Once upon a time, Adobe Illustrator imported color graphics only in EPS format. Times change, and so has Illustrator. With version 6.0, users can now import a host of bitmap formats, including Photoshop 3.0 and TIFF files, and run Photoshop-compatible filters on placed images. Adobe adds illustration muscle as well, with path patterns, customizable tools, and a control palette à la PageMaker.
Now that Illustrator accepts PICT, TIFF, GIF, Photoshop, EPS, and other image formats, you can alter images with filters such as Kai's Power Tools. Adobe has updated its plug-in format to make different kinds of plug-ins or filters work seamlessly within Illustrator. Adobe will use this standard for all future versions of Illustrator, Photoshop, and PageMaker, making it possible for users to access these special tools from within any of these applications.
Switching among applications is easier now that Illustrator lets you use Macintosh Drag and Drop with Photoshop 3.0.4. Also, PageMaker users can double-click on Illustrator EPS files and the application will launch Illustrator or switch to it for editing.
Illustrator users will find new options in the Tools palette. The new API supports plug-in tools, so modal filters such as the Twirl and Spiral tools operate directly within the pasteboard rather than through a clumsy dialog box. Other additions include the Path Patterns feature, which takes a pattern and flows it along a path, much like flowing type on a path but with graphics instead. Also new is the Control palette, which can numerically position objects.
The price remains $595, but the package includes Adobe Dimensions 2.0; Photoshop-compatible filters, including 12 from the Gallery Effects collections; 300 Type 1 fonts and copious quantities of clip art, sample files, and path patterns. Upgrade to CD-ROM version, $99; upgrade to floppy version, $129. 800-521-1976 or 415-961-4400.
