Figure 1-2: The Start Page, new to Fireworks MX 2004 in Java

Creator Code-128 in Java Figure 1-2: The Start Page, new to Fireworks MX 2004

If you don t want the Start Page to show up every time you launch Fireworks, click the Don t Show Again check box at the bottom-left corner of the page To create a new Fireworks file (called a PNG file), just follow these steps:

The default width and height are 500 pixels, and the default resolution is 72 pixels per inch You can enter your own size in the fields provided and change the unit of measurement by selecting one from the dropdown list You should leave the resolution at 72 pixels per inch unless you re designing for some medium other than the Web, like print

The default canvas color is white, but you can choose a custom color by selecting the Custom radio button and then using the eyedropper to choose a color from the color picker You can also choose to have a transparent background by selecting the Transparent radio button

When you click OK, you see something that looks a lot like Figure 1-3

The panels lined along the left side of the screen are parts of the Tools panel, which provides access to all the tools you use to make and modify your graphics The Tools panel divides tools into groups based on their function, as described in the following list: Select: Contains tools used to select an object, as well as tools used to crop or otherwise manipulate the canvas Bitmap: Stores tools used to paint, draw, fill, and so on Vector: Contains tools used to create and manipulate vector graphics (See Book V, 1 for more on vector graphics) Web: Holds tools, such as the Slice tool, that are designed specifically for getting images ready for the Web Colors: Stows away tools that control the color(s) of objects View: Holds tools that you can use to change your view of the canvas or the screen

An arrow at the lower-right corner of a tool s icon indicates that the tool has one or more specialized variations You can click the arrow to activate a pop-up menu that displays icons for the available variations

This section gives you the lowdown on the tools you ll likely use the most in the Tools panel An arrow at the bottom right of the tool icon indicates there are related tools available Click the icon or the arrow to activate a pop-up menu so that you can choose from all the available tools When a tool is selected, you can also cycle through the related tools by pressing certain keys on your keyboard (for example, select the Marquee tool and press M to toggle through the Marquee tools) The Tooltip for each tool includes the key you can press to cycle through the options on the tool You get to see the tools in action in subsequent chapters, but for now, here are the highlights for each of the three key categories of tools: Select: The following four tools (clockwise from top left) make up the Select section of the Tools panel: Pointer/Select Behind tool: Use the Pointer tool to select objects on the canvas by clicking on them or clicking and dragging an area that

encompasses them Use the new Select Behind tool when you want to click an object on the canvas that is covered by other objects Subselection tool: Use the Subselection tool to select an individual object from a group Crop/Export Area tool: Click the Crop tool and click-and-drag to select an area on the canvas to crop an image When you crop an image, you discard everything outside the selected area from your image After you have selected the area that you want to keep, double-click inside the area to crop Use the Export Area tool to create a new image from the area you select After you have selected the area you want to export, double-click inside the area to bring up the Export Preview window Scale/Skew/Distort tool: This tool is inactive (as indicated by the dimmed icon) until you have selected an object on the canvas Click this tool and click and drag the transform handles at the corners of the object to change its size and/or shape Bitmap: The following ten tools (clockwise from top left) make up the Bitmap section of the Tools panel: Marquee/Oval Marquee tool: Click the Marquee tool and click and drag to select a rectangular area on the canvas If you want to select a circle or oval area, use the Oval Marquee variation When you select an area, you select all objects that fall completely within the area Lasso/Polygon Lasso tool: Click the Lasso tool and click and drag on the canvas to select everything within an irregularly shaped area of the canvas If the shape you want to select is made up of straight lines, use the Polygon Lasso Brush tool: Click this tool to paint on the canvas See Book III, 3 for more information about the very versatile Brush tool Eraser tool: Click the Eraser tool to erase a swath through any bitmap object on the canvas Rubber Stamp/Replace Color/Red Eye Removal tool: Click this tool to copy a selected area of a bitmap to another spot on the canvas Alt+click the area that you want to copy, and then click and paint where you want the copy to go Use the new Replace Color tool to swap one color for another wherever you click and drag the Replace Color brush on the canvas Simply click with the new Red Eye Removal tool to replace red with black wherever you click the canvas Paint Bucket/Gradient tool: Click this tool and then click a shape on the canvas to fill the shape with a solid color (Paint Bucket) or gradient For details about gradients, see Book III, 4