Adobe AlterCast is a new dynamic image server software solution
designed with graphics professionals in mind. AlterCast greatly extends
the power of Photoshop by linking key image parameters in
Photoshop PSD files (such as text content, layer visibility, and image
dimensions) to elements residing in a database or content management
system. This linkage enables Web publishers and other graphics
professionals to automatically generate multiple and varied iterations
of PSD files using templates developed with Photoshop commands and
executed by AlterCast programming scripts.
In a Web imaging workflow, Web designers create pages for a site just
as they normally would. The difference: Using ImageReady 7.0, Web
designers assign variables to those pages that, through programming
scripts created by a developer, can be dynamically updated by Alter-
Cast. For example, by integrating AlterCast into a Web imaging workflow,
headlines or price changes can be entered directly into a database.
A batch-processing script would then locate the original PSD
image file containing that text; automatically update the text while
retaining effects such as drop shadows; save a new version of the
graphic in GIF format with a user-defined file name and destination;
and post the updated graphic to the Web. Instead of making those
changes manually, the designer simply submits the new pricing information
into the database; AlterCast handles the rest.
To speed common production tasks, AlterCast can automatically
generate every file version a company needs whenever a new image is
created—from online thumbnails to low-resolution monochrome
images, for mobile devices to high-resolution printer files. AlterCast
delivers virtually any image in any common format to virtually any
online or print device. Image modifications and enhancements such as
resizing, color mode conversions and text replacement are made
possible by adding Photoshop imaging controls and Adobe font
technology to an enterprise-class server with industry-standard
interfaces.
By automating these processes, AlterCast frees designers and content
creators to concentrate on doing what they do best—building compelling,
visual Web page designs.
For more information about AlterCast, go to http://www.adobe.com/
products/altercast/. For an online trial of AlterCast, go to http://
altercast.netxposure.com.
The Brushes palette lets you preview brushes, such
as the Flowing Stars brush, as stroke thumbnails,
among other options.