Tutorials: How to Use Adobe's New Project ROME Design Software

[UPDATE (February 2013) – The commercial version of Project ROME will remain free for public download! (Windows and Mac OS)]

In all the excitement last week with the hundreds of free online sessions from the Adobe MAX conference, there was a brand new product debut that should get just as much press. Adobe launched a free preview of their new Project ROME content creation and publishing applica­tion for print, photo, presentations, animation, and web. And this is a pretty cool tool if you haven’t checked it out yet. The streamlined interface with plenty of templates helps you get started quickly, and the “all-in-one” nature allows you to easily borrow and repurpose content across projects or from the cloud.

The best way to get a sense of it is a quick one-minute demo:

What is Project ROME – What Does it Do?

Project ROME is the most universal publishing software on the market, combining compre­hensive printing, imaging, animation and website solutions on one powerful and versatile multimedia platform. In ROME, we can start out by drawing a flyer and go on to creating an impressive online presentation from that same design – without having to change software or file format. You can save your project as PDF, images, Web pages, Flash (SWF), or vector graphics (SVG) files.

ROME connects users to a vibrant, asset-sharing internet community – so you never start from a blank page. Load images and clips directly from your computer or access an abundance of multimedia files online.

ROME is founded on portable Adobe AIR technology, which enables web applications to run as standalone programs without the constraints of a browser. As a result, ROME allows you to jump effortlessly between local (desktop) and web-based operation, so you can work on your files from virtually anywhere.

And ROME is extremely easy to use – all tools are contextual, tuned exactly to what you’re working on. There are no fixed palettes, no convoluted menus. The interface is intuitive and fluid, yet powerful – so the technology doesn’t get in your way of expressing ideas with video, audio, photos, graphics, text and animation.

Project ROME Reviews – What are People Saying?

Put simply, the reviews thus far have been very positive:

“After only a few minutes of using ROME all I can say is Wow!”
“This is what I was expecting from Adobe! It is the best content creation software I have ever used.”
“A great alternative to Apple’s iWork and iLife apps. The warp tool for images is better than what’s in Photoshop right now.”
“This is why I just love everything ADOBE. Keep the cutting-edge technology coming.”
“Project ROME is awesome! I love the ability to combine different publishing options, with animations and image editing!”
“You have done it again. As always Adobe innovates once again and improves upon everything else that has been done before.”
“Gorgeous. I just would like to say, thank you team – great job!”
“This is a real cool service/app that has the potential of really changing the collabo­ration landscape.”
“I have used this for a number of things now and find it very easy to use. Keep up the good work – great idea!”
“I think Adobe is going for world domination! Seriously though, this is a fantastic idea and it should be taken to its limits.”
“This is a great product. I’ve been looking for something like this.”
“ROME is really exciting – kudos to Adobe and the product creators!”

Adobe Project ROME Tutorial – Learn How to Get Started

After downloading the software, here’s a 20-minute, five-chapter video tutorial to help you get going, covering working with photos and vector graphics, creating animations and websites, and getting new templates and art using the Community Exchange:

ROME’s free product preview is available for a limited time, with the following minimum system requirements: Microsoft Windows XP or Mac OS X v10.5.x (or higher), screen resolution of at least 1024×600, 2 GB of RAM, and Adobe Flash Player 10.1.x or higher (for the browser-based version) or Adobe AIR 2.0.3 or higher (for the desktop version).

The program is part of Adobe’s ongoing move to add more product offerings to “lightweight” environments such as AIR and the cloud, and make them higher volume, lower cost, and subscription-based. With regards to pricing, Adobe says that when Project ROME is released in final form, it will be offered as an affordable, paid subscription service.

For more tutorials on the topics below plus much more information, or to download the free software itself, see Adobe’s Project ROME site.