User Guide

13
CHAPTER 1
FreeHand Basics
To get the most out of working in Macromedia FreeHand MX, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself
with the FreeHand workspace, which includes the Document window, command menus at the
top of your screen, tools and panels for editing and adding objects, and the pasteboard in which
you create your artwork.
You can add more commands to the menus by installing software applications called plug-ins, and
you can add and rearrange tools in toolbars by customizing your work environment.
About vector graphics and bitmap images
FreeHand is a vector-graphic drawing application. A vector-graphic image is resolution-
independent—it can be scaled to any size and printed on any output device at any resolution,
without losing detail or clarity. In contrast, bitmap graphics—commonly used in image-editing
applications—are composed of pixels. Their display depends on the resolution of the monitor
or printer. Bitmap graphics can appear jagged and lose detail when they’re scaled onscreen or
printed at a low resolution. For more details on vector graphics, see “About vector graphics” on
page 69.
Although vector graphics always appear at your computer’s maximum screen resolution, you can
specify a lower resolution for preparing draft documents. For more information, see Chapter 14,
“Printing,” on page 375.