Macromedia Fireworks - CS5 Troubleshooting Guide

Adobe Fireworks CS5-5.5 Troubleshooting

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A note to our customers

Adobe provides this searchable PDF of archived technical support documents as a service to our customers who own and continue to enjoy older, unsupported versions of our software products. The information in these documents is not updated, and will become increasingly less accurate as hardware, browsers, and operating systems continue to evolve. Please be aware that these archived documents reflect historical issues and solutions for products that are no longer supported. Adobe does not warrant that the information in this document is accurate.

Last updated 11/6/2015

Welcome window in Fireworks is partially off the screen and cannot be closed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Using Photoshop layer masks in Fireworks 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Uninstall Fireworks 8 | Mac OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Supported file formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

How to show a ''don''t show again'' dialog again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

When you scale down an ellipse, the elliptical shape changes (Fireworks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Restore preferences | Fireworks CS5, CS5.1, CS6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Quick tips for Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

How to make small text characters look cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Limitations of importing and exporting PSD files in Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Limitations of importing and exporting AI files in Adobe Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

After installing the English version, Fireworks 8 launches in a different language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

General file and code troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Fireworks Online Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Fireworks JavaScript preloads explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Fireworks generated HTML code with FrontPage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Fireworks document fails to display in the 2-up and 4-up preview windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Fireworks CS6 known issues and bugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Fireworks CS5 known issues and bugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Fireworks 8 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Fireworks 3 crashes after the splash screen appears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

How to feather an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Feathered selections and transparent gradients in Fireworks 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

How to export animations in sliced images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Error "Fireworks cannot run. A parameter was incorrect" | Fireworks CS5 | Mac OS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Error "File is not found" when creating an AIR package in Fireworks (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Why do sliced images from Fireworks have broken icons inside Dreamweaver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Differences in single-state export between Fireworks CS4 and CS5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Changing the location of a Pop-up Menu exported from Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

How to change the location of submenus in a Fireworks Pop-up Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Button text does not update correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Blank panels | Fireworks | CS5, CS5.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

How to animate a text fade in and out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

iii

Last updated 11/6/2015

Welcome window in Fireworks is partially off the screen and cannot be closed

Issue

After launching Fireworks 4, the Welc o m e w ind ow appears partially off the screen with the Close Window button not visible. (The Welcome window can also be activated by choosing Help > Welcome.) Because the Close Window button is not visible, the window cannot be closed and now covers the Fireworks workspace.

Reason

The Welcome window can appear too-large on the screen if the monitor is set to a low resolution, such as 640 x 480 pixels.

Solution

Three methods exist to close this window, including:

Using the Alt+F4 function keys

The Fireworks Welcome window is a standard system element which can be removed by first pressing and holding the Alt key and then pressing the F4 function key (Alt+F4). This keyboard shortcut will close any currently active window (unless Function keys have been disabled on the system or some other configuration setting has disabled the key combination). For this key combination to work, first make sure that the Welcome window is currently the active window by clicking on it.

Changing the monitor resolution

1 Right-click on an empty place on the Desktop.

2 Select Properties in the context menu. The Display Properties dialog box will appear.

3 Click the Settings tab and locate the Screen Area slider.

4 Move the slider to the right to increase screen resolution to at least 1024 x 768 pixels.

Once the screen resolution is set to 1024 x 768 pixels or higher, the Fireworks 4 Welcome window will not appear with its title bar and close box on your monitor until you delete the Fireworks 4 Preferences.txt file. Once this is done, the Welcome window will appear on the screen with its title bar and close box. Click the close box to close the window.

Last updated 11/6/2015

Disabling the Welcome window in the Fireworks 4 Preferences.txt file

1 Close Fireworks, if it is currently open.

2 Choose Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad to launch Windows Notepad.

3 In Notepad, choose File > Open and navigate to the Fireworks 4 directory which normally would be located

at:C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Fireworks 4

4 Open the file named Fireworks 4 Preferences.txt found in the Fireworks 4 folder.

5 Locate the following line in the preferences file (use Notepad's Edit > Find command, if

necessary):DisplayWelcomeMovie) (true)

6 Change "true" to "false".

7 Save the file.

8 Exit Notepad and launch Fireworks 4. The Welcome window will now not appear unless the user chooses Help >

Welc o me i n Fire work s 4.

Using Photoshop layer masks in Fireworks 3

Accessing a layer mask from Adobe Photoshop Layer masks in Photoshop do not appear as masks in Fireworks 3 layers. Instead the masked objects appear in the Fireworks 3 PNG file as an image with a transparent background. Beginning with Fireworks 4, however, the masks are retained from Photoshop files.

This TechNote, then, is useful for Fireworks 3 users who would like to use a Photoshop file containing masks. The inst ructions show users h ow to use a layer mask from a Photoshop d ocument as a mas k in Fire work s. Such a layer mas k can be edited when selected. This TechNote is also useful for all Fireworks users wishing to follow the

Fireworks steps

to composite masked images in all versions of Fireworks.

