Have you tried the new Adobe CS4 suite of programs? I have, and I think they are fantastic. Much of the workflow has been improved, there is greater cross-compatibility between the various programs, and there are plenty of nifty little tricks and built-in “wow” features that really simplify many of the complex functions from previous editions of the software: your clients will be truly amazed and will think you spent hours achieving various effects, when in reality you only needed to make a few mouse clicks. Shh! I won’t tell if you don’t!
As a long-time user of Adobe design software, it has always amazed me that while with each successive release of design software from Adobe there are so many improvements, there is the ever-present lack of backwards compatibility. In saying that, I mean that if you purchase and install CS4, you are able to open files from previous releases such as CS3, CS2 etc. But, users of these earlier versions of the software cannot open CS4 files.
But what about the ‘Indesign Interchange .INX’ file, you say?
Yes. There is some backwards compatibility provided through this. But, it is only useful to CS3 users and not any release prior to that. Not to mention the hassle of having to specifically export your files as .INX if you would like to allow a user of CS3 to open the file. In a small business with only some computers on CS4 and others on CS3 this can become a frustrating ordeal. Not to mention the difficulty it presents when you plan on collaborating with other agencies and/or freelancers who have not yet made the upgrade.
They (Adobe) say that it is because of extra features and file structure changes that this is the way things work. Earlier releases of the software just wouldn’t be able to handle it. I beg to differ.
Software programming can accomplish so many things, virtually anything that you can come up with. As they say, where there is a will, there is a way. So for there to be such limited backwards compatibility, and upward compatibility that is so readily available, one would be led to believe that there may be other reasons for this lack of support for earlier releases of the Adobe software. It seems as though Adobe is attempting to make life for users of CS3, Cs2, CS etc. as difficult as possible, to the point of them purchasing CS4 out of sheer frustration. Not good enough I say.
Most of you will know that Adobe software is not cheap. But the beauty about software is that it is a digital product. It will last virtually forever. Users should be able to comfortably and easily use their software for as long as they like, and not expect that they will be “phased out” within one or two years. This is expensive stuff and the last time I checked, Adobe is not running a subscription service to its software. It is an outright purchase and as a purchaser you should be able to continue using the software as long as you like.
But if new features are created, how can old software “read” these new features?
Software updates or patches would be the perfect solution. Something that allows the program to read or interpret the new features in the file, but perhaps without the editing ability that the new software has. Think of Adobe Reader and how it can open files saved in Acrobat, but it does not allow editing of these files. Something similar to this might be plausible, where non-CS4 users can open CS4 files, but cannot edit any parameters of elements that are derived from a new feature in the new software.
I know it sounds like I am asking for a lot here, but really it is just the responsible thing to do. Other companies seem to be able to allow users from all versions of the software to collaborate freely, and for such an expensive product that is delivering to an industry that depends on collaboration, it is something that would only be fair.
Have your say. Tell me what you think about this story. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Business Printing Services Online Printing
Written by Dario Paolini
Director – AstroPrint.com.au
