I’m going to ask for forgiveness again - honest I’m a mature designer with loads of years experience with loads of software but i seem to be struggling to get my head around some of the principles of Freeway (and web design generally) - I know I’ll get there, mainly thanks to the great advice I’m getting from you chaps. Anyway, to the point, Actions … I’m not sure what they do … take, for example, the blur action, basically it blurs an image so to make it work do you load an image, duplicate it and add the action to the duplicate and then create some kind of rollover to reveal the blurred image ? If that’s the way it works why not just create an image and a blurred version in photoshop and upload the two ? and “fade” … the “fade” doesn’t 'animate does it ? you just, kind of, go from a solid image to a transparent one, or as the title says, am I missing a BIG point ? Thanks again for your patience. Roger
If that’s the way it works why not just create an image and a
blurred version in photoshop and upload the two ?
Doing it Freeway is non-destructive. There’s no juggling multiple
versions of graphics to worry about, and you can turn the blur on and
off at will.
I love it. It means I can play about with effects until I get
something I like. I don’t have to stop, step out to Photoshop, do the
effect, save, remember I just saved over another variant I wanted to
keep, curse, step back to Freeway and update the graphic…
Sometime around 8/5/08 (at 11:13 -0400) Roger Burton said:
Anyway, to the point, Actions … I’m not sure what they do
Specifically responding to the ones you mentioned, and by inference
to the others that produce altered graphic content, the reason for
using these rather than doing the edits in Photoshop is because it is
always a more flexible way of working if you can make adjustments in
the environment that something will be used. You can tweak a blur,
fade, and so on and judge the effects as you do it, in situ, relative
to all the other layout content sitting next to it.
It is by no means a replacement for photoshop, but I do use some of
these myself regularly because it is so damn convenient and helps the
flow of design thinking.
That’s one reason why I like 'em. Anyone else have comments on the
array of ‘graphics manipulation’ actions in Freeway?
Thanks so much Heather - so I was, kind of, correct ! Having said that I totally understand your enthusiasm - I’m really (as a total newbie) attempting to establish a workflow method. I’ll get there - (I’ll have to, I’ve just paid for my copy of the software - gulp). Regards Roger
To contribute something not specifically about graphic manipulation Actions:
Many Actions and settings will allow for ‘global’ settings.
So, for instance shadows can be universally established and changed throughout the site with a flick of a single widget. Colors can be set and changed in one location, affecting imported graphics, graphic text, html items, etc…
The benefits compared to the same manipulations via external apps are pretty much self-explanatory.
I’ve seen some truly amazing graphic work come out of Freeway, and some truly amazing graphics that were produced externally. Perhaps it depends on the individual workflow, which is what I like about any software – leaving some options open. I love that about Freeway.
You can create rollover graphics with apps like Photoshop or Illustrator. Or with Freeway – whatever suits your individual need. Having the option is what matters most to me.
On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 8:30 AM, Keith Martin wrote:
That’s one reason why I like 'em. Anyone else have comments on the
array of ‘graphics manipulation’ actions in Freeway?
Excellent - that’s why these forums are such a great resource, there are such sensible comments by people who have worked out their preferred routine and by trial and error (or just by being a bit smart) can make life so much easier for beginners, or at least encourage them to think for themselves a little more. Thanks to one and all Roger
take, for example, the blur action, basically it blurs an image so
to make it work do you load an image, duplicate it and add the
action to the duplicate and then create some kind of rollover to
reveal the blurred image ? If that’s the way it works why not just
create an image and a blurred version in photoshop and upload the
two ?
I think you’re unnecessarily linking actions together - the Blur
action has nothing to do with Rollovers; the only reason you’d use
them in conjunction is if you wanted your ‘over’ state to be blurred.
The Blur action just does what it says: it blurs images. You CAN use
it to make blurred rollovers, but otherwise they’re not connected.
Yes sorry Paul - I maybe picked a poor example - I had been ‘browsing’ the actions because I was thinking about having a rollover that faded or blurred from left to right when I moused over it, or something similar to achieve a more ‘dynamic’ rollover - this, I guess is a flash animation thing ? Thanks for taking the time Roger