Description:
Macromedia's FreeHand version 10 features tools that make other illustration packages jealous, but learning to use it without guidance can be daunting. The FreeHand 10 Visual QuickStart Guide from Peachpit Press presents an easy approach to mastering it, while taking the reader beyond the basics.Thirty-two chapters discuss virtually every important feature and aspect of FreeHand, beginning with installation and the interface, through document handling (and using multiple pages), to working with text and drawing elements. FreeHand is an extremely flexible and capable application, and each chapter reflects this. The three chapters on working with text ("Basic Text," "Text Tools," and "Text Effects") are perhaps the most valuable in the book, but only until you get to the chapters on automating FreeHand, using the "Xtra" tools, or the two chapters on understanding printing. Preparing files for professional output on an imagesetter is a whole chapter in itself. FreeHand is more than just a tool for creating printed documents. Chapters 28 and 29 detail FreeHand's Web features--exporting as HTML, embedding links, using Web-safe colors, and creating Flash animations using FreeHand. For new users, Peachpit's Visual QuickStart series can't be beat; concisely written, lavishly illustrated, designed to get the reader from novice to proficient user in as little time as possible, these books have a proven track record. The FreeHand 10 Visual QuickStart Guide continues this streak, offering tremendous value for the money. --Mike Caputo
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