand MX. The biggest issue I found with the Object panel is an apparent overlap of functionality in transparency settings. The new Transparency effect under the Object panel works as expected, yet it appears to create an effect identical to the older Lens transparency option found in the Fill properties menu. Longtime expert FreeHand users may understand the subtle differences between these two options, but I imagine this will surely confuse others.
Sketching with FreeHand
FreeHand MX is a very versatile, accommodating application. If you’re faced with an extraordinary task, chances are FreeHand has a tool, command, or Xtra (Macromedia’s term for plug-ins) to help accomplish it. The product sometimes blurs the lines of what an illustration package should reasonably handle. For example, FreeHand’s ability to include support for multiple pages with various sizes in one document is something the major page-layout applications still don’t offer.
This trend of offering unique tools continues with this release. FreeHand MX includes an assortment of new tools to aid in the production of quick comps to finals and other needs along the way. Here’s a brief rundown of the some of its new, productive tools.
Connector Lines Tool The Connector Lines tool allows you to produce diagrams effortlessly (see Figure 3). Until now, Windows users had Visio to turn to for this type of work while Mac users were left using lesser-known products or manually creating diagrams in FreeHand or Illustrator. In FreeHand, dragging a connector line between two objects assigns the relationship. The lines dynamically update whenever moving or transforming the objects. Anyone producing site maps, information architectures, or organizational charts will want to take advantage of this new tool right away.
Figure 3: The Connector Lines tool makes quick work out of site maps, information architectures, etc. Connector lines become dynamically linked between the two objects.
Action Tool Roughing out an interactive presentation or Web site is usually as difficult and involved as producing the final product. FreeHand MX offers the new Action tool for producing this type of comp (see Figure 4). You click on a source object with the Action tool then drag a link to a target page to easily set up ActionScript-based navigation and other common commands. These links can be tested directly within FreeHand as a Flash movie or saved out for further editing in Macromedia Flash MX itself. Assembling a click-thru for a presentation or an interaction has never been as quick or easy.
Figure 4: Comping a click-thru interaction is just a matter of clicking and linking to another page with the new Action tool.
Extrusion, Eraser, and Blend A crop of other tools have made their way into the toolbar. The Extrusion tool offers basic 3D effects (see Figure 5); the Eraser tool lets you selectively remove portions of a path or object as you would in an image editing application; and the Blend tool brings intuitive drag-between-creation and live-updating of blends. Change the appearance of object’s endpoint and the blend updates automatically. Sure, many of these tools probably won’t find their way into your typical workday, but it’s good to know that they’re there when you need them.
Figure 5: Here you can see the Extrude tool in action. It even works on live text — no need to convert to paths. Just drag the 3D box out from your shape and viola, extruded artwork appears.
Integrating MX-Style
What is the impact of bearing the MX brand for FreeHand, anyway? And what does it mean for its users? (A thought: What will all these companies do once their “X” versions hit a next major release? Windows XP, Mac OS X, Macromedia MX products all have to face this interesting branding/naming dilemma one day.)
In the case of FreeHand, “MX” symbolizes a consistent yet customizable interface with dockable panels. Common tools and key commands also work the same across the MX product line. If you use one Macromedia MX product then you should feel right at home when you launch another MX-branded product. Other software companies realized application consistency was a good idea quite some time ago. It’s good to see Macromedia making a concerted effort to do the same and holding itself to it.
FreeHand MX’s user experience is consistent with other MX applications but the inter-operability doesn’t stop there. Just as using the same brand of shampoo and conditioner is often suggested for best results, Macromedia touts superior integration between FreeHand and other MX applications. FreeHand MX offers a slew of features to play well with Flash MX, Macromedia’s popular vector-based animation application.
Not only can you quickly comp a Flash-based site using FreeHand’s new Action tool as mentioned earlier, you can also count on your transparencies and FreeHand symbol libraries to import into Flash MX without a hitch. Layers, blends, and text created in FreeHand can now be released into individual steps, ready for export as frames. Pages can be mapped to Flash’s scenes (see Figure 6). Flash can even open native FreeHand files. The list goes on. If you are a Flash producer and you haven’t grown too attached to another illustration application, FreeHand MX would serve you well for your vector content creation.
Figure 6: When importing a native FreeHand file into Flash MX, you’re presented a multitude of options.
More inroads have also been made to Macromedia’s other MX products. For example, you can import Fireworks native PNG files into FreeHand and vector objects and text remain editable. Fireworks MX can open FreeHand native files and be used to edit and optimize bitmaps used within FreeHand by simply clicking a button (see Figures 7 and 8). Speaking of bitmaps, FreeHand MX provides full import and display of the alpha channels (transparency) used in PNG, GIF, TIFF and Photoshop (PSD) formats All this integration between the MX product line is proof that Macromedia isn’t just putting out marketing statements when they state their products are fully integrated. They have certainly done their homework to make the products talk to each other wherever it makes sense.
