January 24, 2007
53 CSS-Techniques You Couldnt Live Without
Here's an excellent resource from Smashing Magazine that explains 53 CSS-Techniques You Couldn’t Live Without
Whatever app you like to use for design and layout for the web (ahem...Fireworks!) this will surely be helpful or at least confirm what you are already doing today with CSS and Images.
Posted by amusselman at 04:17 PM | Comments (1)
December 12, 2006
More Fireworks Articles on adobe.com!
What's a Fireworks Developer Center without technical articles about Fireworks?
Here's a couple articles fresh off the press with a BIG thanks to Bevin and Grant for spending the time out of their busy schedule to write these for adobe.com and spread the knowledge.
Discovering the Fireworks RPC server - Part 1: XML and socket communication
Understand the basic client/server relationship and XML tag structure needed to share custom extensions and other Fireworks functionality across a network.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/fireworks/articles/rpc_server_pt1.html
Discovering the Fireworks RPC server - Part 2: Debugging techniques and web applications
Test tags and catch errors with a simple debugger panel and review a sample .NET web application that watermarks uploaded images automatically.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/fireworks/articles/rpc_server_pt2.html
Lessons learned from the Fireworks to XAML Exporter
Create Fireworks extensions by learning about tools that reduce repetitive tasks and speed your understanding of the Fireworks Object Model.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/fireworks/articles/fw_xaml_exporter.html
Posted by amusselman at 03:39 PM | Comments (2)
March 03, 2006
How do I slice a comp/mock in Fireworks for use in Dreamweaver?
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this question from new users to Studio 8. Its a very difficult question to answer as you must be aware of all the limitations of HTML and CSS to fully grasp and understand the concept of Web Design.
There are many workflows that I cannot describe in one shot about this process and felt Zoe Gillenwater's article is an excellent read. Being someone that prefers to give everything away for free, the article actually costs 3.00(USD) to read, but I have to say its one of the best articles I've seen yet that can help get someone new to the process to get on the right track.
It's not often I recommend a tutorial that costs money, but if you can spare the 3 bucks and you are a new user, then go get this article and tear it apart.
A CSS Web Design Case Study: Constructing a Personal Site - Slicing the Comp
http://www.communitymx.com/abstract.cfm?cid=7E27C
Posted by amusselman at 10:16 AM | Comments (9)
February 28, 2006
Reminder: Open Studio Discussion tonight!
Yep, its time for another Open Studio Discussion at 7-9pm (PST). This time its happening at the Brain Wash as they have free wireless and I can wash my clothes at the same time. BUT the real reason is I lost my connection last night due to high winds in the Bay Area. Apparently, there was wind speeds up to 98mph. At one point, I thought the building was going to fall out due to an earthquake only to find out it was a wind/rain storm.
Note: I'll also be recording each session (if I remember too) from here on out since there's a lot of good tidbits and thoughts to chew on that all can benefit if they missed it or want to watch it.
Posted by amusselman at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2006
Reminder: Open Studio Discussion tonight!
Also, if anyone is interested in reviewing the "Using Studio 8 to design a Website" MacroChat recording, here ya go. I've also been informed to re-record the presentation since there was Breeze difficulties. (User Error/Audio issues) Come to find out, my machine was spiking when running DW/FW/FL/CT and using Breeze to screen share which could have caused the audio to drop out consistently. Looks like I will be doing my next recording at home or use a faster machine than my dinky laptop. Sorry folks!
If you have questions about Studio 8 or the MacroChat, please ask them in tonight's "Open Studio Discussion" Breeze Session from 7-9pm (PST) which is an in-formal, un-official Breeze meeting I run every other Tuesday.
Hope to see ya there! ;-)
Posted by amusselman at 10:59 AM | Comments (4)
New York + Studio 8!
Fireworks Features Research in Manhattan!
Since we have just concluded the merge, we are in a great position to invent some new, great products and add new features to existing ones. If you are in Manhattan, use Fireworks (or switched from Fireworks recently), we would love to show you some ideas we have to improve upcoming features and learn about how you use (or hit the ceiling with) Fireworks.
