With the release of Creative Suite 4 Adobe® has taken a new (and some would say controversial) direction with Help. No longer do the applications in CS4 have their own local help files. Now when you seek help your browser is opened and you are taken to the Community Help site for that application.
There are some significant benefits to this approach. Help files are constantly updated so you always get the latest and greatest information. At the bottom of each help topic users can comment, ask questions, seek additional information. Adobe® product experts and outside moderators are there to assist you. If you search for an answer you can choose to expand to other related sites and the rest of the Adobe® site as well. All very nice and useful benefits.
So what's the controversy about? Many users are complaining about not having any local documentation. Local help files can be accessed more quickly. Local help files are available whether or not you have an Internet connection. With the present help system in CS4 what do you do when you are working on a project at 35,000 feet and have a question? Well it appears that there are some local files hidden away for when you cannot reach the Internet. Check out the article on CS4 help at InDesign Secrets.
Perhaps the better approach for Adobe® would be to include local help files with a link out to the online versions. This way you could work offline and when you do have a connection expand your search to the larger online Community Help. Let's see how this develops as CS4 matures.
]]>
CS3 On March 27th Adobe announced the newest version of Creative Suite - CS3!!! There are many many many new and improved features. The look and feel of the Creative Suite products is now more consistent so moving between Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is easier than ever. Greater compatibility is also a benefit. <!--break--> With this new edition we get to see the results of the Macromedia acquisition. Dreamweaver and Flash take prominent roles in the suite. Better yet, Adobe has really enhanced the interoperability between the Macromedia components and the Adobe components. For example, it is now possible to easily place native Photoshop files in a Dreamweaver layout. There is much more to see so take a trip over to Adobe's site and see what's new! Ship date has not been announced yet but is expected to be sometime near the end of April 2007.
]]>