The Bottom Line
- Easy to adjust to from Flash MX.
- Improves on minor flaws in previous versions.
- Intensive focus on developer functionality.
- Additional one-click effects.
- Even more cluttered than Flash MX.
- Some "new" features are frivolous and useless.
- The price tag is hefty for both Basic and Professional.
Description
- Flash 8 offers more advanced controls, streamlining once-complex actions and effects into one click.
- Enhanced video options offer a wide range of codecs and output options previously unavailable.
- Expanded functionality turns Flash 8 into a full-featured graphics editing program.
- Animation and drawing are easier than ever with new visualization tools.
- Actionscripting has new script assists; even beginners can program on an easy learning curve.
Guide Review - Flash Professional 8
My first impression, after trying out the program, was that a great deal of the struggle had been removed from certain functions. Filter effects that were once a "jerry-rig" process are now accomplished automatically with a single click; the Library is now a static panel with improved object tracking. Fonts look crisp without degradation; graphic transitions are now standard; line and fill controls now have more options, and Flash's video capabilities have undergone a complete revolution to turn the program into a full-featured video publishing suite. Even Actionscripting is easier, for developers--with an assist mode that practically completes the scripts for you.
Flash 8 still has a few of the problems of MX. It's still a memory-hog, for one, and although Macromedia touts an improved interface I still find it to be a bit too cluttered and overstuffed. Some of the improvements are just "fluff" that don't really matter, but they're still nice to have. While I would recommend an upgrade to Flash 8 (Professional or Basic) to anyone seeking enhanced video capability, I find that I'm just as comfortable sticking with Flash MX.
