MACROMEDIA FIREWORKS 8, Use Manual

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282 Chapter 12: Creating Buttons and Pop-up Menus
Creating button symbols
Buttons are navigation elements for a web page. Buttons created in the Button Editor have the
following characteristics:
■
You can make almost any graphic or text object into a button.
■
You can create a button from scratch, convert an existing object into a button, or import
already created buttons.
■
A button is a special type of symbol. You can drag instances of it from the symbol library
into your document.
This allows you to change the graphical appearance of a single button and automatically
update the appearance of all button instances in a nav bar. For more information on
symbols, see
“Using symbols” on page 240 .
■
You can edit the text, URL, and target for one button instance without affecting other
instances of the same button, and without breaking the symbol-instance relationship.
■
A button instance is encapsulated. When you drag the button instance in the document,
Fireworks moves all the components and states associated with it, so there is no need for
multiframe editing.
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A button is easy to edit. Double-click the instance on the canvas, and you can change it in
the Button Editor or the Property inspector.
■
Like other symbols, buttons have a registration point. The registration point is a center
point that helps you align text and the different button states while in the Button Editor.
About button states
A button can have up to four different states. Each state represents the button’s appearance in
response to a mouse event:
The Up state is the default or at-rest appearance of the button.
The Over state is the way the button appears when the pointer is moved over it. This state
alerts the user that clicking the mouse is likely to result in an action.
The Down state
represents the button after it is clicked. Often a concave image of the button
is used to signify that it has been pressed. This button state typically represents the current
web page on multibutton navigation bars.
The Over While Down state
is the appearance when the user moves the pointer over a button
that is in the Down state. This button state typically shows that the pointer is over the button
for the current web page on multibutton navigation bars.
With the Button Editor, you can create all of these different button states, as well as an area
for triggering the button action.