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Provides: Create interactive content for digital, web, and mobile platforms.

Format: DVD

Developer: Adobe

Minimum Requirements: 1GHz G4 PowerPC-based or Mac Intel-based processor, Mac OS X v10.4.8, 512MB RAM, 2.5GB hard disk space, 1,024x768 monitor resolution with 16-bit video card, DVD-ROM drive, QuickTime 7.1.2 for multimedia features, Internet or phone connection for product activation, broadband Internet connection for Adobe Stock Photos and other services, QuickTime 7 for multimedia features

Processor Compatibility: Universal

Retail Price: $699.00 complete; upgrades start at $199.00; Also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3.

Availability: Out now

Version Reviewed: 9.0.0.494

[Note: While putting together the screen captures for this review, it occurred to me that static images of toolbar palettes and option windows don't really tell the tale of Flash. Adobe has posted various feature and UI movies at their site, and I recommend you check those out (click on Feature Tour) to see in action the elements I discuss below.]

When Adobe announced they'd be acquiring Macromedia, Flash is the one program about which I had no consternation. Adobe had to keep Flash on the market, and they had to get it right. Flash has become so valuable to media creators, so important to the web and other platforms, that to imagine content development without it is to imagine...well, there's no accurate analogy. It just has to be there.

With no doubt Adobe would do the right thing, I'm still pleased to report they did...pretty much straight across the board. It's the kind of update we all wanted from Macromedia, but were beginning to doubt we'd ever get.

It goes without saying that Flash CS3 is tightly integrated into the Creative Suite 3 family, but I'll say it, anyway. Although Macromedia brought us decent Photoshop and Illustrator support in the past, they obviously just couldn't do it as well as Adobe could from underneath their own umbrella. Flash CS3 users can import Photoshop and Illustrator files with layers and such intact, but it's more than that; these elements can be edited from within Flash, as well. When you import or simply drag and drop a Photoshop or Illustrator file into your Flash workspace, a dialogue box opens to allow you control over how Flash will handle the item.

The integration goes deeper than that, however. Many of the keyboard shortcuts are now in line with those of Photoshop and Illustrator. Although this can be a bit confusing at first for long-time Flash users, it's a welcome change for those who have been using Flash beside the Adobe products.

It's the Illustrator integration that really makes the most sense, though. Back when I first took a look at Macromedia Studio, integration between Flash and Freehand was key, as their shared vector images were a key part of the workflow. With the loss of Freehand, many designers jumped over to Illustrator, and that integration with Flash has jumped over as well. They now share many of the same tools, so those familiar with Illustrator will find it intuitive to work directly in Flash.

Many of an Illustrator file's attributes are preserved in Flash: layers (including opacity), groups, gradients, type, etc. This is good, but wouldn't be a big deal if there wasn't a reason to keep these elements intact. There is. Flash's drawing tools, for example, are right there with those of Illustrator CS3, making it easy to further edit your files without having to go back to Illustrator.

As with Fireworks CS3, Flash CS3 supports 9-slice scaling, allowing users to not only determine which parts of an object are to scale, but also how they're scaled (vertically only, for example). If you define the scaling controls in Illustrator or Fireworks, they're preserved when you bring that item into Flash.

Flash Video has also been improved. This is good to see, as FLV is on its way to becoming the most widely accepted video format on the web. Users can choose between the On2 VP6 or Sorenson Spark codecs when generating FLV files, and compatibility with QuickTime has been improved. With the tools included in Flash CS3, users can convert their QuickTime movies to FLV files, and can export SWF files as QuickTime videos. Various filters and effects can be preserved and even determined during this process. And when you're done, the resulting videos can be skinned for a customized appearance.

As with other products in the Creative Suite, Flash CS3 supports Device Central, which allows users to preview/test their files for devices that take advantage of Flash Lite: cell phones, MP3 players, etc. You can't fix any problems you find in Device Central, but it's fantastic for pinpointing problems as you go, saving you the trouble of finding/fixing glitches and bugs at the end of a project when the deadline looms.

Although I've been using Flash for some time now, I have yet to dig too deeply into the ActionScript capabilities, robust as they may be. Adobe wants to help me get there, though, by including ActionScript 3.0 components. These are prebuilt user interface and video components that not only allow you to get through your projects faster, but are very helpful in showing you how ActionScript 3.0 works. Many experienced designers will bypass this option, but it helps new users get results from the program more quickly. In other words, the power remains, but it's now much more accessible to beginners. Another example is that Flash CS3 behaves like Dreamweaver when writing code; as you type, available options pop up from which you can select, so you can see what you're doing and how it affects your document. Even better, a debuggers allows you test your content as you progress, and reports errors back to you.

The speed increase in Flash CS3 is welcome for Intel users, especially, but Flash never really suffered from the performance problems that other Macromedia programs saw—specifically Dreamweaver and Fireworks. You'll want to be sure you have at least 1GB RAM to get the best performance, and those still on the PowerPC will be left wondering why Adobe didn't do much to speed up Flash. They did, just not for you.

There are two categories of users who will definitely want to update to Flash CS3, if they haven't already: those with Intel-based Macs, and those who frequently incorporate Illustrator and/or Photoshop into their workflow. There's a good number of upgrades for everyone else; not significant on their own, perhaps, but very muchso in quantity. For details on these, visit the Flash CS3 feature page to check out what I didn't cover here. After a few minutes, you'll likely feel as I do; that with Adobe, Flash is in capable hands.

See other Adobe CS3 reviews.