This suite, says Macromedia, gives the user the most powerful design tool for both print and Internet graphics - whether they are illustrations, layouts or animations. Macromedia has made some obvious enhancements based on feedback from users, one of which is speed. Macromedia has also introduced a fast preview mode. This cuts down the number of steps used in fills and 'greeks' text in order to allow the user to preview a complicated illustration more quickly. Another enhancement is the lens fill which include truly transparent effects as well as lighten, darken and mono-chrome filters.
Any object drawn can now become a lens which is a virtual window to the artwork beneath it.
The filters or lenses change the artwork beneath according to the type of lens applied. If the objects beneath the lens are changed, the lens will reflect these changes automatically. Freehand now also allows for freeform editing. The ability to make interactive transformations makes it quicker and easier for the user to scale and rotate a group of objects on the fly - a big improvement over older versions where each transformation required a number of separate steps to complete. Now double-clicking on a group of objects makes a set of handles appear around and in the centre of the objects.