A new software suite, Creative Suite 3, will include so-called metadata tags that users can stick to images and designer creations. In addition, the new version of InDesign, which is part of the CS3 package, will have the ability to import multiple images in one step. It will also have expanded transparency capabilities and new features that mimic Photoshop tools.
The idea is to take advantage of the popularity of Photoshop and to emphasise the integration of features from one step to the next in CS3. In doing so, Adobe hopes to lure designers away from rival Quark, said Chad Siegel, the senior product manager for InDesign.
"Adobe's strategy is to have the best solution on how to integrate products to streamline workflow, not to have one product to do everything, which seems to be the strategy of our competitor," Siegel said.
New versions of the applications will be available in the spring of 2007, according to Adobe. That's also when Photoshop and Creative Suite will become available with Intel-based Macs, according to an earlier Adobe announcement.
The announcement of the applications overhaul comes shortly after the company warned that its second-quarter revenue will be below estimates due to weaker-than-anticipated demand in North America and Europe.
