User Guide

Optimizing in the workspace 235
TIFF, or Tagged Image File Format, is a graphic format used for storing bitmap images. TIFFs are
most commonly used in print publishing. Many multimedia applications also accept imported
TIFF graphics.
BMP, the Microsoft Windows graphic file format, is a common file format used to display bitmap
images. BMPs are used primarily on the Windows operating system. Many applications can
import BMP images.
PICT, developed by Apple Computer, is a graphic file format commonly used on Macintosh
operating systems. Most Mac applications are capable of importing PICT images.
Optimizing GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and PICT files
Each graphic file format in Fireworks has a set of optimization options. For the most part, only
the 8-bit file types such as GIF, PNG 8, TIFF 8, BMP 8, and PICT 8 offer a significant amount
of optimization control.
Note: JPEG files are an exception. For more on JPEG optimization controls, see “Optimizing
JPEGs” on page 243.
Fireworks optimization settings are similar for all 8-bit graphic file formats. For web file formats
such as GIF and PNG, you can also specify the amount of compression you want on the graphic.
You can optimize 8-bit file types by adjusting their color palettes. Fewer colors in the palette
means fewer colors in the image, resulting in a smaller file size. The drawback to reducing colors
is that it can also diminish image quality.
As you experiment with different optimization settings, you can use the 2-Up and 4-Up buttons
to test and compare a graphic’s appearance and estimated file size. For more information on using
the document preview buttons, see “Previewing and comparing optimization settings”
on page 233.
Note: All file types mentioned above (except PICT) can be opened and saved in Fireworks MX 2004
using their original filename extensions and optimization settings. This behavior differs from that in
previous versions of Fireworks. For more information, see Fireworks Help.
Choosing a color palette
GIFs and other 8-bit image formats contain a color palette. A color palette is a list of up to 256
colors available to the file. Only colors defined in the color palette appear in the graphic; however,
some color palettes contain colors that are not in the graphic.
The following palettes are available in Fireworks:
Adaptive is a custom palette derived from the actual colors in the document. Adaptive palettes
most often produce the highest quality image.
Web Adaptive is an adaptive palette in which colors that are close to websafe colors are converted
to the closest websafe color. Websafe colors are those that come from the Web 216 palette.
Web 216 is a palette of the 216 colors common to both Windows and Macintosh computers.
This palette is often called a websafe or browser-safe palette because it produces fairly consistent
results in various web browsers on either platform when viewed on 8-bit monitors.
Exact contains the exact colors used in the image. Only images containing 256 or fewer colors
may use the Exact palette. If the image contains more than 256 colors, the palette switches
to Adaptive.