Understanding the Interface

Chapter 2 ✦ Understanding the Interface 63

Figure 2-28: Adding links to your Web objects is

easy with the URL panel.

You can access most of Fireworks’ URL management utilities through the URL panel

Options menu, detailed in Table 2-13.

Table 2-13

URL Panel Options Menu Commands

Option Description

Add Used URLs to Library Adds the list of current URLs to the URL Library

Clear Unused URLs Removes all URLs from the current listing

Add URL Adds a new URL to the URL Library

Edit URL Opens the Edit URL dialog box

Delete URL Removes the selected URL from the URL Library

New URL Library Creates a new URL Library

Import URLs Loads a new set of URLs from a previously stored URL Library,

a bookmark file, or an HTML page

Export URLs Stores the current URL Library

Styles panel

If you’ve ever spent hours getting just the right combination of stroke, fill, and

effects for an object—and then find you need to apply the same combination to all

the navigation buttons throughout a Web site—you’ll greatly appreciate the

Fireworks Styles feature.

In Fireworks, a style is a collection of attributes that you can apply to any object.

The Styles panel is preset with a number of such designs, which appear as graphi￾cal buttons and text, with many more available on the Fireworks CD-ROM. To apply

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64 Part I ✦ Come See the Fireworks

a style, select the object and then select the style; you can even select multiple

objects (such as a row of navigation buttons) and apply the same style to them all

with one click. Styles are a terrific time-saver and a great way to maintain a consis￾tent look and feel.

The Styles panel, shown in Figure 2-29, is composed of a series of icons, each repre￾senting a different style. A style can have the following attributes: fill type, fill color,

stroke type, stroke color, effect, text font, text size, and text color. In addition to the

preset styles, you can also save your own combinations. Just highlight the object

with the desired attributes and select the New Style button on the Styles panel. You

can also accomplish this by choosing New Style from the Options menu. A full list

of the Styles panel Options menu commands appears in Table 2-14.

Figure 2-29: Automate applying a consistent look

and feel to your objects by using the Styles panel.

Table 2-14

Styles Panel Options Menu Commands

Option Description

New Style Creates a new style based on the current object

Edit Style Opens the Edit Style dialog box

Delete Styles Removes a selected style or styles

Import Styles Loads a new set of styles after the currently selected style

Export Styles Stores the currently selected style or styles

Reset Styles Reloads the default configuration of styles

Large Icons Displays the available styles with icons twice as large as

normal

Cross- Find out more about creating and applying styles in Chapter 16. Reference

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Chapter 2 ✦ Understanding the Interface 65

Library panel

The Library panel contains Fireworks Libraries: collections of symbols that you can

save and reopen as needed. Symbols are edited right in the Library. Dragging a sym￾bol from the Library panel and dropping it into a document creates an instance of

that symbol. Instances are copies of symbols that remain linked to the symbol and

inherit changes to the symbol. Instances are similar to a Windows file shortcut or

Mac alias—right down to the arrow badge—and can be animated, tweened, and

edited as a group. You can save symbols in Symbol Libraries and use them again

and again in multiple documents.

The commands detailed in Table 2-15 are located in the Library panel Options

menu. Figure 2-30 shows the Library panel.

Figure 2-30: The Library panel enables you to

store Libraries of symbols.

Table 2-15

Library Panel Options Menu Commands

Option Description

New Symbol Creates a new symbol

Duplicate Duplicates the current symbol

Delete Removes the current symbol from the Library and all its

instances from the document

Edit Symbol Opens the selected symbol in its own window for editing

Properties Displays the Symbol Properties dialog box for the current

symbol

Select Unused Items Selects unused symbols in the Library

Continued

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66 Part I ✦ Come See the Fireworks

Table 2-15 (continued)

Option Description

Update Updates symbols that were imported from external Libraries

Play Consecutively displays all frames of a button

Import Symbols Imports symbols from a saved Library

Export Symbols Exports symbols to a saved Library

Find and Replace panel

Let’s suppose you’ve just finished the graphics for a major Web site, chock-full of

corporate logos, and you receive the call. You know, the one from the client who

informs you that the company has just been acquired and instead of NewCo, Inc.,

it’s now New2Co, Inc. Could you please redo all the graphics—by tomorrow?

Because Fireworks objects are always editable, the Find and Replace panel, shown

in Figure 2-31, makes updating a series of Web graphics a snap. You can change all

the graphics in a selection, a file, a frame, or a series of files. Moreover, Find and

Replace can handle more than just text; you can also alter fonts, colors, and URLs,

or even snap all the colors to their nearest Web safe neighbor.

