Understanding Paths

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Every path has at least two points to yield a line segment. A path can be open (a line) or closed (lines connecting). In Fireworks, an object is also a path, a "vector" path. Whereas bitmap images use pixels, a series of little squares with color to depict the image, much like a mosaic. Vectors use mathematical calculations. A path starts at X, Y and ends at A, B. Because of the mathematical nature of vectors, they are very flexible. A vector object can be stretched to a larger height and width and still maintain its image integrity. As the object increases or decreases in size, Fireworks recalculates the math necessary to render a great-looking image. It's this quality that makes vector objects so popular for use in animations and Web page graphics. The ability to scale a vector drawing is also beneficial if you design a logo that you want to print. The logo can be scaled down for Web use and scaled up for print.

 FreeHand MX   The logo you've made for the Habitat Alert site will be printed from FreeHand where the printing capabilities exceed those of Fireworks. It's one of the benefits of owning Macromedia Studio MX; you utilize the strengths of each application.

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