Fireworks 4 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide
Authors: Sandee Cohen
Venue:  (2001)

From the Book:Welcome to learning Macromedia Fireworks 4. In a very short period of time Fireworks has become an important tool for creating all sorts of Web graphics. I What makes Fireworks so useful? Perhaps the most important reason is that it allows designers to work visually to create not just the images for Web sites but also the special code needed to assemble graphics and create interactive elements. Another reason is that, instead of using three or more separate programs, Fireworks combines features found in image editing, Web optimizing, and vector drawing programs. So instead of requiring you to jump from one program to another, Fireworks lets you use one program from start to finish. It has been very exciting to revise this book-my fourth time! Some features that used to be covered in a page or two have now been expanded into their own complete chapters. And yet, other features have been so simplified they can be covered in just a few pages. Using This Book If you have used any of the Visual QuickStart Guides, you will find this book very similar. Each chapter consists of numbered steps that explain how to perform a specific technique or work with a feature of the program. As you work through the steps, you gain an understanding of the technique or feature, helped along by insightful tips. The illustrations let you judge if you are following the steps correctly. Instructions Using a book such as this will be easier once you understand the terms I use. This is especially important because some other computer books use terms differently. So, here are the terms I use throughout the book and explanations of what they mean. Click refers to pressing down and releasing the mouse button in the Macintosh, or the left mouse button in Windows. You must release the mouse button or else it's not a click. Press means to hold down the mouse button or a keyboard key. Press and drag means to hold the mouse button down and then move the mouse. In later chapters, I use the shorthand term drag; just remember that you have to press and hold as you drag the mouse. Move the mouse or cursor means to move the mouse without pressing the mouse button. Menu Commands Like any application, Fireworks has menu commands that you choose to open dialog boxes, change artwork, and initiate certain actions. These menu commands are shown in bold type. The direction to choose a menu command is written like this: Modify >Arrange > Bring to Front. This means that you should first choose the Modify menu, then choose the Arrange submenu, and then the Bring to Front command. Keyboard Shortcuts Most of the menu commands for Fireworks have keyboard shortcuts that help you work faster. For instance, instead of choosing New from the File menu, it is faster and easier to use the keyboard shortcut. Different software companies and authors differ as to the order in which they list the modifier keys used in keyboard shortcuts. I always list the Macintosh Command and the Windows Ctrl keys first, then the Option or Alt key, and then the Shift key. In actual practice, the order that you press those modifier keys is not important. However, it is very important that you always add the last key (the letter or number key) after you are holding the other keys. Rather than cluttering up the exercises with long keyboard commands, I've listed the shortcuts in Appendix A, separated by platform. Learning Keyboard Shortcuts While keyboard shortcuts help you work faster, you don't have to start using them right away. In fact, most likely you'll learn more about the program by using menus. As you look for one command you may see a related feature you would like to explore. Once you feel comfortable working with Fireworks, you can start adding keyboard shortcuts to your repertoire. My suggestion is that you look at the menu commands you use a lot. Then choose one of those shortcuts each day. For instance, if you import a lot of art from other programs, you might decide to learn the shortcut for the Import command. For the rest of that day, every time you import art use the Import shortcut. (It happens to be Cmd/Ctrl-R.) Even if you have to look at the menu to refresh your memory, use the keyboard shortcut to actually open the Import dialog box anyway. By the end of the day you will have memorized the Import shortcut. The next day you can learn a new one. Cross-Platform Issues One of the great strengths of Fireworks is that it is almost identical in look and function on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. In fact, at first glance it is hard to tell which platform you are working on. However, because there are some differences between the operating systems themselves, there are some things you should keep in mind. Modifier Keys I always list the modifier keys with the Macintosh key first and then the Windows key second. So a direction to hold the Command/Ctrl key as you drag means that Macintosh users should hold the Command key while Windows users should hold the Ctrl key on the Windows platform. When the key is the same on both computers, such as the Shift key, only one is listed. In most cases, the Mac's Command key (sometimes called the Apple key) corresponds to the Ctrl key on Windows. The Option key on the Macintosh usually corresponds to the Alt key on Windows. The Control key on the Macintosh has no Windows equivalent. Notice that the Control key for the Macintosh is always spelled out while the Ctrl key for Windows is not. Platform-Specific Features A few times in the book I have written separate exercises for the Macintosh and Windows platforms. These exercises are indicated by (Mac) and (Win). Most of the time this is because the procedures are so different that they need to be written separately. Some features exist only on one platform. Those features are labeled to reflect this.