Microsoft finally recognises that web authoring needs a standards-compliant tool, albeit on its own terms.

QuarkXPress defines and dominates high-end publishing in much the same way as Adobe Photoshop does photo editing.

A period of transition as Adobe deals with its Macromedia inheritance and the changing nature of the web.

With Web Standard/Premium, Design Premium AND Macromedia’s products now absorbed into CS3, choosing the right suite is EASY.

Microsoft prepares to march into Adobe territory with its forthcoming suite of graphics and web development software.

Our massive guide to Adobe's huge overhaul of the Creative Suite, including reviews of Photoshop CS4, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver.

My main reaction to the first 1998 edition of Photoshop for the Web was surprise. After all, Photoshop 5 was a print-based photo editor with no dedicated Web features and little to offer apart from the ability to save to JPEG and GIF...

With advanced packages such as the latest Photoshop (to be reviewed next month) Adobe is the leading software developer when it comes to traditional graphic design...

A new interface, drawing engine and programming language, but surprisingly little new power.

FrontPage used to pride itself on its almost code-free approach to Web design, but not any more. Top of the new coding features is the Split View, which combines layout and HTML views. There are also improved code formatting and Auto-complete features, providing a drop-down list of context-sensitive options as you type. Auto-complete also handles regularly reused code snippets and works with HTML, CSS, XSL, JavaScript, JScript, VBScript and ASP .NET, which are all directly editable.

Revolutionary approach to modern web design that removes the pain from CSS-based theme designing.

Macromedia Contribute (March 2003, page 57) caused considerable excitement with its ability to keep site content up-to-date, under control and within budget.

A shift of focus to advanced CSS and JavaScript handling, but Dreamweaver is beginning to look old-fashioned

What makes Publisher different is its automated approach to design through its colour and font schemes and huge range of publication templates. These are handled via the redesigned Task Pane, which now has a simplified Start panel offering drill-down access to project types split into print, Web and themed sets. Another ten attractive master sets increase the total to 45.

Adobe builds on its print strengths to take its rich design mission online. And it has made a success of it, too.

With Flash media handling and integration with Acrobat.com the Acrobat platform embraces the Internet – at last

Adobe significantly strengthens its print, web and production workflows – and the integration between them

Powerful new versions of InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, and now Acrobat 8 Professional too.

Macromedia Flash (May 2002, page 60), Dreamweaver, Fireworks and FreeHand (Studio MX, November 2002, page 71), have all been given the MX treatment, and now it's Director's turn.

The new interface plus PDF and AIR export sees Fireworks CS4 fully integrated into the Creative Suite.