Macromedia Studio 8
Web development suite features program upgrades and tight integration
by David Karlins, David Sawyer McFarland, Abigail Rudner, Macworld.com
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Macromedia is now distributing Studio 8—probably the final release of its popular Web design and creation software before the company is integrated into Adobe. For several years, since the launch of its MX suite, Macromedia has tried to make its Web creation tools—Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, and Contribute—more interoperable and suite-like, and the result is now tighter integration between the programs in Studio 8 than ever before.
In addition, each program within the suite has heightened capabilities, appealing to users of Studio 8’s component programs. FlashPaper is now available for the Mac, too, as part of Contribute 3, which is also a part of Studio 8. Macromedia has priced Studio 8 upgrades simply: If you own a previous version of Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash or Freehand, you can upgrade to Macromedia Studio 8 for $399.
- Macromedia Studio 8
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Dreamweaver 8
If Adobe’s purchase of Macromedia proceeds as planned, Dreamweaver 8 is the last version of the program to be produced under the Macromedia banner. It is also the best version to date.
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Flash Professional 8
Flash Professional 8 constitutes a leap in the evolutionary chain for Macromedia’s Web video and animation authoring program; it provides significant enhancements in scripting, graphical effects, Web-video display, and development of media destined for mobile devices.
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FlashPaper 2
FlashPaper 2, part of the Macromedia Studio 8’s version of Contribute 3, allows you to effortlessly convert Microsoft Office documents to Flash (SWF) files.
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Contribute 3
Contribute 3 is a significant evolution of Macromedia᾿s Web-page editor, delivering substantial performance improvements and expanded administrative controls.
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Fireworks 8
If you are the type of designer who can hand over your layout to others to slice and code, than maybe you can afford not to use Fireworks. But if you are a designer who must code pages and sites, or an engineer who works extensively with rich Web site content, there’s no substitute for Fireworks 8.
Web development suite features program upgrades and tight integration
