Out of Box: In MX2004, users will confront the issue of activation which now applies to all Macromedia products. Its a nuisance but given pirating its now like security searches at airports - a necessary evil. Otherwise the install and start-up is straight forward and the app has good start up tours and tutorials but only electronic manuals... a mixed blessing that makes sites like this very popular.

Overall Summary: In preparing graphics for use on the Web this is the place to be especially if you are a Dreamweaver or Flash user. Lots to master but one of the easiest of the lot.
Overall rating: 8.8 out of 10

What makes a graphics product a success ? Well judging by how the products on the market tend to cluster together around the same features there is a sort of basic editing capability that every program must have:
0)an image browser which shows a tabular thumbnails view of all the assets - the images and graphic objects contained within a folder/directory on disk and usable by the program. It is easy to drag and drop or double click and transfer a thumbnail from the browser to the editing canvas.None for Fireworks.
1)a re-sizeable canvas upon which many separately editable image layers which can be overlaid onto. These layers in turn can have special layers attached for special effects like masking, transparency, and a host of other corrections; Full for Fireworks.
2)next to the canvas there is a toolbox with icons for each tool that can operate on the canvas and its various layers;Full for Fireworks.
3)the tools apply or render either bitmap (pixel by pixel) or vector graphic (line by line) operations onto one (or sometimes many)of the canvas layers;Full for Fireworks.
4)Next to the canvas there are available an array of resizable, collapsible, re-groupable dialogs which display the contents and properties of the canvas and all its layers and any bitmap or vector graphic contents contained on them. In addition, many of the properties and content can be added to, editted, or deleted directly from these dialogs.Full for Fireworks.
5)There is a basic set of commands available from the toolbox, the dialogs, menus and/or extra toolbars that allow users to do the following on any area of the canvas and/or layers;

a)apply bitmap brush strokes and text or vector graphic lines, shapes or text;Full for Fireworks.
b)duplicate, delete, change the order, visibility for editing, or other properties;Full for Fireworks.
b)make some areas of the canvas/layer visible or invisible in the final image - this is a mask
or transparency. Full for Fireworks.
c)make some area of the canvas/layer available for any edits; the remaining portions are
locked out from any edits - this is a selection or channel.Full for Fireworks.
d)provide canvas, layer or individual selectionr-wide operations for resizing, cropping, appending, rotating, and distorting the contents of the canvas/layer/selection. Full for Fireworks.
e)provide canvas, layer, or selected area changes in color for bitmap or vecctor/stroke fills in hue, saturation, value. Each alone or in various combinations. Full for Fireworks.
f)Provide for canvas, layer, or selected area changes in bitmap pixels by adding, deleting, moving and otherwise transforming the the pixels either depending on or irrespective of bitmap pixels or vector graphics already present or nearby. Some for Fireworks.
g)Provide for canvas, layer, or selected area changes in vector graphics by adding, deleting, moving,grouping/un-grouping, overwriting or otherwise changing the properties of the vector graphics or bitmap pixels already present or nearby. Some for Fireworks.
h)Provide for interaction between the canvas and layers depending on nature of the layers(is it
a content, masking, filter or other special layer) and their contents. Some for Fireworks.

And you thought graphics editing was simple! Based on our color report card Fireworks grades out fairly well on the basics. But these are just the basics that almost all of the popular graphics editors deliver today. Note the ability now for all of the full strength graphic editors to do bitmap and vector graphic editing. So if all the graphics editors offer the same and fairly expansive feature set how do you identify the winners ? The main difference is in the ease and relative simplicity with which these operations are enabled. In addition each vendor adds their own special functions and features that add a new wrinkle to graphics editing.

Now what is interesting is that Fireworks MX2004 does many but not all of these operations. For example Fireworks does not have an image browser. So organizing and finding graphics assets is up to the user or a third party tool. But Fireworks does a pretty good job of delivering all the other 6 major graphic editing features . Still it is easy to find differences with Adobe Photoshop Elements or Jasc PaintShop Pro where Fireworks comes up short. For example, Fireworks has two freehand masking tools where as Elements and Paintshop have 4-5 each; the add, replace, remove options for masks are not conveniently available on the property bar; the number of color models is smaller than Elements and Paintshop; Fireworks does not have a Brush creator tool nor the wide selection of predefined brushes nor the range of brush properties avilable in Photoshop or Paintshop. And so on. So what does Fireworks have that makes it a still popular tool to work with in the graphics editing field ?

