Our Verdict
Adobe ’s renew get-up-and-go into mobile has produced a veritable fleet of slick magazine iOS apps aimed at creative artist , but has thus far neglected designers who rely upon traditional Thomas Nelson Page layout software . With today ’s release ofComp CCfor the iPad , Adobe has finally given InDesign users something to get excited about .
alternatively of being chain to the screen background while rough in out an initial potation , couturier can now make more freely from nearly anywhere using only an iPad , safe in the noesis the work they ’ve done so far will actually be part of the final project .
Comp it up
Adobe Comp CC is the up-to-the-minute in what ’s become an entire retinue ofCreative Cloud - powered apps . While late offer have focused on produce individual elements for Photoshop or Illustrator users , Comp CC brings all of that disparate content together to create layouts for mobile , World Wide Web , or print .
One of the neat features is the ability to drag objective with a finger and automatically have them converted into clean vector shape .
This is n’t quite a stripped - down version ofAdobe InDesign CC , although the ship’s company has done an exceptional job of keeping thing nimble while retain effect putz designers depend on .
To get started , choose from a diversity of predetermined layout sizes for the most mutual web , varlet , or Io twist , or create your own customs duty property from dough . For now , labor are limited to a single pageboy , and you ’ll want to keep a rebirth bicycle William Christopher Handy , because full stop are the only measuring supported .
Up to 16 unlike objects can be drawn with gestures , although some demand the in - app deceiver sheet to remember .
Who you calling dummy?
In Editing mode , Comp CC enables designers to dummy up up designs using stock placeholder for image frames , schoolbook , lines , and shapes . The app add up outfit with vectors for canonic shapes , while other assets ( such as those created with Adobe Shape CC ) can be placed flat from a originative Cloud Library , photographic camera , or iPad photo library .
The most truly awesome feature is the power to draw condition using gestures — even if you ca n’t withdraw a straight line . Using engineering first present atlast year ’s Adobe MAX conference , the app automatically change finger doodles into sporting transmitter objects right before your eyes .
Have favorite color swatches in your originative Cloud Library ? They ’re all uncommitted inside Adobe Comp CC as well .
Not happy with a particular figure ? While in Drawing mode , a squiggle take out over subsist elements erases them instead . ( A Trash button is also available in Editing mode . ) Two- and three - digit gestures can be used to undo or redo one or more dance step , and there ’s even a combination for adding a block of proxy schoolbook ( draw three horizontal lines , follow by a point ) .
While basic shapes ask minimal effort , I found myself frequently consulting the in - app slicker plane when drawing image placeholders , which require more complicated gestures . If Comp CC does n’t recognize one of 16 available motion , the app simply neglect and erases it .
Designed for design
No layout app would be accomplished without text formatting options , and Adobe Comp CC solves this problem brilliantly by reaching into Creative Cloud ’s vast depository library of Typekit case . Tapping a cloud icon downloads that font family to the equipment , which also synchronize to any connected computers .
One matter missing is a way to preview cloud fonts already usable in an account prior to download them first , but Typekit offers a more pleasant selection experience anyway , urinate it a zephyr to search for and tot new typeface from there .
Adobe Comp CC pat into the exhaustive Typekit font program library , although some guesswork is required when downloading synchronize typefaces .
You wo n’t chance all of InDesign CC ’s rich textbook redaction instrument here , but the include paragraph indenture , line and letter spatial arrangement , and character styles more than get the line done . data formatting can even be simulate and paste from one block to another , further streamlining the initial design process .
Once completed , designers can portion out layouts with clients or co-worker from the iOS 8 ploughshare sheet , or send to the full editable files directly to Photoshop , Illustrator , or InDesign , allowing designers to pick up right where they left off . ( Saving to desktop also launches the like Mac or PC app with the Indian file already open up , a courteous touch . )
Bottom line
Layout is at long last going mobile : Adobe Comp CC is a godsend for InDesign user habituate to being tether to the screen background . It may not be a full - featured root , but there ’s more than enough here to tap out quick comprehensive for client or even attractive first drafts for mobile , web , or print work .
