Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5.5 Student and Teacher Edition

Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5.5 is approachable interaction design software that enables you to easily transform Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks artwork into expressive, fully interactive projects without writing code, and leverage the reach and consistency of the Adobe Flash Platform.

What is Flash Catalyst?

Improved performance

Work faster with Significant performance enhancements, including Greater control overpixel placement of design Elements, Improved Opening and saving files, updatedsymbol operation, and quicker bitmap and vector operations.

Pixel-precise rendering
Keep designs crisp on destination screens of virtually any size with advanced rendering. Improved definition means objects in vector and bitmap modes appear sharper, even when converted from one mode to the other.

Workflows with apps built using Flash software
Export objects, pages, or entire documents to applications in the Adobe Flash software family to develop interactivity. The XML-based FXG format helps ensure rich application creations are converted precisely.

Extensibility improvements
Customize scripts for exporting, batch operations, and FXG formats with the expanded extensibility API. Increase productivity and control by specifying client-specific output formats in automated batch processing.

Features:

Speed up the design and development process

Full designer-developer workflow
Work with confidence on shared Flex based projects with a new bidirectional workflow that allows designers to collaborate with developers who use Adobe Flash Builder 4.5. 

Approachable interaction design
Create expressive interfaces and interactive content without writing code. Define behaviors and sophisticated interactions using simple menu-based commands.

SWF and Adobe AIR publishing
Export your project to the web as a finished SWF file for Adobe Flash Player or as an Adobe AIR project that can run outside the browser.

Roundtrip editing
Edit artwork at any time directly in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop with full fidelity, preserving structure and interactions.

Resizable applications and components
Visually design and preview the position and scaling of objects when designing interfaces and applications that adjust to fit various screen sizes or resolutions.

Approach interaction design without writing code
Transform artwork from Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks software into interactive projects without requiring development resources or coding skills. Define behaviors and control sophisticated interactions with simple yet powerful menu-based commands.

User interface prototyping
Quickly create interactive wireframes and rich visual prototypes that be leveraged directly in development.

Improved interactions
Define user interactions more efficiently with the ability to globally target any component within your project, and specify double-click actions as interactions.

Custom skinnable components
Craft the visual appearance, or skin, of developer-built custom components without the need to understand the underlying code or logic.

Common Library panel
Quickly design wireframes and evolve developer-ready interface concepts using native Spark components and placeholder graphics.

Smooth animated transitions
Create and edit animated transitions between states of components. Create engaging experiences with objects that move and smoothly fade in and out.

Enhanced timelines and animations
Craft precise, expressive transitions and effects with greater control and less effort. Animate filter effects and font sizes, and easily apply customizations across effects or objects.

Design-time data
Design and preview the look and behavior of dynamic data without having to connect to a database.

Powerful layout tools
Get the look you want quickly and precisely with sophisticated layout tools and functions.

Video and dynamic media support
Integrate video, sound, and dynamic media into your design as easily as static artwork, and then add interactions to control playback. 

User-requested enhancements
Align and distribute objects with a new Align panel, lock aspect ratio when manipulating objects, easily name components for better collaboration with developers, and more.

Leverage the power of the Adobe Flash PlatformTo the top
Rapidly create expressive interfaces and interactive content to your exacting design standards. Deliver your creative vision with the reach and consistency of the Adobe Flash Platform.

SWF and Adobe AIR publishing
Export your project to the web as a finished SWF file for Adobe Flash Player or as an Adobe AIR project that can run outside the browser.

Video and dynamic media support
Integrate video, sound, and dynamic media into your design as easily as static artwork, and then add interactions to control playback. 

System requirements:

• Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 processorMicrosoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2; Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1; or Windows 7
• 1GB of RAM (2GB recommended)
• 1GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
• 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
• DVD-ROM driveJava™ Runtime Environment 1.5 (32 bit) or 1.6
• Broadband Internet connection required for online services and to validate Subscription Edition (if applicable) on an ongoing basis