Fireworks has many tools for drawing vector objects. With these you can draw basic shapes, freeform paths, and complex shapes by plotting points one by one. You can also draw Auto Shapes, which are vector object groups that have special controls for adjusting their attributes.
Drawing basic lines, rectangles, and ellipses
You can use the Line, Rectangle, or Ellipse tool to draw basic shapes quickly. The Rectangle tool draws rectangles as grouped objects. To move a rectangle corner point independently, you must ungroup the rectangle or use the Subselection tool. To draw a basic rectangle with beveled, chamfered, or rounded corners, see the following procedure. To draw a Auto Shape rectangle with rounded corners, see “Adjusting beveled, chamfered, and rounded rectangle Auto Shapes”
on page 59.
To draw a line, rectangle, or ellipse:
1 Choose the Line, Rectangle, or Ellipse tool.
2 If desired, set the stroke and fill attributes in the Property inspector. See Chapter 5, “Applying Color, Strokes, and Fills,” on page 97.
3 Drag on the canvas to draw the shape.
For the Line tool, Shift-drag to constrain lines to 45° increments.
For the Rectangle or Ellipse tool, Shift-drag to constrain shapes to squares or circles.
To draw a line, rectangle, or ellipse from a specific center point:
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Position the pointer at the intended center point and Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the drawing tool.To constrain a shape and draw from the center point:
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Position the pointer at the intended center point and Shift-Alt-drag (Windows) or Shift-Option-drag (Macintosh) the drawing tool.To adjust the position of a basic shape as you draw it:
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While holding down the mouse button, press and hold the Spacebar, then drag the object to another location on the canvas. Release the Spacebar to continue drawing the object.Note: An exception is the Line tool. Pressing the Spacebar while using the Line tool does not change a line’s position on the canvas.
To resize a selected line, rectangle, or ellipse, do one of the following:
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Enter new width (W) or height (H) values in the Property inspector or the Info panel.•
Choose the Scale tool in the Select section of the Tools panel and drag a corner transform handle. This resizes the object proportionally.Note: You can also resize an object proportionally by choosing Modify > Transform > Scale and dragging a corner transform handle, or by choosing Modify > Transform > Numeric Transform and entering new dimensions. For more information on resizing and scaling objects, see “Transforming and distorting selected objects and selections” on page 21.
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Drag a corner point on a rectangle.Note: Note: Scaling a vector object does not change its stroke width.
Drawing basic rounded rectangles
You can draw rectangles with rounded corners by using the Rounded Rectangle tool, or by using the Roundness option in the Property inspector to adjust the roundness of the corners of a selected rectangle. The Rounded Rectangle tool draws rectangles as grouped objects. To move rounded rectangle points independently, you must ungroup the rectangle or use the Subselection tool.
To draw a rectangle with rounded corners:
1 Choose the Rounded Rectangle tool, located in the Rectangle tool pop-up menu.
2 Drag the canvas to draw the rectangle.
Tip: You can adjust the roundness of the corners as you draw by pressing any of the arrow keys or the 1 or 2 number keys repeatedly.
Drawing vector objects 57 To round the corners of a selected rectangle:
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Enter a value from 0 to 100 in the Roundness box in the Property inspector and press Enter, or drag the pop-up slider.Note: If the Property inspector is at half height, click the expander arrow in the lower right corner to expand it to full height.
Drawing basic polygons and stars
With the Polygon tool, you can draw any equilateral polygon or star, from a triangle to a polygon or star with 360 sides.
To draw a polygon:
1 Choose the Polygon tool, which is one of the basic shape drawing tools in the Vector section of the Tools panel.
2 In the Property inspector, do one of the following to specify the number of sides for the polygon:
■ Use the Sides pop-up slider to choose 3 to 25 sides.
■ Enter a number from 3 to 360 in the Sides text box.
3 Drag to draw the polygon.
To constrain a polygon’s orientation to increments of 45°, hold down Shift as you draw. The Polygon tool always draws from a center point.
