Canvas Properties

Like its sister application, Dreamweaver, Fireworks organizes its command elements in panel groups. You can decide which panel groups to show and arrange them according to your liking.

Let's have a look at the main elements of the Fireworks workspace.

The icon for fireworks documents (1) is in the title bar of the document window next to the document name. Four display tabs (2) allow you to see the document in different views. The original tab is the actual workspace in which the document is edited. The Preview tab, 2-Up, and 4-Up are tabs for optimizing the document prior to export. The title bar also shows at what magnification factor (3) the document is viewed. A free selection of preset magnification factors can be accessed via the zoom pulldown box (9) in the status bar.

In the workspace of the document there are rulers (4) that can be switched on or off. In the middle of the document window there is the canvas (5). The size of the canvas is displayed in the size box (8) of the document status bar. The Quick Export button (6) is new in Fireworks MX and allows to access preset export options, such as converting the document for use with Dreamweaver.

The status bar of the document window contains many elements that tell about the current properties of the canvas and allow to switch between frames. The play controls (7) on the left can be used to display animated sequences or just to switch between frames. The stop button stops animations. The canvas size box (8) shows the actual canvas size and (9) is the pull down for changing magnification. (A) is the window tab that allows for sizing the document window.