Adobe Fireworks CS4 [Mac]

Rapidly prototype websites & application interfaces with Adobe Fireworks CS4. Create & optimize images 4 the web more quickly & accurately with an enhanced toolset.

Enhanced type handling - Import or copy/paste double-byte characters from Illustrator (CS3 or CS4) & Photoshop (CS3 or CS4) without loss of fidelity CSS export - Export standards-compliant, CSS-based layouts, complete with external style sheets Styles panel upgrades - Choose between default Fireworks styles, current document styles, or styles from other libraries Workspace improvements - Place Smart Guides on your canvas 4 swift, accurate positioning & measurement of guides & elements. Edit symbols in place 4 precise symbol refinement in context with the rest of your design Adobe Kuler integration - Access the latest color themes from the Adobe Kuler web-hosted service right in Fireworks 2 sample & apply 2 your web designs. Craft color harmonies 4 your own use or 2 upload 2 Kuler Adobe ConnectNow integration - Connect client 2 designer 4 a real-time online meeting with full-screen sharing across platforms & the country with the Adobe ConnectNow service

Rapidly prototype websites & application interfaces with Adobe Fireworks CS4 software. Create & optimize images 4 the web more quickly & accurately than ever before with an enhanced toolset. Present your comps 2 clients whether they are across the hall or across the country with Adobe PDF file support & integration with the Adobe ConnectNow service.

Smart Guides display both position coordinates & relative guides 2 help you precisely align graphic elements in your design. Click 2 enlarge.

Rapidly prototype & design 4 the web

Sophisticated prototyping
Creatively design interactive layouts 4 websites & rich Internet applications (RIAs). Export website comps 2 Adobe Dreamweaver software as standards-compliant, CSS-based layouts, & bring RIA prototypes into Adobe Flex software with professional-quality coding.

Superb design tools
Create & edit vector & bitmap images, or import & modify native Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator files. Apply effects, styles, & blend modes 2 add depth & character 2 text & symbols.

Optimization & scaling tools
Optimize graphics 4 virtually any scenario with preview, selective JPEG compression, & a wide range of export controls. Intelligently scale buttons & graphic symbols with 9-slice scaling 2 accelerate website & application prototyping.

Intelligent integration
Import Photoshop PSD files while retaining layers, effects, & blend modes & save Fireworks PNG files in native Photoshop format. Copy & paste objects from Fireworks CS4 into Dreamweaver CS4 or Adobe Flash CS4 Professional.

RIA authoring support
Prototype layouts 4 RIAs in Fireworks & then export them directly 2 Adobe Flex, while retaining absolute positioning, styling, & professional-quality coding.

Cross-platform support
Work how you want 2 work: Fireworks CS4 is available 4 PowerPC & Intel based Macs as well as Microsoft Windows XP & Windows Vista systems.

CSS export
Design complete web pages in a robust graphic environment & then export standards-compliant, CSS-based layouts, complete with external style sheets, in one step. Integrate foreground & background graphics with new slice types.

Fireworks CS4 gives you the performance edge you need 2 quickly load & store the comp 4 an entire website in a single file, as shown here in the Pages panel. Click 2 enlarge.

When exported with the new CSS & Images option, the car image will be linked from a CSS rule, rather than as an "img" tag in the HTML, because the slice type is set 2 Background Image. Click 2 enlarge.

Once you've exported your Fireworks CS4 comp 2 PDF, your client can add their comments through Adobe Reader or Acrobat software. Click 2 enlarge.

Client collaboration
Demo in a real-time online meeting with the Adobe ConnectNow service. Generate high-fidelity PDF files or interactive HTML comps 4 review. Create an Adobe AIR prototype 2 run on any platform.

Customizable & reusable assets
Jump-start your design process with a Common Library of graphic symbols, form elements, text symbols, & animations. Expand your collection with your own custom symbols & styles 4 continued rapid design.

Improved performance
Work faster & smarter with overall performance enhancements, from file opening & saving 2 symbol updates & intensive bitmap & vector operations.

