Adobe 38039927 - Fireworks CS3 - PC Service manual

EXTENDING FIREWORKS

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Adobe® Fireworks® Extending Fireworks®
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Contents
Chapter 1: Extending Fireworks Overview
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Installing an extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What’s new in Extending Fireworks CS3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Conventions used in this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Additional resources for extension writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: The Fireworks Object Model
Using the Fireworks Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Using Fireworks API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Using the common API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Working with selected objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Global methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Core objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 3: The Document object
Document functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 4: The Fireworks Object
Fireworks functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Chapter 5: Objects within Fireworks documents
Behavior object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Brush object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Contour object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
ContourNode object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
ContourNodeDynamicInfo object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
ControlPoint object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Effect object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
EffectList object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Element object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
ElementMask object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
ExportFrameInfo object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
ExportOptions object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
ExportPaletteInfo object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
ExportSettings object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Fill object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Frame object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
FrameNLayerIntersection object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Gradient object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
GradientNode object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Guides object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Layer object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

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PathAttrs object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Pattern object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
RectanglePrimitive object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
RegisterMoveParms object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
SingleTextRun object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
SmartShape object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Style object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
TextAttrs object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
TextRuns object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Widget object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Chapter 6: HTML export objects
BehaviorInfo object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
BehaviorsList object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
exportDoc object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
ImageMap object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
ImagemapList object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
SliceInfo object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Slices object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Chapter 7: Cross-Product Extensions
Cross-product architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Flash panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Chapter 8: Auto Shapes
How Auto Shapes work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Creating an Auto Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Chapter 9: Rich symbols
How Rich symbols work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
MXML Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Chapter 10: Additional Fireworks Functions
Property inspector functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
History panel functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Static Document Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

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Chapter 1: Extending Fireworks Overview
To extend Adobe® Fireworks® CS3, you must write JavaScript code. You can use JavaScript to write your own objects
and commands that affect Fireworks documents and the elements within them. To accomplish these tasks, you must
be proficient in JavaScript and in Fireworks.
This guide introduces the Fireworks Object Model, explains how to write cross-product extensions (extensions
written in, or for, other Adobe applications), and discusses the JavaScript Auto Shape construction. The final
chapter is a reference to the Fireworks JavaScript application programming interface (API)—the custom JavaScript
functions that are built into Fireworks.
Prerequisites
Because Fireworks extensions must be written in JavaScript, this guide assumes that readers are familiar with
JavaScript syntax and with basic programming concepts such as functions, arguments, and data types. It also
assumes that readers understand the concept of working with objects and properties. This guide does not attempt
to teach programming in general or JavaScript in particular.
Anyone who wants to extend Fireworks should have a good JavaScript reference to help with syntax questions (for
example, is it substring() or subString()?). Useful JavaScript references include JavaScript Bible by Danny
Goodman (IDG), JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan (O’Reilly), and Pure JavaScript by R. Allen
Wyke, Jason D. Gilliam, and Charlton Ting (Sams).
Installing an extension
As you start learning the process of writing extensions, you might want to explore the extensions and resources
already available through the Adobe Exchange website (www.adobe.com/go/exchange). By installing an existing
extension, you will become familiar with some of the tools that you need to work with your own extensions.
To install an extension:
1Download and install the Extension Manager, which is available on the Adobe Downloads website
(www.adobe.com/exchange/em_download/).
2Log on to the Adobe Exchange website (www.adobe.com/go/exchange).
3Click the Fireworks Exchange link.
4From the available extensions, choose one that you want to use. Click the Download link to download the
extension package.
5Save the extension package in a directory on your machine.
6In Fireworks, choose Commands > Manage Extensions to start the Extension Manager (or you can start
Extension Manager, located in the Adobe program group, independently from Fireworks).
7In the Extension Manager, choose File > Install Extension, and choose the extension package you just saved.
The Extension Manager automatically installs the extension into Fireworks.

