Datasheet

Introducing the Creative Suite

In workflow environments, consistency is crucial. Time is money, and the time required to train your

staff cuts into your productivity and your profits. When tools are developed by a single software

manufacturer, the result is a more consistent design of the user interface and the keyboard shortcuts

that access menus, tools, and commands. Adobe has taken the user interface design one step further

by offering customizable keyboard shortcuts and custom workspaces in all CS4 programs.

Having a consistent look and feel in the user interface enables you to develop an intuitive sense for

how to use a particular program to create a design project. The more you learn about a manufac-

turer’s products, the faster you can become productive. In some cases, you can jump into a new

program, poke around, and understand many features without reading exhaustive manuals and

books.

CROSS-REF

For information on customizing workspaces and keyboard shortcuts, see Chapter 3.

Versioning tools

How many times have you created a tight comp and had a client tell you that he or she likes

another version of the layout? You may create duotone images in Photoshop, offer a proof print to

your client, and hear that he wants another spot color in the Photoshop images. You offer a second

proof, and the client says the first proof print is really the one that best fits his or her campaign.

You’re back at your design studio scrambling through your hard drive looking for the first ver-

sions, locating the files, and importing or relinking them back into the layout.

The Creative Suite lets you easily revisit earlier versions of illustrations, photo images, and layouts.

Along with the standalone programs in the Creative Suite, you also receive Version Cue, a marvel-

ous utility that permits you to save multiple versions of a design in the same file. You decide what

version to promote to the current look, and the linked file in your InDesign CS4 document

dynamically updates. In workflow environments, nothing more easily tracks the current version of

a design and quickly gets you to final output with the correct version.

CROSS-REF

For more information on installing and using Version Cue and working with ver-

sions and alternates, see Chapter 7.

Consistent color management

Have you ever created an illustration, dropped it into a layout program, and seen a completely dif-

ferent color rendered in the layout? How about scanned images appearing with one color in Adobe

Photoshop and different color values in the layout program? With the Adobe Creative Suite, you

can access the same color engine and color-management policies among the design programs and

Adobe Acrobat. In Creative Suite 4, you can manage color across all the print-oriented programs

including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat using Adobe Bridge. You assign color pro-

files in Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign, and these applications all can conform to the same

color management settings.

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