Boston — Maker of the popular Photoshop and Acrobat software, Adobe Systems Inc., has made available for free download beta versions of three of the latest tools that its Creative Suit 4 will come with: Dreamweaver, Soundbooth and Fireworks, on Tuesday.
The trio beta applications are available now from Adobe Labs, and are taken from the next release of Adobe Creative Suite.
However, once transferred and installed, the betas will seamlessly work for 48 hours and then only people who own (CS3) will have an extensive right to use the betas until the next release of Creative Suite becomes available, but will have to input a valid CS3 serial number.
“The company said the new releases show the uniqueness and technologies that will make simpler design and development workflows across all media.”
The company, which began selling its CS3 group of design programs in the spring of 2007, on Tuesday released beta versions of its Dreamworks Web site creation software, Fireworks graphics program and Soundbooth audio editing program on its Adobe Labs site.
However, Photoshop and Illustrator from CS4 will not be released as beta previews like the other three applications. Adobe’s David Burkett said CS4 has “radical work-flow enhancements,” including a Live View Mode.
“Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth are the major applications we are unveiling as public betas before the next release of Creative Suite,” he said.
Dreamweaver, which is a powerful tool for anybody who wishes to create a webpage but does not have the programming knowledge to do so, has seen a few very useful updates. The new version of Dreamweaver emphasizes integrating design and development functions, reflecting the reality that modern Web pages are dynamically built from database-stored content and features from remote servers.
“Dreamweaver no longer acts like an old-style HTML editor with modern features tacked on,” a PC World reviewer said.
The Dreamweaver public beta consists of a new Related Files Toolbar element that gives access to files used in a page, a Code Navigator function, which allows users to explore and manage complex pages that include HTML files, links to JavaScript documents and integrated XML data, and for bits of code to be entered at multiple points at the same time, including Live View Mode, which allows users to test the page they are creating while working at it in a very easy to use way. Dreamweaver also offers a Webkit based browser view.
Many innovative elements in Fireworks include a novel user interface that is now compatible with other applications within the Creative Suite and the capacity to export design comps as secure Adobe PDF documents. Fireworks beta is also compatible with Adobe AIR, HTML, Flash and Flex Builder.
Soundbooth, Adobe’s sound editing application, has also been loaded with some new cool features. The Soundbooth beta offers new multiple track support which allows users to edit multiple audio clips on a number of tracks, and the new ability for users to match volume levels across audio files. Also included is the capability to preview MP3 compression settings before saving them and a new speech recognition technology that lets users create transcripts of dialogue tracks quickly and search them for words and phrases within a timeline and generates the text the person is speaking as an output.
The new version of Soundbooth also makes major strides forward, said a review in Macworld magazine. The beta “demonstrates that Adobe has its ears open to the needs of those who demand more from an audio editor,” Christopher Breen wrote in Macworld. The new version offers multi-track editing for the first time, as well as a slew of features, including nondestructive editing, the ability to create restore points for later editing, automatic volume matching, MP3 compression preview, and a speech-to-text feature.
“We are excited to begin formally developing within the new Creative Suite environment,” said Matias Penela, director of technology for AgencyNet. “Our day-to-day development can be more effective and we will be further empowered to push the boundaries of creative design and technical innovation for our clients.”
“This early release software gives our loyal customers a taste of the radical workflow enhancements that we have in store, as we redefine how designers and developers collaborate to deliver stand-out digital experiences,” Burkett said.
The beta software is available for free download now from Adobe Labs.