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You cannot begin using some extensions until you restart Fireworks. If you are running Fireworks when you install
the extension, you might be prompted to quit and restart the application.
To view basic information on the extension after its installation, go to the Extension Manager (Commands >
Manage Extensions) in Fireworks.
What’s new in Extending Fireworks CS3
Fireworks CS3 includes the following new features and interfaces that you can use to develop extensions for the
product:
New page object Fireworks CS3 makes it easy to build complex multi-page web prototypes using a single PNG
file. A new object has been added to control this feature. In addition, a number of functions have been added to
support sharing layers across pages, adding and reordering pages, setting a master page, renaming pages, and
resizing the canvas or image for a single page rather than for the entire document.
Rich symbols Fireworks CS3 introduces new and enhanced symbol features. You can create graphic symbols that
can be intelligently scaled and given specific attributes using a JavaScript (JSF) file. A new widget object has been
added to support this feature.
9-slice scaling Fireworks CS3 introduces a dynamic new feature called 9-slice scaling, which allows you to intelli-
gently scale vector or bitmap symbols. By positioning a set of guides over your artwork, you can define exactly how
each part of a symbol is scaled. Any of nine different regions can be specified to scale only horizontally, scale only
vertically, scale both horizontally and vertically, or to not scale at all. A number of new functions have been added
to support this feature.
Hierarchical layers In Fireworks CS3 the structure of layers in a document can be as simple or as complex as
required and all hierarchical layers are preserved. When creating a new file, all items are organized at the same level,
in a non-hierarchical manner. You can create new sub layers as needed and move items into them, or move elements
from one layer to another at any time. A number of new functions have been added to support this feature.
MXML export In Fireworks CS3 you can create Flex ™application layouts and export the MXML for loading into
Flex™ Builder™. A new chapter provides some background information on this process.
Conventions used in this guide
The following typographical conventions are used in this guide:
•Code font indicates code fragments and API literals, including class names, method names, function names, type
names, scripts, SQL statements, and HTML and XML tag and attribute names.
•Italic code font indicates replaceable items in code.
•The continuation symbol (¬) indicates that a long line of code has been broken across two or more lines to fit on
the page. When copying the lines of code, eliminate the continuation symbol and type the code as one line.
•Curly braces ({ }) around a function argument indicate that the argument is optional.
The following naming conventions are used in this guide:
•You refers to the developer who is responsible for writing extensions.
•The user refers to the person using Fireworks.

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•The visitor refers to the person who views the graphic that the user created.
Additional resources for extension writers
To communicate with other developers who are writing extensions, you can visit the Adobe online forums at
www.adobe.com/support/forums/.

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Chapter 2: The Fireworks Object Model
If you want to extend the functionality of Adobe Fireworks CS3 by writing or modifying a JavaScript extensibility
file, you must become familiar with the objects that Fireworks makes available through JavaScript. The hierarchy of
these objects comprises the Fireworks Object Model, which contains the following major components:
•Six global methods that are available from any part of the application and need not be declared as methods of a
particular object. For more information, see “Global methods” on page 11.
•Core objects: Dialogs, Document, pngText, Errors, Files, Find, and System. For more information, see “Core
objects” on page 13 and “The Document object” on page 20. (The App object that was used in Fireworks 3 is
supported for backward compatibility, but its use is deprecated in favor of the Fireworks object.)
•The Fireworks object (for more information, see “The Fireworks Object” on page 170).
•Numerous objects associated with Fireworks documents, such as ExportOptions, Guides, Path, Image, and Text.
For more information, see “Objects within Fireworks documents” on page 208.
•A set of objects that you can use to specify the format of HTML code when exporting from Fireworks. For more
information, see “HTML export objects” on page 247.
Using the Fireworks Object Model
When scripting extensions for Fireworks, you write JavaScript commands that send calls to the Fireworks Object
Model to determine or change the current settings for a Fireworks document. For example, the following command
calls the Fireworks object (fw) to obtain the path to the Export Settings directory (appExportSettingsDir), which
is expressed as a file://URL. In other words, fw references the Fireworks global object, of which appExportSet-
tingsDir is a property (for more information, see “The Fireworks Object” on page 170), so a JavaScript command
can assign the resulting value to a variable, as follows:
var expSetDir = fw.appExportSettingsDir;
Accessing a Fireworks document
All the functions listed in “Property inspector functions” on page 294 are methods of the Document object, which
represents a Fireworks document. To perform a function on a Document object, you must first get the Document
Object Model (DOM) of the document. You then call the functions as methods of that DOM.
Note:
•To use a DOM function with a document other than the active document, use the following syntax; note that
documentIndex is a zero-based index that specifies which document the command will affect.
fw.documents[documentIndex].functionName();
•To use a DOM function with the active document, use fw.getDocumentDOM().functionName() (for more
information, see “fw.getDocumentDOM()” on page 188).
Passing values
For all properties that are not read-only, you can pass values to change elements of a document. For example, the
following command sets the fifth brush in the third open document to a square shape:

