I will warn you, this ain’t going to be pretty but a few people have been asking. Feel free to tear these apart… do what you will with them… no license… no need to credit me… knock yourself out if you are that way inclined.
I simply have no interest in writing extensions for Fireworks anymore… hopefully someone else might be able to pick these up and do something positive with them.
Trevor McCauley has written a fantastic little (actually it’s 10 pages) tutorial on creating advanced custom Fireworks Panels using Flash.
It’s well worth a read, includes tutorial and sample files and covers;
Nice work Trevor. :)
Check out Trevors new Extrude Path Command for Fireworks.
Extrude a single selected vector path vertically at a specified height.
Trevor McCauley has released another(again!) new Fireworks AutoShape called ‘“Pinwheel”:http://www.senocular.com/downloads/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1103905435&archive=&start\_from=&ucat=8&kind=8’.
The Pinwheel Auto Shape creates a ‘Pinwheel’ consisting of 2 to 16 consecutive spirals placed revolved around a common center. It consists of 5 control points to control size (inner and outer radius), rotation, spiral count, spiral style (solid, checker, and wire which can be cycled through by clicking the Style and Count control point) and spiral curvature.
As an additional feature, you can use the sub select tool to alter the path of the primary spiral (the one previewed when altering the shape that is formed between the control points) and have all other consecutive spirals mimic the change. Altering the shape with control points after doing this will undo the effects.
Trevor McCauley has released another(!) new Fireworks AutoShape called ‘“File Info”:http://www.senocular.com/downloads/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1101933160&archive=&start\_from=&ucat=8&kind=8’.
This AutoShape creates a bar at the bottom of your document with common information regarding your file. The information is completely customizable and can be edited by clicking on the shape’s control point.
Properties include:
Very smart.
Senocular (Trevor McCauley) has released a new Fireworks Extension ‘“Simple Linked Selection”:http://www.senocular.com/downloads/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1101750356&archive=&start\_from=&ucat=8&kind=8’ which allows you to ‘link’ objects on your canvas meaning that as you select one object, all those ‘linked to it’ will also be selected.
Trevor just doesn’t let up. As a part of his relentless one man conquest to populate the world with Fireworks AutoShapes he has taken it upon himself to write a tutorial for mugs like me so that we might be able to aspire to developing something with the quality and flair of his offerings.
*I think a big reason there aren’t more Auto Shapes out there is because people just don’t know how to make them. Hopefully this will shed some light on the subject.* – Trevor McCauley.
What a guy. :)
Steven Grosvenor has finished work on his new ‘Twist and Fade’ command for Fireworks MX 2004.
Improvements in v4.0.8 include:
It’s free and you can download it here.
Trevor McCauley writes:
When I was a kid I drew a lot. When I couldn’t think of anything to draw, I would close my eyes and randomly mark 12 dots on a blank piece of paper. Then I would connect the dots and examine the resulting shape to figure out what it could be – what I would attempt to draw next. This shape attempts to do the same. I called it Inspire as it acts like (and was influenced by) my inspiration technique as a child. All it does is creates a random shape on your screen.
If you feel you’re running out of ideas, maybe this shape can send some inspiration your way.
Jan Esmann is an artist who has written a collection of photo editing and restoration plug-ins for Fireworks. Plug-ins include:
The plug-ins are priced individually but you can also purchase the entire set for �100. No idea whether the plug-ins are any cop, but there seem to be a lot of positive testimonials on the his site.
Trevor McCauley posts ‘another’ useful Fireworks extension: ‘“Define Working Directory”:http://www.senocular.com/downloads/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1096066539&ucat=8&kind=8’.
This command panel provides a simple method of defining a default Save path for new documents using directories which you specify. Directory settings are automatically used when a new file is created.
A nice and simple new AutoShape from Steven Grosvenor which allows you to create a glassy orb, with control over shadow opacity, base color, overlay color and globe shadow color.
Senocular (Trevor McCauley) has been busy again and this weekend posted another Fireworks MX 2004 AutoShape to his site.
The 3D Box AutoShape allows you to create an editable 3D box where all verticies are editable and can be moved anywhere you want within the 3D space.
An option is given to change perspective. If the focal length (controlling perspective) is set to the max of 1000, all perspective is ignored and you get an isometric representation.
