macromedia flash sitedesign: Hello!

I design my website layouts in Flash, before I pass them on to my programmers
who chop them up and turn them into HTML and CSS. I prefer Flash over Photoshop
because it is so darn easy to move around and organize things, plus it works
better for my kinda thing, web-related pixel graphics.

Anyway, I was wondering why standard fonts like Arial and Verdana, when used
without anti-aliasing, to simulate the look and feel of a real website, appears
so messed up: ki n da l i ke t hi s. It forces me to break the text up
and manually position the letters. So if I'd be designing, say, a
http://amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/102-7941854-1852163?ie=UTF8&node
Id=508088 page, I'd be stuck for hours doing work I shouldn't have to be doing,
just because I want to get things perfect.

Why does it have to be like that, when it's working just fine in Photoshop?

http://probsd.net/~naoshige/comparison.png

Is there any way to fix this?

I guess it's different in my case since I use Flash to make PNG images and not
SWF animations. Now, I'd be happy to use anti-aliasing if Flash only knew how
to do it properly like Firefox, check
http://www.haveamint.com/images/screenshots/mint-max-1680x1050.gif I guess
Photoshop ain't far from it either so why can't Adobe go merge some code or
something?

Thank you so much for listening.

All the best,
Kyrre

I hear you, I think the latest version of Flash addressed many text issues but
it is not perfect.

Honestly I believe there is the right tool for every job or task... I am a
flash lover but I have one word to say for your workflow:

FIREWORKS

Once you use it, you'll never do your layouts in flash for static sites
anymore. I dropped designing in Photoshop many years ago since I started using
fireworks. It has many of the flash features without the animation side of it.

Trust me, grab a trial and do what you just showed and you'll see what I'm
talking about. While you are there check out a new feature called "Pages", it
rocks!

Thanks a lot man, I'll give it a go! :)

Does it have a timeline? So I can easily keep track of multiple pages.
And a library? So I can easily organize my design elements.

Also, is it possible to import stuff I've done in Flash so I won't have to
redo everything?

Thanks man,
Kyrre

No it is not timeline based but the "Pages" feature addresses this exact
workflow.

You can play with the import/export features of both programs to get the
best results or even copy/paste but you might have to tweak things a bit
depending on our design.

It has the symbols concept but it is more like layers based like in
photoshop. Fireworks and Flash work together pretty well.

Make sure to look into the slice feature too

Good luck

I found Fireworks CS3 over here at my school and gave it a go.

There's no difference in the quality of text. Nor can I import my .fla file or
copy from Flash and paste in Fireworks.

I'll just stick with Flash.

Thanks,
Kyrre

There is definitely difference in the quality of text, the text engines
are built differently...you need to use the correct settings. I do it
all the time.

No you cannot import a fla but as I mentioned earlier, you can juggle
between exporting your layout from flash as another format such as ai or

MocaLoca, could you try to type "wavy brown wood" in Verdana 10px regular and
13px bold? I'll be surprised if you get anything other than "w avy brow n w
ood", as was discussed in the
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/messageview.cfm?forumid=15&catid=19
4&threadid=1271208&enterthread=y.

Thanks,
Kyrre

[quoted text, click to view]

Either use system fonts with no aliasing, or use "pixel fonts".
Pixel fonts have to sit on integer pixel values (not 10.4 etc...)

--
Freundliche Grüße,
Franz Marksteiner