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Introducing Adobe Fireworks CS4 beta

We are very excited to share the progress of Adobe Fireworks CS4 beta as we near the tenth anniversary of Fireworks later this year. Continuing a legacy of innovation, the Fireworks team has done an amazing job incorporating recommendations from Fireworks users—including updating the text engine and improving performance to make it easier to use. Enhancements to the core functionality of vector and bitmap editing and improved export workflows demonstrate further commitment to fulfilling the requests of Fireworks users.

Speaking of performance, the Fireworks engineers have concentrated on improving interaction with vectors and working with multipage documents. Large groups of vectors, including complex illustrations, may be manipulated with ease. Loading documents is faster than ever before, and we've updated the way documents are saved—allowing users to continue using Fireworks while "save" occurs in the background. Effortless loading of files with a large number of pages, layers, and symbols helps you perform tasks more quickly.

But don't just take my word for it. In the following video, Alan Musselman—application architect for the Fireworks team—shows you all the new things you can do with Fireworks CS4 beta.

Running time: 15:32

I personally have been amazed by the creative ways people are using Fireworks to accomplish many different goals. Fireworks CS4 beta offers even more opportunities for you to explore your creativity in design, prototyping skills, and ability to craft your own way of working. With this in mind, here's my take on some of the features I'm most excited about in Fireworks CS4 beta.

New user interface

Existing users will immediately notice a complete refresh of Firework's look and feel (see Figure 1). These changes maintain a common workspace layout with applications like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. With these changes, Fireworks becomes a full player within the Adobe Creative Suite. New users will enjoy the intuitive design that allows you to easily select and switch between tools.

Figure 1. Collapsible panels for a larger screen width that accommodates wider designs

Improved workspace

You can't fully appreciate the many changes to the Fireworks workspace until you jump in and starting using them. However, I'm guessing that these are the enhancements you will appreciate most:

• Smart guides: Use these visual guides to align one object with another (see Figure 2). You can quickly align rows of buttons or any elements on the canvas. As you move one object close to another, guides appear to help you snap to an edge or the center of the other object.

  

  Figure 2. Smart guides for easily positioning objects with other objects, including slices, without using the Align panel

• Tooltips: Visible x and y coordinates make it easy to determine exactly where objects are placed and where you are on the canvas. Position and resize objects with precise control using feedback displayed right on the cursor.
• New panels: The Frames panel has been renamed "States" to reflect how Fireworks is used to create various states of interaction or applications. And the new right-click access for the Pages, Layers, and States panels offer immediate control.

That's not all. Many small changes will greatly improve your precision, speed, and workflow with Fireworks.

Photoshop import/export and the new text engine

One of the most frequent requests from users has been to improve the ability to open and save Photoshop documents with Fireworks. Fireworks CS4 beta really delivers in this area. Vectors now load completely intact, editable and with their correct appearance—including clipping masks. Fireworks now understands Photoshop color spaces, so there are no more unpredictable shifts in color.

The biggest improvement for Photoshop users will undoubtedly involve text creation and manipulation. With the addition of the Adobe type engine, text in Fireworks CS4 beta looks and behaves the same as Photoshop. With the text engine, Fireworks offers several new capabilities, including flowing text inside or along a path.

Symbol editing

In-place editing means that you can precisely refine a symbol while keeping an eye on the larger picture of the canvas—just like Flash. Simply double-click a symbol to edit it directly on the canvas without leaving your artwork (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Editing symbols directly on the canvas

PDF export

Fireworks CS4 beta adds the ability to natively contain and share your design in the Acrobat PDF format, while preserving all interactivity. You can package and share an entire site design in a single document and send it out for review. By using PDF, you can be assured of the security of your design while allowing clients to view and edit.

CSS export

Once you are satisfied with your design, Fireworks allows you to export to an external CSS style sheet in one step. Integrated foreground and background graphics with automatic margin and padding detection is contained in the CSS rules (see Figure 4). Creating clean and flexible CSS-based layouts is much improved in Fireworks CS4 beta.

Figure 4. Integrating foreground and background graphics when exporting CSS-based layouts

Where to go from here

This overview represents only a small number of the great new features in Fireworks CS4 beta, now available in Adobe Labs. Download the beta and let us know what you think. Help us shape the progress of this amazing tool. Try it in your work environment on your projects to experience the full effect of the new functionality. I'm looking forward to seeing the amazing work you can create using this latest version of Fireworks.

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