I hear from Steven Grosvenor that Twist and Fade MX 2004 is nearly ready for release.
It’s been a long time in development but should make an appearance in early October 2004.
Senocular makes an interesting post about a Fireworks MX 2004 command which allows you to ‘steal’ AutoShapes which are embedded into PNGs. Not only is this a neat observation, but a neat solution too.
Senocular has a new Fireworks AutoShape available on his site which allows you to easily create ‘Heart’ shapes. It consists of 4 points for controlling features entitled “Breadth”, “Cleft”, “Vertex”, and “Vertex Arc”.
Senocular has written another clever little AutoShape for Fireworks, but this time it behaves more like a utility. The Ruler AutoShape allows you to measure lengths and angles across your document. Very neat.
Senoculars new Stroke Path command lets you take a selected element in Fireworks (bitmap, vector drawing, group, etc.) and duplicate it along a selected path. The settings dialog gives you option of adjusting path direction, rotation orientation, spacing, and accuracy.
I’ve made the source files for my Fireworks ‘Main Toolbar’ command panel available to download.
The ZIP archive includes:
Help yourself and let me know if you make any improvements.
Viktor Goltvyanitsa has released a new version of his Fireworks Color Palette Command Panel. Version 1.2 includes the following new features:
You can opt to buy the ‘Full’ version for $14.95 or download the ‘Lite’ version for free.
The Lite version doesn’t include the facility to perform color transformation from RGB to CMYK and also only provides between 3 and 12 blender steps as opposed to between 3 and 36.
My good friend Steven Grosvenor has written a new Command Panel for Flash which provides an interface to add comments to Flash files.
The Comment Adder Panel allows you to add comments at the click of a button, including the following types of comments:
Comment Block, To Do, Bug, Kludge, Tricky
It also has the option to include your signature and a date/timestamp. Very handy indeed.
Steven Grosvenor has been busy. A couple of days ago he posted a new Fireworks MX / MX 2004 Command on his site called ‘“Image Edger PRO”:http://www.phireworx.com/content/members/login.asp’.
Image Edger PRO is a batch conversion utility with a difference; it gives you the ability to apply en masse elegant edging effects to whole folders of images, rather than an image at a time, with complete control over the following factors: Source Image Folder, Destination Image Folder, File Prefix (for exported files), Percentage Resizer (percentage to resize the source images), Canvas Color, Stroke Color ,Stroke Width and Corner Roundness.
I’ve given it a go and it’s pretty nifty for large batch operations. It even gives you a psuedo ‘preview’ within the command interface.
Image Edger PRO is available to purchase from the Phireworx site for $9.95.
I’ve finished the Fireworks ‘Main Toolbar’ Command Panel and it’s now available to download for free.
The panel is a SWF command panel version of the Main Toolbar in Fireworks. It’s more compact and better looking than the default Main Toolbar (I ‘stole’ the icons from ‘Dreamweaver MX 2004’). I Dock it above the Optimize panel for easy access.
I’ve been tinkering during spare moments with a simple little command panel to replace the ever so ugly ‘main toolbar’ in Fireworks MX / MX 2004.
It’s almost finished, I just need to complete work on the ‘import’ function, then I reckon it’s ready to go.
Steven Grosvenor has released a new Fireworks MX / MX 2004 Command panel called ‘“Batch Resizer Percent”:http://www.phireworx.com’ (?).
According to his site this is a ‘nifty tool for rapid batch resizing of folders of images.’
I’ve not had a chance to play with the extension myself yet, but it seems pretty straight forward and simple, although I’m a little confused as to how it differs to the built in batch processing tools that Fireworks includes. I guess it’s just a different route to achieving the same end result.
I understand that Steven has a number of other commands on the way in the very near future. Good stuff.
Hiroshi Miyazawa of Macromedia has developed another new AutoShape for Fireworks MX 2004 called Ribbon.
The Ribbon Auto Shape is very similar to the Wave Auto Shape. It is basically an adjustable sine wave. However, the Ribbon Auto Shape uses the waves that are generated to build “inside” and “outside” shapes that give the illusion that you have a curly ribbon on screen.
