Luis,
> Is Flash MX 2004 Professional the same as Flash 8?
No. Flash MX 2004 Professional is the professional version
of Flash 7.
Flash 8 came after Flash MX 2004.
> Flash CS3 is listed as Flash 9. Are there other versions
> of Flash between Flash MX 2004, which is listed as
> Flash 7, and Flash CS3, which is listed as Flash 9?
The official product names haven't always been intuitive.
Here is a
list since Flash 5, with official names on the left.
* Flash 5
* Flash MX (Flash 6)
* Flash MX 2004 (Flash 7)
* Flash 8
* Flash CS3 (Flash 9)
> Is Flash 8 still available for sale or has it been
discontinued
> since Flash CS3 became available?
You may still find it at software retailers, but Adobe no
longer sells
Flash 8 that I know of.
> Will Flash 8 open Flash CS3 files?
No, for the same reason that Flash MX 2004 cannot open Flash
8 files,
Flash MX cannot open Flash MX 2004 files, and so on back.
Each current
version of Flash can save to the previous version for source
files. That
means I can create something in Flash CS3 and potentially
save it as a Flash
8 FLA, as long as I don't use CS3-specific features, such as
ActionScript
3.0. Flash 8 can save its files as Flash MX 2004 FLAs, as
long as you don't
use 8-specific features, such as blend modes.
All versions of Flash can publish SWFs as far back as you'd
like,
following the same "as long as" rule I just mentioned.
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/2k29mj
"Luck is the residue of good design."