If you are living in or around New York and work via freelance or in an Web/Print Agency, then you match our qualifications for a customer visit. Of course you might be too busy to meet, but if you are interested in helping make our products specifically Fireworks work better for you than I'd suggest sending us some information so we can try and sync up for a visit.
We are looking for Studio 8 folks, Fireworks Power Users, some Adobe classic print folks that lightly save for web and some full on Adobe folks that use Adobe apps for intensive save for web (via PShop, ImageReady and GoLive).
Please forward your inquries to Danielle Beaumont to see if you or your agency will qualify.
Also note before I worked at Macromedia which is now Adobe, I was visited by the team at a previous job and I had a fantastic time reviewing new features and discussing issues with the team. Its a lot of fun and happens so fast you wont even know it! They also gave us some MM schwag I'd never seen before... ;-)
Posted by amusselman at 10:23 AM | Comments (2)
January 26, 2006
MacroChat now! Using Studio to design a Website
Hey all,
The MacroChat I'm presenting today about Using Studio to design a Website will be live in 15 minutes. Join up if you have time!
http://mmchats.breezecentral.com/studio8/
Posted by amusselman at 09:43 AM | Comments (2)
January 12, 2006
Upcoming: Using Studio 8 to Design a Web Site MacroChat
Hey all, I'll be hosting a MacroChat covering Studio 8 across the board and how to use it effectively to design websites from beginning to end. Feel free to sign up now as we can only hold up to 200 people during the MacroChat. I've also requested this MacroChat to be 2 hours so I can cover more topics and leave room for questions at the end.
Please sign up and I'll see ya on Jan. 26th!
If you have any suggestions on what you would like to see get covered other than the topics listed, please let me know.
PS - Sorry for the lack of posting during the holiday break and the past couple weeks. I'm slowly catching back up if thats what you want to call it. Funny how people thought I lost my job or stopped events due to my lack of not posting regularly. I'll make sure I stay on top of it going forward and glad to know people actually read my blog!
Posted by amusselman at 01:46 PM | Comments (5)
November 12, 2005
Roundtrip images with Flash!
Roundtrip Ra-Uun-duh tree-up
Macromedian term to describe the process when editing an object whether it's a bitmap, code, or a swf and transferring its properties to another Studio app instantly thus eliminating tedious and repetitious import steps in the process.
Not only can you copy and paste directly into Flash from Fireworks and retain alpha transparency, but you can also roundtrip bitmaps with Fireworks while preserving the PNG source file.
Before Studio 8, you would have had to either update the bitmap via “right-click > properties” in the library panel or delete it and re-copy the bitmap over from Fireworks which creates a Fireworks Objects folder located in the Library.
I got into a habit of copying bitmap and vector objects from Fireworks and pasting them into Flash over and over again until I got it just right that it took me longer to get used to the FW/FL Roundtrip workflow enhancement. A couple seconds of preparation will be well worth it to be in-sync with Flash and bitmap editing.
For this walk through, it is recommended to download the source and follow the steps below:
- Open Flash 8
- Open movie.fla
- File > Import > Import to Stage, and select image.png
- In the PNG Import Settings, adjust the options like below and click ok.
Note: Experiment with the PNG Import Settings. (Selecting “Import as a single flattened bitmap” will not create a folder called Fireworks Objects in your FLA.)
This could be my personal preference, but I can’t stand the auto-generated Fireworks folder that gets created in the Library when copying objects from FW to FL. You can’t win, just leave it there until your finished going back and forth, then kill it and organize your library.
- Select the “caddy” bitmap on the stage
- Click the “Edit” button found in the Property Inspector (PI) which will invoke the “Roundtrip” process to Fireworks.
Note: If the “Edit” button is disabled, then open the Library panel, right-click image.png > properties, click Import and select image.png in the roundtrip folder, click ok and proceed to the next step. The reason its disabled is somehow Flash wasn’t able to detect the source path so we will force it or update it here.
- Make an edit to the bitmap
- Click “Done” in the top-left corner of the document in Fireworks which will complete the last step in the Roundtrip process. At this point, you should see the image updated in Flash.
Now Roundtrip until your hearts content…just remember, when the you Roundtrip the PNG file back into Flash, it gets automatically saved so no reverting unless you made a copy of the file beforehand. ;)
In order to retain the Alpha transparency, make sure to set the canvas color to transparent in Fireworks, if not, the Roundtrip process will carry the background information with it unlike the copy/paste feature where it doesn’t matter if the canvas color is transparent or not.
