I, too, am profoundly disappointed with Adobe's decision. When they bought Macromedia I had the opportunity to speak with an Adobe rep at a trade show and he assured me FreeHand wasn't going away. That was almost 2 years ago. My how things change.

I wish they'd sell it off to a company who would develop it, it's such an awesome program. Illustrator has some strengths, but FreeHand is still my preferred app for illustration work. I fear that Adobe is becoming the MicroSoft of the Mac world. Sigh.

I use FreeHand AND Illustrator to get my creating done. I love FreeHand's abilities for being able to select through a stack of items and then still be able to modify that item without resecting the top item in the stack. The type controls are much better in FreeHand, and FreeHand's pen tool and selection ability are just plain better than Illustrator's. Aligning things is easier in FreeHand too. Oh, and let's not forget multiple pages in one document. Having said that, Illustrator makes much better use of pallets and being able to see the size of my entire selection is very important to me.

I'm sure going to miss getting an updated FreeHand, having used it since version 3.1, but I'll keep on using MX until whatever operating system in the future won't let me run it, at least until Illustrator works the way I do.

Freehand was basic and simple, but it did everything if you knew how to use it and it worked very well without being a memory hog. Best of all it never got in the way of my creativity like Illustrator with all the bells and whistles which wouldn't do what I wanted only what it thought I wanted. I will continue to use it as long as I possibly can.

Freehand has been my software rock since the 80s as well. I think it is rocket fast and accurate when compare to any other vector program I have used. Illustrator has some features that aren't found any where else, but it seem bulky and muscle bound compared to the ease of using Freehand. I hope other creative software developers are watching what is happening here and pick up the torch with something new to fill in the void that Freehand will leave. I think it takes at least three times longer to build simple or complex vector illustration using any other package. The diehard users know exactly what I'm talking about. Thanks to Adobe for the best pixel editor in the business. Illustrator has a long way to go to come close speed and production power of Freehand.

I have been a Freehand user since its inception. Over the years I have used the various iterations of Illustrator and have found them significantly more difficult and confusing than Freehand. And so I have continued to make Freehand my vector program of choice.

I can understand Adobe's dropping of Freehand from a business perspective...I don't like it, but I understand. But I really resent the $200 fee for upgrade paths. That's just flat out bullying.

WEG Thomas

I am a die-hard FreeHand user and will continue to use it as long as I'm able to use a computer. I have taken Illustrator classes, done tutorials, and the interface is not as intuitive as FreeHand. I knew this was coming, but Adobe should realize the user base of FreeHand is using it for a reason. It's a better illustration program. I just hope that they take the best features of FH and integrate it into their inferior product.

Freehand is friendly to use and has superior tools for creating images

Illustrator is a great program -- I hold no ill feelings towards it. But when compared to the usability and the quickness of FreeHand? I have always preferred FreeHand for web graphics and print. I must admit disappointment in their decision.