2003-02-10.10

Posted on Monday, February 10, 2003 08:18 AM -0500

Macromedia Delivers Freehand MX

New Version Adopts Streamlined User Interface, Increases Macromedia Flash MX Integration

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10 - Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:MACR) today announced the immediate availability of Macromedia(R) FreeHand(R) MX, the multi-publishing solution for conceptualizing and designing visually rich graphics for print, the Internet, and Macromedia Flash(TM) projects. FreeHand MX includes the streamlined Macromedia MX interface, new productivity tools and panels, improved Mac OS X performance, and increased integration with Macromedia Flash MX. Macromedia FreeHand MX is available for immediate download from the Macromedia Online Store at http://www.macromedia.com/go/buyfhmx/ .

"Macromedia FreeHand MX enables graphic designers to streamline their workflow and easily move from concept to design to production in a single file, multi-page environment, empowering them to meet today's needs of doing more with less," said Norm Meyrowitz, president of products, Macromedia. "Macromedia Freehand MX contains a powerful set of illustration and design tools to help users realize their creative vision, whether the end result is print, the web, or a Macromedia Flash MX project."

Macromedia FreeHand MX continues the product's rich heritage of solving design problems for graphic designers and illustrators by providing a streamlined workflow that enables users to create their artwork once and then easily repurpose it to work across multiple media. FreeHand MX provides everything necessary for storyboarding, creative design, multi-page document production, and editing.

"Working on deadline for a newspaper, we need to produce complex graphics quickly. The powerful new features of FreeHand MX make that task easier," said R. Scott Horner, assistant graphics director, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "The live raster effects such as shadows on text and the support of transparent PNG images means our print graphics look even better -- with little to no increase in our production time. This is a major upgrade."

The inclusion of the Macromedia MX user interface increases efficiency and productivity, by enabling users to work smoothly across Macromedia Studio MX applications. The new Object panel automatically shows all properties that can be inspected and changed for a selected object. Multiple Attributes enables users to apply and order an unlimited number of strokes, fills, and effects to a single vector or text object, which can also be used across multiple copies of an object. Users can also apply live vector and raster effects like bevel, blur, and transparency to objects, as well as quickly reshape graphic primitives while still maintaining their editability. Drag and drop ActionScript navigation commands with the Action tool simplify the creation of hot-linked graphics. Macromedia FreeHand MX is also optimized for Mac OS X to take advantage of the latest features and enhancements to Apple's operating system. For information on the new features in FreeHand MX, visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/fhmxnew/ .

In addition to the user interface enhancements, Macromedia FreeHand MX is tightly integrated with other Macromedia MX products. Users can import, place, and preview Macromedia Flash (SWF) files within a FreeHand document, and can edit the file in Macromedia Flash MX using the Object panel. FreeHand also imports Macromedia Fireworks(R) MX PNG files and keeps the objects and text editable. Both Macromedia Flash MX and Fireworks MX can also directly open FreeHand MX files.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Macromedia FreeHand MX is available for immediate download today from the Macromedia Online Store
( http://www.macromedia.com/store/ ). Macromedia FreeHand MX is priced at $399, with upgrades from FreeHand 9.X at $149, and upgrades from FreeHand 10.X or Macromedia Studio MX at $99. Localized versions in French, German, Japanese, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian will be available at a later date. Education, government, and volume licensing is available.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Experience matters. Macromedia, Inc. is motivated by the belief that great experiences build great businesses. Our software empowers millions of business users, developers, and designers to create and deliver effective, compelling and memorable experiences -- on the Internet, on fixed media, on wireless, and on digital devices.

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