Building Web Sites All-in-One For Dummies® (57 page)

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Crop:
Use to trim the document to a smaller size. Click and drag inside the document to create a cropping rectangle. While you drag the tool, a bounding box appears, showing you the current size of the cropping rectangle. Release the mouse button when the cropping rectangle is the desired size. After creating the cropping rectangle, you see eight small squares that you can use to change the width, height, or width and height of the cropping rectangle. When the rectangle is the desired size, double-click inside the rectangle to crop the document.

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Export Area Tool:
Use to export a select area of a document.

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Marquee:
Use to create rectangular selections. Press Shift while dragging the tool to create square selections. Or click the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon to select a tool that creates oval selections:

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Oval Marquee:
Use to create oval selections (or circular selections, if you press the Shift key while using the tool).

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Lasso:
Use to create freeform selections. Click and drag around the area you want to select. Or click the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon to access this tool:

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Polygonal Lasso:
Use to create selections by clicking to define the first point of the selection and then clicking to define the other points of the selection. Fireworks creates a line segment between points. Double-click to close the selection.

You can add to an existing selection by holding down the Shift key and using one of the selection tools to define the area you want to add. Hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) while using one of the selection tools to remove an area from a selection.

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Magic Wand:
Use to select areas within a document. Click inside an area to select areas of like color. The tool has a Tolerance value from 0 to 255 that you specify in the Property inspector. A low Tolerance value selects hues that are close to that of the area in which you click. A high Tolerance value selects a wider range of colors.

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Brush:
Use to paint areas of color within the document. You specify the brush parameters such as size, stroke, and edge in the Property inspector. The Brush tool strokes are divided into categories, such as Watercolor and Oil, which enable you to create strokes like those from an artist's brushes. Each stroke has options that enable you to tailor the brush to your liking.

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Pencil:
Use to create freeform lines within a document. You specify the thickness of the stroke within the Property inspector. You can constrain the tool to a straight line or 45-degree diagonal by holding down the Shift key while creating strokes with the tool.

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Eraser:
Use to erase areas of color within the document. You specify the shape, diameter, edge, and opacity within the Property inspector.

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Blur:
Use to blur areas. You specify the diameter of the tool, softness of the edge, shape, and intensity within the Property inspector. This is another spot on the toolbar that is home to many tools. Click the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon to access these tools.

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Sharpen:
Use to increase the contrast between edges, which makes an object look sharper. You specify the diameter of the tool, softness of the edge, shape, and intensity within the Property inspector.

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Dodge:
Use to lighten areas within the document. You specify the diameter of the tool, softness of the edge, shape, range, and exposure within the Property inspector.

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Burn:
Use to darken areas within the document. You specify the diameter of the tool, softness of the edge, shape, range, and exposure within the Property inspector.

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Smudge:
Use to create areas of smudged color within the document. If you've ever dipped your finger into a bucket of paint and rubbed it against a solid object, you have an idea of the effect created with this tool. You specify the diameter of the tool, edge, shape, pressure, smudge color, and intensity within the Property inspector.

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Rubber Stamp:
Use to clone areas from one part of the document to another. After selecting the tool, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and click the area from which you want to clone pixels, and then paint in the area to which you want the pixels cloned. This tool comes in handy when you want to retouch images you'll use in a Web design. The Rubber Stamp tool is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Click the down arrow at the lower right of the tool icon to access these tools:

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Replace Color:
Use to replace areas of solid color in the document with another color. In the Property inspector, you can choose the color to replace by using the default From option of Swatch and then clicking inside the document to sample a color, or by choosing Image from the From drop-down menu. You then choose the replacement color in the Property inspector. Click and drag inside the document to replace color. If you choose the Swatch option, the tool replaces the color that matches the swatch. If you choose the Image option, the tool replaces the area of color you first click.

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Red Eye Removal:
Use to remove red-eye in images. This tool has two parameters, Tolerance and Strength, which you set in the Property inspector. Click inside the red area of the eye and drag to get the red out.

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Line:
Use to create vector-based straight lines in the document. After you begin to draw the line, hold down the Shift key to constrain the line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally on a 45-degree angle. The line is constrained in the direction in which you start dragging.

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Pen:
Use to create paths in the document. Click to create a point and then click to create another point. The resulting path comprises points that are connected by line segments. This tool can be used to create complex shapes. If you click and drag, you create a curve point. Curve points have tangent handles that you can drag to modify the line segment to which the curve point is attached. You can edit paths created with the Pen tool with the Subselection tool. Other path tools can be accessed by clicking the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon. They are

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Vector Path:
Use to create freeform paths that you can edit with the Subselection tool. The tool works similar to the Brush tool except that when you release the mouse button, Fireworks creates editable points along the path. You set the tool parameters in the Property inspector. The Precision parameter determines how often Fireworks creates points.

