Hype 3 Pro versus Freeway 7 Pro

What’s the advantage to using Freeway 7 Pro over Hype 3 Pro (or visa versa)? I’m new to both. Although I have been using Hype for a couple weeks now. The newest version allows you to easily create different layouts for different size devices. In the past it seems like people would use Hype as a Flash replacement to create animations and then insert those animations into something like Freeway. However, with the newest version of Hype, is there really a difference between the two applications? If anything, Hype has a much more intuitive interface. It’s also very polished. It doesn’t look like Freeway has done much with its interface over the years. I’m trying to figure out if I can accomplish the same things (responsive sites) with both applications. Any insight would be appreciated. I’m trying to figure out the best workflow (use one or the other or a combination of the two)! Thanks.

Update - I asked the same questions on Freeway’s forum, and someone responded with “[Hype] is utterly dependent on javascript being enabled in the browser for it to function” as being a reason to not create websites with it. Is that a valid point?

That is a true statement. Hype needs JavaScript. I couldn't even get a rectangle to display with JavaScript disabled.

The obvious counter-argument to that issue is this – The modern Internet is quite limited for web browsers without JavaScript. Very few browsers have this feature disabled. If it is disabled, then it's usually done intentionally by the user.

This looks like the thread you mentioned....

I'm not sure what's meant by "multiple undos". I think it's actually kinda unsettling how far back I can go into the past with a Hype document. I can see all the mistakes I made while building the project. Also, while Hype is probably not ideal for accessibility, I don't think it's horrible. "Tab Index" helps with accessibility.

I haven't used Freeway 7 Pro though. I don't know how it truly compares to Hype. I usually use Artisteer to make pretty websites quickly. I mostly use Hype as a replacement for Flash.

Is it possible you're comparing two different applications?

Yes, that's the thread. "Multiple undos" just means the number of times you can "command+z" and go backwards. It's strange to me that you can only undo the very last thing you did, and nothing else. You basically can't mess up or else you have to delete what you have and start over. I'll check out Artisteer. I think it's Windows only though, right? I like Hype. But I've been told it isn't a tool for creating fully websites.

Hype could create a whole site. For a small brochure site, it's probably OK. (Although, it is a problem for visitors without JavaScript.) For something more complex, I probably wouldn't use Hype. I mainly work with content management systems, like Drupal and WordPress. Artisteer is just easier for that. Artisteer is mainly for creating themes, Hype is mainly for adding interactivity and animation. I've also been working on making apps with Hype.

I have a Windows laptop to run Artisteer. I haven't updated it in a while though, as I'm thinking I should try to stay away from WYSIWYG editors for future projects. I think I can make my projects lighter by doing the design / development myself.

Our general recommendation is to use Hype for highly animated and interactive content; if your entire page is this way then it probably makes sense to make it all in Hype. Otherwise if it is a more structured and traditional site then you'd probably be better off using tools created for this (like Freeway, Muse, Sparkle, raw coding, etc.) and then make the animated parts in Hype and embed them.

Hype can work with Freeway; please see here:

To address the accessibility concern, Hype documents are not a "black hole." Because of the absolutely positioned nature there's less accessibility structure than might be desired for a standard site. Users can add accessibility information to help fill in the gaps via the Identity inspector. See our documentation for more info.

And as a complete side note, I will say that Undo is one of the most thankless parts of an app; getting it right is very hard. Even Hype's unlimited undos are far from perfect.

1 Like

Thanks a lot for the information. Does anyone have any experience using
Webflow.com? It looks like an online version of Freeway with a nice
interface. Would it be possible to embed Hype content into Webflow?

Even though I have made several sites with hype only (they work perfectly well on all devices) I fully agree with Jonathan. Yet, there are better tools out there than the ones mentioned !