Fireworks is also the central hub and starting place to design web site mocks and then shift your mindset into either Dreamweaver or Flash's environment for final implementation of the design.
The more integration with the Studio apps, the more productive we can become when developing web sites and rich web applications.
Posted by amusselman at 04:02 PM | Comments (11)
November 07, 2005
How do I participate in a Beta?
I often get asked if I can add someone to a Beta Program and typically this is not something I can do right away. If you are interested in working with a Studio Beta for Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks and you feel you can actively particpate and submit bugs, please check the Beta Programs page regularly and fill out the survey for the product you are interested in participating.
Tip: To increase your chances on getting access, be sure to include a URL of a "sample of your work".
Macromedia Beta Programs
http://www.macromedia.com/support/programs/beta.html
Posted by amusselman at 10:42 AM | Comments (8)
October 14, 2005
Check out the "8 the project" developed with Studio 8
My friend and fellow co-worker Junichi Saito over in the Macromedia Japan office has sent me a link that I thought would be worth sharing with anyone that reads my blog.
"Please take a look at this, Her character name is 8-chan. When you have a close friend, little boys and girls, we call their name with –chan. For example, Alan-chan"
The "8 the project" has stunning visuals and excellent Flash wizardry which will make any Studio 8 user oooogle over the new features they used in the project. I have explored this site from front to back and enjoyed every second of it even though I cant read Japanese very well.
Thanks for sharing Junichi-san! :-)
Posted by amusselman at 10:15 AM | Comments (7)
September 28, 2005
Fireworks added to MXNA
Hey Fireworks bloggers!
There was an overwhelming amount of responses about why this was not on the Aggregator. Even Trevor over at senocular.com created a petition about the issue. Well I'm pleased to announce Fireworks is now a Cateogory in the MXNA Aggregator.
If you already have an existing blog on MXNA and blog about Fireworks in some form or fashion, please email me directly so we can add you to the category. (amusselman \|/ macromedia you know where)
If you do not have a blog approved at MXNA, please add the blog using the Submit Feed form.
Thanks!
Posted by amusselman at 02:38 PM | Comments (15)
September 22, 2005
Two Support Gurus just got MM blogs
Welcome John Nosal for Fireworks and Ken Toley for Flash. This is truly an exciting day for Studio users. The more bloggers out there discussing Studio related issues and expressing their opinions is fantastic. Keep a close eye on John and Ken as Im sure we will see some interesting topics emerging.
John Nosal - Fireworks
John's already jumped into Podcasting and posted a couple questions about Fireworks Popup Menus and what others think about them. I'll be interested to see how this post turns out.
Ken Toley - Flash
Ken has already expressed his past challenges with programming in general and with ActionScript and is sharing information with the Flash Community. Be sure to keep track of Ken's posts. He always has a good read waiting there for you.
Posted by amusselman at 10:12 AM | Comments (2)
August 20, 2005
Out for a Test-drive with Studio 8
That's the title of the article I wrote for the EDGE newsletter about a site we built using the Studio Betas. If anyone's interested we can post the FLA's/CSS so peeps can check out how it was done when the Studio apps are available for download. Let me know if your interested and I'll make sure this happens.
Read Article 04:
http://www.macromedia.com/newsletters/edge/august2005/
The Studio 8 launch couldn't have been released at a better time than now. In my honest opinion, the web industry as a whole is coming back to life like it was back in 1998. Before only the strong survived the dotcom days and the weak had to pursue other options. Now, it seems companies are snatching up who they can these days just to keep up with the amount of work coming through the pipes. Craziness...
As of today, I'm seeing so many *new* users that are wanting to get their hands on the Studio 8 that its not even funny. Current Studio Professionals are busting at the seams trying to get their hands on it. All I can say is patience!! It will be out soon enough for all of you to enjoy and maximize its true potential. What really razzles me, is I want to go back into designing/developing 8-15 hours a day....I really miss that, but being in support definitely has its advantages that I may someday reveal to all of you.
Posted by amusselman at 11:24 AM | Comments (6)