Adobe Fireworks

An Adobe Fireworks shape or other vector object can be filled with a preset pattern. There is a variety of patterns from which to choose. The patterns add some extra interest to your object and document overall. The steps below will tell you how you can apply a pattern fill to existing or new Fireworks vector objects.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks and open an existing file that contains a vector object you would like to fill with a pattern. If you prefer, you can create a new document and add a vector object, such as a shape, to it.
2. Step 2

   Select the object you want to fill with a pattern. You will see blue sizing handles on the corners of the object when it is selected. You will also notice that the properties for the selected object will now be displayed in the Properties inspector at the bottom of your screen.

3. Step 3

   Click on the “Fill category” drop down menu on the Property inspector to display the fill options for the selected object.

4. Step 4

   Point to “Pattern” and click the type of pattern you want to use to fill the selected shape. The pattern you click on will immediately be applied to the selected object.

A new style can easily be created in Adobe Fireworks CS3 and placed as a style in the “Styles” palette. This new style will allow you to quickly apply a set of formatting properties to any existing or new object in your Fireworks document with one simple mouse click. Follow the steps below to create a new style that incorporates properties such as fills, effects, strokes and text formats.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3 and open an existing document that contains an object or create a new blank document and insert an object into it.
2. Step 2

   Select the object that you want to use to create your new Fireworks style.

3. Step 3

   Use the Text tool, Paint Bucket tool or Gradient tool to apply changes to your object that you later want to save as a style.

4. Step 4

   Apply any filters or strokes to the object you want to be included in your style using the “Filters” and “Stroke” options on the “Properties” palette.

5. Step 5

   Click the “New Style” button on the “Styles” palette to open the “New Style” dialog box.

6. Step 6

   Type a name for the new style in the “Name” text box at the top of the “New Style” dialog box. Underneath the textbox, check to include the properties you want to be included in the new style you are creating.

7. Step 7

   Choose the “OK” button to close the “New Style” dialog box and create your new style. Your new style will be displayed as a swatch at the bottom of the “Styles” palette.

When you apply the find edge effect to an image in Adobe Fireworks CS3, it will convert that image to a line drawing. It does this by separating the colors and changing those separations into lines instead of color changes. You can apply this sort of effect to an image within Fireworks with the following steps.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3. Open an image or document that contains an image that you would like to use the find edge effect on to convert it to a line drawing.
2. Step 2

   Select and click on the image that you want to use the find edge effect on. Notice that the properties for the image will be displayed in the “Properties” pane found at the bottom of the screen.

3. Step 3

   Click the “+” button directly to the right of the word “Filters” in the “Properties” pane. You will get a pop-up menu with the filters that can be applied to the selected image.

4. Step 4

   Point to “Other” and click “Find Edges” from the pop-up menu. The find edge effect will immediately be applied to the selected image.

While you are creating your animation in Adobe Fireworks CS3, you will need to preview the animation to see if you are getting what you want out of the animation. There are animation control buttons in Fireworks CS3 that allow you to easily play, stop and move around the frames in your animation. This is a great way view your progress.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3 and open an existing document from your files that contains an animation that you would like to preview in Fireworks.
2. Step 2

   Locate the animation controls in Fireworks CS3. The animation controls are located just underneath your document on the bottom right side.

3. Step 3

   Click the second button on the animation controls to play the animation in Fireworks. You also use this same button to stop the animation from playing.

4. Step 4

   Jump to the first frame by clicking the first button on the animation controls.

5. Step 5

   Press the third button to move to the last frame of the animation. Notice that there is a number after the third animation button. This number tells you what frame you are currently on in the animation.

6. Step 6

   Use the fourth button, after the frame number display, to go to the previous frame in the animation.

7. Step 7

   Skip to the next frame in the animation by clicking the fifth button.

Tweening is an animation technique that takes two instances of one object and blends them together to create an animation. For example, you might use this technique if you are creating an animation of a bouncing ball within Adobe Fireworks CS3. You can take that one object (such as a ball) and animate it so it appears to bounce across the screen.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3 and open a document from your files that contains an animation with an object you would like to tween.
2. Step 2

   Click to select two instances of the same object within your animation. This can be an object you created, symbol or image within the animation. These two instances will be tweened or blended together to create a new animation movement.

3. Step 3

   Choose the “Modify” menu, point to “Symbol” and click “Tween Instances” to open the Tween Instances dialog box.

4. Step 4

   Type the number of number of tween steps you want to have in between the first instance of the object and the second instance of the object.

5. Step 5

   Select the “Distribute to Frames” option to create a frame for each tween step you have indicated you want between the first and second instance of the tweened objected.

6. Step 6

   Click the “OK” button to close the Tween Instances dialog box and return to your animation. You will now see arrows indicating that the instances of the objects have been tweened. If you choose to distribute to frames, you will see that there is a frame for each tweening step in the Frames palette. You can now preview the animation or continue working on it and view the tweening at a later time.

You can convert any text in Adobe Fireworks CS3 to paths. This allows you to edit letters individually because they are now vector objects. The steps below will walk you through how to convert text to a path in a new or existing Fireworks document.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3 and create a new canvas or open an existing document from your files.
2. Step 2

   Select the “Text tool” from the Fireworks toolbox on the left side of the screen. Click on the canvas where you would like to insert the text and type with your keyboard to add the text that you would like to convert to a path.

