FreeHand s Relationship to Other MX Programs

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FreeHand's Relationship to Other MX Programs

As you've read before, and will read again, FreeHand is a drawing program, but it does simple double-duty for Dreamweaver and Flash, while creating basic files for Fireworks. However, in relationship to these programs, FreeHand should be considered a support program. We discuss actual projects related to these three programs in Chapters 10, 11, and 12.

Exporting to Dreamweaver MX

 Dreamweaver MX   When it comes to ease of use and power, Dreamweaver comes to mind. FreeHand can be of great assistance in preliminary and design work, and as a basis for Web pages. If you want to stick within a predesigned format, you can choose Web from the Document Inspector page sizes. That provides you with a 550-pixel by 400-pixel page ready to fill with your ideas. Work out your visual ideas here, and make the graphics that you want to use. Then add links to various buttons or text strings by using the Navigation panel. Finally, you can export the entire document of one or several pages to HTML by choosing Publish as HTML from the File menu. The HTML Output panel (shown in Figure 4-7) appears with basic choices. The Setup button brings the HTML Setup panel into view, allowing further specifics to be chosen.

Figure 4-7: The HTML Output panel

If you have problems that will hamper the page's operation, an Output Warning box appears if you have selected the Show Output Warnings button. You should leave this selected as it shows you simple problems that will have major effects on your final output.

When you choose Dreamweaver as your editor, and click the Save as HTML button, the completed page opens in Dreamweaver, and you can do your "real work."

Exporting to Fireworks

 Fireworks MX   When you design graphic elements for Web use, you can save them directly out of FreeHand in JPEG, GIF, PNG, or SWF formats, but you won't necessarily have the control over the image that you will get in Fireworks. You should choose the format you want to use based on the type of graphic you have designed. Fireworks will not open a SWF, so count that out unless you're moving into Flash, but the other formats are all viable.

If you have a graphic that is basically continuous tone — that is, it involves gradients of color, or is relatively photo-realistic, then you will probably be best off with a JPEG export. If the design has solid blocks of color, and little gradation effects, a GIF file is your best choice. Use PNG if you want the same quality of a JPEG, but a transparent background at the same time. PNG files are usually larger than JPEGs or GIFs. Different tools are better for certain operations, and Fireworks happens to give you more control when you need artwork converted to JPEG or GIF files. Remember that the JPEG format deletes some detail as the file is compressed, and you don't want to work on a file that has already been degraded to a certain degree. You're best off exporting in PNG format when you're going to be working with the file in Fireworks.

The file you export from FreeHand can be modified graphically and as to file type in Fireworks. Again, think of FreeHand as your jumping-off point for Web graphics. Do the heavy lifting there, and polish and fine-tune the work for the Web after you have the design in Fireworks. Naturally, you can create the rollover graphics in FreeHand, but you won't be able to test the results as a "mouseover" effect. However, you can check the visual effect by placing each state of the button on a different layer. Then just turn the various layers on or off in the Layers panel to mimic the effect of a mouseover.

Exporting to Flash

 Flash MX   FreeHand can be the basis for a simple shape tween-type animation, or it can be used to make a multipage Flash-type animated site complete with mouse actions, hot spots, and links. You can make a graphic and export it as an object to be imported into the Flash Library as a symbol, or you can make the entire animation and export it as a complete Flash movie. In Chapter 11, you make an animation of a bird in flight. All the artwork is created in FreeHand, but tweaked in Flash.

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