Note: This workaround is for Fireworks 3 users. Layer masks in Photoshop files that are opened or imported into Fireworks 4 or MX will be retained as bitmap masks.

Strategies There are two ways to approach the task:

A user can copy and paste a mask to a new layer from within a Photoshop file if a selection path is not needed for modification. See

first set of Photoshop instructions for step-by-step instructions.

the

If you wish to change a selection, you have the option of either using a previously saved selection or creating a selection from the mask. The instructions below will show how to add a modification, such as a feathered edge, to the selection. You will also learn how to recreate the layer mask as an image on a new separate layer. Refer to the

of Photoshop instructions for step-by-step instructions.

second set

Once the layer mask is separated out to its own layer, import the file into Fireworks and use the mask object to mask any other object in the document.

Photoshop tasksPreparing a Photoshop file with a layer mask (without a selection path):

Last updated 11/6/2015

1 Open the Photoshop file containing the layer mask and turn off the

2 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) an d click the thumbnail for

visibility of any other layers. If more than one layer has a layer mask applied, you will need to perform this operation multiple times (once for each individual layer mask). Make sure that only one layer is visible at this time.

the layer mask. This will make the mask itself visible rather than the artwork on the layer.

3 Press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Macintosh) or choose

Select > All to select all of the mask image. Press Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Macintosh) to copy the mask.

Last updated 11/6/2015

4 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) an d click the thumbnail for

the artwork on the masked layer to restore the artwork for that layer. This will make the artwork visible in the document window rather than the mask. Press Ctrl + D (Windows) or Command + D (Macintosh) to deselect all.

Last updated 11/6/2015

5 Press Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Macintosh) to paste the

mask image from the clipboard into the document. This will create a new layer with the mask on it.

Note:A Fireworks mask contains two colors. The black areas will cause the image being masked to appear opaque. The white areas will cause the image being masked to appear transparent. In Fireworks MX these colors are reversed, i.e. black areas will cause pixels to appear transparent and white objects will cause pixels to be opaque.

6 To remove the mask from the layer, drag the thumbnail of the layer

mask to the layer palette's trash icon. Select Discard in the alert window that appears.

Last updated 11/6/2015

7 The layers palette will now appear with the mask on the first layer and

the unmasked layer below it. Repeat steps 1 through 6 for any other layers with masks that you wish to use in Fireworks. Choose File > Save As. Name and save the file as a Photoshop file format.

When the Photoshop document is opened or imported into Fireworks, the grayscale images on their own layer may be used with images in other layers as masks. Simply use the Mask Group command.

Proceed to the Fireworks portion of this TechNote.

Preparing a Photoshop file with a layer mask (with a selection path):

Last updated 11/6/2015

1 Open the Photoshop file containing the layer mask. Notice that the

2 Choose Select > Load Selection. Choose the selection that was used

black areas of the mask are the background. These areas mask out to reveal the graphic in Layer 1 with the Foreground_layer image on top.

to generate the mask. If the selection was not saved, do the following: Open the Channels panel. Hide all channels except the mask. Select the Magic Wand. Set the tolerance for the wand to 12. Click on the black area to select all of the mask (use shift-click if noncontiguous areas exist).

Note:If you want to reverse the mask in Fireworks, you can choose Select > Inverse. If you want to feather the selection you can choose Select > Feather, then set a pixel distance for the selection's feather.

3 Click the triangle at the top right of the Layers palette to display the

palette menu. Choose New Layer and fill the selection with black. The image on the new layer will be an exact duplicate of the layer mask but it will be a grayscale image on the new layer. If you inverted the selection it will be a reverse of the layer mask.

Note:In Fireworks 3 and 4 masks, black areas cause the image being masked to appear opaque. White areas cause the image being masked to appear transparent. This is reversed in Fireworks MX masks.

Last updated 11/6/2015

Tip:You can also save your selection as a clipping path in Photoshop.

Open the Paths panel in Photoshop. While the selection is still marqueed, click the Options arrow at the top right of the Paths panel and select New Path from the pop-up menu. Name the path and click OK in the New Path dialog box. With the path highlighted in the Paths panel, click the Options arrow again and choose Make Work Path. Set the tolerance to .5 and click OK in the Make Work Path dialog box. Double-click the work path and give it a name in the Save Path dialog. Click the Options arrow one more time and choose Clipping Path. Select the path from the pop-up in the Clipping Path dialog box and set the flatness to 3 device pixels. Click OK to save your settings. Choose File > Export > Paths to Illustrator to create a vector shape which may be imported into Fireworks and used as a mask or for other purposes. The vector shape is always editable but if pixel level accuracy is needed in your mask, a bitmap selection may work better.

4 Choose File > Save As. Name and save your file as the Photoshop file

format.

