TechNote (Archived)

Bézier Pen Tool enhancements in Fireworks 4

Fireworks 4 added several new Pen Tool features, such assmart Bézier Control Points (BCPs) and Pen Preview. This TechNote explores the newâ”and preexistingâ”features of the Fireworks 4 Bézier Pen tool, including:

• Showing and hiding the Pen Preview.
• Choosing solid or hollow for vector points.
• Vector point types.
• Cursor choices and context sensitivity for the Pen tool.

Showing and hiding the Pen Preview

In Fireworks 4 you have the choice whether or not to enable Pen Preview. To enable the Pen Preview option, double-click on the Pen Tool to launch the Pen Tool Options panel. Then select Show Pen Preview on the panel (see Example 1). Below are explanations of how the Pen Tool works with each of these choices:

• Pen Preview enabled
  The Show Pen Preview option causes a preview of the path to display as you move the Pen Tool over the canvas. Seeing the previewed segment of the path will help you to anticipate the shape of the path that will exist once you click to create the next point.
  
  
  
  Moreover, moving the cursor off of the canvas while the path is being drawn will cause the last segment of the path preview to hide until the pen returns to the canvas, as can be seen in Example 2.
• Pen Preview disabled
  When the Pen Preview is disabled (which is the default setting in Fireworks 4), you will not see the blue "rubber band" path following the cursor over the document window. The last point will be selected and its Bézier control handles will be visible:
  
  
  Note: The cursor in these examples indicates cursor position. Your cursor in Fireworks will appear differently.

Tip: When Show Pen Preview is enabled, double-click your cursor at the last point to stop drawing a path.

Choosing solid or hollow for vector points

The Show Solid Points option (also accessed on the Pen Tools Options panel) allows users to display active selected points with a solid fill rather than a hollow point. You may have a preference for solid or hollow fill, depending on which vector illustration program you are familiar with. In Fireworks 4, the points are set to hollow by default so that Fireworks will conform to the new Macromedia Standard User Interface (now also used in FreeHand and Flash).

Vector point types

The appearance of a point on a vector path in Fireworks indicates what kind of point it is. Below are illustrations of the different path components:

• Corner Point: An active corner point is represented by a small square. This square can be hollow or solid, depending on thePen Tool Options setting.
  
  
• Curve Point: An active curve point is represented by a small hollow or solid circle, depending on the Tool Options setting.
  
  
• Connector Point: An active connector point is represented by a small hollow or solid square, depending on the Tool Options setting.
  
  
• Anchor Point: An Anchor point is the first point on a path. The path takes its direction from the anchor point, which determines, for instance, how text flows on the path.
  
  

Cursor choices and context sensitivity for the Pen tool

You have two choices for the appearance of the Pen Tool on the canvas:

• The Pen icon.
• The Precise Cursor.

By default, the Pen Tool appears as a pen. To change the cursor appearance to a cross hair, choose Edit Preferences and on the Editing tab select Precise Cursors.

Below is a chart which illustrates the pen variations on the canvas:

	A pen and x	You are ready to start a path.
	A pen alone	The cursor is continuing a path.
	A pen and box with handles	You are merging two paths.
	A pen and plus sign	You are inserting a point.
	The solid arrow point	You are moving a Bézier handle.
	A pen and minus sign	You are about to delete a point.
	A pen and sharp angle	You are retracting a handle from a point.

Note: The cursor will change as it moves close to a point or handle. The default distance setting for how far away from the point the cursor has to be to change is 5 pixels. To modify this setting, choose Edit > Preferences and then selecting another value on the Pick Distance slider.

Additional Information

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The article "What's a Bzier Curve?," by Darrel Plant (and featured on the Moshofsky/Plant Creative Services Web site), offers more information about Bzier curves and the history of vector drawing.

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