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fw.documents[2].brushes[4].shape = "square";
The preceding example includes the following properties:
•documents is a property of the Fireworks object and contains an array of Document objects.
•brushes is a property of the Document object and contains an array of Brush objects.
•shape is a property of the Brush object.
Note: Throughout this manual, optional arguments are enclosed in {braces}.
Fireworks Object Model calls and API calls
In some cases, you can use Fireworks Object Model calls or API calls to perform the same operations. In other cases,
a certain function might be available in either the Fireworks Object Model or the API, but not in both.
For example, if the first open document is the current document, the first code fragment has the same effect as the
second and third code fragments. The fw.getDocumentDOM() function references the current document (for more
information, see “Accessing a Fireworks document” on page 4).
fw.getDocumentDOM().setDocumentResolution({pixelsPerUnit:72, units:"inch"});
fw.documents[0].resolution =72;
fw.documents[0].resolutionUnits ="inch";
Formatting nonstandard data types
In addition to the standard data types that can be passed to functions as arguments, or used as properties, such as
integer, string, and so on, Fireworks accepts other data types.
•Some functions accept values that are Fireworks objects. For more information, see “The Fireworks Object Model”
on page 4.
•Some functions accept a string in a specific format. Others accept value types that are not Fireworks objects but
are JavaScript object types that are specific to Fireworks. These types of arguments are described next, in alpha-
betical order.
Color string data type
Functions that accept colors as arguments use the HTML syntax "#rrggbb". You can specify a color with an alpha
(transparency) component by passing a longer string of the form "#rrggbbaa".
Mask data type
The format for a mask is {maskBounds: rectangle, maskKind: string, maskEdgeMode: string, featherA-
mount: int, maskData: hex-string}.
•maskBounds specifies the bounding rectangle of the mask area.
•Acceptable values for maskKind are "rectangle", "oval", "zlib compressed", "rle compressed", or
"uncompressed".
•If the value of maskKind is "rectangle"or "oval", the maskData string is ignored, and a mask of the right shape
is constructed that fills maskBounds and that has the edge specified by maskEdgeMode and featherAmount.
•If the value of maskKind is "zlib compressed", "rle compressed", or "uncompressed", the maskData string
is presumed to contain 8-bit mask data in hexadecimal format that precisely matches the maskBounds to define
the mask.

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Matrix data type
The format for a matrix is {matrix: [float, float, float, float, float, float, float, float,
float]}. This guide assumes that you know how to use these nine values to construct a three-by-three transfor-
mation matrix; discussion of the construction of transformation matrices is beyond the scope of this manual.
Point data type
The format for a point is {x: float,y: float}. For instance, dom.addNewLine(startPoint, endPoint)could
look like the following example:
fw.getDocumentDOM().addNewLine({x:64.5, y:279.5}, {x:393.5, y:421.5});
Rectangle data type
The format for a rectangle is {left: float, top: float, right: float, bottom: float}. For instance,
dom.addNewOval(boundingRectangle)could look like the following example:
fw.getDocumentDOM().addNewOval({left:72, top:79, right:236, bottom:228});
Resolution data type
The format for resolution is {pixelsPerUnit: float, units: string}. Acceptable values for units are "inch"
or "cm". For instance, dom.setDocumentResolution(resolution) could look like the following example:
fw.getDocumentDOM().setDocumentResolution({pixelsPerUnit:72, units:"inch"});
Using Fireworks API functions
Three categories of API functions are described in this book: Document functions, History panel functions, and
Fireworks functions. The following rules apply to all functions.
Zero-based indexes
Some functions take an index argument which is a zero-based, one-dimensional array. That means a value of 0
represents the first item in the array, 1represents the second item, and so on. For example, the following command
deletes the second layer of the active Fireworks document:
fw.getDocumentDOM().deleteLayer2;
Functions that take a frameIndex argument can be passed –1 to indicate the current frame. Similarly, functions
that take a layerIndex argument may be passed –1 to indicate the current layer.
Passing null values
In general, passing a null value to a function causes an exception to be thrown. A few functions do allow null as
an argument; such cases are noted in the function descriptions.
Working with selected elements
Many API functions in this chapter refer to a “selection” or to “selected items.” These terms refer to Fireworks
elements, such as text boxes or images, that are currently selected. In most cases, the functions work even if only one
item is selected. If a function requires more than one selected item, this is noted in the description of the function.