Freeway has definitely changed over the years. The single undo is a problem and the object formatting can get a confusing (e.g., different controls for “stretchy” and “flexible”) but it is a great app. And it does, indeed support JS. Where I hit a wall was with responsive layouts. As long as they are not too complex, it works well, but when you have a lot going on in responsive layouts, it can crash.
Responsive sites with Hype are easy because you can lay out the widest version and then create the narrower breakpoints and the initial content is duplicated (and can be resized). With Freeway, you create one, lay it out, create the next breakpoint, and then turn off rather than resize content and add the replacement content.
Hype is great for fairly simple sites (“brochure” sites as mentioned in another comment) but once things get really busy it can take a while to load (try to have simple stuff with more than one scene – you can tell scene 2+ content to load after the first scene loads and displays). If Hype would support scriptable loading natively (e.g., trigger an object load at a specific frame or after a specific period of time), this would be a huge boon for with Hype-based sites.
My way of working with Freeway and Hype (a compromise) is to stack a series of Hype items as markup objects placed inline within a responsive layout and then adjust the bottom margins to get rid of the gap.

This is valid up to a point. Disable JS and try using Facebook, Gmail, or really any of the modern web. People who browse with JS disabled are going to be a edge case. But it's a consideration none the less.

I have to agree that Hype shouldn't be used to develop entire websites. I suppose it's possible, but sounds like a maintenance nightmare. Creative and Dev teams have better things to do than update banner copy :smile:. We use Hype in production where we have motion heavy hero areas, or complex infographics that aren't data-driven. It makes more sense to just let the designers use Hype and do something cool, then hovering over a developer for a few hours trying to get timing and easing right.

Of course I see a world where I can create WatsonDG level sites in something like Hype, but i'm not holding my breath :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

I have dealt with Freeway for about 5 years now, and after all this time , I still have to use their 120+ page manual for their interface far more than I should. Don’t like to be negative but their interface looks like something Microsoft built in the 90"s. The developer told me they used Quark Express as a model, which maybe gave me a bad attitude about it from the beginning. If you were around 20 years ago, you may have heard it called “Quirk” LOL I use it because I do have basic familiarity with it.

I just create an HTML item and plug in the Javascript and it generally works well, but its sure a lot of work if you don’t use it every single day, hard to remember all of the buried menus. I have never had much luck with any of the Actions, I just find a way in the menus.

But I am going to switch to Sparkle, have played just a little with it, but it looks and operates like a Mac app!

1 Like

@344kellogg,
This week, I've played with what's out there in terms of Web Design Builders (Primarily WYSIWYG Editors), to include Blocs App 1.5, Sparkle 1.2.7, Pigendo 3, Adobe Muse CC 2015, Freeway Pro 7

In comparison, in my opinion, Adobe Muse CC 2015 had the upper hand in terms of features combined with ease of use & 2nd came Sparkle 1.2.7.

What are my thoughts on how did they matched up against Hype 3.0.3. I beleive they all came up short, in terms of ease of use, robustness, and animation power, to Hype Pro 3.0.3 The guys here have said that they have built full websites with hype, so I'm comfortable with that given that there is nothing out, now, that matches what Hype Pro 3 can do. Yes! There are features on other software out there that can do dropdown menus and custom forms built in, and other little things, but that's pretty much it. If there is an app I am missing that performs as good as Hype in terms of built in features, to include animations, forms, menus, etc.. Please let me know cause I've exhausted myself looking for this kind of WYSIWYG editor and closest is Adobe Muse CC 2015 (in my opinion).

To conclude, in my opinion, Freeway Pro 7 does't compare to Hype Pro 3.03...

Regards,
techgiant2000, Hype Pro 3.0.3, Mac OSX El Capitan, Safari 9

1 Like

Apples and oranges. Where FW failed was in the areas of clunky responsive tools and a lack of modernization. As for the UI overall, the more power, the more complex the UI. I really like the CSS formatting tools - turn on what you want and everything else is hidden, then hit the breakpoint popup and tweak the attributes, hit the next breakpoint and the settings of the wider breakpoint are carried forward for more tweaking. Compared to such apps as DW and Pinegrow - where the CSS interface shows everything plus the kitchen sink - is a headache and creates a productivity hit.

An important consideration is that of SEO. Having text, images and streaming video right on the page ups the ranking. I have found that the best balance for a rich media site is to intersperse text and photos with Hype animations so that search engines can jump right to the tags. Another issue is that Hype animations should not be overly ambitious so that a Hype-heavy site is not filled with content trying to compete with itself. Small items can be useful also, such as the classic spinning newspaper button for a blog link, etc.