Adobe Dreamweaver CS5: First look

Fireworks CS5

In the new version of Fireworks, Adobe's vector-based graphics program for creating user interfaces and web applications, the focus is on refining existing features to accelerate and streamline the design workflow. Now, you can constrain object proportions, edit gradients, and adjust stroke alignment directly from the Properties panel. Fireworks CS5 provides higher quality and greater control of gradients, thanks to improved fidelity of gradients imported from Photoshop and Illustrator.

Fireworks CS5 offers improved performance and more precise control over the pixel placement of design elements. You can export your Fireworks designs in FXG format (an XML-based graphics interchange file format for the Adobe Flash Platform) to the new Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5, where you can add interactivity.

Fireworks can now open and create Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) files, which can also be used in InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. ASE files created with other CS5 applications can be imported into the Swatches panel in Fireworks, allowing you to work with color schemes created in other projects.

You can use the Compound Shape tools to create complex and editable vector shapes more easily, group multiple vector shapes as you draw, and apply nondestructive path effects.

See our full review of CS5