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by Nathan Lindsey
4 Geeks
Approachable. Creative. Standard. These three words
have become the mantra of Macromedia's Flash 5. They are also the
ideal that this latest edition of the highly successful Flash
series strives for. Has it succeeded? Yes, in part.
If you've spent any time on the web at all, you've
seen Flash in action. It is the format of choice for many high-traffic,
high-profile sites including Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, and Nike.
Flash allows users to create Web sites which are dynamic, interactive,
and visually stunning. Soon after its release, Flash 4 became
the tool for creating graphically appealing Web sites.
Currently 35% of the top 50 sites in the world are Macromedia
Flash-enabled. Now Macromedia seeks to improve on its highly successful
product with the September release of Flash 5.
So what did they change? The only truly new features of Flash 5 that was present in any of its previous incarnations are support for Bezier Pen tools, MP3 Import, and Shared Symbol Libraries. The Bezier Pen tools allow designers to use intuitive natural drawing tools. MP3 Import eliminates the inconvenience of having to convert sound files in order to import them into Flash 5. Shared Symbol Libraries allow
one to organize and reuse shared products across a single project
more easily. These shared symbols only have to be downloaded once,
reducing download times and improving the overall viewing experience. Aside from those, the rest of Flash 5's changes are geared toward improving the usability of the programs interface.
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Flash 5 has been designed
for use by those who have no previous Flash experience. Macromedia
has included a Common User Interface (CUI) that increases Flash
5's accessibility to newcomers. The CUI features customizable
keyboard shortcuts, which allow Flash to conform to whatever the
user is most familiar with; a launcher bar, which enables the
accessing of common application features within the active document
window; and a consistent tool layout, which makes tool selection
across applications seamless. Flash 5 is also tightly integrated
with both Freehand 9 and Fireworks 3, increasing ease of use for
developers familiar with those programs.
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Currently, Flash is viewable
by 92% of Web users. Flash Player is the number one rich media
viewer available today. Flash 5 retains this universality by combining
the most powerful authoring tools with the already popular Flash
format. The newest release includes ActionScript development tools,
XML transfer support, and HTML text support. These allow for the
creation of sophisticated Web applications with an interface familiar
to seasoned programers.
So do these additions take Flash 5 to a next level,
or should Macromedia have left well enough alone?
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