When Adobe bought Macromedia for $ 3.4 billion in 2005 , Fireworks user fretted that the unification intend the end was good for their favorite Web graphics program . After all , Adobe ’s ImageReady was Fireworks master rival — sure as shooting , the caller would favour its own in - house offering over a newly acquired programme .
Those rumors were shortly put to rest when Adobe invited users to participate in beta - testing a Fireworks upgrade . According to Danielle Beaumont , Senior Product Manager for Fireworks , ImageReady will be phase out and will not be included in the future CS3 product line . alternatively , the newly announced Creative Suite 3 features Fireworks CS3 .
What’s new
Adobe say the driving concept behind Fireworks CS3 is improving work flow from concept to finished product . Fireworks ’ new Pages panel harness just that . Using the Pages dialog box , designer can create various mock - ups of a internet web site containing working hyperlink in a single Fireworks filing cabinet . The Pages panel allows designers to countersink a master page containing ingredient they need to come out on every varlet .
While the master page is a overnice addition , I found the ability to share layers among dissimilar pages the most useful and exciting innovation . By selecting a layer in the Layers panel and choosing “ portion layer to pages , ” designers can choose the pages on which they desire a layer ’s elements to appear .
The initial layout for the Waterways WWW web site was created using Fireworks ’ new Pages panel .
Another Modern feature film bestow with Fireworks CS3 is the Common Library containing a collection of vulgar entanglement page elements . The library turn back object with editable property such as buttons and arrows . This means designers can put a symbolic representation on the canvas and , using the fresh Symbol Properties panel , change its school text , color , and other attributes without modifying the factual symbol . Designers can also make and add their own Rich Symbols to the Common Library . The Common Library is a universal library , mean any symbol you add will be available to all Fireworks file .
What’s improved
The inclusion of intelligent scaling using 9 - slice scaling allows clothes designer to limit the component of a bitmap or transmitter symbolic representation to scale and the part to preserve . For example , when scaling a rectangle with rounded corners , the corners typically will become distorted . With 9 - cut scaling , you could select to scale the side of the rectangle and preserve the corners . The scaling is continue even when copying and pasting a symbol to Flash CS3 .
sweetening for creativity include a unexampled Color Palette for blending custom coloring material and the addition of seven Photoshop blend mode : dissolve , linear burn , linear dodge , vivid light , linear light , pin tumbler brightness , and heavy premix . The new Photoshop Live Effects dialogue reserve designers to sum and edit Photoshop effects within Fireworks . In addition , Photoshop data file containing layers and effects such as bevels and apparition maintain their edibleness when import or opened in Fireworks . However , in my prerelease version of the software , I encountered a bug with this feature both opening and importing Photoshop CS2 files . Instead of hold edibleness , Fireworks brought the files in flattened or failed to open up them . On the other hand , pyrotechnic did maintain the edibility of the Photoshop CS and CS3 file I test .
What to expect
A concluding variant Fireworks CS3 will ship with the balance of Adobe ’s Creative Suite 3 World Wide Web offering when that collection arrive in April . bide tuned to get hold out about extra enhancements , feature of speech , and public presentation in the last waiver .
[ Cyndy Cashman is the founder ofBreakaway Interactive , a software training , design , and look up company .