The Fireworks Virtues

First and foremost Fireworks brings more vector and bitmap graphics together in one convenient package then anybody else. It used to be Wright Design out of Australia leading the charge in making bitmap and vector graphics usage on the same canvas trivial. Fireworks does this by making every vector graphics have its own virtual layer. And then Fireworks adds clever interaction with other vector graphics (grouping, joins, intersections), text (fit to path, intersections), and bitmaps (paste inside, convert to bitmaps) plus a whole range of bitmap mediated filters and effects applied to text, vector and bitmap graphics. This is a welcome integration we examine in detail below.

Fireworks has also innovated by offering HTML and web enabled output and specialized operations like image slicing, hotspots, and 2up and 4up visual views with filesize optimizations. Fireworks has consistently added new features such as scripted buttons , scripted rollovers and complete menus - all exporting HTML+JavaScript as well as image files or CSS layers. And Fireworks provides handy styling capabilities for vector graphics including the ability for users to define their own thumbnail keyed styles. And so on. This ability to innovate (and many times arriving first with Web enabled features) makes Fireworks a perfect combination with Flash and Dreamweaver as a complete client-side web development Studio.

Let's not underestimate the value of Fireworks as part of Macromedia Studio. This means a consistent layout and styling for the many dialogs and workspace features found in Dreamweaver, Flash and Freehand. The screenshot at the right shows this common interface with tabbed visual layout canvas and the context sensitive property sheet below. Hidden from view is the collapsed rightside pane that can have as many as sixteen control panels - many of which look and work the same in Flash, Dreamweaver and the other Studio products. No small benefit in helping to master all the tools to do web development these days. In the new Studio MX2004 the connection between the programs has been further tightened with, for example, basic Fireworks graphics operations imported directly into Dreamweaver. Here is an example. The Property inspector shown above is common across

Figure 2 - Property Inspector common to all Studio MX programs

Vector Virtuosity

Photo Finishers may be reluctant to acknowledge vector graphics; but they are still the dominant 2D print graphics medium. And on the Web their utility is hard to dispute. Vectors scale-well, carry fill colors precisely, and compress highly. The latter is a Web virtue especially in the realm of Web animations. Also as we have noted, Macromedia has gone a long way towards making vector and bitmap graphics work well together.Vector shapes can be used as containers for bitmap images. Once inside the vector shape, the bitmap image is still easily editable by unlocking its link to the shape in the Layer palette. In edition, bitmap images imported as patterns can be tiled, rotated and resized with ease - and in fact this is the major difference between patterns and pasted-in graphics. The latter convert the shape into a vector mask - the bitmap is still editable but the shape itself is no longer so. But in the case of an imported pattern all the shape's properties including fill and stroke remain editable including the use of Live Effects. This ability to use vector shapes and yet retain some or complete editability is a major advantage of Fireworks vectors.

For example, in the session above for creating a theater poster, bitmap images were pasted into the two rounded rectangles. Then the bitmaps were color adjusted and centered inside their fringed rectangle shapes. After that the rectangles were moddified with the Distort tool. Because the bitmap was clicked to be linked with the rectangle shape - any transformations and scalling done to the rectangle were done in lock synch to the bitmap. Ditto for the text info in the lower right. This allowed a for a distinctive theatre walls or screen look.

Fireworks has many other things to like in its implementation of vectors. It allows users to draw vectors freehand or point to point. It automatically fills the shapes with solid colors, gradients or patterns. Its is also dead simple to change the outside edge stroke of any shape. Just go to the Property dialog , click on the Stroke pulldown and choose from a dozen natural stroke options like calligraphy, crayon, and watercolor. This is so convenient.But Fireworks makes it even easier by allowing for Styles. These are named (and illustrated in thumbnails in the Style dialog)seting for fill, stroke and effects. It is easy to add your own Style when you get a particular font/stroke/effect combo you are fond of. Open the Styles dialog - see the screenshot above. Click its pulldown menu (its on the Style dialogs title bar at the right , the tiny down arrow icon). And chose New Style - and a dialog pops up with easily clickable options for saving. Fireworks does the hardwork of creating your new Style icon and automatically inserting it at the end of the Style

In addition, the Shapes dialog and new Autoshapes command make creating and modifying a whole set of predefined shapes a cinch. These common shapes like arrows, polygons, stars are smart like Microsoft Visio's templates. They can be resized and formed in logical ways informed by the shape. Unfortunately, the shapes do not have Visio's smarts for automatically linking together at hotlinks or node points like corners and edges. In fact, Fireworks does not allow two shapes to be on the same layer except if they are joined (but then they lose all their individual stroke and fill properties) or grouped (individual group properties are retained). Despite these shortcomings, working with vector shapes has become so convenient in Fireworks, especially with solid choice of vector pen and edit tools plus the convenience of Live Effects. Being able to conveniently add a wider range of filters/effects to any combination of text, vector, and bitmap while retaining the basic editability of the underlying object/element - that is very powerful, very useful. The result is that more and more personal vector work is migrating from Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw to Fireworks.

