What is Aldus FreeHand 3.0 + 3.1?

Choosing between FreeHand and Adobe Illustrator has never been easy, and FreeHand 3.0 makes the choice even more difficult. Faster screen redraws make the new version more responsive than previous versions. And although FreeHand may not offer as many extra features as Illustrator does, the new version’s streamlined interface makes it easier to use than Illustrator in all areas except text editing.

More Palette-able

FreeHand 3.0 builds on the powerful base of version 2.0, which offered autotracing, freehand drawing, and multiple undos and redos of up to 99 previous steps (see Quick Clicks, June ’89, page 45). But rather than add a slew of new features to version 3.0. Aldus has wisely concentrated on making it easier to use FreeHand’s existing features, by improving the program’s interface. Three new palettes — Layers, Colors, and Styles — play a key role in this effort.

Perhaps more than any other enhancement, the new Layers palette improves FreeHand’s functionality and ease of use. The program’s layering functions were already renowned, but Aldus hits made them more accessible and easier to use by letting you control them with an on-screen palette. Once image elements have been attached to layers, you use the Layers palette to control their visibility as well as whether they print or not.

One decided advantage FreeHand 3.0 has over Adobe Illustrator is that FreeHand 3.0 lets you edit your drawing in Preview mode. The Layers palette is especially useful here. If you want to edit a drawing element that is partially obscured by other layers, you can make the other layers invisible simply by clicking on the check marks next to their names in the Layers palette. You can also click through objects to select underlying layers by holding down the Option key when you click.

The new Styles palette provides a fast and easy way to name and edit selected line and fill styles without numerous trips to the menu bar. You apply the styles simply by selecting objects and then clicking on the appropriate style name on the Styles palette. The convenience of this approach is obvious when you consider how complex styles can be. For example, a style called My Arrow could be a 3.5-point line with a red fill and an arrowhead pointing right (predefined arrowheads are also new). Editing this style is as easy as double-clicking on its name on the palette and adjusting the settings in the resulting pop-up dialog box.

Version 2.0 forced users to plow through multiple menu commands to create and apply colors to elements, but FreeHand 3.0 uses an on-screen palette of colors that’s always accessible. The palette displays a swatch of each color for reference. Version 2.0 supported all standard color systems — Pantone, spot, and process — and the addition of the Colors palette makes it easier to assign, edit, and name colors.

Too Easy

At times, you may find that the palettes make it too easy to assign styles or layers to objects. The manual wisely advises users to get into the habit of pressing Tab (which deselects all objects) before switching layers, to avoid accidentally moving selections to new layers. Another problem is that it's too easy to click on the check mark (which makes a layer invisible) rather than the layer name (which makes the layer active).

Also new in version 3.0 is the ability to display, separate, and print 32-bit TIFF images. For high-end color processing, you can now create color EPS files that are compatible with the OPI (Open Prepress Interface) system, which includes systems made by Linotype-Hell and Crosfield.

Unfortunately, the new version offers no improvement in FreeHand's text editing. You must still use a dialog box to enter and edit text. Illustrator 3.0, on the other hand, no longer uses this cumbersome method.

Several new text enhancements are worth mentioning, however. You can now convert Adobe Type 1 and Fontographer Type 3 fonts to fully editable outlines, as long as the downloadable font file is in your System Folder. Another improvement is that you can display PostScript text effects such as zoom and shadow. Most programs make you wait until you print to see these effects. The newer version also lets you improve screen-red raw performance by specifying “greek" text. Still lacking, however, are sophisticated text-handling features such as Illustrator's text-block linking.

Get With the Group

FreeHand 3.0 makes it easy to deal with grouped objects. For example, you can apply styles, tills, lines, colors, and type attributes to a group. Even better, you can use Option-click to select a member of a group without first ungrouping. For some users, this feature alone is worth the upgrade price.

Aldus has also improved the program's performance by eliminating the annoying flicker that occurred in previous versions whenever you dragged objects across the screen. In addition, the program also delivers more precision: You can now specify object placement in increments as small as 1/10,000 of a point.

The user guide and tutorial manual arc excellent. The documentation includes a 70-page booklet on using FreeHand for commercial printing and an 8-page card on color trapping. New context-sensitive on-line help is another welcome addition to FreeHand 3.0.

There is a small price to pay for the improvements in FreeHand 3.0: The program no longer runs on 1-megabyte machines. The minimum configuration is 2 megabytes of RAM, although Aldus recommends 4 megabytes.

The Bottom Line

It's a refreshing change to see a software developer avoid the features war and concentrate instead on maximizing the functionality of existing tools. FreeHand 3.0's time-saving palettes are a welcome addition that sharpen the effectiveness of the program's layering, color, and style functions. In addition, version 3.0 offers improved performance and precision that place it on a par with the Mac's other premier illustration package, Adobe Illustrator. Although Illustrator's text-handling features continue to surpass those of FreeHand, only FreeHand offers designers and illustrators the convenience of editing in Preview mode. Illustrator, on the other hand, still requires separate windows for drawing and previewing.

All in all, no FreeHand user should be without version 3.0. And Illustrator users should give Aldus' package a long, hard look to see what they're missing.

Vuliulis, Dave. (July 1991). FreeHand 3.0. MacUser. (pgs. 58-59).

Download Aldus FreeHand 3.0 + 3.1 for Mac

Architecture

Motorola 68K

Compatibility notes

Emulating this? It could probably run under: Basilisk II