To draw a star:
1 Choose the Polygon tool.
2 In the Property inspector, choose Star from the Shape pop-up menu.
3 In the Sides text box, enter the number of points for the star.
4 Choose Automatic or enter a value in the Angle text box. Values closer to 0 result in long, thin points; values closer to 100 result in short, stubby points.
5 Drag the canvas to draw the star.
To constrain a star’s orientation to increments of 45°, hold down Shift as you drag. The Polygon tool always draws from a center point.
Drawing Auto Shapes
Auto Shapes are intelligent vector object groups that adhere to specialized rules to simplify the creation and editing of common visual elements. Auto Shape tools draw object groups. Unlike other object groups, selected Auto Shapes have diamond-shaped control points in addition to the object group handles. Each control point is associated with a particular visual property of the shape. Dragging a control point alters only the associated visual property. Most Auto Shape control points have tooltips that describe how they affect the Auto Shape. Move the pointer over a control point to see a tooltip that describes the property governed by that control point.
Auto Shape tools create shapes in preset orientations. For example, the Arrow tool draws arrows horizontally. You can transform Auto Shapes to change their orientation. For more information, see “Transforming and distorting selected objects and selections” on page 21.
Although each Auto Shape tool in the Tools panel uses the same easy drawing method, the editable attributes for each Auto Shape are different.
Arrow draws object groups that appear as simple arrows of any proportions. Using control points, you can adjust the arrowhead flare, the tail length and width, and the tip length.
Bent Arrow draws object groups that appear as right-angled arrows of any proportions. Using control points, you can adjust the arrowhead flare, the tail length and width, and the tip length.
Beveled Rectangle draws object groups that appear as rectangles with beveled corners. Using control points, you can edit the amount of bevel for all corners together, or change the bevel of individual corners.
Chamfer Rectangle draws object groups that appear as rectangles with chamfers, corners that are rounded to the inside of the rectangle. You can edit the chamfer radius of all corners together, or change the chamfer radius of individual corners.
Connector Line draws object groups that appear as three-segment connector lines, such as those used to connect the elements of a flowchart or organizational chart. Using control points, you can edit the end points for the first and third sections of the connector line, as well as the location of the second section, which connects the first and last sections.
Doughnut draws object groups that appear as filled rings. Using control points, you can adjust the inner perimeter or split the shape into pieces.
L-Shape draws object groups that appear as right-angled corner shapes. Using control points, you can edit the length and width of the horizontal and vertical sections, as well as the curvature of the corner.
Pie draws object groups that appear as pie charts. Using control points, you can split the shape into pieces.
Smart Polygon draws object groups that appear as equilateral polygons with 3 to 25 sides.
Using control points, you can resize and rotate, add or remove segments, increase or decrease the number of sides, or add an inner polygon to the shape.
Rounded Rectangle draws object groups that appear as rectangles with rounded corners. Using control points, you can edit the roundness of all corners together, or change the roundness of individual corners.
Spiral draws object groups that appear as open spirals. Using control points, you can edit the number of spiral rotations, and you can determine whether the spiral is open or closed.
Star draws object groups that appear as stars with any number of points from 3 to 25. Using control points, you can add or remove points, and adjust the inner and outer angles of the points.
To draw a Auto Shape using the Tools panel:
1 Choose a Auto Shape tool from its pop-up menu in the Vector section of the Tools panel.
2 Do one of the following:
■ Drag the canvas to draw the shape.
■ Click on the canvas to place the shape at its default size.
Drawing vector objects 59
Adjusting arrow Auto Shapes
Arrows have five control points. There are control points for adjusting the flare of the arrowhead, the length of the arrow tail, the length of the arrowhead tip, and the width of the arrow tail.
To adjust the flare of an arrowhead:
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Drag the flare control point of a selected arrow.To increase or decrease the sharpness of an arrowhead:
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Drag the tip control point of a selected arrow.To lengthen or shorten an arrow tail:
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Drag the body length control point of a selected arrow.To adjust the width of an arrow tail:
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Drag the body width control point of a selected arrow.Adjusting bent arrow Auto Shapes
Bent arrows have five control points. There are control points for adjusting the flare of the arrowhead, the length of the arrowhead tip, the length of the arrow tail, the width of the arrow tail, and the roundness of the arrow’s bend.
