April 4
Illustrator gets Major Revision
Version 9 to ship the quarter

by David Nagel
Senior Producer

Adobe Systems Inc. has brought its Illustrator design software to version 9. The upgrade, which is expected to ship this quarter, is geared more toward the Web than previous versions, with support for vector output in Flash and Scalable Vector Graphics formats. Graphics can be exported in their entirety to a single Flash file, with each layer included as a separate frame, or they can be exported so that each layer is saved as a separate Flash file. Other features include:

  • A pixel preview, which allows users to specify pixels as a global measurement unit.
  • Instant drop shadows and glows.
  • Opacity and layer masks, which allow users to use shapes to hide or reveal objects (pictured).
  • Transparency settings for individual objects.
  • Feathering
  • Overprint preview.
  • Non-destructive effects for objects, type and bitmapped images.
  • A Styles palette for creating appearances that can be applied to multiple objects.
  • Enhanced layer controls, including nesting ad the ability to reorganize layers by dragging them in the Layers palette.
  • Native support for PDF.
  • Expanded file support, including any version of Illustrator, EPS, PDF, Photoshop 2.5 and later, CorelDraw 5.0 and later, Amiga IFF, BMP, CGM, DWG, DXF, EMF/WMF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, Kodak Photo CD, PICT, PCX, PXR, TGA and TIFF. Illustrator can export to the following formats: Illustrator, EPS, PDF, Flash (SWF), SVG, GIF, JPEG, PNG, Photoshop (including layers), Amiga IFF, BMP, CGM (version 1), EMF/WMF, DWG, DXF, PICT, PCX, PXR, TGA and TIFF. It can also open and place Microsoft Word (Office 97 and later) documents and export text in TXT format.

The new Illustrator is expected to ship this quarter for $399. Shortly after the launch, a new version of Adobe's Web Collection will also be available. It will include GoLive 5.0 (which also launched today), Illustrator 9, LiveMotion 1.0 and Photoshop 5.5. It will retail for $999. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com.

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