Bitmap Editing

Fireworks is much like Deneba Canvas in more than a shared integration of vector and bitmap capabilities. Both have a remarkably competent set of bitmap image editing tools. In the case of Fireworks, Photo Finishers can make a full range of Color adjustments, but as noted above not the full range of adjustments offered in topnotch programs like Photoshop or PaintShop Pro. Likewise the brush tools is not nearly as elaborate as other but adjustments are conveniently located in the property bar including changing the texture of the brush from over 3 dozen thumbnail settings. There are blur, sharpen, smudge, dodge, burn and erase brushes for touchups and fine control. But for retouches Fireworks has the standard clone tool but weak Red Eye Removal and Color Replacer tools. Fireworks needs to upgrade to a Healing Brush or Scratch remover tool to make its bitmap retouching more competitive. But just like Deneba Canvas, Fireworks has a range of bitmap that is more than just good enough for much bitmap editing; and the convenience of mixing that with text and vector masks/containers all in one place gets contagous.

Now Fireworks offers a range of additional services. One can create symbol libraries for use with Flash. Or do complete animations including oyutput as .SWF files. Or there are routines for doing buttons and rollovers; even menus. However, these functions can be performed better in other Macromedia Studio programs such as Flash and Dreamweaver. If you only have Fireworks available- then these capabilities are very valuable indeed. But the other area where Fireworks has done so well in is overall clesign of the user interface resulting in ease of use. The problem with graphics is that while its conceptually simple, the actual work can become quite complex as in the case of layering, blends and transparency, masking and 3Dillusion, text as objects. Look how many tools are required. We now have flyout tool icons and context sensitive tool option bars where in effect we get to design "on the fly" that exact tool to do the job. Fireworks helps.

Gradients Fill Popup

Take the new user interface features in Mx 2004. First there are tabs for the different canvases users are working - just more convenient to switch contexts.The new Autoshapes Flyout along with the Fill and Stroke options now popup into either dialogs or thumbnails list of options. Also Fireworks has elaborated on its panels. Users can quickly hide or show panels as in Figure 2 above with the collapse panels button. The Panels start as standalone but can be quickly dragged to the docker. However, Fireworks does not have a workspace save command yet - that allows the current layout of panels and dialogs to be saved. But the panels and dockers work very similarly to Dreamweaver, Flash and Freehand so you learn one program's UI features and they carry over to the other programs. The results is that these UI features are consistently helpful and customizable. Helpful because, as in the Gradients Fill popup seen at the left, Fireworks constantly gives users visual cues as to how graphic options will work. Users see the fonts in its pulldown. The gradients, textures, and patterns are shown as small thumbnail sketches of what each option looks like or is going to do. Yet these tools and options are fast and collapse down in the case of the stroke and fill options to a simple pulldown. But of equal importance is the fact that users know they can often add to these options their own customized solutions. Just like an artist creates their own brushes; Fireworks users can create their own styles, strokes, patterns, textures, etc. Now other graphic programs are starting to do the same as in PhotoShop's brushes and styles or PaintShop Pro's brushes, color adjustments, and effects with their saved and displayable presets - but Fireworks leads. Similarly users can expand their commands with Macromedia or 3rd party extensions. Or they can roll their own scripts using the history panel as a resource. It comes down to this - if I have to make a decision about a font, stroke, fill, I know that Fireworks is going to display my options graphically and not tie me down - I will be able to customize/extend/add to my options either through 3rd part resources as in commands and effects or do it myself.

Summary

As we noted at the outset, Fireworks passes all the basic requirements for a good graphics editor. However, what sets Fireworks apart is good UI design to support vector + text + bitmap graphics editing. Also because Fireworks leads by innovation its has a tougher row to hoe. It will prosper as the programs continues to lead graphic designers and developers with new features and possibilities. The new Autoshapes suggests some directions. Note how attractive it would be to fill the various surfaces of a cube with other bitmap or graphic objects. Note how convenient it is to edit objects that are constrained by their shapes. The new customized gradients suggest the same - the gradients follow the curve of the vector object they surround or are contained in. Or take the the Data-Driven Graphics wizard - that allows pictures and data to be merged and integrated eliminating a lot of cut and paste drudge work. In sum, Fire-works because it is designed well - and in the process helps graphic designers do the same.

Jacques Surveyer is a mentor on Photo Finishing and takes a few images himself; see www.picsofdetroit.com