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Adobe, please revive Fireworks!

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 6, 2020
7 replies
5287 views

I know that this will be useless, but I need to put all my frustration here, so Adobe can ignore it... Because I know they will.

Hey Adobe, are you completely blind to the several people that still use Fireworks, including me? Don´t even try to tell me that Illustrator is the new Fireworks, because I don´t buy it. And the same goes to Photoshop that to me is for photos, you know: PHOTOshop, it wasn´t conceived for web at all. So stop to try to pull that type of Jury-rig on us.

What we really and simply want is Fireworks back! Everyone that uses it knows that is a wonderful tool for web image edition and creation, and nothing in Adobe today can fill that gap. It accelerates all my web related jobs in a way that Illustrator or Photoshop cannot even compare with.

So, please revive Fireworks!

This topic has been closed for replies.

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edsonsenacAuthor

Participating Frequently

Since I started this post, I never could imagine that this matter could reverberate until today. This only confirms that Fireworks still today is THE TOOL. And believe me, I am still searching for a substitute tool, but without success at all. I´ve tried some of the new UX tools that appeared here an there. XD is way too complicated than Fireworks.

The tool that most I appreciated was Figma, that is simple and has some awesome plugins that extends its power. However, even Figma struggles with commands that would be way easier to do, as export an element: I need to go to a hidden tab that don´t have the multiple choices that Fireworks has and for some obscure reason, Figma simply denies the element to save. It simply doesn´t works and the system ignores the user and don´t show any error or warning screen that would allow me to understand why of that strange behavior... I think it´s funny, not to say it is tragic, because the developers are ignoring the most basic fundaments of the heuristics in a tool that was supposed to be a model in UX development...

Not, that Fireworks is perfect in this matter. In fact, it has its own annoying bugs. But, in case of Figma is a brand new developed tool that appeared in a age where we have plenty of knowledge about UX, instead of the unknown terrain that Macromedia needed to tread to achieve the tool. It´s terrifying that we still don´t understood the UX and development scenario brilliantly already described back in the early first decade of 2000, by Alan Cooper in the book: "The Inmates are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity". Sometimes, I have the sentiment that instead of evolve, we involve in the last two decades.

Indeed, I will continue to use Fireworks until it stops definitively or that some really good tool show up to finally dethrone Fireworks. And I will continue to disturb the corporations like Adobe so they can pay more attetion for improve the usability of the tools as Macromedia used to do in their golden age.

B i r n o u

Legend

and for Fireworks lovers and still users, all great ressources are sill up... long life to Fireworks (and Virtual Machine... as @L e n a said 😉 )

Dmitriy Fabrikant - https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/06/introduction-to-developing-fireworks-extensions-theyre-just-javascript/
Aaron Beall - http://fireworks.abeall.com/extensions/
John Dunning - http://johndunning.com/
IDUX - http://www.idux.com/2012/07/11/favorite-adobe-fireworks-extensions/
Matt Stow - http://www.mattstow.com/
Senocular - https://www.senocular.com/fireworks/extensions/
Phireworx - https://www.phireworx.co.uk/fireworks/fireworks-extensions/
Ale Munoz moved to sketch - https://github.com/bomberstudio

and from the main basic creamery http://www.adobe.com/products/fireworks/ just a joke... I couldn't resist

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Paul-M

Legend

This is a link to some batch commands, you can copy to your Fireworks commands folder and batch convert layered Fireworks PNGs to other formats including layered PSD.

If you have a newer version of Mac OS that does not support 32 bit applications (Catalina, Big Sur or Monterey) you will not be able to run Fireworks natively but you can look at running the Windows version version of Fireworks on a Mac with Parallels Desktop which some people have had success with.

Other options include Photopea which opens layered Fireworks PNGs

My experience is Fireworks is working great on Windows 11, although I see some people have had issues....

Paul-M - Community Expert

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L e n a

Community Expert

In addition to what @Paul-M says, you can also use a virtual machine which offers the possibility to stay under Mac Os while using applications launched under Windows during the same session.

https://www.oracle.com/fr/virtualization/technologies/vm/downloads/virtualbox-downloads.html

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L e n a

Community Expert

Please read "... use a free virtual machine..."

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nstriedi

Participant

This was my GO TO for everything from flyers, logos, edits, images, etc, etc! It had everything I needed. I miss it so much. It was the perfect combination of tools.

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rik ed

Known Participant

Same here!

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Daniel Marchiori

Participant

I agree in gender, number and grade.

Fireworks is web oriented, and this makes productivity infinitely higher than using photoshop or illustrator.

I've been using fireworks for over 10 years, and I don't give up for anything. I hope it comes back one day or if it doesn't, at least it doesn't stop working.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

I hope it comes back one day or if it doesn't, at least it doesn't stop working.

=========

@danielm72328899,

After 10 years of being EOL, I don't think that's realistic. Too much time has passed.

FW will work until it stops. Nobody can predict when that will happen. Be prepared. Export your layered PNG files to PSDs now while you still can. File > Save As... see screenshot.

Good luck!

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

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bamadale

Participant

Thanks for the tip! This is what I'm having to do now with all of my old PNG files and I have to keep an old Macbook Pro running in order to do this!

