Re: Fireworks2 (was Trial Programs)

by jdowdell(at)macromedia.com (John Dowdell)

 Date:  Tue, 19 Oct 1999 14:39:19 -0700
 To:  hwg-graphics(at)hwg.org
  todo: View Thread, Original
The time-limited trial version is indeed a time-limited trial version.
Sometimes people change their system clocks, and the "help" link on the
download page can sometimes help with those situations.

Peter wrote further:

> Fireworks is always billed as good for creating "web graphics".
> What exactly is included in that term?

It specializes in graphics delivered to computer monitors. It doesn't focus
on printing tasks and various colorspaces and duotones and the rest that
printing programs do. It's focuses like a laser on screen-based graphics.

Specific webby tasks include imagemapping, slicing image tables, JavaScript
rollovers, GIF animations, high-quality compression, URL management,
perpetual editability, graphic/text search'n'replace, various HTML styles,
batch-processing, custom graphic styles, updateable symbols. The overall
workflow is the key webby feature, though.


> Is FW2 any good for photo editing?  I only need basic type tools...

Fireworks is okay for photo editing... doesn't specialize in it like
Photoshop, though. FW has basic photo-correction tools and is capable of
short jobs, but if you're working hard at correcting scanned photographs
then I'd recommend a specific photo-processing tool. Fireworks is designed
more for speeding the production of web graphics and code.


>  How does PSP6 compare to FW2?

They're different types of tools. You might be able to do some similar jobs
in both, but the perpetual editability of rich vector graphics is different
from pixel-based editing.

A lot depends on what you're trying to achieve in your work. Any particular
basis for comparison that's important to you...?


> Can anyone point me towards a site which shows what can be
> achieved using FW?

People usually just use Fireworks, rather than advertise the tool on their
site... it's not as obvious as Flash, say. Still, the following links out
to high-profile sites like Nabisco, Procter & Gamble and others that use
Fireworks as part of their day-to-day work:
http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/gallery/collection/contents.html

(Be sure to click on the "Case Studies" link on that page too... multipage
articles there about the design tools.)


jd






John Dowdell, Macromedia Tech Support, San Francisco CA US
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