At present this extension is only available to download from the CommunityMX site although I�m sure in time it will appear on the exchange.
Hiroshi Miyazawa of Macromedia has developed a new AutoShape for Fireworks MX 2004 called Wave.
The Wave Auto Shape is basically an adjustable sine wave. You can change the number of cycles, and adjust the size of the shape, thereby changing the period and amplitude of the wave.
At present this extension is only available to download from the CommunityMX site although I’m sure in time it will appear on the exchange.
Kim Cavanaugh has written a couple of articles on extending Fireworks which are hosted at Community MX. The fist covers Filters (Plug-ins) and the second looks at Extensions. Well worth a read. :)
My Duplicate, Offset & Rotate Fireworks Extension is now free to download. Sales of this as a commercial package have pretty much dried up, so why not let everyone enjoy it… users who purchased the extension will be eligible for a reduced price upgrade to my next commercial offering, so don’t feel to narked if you splashed out �1.00. :)
In line with this change I have also reduced the price of the Fireworks MX Source Pack from �4.95 to �2.95.
Links to Fireworks Extension Authors have moved to the ‘“source // extensions”:http://www.nathanpitman.com/source/extensions.php’ section, but are also replicated on the in progress ‘“fireworks developer network”:http://www.nathanpitman.com/fdn/’ page. Just so you know where to go looking.
I hear on the grapevine from Steven Grosvenor at Phireworx that he has some new Fireworks MX Command panels on the way…
Batch Set’s 1 + 2 : 5 commands in each for pretty major batch processing with more granular control than the existing batch control UI (plus they look prettier).
2 sets of Bitmap manipulative effects.
Juno II: Speaks for itself, contains more extensive controls and 3 extra effects.
ISO: Complete isometric generation command (includes multiple auto shapes).
SFX Set 1: A really special set of effects for FW MX 2004+ only.
Sounds great, can’t wait to see these in action. Keep your eyes peeled, obviously I’ll report on these here the moment they are available.
Great new article on the Fireworks Developer Center about Extending Fireworks written by Kleanthis Economou. Go check it out.
Macromedia have posted a nice tutorial on the Fireworks Developer Center on creating AutoShapes for Fireworks MX 2004. The tutorial covers:
A must read for Fireworks Extension authors I’m sure.
I’ve added Auto Save to the extensions list, it’s been around for a while but I just never got to putting it online. Based on an extension written by FlashGuru this command panel allows you to set Fireworks to automatically save the active document every ‘x’ minute(s) or every ‘x’ hour(s).
I’ve developed a Calculator command panel for Fireworks. You can use the �x,y,w & h� buttons to grab information from the selected object/s on the canvas.
Kleanthis Economou has posted an updated Fireworks Commands Wrapper for Flash on the Macromedia Exchange. This allows you to author Fireworks Commands or Command Panels in Flash by addressing the Fireworks API using Acionscript.
Senocular identifies that some Fireworks MX extensions may cause Fireworks MX 2004 to unexpectedly error out and quit on startup. I’d be interested to know if anyone has experienced such problems with any of my Fireworks extensions..?
Macromedia has made documentation available online for the Fireworks Remote Procedure Calls or RPCs.
“The RPC mechanism exposes the Fireworks JavaScript DOM via XML and sockets. It allows other applications to access functionality previously restricted to JavaScript programs running inside of Fireworks such as ‘commands’ or ‘command panels’.
Nearly anything that can be done by a JavaScript program running inside of Fireworks can be done by an application via the Fireworks RPC. For example, an application running on the same machine as Fireworks can open Fireworks documents, slice them, optimize them, and then export them; or the application can create a new Fireworks document, draw into it, and then preview it in a browser.”
Pretty neat stuff I’m sure you will agree. Hopefully we’ll see some developers taking advantage of this in the not so distant future.
Via Thierry Lorey at ‘Fireworks Zone‘ I came across a ton of new Fireworks Command panels and AutoShapes. Thanks go out to ‘Senocular‘ for these, it’s great to see more developers getting involved in extending Fireworks. :)
Phireworx have just released ‘SmartTabs’ which is an AutoShape for Fireworks MX 2004.
This allows you to; Easily Add / Remove Tabs, Control the tab stacking order, Easily resize the tab page and use the subselection tool to change tabs and labels.
