Fireworks 8 is Macromedia’s last iteration of this vector-based bitmap editor for the web, forming part of Studio 8. The question is whether Fireworks is better than other editors for the purpose it’s been developed for. The new version probably is.

In a previous upgrade, Fireworks gained the trick of Smart shapes. Those were a bit of a puzzle to me, as I did not quite see what was so special about them. When I had finally found that out, I also found the controls to be awkward to use. Well, this is one of those things that have been fixed in the new version.

Smart shapes now have their own palette with controls in numeric fields. Suddenly, those smart shapes have become a lot smarter!

Another reason why Fireworks is better than let’s say ImageReady or an average vector editor, is its ability to create CSS-driven pop-up menus. In the previous versions of Fireworks, pop-up menus were easy to create, but they were pure HTML and Javascript. Now they’re HTML, Javascript and CSS, and each type of code has its own document. The result is better code with a better integration with the positioning capabilities of Dreamweaver.

On the less interesting front --at least from the point of interest in Fireworks as yet another vector/bitmap editor-- there are the over 25 blend modes you now have available. The Perspective shadow capability is another new addition that I like but of which I’m not entirely convinced that it adds much incredible value.

Perspective Shadow in fact is a script that adds a perspective shadow to text and open paths. But what it does in reality is copy the path or the text, turn it black, skew it and position it so that it looks like perspective shadow. It saves time, but you can do this by hand too. To be quite honest, probably not as efficient as in Fireworks 8. The Perspective Shadow script doesn’t just add a static form; the shadow itself is a smart shape. Its controls allow you to change the shadow’s length, angle, etc.

A new Live Filter, Solid Shadow, is much more thrilling. It adds not so much a shadow as a solid extrusion along an angle that you specify. Very nice effect indeed, but one that I can also obtain in Illustrator without any effort at all.

And so the list goes on and on. Fireworks 8 is not a grand upgrade, but it also never disappoints. And one of the major benefits of the programs remains that you can have it all wrapped into one package.

Conclusion

Fireworks 8 is one of the better components of Studio 8. It imports many file formats, it is efficient, unobtrusive, and does exactly what it is supposed to do: enable you to create web graphics and menus with enough power to make some nice, unique art.

Fireworks 8 integrates well with Dreamweaver 8. It’s true you can find most of its features elsewhere, but nowhere do you find them in one package with a simple interface and so much a part of the industry standard in web design and development.