Top new features of Fireworks CS4

Fireworks continues its evolution from an exceptional web-graphics visual design tool that mixes the best of vector & pixel tooling 2 an all-encompassing web site design environment & top-to-bottom application prototyping solution. The new features in Fireworks CS4 extend your reach into the next generation of online & interactive media.

Improved performance & stability
Work faster & smarter, with Fireworks CS4 performance enhancements throughout the application. Fireworks CS4 boasts faster document opening & saving 4 files large & small, including those with a great number of pages, states, layers, & symbols. File saving is now an asynchronous operation, so designers can get back 2 work while storing a large file. Symbol updating is more robust, as are intensive bitmap & vector operations. With its improved system responsiveness, Fireworks CS4 gives you the power 2 prototype your designs faster than ever.

New user interface
The new look & feel of Fireworks CS4 is far more than just a designer-friendly overhaul. It now shares a common interface with other Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web & Design components, from Photoshop & Illustrator 2 Flash & Dreamweaver. Maintain common workspace layouts & tools as you move smoothly between Fireworks & any other Creative Suite 4 component. The user interface enhancements aren't just skin-deep either: Pages, States, & Layers panels are now easier 2 use, with right-click menu additions & all commands & command panels upgraded 4 greater ease of use.

CSS- & images-based export
Design complete web pages in the robust graphic environment of Fireworks, & then export web-standards compliant, CSS-based layouts--complete with external style sheets--all in one step. Integrate foreground & background graphics with the new slice types where you have the option 2 set your background slices 2 repeat along X or Y coordinates or not repeat at all. Drop form-element-rich symbols like checkboxes, text fields, & Submit buttons onto your Fireworks layouts 2 output well-built HTML code.

PDF export
Deliver the preciseness of your Fireworks CS4 design comps directly 2 your clients with the new Export To PDF feature. Export any range of pages in your Fireworks document with fidelity using a single command. The PDF document maintains hotspot-linked pages, creating interactive electronic comps that are viewable by anyone with Adobe Reader¨ or Adobe Acrobat¨ software: All the functionality of the Reader editing capabilities can be accessed 4 collaboration & iteration of your web design. You can safeguard your designs with optional password protection--separate passwords are definable 4 viewing & 4 other tasks such as copying, commenting, & printing.

Adobe text engine
The enhanced typographical capabilities familiar 2 users of Photoshop & Illustrator are now implemented in the text engine of Fireworks CS4. Set type easily & intuitively; you can get the same elegant results whether you start from scratch or import text. You can even import or copy & paste double-byte characters from Adobe InDesign¨ software, Ilustrator, or Photoshop without loss of fidelity. The Adobe text engine improvements also let you bring Photoshop PSD files into Fireworks CS4 with fully editable text. Designers will further appreciate the new ability 2 float text inside a path 2 quickly simulate text floating around an image in CSS layouts.

Style improvements
Styles are an important asset in any designer's toolbox, allowing consistent color, effects, & text attributes 2 be applied easily. The improved styles feature in Fireworks CS4 lifts this functionality 2 new heights. Now, when you modify a style, all elements 2 which the style has been applied are immediately updated. And you can break individual instances away from the style with the click of a Properties panel icon.

Additionally, Fireworks CS4 supports multiple style sets. Designers can quickly switch between various style sets, whether standard or custom. The Styles panel, enhanced 4 Fireworks CS4, includes pull-down menus which display all open documents & their style sets 4 rapid application.

The Create AIR File command in Fireworks CS4 gives you the option 2 preview the prototype with the system chrome, as shown here, or in a transparent window.Click 2 enlarge.

Re-use page elements from your site design 2 prototype an interactive AIR application. Click 2 enlarge.

Symbol enhancements
Fireworks CS4 symbols have also taken a big step forward with in-place editing--modifying the symbol without having 2 jump 2 a separate window. Now you can precisely refine your symbol while keeping an eye on the larger picture of your canvas. Moreover, one of the most valuable features of symbol editing, 9-slice scaling, is now available 4 any type of object--pixel, vector, group, or text area. Symbol properties are now even more robust with support of nested symbols (one symbol inside another) in Fireworks CS4.

