Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 is the complete solution for creating, optimizing and integrating great-looking web graphics. Fireworks MX 2004 provides web developers professional control to quickly create original web graphics and interactivity, from simple graphical buttons to sophisticated rollover effects and pop-up menus. Fireworks MX 2004 increases flexibility, allowing easy import, integration and editing of vector and bitmap images in all the major graphics formats, including export to other Macromedia products such as Flash and Dreamweaver and third party web development tools. Streamline any design or development workflow with the programs significant performance and usability enhancements.
Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
...this review is more for you than the professional or even the newbie. I'm not a graphics pro, though I have a decent amount of experience on everything from Paint Shop Pro to programs no longer in use. I started using Fireworks as part of the Studio suite of programs included with Dreamweaver and the other Macromedia products. When I started using Dreamweaver, I wasn't aware of what Fireworks could do and held off using it. But when I needed professional looking graphic logos, and Corel Draw wasn't doing what I needed, I went to Fireworks and haven't looked back. Fireworks does image manipulation similar to Photoshop. Whether it is as capable in that area is debatable. I haven't used Photoshop, but have ordered a copy to see the differences. I'm also not as skilled in image work as I am in things like creating graphics for web sites or business cards, so I'm not the best source of comparison. However, I have taken some original images I shot with my digicam and worked with them to get the results I liked. There are many features in Fireworks for this kind of work, and for the most part, unless you are doing something spectacular, you should be able to use FW for this task. Unfortunately, if you want a thorough discussion on vector and raster graphics and software, this isn't it. As far as original graphics, I like the way FW works. You can set up a "canvas" the size you want, have the graphic sized by pixels, and change both easily. Also, perhaps like other programs, there is a great deal of use of X/Y coordinates, so items can be placed very precisely. Unlike PSP (or at least the version I last used), once an item is placed, you can still select that item (text, box, image, etc.) and put it somewhere else. The native PNG format that FW produces uploads to web pages directly without conversion to JPG or GIF, and I found that very worthwhile. For some reason, my logos in Corel Draw were coming out with fuzzy text, even at high resolutions. I drew the same or similar logos in FW and had no distortion problems. It may have been a graphic format conversion issue. Either way, its not a problem working with FW, DW, and the web. FW is reasonably easy to learn to use. It will take you a while to get good at it, however. And you probably won't become a graphics pro just by buying this software. However, it is nice to have this program in my toolkit for general, advanced amateur use. Maybe you add Photoshop if you really need it, but for the most part, this just might get the job done.
