MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS MX 2004-USING FIREWORKS Use Manual page 135

About vector masks
If you have used other vector-illustration applications such as Macromedia FreeHand, you may
be familiar with vector masks, which are sometimes called clipping paths or paste insides. The
vector mask object crops or clips the underlying objects to the shape of its path, creating a
cookie-cutter effect.
A vector mask applied using its path outline
When you create a vector mask, a mask thumbnail with a pen icon appears in the Layers panel to
indicate you've created a vector mask.
A vector mask thumbnail in the Layers panel
When a vector mask is selected, the Property inspector displays information about how the mask
is applied. The bottom half of the Property inspector displays additional properties that allow you
to edit the mask object's stroke and fill.
Vector mask properties in the Property inspector
By default, vector masks are applied using their path outline, but you can also apply them in other
ways. For more information, see "Changing the way masks are applied" on page 149.
Note: Vector masks created in Fireworks 4 that were applied using their grayscale appearance are
imported as uneditable bitmap masks in Fireworks MX 2004.
Masking images 135