MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS MX 2004-USING FIREWORKS Use Manual page 234

To compare views with different optimization settings:
Click the 2-Up or 4-Up button in the upper left of the Document window.
1
Click one of the split-view previews to select it.
2
Enter settings in the Optimize panel.
3
Select the other previews and specify different optimization settings for each preview to
4
compare them.
When you choose 2-Up or 4-Up view, the first split-view displays the original Fireworks PNG
document so that you can compare it with optimized versions. You can switch this view with
another optimized version.
To switch any optimized view to the Original view from 2-Up or 4-Up view:
Select an optimized view.
1
Choose Original (No Preview) from the Preview pop-up menu at the bottom of the
2
preview window.
To switch the Original view to an optimized view from 2-Up or 4-Up view:
Select the view containing the original.
1
Choose Export Preview from the Preview pop-up menu.
2
To hide or show the slice overlay:
•
Choose View > Slice Overlay.
Note: This command is useful when you are in either the Preview, 2-Up preview, or 4-Up preview.
Choosing a file type
You should base your choice of file format upon the design and use of your graphic. A graphic's
appearance can vary from one format to another, especially when different types of compression
are used. In addition, only certain graphic file types are accepted by most web browsers. Still other
file types are ideal for print publishing or use in multimedia applications.
The following file types are available:
, or Graphics Interchange Format, is a popular web graphic format. GIFs contain a maximum
GIF
of 256 colors. GIFs can also contain a transparent area and multiple frames for animation. Images
with areas of solid color compress best when exported as GIFs. A GIF is usually ideal for cartoons,
logos, graphics with transparent areas, and animations.
was developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group specifically for photographic or
JPEG
high-color images. JPEG supports millions of colors (24-bit). The JPEG format is best for
scanned photographs, images using textures, images with gradient color transitions, and any
images that require more than 256 colors.
, or Portable Network Graphic, is a versatile web graphic format. However, not all web
PNG
browsers can view PNG graphics. A PNG can support up to 32-bit color, can contain
transparency or an alpha channel, and can be progressive. PNG is the native file format for
Fireworks. However, Fireworks PNG files contain additional application-specific information
that is not stored in an exported PNG file or in files created in other applications.
, or Wireless Bitmap, is a graphic format created for mobile computing devices such as cell
WBMP
phones and PDAs. This format is used on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) pages. WBMP is
a 1-bit format, so only two colors are visible: black and white.
234 Chapter 12: Optimizing and Exporting