Fireworks 3 offers many new features to enhance your Web design experience.
Fireworks 3 and Dreamweaver 3 work together more efficiently to help you move your graphics to the Web:
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Fireworks improved behaviors are recognized as native Dreamweaver behaviors. |
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Dreamweaver automatically locates the Fireworks source file when you launch and optimize Fireworks graphics from within Dreamweaver. |
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Insert sliced and assembled graphics from Fireworks into Dreamweaver by choosing the Insert Fireworks command in Dreamweaver. The Fireworks graphics and associated HTML are automatically placed in the correct place and the links are automatically updated. |
For more information, see Planning your Web site.
Export preview in the workspace
Preview all your work, including rollovers, without leaving the workspace, and compare files as they would be exported:
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The new Preview window displays your optimized graphic in the workspace. |
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The new Optimize panel lets you change optimization settings for the graphic in the Preview. |
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The 2-up and 4-up windows let you compare two or four different optimized versions of a graphic, or compare the original to optimized versions. |
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Select and optimize individual slices in the Preview window. |
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Preview rollovers and animations in action without launching a Web browser. |
For more information about previewing in the workspace, see Optimizing in the workspace.
The History panel gives you flexibility with many-step undo and redo. It records all work and displays a complete list of recent steps. Review and move among these different steps by dragging the History panel slider.
Save groups of steps as Commands, then apply them to other images. You can also copy and paste them. You can save Commands that recreate graphics that are repeated in a site. Commands are cross-platform, so you can share them with others working on the same project or wanting to achieve the same look.
For more information, see Creating command scripts using the History panel.
Both Fireworks 3 and Dreamweaver 3 tasks can be automated with JavaScript. You can even create scripts that will control Fireworks from Dreamweaver.
Improved handling of Photoshop effects and files
These improvements enhance your ability to work with Adobe® Photoshop® files in Fireworks:
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Edit Photoshop layer effects using the Effect panel. |
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Use many scriptable Photoshop filters as Live Effects. |
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Retain the editability of text layers in imported Photoshop files. |
For more information, see Applying a Live Effect and Opening Photoshop files.
Repurpose graphics you create in Fireworks for print or animation media:
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Export Fireworks documents as vectors for import into FreeHand® 8 and Illustrator®. |
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Export Fireworks documents as SWF files for import into Macromedia Flash. |
For more information, see Exporting an image.
Improved slice, rollover, and animation features
Creating impressive navigation bars, rollovers, and animated GIF files in Fireworks and placing them in HTML is much easier:
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Create navigation bars using new Dreamweaver-compatible behaviors, such as Set Nav Bar Image. You can also create navigation bars quickly using button symbols. |
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Update Fireworks 3 tables in any HTML file. |
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Create polygon slices that let you swap irregularly shaped interlocking images. |
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Create overlapping slices without HTML errors. |
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Use the Fireworks Library, which looks and behaves like the Library in Flash. You can create libraries of reusable symbols to update several Web graphics simultaneously. |
For more information, see Planning your Web site, Comparing slices with hotspots, and Selecting objects.
Use the new Button Editor to create rollover buttons without any prior Web design experience. Experts will also want to take advantage of the convenience of the Button Editor and the button symbols:
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The Button Editor helps you create buttons by giving you tips during each step of the creation process. |
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You can edit the button symbol anytime with the Button Editor. |
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You can easily edit button text on all button states simultaneously using the Object inspector. |
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All states of a button symbol move when you relocate it on your graphic, eliminating the tedious need to relocate and realign each state manually. |
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You can change the appearance of a group of buttons without affecting the text on each button using a nested button symbol. |
For more information, see What is a button?.
With new bitmap editing options, you can correct images without leaving Fireworks:
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Adjust the contrast and brightness. |
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Adjust the hue and saturation. |
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Correct the tonal range using Levels, Auto Levels, and Curves. |
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Apply them all as Live Effects. |
For more information, see Using filters and plug-ins.
The gamma preview lets you view how a graphic looks on another computer platform. When working on the Windows platform, view how a graphic looks on the Macintosh platform and vice versa. For more information, see What is Fireworks?
Instant access to textures and patterns
Use textures and patterns to expand your creative options for strokes and fills. Fireworks 3 lets you apply textures or patterns based on bitmap files of practically any type, located on any disk accessible to your computer. For more information, see Selecting objects.
These new features add transformation control:
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Choose from bicubic, bilinear, nearest neighbor, or soft interpolation scaling options. |
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Rotate the canvas and all objects on the canvas. |
For more information, see Selecting objects.
New text and font features expand your control:
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You can automatically resize text blocks vertically and horizontally as you enter text. |
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You can view a font before applying it to text using the Font preview. |
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You can substitute missing fonts for another font installed on your computer. The next time you open the document, Fireworks remembers the new font you specified. |
For more information, see Entering text.
View many third-party filters as Live Effects, including Photoshop filters and favorites like Alien Skin Eye Candy.
Point to the plug-ins folder or load them directly into Fireworks and instantly create the desired effect on any object. Text, images, graphics, paths, and strokes can have multiple Live Effects applied to them. You can easily add as many effects as you like.
These effects are completely editable. If you make any change to the object, the effect automatically updates. Favorite settings can be saved and applied to other objects.