Which version of Flash?

[LlamaReaper]

I haven't animated in quite awhile so I'm a little lost. I plan on collaborating with people, here on this site, so I wonder which version of flash would be best for that. Does it matter even? I think I remember people having trouble with file formats in certain collabs I was a part of. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

[Atlas]

CS5 is the latest but I think anything from CS3 and up should be fine.

[Expectrum]

The problem in collabs arise from compatibility. If you had Flash CS5, for example, and the collab organizer was using Flash CS3 to put together all the parts, you would have to save your part in Flash CS3 format at least. The issue here is that Flash CS5 can only save in it's own format and the previous version (CS4). In this scenario, you would have to save your .fla file in CS4 format and then send it to someone who had Flash CS4 installed and have that person save it in CS3 format. A big mess.

You shouldn't have to worry about this when picking a version of Flash, since there is always a work-around and it's hard to avoid compatibility problems. If you'd still rather use an older version that would be compatible with most people, that would be Flash 8. That said, you can only purchase the latest version from the Adobe website, so your options are limited. Good luck.