FreeHand 8.x Files to FH 10.x - Thence to Affinity Designer?

[markt_a1b]

Things certainly are quiet around this forum, so I do hope that a significant number of users are at least still monitoring the new items posted. I have two questions:

1. I recently re-discovered on my shelf a still-sealed and unopened box containing FreeHand 10 for Mac OS Ex. Although I do still have on hand a couple of up-and-running dual-boot, dual-processor silver G4s, I would like to be able to run FreeHand 10 or later on a Windoze PeeCee. Is this installation package by now available anywhere for free download?

2. I happily and routinely run FreeHand 8 under Mac OS 9, but I would also like to work with some of these files within Affinity Designer (PeeCee). However, that program's Open/Import function works only with FH 10 and later version files. If I could open and then re-save these within FH 10 - preferably on the PeeCee - then they *should* be usable within Designer.

Any comments and recommendations would be *most* appreciated.

Thank you and best Regards,

MarkT

[FFH Mark]

H Mark, sorry for the delay responding. We have focused most of our energies over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
To answer your question, go to our home page and to our Downloads section. You will see FreeHandMX trial versions for Mac and Windows. Get the one you need and install. Because Adobe took down the validation site for Macromedia products, they now have a new page to show how you can validate a copy of FHMX and other Macromedia apps:
https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/macromedia-legacy-activation-error.html

—Mark

[markt_a1b]

Thank you so much for that information, Mark! It is *most* appreciated.

In the meantime I have installed FreeHand 10 for Mac OS Ex on the above-referenced OS 9/OS Ex G4, but have not yet had time to test the converted files within Affinity Designer (et al.).

I will follow your (and Adobe's) instructions, as outlined above, and report back with my findings.

Thanks again!

MarkT

[markt_a1b]

I installed the PeeCee version under Windoze 7.x, and after renaming some Mac .fh files to .fh11, they seem to opening just fine. There do appear to be some minor alignment changes between layer elements, but these can quite easily be adjusted.

In the meantime, having this version of the program on both PeeCee and a Mac *may* completely obviate the need to move any of the files into the Affinity suite of programs. If so, GREAT!

Thank you *very* much, Mark!

MarkT

[FFH Mark]

Glad it worked out for you. We are all keeping FreeHand alive as our vector tool of choice. Also, see our Facebook page for news, updates and featured FH design interviews:
https://www.facebook.com/FreeHandVectorDesign/?ref=hl
and Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FreeHandForum

markt_a1b wrote:
> I installed the PeeCee version under Windoze 7.x, and after renaming some
> Mac .fh files to .fh11, they seem to opening just fine. There do appear to
> be some minor alignment changes between layer elements, but these can quite easily be adjusted.
>
> In the meantime, having this version of the program on both PeeCee and a
> Mac *may* completely obviate the need to move any of the files into the
> Affinity suite of programs. If so, GREAT!
>
> Thank you *very* much, Mark!
>
> MarkT

[markt_a1b]

FFH Mark wrote:

> ...We are all keeping FreeHand alive as our vector
> tool of choice....

So very glad to hear that, Mark. Please do keep up this Web site!

For any number of reasons I choose not "do" Twitter or FaceF***, so having this forum and its various sections - particularly file downloads - available is highly valuable to me.

Is there a link for contributing financially to support the site?

Thanks again,

MarkT

[markt_a1b]

FFH Mark,

Associated with my FH MX "Demo" installation process, I could have sworn that I saw a ReadMe file stating that a version of FH MX will run under Mac OS 9.x. Did I dream this, or is it truly the case? If so, is there a downloadable installer package available for that version?

In the meantime I discovered that my FreeHand 10.x upgrade package provides for installation of versions of that program under *both* OS 9 and OS X. (In either case, one needs to enter both the upgrade package serial number, *and* the serial number of the previous installation that is being upgraded.)

Thanks!

MarkT

[markt_a1b]

Just *after* posting the above questions, I found this statement in the "Using FreeHand MX" PDF file that installed with the Windoze version of the program:

... FreeHand [MX] runs on both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems.... For the Macintosh: a Power Macintosh G3 (or faster) computer running Mac OS 9.1 or later, or Mac OS 10.1 or later"

So, is the installer for FH MX for Mac OS 9.x available somewhere for download?

Thanks again,

MarkT

[markt_a1b]

FFH Mark,

Subsequent to the above posting, I have located free, downloadable upgrade packages for FreeHand MX for OS 9.x. However, *if* you could find and post to the freehandFORUM Downloads section the *Trial* version of that OS 9 installer, then that *should* allow for use of the same serial number as published by Adobe for the Trial version of FX for OS X (and Windoze) - i.e., the package downloadable from this Web site (FHD110-58402-67227-68568).

Otherwise, the packages downloadable from the following links are *Upgrade* versions of the program - albeit the serial numbers required for both the new MX and the upgrade FH10 are furnished within the documentation:

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/freehand-mx

https://macintoshgarden.org/sites/macintoshgarden.org/files/apps/MM-FreeHand-MX.sit

https://macintoshgarden.org/sites/macintoshgarden.org/files/apps/FreeHand_MX.img_.sit

See also:

https://macintoshgarden.org/about

-------------------

Thanks! MarkT