MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS 2, Use Manual

Page: 96 / 156

Chapter 3 96
Working with color palettes
Color palettes are groups of colors, 8-bit or less, which
are stored within an image file or as a separate palette file.
◆
Use palettes when creating graphics to control
which colors are available. For example, if you have a
group of five corporate colors, you can create a
palette with only those colors so that they may be
quickly and precisely selected when drawing.
◆
Use palettes when exporting a graphic to limit the
colors included in the exported file.
Using palettes for drawing and creating
When creating an image that will be exported with a
palette, draw or create an image using colors from the
palette you will use during export. Since the Fireworks
document window always displays the image in millions
of colors (24-bit), using a palette when creating an image
can help minimize color shifting or dithering when you
force the image to 8-bit color or less during export.
If you are not sure which color palette will be used for
the exported image, use the default palette for the
Swatches panel, which is the Web 216 palette.
To replace all the colors in the Swatches panel
with colors from a palette:
1
In the Swatches panel Options pop-up, choose
Replace Swatches.
2
Browse to a saved color palette or GIF image
file that contains colors you want to add, and
click OK.
Colors from the saved palette or GIF image file
appear in the Swatches panel.
To add colors from a palette to the Swatches
panel:
1
In the Swatches panel Options pop-up, choose
Add Swatches.
2
Browse to the saved color palette or GIF image
file that contains colors you want to add, and
click OK.
Colors from the saved palette or GIF image file are
added to the colors in the Swatches panel.
Note: Adding or removing colors from the Swatches
panel does not alter colors already appearing in the
document.
Fireworks does not restrict itself to colors in the
Swatches panel when drawing. When creating glows,
feathered edges, anti-aliased edges, gradients, or other
transparent effects, colors other than those that appear in
the Swatches panel are used. This may cause dithering or
color shifting when exporting with some palettes. To
prevent dithering or color shifting, limit use of gradients,
export using an adaptive palette, or export in a file
format that supports higher than 8-bit color.
For more information about the Swatches panel, see
“Using the Swatches panel” on page 57.