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Palette or panel
Several API functions reference the History panel (see “History panel functions” on page 297). Throughout the
Fireworks documentation and online help, the term palette is reserved for discussions of a color palette, and the term
panel is used to refer to the floating windows that are available within Fireworks. Therefore, when the function name
contains palette, the descriptions refer to a panel.
Using the common API
You can use the common Adobe API if you want commands to use a common syntax (and thus run a single
command in multiple applications). You can access this API using app.methodName().The following methods are
currently supported in Fireworks and Dreamweaver to let developers easily create commands for both applications.
app.toggleFloater()
Identical to “fw.toggleFloater()” on page 204.
app.setFloaterVisibility()
Identical to “fw.setFloaterVisibility()” on page 203.
app.getRootDirectory()
Identical to the Fireworks object property “appDir •” on page 170.
app.browseDocument()
Identical to “fw.browseDocument()” on page 174.
Note: The app.getRootDirectory() function is useful if you want to use app.browseDocument() to view files within the
applications’s folder.
Working with selected objects
When an object is selected, either programmatically (for example, using the dom.selectAll() function) or by a
user, you can return (get) or set the value of that object’s properties using common notation that will work on
various objects. In other words, you can write a command that will get or set the value of an object’s properties
whether the user selects a Text object, or an Image object, or any other recognized object. In Fireworks, a recog-
nizable object is classified as one of the following element types:
•Hotspot
•SliceHotspot (basically, a slice)
•Path
•Group
•Instance
•Text

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•RectanglePrimitive
•PathAttrs
•Image
To test whether a text block is selected, type the following code:
firstSelection = fw.selection[0];
if (firstSelection == "[object Text]"){
alert("I am a text block");
}
You can use the information in the following sections to return or set property values.
Note: The return value for a property may be null.
Working with properties for any selected object
You can get values for the following read-only properties of any type of selected object:
•top
•left
•width
•height
•visible
•opacity
•blendMode
•name
•mask
To return the name of the selected object, type the following code:
objectName=fw.selection[0].name;
The following properties contain other read-only properties that you can return:
elementMask
•element
•linked
•enabled
•mode
•showAttrs
•autoExpandImages
effectList
•namec
•effects

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To return the name of the first effect that is applied to the selected object, type the following code:
effectName=fw.selection[0].effectList.effects[0].name;
Working with specific properties for selected elements
Some elements have specific properties that can be returned in addition to those that can be returned for any
selected object (for more information, see “Working with properties for any selected object” on page 8). These
specific properties are available for each of the following elements when the elements are selected.
Hotspot
•shape
•urlText
•altText
•targetText
•contour
•behaviors (returns an array of behaviors)
•color
To return the alt tag that has been applied to the currently selected Hotspot, type the following code:
altTag = fw.selection[0].altText;
SliceHotspot
SliceHotspot is a subclass of Hotspot. A slice has all Hotspot properties, plus the following properties:
•baseName
•htmlText
•tdTagText
•sliceKind ("image" or "empty")
•exportOptions
•sliceID (read-only)
To return the name of the currently selected slice, type the following code:
sliceName = fw.selection[0].baseName;
Path
•pathAttributes
Note: For the complete list of path attributes properties, see “pathAttributes” on page 98.
•randSeed
•textureOffset
•contours
To return the value of the fill color for the currently selected path, type the following code:
fillColor = fw.selection[0].pathAttributes.fillColor

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Group
•elements
•groupType
To return the number of objects in a selected group, type the following code:
numOfObjectsinGroup = fw.selection[0].elements.length;
Instance
•symbolID
•transformMode
•instanceType
•urlText
•altText
•targetText
To return the instanceType for the currently selected instance, type the following code:
instance = fw.selection[0].instanceType;
Text
•antiAliased
•antiAliasMode
•autoKern
•orientation
•pathAttributes
Note: For the complete list of pathAttributes properties, see “pathAttributes” on page 98.
•randSeed
•textRuns
•textureOffset
•transformMode
To return the antiAliasMode setting for the currently selected text block, type the following code:
antiAliasedSetting = fw.selection[0].antiAliasMode;
RectanglePrimitive
•Roundness
•pathAttributes
Note: For the complete list of path attributes properties, see “pathAttributes” on page 98.
•originalSides
•transform
To return the roundness setting for the currently selected rectangle, type the following code:
roundness = fw.selection[0].roundness;

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pathAttributes
Several objects have the pathAttributes property. The following list is the valid set of pathAttributes sub
properties that can be returned or set:
•brushColor
•fillColor
•brush
•fill
•brushTexture
•fillTexture
•fillHandle1
•fillHandle2
•fillHandle3
•brushPlacement
•fillOnTop
To return the name of brush on the current path, type the following code:
brush = fw.selection[0].pathAttributes.brush.name;
(b
Global methods
The following are the global Fireworks methods, along with their argument data types and, where appropriate,
acceptable values and notes.
alert(message)
Availability
Fireworks 3.
Usage
alert(message)
Arguments
message A string containing the message to display.
Returns
Nothing.
Description
Displays the message in a modal alert box, along with an OK button.

