Fireworks Mx Please explain?

[Sirtovin]

I am new to web design... I already have the acedemic version of Dreamweaver MX because I am a student.

Could someome please tell me what Fireworks Mx, is all about.

and does it contain a pre arranged graphic set to play with... Pre arranged like button designs etc?

thanks.

[mdnky]

Fireworks is the graphics part of the MX line for bitmap images. In MX you can do some pretty neat things, just depends on if you want to take the time to learn it.

There is tight intergration between Dreamweaver and Fireworks...a nice feature is clicking on an image in your layout then clicking the Fireworks button in the properties window. Automatically loads the image in fireworks (if you have an original of it in PNG format, then you have the option of automatically loading that or not). Do your changes, then click done and the image is in Dreamweaver. Can speed the design/redesign/etc. process up a bit.

There are some buttons and stuff included which are premade, but they're pretty basic. You can make you own very easily, use the library to store them, etc. Another plus is most Photoshop filters can be loaded and used in Fireworks. They've also included a mouseover pop-up menu generator that creates pretty good code (cross-browser wise).

If you really wanted to, you could create the whole site in Fireworks and then just do some minor tweaking in Dreamweaver. While it's not as powerfull as Photoshop, it's close. I can do alot with Fireworks that most people think Photoshop would be required for.

Think of Fireworks as Photoshop and ImageReady merged into one, only a bit less featured but more than enough for web and even some print work. Big difference is Fireworks has better exports for images and HTML on the web side.

[Sirtovin]

Originally posted by mdnky
Fireworks is the graphics part of the MX line for bitmap images. In MX you can do some pretty neat things, just depends on if you want to take the time to learn it.

There is tight intergration between Dreamweaver and Fireworks...a nice feature is clicking on an image in your layout then clicking the Fireworks button in the properties window. Automatically loads the image in fireworks (if you have an original of it in PNG format, then you have the option of automatically loading that or not). Do your changes, then click done and the image is in Dreamweaver. Can speed the design/redesign/etc. process up a bit.

There are some buttons and stuff included which are premade, but they're pretty basic. You can make you own very easily, use the library to store them, etc. Another plus is most Photoshop filters can be loaded and used in Fireworks. They've also included a mouseover pop-up menu generator that creates pretty good code (cross-browser wise).

If you really wanted to, you could create the whole site in Fireworks and then just do some minor tweaking in Dreamweaver. While it's not as powerfull as Photoshop, it's close. I can do alot with Fireworks that most people think Photoshop would be required for.

Think of Fireworks as Photoshop and ImageReady merged into one, only a bit less featured but more than enough for web and even some print work. Big difference is Fireworks has better exports for images and HTML on the web side.

Can I make nice banners with Fireworks? I use to use a windows program called BannerMaker Pro and My TyperArtist for the buttons... (for me it was simple and nice) If Fireworks can help me make both buttons and Banners I will no doubt buy it. Thanks for the information please reply.

[larry98765]

I've been using Fireworks everyday since version 2.

Yes, Fireworks is perfect for banners. If you'll be creating animated banners, you're going to be using the "frames" feature a lot. Get to know it, and understand the difference between frames and layers.

[Sirtovin]

Does it also have temeplate buttons that I can design?

[larry98765]

Sirtoven,
There are pre-made "styles" that you can apply to shapes you create. But FW is by no means "wizard-like" or automatic. There's definitely a learning curve. But if you plan to pursue web design, it's a great (and I think indispensible) tool.

Macromedia has a demo you can download. 30 days I think. That should help in your decision. Best of luck!

[mdnky]

You can download a free 30 day full featured trial from Macromedia's website. I'd download and try it out, best way to see what it can do. Just remember it'll take a bit of learning before you really see the advantages.