-
CNET editors' rating:
4.0
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 4 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The
good: Radically improved scripting capabilities; enhanced integration with Macromedia product suite; customizable workspace and objects; added MP3 import; XML data support.
The
bad: Unwieldy new panel-focused editing approach; lingering backward-compatibility issues with Flash 4.0.
The
bottom
line: Flash 5.0 is a compelling upgrade, even if you stick to producing Flash Player 4.0 content. The improved scripting interface and sophisticated graphics tools make it well worth the price.
Specifications: License qty: 1 user ; License type: Complete package ; Min Operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 , Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Microsoft Windows 98 ; ; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/28/2000
A New Interface
The new Flash 5.0 interface is the result of an organized attempt on Macromedia's part to improve its product integration and ease the tasks of users who regularly jump between Flash and other Macromedia tools.
Flash 4.0 featured a number of inspectors for manipulating objects, scenes, and transforms. Flash 5.0 revisits and expands the inspectors concept with a sweeping set of panels. It took us a while to get used to the panels, which replace just about every single dialog box in Flash and can quickly clutter a workspace. Macromedia cleverly included a feature called Panel Sets that allows you to save different interface configurations, depending on your current task.
Share and Share Alike
Workgroups received special attention in Flash 5.0's features, which include a set of new workflow optimization tools. Artists, animators, and programmers can now work concurrently on projects by using Shared Libraries and external script files. The new Movie Explorer, which sorts and displays movies as hierarchical documents, will assist developers who have to work together on large projects.
The Smart Clips feature offers some of the advantages of Macromedia Generator, allowing advanced scripters to prepare components such as list boxes and menus and then to pass along these components as standalone behaviors to other users for customization and reuse. SmartClips will likely speed up Flash development within businesses as well as facilitate idea sharing within the advanced Flash community.
With Flash 5.0, Macromedia also introduces the Macromedia Dashboard. An in-product resource panel, the Dashboard links to outside Flash resources and works as a sort of information assistant for the Flash user. You can set the Dashboard to automatically renew itself from Macromedia's servers each time you launch Flash 5.0, guaranteeing fresh and relevant content.
ActionScript Now Complete
The new ActionScript is now a complete language, significantly expanded and rebuilt from the ground up as a JavaScript-like, object-oriented language. New events, data types, objects, and syntax will keep even seasoned Flash users busy. Only the most advanced Flash users will use these robust additions; the learning curve is rather steep for those unfamiliar with advanced ActionScript or JavaScript authoring. Still, we liked the new ActionScript because it has a standard implementation and flexible graphical and audio capabilities.
The ActionScript interface can operate in either Normal Mode or Expert Mode. Normal Mode is similar to Flash 4.0 in that new actions are inserted using a drop-down menu, and the options for editing each action are presented as a form. While Expert Mode still lets you pull actions from a drop-down list or the new dictionary pane, it also lets you edit the code directly. You can also cut code from a text editor and paste it into Flash (and vice versa) or save your code as a separate text file and use the new Include action to grab the external code when you export. Continue reading
User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 4 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