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confirm(message)
Availability
Fireworks 3.
Usage
confirm(message)
Arguments
message A string containing the message to display.
Returns
True if OK is clicked, false if Cancel is clicked.
Description
Displays a string in a modal alert box, along with OK and Cancel buttons.
prompt(caption, text)
Availability
Fireworks 3.
Usage
prompt(caption, text)
Arguments
caption A string containing the title of the dialog box.
text A string containing the prompt for the user.
Returns
The string entered if OK is clicked, null if Cancel is clicked.
Description
Prompts the user (with the string that is specified by text) to enter a string in a modal dialog box; the dialog box is
titled with the string that is specified by caption.
write(arg1, arg2, ..., argN)
Availability
Fireworks 3.
Usage
write(arg1, arg2, ..., argN)
Arguments
arg1, arg2, ..., argN Srings containing content for output.
Returns
An output file.

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Description
Same as WRITE_HTML; WRITE_HTML was created to let you differentiate HTML output calls from other JavaS-
cript calls in your code.
WRITE_CSS
Availability
Fireworks 3.
Usage
WRITE_CSS
Arguments
None.
Returns
An output file.
Description
Available only when exporting. Writes the CSS as an external file.
WRITE_HTML(arg1, arg2, ..., argN)
Availability
Fireworks 3.
Usage
WRITE_HTML(arg1, arg2, ..., argN)
Arguments
arg1, arg2, ..., argN Srings containing content for output.
Returns
An output file.
Description
Available only when exporting. Converts each argument to a string and writes it to the HTML output file. To enter
an end-of-line character, use “\n”; this is converted to the correct line ending for your platform. For more infor-
mation, see “HTML export objects” on page 247.
Core objects
This section describes the set of core objects that are always available: Errors, Files, Find, and System. The Document
object is described within its own chapter: see “The Document object” on page 20.
Note: For information on how to format nonstandard data types, such as rectangle or point, see “Formatting
nonstandard data types” on page 5.

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Errors object
All Errors object properties are read-only strings that are used to simplify the localizing of scripts. They return
localized error messages appropriate to the specific error. For example, the English version of Fireworks returns
"Memory is full." for the EOutOfMem property.
The following list contains the properties of the Errors object alphabetically:
EAppAlreadyRunning, EAppNotSerialized, EArrayIndexOutOfBounds, EBadFileContents,
EBadJsVersion, EBadNesting, EBadParam, EBadParamType, EBadSelection, EBufferTooSmall,
ECharConversionFailed, EDatabaseError, EDeletingLastMasterChild, EDiskFull,
EDuplicateFileName, EFileIsReadOnly, EFileNotFound, EGenericErrorOccurred, EGroupDepth,
EIllegalThreadAccess, EInternalError, ELowOnMem, ENoActiveDocument, ENoActiveSelection,
ENoFilesSelected, ENoNestedMastersOrAliases, ENoNestedPasting, ENoSliceableElems,
ENoSuchElement, ENotImplemented, ENotMyType, EOutOfMem, EResourceNotFound,
ESharingViolation, EUnknownReaderFormat, EUserCanceled, EUserInterrupted, EWrongType
Files object
The following table lists the methods of the Files object, along with their data types and, where appropriate,
acceptable values and notes.
Method Data type Notes
copy(docname1, docname2) string, string Copies the file specified in the first argument to
the file specified in the second argument. Each
argument must be the name of a file, which is
expressed as file://URL. Only files (not directories)
can be copied. The files do not need to reside on
the same drive, and the method does not over-
write a file if it already exists. Returns a value of
true if the copy is successful; false other-
wise.
createDirectory(dirname) string Creates the specified directory. Returns true if
successful; false otherwise.
createFile(fileURL,
fileType, fileCreator)
string, string, string Creates the specified file. The file must not
already exist. The first argument is the name of
the file, which is expressed as file://URL. The last
two arguments let you specify the file type and
file creator strings. The fileType and
fileCreator strings should each be strings
of exactly four characters in length, for example:
Files.create-
File(newFile,".txt","FWMX");
deleteFile(docOrDir) string Deletes the specified file or directory. Returns
true if successful; false if the file or directory
does not exist or cannot be deleted. Compare
with deleteFileIfExisting().
deleteFileIfExisting
(docOrDir)
string Deletes the specified file or directory. Returns
true if successful; false if the file or directory
cannot be deleted. Unlike deleteFile(),
this method returns true if the file or directory
does not exist.

