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Illustrator 3.0 Improves on Already Extensive Features
Text tool is better than in Illustrator 88; now custom charting tools also included in package
BY DOUG GREEN AND DENISE GREEN
Adobe's Illustrator 88 was rated the top Macintosh-bsed package in our latest illustration software product comparison (August 20, Page 51). One of its shortcomings, however, was its text capabilities -- actually the most limited of the group. With Version 3.0, Adobe has not only addressed this problem, but it has improved Illustrator's user interface, enhanced its drawing tools, and added graphing capabilities. Like its predecessors, Illustrator 3.0 is still a tool for the professional graphic artist. The depth and sophistication of its features place it beyond the capabilities of most casual drawing-package users.
FEATURES:
The overlal look and feel of Illustrator has remained unchanged in Version 3.0. You still edit drawings in a wire-frame mode and view the compelet image in preview mode. Obejct elements (lines, curves, etc.) are called patchs and contain anchor points.
Illustrator's most significant change is its improved text tool. Text is entered directly on your image, rather than into a dialog box. Illustrator now supports text colums and linked colums; automatic kerning; mixed text fonts, sizes, and colors; and hanging punctuation. You now have control over word and letter spacing as well as vertical character shifts. Blocks of text can be filled or wrapped around irregular shapes. You can even distort text or convert it into editable objects.
One of the most impressive new features is the capability to attach text to a path (a drawn line, circle, etc.). This lets text flow along a curve or around a circle. Once the text in entered, you can resize it or drag it along the curve.
Another major change is Illustrator's new graphing or charting tools. The package has a spreadsheetlike data entry worksheet that lets you create both simple charts or fancy custom charts.
Other improvements include enhanced drawing guides; transparent windows (or compound paths -- a feature not found in most other illustration packages) within an object; and better shearing, rotating, and resizing control.
Illustrator still comes with several useful utilities. The Adobe Separator handles color separation for Illustrator files, while the Drawover utility converts PICT files into Postscript...