User Guide

Chapter 4114
Producing web components
Fireworks has tools for creating many common web
components, such as image maps, buttons, and animated
GIFs. Also, Fireworks simplifies many web graphic
preparation tasks, such as slicing large graphics into
multiple files and creating JavaScript rollovers.
Features for web production
There are eight primary features used to produce
hotspots, slices, and rollovers. Those features are:
Hotspot Object tools—Draw hotspot objects in the
shape of rectangles, circles, or polygons.
Slice tool—Draw rectangular slice objects used to
separate the image into multiple image files when
exported.
Object inspector—Set specific properties of hotspot
objects or slice objects.
Behaviors inspector—Assign interactive behaviors to
web objects.
URLs Manager—Create, import, or export URLs to
attach to web objects.
Frames panel—Store alternative appearances for
rollovers and rollover buttons, or for cels of an
animation.
File > Document Properties—Change how
Fireworks-generated HTML files or sliced graphics are
named and make image map settings.
Export Preview—Optimize graphics for export,
previewing different export settings before you export
the graphic.
Web objects: The basics of
web production
The key component of hotspot and rollover graphics in
Fireworks is the web object. Web objects are objects
drawn to designate an area of the graphic that triggers
an event when the image is viewed in a browser.
All web objects have these characteristics:
URLs—Attach URLs to web objects to create a link to
another web page when clicked in a browser.
Alternate text—Enter alternate text to be displayed in
a browser while the image is loading or unavailable.
Behaviors—Apply behaviors to web objects to create
interactivity through JavaScript.
Web Layer—Web objects appear on the Web Layer of
the Layers panel. The Web Layer is shared across all
frames. The Web Layer may be locked or hidden, but
may not be deleted.
Fireworks has two types of web objects: the hotspot
object and the slice object.
Hotspot objects—These are rectangles, circles, or
polygons drawn using the Hotspot tools. Also, hotspot
objects can be created from existing objects in a
Fireworks document using the Insert > Hotspot
command. Hotspot objects designate clickable regions
for an image map or designate the event area for a
rollover behavior.
Slice objects—These are rectangular web objects that
slice the image into multiple image files when the image
is exported. Also, slice objects define regions of the
graphic that may be targeted by rollover behaviors.