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Filed under: CS4 •Motion Graphics •Training •Visual Effects •

The Differences Between AE CS3 and CS4

The short version:

A free chapter by us outlining in detail the differences between After Effects CS3 and CS4 - with project files - is now available on our publisher Focal Press’ web site.

The long version:

We normally update our book Creating Motion Graphics (CMG for short) for every other version of After Effects (AE). The most recent edition - CMG4 - was for AE CS3.

However, we decided to try something different this time. Rather than update the entire book, we created a bonus chapter outlining the differences between AE CS3 and CS4, including many examples and tutorials. We made the PDF and accompanying project file available for free on the Focal Press After Effects micro-site - click through the link for Free Chapter Download. The project file assumes you have the disc that came with CMG4, as it uses source files from that disc. (Note: Some problems have been reported with using Apple Preview to read the PDF file; we suggest you download and use Adobe Reader.)

We hope this makes the transition from AE CS3 to AE CS4 easier, plus protects your investment in purchasing a copy of CMG4. Our intention has always been to make Creating Motion Graphics a reference volume that every After Effects artist should have on their desk.

Some other links that may be of interest:

• An overview of the latest version of Creating Motion Graphics, including PDF samples
• An overview of the major new features in AE CS4 for motion graphics artists
• An hour and a half of video training on what’s new in After Effects CS4 on Lynda.com (if you don’t already have a subscription, click here for a free 7-day pass)

We will continue to post articles (and the occasional video) here on PVC as issues come up in After Effects. For example, we’re overdue on writing a big piece on the background and implications of the new pixel aspect ratios in CS4…

A very special thanks must go out to Todd Kopriva of Adobe for providing a raw list of new features in CS4, which made it possible for us to be far more thorough than planned (i.e. this was supposed to just a 16 page chapter; it ended up being 48 pages!).

The content contained in our books, videos, blogs, and articles for other sites are all copyright Crish Design, except where otherwise attributed.

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Do not use, crashes Preview. Crashes Safari when trying to print from web page.

Hmmm. Must use Acrobat? Are the Adobe folks sticking it to the Apple users in retaliation for the lack of Flash support on the iPhone?

I am seeing a trend. I can not play Layers Magazine tutorials in Safari either.

Maybe it’s just a bad product. ( Adobe’s Flash ).

Safari 3 passed the Acid 3 test so if you are going to post a link at least get it right. It is unprofessional to post a link that crashes a computer, especially a .pdf file. Come on now!

Ed

Posted by HV Media Solutions  on  01/29  at  07:47 AM

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I think you’re being a little bit paranoid about Adobe and Apple (smile). The scoop is, we used the latest version of Acrobat, which happens to have a security option that not only crashes Apple’s Preview (Apple’s bug), but also potentially earlier versions of Acrobat (Adobe’s bad). It works perfectly fine in Adobe Reader 9 or Acrobat 9, as well as in Firefox and Safari here.

All that said, yesterday we provided Focal Press with a new version of the PDF file that has compatibility back to Acrobat 5 - and with Apple’s Preview. Sorry for the hassle in the meantime.

Posted by Chris Meyer  on  01/29  at  10:02 AM

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No problem, I really like your book. Now if I can only play the tutorials in Layers Magazine….I am sure they can fix their little javascript re-direct.

Ed

Posted by HV Media Solutions  on  01/29  at  04:36 PM

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We’ve updated the file on the Focal Press site to be compatible all the way back to Acrobat 5. I just tested it in Preview, and I’m happy to say it does not crash my system (unlike the previous version).

take care -
Chris

P.S. Regardless of what tests Safari may or may not pass, unfortunately I find it has problems with some Flash-based sites and media. Whether that is Safari’s fault or not, I don’t know, but I do know these sites tend to work okay in Firefox.

Posted by Chris Meyer  on  01/30  at  12:19 PM

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