One of the great strengths of FreeHand is that it is almost identical on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. In fact, at first glance it is hard to tell which platform you are working on. However, because there are some differences between the platforms, there are some things you should keep in mind.
Modifier keys are always 21221y2419v listed with the Macintosh key first and then the Windows key second. So a direction to hold the Command/Ctrl key as you drag means to hold the Command key on the Macintosh platform or the Ctrl key on the Windows platform. When the key is the same on both computers, such as the Shift key, only one key is listed.
Generally the Command key on the Macintosh (sometimes called the Apple key) corresponds to the Ctrl key on Windows. The Option key on the Macintosh corresponds to the Alt key on Windows. The Control key on the Macintosh platform does not have an equivalent on the Windows platform. Notice that the Control key for the Macintosh is always spelled out while the Ctrl key for Windows is not.
A few times in the book, I have written separate exercises for the Macintosh and Windows platforms. These exercises are indicated by (Mac) and (Win).
Most of the time this is because the procedures are so different that they need to be written separately. Sometimes features exist only on one platform. Those features are then labeled as to their platform.
Macromedia FreeHand is one of the first applications to take advantage of the new Mac OS X (ten) operating system. If you are learning FreeHand on a computer that uses OS X, you will find much of the interface to look different. Don't worry, though. The differences are cosmetic. There is nothing that FreeHand running in OS X can do that can't be done in Mac OS 9 or Windows.
With a program as extensive as FreeHand, there will be many features that you never use. For instance, if you are an illustrator, you may never need any of FreeHand's text or layout features. Or you may never need to create charts or graphs. And if you are strictly a print person, you may never need to do any exporting as Web animations. Do not worry. It may be hard to believe but even the experts do not use all of FreeHand's features.
Find the areas you want to master, then follow the exercises. If you are patient, you wil find yourself creating your own work in no time.
And don't forget to have fun!
Sandee Cohen (SandeeC@vectorbabe.com
July 2001
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