MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS MX 2004-USING FIREWORKS Use Manual page 196

Editing button symbols
Fireworks button symbols are a special kind of symbol. They have two kinds of properties: some
properties change in all instances when you edit an instance of the symbol, and other properties
affect only the current instance.
Fireworks button symbols let you take advantage of the convenience of symbols yet allow you to
edit certain properties of a button instance, such as text, without affecting other instances.
Editing symbol-level properties
You edit button symbols in the Button Editor. The instance properties that you can modify are
those that are typically consistent among buttons in a nav bar:
•
Modifications to graphical appearance such as stroke color and type, fill color and type, path
shape, and images
•
Live Effects, opacity, or blend mode applied to individual objects in the button symbol
•
Size and position of the active area
•
Core button behavior
•
Optimization and export settings
•
URL link (also available as an instance-level property)
•
Target frame (also available as an instance-level property)
To edit button properties at the symbol level:
Do one of the following to open the button in the Button Editor:
1
Double-click a button instance in the workspace.
In the Library panel, double-click the button preview or the symbol icon beside the
button symbol.
Make changes to the button's characteristics, and click Done.
2
Changes are applied to all instances of the button symbol.
Editing instance-level properties
Instance-level properties are edited in the Property inspector when a single instance is selected.
You change these properties for an instance without affecting the associated symbol or any other
instances of that symbol. These properties typically differ from button to button in a series
of buttons:
•
An instance's object name, which appears in the Layers panel and is used for naming the
exported slices for the button instance upon export
•
Live Effects, opacity, or blend mode applied to the entire instance
•
Text characters and text formatting, such as font, size, orientation, and color
•
URL link (overrides any URL that exists as a symbol-level property)
•
Alternate (alt) image description
•
Target frame (overrides any target frame that exists as a symbol-level property)
196 Chapter 10: Creating Buttons and Pop-up Menus