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Redraw Path:
Use to modify a path created with the Pen or the Vector Path tool. You must first select the path with the Pointer tool, then select the Redraw Path tool, and then click and drag along the path to change its shape.

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Rectangle:
Use to create rectangles. Hold down the Shift key while using this tool to create a square. You set parameters, such as stroke shape, stroke diameter, fill, stroke color, and much more in the Property inspector. But wait, there's more — three more, in fact, that you access when you click the down arrow at the lower right of the tool icon.

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Ellipse:
Use to create ovals — you know, those rotund critters that form the basis for your generic smiley face. Hold down the Shift key while using this tool to create a circle. You set parameters such as stroke shape, stroke diameter, fill, stroke color, and so on in the Property inspector.

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Polygon:
Use to created polygons, those multisided wonders that inspired the Pentagon. You set parameters, including the number of sides, in the Property inspector. Click and drag to create your polygon. The tool also has an option for creating stars, which is a handy option if you're creating a Web site for an actor or rock star.

• Auto Shape Tools:
These useful critters (Arrow, Arrow Line, Beveled Rectangle, Chamfer Rectangle, Connector Line, Doughnut, L-Shape, Measure, Pie, Rounded Rectangle, Smart Polygon, Spiral, and Star) are just below the Polygon tool. They work like regular shapes except you modify them using the Property inspector and the Auto Shape Properties panel.

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Text:
Use to add words of wisdom to your client's Web site. You use the Text tool to add text to buttons and banners as well as add other cool and groovy things to your design. And you guessed it — you set the parameters for the Text tool in Ye Olde Property inspector.

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Freeform:
Use to do yet more cool things with paths. This tool modifies vector paths in a freeform manner. For example, select the tool and drag it across a path you made with the Line tool to transform the path from the straight and narrow to whatever you care to conjure up. And yes, Virginia, Fireworks adds the points to define the reshaped path. If you take a good look at Figure 2-6, you might notice that one of those cute little down arrows also resides on this tool. Click the arrow to reveal the following.

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Reshape Area:
Use to reshape an area previously folded, spindled, and mutilated by the Freeform tool. In the Property inspector, set the Size and Strength and then drag it across the path to reshape it.

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Path Scrubber (Additive):
Use to add points to a path created by using a pressure-sensitive tablet. Select the path and then click and drag to redraw the path.

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Path Scrubber (Subtractive):
Use to remove points from a path created by using a pressure-sensitive tablet. Select the path and then click and drag to remove unwanted portions of the path.

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Knife:
A clever cleaver of a tool you use to sever (ouch!) a vector object into pieces. Click and drag across the vector object at the point where you want it to split into two pieces. After wielding the knife (“Careful with that axe, Eugene!”), you can use the Pointer tool to move either piece to a different part of the document, or use the Subselection tool to grab one or more points of either piece by the scruff of the neck and modify the shape.

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Rectangle Hotspot:
Use to create
rectangular hotspots,
which are interactive areas of the document. You can use rectangular hotspots for image rollovers and other delights. We show you more about this tool in Chapter 3 of this minibook. This tool also has close relatives that you can access by clicking the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon. They are

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Circular Hotspot:
Use to create circular hotspots in the document.

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Polygonal Hotspot:
Use to create hotspots for irregularly shaped areas. Click to define the first point of the hotspot and then click to define the other points of the hotspot. Fireworks connects the dots.

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Slice:
Use to divide (hence the name
slice
) a document into pieces. For example, you can create a slice and use it as the basis for a pop-up menu, image rollover, and so on. Each slice becomes an individual image when the document is exported. Click the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon to reveal

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Polygonal Slice:
Use to create irregular slices by clicking to define each point of the slice. And if you guessed that Fireworks connects the dots, you would be correct.

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Hide Hotspots amd Slices:
Use to hide hotspots and slices (designated as light blue and lime green areas) in the document.

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Show Hotspots and Slices:
Use to reveal hidden hotspots and slices.

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Eyedropper:
Use to sample colors from within the document.

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Paint Bucket:
Use to fill an object with the current fill color. You can also set parameters for the tool such as fill color, tolerance, and opacity in the Property inspector. There's another tool lurking with this tool. Click the down arrow in the lower right of the tool icon to reveal

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Gradient:
Use to fill an object with a
gradient,
which is a blend of two or more colors. You can choose a preset gradient or mix one of your own in the Property inspector.

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Stroke Color:
Use to specify the outline color of objects you create with tools, such as the Rectangle tool. Click the swatch to open the Color Picker and choose a color. Alternatively, you can click the icon to the left of the color swatch and then use the Eyedropper tool to sample a color from within the document.

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Fill Color:
Use to specify the color inside of objects you create with tools, such as the Oval tool. Click the swatch to open the Color Picker and choose a color. Alternatively, you can click the icon to the left of the color swatch and then use the Eyedropper tool to sample a color from within the document.