To adjust the flare of the arrowhead of a bent arrow:
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Drag the arrowhead control point of a selected bent arrow.To increase or decrease the sharpness of the arrowhead of a bent arrow:
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Drag the tip control point of a selected bent arrow.To lengthen or shorten a bent arrow tail:
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Drag the handle length control point of a selected bent arrow.To adjust the width of a bent arrow tail:
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Drag the handle width control point of a selected bent arrow.To adjust the corner roundness of a bent arrow tail:
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Drag the corner radius control point of a selected arrow.Adjusting beveled, chamfered, and rounded rectangle Auto Shapes
Beveled, chamfered, and rounded rectangles have five control points. The control point on each corner adjusts all corners together. You can also Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) to edit a single corner. The remaining control point resizes the rectangle without changing the roundness of the corner.
Note: To edit the corner radius of rectangles drawn with the Rectangle tool, use the Rectangle Roundness setting in the Property inspector.
To adjust the corners of a beveled, chamfered, or rounded rectangle Auto Shape:
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Drag a corner control point of a selected shape.To adjust a single corner of a beveled, chamfered, or rounded rectangle Auto Shape:
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Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) a corner control point of a selected shape.To resize a beveled, chamfered, or rounded rectangle Auto Shape without affecting the corners:
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Drag the drag-to-resize control point.To convert the corners of a rectangle to a different type:
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Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) any corner control point.To convert a single corner to a different type:
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Shift-Alt-click (Windows) or Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) any corner control point.Adjusting connector line Auto Shapes
Connector lines have five control points. There are control points for placing the start and end points, for adjusting the position of the cross bar (the line that connects the start and end line segments), and for adjusting the roundness of the corners.
To move the start or end point of a connector line:
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Drag the control point at the start or end of the connector line.To reposition the cross bar of a connector line:
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Drag the horizontal position control point.To adjust all corners of a selected connector line:
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Drag a corner control point.To adjust a single corner of a selected connector line:
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Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) a corner control point.Adjusting doughnut Auto Shapes
Doughnut Auto Shapes initially have three control points. There are control points for adjusting the inner perimeter, for setting the inner perimeter to zero, and for dividing the shape into slices to resemble a pie chart. You can add as many sections as you want using control points. For each new section, Fireworks adds a control point for resizing or splitting the new section.
To add sections to a selected doughnut:
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Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) an add/divide sector control point on the outer perimeter of the shape.To remove a section from a selected doughnut:
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Drag the add/divide sector control point on the outer perimeter of the shape to define the portion of the shape that you want to remain on the canvas.To resize the inner radius of a selected doughnut:
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Drag the inner radius control point.Drawing vector objects 61 To set the inner radius of a selected doughnut to zero:
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Click the reset radius control point.Adjusting pie Auto Shapes
Pie Auto Shapes initially have three control points. There are control points for dividing the shape into slices, adjusting slice size, and for resetting the pie to one slice. You can add as many sections as you want using control points. For each new section, Fireworks adds a control point for resizing or splitting the new section.
To add sections to a selected pie:
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Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) a drag-to-segment control point on the outer perimeter of the shape.To resize a slice of a selected pie:
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Drag a drag-to-segment control point on the outer perimeter of the shape.To reset the a selected pie to one slice:
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Click the Reset control point.Adjusting L-shaped Auto Shapes
L-shapes have four control points. There are control points for adjusting the length and width of each section of the L-shape, and for adjusting the roundness of the L-shape’s bend.
To change the length or width of a selected L-shape’s section:
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Drag one of the two length/width control points.To adjust the roundness of the corners of a selected L-shape:
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Drag the corner radius control point.Adjusting smart polygon Auto Shapes
Smart Polygons initially appear as pentagons with four control points. There are control points for resizing and rotating, adding or removing polygon segments, increasing or decreasing the number of polygon sides, and adding an inner polygon to the shape to create a ring.
