Adobe launches Illustrator CS2
updated 11:55 am EDT, Mon April 4, 2005
Adobe Illustrator CS2
Adobe today announced , Illustrator CS2 provides several new creative tools -- such as Live Trace and Live Paint -- an enhanced user interface, and expanded support for a variety of file formats.
New features expand creative possibilities and improve designer productivity, according to Adobe. Live Trace accurately converts scans of hand-drawn sketches and digital photos into fully editable and scaleable Illustrator artwork in seconds. Live Paint enables users to color artwork quickly based on how it appears on screen rather than how it was constructed. Live Paint also solves the common illustration challenge of quickly creating new shapes.
Optimized User Interface
The Control palette, a context-sensitive interface that provides users convenient access to 80 percent of commonly used palettes from a single location, allows faster selection of menus and features and frees screen real estate for artwork. Custom Workspaces enable designers to select and arrange palettes to support a particular workflow or project save it as a named workspace and access it from the Window menu or share it with other designers.
Flexible Output and Tight Integration
Whether designing for print, the Web, or mobile platforms, Adobe Illustrator CS2 software makes it easy to collaborate creatively. Illustrator CS2 offers expanded support for a wide variety of file formats, including industry-standard PDF/X for print workflows, Macromedia Flash (SWF) for Web animations, and SVG, including SVG-t for applications such as animated picture messaging, mobile e-commerce, and mobile entertainment.
Adobe Illustrator CS2 provides tight integration with Photoshop CS2 through expanded support for Photoshop layer compositions and direct access to Filters and Effects. This added integration gives designers greater creative flexibility and control in workflows that span Adobe Creative Suite 2. Illustrator CS2 includes Adobe Bridge which functions as a hub for productivity, imagery and creativity, providing multi-view file browsing and smooth cross-product integration across Adobe Creative Suite 2 software. Adobe Bridge also provides access to Adobe Stock Photos, a new stock photography service that offers users one-stop shopping — across five elite stock image providers — to deliver high-quality, royalty-free images for layout and design (see separate press release).
Estimated street price for the full version is $500 and upgrade pricing starts at $170.