Fireworks tasksTo use the layer mask in Fireworks, do the following:

Last updated 11/6/2015

1 In Fireworks, open the Photoshop file containing the layer mask. Use

2 Because the mask has been converted to a layer in Photoshop, it will

the default settings as illustrated in the image below.

also appear in the same layer in Fireworks. Notice that all of the layers are intact. The Layer that had the layer mask on it appears as an image with a transparent background. In this example, the selection was feathered so the foreground image has a glow around it. The canvas color is showing through the feathered area.

Last updated 11/6/2015

3 In this image, the layer mask was left intact and the duplicate mask

was feathered to produce a mask for the background image. Masking the background image with a feathered image will produce transparency at the intersection of the images, allowing the canvas to show through. If desired, a background layer with colored fills can be added to give a variety of colors to the glow, adding interesting lighting effects.

Select the mask image and the background image and choose Modify > Mask Group to create the masked background with its feathered edge.

4 In the layers panel, click the Options arrow and select New Layer...

Name the layer. Move the new layer to the bottom of the layer stack. Draw vector paths containing gradients using colors from the foreground and background images.(The eyedropper in the Gradient Fill Editor's swatch pop-up should be used to select colors from the image). In this selection the flowers on the hat, the green in the background and a yellow color were chosen to get a glow in some areas and a shadow in others.

Last updated 11/6/2015

5 Because the vector shapes are behind the areas that are feathered and

semi-transparent, they show through the feather only slightly giving the image a glow in some places, a shadow in others. This adds depth to the image. Also, the Mask Group in Fireworks allows you the option of ungrouping the mask. You can then apply it to any other image you wish to import.

Last updated 11/6/2015

Uninstall Fireworks 8 | Mac OS X

You can uninstall Macromedia Fireworks 8 from Mac OS X using one of the two methods listed below.

Use the installer

When uninstalling Fireworks, be sure to select the correct location for the Fireworks application folder in the installation program. It necessary to select the correct location to locate and remove the necessary files. Do the following:

1 If Fireworks is running, choose File > Quit

2 Launch the Fireworks 8 Installer.

3 When prompted to select a Destination, click the Select Folder button. Navigate to the location on your hard drive

where the Fireworks application folder is installed. Click Choose.

4 On the next Install screen, select the Uninstall option from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. Click the

Uninstall button to begin the uninstallation process.

Uninstall manually

To manually uninstall Fireworks 8 from your computer, delete the following folders:

Note: C

onfirm that Fireworks is not running before proceeding.

• Fireworks 8 application folder - The location of this folder varies if installed to a location other than the default

loca

tion of the Applications folder.

• Fireworks support files - Delete the Fireworks 8 folder from the following path: [hard_drive]: Users: [user_name]:

ibrary: Application Support: Macromedia:

• Fireworks preferences: Delete the Fireworks 8 folder from the following path: [hard_drive]: Users: [user_name]:

ibrary: Preferences: Macromedia:

Note: De

lete the folder located in the Users folders for each user account that has run Fireworks 8.

Supported file formats

This document provides an overview of the supported file formats in Fireworks. For more information about how to use different file formats in Fireworks, see the Fireworks online Help.

Supported file formats for new files

New documents in Fireworks are saved as Portable Network Graphic (PNG) documents, the native file format for Fi

reworks.

Supported file formats for opening, importing, and saving

• Fireworks PNG

• Flattened PNG

• GIF

• animated GIF

• JPEG

Last updated 11/6/2015

• BMP

• WBMP

• SWF

• AI (Illustrator 8)

• PSD

• PICT (Mac OS only)

• TIFF

Supported file formats for exporting

• Adobe PDF

• HTML and images

• images only (based on original file type)

• FXG (CS5)

• MXML (CS5)

• EPS (Open only) (CS5)

• Dreamweaver library (lbi)

• CSS and Images (htm)

• Director (htm)

• Animations (animated GIF files, Flash SWF files or Fireworks PNG, states or layers as multiple files)

For more information on the export options of Fireworks, see the section "Optimizing and Exporting" in the online Help.

How to show a ''don''t show again'' dialog again

When you first install Fireworks, it will often show dialogs with specific advice or tips.

The following are some examples of these dialogs:

How to reduce preview time in the Export Preview dialog

Warning when converting a vector shape to filtered pixels

Warning when changing text in a single button state

Most of these dialogs have a small "Don't show again" checkbox withinthem, so you can stop seeing them if you wish. Fireworks gives you necessary information once, and then gets out of your way as you learn the program.

There may be an occasion when you will want to see one of these dialogs again. This TechNote describes how you can get these dialogs to come back after you've checked the "Don't show again" option.

To see the dialog box again do the following:

Last updated 11/6/2015

1 Quit Fireworks.

2 Delete the Fireworks Preferences file. On Windows this is file is found

3 Restart Fireworks. You will see all dialogs again, including registration

Note:Be sure to shut down Fireworks before removing the preferences file. Many programs read their preferences at startup, modify them during operation, and write them to disk when closing. If you delete the preferences while Fireworks is running, then it will just write a fresh copy of the old preferences when you shut it down.

in your Fireworks 3 folder, and on Macintosh this file is found in your System-level Preferences folder.

reminders.