Freehand vs Illustrator?

[Raven]

Probably a biased question to ask here, but...
I'm using Freehand 9. Love it. It's very easy to use. I use it to design small publications, letterheads and logos. But it doesn't work well in OSX Classic anymore.

I don't even know how which is the latest FH version for OSX. Shall I upgrade or is it time to make the switch to Illustrator?

Learning a whole new program will take some time, which I don't have. What's the biggest difference to learn? Will Freehand live on?

Your thoughts, please?

Dual G4, 1.25GHz, 1 gb RAM, OS10.3.8
Use Quark 4 (less so), InDesign CS, Photoshop 7, Font Reserve3

[tequillajane]

Definately Illustrator for my choice, Freehand in our shop has been for years only used, to open a file and export for illustrator for changes and modifying. We usually cringe when a Freehand file appears.
But that could be just our shop. I just think that If your are at all knolegeable in any Adobe program, their interface is basically the same. And as for the learning curve, Illustrator has many places for help.
I use Prepressforums.com for any issues I have, and I'm looking forward to keeping the Layersforums in my sights as well, Once they catch on again...I guess the sting of the name switch on us is still burning for many of the Diehard MACDESIGN Fans.

[G4Dualie]

I don't even know how which is the latest FH version for OSX. Shall I upgrade or is it time to make the switch to Illustrator?

I have seen Freehand MX for Mac go as cheap as (US)97 dollars for the upgrade. I think the switch is inevitable... Unless someone else makes Adobe an offer for FH I really don't think it will survive.

Incidentally, this is the second time Adobe ended up with Freehand in a buyout. The first time was back in 1994 when they acquired Aldus... Adobe kept Pagemaker but divested FH to Macromedia.

I made the switch to AI right about the time Adobe bought Aldus and although Freehand, IMO, had superior text-handling capabilities, and made better use of blends, and could even create multiple-paged documents, I bit the bullet and moved over to AI and haven't regretted it.

That was ten years ago and I still haven't master AI, but I've gained enough experience to be able write a book! :)

[Raven]

Is there some place to still purchase FH10?
I need a native version for OSX, and I've heard MX is more for web use, which I don't do at all. It may be the last FH version I buy before moving to Illustrator. I'll take my time to learn Illustrator side by side with FH.

[Voxann]

I am very comfortable with Illustrator than Freehand. I'm not so sure what are the differences between them but I think Illustrator gives you a lot more flexibility in creating the work. I'm sure you will get the handle of Illustrator once you try it. You could always buy a tutorial book for it and practice some of the things you don't know about Illustrator, what it can do. :)

[davecross]

You gotta feel sorry for Freehand and its users. All those years it was being marketed by Aldus while actually owned by a small company called Altsys. Then when Adobe bought Aldus, Altsys called in some clause that forced Adobe to give it back to Altsys. After a while of trying to market it on their own, Altsys gave up and merged with Macromedia. Now here we go again with Adobe.
It's too bad as Freehand always had some cool and easier ways of doing certian things, but of course of this world, it's all about market share, and Illustrator wins hands down.
We'll have to wait and see what happens... I would expect that at best, small portions of Freehand technology gets rolled into Illustrator, but it otherwise disappears.

[jnicklo]

I'm a diehard Illustrator fan, Freehand is a great program but the Adobe interface and integration with the other adobe software is what does Freehand in.

I'd give Illustrator CS2 a shot if I were you :)

[grnofslt]

Macromedia has just released their new Studio 8. Freehand used to be a part of this suite of applications. Unless it is a typo, there is no mention of Freehand being included as part of Studio 8. I really believe that Freehand is soon to be gone. Just now I went to Macromedia's website and they are still selling Freehand MX. No mention anywhere on the site if it will be upgraded.

Considering that a few months ago, the graphics world was stirred with announcements that Adobe was about to acquire Macromedia (I'm not sure if the merger/acquisition has become finalized) if i were a Freehand user, I would seriously consider going with the flagship Adobe applications because of their tighter integration with each other. Heck if you have a legal version of Photoshop it pays to purchase the premium verson of the Creative suite 2 because you would get 6 programs for the price of the full version of InDesign CS 2. I have the CS 2 suite on my machine at home and believe me it rocks. I don't know how to use all of the applications yet, but what i have used is awesome.

One of the things that I like most about Illustrator are the smart guides which pop up allowing you to align paths and objects with much precision. Typography with Illustrator CS also is amongst the best for this type of program.

I have Freehand on my machine, but i truely prefer Illustrator myself

[parambyte]

sorry for opening a topic so late, but I had learnt Illustrator FIRST, then was exposed to Freehand (version 4.1, i think) since then I have been a Freehand fan.

I was very sad to see Adobe kill Freehand. They could have opensourced it, if nothing else. I now work as a film maker so keeping in touch with the latest graphic tools is not so important any more. I almost say 'thank god'.

Freehand had some very basic intuitive usage ich is completely lacking in Illustrator. Or perhaps I dont know enough.

For example,

- Illustrator CS3 still doesnt let me have more than ONE PAGE PER DOCUMENT. or is it that I havent found that out yet?

- in Freehand there was a wonderful tool called Clone. It creates a clone of the selection and keeps it exactly on top of the element. That helped create many graphics/shapes etc easier. I couldnt find a way of doing that in Illustrator. Couldnt clone an object. I can copy paste though, but it is always placed at the center of the screen.

- In Illustrator, if i lock an element, I cant select it. I used this feature to make complex alignments, using a basic shape locked as an anchor.

anyway, I guess there are different ways of achieving teh same results in Illustrator, but its just that I find the eays in Freehand more intuitive.

also Freehand makes smaller sized files comparfed to Illustrator or Corel or Freehand. Also its faster on my PB.

[alcbevtesting@alltel.net]

The news has been out for quite awhile now that Freehand is being allowed to die.

You can do more than one page in Illustrator (some info out there - see or pose questions over at rwillustrator.blogspot.com - Mordy Golding's vehicle). But your best bgest is to acquire InDesign.

[micke]

"- in Freehand there was a wonderful tool called Clone. It creates a clone of the selection and keeps it exactly on top of the element. That helped create many graphics/shapes etc easier. I couldnt find a way of doing that in Illustrator. Couldnt clone an object. I can copy paste though, but it is always placed at the center of the screen."

An easy way to do this is make a new layer, select the object and in the layers palette, option drag the selection box on the right side to the new layer.

Regards,

micke

[Paul C]

Shall I upgrade or is it time to make the switch to Illustrator?
Sorry but it's time to switch. I hope that you find it accomodating.

pbc

[The Repro Kid]

"- in Freehand there was a wonderful tool called Clone. It creates a clone of the selection and keeps it exactly on top of the element. That helped create many graphics/shapes etc easier. I couldnt find a way of doing that in Illustrator. Couldnt clone an object. I can copy paste though, but it is always placed at the center of the screen."

An easy way to do this is make a new layer, select the object and in the layers palette, option drag the selection box on the right side to the new layer.

Regards,

micke

I think what you are looking for is Command-F. First copy the shape, then hit Command-F, which will invoke "Paste in Front," and the object will land in the position where it was originally copied from.