Convert freehand files to Illustrator CS4

[Rame...@adobeforums.com]

Why Adobe is hesitating to provide a plugin to convert freehand files to illustrator files? Why Adobe forgets/ignores that users create text books in MX Freehand? It is not yet suitable to convert freehand file to illustor. It should be capable like that opening pagemaker files into Indesign. Or it is hard to make such plugin?

Hope a positive mind.
Thanks.!

[Benjamin...@adobeforums.com]

To some extent this exists as a simple "import" or "open file" in CS4?

CS4 does open FH files a lot better than did CS2 or CS3. It would be good to have a way to actively seek out, view, and redefine the stuff that doesn't come through now, including substitute methods of accomplishing things (swatches made from tiled fills or lens fills; make opaque objects with separate solid strokes on upper layer/sublayer to replace FH's lens fills that are styled with solid strokes.

As a cartographer what I have most trouble with in translated files is type on curves - the sliders are exactly on top of each other and need to be dragged out along the curve - devilishly hard to grab the top handle, then you have to grab the bottom handles and drag them back again. Grr.