As with almost any program you work with, there are going to be things you wish you could change, add, improve, or remove. It might be a feature you are used to from another program, or one you have devised on your own. "If only I could run to the developers and tell them my great idea, the program would be perfect," you say. I've often wanted to change things in my favorite software but am usually stuck waiting and hoping it will be fixed in the next version.

Thankfully, sometimes there are alternatives. Extending Fireworks enables you to create new features, tweaks, and modifications. They can be as simple as setting a few preferences or as complex as being an entirely separate application. There are several ways to extend Fireworks but they all work towards the same goal: extending the capabilities of Fireworks and making it work the way you want it to.

This article is intended for someone with an interest in making commands for Fireworks. It is a guide to help anyone who has even a small amount of programming knowledge to learn the procedure for creating commands. The first part of the article explains what commands are, where they are stored, and the different ways you can execute them. It also explains some of the basic concepts and structures of most Fireworks commands. The middle part examines a practical command example and discusses where to look for more help. The last section provides some advice for troubleshooting your commands as well as some information about packaging and distributing them. After completing this article you should have a good idea of what is possible with Fireworks commands and have an understanding of how to create and package them.

Requirements

To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:

Fireworks 8 or Fireworks MX 2004

• Try
• Buy

Text editor of your choice

Tutorials and sample files:

• extending_fireworks.zip (ZIP, 1.2 MB)

Prerequisite knowledge

Fundamental programming concepts and experience with JavaScript/ActionScript syntax.

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