Figure 7: Bitmap artwork can make a roundtrip from FreeHand to Fireworks MX for editing with just a click of a button. Notice the option to display the alpha channels and transparent options.
Figure 8: Once you finish editing your bitmap artwork in Fireworks MX, clicking the Done button takes you back into FreeHand MX.
Final Thoughts MX
After spending time with FreeHand MX, I was left with some interesting impressions. What I noticed the most was how crammed full of tools and features FreeHand has become. Everything and the kitchen sink appear to have been included into FreeHand over the years. This may be great for the users out there who need a truly versatile application that has just about every widget packed into it to handle any situation that comes up. Nevertheless, for most of us, I feel this approach ends up making the product feel cluttered and clumsy to use at times.
Just because you can put everything and the kitchen sink into a product, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Nonetheless, some users might appreciate this approach while others may find it off-putting. This keep-everything approach also seems to have new features overlapping with older ones, such as the Lens fill/Transparency quandary noted earlier, or the Blend tool that shows up in the main toolbar compared to the Blend tool that is available from the Xtra Operations toolbar. Different icons, slightly different results, yet the tools share the same name and function (see Figure 9). Confusing? Most definitely.
Figure 9: This is the Blend tool issue I mention. The Blend tool on the left exists on the main toolbar while the one on the right can be found in the Xtra Operations toolbar. These same labeled actions yield slightly different results.
However, these quirks shouldn’t completely deter you from considering FreeHand MX as your illustration application of choice. The new tools are interesting to say the least and the preview-able pen tool makes putting down bezier paths less of a struggle. Multiple-page and master-page support lets FreeHand operate part-time as a page-layout application when needed (see Figure 10). If you’re on a budget and need a Swiss-Army-type application, FreeHand MX a good choice. Even better, think about buying the whole product suite, Studio MX, and you won’t have to worry about missing an essential tool.
Figure 10: Is it an illustration application or a page-layout application? With FreeHand MX beefed up multiple-page and master-page support, it makes it even harder to decide.
In Conclusion
So is FreeHand MX a worthwhile upgrade? If you already own FreeHand 10 or Studio MX, consider whether the new set of features, interface, and integration improvements add up to an upgrade you truly need. If you’re a producer of Web or Flash content, and looking to add a versatile, integrated vector application to your collection, FreeHand MX should be top on your list.
For those breaking onto the scene of print and interactive content creation with the emphasis on “interactive,” I strongly suggest checking out Studio MX. For $899 you get FreeHand MX and just about every other major application Macromedia offers. Windows users get a special edition “Plus” version that includes Windows-only Contribute, DevNet, and Cold Fusion Developer Edition. Dreamweaver and Flash are two of the standout applications in this suite with FreeHand and Fireworks rounding out the set.
FreeHand MX certainly continues to push the boundaries of what an illustration application is. Sharing a consistent user interface framework with the rest of the MX family is good, but the application feels cluttered and confusing as features and tools get piled up on old ones. Nonetheless, it’s hard to discount the fact that this application is truly versatile.
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Since the release of Adobe Illustrator 9 i was very worried about the lack of creative innovation on Freehand 9. I was waiting with hope that Freehand 10 offered all the transparencies, gradient mesh, the same kind of colour management with proof colour, overprint previews and other stuffthat is present in AI. Illustrator 10 pushed further more with warp distortions like gradient mesh, lens flare, etc.
With the release of FreeHand MX i’ve found more good stuff but its still lacking the creative capacities of Illustrator 10 and soon became a disappointment. Mx has the new raster effects but its poor comparing with AI. No blending modes like multiply is not a good thing. Raster effects looks strange in MX when we magnify up things.
I make a question:
Which of the two produces the best printed results with the transparencies, blurs, drop shadows, feathers, bevels and stuff like these?
I think that now is a very good time to make a comparative degree with FH Mx and AI10. I’m a long time Freehand user (not ever AI user) and i’m a little disappointed with the “graphic design for print” offer provided by Macromedia (that seems looking only for web graphics). I’m now looking very deeply to change to only Adobe apps, which still looks for the print graphics way.
A. Paulo Ferreira – Portugal
Both applications are excellent for prepress print. FreeHand has even the advantage that you can connect it with a film development device and print out films for prepress directly.
However, most ad agencies and print shops work with Illustrator, not because it is better, just because they’re used to it and FreeHand doesn’t convert to Illustrator very well, and the other way around.
So my advice would be: Use them both.
Another thing about the article: FreeHand MX is not so compatible with Flash MX as you would think. In fact, I was quite shocked at the diffence of colour from one app to the other, making sure that I worked with rgb colours.