Working with Strokes

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Strokes are easy to add to vector objects. If you used a previous version of Fireworks, you would have accessed the various stroke options in the Stroke panel. That panel has been removed. You can now access the functions by using the Property inspector or the Tools panel. Figure 16-4 shows the Stroke area in the Property inspector.

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Figure 16-4: The Stroke panel

You can add a stroke to any vector object you've drawn or to any path. You can see the change right in your document. The stroke setting that is current in the Property inspector is used on the object or path you have selected or are drawing. If you change the properties, you can see the change on the screen. In Fireworks, if you type in a property, you need to press the Enter/Return key or click in a blank area to activate the change. But if you use a slider control to change a property, the change is automatic.

Take a look at the various stroke categories. Go to the Property inspector and click the down arrow for the Stroke Category to access the various stroke categories (Figure 16-5). As you pass your cursor over each stroke name, additional options for each stroke type are displayed.


Figure 16-5: The Stroke categories

You add strokes from the Property inspector. The various options are visible only when you select an object (not a bitmap image), or when you select one of the Vector tools. To add a stroke, follow these steps:

  1. Open a new document (File ® New).

  2. Select the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle on your canvas, any size and any color.

  3. Select a stroke from the Stroke Category, or select None if you want no stroke at all. Choose Basic, Hard Line.

    Note 

    If you want to remove a stroke, click the color box next to the pencil icon and click the white square with the diagonal red line. Alternatively, you can choose no stroke from the Tools panel. Just below the Fill icon you will see the middle icon is the white square with red diagonal line.

    Each stroke in the Stroke category has variations available in the Stroke name area.

  4. To adjust the Edge Softness, use the slider control. 0 is a hard edge and 100 is a soft edge

  5. Click the color box to select the color you want to use.

  6. Adjust the Tip size using the slider or type in a number. Remember, if you type in a number, you must press the Enter/Return key to accept the change.

There are many other properties you can alter for a stroke. Accessing all the properties for strokes is an exercise in drilling down through all the various menus.

Stroke options

You can access the stroke options using one of these methods:

  • Click the Stroke Options category in the Stroke Category pop-up window.

  • Click the Stroke Options button, which is visible when you click the stroke color box in the Tools panel.

Figure 16-6 shows the pop-up window for the stroke options. You can change the category here, as well as the tip size. You can also add texture. The Centered on Path (default) option offers the additional choice of having the stroke on the inside or the outside of a path. The last option is the Fill over stroke, which draws the fill over the stroke. If your object has an opaque fill, the part of the stroke that is inside the path is blocked. If the object has a fill with any transparency the stroke may blend with the fill edges inside the path.

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Figure 16-6: The Stroke Options pop-up window

There is also a button labeled Advanced Options. Figure 16-8 shows the Edit Stroke dialog box. Clicking Stroke Options and then on the Advanced button opens the Advanced pop-up menu, which gives you access to three tabs: Options, Shape, and Sensitivity. The best way to discover the power of the advanced settings is to experiment.

Options category

Figure 16-7 shows the Edit Stroke Options dialog box, where you set the ink amount, the spacing, the flow rate, and the texture options. If you change the number of tips you want to paint with to more than one, the variations and spacing options become available. The preview of the changes you've made appear at the bottom of the dialog box.


Figure 16-7: The Edit Stroke Options category

Shape category

Figure 16-8 shows the contents of the Shape tab. You have a lot of control here by altering the Size, Edge, Aspect, and Angle. When you get the shape just right, click Apply to your current stroke, and then click OK.


Figure 16-8: The Shape category options

Sensitivity category

Figure 16-9 shows the Sensitivity category, where you can choose a stroke property such as Size, Ink Amount, or Saturation from the drop-down menu of properties to be affected. In the Affected By options, choose the degree to which sensitivity data affects your current stroke. Preview in the panel window; click Apply, and then click OK when you are satisfied.


Figure 16-9: The Sensitivity category options

Saving strokes as styles

After you start experimenting with strokes, you'll probably come up with some you want to save and reuse. You can save a stroke as a style, which you can then add to and access from the Styles panel. You learn how to add to and change the Styles panel later in this chapter.

To save a stroke as a style, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Styles panel (docked in the Asset panel group), and from the Styles Options menu, choose New Style.

  2. Check the features you want to save for the style. For instance, when working with text you may not want to save the font style, so you would uncheck that option. If you check font, when you apply the style, it uses the font information. If the Font option is not checked, only the stroke, fill, and effects are applied to any text or object.

    Note 

    When you choose to save the font information, the style works on computers that don't have the font installed. This applies for textures and patterns as well. If you use a custom texture or pattern in a style and you want to share your style, you don't have to send a separate texture or pattern file. The information is embedded in the style.

  3. Enter a name and click OK.

That's all there is to it. The new style is added to the bottom of your Styles panel for use on any object.



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Macromedia Studio MX Bible
Macromedia Studio MX Bible
ISBN: 0764525239
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 491

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