Macromedia Inc. this week introduced Fireworks 2, the latest
version of its Web graphics production environment.
Describing it as a major
upgrade, the company said that new features enable rapid edits across multiple
graphics, ensuring consistent design across a site. Fireworks 2, when combined with Macromedia’s Dreamweaver, makes for a Web publishing solution designed to rationalize the production process,
allowing designers to work with greater ease and efficiency.
“Fireworks provides real productivity advantages to businesses that each day face the challenge of keeping graphics-intensive sites updated and fresh in order to attract and keep visitors,” said Tom Hale, vice president of marketing for Macromedia’s Web Publishing division.
Among the new features on Fireworks 2 are:
- graphic and text styles that can be shared among workgroups
- find and replace functions for the global updating of text, fonts, colors, and URLs
- new and powerful batch editing facilities
- automatic generation of JavaScript Scriptlets
- a URL manager for keeping links consistent throughout a site
- a behaviors palette for making interactivity fast and simple.
Lisa Lopuck, a San Francisco-based Web designer, spoke in support of the
product.
“The integration between Fireworks and Dreamweaver
really addresses the way designers work today,” she said. “After I completed one big
project with the Fireworks 2 beta, you couldn’t pry it away from me. The
editable graphics and Dreamweaver integration have saved me enormous
amounts of time and effort.”
Fireworks 2 currently runs on Windows 95, 98, and NT, and is scheduled for availability
for MacOS 7.5.5 or later during March 1999. The estimated street price is $199. It an also be purchased as part of the Dreamweaver Fireworks Studio for $399.