neurofuzzy, flash game development, rich internet applications, free source code - *alt.neurotica.fuzzy*

I love Fireworks. I was glad to hear it when Adobe decided to keep developing it. I find it an indispensable tool for web design, and I use it to design complete web sites. I do full layouts in Fireworks, and use them as my “blueprints” for creating the final XHTML/CSS code that runs them.

For complex websites, I love the ability to create reusable symbols and other elements that reference other files. To me, this is very CAD-like, and coming from an Architectural background, it appeals to me. This dynamic, object-oriented works well for the web. However, I think they could take it even further.

Here’s my list. Forgive me if any of these have already been done, and I just haven’t found them yet. I’ve only been using FW8 for a few months.

I’d like to see:

1. Truly dynamically-linked files (like XREFs in AutoCAD). They could be brought in as Symbols, or truly XREFed, and be completely integrated with the layers in your file. They could show up in their own XREF panel, and be showable/hidable.
2. Dynamic Styles. I wish that styles were a little more accessible. They are impossible to change once they are created, and objects you apply them to don’t remember the association. I wish that you could change a style, and have it reflected everywhere. I really wish that they could be mapped to CSS styles, too.
3. A project panel. Of course, with all these XREFs and styles, you’ll need a project panel to keep track of all of the files they apply to.
4. Dynamic text fields in all symbols, not just buttons. Sometimes I want to create a series of objects with a single text style, and it would be nice to use the same symbol and just swap out the text.
5. Fix antialiasing artifacts. Sometimes certain shapes leave stuck pixels or empty pixels in corners or other places they shouldn’t be.
6. Effects within Symbols. Layering effects like Multiply or Screen inside symbols do not have the proper effect when placed on the stage. To me, this is a bug. Please fix!
7. Bring back Bitmap Scaling. We used to be able to choose whether we rendered a scaled symbol as a bitmap or as scaled vectors. Sometimes Bitmap Scaling was a lot smoother, especially for government seals or other very intricate vector objects.
8. Better integration of the data-driven graphics wizard. I use this tool all the time, but I wish it had more options, like the ability to define filenames in the XML file. Also, it really feels like a seperate application, I wish it were a true part of the app.
9. Ability to override HTML for a slice. Fireworks loves tables. It would be nice to be able to override a <td> with a <div>. Of course, it would be great if Fireworks could output CSS layouts using floats, but I’m probably dreaming there.

That’s pretty much it. In a nutshell, I’d like to see Fireworks develop into a more dynamic Computer-Aided Web Design tool. Do you think this is the right direction for Fireworks?