Re: FLASH: edit-in-place

[John Dowdell]

At 11:11 PM 3/31/0, Richard McLean wrote:

> In Fireworks,

> Import a layered Photoshop file.

> Release it to layers.

> Now change the original Photoshop file.

> Does it update in Fireworks?

> Will it update in LiveMotion?

> Same question for an Illustrator file.


Sorry, no, I don't think either format will automatically update, in either

application. (I'd defer to tech info on Adobe tools to the Adobe staffers

here, though.)


In both Fireworks and LiveMotion, importing a Photoshop file or an

Illustrator file embeds this media in the application. We're not linking to

an external asset as you might in Director or (to some degree) in Flash.


The distinction here is between embedded media and linked media. FreeHand

introduced both mechanisms a long time ago, and Illustrator finally allowed

links recently. XPress and PageMaker have had this for awhile. Among

screen-based tools, Director offers deep control over whether you embed

media in the file or keep a link to it. Flash embeds Illustrator imports,

but its "Update" button in the Library lets you explicitly refresh to

updated external bitmaps. (Try it!)


Fireworks *can* update a single pixel-based image across several files, but

it does so through the use of its Library, rather than linking to any

arbitrary file on disk. You can import all symbols found in a Fireworks

file to a new file, and a reference to the original source file is

retained. If you update the item in the source file, then choosing "Update"

in the Library panel for each destination file can refresh the external

content.



Summary: More than you probably wanted, I bet. ;-)  Still, there's a

distinction in many tools between internal and external media. Neither

Fireworks nor LiveMotion easily links to raw Photoshop or Illustrator files

for updates, sorry.


jd






John Dowdell, Macromedia Tech Support, San Francisco CA US

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