To resize or rotate a selected smart polygon, do one of the following:
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Drag the scale/rotate control point.•
Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the scale/rotate control point to rotate only.To add or remove sections from a selected smart polygon:
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Drag the sections control point.To change the number of sides on a selected smart polygon:
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Drag the sides control point.To split a selected smart polygon into segments.
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Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the sides control point.To resize the inner polygon of a smart polygon, do one of the following:
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If the polygon has an inner polygon, drag the inner polygon control point.•
If the polygon has no inner polygon, drag the reset inner polygon control point.To reset the inner polygon of a selected smart polygon:
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Click the reset inner polygon control point.Adjusting spiral Auto Shapes
Spirals have two control points. There are control points for adjusting the number of turns in the spiral, and for making the spiral open or closed.
To adjust the number of turns in a selected spiral:
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Drag the spirals control point.To open or close a selected spiral:
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Click the open/close spiral control point.Adjusting star Auto Shapes
Stars initially have five control points. There are control points for adding or removing points, for adjusting the inner and outer angles of the points, and for adjusting the roundness of the peaks and valleys.
To change the number of sides on a selected star:
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Drag the Points control point.To adjust the valleys of a selected star:
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Drag the valley control point.To adjust the points of a selected star:
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Drag the peak control point.To adjust the roundness of a selected star’s peaks or valleys:
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Drag a Roundness control point.Using the Assets panel to add Auto Shapes to a drawing
The Assets panel contains a Shapes tab where you can find additional Auto Shapes. These Auto Shapes are generally more complex than those that appear in the Tools panel. Instead of drawing these Auto Shapes directly on the canvas, you place these Auto Shapes into your drawing by dragging them from the Assets panel to the canvas.
To create a Auto Shape using the Assets panel:
1 Choose Window > Auto Shapes to display the Shapes tab, if it is not already visible.
2 Drag a Auto Shape preview from the Assets panel to the canvas.
3 If desired, edit the Auto Shape by dragging any of its control points.
Drawing vector objects 63
Adding new Auto Shapes to Fireworks
You can add new Auto Shapes to Fireworks using the Fireworks Exchange website. Some new Auto Shapes will appear in the Shapes tab in the Assets panel, and others will appear in the Tools menu, grouped with the other Auto Shapes.
You can also add new Auto Shapes to Fireworks by writing the JavaScript code for the Auto Shapes yourself. For more information, see Extending Fireworks.
To add new Auto Shapes to Fireworks:
1 Choose Window > Auto Shapes to display the Shapes tab, if it is not already visible.
2 Choose Get More Auto Shapes from the Auto Shapes panel Options menu.
Fireworks connects to the web and navigates to the Fireworks Exchange website.
3 Follow the onscreen instructions to select new Auto Shapes and add them to Fireworks.
Drawing freeform paths
You can draw freeform vector paths with the Vector Path tool, much as you draw using a felt-tip marker or crayon. The Vector Path tool is located in the Pen tool pop-up menu.
You can change the stroke and fill attributes of paths drawn with the Vector Path tool.
See Chapter 5, “Applying Color, Strokes, and Fills,” on page 97.
Using the Vector Path tool
The Vector Path tool has a wide variety of brush stroke categories, including Air Brush, Calligraphy, Charcoal, Crayon, and Unnatural. Each category typically has a choice of strokes, such as Light Marker and Dark Marker, Splattered Oil, Bamboo, Ribbon, Confetti, 3D, Toothpaste, and Viscous Alien Paint.
Although the strokes may look like paint or ink, each has the points and paths of a vector object.
That means that you can change the shape of the stroke using any of several vector-editing techniques. After you reshape the path, the stroke is redrawn.
A painting edited by moving vector points
You can also modify existing brush strokes and add fills to selected objects you have drawn with
You can also modify existing brush strokes and add fills to selected objects you have drawn with