New Expression

This article was originally published in VSJ, which is now part of Developer Fusion.
Microsoft has released an updated version of its suite of professional design tools that works with Visual Studio 2005/2008. Expression Studio 2 includes Expression Web 2, Expression Blend 2, Expression Design 2, Expression Media 2 and Expression Encoder 2. Innovations in XAML, used by both Expression Studio and Visual Studio, are intended to promote designer-developer collaboration in the creation of both standards-based and Silverlight-enhanced Web experiences, as well as Windows Vista and .NET Framework 3.5 client applications.

The products together contain more than 100 new features, and introduce new Silverlight functionality for creating cross-browser, cross-platform Web experiences. Key features include the following:

  • Expression Web 2 adds support for PHP and Adobe Photoshop import.
  • Expression Blend 2, in addition to Silverlight support, adds vertex animation and an improved user interface with a new split design/XAML view.
  • Expression Design 2 adds improved exporting functionality including the ability to export slices.
  • Expression Media 2 is a digital asset management solution for photographers and other creative professionals. It adds support for the latest file formats including RAW, provides geotagging functionality, and is supported by Office 2007 and Office for Mac 2008.
  • Expression Encoder 2 is now a core offering of the suite. It allows creative and Web professionals to optimise almost any type of video content for publishing on the Web, either in streaming video, rich-media advertising or other Web 2.0 projects.

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