Book III 3 in Java

Maker Code 39 Extended in Java Book III 3

Graphic text in Fireworks doesn t have to conform to the straight and narrow it can hug any curve like a fancy sports car To align a block of text to a vector path (see the section Working with Vector Shapes, later in this chapter, for info on vector shapes, paths, and strokes), simply follow these easy steps: 1 Select the text block and Shift+Click the shape or path Both the text and path have light blue outlines that show you ve selected them 2 Choose Text Attach to Path or use the key command Ctrl+Shift+Y The text conforms to the path or shape The path loses its stroke attributes, and any attributes that you attach to the path after aligning the text (like color, shadows, and so on) are applied to the text, not the path After you have attached text to a path, you can edit the path, and the text follows the edited path To detach text from a path, simply choose Text Detach from Path

Fireworks gives you two ways to draw on your canvas: Vector mode: Uses points, lines, and shapes to define image elements Bitmap mode: Uses pixels to define image elements Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and which mode you use depends on what you want to do If you want to make a shape that you can easily tweak, resize, or export to Macromedia Flash or FreeHand later, you want to work in vector mode When you make a simple vector shape in Fireworks, you actually create a mathematical model of a series of points connected by lines By adding, subtracting, or moving points, you can change the shape without changing any of its other qualities, such as the line (stroke), width, and texture Because a simple vector shape is more a mathematical description of an image than an actual image, it has a small data size Not only that, but a square of a particular color, stroke width, and gradient fill is basically the same data size whether it s 10 x 10 pixels or 1000 x 1000 pixels on-screen That size consistency becomes important in Macromedia Flash, in which smaller image data sizes mean faster downloads The basic building block of a shape is the path The path by itself is just a set of coordinates; in order to make the path appear, you need to apply a stroke A stroke in Fireworks is like a brushstroke in a painting Stroke properties include width, texture, and color The thicker the brush, the thicker the stroke that it makes Of course, in Fireworks, you can make strokes with the Pencil and Pen tools, and with other tools, as well Read on to discover how to create and edit vector shapes

When you first create a line using the Line tool, it s a straight line (which can be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) To create a line in Fireworks, just follow these steps: 1 Select the Line tool from the Vector part of the Tools panel 2 Place your cursor over the spot where you want your line to start When you have your cursor over the canvas, the cursor becomes a cross hair The center of that cross hair is your point of contact with the canvas 3 Click where you want your line to start and, holding the mouse button down, move your cursor to where you want your line to end 4 Release the mouse button

You can access dotted and dashed line stroke options, as well as other options, in the Stroke Category pop-up menu in the Property inspector, as you can see in Figure 3-7