Fireworks at Macromedia
Currently, designers may find themselves needing several applications to create one animated GIF. Macromedia says Fireworks simplifies the creation of GIF animations by providing a full set of tools in one package, with good facilities for editing your animations if tweaks are required.
Other features include the ability to create JavaScript 'roll-over" buttons without the need for coding knowledge - Fireworks generates the JavaScript code automatically. The program also allows designers to create imagemaps using a masking system to define hot-spots within a graphic.
For basic GIF and JPEG images, Fireworks includes a comprehensive 'export preview' window that allows designers to fine-tune images for the Web.
Fireworks blurs the line between vector and bitmap graphics, by allowing users to edit bitmapped lines and shapes using anchor-points. For example: a user can draw a bézier curve and apply a special effect that will remain constant no matter how the original is manipulated.
A pre-release Beta version of Fireworks is available for download here. As with all Beta software, ensure you use an uninstall application in case of problems.
Estimated street price is £239, due June 1998.