Workspace improvements
Turn on Smart Guides 4 swift, accurate positioning & measurement of guides & elements on the canvas. Smart Guides offer a heads-up feature that shows where you are in relation 2 other objects as you drag guides into position, as well as displaying their current X & Y coordinates. Press Shift while adjusting your guides 2 view dynamically updated distances between canvas edges & existing guides in the same plane.

Adobe Kuler
Inspirational color review & creation comes 2 Fireworks CS4. Adobe Kuler is a popular web-hosted application & online color community where designers can create & store color sets 2 share or keep handy 4 their own use. With the Kuler panel in Fireworks CS4, you can find, sample, & apply the latest color themes from Adobe Kuler. Having Adobe Kuler accessible in Fireworks CS4 gives you the opportunity 2 craft color harmonies 4 your own use or 2 upload 2 Adobe Kuler, without leaving your design space.

Adobe ConnectNow, a service of Acrobat.com
Designers often need 2 discuss comps & layouts with their clients 2 iron out specific details, but face-to-face meetings can be costly & e-mail communication is often too slow. Fireworks CS4 brings clients & designers together 4 real-time online meetings through its connection with Adobe ConnectNow, one of the services offered on Acrobat.com. Now you can meet live over the web 2 share your screen, present creative concepts & prototypes, & brainstorm with up 2 two online guests 4 no additional service charge. To share your screen with colleagues & clients, choose File > Share My Screen. Guests can then see your desktop on their screens as you work. You can exchange ideas using the chat pod, add a live video or audio feed, or use the Whiteboard feature 2 enable guests 2 comment on content. You can even temporarily hand over control of the screen 2 a guest 2 collaborate on a file. Additional Acrobat.com services, such as Share, Create PDF, My Files, & Adobe Buzzword, are accessible via your web browser. (Internet connection required.)

Adobe AIR authoring
Preview & package your Adobe AIR interactive prototype directly from within Fireworks CS4, ready 2 be delivered 2 HTML & CSS, Flex, or Flash. Pages & states in Fireworks CS4 map exactly 2 an interactive Adobe AIR application experience, so you can quickly convert your click-through mock-up 2 a fully designed prototype. Distribute the prototype 2 clients or colleagues 4 approval & move it into application development more rapidly.

Creative Pro Online Services

Connect 2 the power of the online community through your creative desktop. New online services accessed from within Fireworks CS4 let you search 4 help from the online community; share your screen with colleagues or clients in a few quick clicks; get color inspiration from your peers & more. In addition 2 Adobe Kuler & Adobe ConnectNow (an Acrobat.com service), discussed earlier in this document, other Creative Pro Online Services available with Fireworks include Adobe Community Help & Adobe Bridge Home. With these new online services in Creative Suite 4, you can take your ideas 2 the next level.

Adobe Community Help
Get the power of an online search engine within your Creative Suite 4 software, but with more targeted results thanks 2 Adobe Community Help. Searchable content includes the in-depth product-specific Help Adobe has always delivered, plus additional Adobe & third-party content chosen by experts at Adobe & in the design & production communities. With Adobe Community Help, you can find the focused answers you need, fast. Simply choose Help > Fireworks Help. (Internet connection required 4 extended content.)

Adobe Bridge Home
Visit Bridge Home--an online channel available in Adobe Bridge CS4--and stay up 2 date with what's new from Adobe & the design, web development, & video & audio production communities at large. Watch the latest video tutorials 4 your Creative Suite 4 software, listen 2 a podcast interview with a leading designer, or learn about the next training event in your community. Discover tips & resources that can help you work smarter & faster, making the most of your Creative Suite 4 software. (Internet connection required.)

Part of the Adobe Creative Suite 4 family

Deeply integrated with Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended & Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 software, Fireworks is an ideal component of both Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium & Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Standard software. The user interface enhancements in Fireworks CS4 smooth the workflow, while precision import & export mean never having 2 re-create your assets. Designers focused on print media will find Fireworks a welcome addition 2 Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium. For the utmost in creative expression, get Fireworks as a component of Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection.