WEB 215 Chapter H Lecture Notes -
Objective #1: Tailor and customize work.
- You can create customized keyboard shortcuts. Click the Edit/Keyboard Shortcuts menu command to add custom shortcuts.
- You can't replace default shortcuts but you can add shortcuts to commands that don't have one.
- You can export a list of the keyboard shortcuts as a handy reference using the Export Set As HTML button in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog window.
- You can undo individual or multiple editing steps using the History Panel which can be opened using the Window/History menu command.
- Select one or more steps in the History Panel and click its Replay button in order to apply the step(s) to another selected object.
- It is possible to copy and replay a set of steps as a custom command script. Click the Save button in the lower-right corner of the History panel to save a set of steps as a custom command which will then be listed at the bottom of the Commands menu. This script is actually a Fireworks JavaScript file with the extension .jsf that is saved to the Commands folder in your Documents and Settings/WindowsXPUser/Application Data/Macromedia/Fireworks MX 2004 folder. Here is the text contained in the JavaScript Bevel and Blur.jsf file that you are directed to create and save on p. 259.
fw.getDocumentDOM().applyEffects({ category:"UNUSED", effects:[ { AngleSoftness:3, BevelContrast:75, BevelType:0, BevelWidth:10, ButtonState:0, DownBlendColor:"#0000003f", EdgeThreshold:0, EffectIsVisible:true, EffectMoaID:"{7fe61102-6ce2-11d1-8c76000502701850}", EmbossFaceColor:"#ffffff00", GlowStartDistance:0, GlowWidth:0, HiliteColor:"#ffffff", HitBlendColor:"#ffffff3f", LightAngle:135, LightDistance:100, MaskSoftness:0, OuterBevelColor:"#df0000", ShadowColor:"#000000", ShowObject:false, SlopeMultiplier:1, SlopeType:1, category:"Inner Bevel", name:"Inner Bevel" } ], name:"UNUSED" });
fw.getDocumentDOM().applyEffects({ category:"UNUSED", effects:[ { AngleSoftness:3, BevelContrast:75, BevelType:0, BevelWidth:10, ButtonState:0, DownBlendColor:"#0000003f", EdgeThreshold:0, EffectIsVisible:true, EffectMoaID:"{7fe61102-6ce2-11d1-8c76000502701850}", EmbossFaceColor:"#ffffff00", GlowStartDistance:0, GlowWidth:0, HiliteColor:"#ffffff", HitBlendColor:"#ffffff3f", LightAngle:135, LightDistance:100, MaskSoftness:0, OuterBevelColor:"#df0000", ShadowColor:"#000000", ShowObject:false, SlopeMultiplier:1, SlopeType:1, category:"Inner Bevel", name:"Inner Bevel" }, { EffectIsVisible:true, EffectMoaID:"{f1cfce42-718e-11d1-8c8200a024cdc039}", MB_filter_preview_tile_size:"-1 -1", category:"Blur", name:"Blur More" } ], name:"UNUSED" });
- When you save your own custom command script, it can be used with any document in your computer's copy of Fireworks. Although, you can remove or rename custom commands using the Commands/Manage Saved Commands menu command.
- You can change the maximum number of undo steps in the History panel by going to the General tab of the Edit/Preferences command. You can set about 1,000 undo steps but that setting would cause Fireworks to use a lot of memory.
- You can download Creative Commands among other free extensions using the Macromedia Extensions Manager. Click the Commands/Manage Extensions menu command to open the Macromedia Extensions Manager. Visit the Macromedia Exchange Web site to obtain free extensions for Fireworks and other Macromedia applications.
Objective #2: Make global changes.
- The Find feature can be used to make changes to specific vector and text object attributes and other elements in a selection, frame, document, or group of documents. The Find feature is found under the Window menu command.
- The Files/Batch Process menu command can help you save time by opening multiple files, making changes to those files, and saving and closing the files in mass.
- Export options, scaling, finding/replacing, and renaming files can be saved as batch process commands. They are then accessible at the bottom of your Fireworks applications' Commands menu.
Objective #3: Integrate Fireworks with other applications.
- The Quick Export button in the upper-right corner of the Document window can be used to efficiently export the document ready to be used or imported in other applications, such as Dreamweaver, Flash, or even Photoshop. The document's current saved Export Settings are used where relevant.
- The File Manager button that is also found in the upper-right corner of the Document window can be used to easily upload (i.e. Put) a file to a remote web server. The document file (gif, jpg, or png) must be contained within a previously defined Dreamweaver site root folder for the File Manager button to be enabled.
- Design Notes are also exported with a .gif or .jpg when exporting from a png file. The Design Notes are saved as a .mno file and are helpful to Dreamweaver when it handily directs you to the original source file that matches a gif or jpg file. The Fireworks Edit icon and the Src listing found in the Property Inspector for a selected image in Dreamweaver depends on the image's Design Notes. While you probably do not store an original png file for a web site in the site's Dreamweaver root folder, the Design Notes can help you easily find them when working on a Web page that uses teh graphic in Dreamweaver. Here's the sample XML data that is stored in a graphic file's Design Notes .mno file which is stored in a folder named _notes which in turn is stored next to the gif or jpg graphic.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<info>
<infoitem key="fw_source" value="file:///C|/My Documents/originalGraphics/samplegraphic.png" />
</info>
Objective #4: Understand intellectual property issues.
- Copyright law protects an expression of an idea or thought like the design of a Web page or a corporate logo.
- Patent law protects an invention or a process.
- Trademark law protects a commercial identity or symbol. For example, a word, name, symbol, or logo can be used to establish a company's trade name. A company that uses a trade name is protected by trademark law. A service mark similarly protects a company that produces services rather than tangible products.
- Any work or creation that is not protected by copyright, patent, or trademark law is considered to be public domain. Items in the public domain can be used by other people.
- Fair use sometimes allows people to use a copyrighted work in a limited manner.
- The use of intangible property on the Web, which is intangible, still has grey areas. That is, the courts are still deciding how to apply intellectual property laws to Web design- related issues.