Effects and Filters

The Effects Panel

You can give your text and objects a unique appearance by using the Fireworks MX® Effects and Filters . Use it to add a drop shadow behind a photograph, bevel a button, add a glow to shape, adjust color settings, or blur an object. There is no limitation on the number of effects that you can apply to a single object.

The Effects and Filters is part of the PROPERTIES MANAGER in order to see the effects options you must first select and object in your file to apply an effect to.

Click the PLUS SIGN on the Effects and Filters to view the effects available.

You may, on occasion, import photographs into your document that need some form of color adjustment. The Effects and Filters has a range of tools that allow you to make tonal adjustments to an image .

Filter Options

Brightness and Contrast
Use the Brightness and Contrast sliders to increase or decrease the brightness and contrast of an image , layer, or selection. Try increasing Contrast to maximum and see what happens to your bitmap image.

Hue and Saturation
Use the Hue and Saturation Controls to increase and decrease the hue, saturation, and lightness of an image , layer, or selection. {Clicking} Colorize causes the image, layer, or selection to take on a duotone effect, where the image is tinted by two dominant colors.

Curves
Use Curves for greater control when adjusting image tone. Curves are very similar to Levels in that you adjust the Shadows (Black Point), Midtones (Medium Point), and Highlights (White Point), except you do so with a curve to which you can add points to for increased accuracy. You manipulate the Curve by {Clicking} and dragging on a point. You add points to the Curve by {Clicking} and dragging on the Curve where there isn’t a point or by {Single Clicking} on the Curve where there isn’t a point. Controls for Curves include Channel, Input Values Bar and Field, Output Values Bar and Field, Black Point, Mid Point, and White Point Eyedroppers, Auto, the Curve Window and the Curve itself. The Controls common to the Levels adjustment work precisely the same in Curves.

Adjusting Tones with Curves
Open any bitmap image and select “Xtras/Adjust Color/Curves .” The Curve is in a straight line, at 45 degrees, indicating it has not yet been manipulated. The point at the bottom left of the curve represents the current Black Point while the point at the top right represents the White Point. There is no point in the middle of the Curve by default because you can add points all along the Curve and {Click} and drag them for very accurate and precise control. However, by {Clicking} the center of the Curve you can add a Midtone Point.

{Click} the center of the Curve to add a Midtone Point. Next {Click}, hold, and drag the Midtone Point up and down the Curve, trying to keep the Curve as straight as possible. By doing this you are mirroring Levels controls where you {Click} and drag the Point sliders back and forth. The distance between the sliders or Points changes the tone of the image . With Curves , you have increased control because you can add multiple points between the Black, Mid, and White Points. {Click} twice at different locations on the Curve between the Midtone Point and the Black Point to add two more points. Now {Click} and drag these points back and forth and watch what happens to your bitmap image. By {Clicking} and dragging the points to add curve to the Curve more drastic tonal changes occur. It takes practice to get used to using Curves but over time you’ll find them a powerful tool for tonal adjustment of your images.

Invert
Selecting this option will literally invert the color of each pixel in your document. Effectively your image is turned into a negative of itself.

Blur

Blur your bitmapped content by selecting “Xtras/Blur” from the menu. Selecting Blur and Blur More will apply a preset blur to your image that you can’t control. Selecting Gaussian Blur will present you with a dialog box that allows you to control the amount of blurring that is applied to the image by moving a slider back and forth.

Sharpen

Operates in the same way as a blur except in this case you’re sharpening instead or blurring. You can take control of the amount of sharpening that you apply to an image by selecting Unsharp Mask. You’ll be presented with a dialog box with three sliders that you can adjust.

Other
Selecting “Other” from the “Xtras” menu will present you with two options. You can convert either a selected object or your entire image into an alpha channel by select “Convert to Alpha”. The content becomes a Grayscale image with the Black sections being completely opaque and the white sections being completely transparent. The gray sections of the image become variably transparent depending on the density of tone in each pixel.