3. Step 3

   Choose the “Pointer” tool from the Fireworks toolbox and click to select the text you have just added to the document. This will select the text and place a blue box around it.

4. Step 4

   Choose the “Text” menu and click on “Convert to Paths” to convert the selected text to paths. You can still edit the text as a group at this point.

5. Step 5

   Select the “Subselection” tool from the Fireworks toolbox and click on the text you have just converted to paths.

6. Step 6

   Choose the “Modify” menu and click on “Ungroup.” You will see that each letter has blue points surrounding the outline of the letter. This means that each letter can be edited individually using the blue sizing handles. You can no longer edit the text as a group now.

7. Step 7

   Edit the individual letters by clicking and dragging the blue sizing handles.

A bevel effect can be applied to create a 3D effect to any object in Adobe Fireworks CS3. A bevel effect can be applied to create an inner or outer bevel. Keep reading to find out how you can apply this effect to your Firework objects.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3, and open a document from your files that contains an object to which you would like to apply a bevel effect.
2. Step 2

   Choose the Pointer tool from the Fireworks toolbox and click on the object to which you want to apply the bevel. The object will appear with a blue outline around it once it is selected. The “Properties” pane at the bottom of the screen will display the properties for the selected object.

3. Step 3

   Click the “+” button to right of the word “Filters” on the right side of the “Properties” pane to display the effects that can be applied to the selected object in the form of a pop-up menu.

4. Step 4

   Point to “Bevel and Emboss” and choose either “Inner Bevel” or “Outer Bevel.” “Inner Bevel” will bevel the selected objects inward into the canvas while “Outer Bevel” will bevel the object outward from itself. The effect will be immediately applied to the selected object.

5. Step 5

   Double-click on the bevel effect in the list of effects under the word “Filters.” A small window will appear that contains the settings for the bevel effect.

6. Step 6

   Use the menu at the top of the window to choose the type of bevel you would like to apply.

7. Step 7

   Set the width, contrast, softness and angle of the applied bevel.

Any object in Adobe Fireworks CS3 can have an inset or raised emboss applied. This popular effect allows the object to look imprinted or raised up from the canvas of the document. Follow the steps below to apply one of these two emboss effects to your Fireworks document.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3, and open a document from your files that contains an object to which you would like to apply an emboss effect.
2. Step 2

   Choose the Pointer tool from the Fireworks toolbox and click on the object to which you want to add the emboss. The selection will be surrounded by a blue outline. The Properties panel at the bottom of the screen will display the properties for the selected object.

3. Step 3

   Click the “+” button that lies just to the right of the word “Filters” in the Properties pane. This will allow you to add an effect to the selected object.

4. Step 4

   Choose “Bevel and Emboss” from the pop-up menu, and then click on either “Inset Emboss” or “Raised Emboss.” The Inset Emboss will emboss the object down into the document while the Raised Emboss will raise it up from the document.

5. Step 5

   Double-click on the emboss effect you added from the list below the word “Filters” in the Properties pane. You will get a small window that contains the settings for the emboss you have just applied.

6. Step 6

   Change the setting on the left side of the small window to modify the width of the emboss. You can also uncheck “Show Object” to take away to the object and only display the emboss.

7. Step 7

   Modify the settings on the right side of the small window to change the contrast, softness and angel of the emboss.

A blending mode can be used to give a whole new look to any object in an Adobe Fireworks CS3 document. Blending modes can affect the base color, blend color or transparency of an object. Follow the steps below to find out how you can use a blending mode in Adobe Fireworks to breathe life into your Firework objects.

1. Open Adobe Fireworks CS3 and create a new, blank document or open a document from your files that contains an object to which you want to apply a blending mode.
2. Step 2

   Click to select the object you want to use the blending mode on. The object will be surrounded by a blue outline and sizing handles once it is selected.

3. Step 3

   Locate the “Blending Mode” drop-down list at the top of the “Layers” palette. It is the drop-down list on the top right side of the “Layers” palette up above all the listed layers.

4. Step 4

   Use the “Blending Mode” drop-down list to select the blending mode you want to use on the object. There are a wide variety of blending modes and they will all give the object a new look. The most popular blending modes are “Darken,” “Lighten,” “Multiply” and “Luminosity.”

5. Step 5

   Watch as the blending mode is applied to the object. You can apply additional blending modes to the object by using the “Blending Mode” drop-down list to select a new option.

The Convert to Alpha effect in Adobe Fireworks CS3, is applied to change an image or other object into a transparency. This simple effect can be applied in a manner of minutes and can be used for many applications within your Fireworks documents.

1. Start Adobe Fireworks CS3. Open an image that you would like to use the Convert to Alpha effect on to turn the image into a transparency. This can be a single image file or a Fireworks document that contains multiple objects including an image you would like to change to a transparency.
2. Step 2

   Select the image that you would like to convert to alpha by clicking anywhere on that image. The selected image will now be surrounded by a blue outline. The properties fro the image will be displayed on the “Properties” pane at the bottom of the screen.

3. Step 3

   Click the “+” button the right of the word “Filters” in the “Properties” pane. You will get a submenu of the effects that can be applied to the selected image.

4. Step 4

   Choose “Other” from the submenu and click on “Convert to Alpha.” The effect will be applied immediately, turning the selected image into a transparency.