Datasheet

Adobe Flash authoring tools in Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium
With Creative Suite 5, Adobe delivers a variety of tools with the capability to author interactive content for the Adobe Flash Platform.
Each project you work on is unique, presenting various requirements and specifications regarding design, development, and deploy-
ment. This comparison chart is a quick reference that will help you choose the best tool or tools for what you want to accomplish.
Flash Professional Flash Catalyst InDesign
Typical projects Rich content, interactive video
content, advertising, games
User interfaces, rich Internet
applications, microsites, prototypes,
widgets
Documents, presentations, and
portfolios in both print and digital
formats
Product description An authoring tool that enables you to
create immersive experiences that
can include video content
An interaction design tool that
enables you to transform artwork into
functional interfaces and interactive
content
A page layout tool that enables you to
design high-quality documents,
interactive presentations, and
portfolios
Project approach Free-form design Structured interaction design Free-form design
Project organization Timeline and frames Pages and states Pages and layers
Motion capabilities Advanced vector animation Transitions, basic movement Transitions, motion presets, motion
along paths
Video playback Encoding & advanced playback
controls
Basic video playback controls Basic playback controls
Extensibility ActionScript coding or components Flash Catalyst components or export
to Flash Builder to add more
functionality
Only if content is opened in Flash
Professional
Coding knowledge
required
Some ActionScript coding None None
Playback support Flash Player, AIR, Flash Lite, iPhone* Flash Player 10, AIR Flash Player 10
* Packager for iPhone preview, included with Flash Professional CS5, compiles ActionScript bytecode into native iPhone application code.
iPhone applications are distributed as iPhone application installer (IPA) les, via the iTunes store.