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Francisco5E04

Participant

Adobe Fireworks is the best software for all around web design, independently of Adobe supporting it or not it is. Have tested all other related adobe solutions and from competition and its basically Adobe lack of Vision, fireworks simply fills a gap in the Adobe Solutions, they seem to don't understand that even if Illustrator + Photoshop do what Fireworks does for web design with some extras, Fireworks inuitive UI in terms of probability will often surpass for users the other extras that using Illustrator and Photoshop offer. Cheers.

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Paul-M

Legend

I agree, but I don't think the decision will be reversed unfortunately.

Paul-M - Community Expert

rayek.elfin

Legend

If I may ask, what kind of web related jobs do you do in Fireworks that other software has issues with?

I am aware of the unique preview tab option, but otherwise? What are the features which you feel are beyond other applications?

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edsonsenacAuthor

Participating Frequently

Isn´t the case that I have issues with other softwares. I can make everything that I do on Fireworks, on Photoshop or Illustrator. However, not with the same speed or best image quality/size ratio. Fireworks was developed with web in mind and this makes it excel the other tools (Photoshop and Illustrator).

I am using those tools since 1998, from the early versions, Photoshop 2, Illustrator 4, Fireworks since Macromedia, and for me it doesn´t make sense a tool that was created only for photo edition, to make everything (photo, painting, 3D, illustration, web, coffee and so on...). In order to reduce staff, Adobe simply put everything in one tool, making them crammed with functions that are used for some people, but not everyone. And in the end, we have big software that begins to fail and crash. Is almost unanimous with all graphic designers, illustrators or web designers that I know that Adobe screwed with every tool in Adobe CC after 2015 versions. I use them because my work don´t have the old licences anymore, but for me, is very far from the pleasant experience that I have with the older versions.

I can enumerate a few points that make Fireworks to stand very above Illustrator and Photoshop:

Fireworks has a much better image quality/size ratio. You can get images for web with more quality and less size.
PNG 8 transparent with perfect alpha, without serrated edges.
It has a mix of tools from Photoshop and Illustrator: it can handle vectors like Illustrator and images like Photoshop.
You can manipulate the elements more easily in the canvas, no need to go to the Layer panel to select elements or apply effects.
The properties panel is very handy, put all the tools that you need in your hand. Again, no need to navigate to several confusing panels to find a simple font size adjust, or apply a effect like transition.
Not to mention that the units are all specific for web: pixels and no more.
The transition tool in Fireworks is excelent and fast to use.
You can make several types of align and pathfinder modes that the other tools don´t have.
It generates web previews directly in the canvas, no need to go to the export tool.
It generates CSS sprites, great for optimize sites with lots of icons.
You can create sliced templates, with different image types per slice and generate perfect HTML for e-mails.
And all of it in a software that is fast and small.

People that started to use the newer versions of Adobe Suite, may be asking why such a fuss about a old and deprecated tool. But, the ones that had the opportunity to use the Macromedia tools in their gold age, knows the true potential of it and the mess that Adobe did in it. Adobe made a excellent job in buying Macromedia and burying every tool they had.

For me, I will keep using Fireworks until the rise of a better tool. But, I doubt that Adobe will be the one that will develop that tool.

rayek.elfin

Legend

You can easily use PSD kits or most vector based UI kits in Fireworks

For SVG support there are some extensions for import/export and opening of SVGs

Easy enough to convert webp format on the rare occassion I need to...

I think you're mostly here to promote Photoline?

I plead guilty! Well, somewhat. Yes, I really love working in PhotoLine, and one of the reasons is that the basic workflow is quite similar (supporting both vector and bitmap in the same app, with page support). It was the closest in terms of 'feel' that I could find (personal opinion). I hate renting software, so Illustrator or Photoshop were never an option (and the workflow in either isn't that great anyway).

But to be fair and realistic, in other areas the two are quite dissimilar, and things like the preview and slicing are missing. The web ouput workflow is different too. Nor would I use PhotoLine for GUI design work, unless I have to design from scratch. Lunacy/Sketch are by far more accommodating for that type of job.

My main issue with Fireworks is that its output quality got left behind by other tools. CQ does an admirable job, and is a free tool (Windows only, though) which is perfect for PNG optimization. But even PL does a better job compared to FW at reducing colours while maintaining visual quality in my testing. Things have moved on since FW was king of the hill in this respect.

And for prototyping GUI work PhotoLine isn't a very efficient answer either. That is why I mentioned Lunacy and Sketch. I am aware of the extensions for FW, although still missing functionality like retina support. This can surely be scripted, yet the only long-term solution would be for these things to be integrated, like in Lunacy and Sketch.

Anyway, @edsonsenac you are quite correct that several tools replace Fireworks. Workflows have changed. I adapted. I work by myself on freelance jobs and in teams, and I no longer believe in a one-tool-for-all solution. The web and mobile's design work has become too varied, and I rely on a variety of tools that made me more efficient.

Yes, Fireworks is still unique, and I wish it would have seen continued development. Adobe will never allow FW to be resurrected, however. Point in case: Freehand was brilliant too, Adobe killed it, a legal battle ensued between a group of disgruntled Freehand users who united in a bold attempt to 'free' Freehand from Adobe. Unfortunately it did not pan out, and Freehand is gone.

If only Adobe would allow Fireworks to go open source.

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Paul-M

Legend

I agree with you, sadly I don't think Adobe will start putting resourcs into again. It was put into EOL status back in 2013, I just don't think Adobe understood how good Fireworks was/is and because some of its features cross over into Photoshop and illustrator they decided to kill it off ..... I still use Fireworks daily myself ...

Paul-M - Community Expert

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