4.1, with its much smaller feature set, lags dismally behind CorelDraw, which commands three-quarters of the market.
In version 7.0, Adobe has created a common code base for both platforms, resulting in virtually complete feature parity for the Mac, Windows 95, and NT. You can now move files seamlessly between the Mac and Windows, a boon for designers and service bureaus that work with files from multiple sources.
Adobe has gone to great lengths to integrate Illustrator 7.0 with Photoshop 4.0 and PageMaker 6.5. You can drag and drop elements between the three, and they all now have a unified interface design that includes similar menus, floating toolbar, shared keyboard instructions, and tabbed palettes in containers that can be docked and, in the case of Illustrator, grouped and minimized.
High-resolution raster images display considerably faster than before, and you can now link bit-map images to disk files, greatly reducing Illustrator file sizes. Files can be in a wide variety of formats, including EPS, DXF, BMP, TIFF, TGA, and PICT. You can also rasterize vector artwork for export to image editing
programs, and you can create URL-embedded GIF89a files in Illustrator and export them into Web-page design programs.
New precision features include a Transform palette with numeric feedback for object locations on a page, nonprinting grids and guides, and up to 200 levels of undo and redo. There are new palettes for layers, color swatches, and gradient fill types, and the character and paragraph palettes offer very precise control over all aspects of text placement and size.
A new reshape tool globally adjusts any path or paths without loss of detail, and regardless of the number of anchor points. You can attach horizontal or
vertical text
to paths of any shape. Pathfinder filters can create Boolean shapes using Unite, Exclude, Divide, and Front Minus Back filters, and you can hide paths to isolate areas of a complex composition.
Illustrator 7.0 excels at high-quality color output, thanks in part to built-in color trapping information that is saved automatically in I
llustrator Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files that you can transfer to other printing applications. Also included are built-in color separations and color profiles for common output devices. Illustrator now supports the RGB color space, effectively extending the program's range beyond traditional CMYK color print publishing to Web and video publication.
Illustrator still lacks some important features that its competition has, such as brushstrokes on paths, text autocorrect, macro scripting, and the ability to export HTML files. Nevertheless, Illustrator 7.0 is an extremely powerful and feature-laden drawing and composition program that artists, ad agencies, and design firms working in all media will want in their imaging arsenals.
Product Information
Adobe Illustrator 7.0.......................................$595
(for Windows 95, NT 4.0, Macintosh, and Power Mac)
Adobe Systems
San Jose, CA
Phone: 800-833
-6687
Phone: 408-536-6000
Internet:
http://www.adobe.com
Circle 1034 on Inquiry Card.
Adobe Nails a Hat Trick
