Drop Shadow with transparent background
Paul Jablonski
upgrade to Studio MX.
I want to create a banner at the top of a web site, using simple text
(e.g. ABC Company), but I want that text to have a drop shadow. I've
already done that successfully. However, here's the catch: not knowing
what color scheme the client will ultimately choose for any given page,
I want the background of the page (whatever color that may be) to be the
background color behind my text. I already know how to start with a
transparent background, but when I do that with a drop shadow and
include it in my web page, the edge around the drop shadow is much too
visible. When I do the same thing, starting with a defined background
color, it works beautifully, and I get exactly what I want. The only
problem is that if (when) the client says, "Make the background a little
lighter," I have to re-do the entire image! Does anybody know a way
around this when creating an image in FW-MX? Thanks.
Paul
RichieBee
GIF... it's a limitation of the file format - index transparency means it
has to be told the transparency color. Even then, it wouldn't work properly
with a drop shadow (try it on a patterned background and you'll see what I
mean!). I think you could do it using alpha-transparency in PNG, but since
this is not properly supported by the most widely used browser (Internet
Explorer on PC) out there, it would be very unwise.
If it's your only image, I can't imagine its too much hardship to change it,
especially with the wonderful integration of Dreamweaver and Fireworks, but
your client really should make a choice and stick to it, or pay for the
changes.
Rich
--
Richard Blenkinsopp
http://www.richiebee.ca
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Fireworks
http://www.macromedia.com/go/team
Paul Jablonski
that that was not the answer, yet fearing that it was! Drop shadows seem
to work beautifully so long as you don't use a transparent background
and have the luxury to define a canvas color at the outset -- then they
blend nicely.
OK, then I guess my only alternative is to save the "master" FWMX file
as a .png file, exporting the web-ready image as either a .gif or .jpg.
Then if and when my client changes his mind, I need to re-open the
"master" .png file, and use the Modify|Canvas|Canvas Color menu option
to change the color, exporting it and overwriting the original image. Is
my logic correct?
Thanks, Rich. I took advantage of Macromedia's upgrade to its Studio MX
suite of products, and I have very little experience with Fireworks. I
come from the Adobe ImageReady and novice PhotoShop user base, but am
quickly realizing how much more user-friendly and convenient it is to
use Fireworks when I spend the majority of my time in Dreamweaver MX.
They work so well together.
Paul
mac jordan
pjabl...@theconsultants.com (Paul Jablonski) wrote:
> I guess my only alternative is to save the "master" FWMX file
> as a .png file
I always, always save my master files in Fireworks and Photoshop.
mac jordan
slave and webmistress to http://www.jordan-cats.org
RichieBee
though I have used the trial.
My understanding is that when you export your JPG/GIF as part of a web
design, it gives Dreamweaver a link which so that you can edit your image
without ever leaving Dreamweaver... of course in practice, it does actually
do the work in Fireworks, but it makes the workflow more seamless. You do
need to keep your Fireworks PNG to do subsequent work on - this should
always be the case anyway! I always keep a separate folder with my source
PNG's in, actually inside my web directory while I work on my site.
Since I don't have any experience in what you're proposing, I suggest you
take a look at this -
http://www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/programs/fw_dw_images/
Hope this helps.