In Fireworks, you can create animation by assigning properties to objects called animation symbols. The animation of a symbol is broken down into frames, which contain the images and objects that make up each step of the animation. You can have more than one symbol in an animation, and each symbol can have a different action. Different symbols can contain differing numbers of frames. The animation ends when all the action of all the symbols is complete.

To build an animation using animation symbols in Fireworks:

  1. Create an animation symbol, either by creating a symbol from scratch or by converting an existing object into a symbol. For more information, see Creating animation symbols.
  2. Use the Property inspector or the Animate dialog box to enter settings for the animation symbol. You can set the degree and direction of movement, scaling, opacity (fading in or out), and angle and direction of rotation. For more information, see Editing animation symbols.

    NOTE

    Degree and direction of movement options are found only in the Animate dialog box.

  3. Use the Frame Delay controls in the Frames panel to set the speed of the animated motion. For more information, see Setting the frame delay.
  4. Optimize the document as an animated GIF. For more information, see Optimizing an animation.
  5. Export the document as an Animated GIF or SWF, or save it as a Fireworks PNG and import it into Adobe Flash for further editing. For more information, see Animation export formats.