The competing design application, QuarkXPress 8, introduced substantial support for the creation and export of Flash SWF files (used for animated Web graphics) among other things. I found myself turning to the Links panel frequently while simply experimenting with the program on larger projects with an overwhelming multitude of assets, the panel's usefulness will grow exponentially. In addition, the well-organized panel's collapsible, tree-style view lets you burrow down to find multiple instances of an asset with a document. And for the asset you select, a Link Info window at the bottom displays a larger thumbnail along with pertinent info. One of the first new features I noticed in this version was that thumbnails have been added to the Links panel, making it easy to identify linked assets. With InDesign, this manifests itself in the redesigned Links panel. In all the CS4 applications, Adobe has been working to make large, complex projects more manageable. It's hard for me to imagine a user who won't benefit from these terrific helpers. But I also enjoyed the precise results I used to achieve only by using the more intrusive regular guide lines and the Align panel. I found that using these intelligent new tools while creating a layout felt just as spontaneous as my favored "eyeball" approach. Both features give you pop-up readouts of dimensional and x- and y-axis coordinates as you work. With Smart Spacing, items snap into place when they're perfectly centered between nearby objects. When you drag a page element, the Smart Guides appear automatically to help you perfectly align or resize the element in relation to other page objects. So my favorite new InDesign features are undoubtedly the Smart Guides and Smart Spacing. However, page elements that look right one day can appear a little off the next-particularly when you're transitioning from screen to hard copy.
I've always subscribed to the eyeball-based "if it looks right, it's right" theory of design. Not every user will need every feature, but my testing in Microsoft Windows Vista and Macintosh OS X Leopard (where a vast amount of desktop publishing gets done) convinced me that you'll find enough useful additions and improvements to make this a worthwhile purchase. And if your work ends up on the Web, you'll love that InDesign lets you create interactive Flash documents that retain the original layouts. For example, users whose efforts appear on paper will be thrilled to find that with InDesign CS4 ($699 direct) they can create precisely balanced designs with drag-and-drop ease. The latest release of Adobe InDesign, the print and online publishing powerhouse, packs terrific new features.
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