For a limited time this extension is available for $7.95, with prices increasing to $9.95 at the end of March.
I finally got round to making the modifications to all of my Dreamweaver Extensions in order that they will install correctly for Dreamweaver MX 2004 users.
It was a hassle to edit 13 MXIs, re-package and test them. But at least now it’s done. Let’s just hope they don’t go and change it all again for the next release… :/
You can find the revised extensions with incremented version numbers on the extensions page.
Have fun and let me know if anything is still broke.
Mr Edoardo Zubler has reworked his fantastic ‘Advanced New Document’ command for Fireworks MX. You can download the standard version from his site and purchase the PRO version. Both sport a particuarly gorgeous interface. Nice work Edo…
For some time I’ve guessed that I might need to update my Dreamweaver Extensions to function correctly with Dreamweaver MX 2004. Today I found some time to take a little bit of a closer look at the subject.
It seems that Macromedia totally changed the way in which commands are inserted into the toolbars this time around.
Net result is that although my extensions will work ‘mostly’ (I think, let me know) with the latest release, the way they are inserted into the toolbar is all a bit Pete Tong.
Suffice to say I’m going to try and resolve this…
Brian Edgin of Phireworx has released a nifty little new extension for Fireworks MX.
‘Super Nudge’ allows you to ‘nudge’ selections by any amount including sub pixel amounts and individual points.
ShapeShifter Set 2 for Fireworks MX allows you to quickly and easily add callouts and speech bubbles to your active document. It’s free to download from the Phireworx site.
Use Duplicate, Offset & Rotate to:
That’s not all, you can mix and match the effects which you apply, choose to disable or enable the duplication, offset and rotation layers with just one single click. Fireworks will even remember your settings between sessions.
Similar in functionality to Fireworks MX “New Document” dialog box, “Advanced New Document“ command enables you to create new Fireworks documents starting from predefined presets.
In addition to this, “Advanced New Document“ command lets you create, store and manage new custom made presets.
Phireworx have announced that Brian Edgin has joined them as a Senior Developer. Brian has spent the last two and half years doing interface and new feature design on the Fireworks development team at Macromedia. Although Brian may be leaving Macromedia to pursue other opportunities, his heart is still close to Fireworks. “It is amazing how extensible Fireworks is!” Brian says, “Most of us have only begun to scratch the surface.”
Writing extensions for Fireworks MX is fun. Last night I spent some time putting the final touches to a command panel that I’ve been working on for a long time.
During this time it occured to me that there really are very few Fireworks extension developers out there, you know I think I could probably count them on a single hand…, a search through my favourites should put this one to rest.
There you go then. Let me know if you can be added to the list.
Kleanthis has released a set of 4 new Fireworks MX extensions. I downloaded these some time ago, but totally forgot to report on them, they are:
As you’d expect from Kleanthis, these extensions are brilliantly put together, work well and look great. Worth the download.
Phireworx release ‘Super Guides’ for Fireworks MX.
Super Guides is an axonometric projection template creator to allow you to create templates of any size, any angle and opacity for your isometric illustration needs.
Super Guides gives you control over; Projection Angle, Document Template Size and Grid Opacity. Go check it out…
Duplicate and Offset is the most downloaded Fireworks Utility on the Macromedia exchange! Not quite sure how that happened, but it’s all good if you ask me. Over 7,500 downloads and counting.
Duplicate and Offset 2 is coming on nicely, I think it will end up titled ‘Duplicate, Offset, Rotate’. Added some nice new features, and there’s a total interface overhaul.
According to Kleanthis Economou (Project Fireworks), FireFrame provides a convenient way to enhance the appearance of your photos and add artistic flare to them in a non-destructive way.
The package includes 100 ready made photo frame effects, and even allows the user to add their own frames.
This is the first commercial extension that Kleanthis has released, following the recent trend to charge for extensions.
Macromedia have added style guidelines for publishing Fireworks extensions to the exchange.
This document advises developers on how design a interface that will sit comfortably within that of the Fireworks application, in order that they might attain Macromedia certification for their extension.
My Macromedia Fireworks extensions have been featured on the cover mounted CD-ROM of ‘Practical Web Projects‘ Issue 7.