Quick Start Guide to Macromedia's Fireworks
Introduction
Fireworks is an image editing program that has quickly gained
tremendous popularity. This success is a result of several
things. The first is that it is relatively cheap (less than
$50 when bundled with Dreamweaver - Macromedia's Web development
program). Another reason for its popularity is its utility
for both the novice and expert designer. While its functionality
rivals that of any screen image editing program, it remains
accessible to less seasoned computer users.
Note that I referred to it as a "screen image"
editing program. Fireworks is the ideal program for editing
images that will appear on computer screens (e.g., Web pages
or PowerPoint presentations). Fireworks also works reasonably
well as a program for developing print images, but other programs
such as Macromedia's Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop may
do this better.
Fireworks workspace
Like many powerful programs, the Fireworks workspace is
extremely flexible and can initially be a bit overwhelming.
I think it is best to close all but the most essential windows
when beginning to learn an application program.
Launch the Fireworks application. The workspace will reflect
how it was setup when it was last used -therefore you could
see anywhere from zero to five open windows when you begin.
Close all the windows that appear within the program (close
a window by selecting the X in the top right corner of the
window). Don't close the application window (the one that
contains the program).
You should be left with a screen that looks something like
this:
If you are missing the Toolbox, select it from the
Window menu. The majority of the functions we will
be dealing with can be accessed from the toolbox. Therefore,
let's begin with a close look at the tool box.
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