Beta Release of Adobe Experience Design CC (XD) available now, Project Felix and New Lightroom Interface and Features are revealed; Photoshop gets Touch Bar support on Latest Apple MacBook Pro

Adobe announced the release of the first beta of Adobe Experience Design CC (XD) for Windows 10 and Project Felix which debuted at Adobe MAX 2016, together with a series of updates to Creative Cloud desktop and mobile apps, helping improve the workflow of millions of creatives worldwide.

New Updates in Adobe Experience Design CC

Adobe announced the first public beta release of Adobe Experience Design CC (XD) for Windows 10, which is delivered as Adobe’s first Universal Windows Platform (UWP) application, and is now available for download. The first release of Adobe XD for Windows 10 comprises a core set of features for designing and prototyping websites and mobile apps, including XD’s innovative repeat grid tool for speeding up the layout of design elements, as well as the visual connectors for wiring up interactive prototypes. Users can export assets from their XD document as PNGs and experience the prototype on either desktop or through the XD mobile app. In coming months, features like sharing, layers, pen and touch support, symbols and more will be coming to Adobe XD for Windows.

Adobe has also added the following new capabilities to Adobe XD for iOS and Android so as to respond to feedback from users:

· Viewing XD documents: introducing the ability to open any XD document stored in the Creative Cloud Files folder directly on uses’ mobile device, as well as ability to interact with the prototype when disconnected or offline.

· Navigating prototypes: users can now browse all the artboards in a document and select a specific screen to view in addition to navigating via defined prototype interactions. Users are also able to turn hotspot hints on or off.

· Sharing from mobile: users can now share the current prototype screen as images with clients or other stakeholders for feedback.

Project Felix Available for Download Now

Showcased at Adobe MAX 2016 in November, Project Felix is an industry-first design tool that enables graphic designers to easily create high quality, photo-realistic images by combining 2D and 3D assets for projects such as advertising and product shots, product design, scene visualization and concept mock-ups, and abstractarts. Users can have in-app access to 3D models, materials, lights and background images licensed from Adobe Stock’s marketplace of 3D assets, or import users’ own assets from the desktop or via shared CC Libraries.

Felix enables users to tilt, rotate and transform individual models, move around the scene, as well as adjust the lighting and edit surfaces with easy-to-use tools. It also enables real-time rendering which allows users to preview work while editing. Users are able to export the renders to Photoshop for post-processing.

Other updates to Creative Cloud include:

· The new Reference View functionality is now available in Adobe Lightroom CC 2015.8. It is a new view mode available in the Develop Module that allows users to compare two different images in order to make them visually consistent. Performance improvements such as better image editing responsiveness and the ability of zoom to fit and zoom to fill are also included in this update.

· Camera Raw 9.8 is now available through the update mechanism in Photoshop CC and the Creative Cloud application. The goal of this release is to provide additional camera raw support, lens profile support and address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Camera Raw.

· Updates in Lightroom for iOS 2.6 include a new edit interface which enables users to edit images quickly and easily with a single hand and ensure they can see the entire image when modifying it as well as get to often used tools without the need to use their second hand. A new info section which expands the interface so additional groups of functionality can be added in has been introduced. Another update is a new capture interface that gives access to a brand new professional mode which enablesusers to control all aspects of the camera’s exposure and focus.

· Photoshop now supports Apple Touch Bar, the multitouch display on the top of the new MacBook Pro keyboard. Using the Touch Bar, users can access Photoshop features and control right in the context of the current task on the main screen. The Touch Bar not only helps beginners navigate Photoshop but also gives experienced users speedier access to their “next step”.

Availability

Today’s updates to CC desktop and mobile apps are immediately available for download by Creative Cloud members as part of their membership at no additional cost. Membership plans are available for individuals, students, teams, educational institutions, government agencies and enterprises. For details on pricing and on the new features and capabilities launched today, visit:https://www.adobe.com/hk_en/creativecloud.html