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enumFiles(docOrDir) string Returns an array of file URLs. If docOrDir is
a directory, the array contains an entry for every
file or directory that is contained in the specified
directory. If docOrDir is a file, the array
contains a single entry (the file passed in).
exists(docOrDir) string Returns true if docOrDir refers to a directory
or file that exists; false otherwise.
getDirectory(docname) string Returns only the directory name from docname,
which is expressed as file://URL. For example,
Files.getDirec-
tory("file://work/logo.png")
returns "file:///work".
getExtension(docname) string Returns the filename extension, if any, of
docname. For example, Files.getExten-
sion("birthday.png") returns ".png".
If the filename has no extension, an empty string
is returned. A filename that is expressed as
file://URL is acceptable.
getFilename(docname) string Returns just the filename from docname, which
is expressed as file://URL. For example,
Files.getFile-
name("file:///work/logo.png")
returns "logo.png".
getLanguageDirectory() string Returns the URL of the language directory associ-
ated with the currently running language.
getLastErrorString() none If the last call to a method in a Files object
resulted in an error, returns a string that
describes the error. If the last call succeeded,
returns null.
getTempFilePath
({dirname})
string The argument, if used, must be expressed as
file://URL. Returns a file URL in the Temporary
Files directory or in the specified directory. This
method does not create a file; it simply returns a
unique file URL that does not conflict with
existing files in the directory. If dirname is
passed and is not null, the URL that is returned
indicates a file in the specified directory rather
than in the Temporary Files directory.
isDirectory(dirname) string The argument must be expressed as file://URL.
Returns true if the specified URL refers to a
directory that exists; false otherwise.
makePathFromDirAndFile(dir
name, plainFilename)
string, string The first argument must be expressed as
file://URL. Concatenates the two arguments to
return a file URL that references the specified file-
name in the specified directory. For example,
Files.makePathFromDirAnd-
File("file:///work/reports",
"logo.png") returns
"file:///work/reports/logo.png"
.
Method Data type Notes

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File Reference object
The File Reference object is used to refer to a specific open file. The following table lists the methods of the File
Reference object, along with their data types and, where appropriate, acceptable values and notes.
open(docname, bWrite) string, Boolean The first argument must be expressed as
file://URL. Opens the specified file for reading or
writing. If the second argument is true, the file
opens for writing; otherwise it opens for reading.
If the file cannot be opened, returns null;
otherwise, returns a File Reference object.
rename(docname,
newPlainFilename)
string, string The docname argument is a file path or a file
URL to the file that you want to rename.
The newPlainFilename argument is the
new name to assign to the file.
The rename method returns a URL path of the
newly renamed file if successful; otherwise Fire-
works returns null.
setFilename(docname,
newPlainFilename)
string, string The first argument must be expressed as
file://URL. Returns a file URL with docname
replaced by newPlainFilename. For
example, Files.setFile-
name("file:///work/logo.png",
"oldlogo.png") returns
"file:///work/oldlogo.png". This
method does not affect the file on disk; it simply
provides a convenient way to manipulate file
URLs. To change the name on disk, use
rename().
swap(docname1, docname2) string, string Each argument must be expressed as a file://URL.
Swaps the contents of the two specified files, so
that each file contains the contents of the other
file. Only files (not directories) can be swapped,
and both files must reside on the same drive.
Returns true if the swap is successful; false
otherwise.
Method Data Type Notes
close() none Closes the current File Reference object. You are not
required to use this method (the file is closed when
the Files object is destroyed), but it is useful for
controlling access to a file.
readline() none Reads the next line from the current File Reference
object and returns it as a string. The end-of-line char-
acter(s) are not included in the string. Returns null
if end-of-file is reached or if the line is longer than
2048 characters.
write(textString) string Writes the specified string to the current File Refer-
ence object. No end-of-line characters are appended;
to include one, use "\n".
Method Data type Notes