Fireworks – quick and dirty tips

I love Macromedia Fireworks… or should I say Adobe Fireworks?! I really hope Adobe keep this little gem, because it is exactly that!

A few people have asked me how to design diagonal lined backgrounds, small dotted squares or some other similar pattern. Is it all done by hand made patterns in Illustrator? No, Fireworks has a load of simple ready made patterns. Use these with caution though; I think sometimes they overkill a design.

Open Fireworks and draw a rectangle or shape of your choice.
Go to the properties palette and where it says “Solid” next to the fill bucket click once and then click “Fill Options” which can be found at the bottom. See figure for details:

Where it says “Texture” You have a number of options there. Scroll the menu for your choice and adjust the percentage as required.

Here are some examples of some patterns available:

Crosshatch 1 at 50%

Grid 1 at 50%

Crosshatch 3 at 30%

Grid 6 at 25%

Line Diag 1 at 50%

Hatch 5 at 50%

Combine with some gradients for more effects:

And that’s it. Simple patterns at your finger tips.