I have been using the same graphics software for years. It's called Fireworks. Macromedia used to make it. I've been using it so long that I actually upgraded in 2004 after several years of using the previous version. I got a substantial educator discount on the software. I've been wanting to upgrade recently. I'm no pro. I just make web sites for my own use... amateurish stuff. Anyway, here's the thing. When I use fireworks (which used to be manufactured by macromedia and isn't even made anymore), I can open up a png file that's broken up into small layers. Individual things that make up a whole picture... When I've tried some things recently, none of them seem to recognize the little pieces... and just open the file as one big lump. Anyone have any ideas for cheap/free graphics programs that I can use that'll do what I need them to? I have tried serif drawplus and the gimp... but they both open as a picture instead of the pieces I need. Thanks.
-- Fireworks is still being made, but it's by Adobe now. Same with Dreamweaver and Flash. On their site it says if you have Macromedia Fireworks 8 you can upgrade to the new one for $150. I'm trying to understand your problem. Does Fireworks no longer work? And did *all* the PNGs you opened in Fireworks come in as layers? Or just the ones you created?
Ah, yeah, I knew that adobe took it over, but I thought they stopped making it. Good to know. I hope I can get a good deal again. I don't. I have fireworks something 2004. I'm hoping I can get something cheaper. Macromedia had a good teacher discount. I hope adobe does too. I can't afford much. Well, it works, but it doesn't work ideally. It's weird... it's like the graphics settings need to change when I use it... it seems to switch over and go to a lower setting or something... then I can use it... then it switches back. It just seems like a pain, and I thoight I would use something more modern. I'm just used to it, but it might not be the best thing for me. I don't know though. Maybe it is. Cool. Just looked and remembered something. I believe that this particular software wasn't being offered in the educator store. Now it is, and I can get it for $99.00. So that's cool. I'll have to talk to the wife though!!!!! Oh... and the layers... I'm just trying to open the things I created. I thought png was a pretty common filetype, but the format seems to be changing when I open it in another program.
I have to admit that I know next to nothing about Fireworks, but the best Graphics Software (according to most people) is of course Adobe Photoshop, but that's very expensive. I don't know which system you're using, but one good alternative is always GIMP It's free, open source and available for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and other Unix derivatives. So you might just want to give it a try and see whether it's OK for you. It should have all the important features you need. If you work on a Mac, you might also want to give Pixelmator a try. It's quite cheap ($59) and it has the same basic functions as Photoshop but it's not as refined of course.
I'm trying to find a good graphics editor for a Mac right now also. If anyone has opinions please speak up here. Currently I'm trying Acorn. http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/graphics/acorn-a-photoshop-alternative-for-mac/ Will give Pixelmator a try. All I want is to icon's and small graphics for web ui interfaces. So, most of these applications are over-kill.
I forgot to mention CinePaint. It's a fork of the GIMP and was developed for the film industry. It's actually quite successful for an open source program and has been used in some major Hollywood movies. Like the GIMP, it's free. So this is also definitely worth a try, it is however not yet available on Windows, only Mac OSX, Linux and BSD. If you can live with 8-Bit color depth (and unless you are a professional, you probably can) I'd stick with the GIMP though (although I have to admit that I don't know much about CinePaint). And once GIMP 3.0 is released, it'll also support high bit depths.
Pixelmator is certainly the best "non-Photoshop" tool I've worked with. It takes some getting used to, but once you find your way around, it's really nice and easy and it has a very Mac-like UI, while Photoshop has the notorious Flash-Look-and-Feel and GIMP's Unix origin is also obvious. As I said before, it still lacks some features compared to Photoshop, but at that price point, that's all right. Also, Pixelmator is gaining ground fast.
-- If you're comfortable using it, I would suggest you stick with Fireworks. You may want to download a trial version first and see if it's still the same as you remembered it. Adobe usually offers 30 day trials of apps that are fully functioning. $99 is not a bad price to pay AT ALL for a solid program. Even a lot of the shareware/PS imitations are between $50 and $100. -- I'm thinking the PNGs go from being editable with layers in Fireworks to being flattened so they can be opened in different apps. If you want, you can send me a link and I can have a look at one of the problem files. -- I really don't have any idea about apps that aren't Adobe. Once upon a time I knew of some decent ones, but this has been about 7-8 years ago. Adobe *does* offer smaller programs like Photoshop Elements, but I haven't played around with them much. (Although I am thinking about trying out Elements for 30 days.)
Yes, pretty much every commercial Software offers Trial versions nowadays. Before you commit yourself to one solution, you should definitely try these out. And with freeware like GIMP there's even more reason to give it a try. If you like it, you can save that money.
I started using Seashore recently: http://seashore.sourceforge.net/The_Seashore_Project/About.html I like it, fairly clean, simple interface. Not as heavy duty as Photoshop, but if people who really need Photoshop should shell out $700.
Despite all the WOW, AWESOME, AMAZING things you can do with Photoshop Elements, it's actually a nicely stripped down version of Photoshop. I really despise it has buttons and bells and whistles to let you do a multitude of unholy things to photos, BUT it seems like it may have what I need to edit photos with a somewhat normal PS interface. Without paying $700 for the full version. Just FYI to all those out there who may read this thread for similar ideas.
I've been using PS Elements for the past week, but I'm kinda shocked how functional it is. I mean, I wish there were more layer tools and manual level adjustment, but 99% of the time, I don't miss the full version.
Exactly. I use the full PS version at work, and have used them all since PS 2 or 3. And typically, we only use PS to do the occasional graphic or to crop and tone photos for print and web. And so far, this has just about everything I need to do smple graphics, touching up photos and dealing with levels, curves, contrast, sharpen filters, etc. Manual Level Adjustment. You mean this?
http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/02/pixelmator-162---the-ars-technica-review.ars/ Here's a great review of the latest version of Pixelmator. The reviewer also brings in Photoshop Elements and The GIMP as comparison while the review itself is written against the background of Photoshop.
