Symbols

Whenever you will reuse a graphical element with the same properties, it is advisable to convert that object into a symbol. Symbols are kept in a library that is unique to the document you are working on. When you open two Fireworks documents you can drag and drop symbols from one document to the other. The symbol will stay connected across the documents and a change in its home library effects all instances in all documents.

To create a symbol you select the desired object and press F8. You can also use the Insert menu and select Convert to symbol. After an object is converted to a symbol, its copies on the canvas are called instances. Instances are marked by the arrow symbol in the left lower corner.

Here are two examples for instances of symbols.

When you convert an object to a symbol, you have to specify what kind of symbol it will be. For our purposes, the selection will be graphic.

All symbols are displayed in the library panel. If you want to insert an instance of the symbol into your document you just drag and drop it from this panel. Fireworks MX allows for button symbols to be modified at the instance level. That way you can have a common button symbol and insert the text of the individual button. Button symbols have up to four frames which include all possible states of a button. When you insert them into a document they appear in just one frame.