Depending on the order in which you installed Dreamweaver and Fireworks, you might have to make changes to the File Types/Editors category in the Preferences dialog. The Preferences settings allow Dreamweaver to establish communication and send files to its sibling program, Fireworks. In Chapter 5, "Defining Preferences," you learned that the File Types/Editors category in the Preferences window, shown in Figure 19.1, allows you to specify which external application you want to handle image editing for specific file types. Figure 19.1. In the Preferences window, under the File Types/Editors category, you can specify which application you want to use to edit a particular file type.CAUTION Although it is possible to use Fireworks PNG files on the web, it's not recommended. One reason is that the native PNG format reflects Fireworks's internal storage format, which is an uncompressed 32-bit RGBA (Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha) file. Even if the image contains only two colors and no transparency, it is saved as a 32-bit file. Of course, Macromedia never intended for its users to treat the native Fireworks PNG files as the final output format. As you'll see, to make final highly compressed PNG files for use on the web, use the Export option in Fireworks. Because PNG files are native to Fireworks and have the potential for use on the web, we'll use this opportunity to associate the PNG file format with Fireworks (assuming that it isn't already associated). To set the application association, follow these steps:
NOTE Associating PNG files with Fireworks is a step in the right direction. Because PNG files are native to Fireworks, it only makes sense to make this association. Depending on the graphics editor you prefer, you might also want to set Fireworks as the primary editor for GIF and JPG files. The rest of this chapter assumes that you have done this. |