Adobe Animate (formerlyAdobe Flash Professional,Macromedia Flash, andFutureSplash Animator) is a multimedia authoring andcomputer animation program developed byAdobe.[1]
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 A screenshot of Adobe Animate running on Windows | |
| Original author(s) | FutureWave Macromedia |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Adobe |
| Stable release | 2024 (24.0.0) / October 10, 2023; 18 months ago (2023-10-10) |
| Written in | C++,ActionScript,JavaScript |
| Operating system | Windows 10 v20H2 and later macOS 11.7.7 Big Sur and later |
| Platform | x64 |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Multimedia |
| License | Trialware,Proprietary, term |
| Website | adobe |
Animate is used to designvector graphics and animation fortelevision series, online animation,websites,web applications,rich web applications, game development, commercials, and other interactive projects. The program also offers support forraster graphics,rich text, audiovideo embedding, andActionScript 3.0 scripting. Animations may be published forHTML5,WebGL,Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) animation andspritesheets, and legacyFlash Player (SWF) andAdobe AIR formats.[2] The developed projects also extend to applications for Android, iOS, Windows Desktop and MacOS.
It was first released in 1996 asFutureSplash Animator, and then renamedMacromedia Flash upon its acquisition byMacromedia. It served as the main authoring environment for theAdobe Flash platform, vector-based software for creating animated and interactive content. It was renamedAdobe Animate in 2016 to more accurately reflect its market position then, since over a third of all content created in Animate uses HTML5.[2][3][4]
History
editThe first version of Adobe Flash/Adobe Animate was FutureSplash Animator, avector graphics and vector animations program released in May 1996. FutureSplash Animator was developed byFutureWave Software, a small software company whose first product, SmartSketch, was a vector-based drawing program for pen-based computers. With the implosion of the pen-oriented operating systems, it was ported toMicrosoft Windows as well asApple Inc.'sClassic Mac OS. In 1995, the company decided to add animation abilities to their product and to create a vector-based animation platform forWorld Wide Web; hence FutureSplash Animator was created. (At that time, the only way to deploy such animations on the web was through the use ofJava.) The FutureSplash animation technology was used on websites such asMSN,The Simpsons website andDisney Daily Blast ofThe Walt Disney Company.[5][6]
In December 1996,Macromedia bought FutureWave and rebranded the product as Macromedia Flash, a brand name that continued for 8 major versions.Adobe Systems acquired Macromedia in 2005, and re-branded the product Adobe Flash Professional to distinguish it from the player,Adobe Flash Player. It was included as part of theCreative Suite of products from CS3 to CS6, until Adobe phased out the Creative Suite lineup in favor ofCreative Cloud (CC).[7]
On December 1, 2015, Adobe announced that the program would be renamed Adobe Animate on its next major update. The move comes as part of an effort to disassociate the program from Adobe Flash Player, acknowledging its increased use for authoringHTML5 and video content, and an effort to begin discouraging the use of Flash Player in favor ofweb standards-based solutions.[8] The first version under the new name was released February 8, 2016.[1]
On June 16, 2020, as part of Adobe's 'Evolving Brand Identity', Adobe Animate unveiled a complete redesign of its logo in which, for the first time in almost 20 years, the main color was changed—from red to purple; several other applications within Adobe's product lineup that involved audio-video editing, animation, and VFX creation also had their main colors changed to purple as a result of the aforementioned redesign.[citation needed]
Although Adobe Animate is moving towards web-standard file formats, Flash (.swf) and AIR (.air) formats are still officially supported.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abLardinois, Frederic (February 9, 2016)."Adobe Launches Animate CC, Previously Known As Flash Professional".TechCrunch.
- ^abFlash is Dead, Long Live Adobe Animate CC, Benjie Moss, Dec. 1, 2015, WebDesignerDepot
- ^Shankland, Stephen (December 2, 2015)."The death of Adobe's Flash is lingering, not sudden".CNet.
- ^Adobe releases Flash Professional successor Animate CC, Harrison Weber, Feb 8 2016,VentureBeatAs of May 15, 2022 Adobe will release an iPad Version
- ^Gay, Jonathan."The History of Flash: The Dawn of Web Animation".Adobe Systems. Archived fromthe original on March 20, 2015. RetrievedNovember 12, 2011.
- ^"The Flash History". flashmagazine.com. Archived fromthe original on August 2, 2018. RetrievedNovember 12, 2011.
- ^Cunningham, Andrew (May 6, 2013)."Adobe's Creative Suite is dead, long live the Creative Cloud".Ars Technica. RetrievedOctober 30, 2020.
- ^"Adobe bows to HTML5 and renames its Flash Professional app".Engadget. AOL. December 2015. RetrievedDecember 1, 2015.
- ^"Welcome Adobe Animate CC, a new era for Flash Professional". December 2015.