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Adobe
Systems
announced version 7.0 of Adobe Illustrator
software-for Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0,
Macintosh, and Power Macintosh systems.
With this cross-platform release, Adobe
Illustrator delivers complete feature
parity and a virtually identical user
interface across platform versions to
provide users with a seamless workflow
environment. Version 7.0 also emphasises
strong integration with other Adobe
products and offers productivity and
flexibility enhancements, including
improved image handling, RGB colour
support, and easy embedding of URLs in
artwork for Web publishing. Adobe
Illustrator 7.0 is expected to ship in May
1997 at an average streetprice of
£295 + VAT, upgrades from any
previous version of Adobe Illustrator will
be £85 + VAT.
"Business
professionals and graphic designers
looking to develop high-impact graphics
rely on Adobe Illustrator day in and day
out to get the job done," said Bryan
Lamkin, vice president of product
marketing, graphics products division.
"With the focus on a strong cross-platform
release and solid integration with the
recently released Photoshop and PageMaker,
Adobe Illustrator 7.0 delivers on Adobe's
commitment to provide the preeminent
professional publishing solution for both
Windows and Macintosh customers."
Adobe Systems
Announces Adobe Illustrator Version 7.0
for Windows and Macintosh Seamless
Integration Integration among applications
is important to graphics users, so Adobe
Illustrator 7.0 helps customers work more
quickly and productively across Adobe
applications by supporting the same menu
structure, palettes, and keyboard
shortcuts as Adobe Photoshop 4.0 and Adobe
PageMaker 6.5 software. Customers will
appreciate the short learning curve and
instant familiarity with the Adobe
graphics product family as they move
smoothly from one program to another,
keeping their focus on the design and not
the process. Adobe Illustrator also
incorporates the acclaimed tabbed palettes
first introduced in Photoshop 3.0, which
allow users to customise their workspace;
version 7.0 even includes a notable
improvement on these palettes with its
ability to dock palettes together, so they
act as a single unit and help to create a
customised work environment.
"We work constantly
with Illustrator, Photoshop, and
PageMaker," said Hilary Lambert, managing
director of London-based consultancy,
Design Lab. "The shared UI means that we
can learn the updated versions more
quickly, and we can train new designers to
use them more rapidly. It really enhances
our daily work experience as well, because
we can easily move between Adobe programs
while staying focused on the creative
features."
The new version
features a number of other improvements,
such as single-key shortcuts for every
tool,tool tips that inform the user of the
name and shortcut for that tool, and
context-sensitive menus that put commands
within easy reach. Users who specialise in
creating graphics for the World Wide Web
or for film and video will appreciate the
full RGB-colour support that is now built
into the product. With this RGB support,
users can easily work within the colour
gamut of the monitor and popular Web
browsers for superior colour
fidelity.
The Windows and
Macintosh versions of Adobe Illustrator
are fully compatible, so users can work
together without regard for the hardware
platform they are using. Adobe Illustrator
7.0 helps customers working with
international files by including built-in
support for viewing and printing non-Roman
characters, such as Japanese, without
having to switch to a Japanese operating
system or version of Adobe
Illustrator.
Productivity
Enhancements
Adobe Illustrator
7.0 offers graphics software users
significant productivity improvements.
Users will appreciate the improved image
handling, which lets them efficiently
incorporate large raster images as design
elements without any loss of display
speed. The new version also features image
linking capabilities to keep file sizes
small, the ability to embed URLs in
artwork to create client-side or
server-side image maps for the Web, and
colour management support for better
on-screen and printed colour results. To
assist users in designing graphics for the
Web, Adobe Illustrator includes a colour
library containing 216 Web-safe colours.
Adobe Illustrator 7.0 also takes advantage
of new Adobe PostScript 3 capabilities,
delivering smooth shading of gradients for
richer transitions between colours and
faster printing.
Flexibility
Enhancements
Adobe Illustrator
software has always focused on giving
users options, so they can work the way
they want. The new version reinforces this
commitment with a new path-editing feature
called the reshape tool, which helps users
smoothly make global adjustments to paths
without having to adjust individual anchor
points. The built-in, international type
support provides additional benefits for
users of Roman systems by enabling them to
create vertical text and vertical text on
a path; they can now develop precise,
vertical type layouts without the need to
create separate text blocks for each
character. Other flexible type controls
include the ability to create custom
versions of Multiple Master fonts in
real-time as users adjust different design
attributes built into the font. Version
7.0 continues to offer the exceptional
compatibility and extensibility support
that have long been a hallmark of the
program, and now includes full support for
every raster format that Photoshop
supports.
New Features for
Version 4.1 Customers
A full 32-bit
program, Adobe Illustrator 7.0 meets all
of the requirements for Windows 95 and
Windows NT logo compliance. In addition,
the complete feature parity across Windows
and Macintosh versions of the program
means significant new functionality for
Windows users. Now they can enjoy such
preeminent features as multicolour
gradient fills; Character and Paragraph
palettes for applying text attributes; a
Layers palette for creating layers and
managing objects in complex illustrations;
pathfinder filters for creating objects
and effects that would otherwise be
time-consuming or impossible to create;
multiple levels of undo; instant
conversion of artwork to raster images;
built-in colour separations. And, for the
first time, Adobe Illustrator for Windows
will accept all Photoshop-compatible
plug-in filters to instantly create unique
effects and build upon the creative
functionality in Adobe Illustrator.
Added Value
Adobe Illustrator
7.0 ships with 300 Type 1 fonts, the
latest Adobe Acrobat Reader software, and
more than 1,000 pieces of
professional-quality clip art, stock
photographs, templates, and patterns, an
on-line tutorial, and more. The retail
version also includes the Adobe Type On
Call CD-ROM. Microsoft Window 95 and
Windows NT 4.0 Minimum System
Requirements: Intel486 processor, Windows
95 or Windows NT 4.0 operating system, VGA
display card, CD-ROM drive, 16 MB of RAM
installed, and 25 MB of free hard-disk
space for installation.
Pricing and
Availability
Adobe Illustrator
7.0 is expected to be available in May
1997 at an average street price of
£299 + VAT. Registered users of any
version of Adobe Illustrator can upgrade
to version 7.0 for £85 + VAT.
Additionally, for the first 120 days after
shipping, registered users of Adobe
Photoshop for Windows and Adobe PageMaker
for Windows can purchase Adobe Illustrator
7.0 for Windows for only £135 + VAT
from Adobe Direct on 0131 458 6842 or
Adobe Authorised Resellers. Customers who
purchase Adobe Illustrator after 14th
April 1997 will be eligible to receive a
free upgrade within 90 days of version 7.0
becoming available. Further information
available from Adobe Systems on 0181 606
4001.
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