Figure 2-31: Need to make global changes in

text, font, color, or URLs? Pull up the Find and

Replace panel and get the job done fast.

The Find and Replace feature works with the Project Log panel, which tracks

changes made to your documents. You can enable Project Log tracking through the

Options menu commands listed in Table 2-16, as well as specify replacement

options for multiple file operations.

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Chapter 2 ✦ Understanding the Interface 67

Table 2-16

Find and Replace Panel Options Menu Commands

Option Description

Add Files to Project Log Tracks changes made in a Find and Replace operation in the

Project Log

Replace Options Displays options for multiple-file Find and Replace operations

You can really ramp up your production level of Web graphics if you master the

Find and Replace feature. To learn more about it, see Chapter 18.

Project Log panel

With the power inherent in Fireworks automation tools, such as Find and Replace

and Batch Processing, you need a way to keep track of the many changes you may

make. The Project Log panel, shown in Figure 2-32, details each change that has

taken place and enables you to not only receive confirmation of the change, but

also to easily open any file that was affected.

Figure 2-32: Use the Project Log to manage your

Find and Replace and Batch Process operations.

In addition to listing documents altered during an automated process, you can use

the Project Log to keep a number of files close at hand, ready to be opened at will.

Through the Add Files to Log command, in the Options menu detailed in Table 2-17,

files can be made accessible, but not immediately opened. The Options menu also

enables you to quickly make changes to files in the Project Log and to re-export

them using their previous settings.

Cross- To find out more about what’s possible with the Project Log, turn to Chapter 18. Reference

Cross￾Reference

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68 Part I ✦ Come See the Fireworks

Table 2-17

Project Log Options Menu Commands

Option Description

Export Again Exports selected files in the Project Log using their previous

settings

Add Files to Log Includes additional graphic files in the Project Log without

initially opening them

Clear Selection Removes the selected files from the Project Log

Clear All Removes all files from the Project Log

Answers panel

The Answers panel, shown in Figure 2-33, is a Flash panel that dynamically interacts

with Macromedia’s Web site, allowing you to access a wide variety of information.

The Answers panel initially contains links to the What’s New file, the Readme file,

and the Fireworks Tutorials. Along with these links you find a button labeled

Update. Clicking the Update button checks the Macromedia Web site and refreshes

the panel with an option list containing access to tech notes, a Web search for tech

support issues, and a list of the newest extensions uploaded to the Fireworks

exchange. To Update the information in the panel again, select Settings from the

option list and then click Update Panel. The Answers panel Options menu has no

special settings.

Figure 2-33: The Answers panel is your window to

the Macromedia Web site. You can search for help,

view top TechNotes, and even see recently

uploaded extensions.

New The Answers panel is a new addition to Fireworks MX. Feature

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Chapter 2 ✦ Understanding the Interface 69

Using the Menus

You can also find many of the commands and options available in the various

Fireworks panels in the menus. You’ll also find, however, that many features are

unavailable anywhere else. This section provides a reference to every menu item in

Fireworks, along with its corresponding default keyboard shortcut, if available.

Windows users won’t see all of Fireworks’ menus unless a document window is

open.

Application menu (Mac OS X only)

The Application menu, also known as the Fireworks menu in this case, is an OS X

only menu that contains commands for setting up an application and controlling

how it interacts with the operating system. It is formally referred to the Application

menu because it becomes the name of the application that is forefront in the OS.

While in Fireworks, it’s the Fireworks menu, while in Dreamweaver it’s the

Dreamweaver menu, and so forth. Table 2-18 lists the commands in the Fireworks

menu.

Table 2-18

Fireworks Menu Commands (Mac OS X only)

Command Description Keystroke

About Fireworks Displays the About Fireworks dialog box with n/a

information about the application and its authors

Keyboard Shortcuts Displays the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box, which n/a

enables you to modify keyboard shortcuts

Preferences Displays the Preferences dialog box where you Command+U

set user preferences

Services Displays a submenu of available system services n/a

Hide Fireworks Hides the Fireworks application and all of Command+H

its windows

Hide Others Hides all running applications except for Fireworks n/a

Show All Shows all running applications n/a

Quit Fireworks Quits the Fireworks application Command+Q

In the tables throughout this chapter, commands or tools listed in bold text are

new or have changed menu, or panel, locations in Fireworks MX.

