User Guide

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CHAPTER 8
Using Styles, Symbols, and URLs
Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 provides three panels in which you can store and reuse styles,
symbols, and URLs. Styles are stored in the Styles panel, symbols are stored in the Library panel,
and URLs are stored in the URL panel. By default, all three panels are organized in the Assets
panel group.
The Styles panel contains a set of predefined Fireworks styles to choose from. In addition, if you
have created a combination of strokes, fills, effects, and text attributes and want to reuse it, you
can save the attributes as a style. Rather than rebuilding attributes each time, you can simply save
them in the Styles panel and then apply that combination of attributes to other objects.
Fireworks has three types of symbols: graphic, animation, and button. Each has unique
characteristics for its specific use. You can create new symbols, as well as duplicate, import, and
edit symbols, using the Library panel. For information on specific features built into the
animation and button symbols, see Chapter 11, “Creating Animation,” on page 211 and
Chapter 10, “Creating Buttons and Pop-up Menus,” on page 191.
A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is an address of a specific page o r file on the Internet. If
you are using the same URL many times, you can add it to the URL panel. You can organize and
group your URLs in URL libraries.
Using styles
You can save and reapply a set of predefined fill, stroke, effect, and text attributes by creating a
style. When you apply a style to an object, that object takes on the style’s characteristics.
Fireworks has many predefined styles. You can add, change, and remove styles. The Fireworks
CD-ROM and the Macromedia web site have many more predefined styles that you can import
into Fireworks. You can also export styles and share them with other Fireworks users or import
styles from other Fireworks documents.
Note: You cannot apply styles to bitmap objects.