Adobe Muse CC 2014

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1

Wow! Adobe really did some nice work on this. Check out the Tumber blog integration and the In-Browser editing feature in this video, which works like a CMS, but I really don’t know how. There was no mention of any backend database. Really cool stuff.

I’d be interested in hearing from any Adobe Muse users and what they think about this app, especially anyone who has worked with the updated 2014 version or a beta of it.

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2

When I started with designing for the web I discovered Freeway to my relief (as a print designer used to QuarkXPress at this time). When Muse came out it was far inferior to Freeway Pro. But some days ago I was in the mood to try Muse again – and I was very impressed what can now be accomplished with this software. And the latest version is very mature. Designers who use InDesign for print related work will feel right at home in Muse, because of its similar look and feel. I will still use Freeway Pro to maintain older sites or setting up forms (this is a task Muse handles a bit cumbersome in my opinion), but for new sites I will now go with Muse, until the competition comes up with an even better solution.

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3

Thanks for your response Siegmar.

What about responsive designs? When I briefly reviewed Muse it looked like it didn’t have a fully responsive option per se, instead relying on separate mobile templates that would be built in conjunction with a desktop design.

Am I wrong about that?

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4

I’ve used Freeway for around 10 years now but, like Seigmar, have turned to the dark side with Muse whilst retaining old sites in Freeway.

Its a breath of fresh air - previously Muse lagged behind FW in many areas but they are working very hard (and very quickly) to make it a very complete solution for web design. Previously an Adobe Air app, its now completely rewritten as a native 64bit app like Photoshop. This proves Adobes future commitment to Muse. I wish Softpress would keep up that kind of development. I’ve been part of the muse beta program for a while now and the team are very open to discuss features.

Good points:

Multiple undos!!!

The beginning of a simple CMS system which is fully automatic - you simply tick ‘allow in browser editing’ when using Muse’s FTP and when the site is live a client can log into a website to amend certain text/images, preview the changes then submit to make it live. Next time I launch their site in Muse, its alerts me to their changes, lets me review each one then syncs to keep them together. It’s limited at the moment but this is the first version. There’s nothing to set in Muse whilst designing the site to make it ‘CMS friendly’.

Widgets - there’s literally hundreds of them that cover all manor of things, if you need to add something to a site, chances are someone has already written it. A bit like FW actions. A quick example: http://www.muse-themes.com/pages/muse-widgets

HIPDI support

Feels just like other Adobe apps.

You can still add snippets of HTML if required.

Bad points:

Forms are very limited, still no support for radio buttons, check boxes. There’s ways round it but its not elegant. Will no doubt be sorted soon.

Bizarrely, you can’t import native Illustrator files, meaning I end up creating a working AI file and a PNG, having to keep both. And there’s no ‘collect for output’ when you’ve finished a site which is a pain.

No support for SVG yet.

Responsive - a sore point for Muse and one that’s discussed to death on their forums. For me, I prefer how Muse currently does it - you design the desktop site, click add mobile version and Muse copies the site structure to help build the mobile version. But, and its a big but, Muse only copies the structure - you’ll be faced with a lot of blank pages to redo as a mobile site. Then do it all again for the tablet site. The benefit is, you have full control of exactly how the mobile site will look rather than sacrificing the desktop version by thinking about responsive design. Makes for a more ‘relaxed’ construction without the worry of breakpoints or floats etc. The downside is site amends, you need to do them for each site (desktop/mobile/tablet).

Overall, and I hate to say this on FreewayTalk, the move from FW to Muse feels like the move from Quark to InDesign years back. It’s not until you make the leap you realise how many compromises you were making before.

Sorry, I feel bad saying that :frowning:

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5

Craftsmanship, Work, FrontEnd Dev - and the matter that web IS responsive and ever was (we just have to make sure to keep it responsive) had been the most important lessons I took so far.

Unfortunately this community prefers to talk about switching to other products rather than sharpening their tools. They keep on persisting on their inherited code immunity - “We are coming from a print background - we know everything about InDesign”.

ALL FrontEnd Devs (even the cracks) coming from this print-background. I wonder what godsend made them so strong. Maybe the Holy Ghost implanted it overnight?

A lucid explanation - but what if they realized that a “piece of paper” has dimensions (width and height) and web not? Or that it is an entirely different media with enormous new chances?

The “wise man” never discusses a single “software application” cause it doesn’t matter what you use. If you feel inconvenient with something - change it, leave it - do whatever - but do something to prevent the web (we could call it so?) from results nobody needs (this community is already producing too much of it).

Whatever your product offers - push it to its boundaries (and above) - if you can’t, think about other things to earn your money (the possibilities are endless).

Cheers

Thomas

Just as an addition:

http://freewaytalk.net/thread/view/149546

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6

On 27 Jun 2014, 7:54 am, Thomas Kimmich wrote:

Unfortunately this community prefers to talk about switching to other products rather than sharpening their tools.

I’m sure it seems like that lately, but I think some of us are just looking for some new tools. You yourself even use Wordpress. :slight_smile:

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7

I think we look at other options all the time - I own a Ford but have driven a BWM and Citroen before, and will probably try something different next time. Same with software, my time is limited and expensive to me so I’m always looking at ways to improve that. If it means moving from FW then so be it.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s not like FW is my wife.

Now there’s a sentence to get me in trouble :wink:

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8

I’m pretty sure the “tools” he’s referring to is one’s understanding.

I believe the point Thomas is making (correct me if I’m mistaken, Thomas) isn’t that people are looking at other tools, it’s the pervasive attitude of users who, rather than taking responsibility for increasing their own understanding of the medium they chose to work in, place the blame or praise on the tool(s). I don’t think he’s implying that it’s about WYSIWYG vs. coding, or FW vs. WP, it’s about gaining a broader perspective - a working knowledge - rather than always falling back on the ”I don’t do code” mantra.

I get the impression Thomas is frustrated by those who frequently lament what they can’t do with a particular tool (think, point-n-click) rather than taking it upon themselves to learn how to do it.

Thomas, am I close?

Todd

Unfortunately this community prefers to talk about switching to other products rather than sharpening their tools.

I’m sure it seems like that lately, but I think some of us are just looking for some new tools. You yourself even use Wordpress. :slight_smile:

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9

Thomas, am I close?

… more than this, … straight to the point :slight_smile:

Cheers

Thomas

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10

… just hit “send” of my previous message, got the “Freeway 7 very soon” message in my mail-box.

This sounds very attractive.

Cheers

Thomas

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11

On 27 Jun 2014, 4:06 pm, Thomas Kimmich wrote:

… just hit “send” of my previous message, got the “Freeway 7 very soon” message in my mail-box.

This sounds very attractive.

Cheers

Thomas

That is very exciting news indeed. :slight_smile:

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