Note

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70 Part I ✦ Come See the Fireworks

File menu

Placing basic computer operations—creating, saving, and printing files—in the

File menu is standard practice. Fireworks follows this practice and also includes

commands for importing and exporting. All File menu commands are listed in

Table 2-19.

Table 2-19

File Menu Commands

Command Description Windows Macintosh

New Displays the New Document Ctrl+N Command+N

dialog box before creating a

new document

Open Displays the Open dialog box Ctrl+O Command+O

before opening existing

documents

Open Recent ➪ Displays a submenu of your n/a n/a

Your Recently recently opened documents

Opened Documents

Reconstitute Table Creates a Fireworks document n/a n/a

with slice objects from an

HTML table

Scan ➪ Twain Acquire Displays the interface dialog box n/a n/a

for a twain source, such as a

scanner, if one is available and has

been selected, before acquiring

an image

Scan ➪ Twain Select Displays the Select Source dialog n/a n/a

box before allowing you to select

a twain source to acquire an

image from

Scan ➪ Your Lists currently installed — n/a

Photoshop Acquire Photoshop Acquire plug-ins —

Plug-Ins typically, each plug-in enables you

(Macintosh only) to acquire an image from a

corresponding device

Close Closes the current document Ctrl+W Command+W

Save Saves a document, or displays Ctrl+S Command+S

the Save As dialog box for an

unnamed document

Save As Displays the Save As dialog box Ctrl+Shift+S Command+

before saving a document Shift+S

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Chapter 2 ✦ Understanding the Interface 71

Command Description Windows Macintosh

Save a Copy Displays the Save Copy As n/a n/a

dialog box before saving a

copy of a document

Revert Replaces the current document n/a n/a

with the previously saved version

of the same document

Import Displays the Import dialog box Ctrl+R Command+R

before importing a file into any

open document

Export Displays the Export dialog box Ctrl+Shift+R Command+

before exporting a document in Shift+R

the format specified in the

Optimize panel

Export Preview Displays the Export Preview Ctrl+Shift+X Command+

dialog box before exporting a Shift+X

document

Update HTML Places or updates Fireworks n/a n/a

HTML code in another HTML

file on the same computer

Export Wizard Displays the Export Wizard n/a n/a

before exporting a document

Batch Process Displays the Batch Process n/a n/a

dialog box before processing

multiple image files

Preview in Browser ➪ Previews a document in your F12 F12

Preview in Primary primary browser

Browser

Preview in Browser ➪ Previews a document in Shift+F12 Shift+F12

Preview in Secondary your secondary browser

Browser

Preview in Browser ➪ Displays the Locate Browser n/a n/a

Set Primary Browser dialog box before selecting a

browser as your primary browser

Preview in Browser ➪ Displays the Locate Browser n/a n/a

Set Secondary Browser dialog box before selecting a

browser as your secondary browser

Page Setup Displays the Page Setup dialog n/a n/a

box (for printing)

Print Displays the Print dialog box Ctrl+P Command+P

before printing a document

Continued

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72 Part I ✦ Come See the Fireworks

Table 2-19 (continued)

Command Description Windows Macintosh

HTML Setup Displays the HTML Setup n/a n/a

dialog box

Exit (Windows only) Quits Fireworks Ctrl+Q —

Edit menu

The Edit menu holds the standard editing commands, such as Undo, Cut, Copy, and

Paste, as well as numerous commands specific to Fireworks graphics, such as Paste

Inside and Crop Document. The Edit menu is detailed in Table 2-20.

Table 2-20

Edit Menu Commands

Command Description Windows Macintosh

Undo Reverses the last action; the Ctrl+Z Command+Z

number of Undo steps is set

in Preferences

Redo Redoes the last edit that was Ctrl+Y Command+Y

undone by Undo

Insert ➪ New Button Displays the Button Editor n/a n/a

before creating a new button

Insert ➪ New Symbol Displays the Symbol Properties Ctrl+F8 Command+F8

dialog box before creating a

new symbol

Insert ➪ Hotspot Inserts a hotspot object Ctrl+Shift+U Command+

Shift+U

Insert ➪ Slice Inserts a slice object Alt+Shift+U Option+

Shift+U

Insert ➪ Empty Bitmap Inserts an empty bitmap object n/a n/a

Insert ➪ Bitmap Creates a new bitmap of the n/a n/a

Via Copy selected pixels, leaving the

original pixels in place

Insert ➪ Bitmap Via Cut Creates a new bitmap of the n/a n/a

selected pixels, removing the

original pixels from the document

Insert ➪ Layer Creates a new layer n/a n/a

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