Fireworks no longer a rumor...
Next-Generation Tool Provides the First Unified Environment for Creating and Producing Web Graphics
SAN FRANCISCO, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Macromedia (NASDAQ:MACR) today
introduced Fireworks, the first production tool to provide a unified
environment for creating, optimizing and producing high-quality graphics for
the Web. Engineered from the ground up to address the needs of professional
Web designers, the new tool incorporates such advanced features as a visual
export preview, complete control over compression and color palettes,
automatic generation of button states and JavaScript rollovers, as well as
text and effects which are editable all the time. Fireworks allows designers
to create the most compact graphics and GIF animations in the fewest steps.
"Fireworks inaugurates a new category of Web graphics production tools,"
said Norm Meyrowitz, executive vice president and chief technical officer at
Macromedia. "Just as Dreamweaver(TM) was the first visual Web authoring tool
for professionals concerned about preserving the quality of their code and
Flash(TM) pioneered delivery of compact vector-based Web animations, Fireworks
is the first graphics tool which specifically addresses the issue of creating
images for the Internet." New Medium, New Tools
The current workflow for creating Web graphics is complex and
time-consuming. To create a simple animated GIF banner, a designer uses
several tools, laying out text in a vector illustration tool, compositing the
text with images in a bitmap application, and then optimizing the size of the
graphic in yet a third program. Adding image maps and animation requires
additional utilities. Finally, the designer previews the image in a Web
browser. Developers often undertake multiple iterations of this process,
attempting to balance image size and quality.
Moreover, if the client requests a change, today's artist must start the
process over since graphics are not readily editable in existing imaging
tools. Fireworks solves both the workflow issue and the problem of editability
by allowing designers to complete the entire process of creating and producing
Web graphics in a single, unified environment-keeping everything editable, all
the time. Focused Product for Web Graphics Production
Throughout the Fireworks development cycle, Macromedia's engineering team
worked closely with an advisory board of professional Web designers to create
a tool that addresses the real-world needs of Web graphics production.
Fireworks provides Internet-focused innovations such as a visual export
preview window, where designers can consult side-by-side views of a graphic
while experimenting with different compression schemes and color palettes. To
help designers balance image quality and bandwidth requirements, Fireworks
displays file size and download time data, updating these dynamically as the
user optimizes the graphic. Designers can also optimize and preview GIF
animations in Fireworks, controlling properties such as frame rate and tempo.
Compression settings can be saved as presets for use in subsequent export
operations or in batch processes.
"Fireworks is the fastest way to produce virtually any type of image or
GIF animation for Web pages, from simple ad banners to more complicated
animated image maps," said Manabu Inada, art director for MTV.com. "The
program is easy to use, and is loaded with special effects -- there is a lot
of functionality just one click away."
Other Web-focused Fireworks features include the ability to "slice" an
image for faster downloading, then export the component graphics plus the HTML
table to re-assemble them in the viewer's browser. Fireworks provides a
built-in "Image Map layer" to facilitate assignment of URL links, as well as a
button generation feature which automatically produces up, down, rollover, and
hit states for button graphics, along with the JavaScript code to control the
button behavior. Color picking in Fireworks is tuned for Web designers,
defaulting to the Web-safe palette. Everything Editable, All the Time
In addition to its production strengths, Fireworks offers a rich
environment for creating Web graphics. One key Fireworks innovation is the
concept of "Live Effects." These include Web-staple drop shadows, bevels,
embosses, and glows. Unlike effects in traditional applications, Live Effects
are properties of the object to which they are assigned -- if that object
changes, the effect updates automatically. This highlights the revolutionary
nature of Fireworks' graphics creation environment: in Fireworks, every
object is editable, all the time. Editability extends even to properties such
as image maps, which retain their associated URLs when reshaped or moved.
Fireworks further features a text window which provides capabilities
expected of high-end illustration applications, including precise control over
kerning, scaling, and leading as well as the ability to attach text and even
paragraphs to paths. Text, like any Fireworks object, is always editable.
Fireworks provides the shape creation and path editing tools found in vector
illustration applications such as Macromedia FreeHand(TM), along with the
ability to edit and composite bitmaps as in imaging applications. For example,
artists can retouch images at a pixel level, clone them, and apply filters
such as a Gaussian blur or an unsharp mask. They can brush with effects such
as charcoal, pencil, and air brush, then precisely reshape those brush strokes
using Bezier controls. Familiar and Integrated
Users of current graphics applications will quickly be proficient with
Fireworks, since its user interface adheres to the industry standards.
Fireworks is designed to work as a companion application to Macromedia
Dreamweaver -- Dreamweaver users will be able to launch Fireworks as an image
editor from within the application. Fireworks is also tightly integrated with
Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop. The Macromedia Family
Fireworks is the latest Macromedia application created from the ground up
for Web developers. The first, Macromedia Flash, has changed the look of the
Web by enabling crisp, anti-aliased layouts and compact vector animations. The
second, Macromedia Dreamweaver, is the first visual page design tool geared to
professional Web developers. Dreamweaver provides the efficiency of a
graphical environment while preserving the quality and editability of the
underlying HTML code. And now, Fireworks presents the first unified
environment for creating and producing GIF images and animations for the Web.
Until now, designers have had to switch between a host of applications to
create simple GIF graphics. Fireworks radically simplifies this workflow,
allowing users to create the smallest possible images in the fewest steps, in
a single tool. Pricing and Availability
A pre-release beta version of Fireworks is currently available for
download at no charge at ( getfireworks.com ). Fireworks for
Windows 95, Windows NT and Macintosh PowerPC will be available Summer 1998 for
an estimated street price of US $299. It will be available for purchase online
through Macromedia at www.macromall.com, directly from Macromedia at
800-457-1774, and through traditional software distribution channels.
Interested parties outside North America should contact their local Macromedia
distributor for pricing and availability. For the name of a Macromedia
authorized reseller in your area, call 800-326-2128 or visitwww.macromedia.com. |
