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Fireworks Batch Processing Revisited

May 7, 2007 by debbie T | Art and Graphics • Web Development

I received an email today from a visitor regarding one of my Fireworks MX tutorials. He was having trouble with the Batch Processing tutorial and wondered if it was possible to save a command that would enable the object(s) of each file to be automatically moved lower on the canvas to allow more white space at the top.

I replied that I didn’t think it was possible for Fireworks to automatically move objects in a file, since there could be so many derivatives that could hinder the process. But there had to be a way to achieve his goal using a different approach.

How about adding white space to the top of the canvas?

In Fireworks, create a test canvas with a shape or text object, then Fit Canvas (Modify>Canvas>Fit Canvas) to remove all excess white space around the object. Save the file.

Optionally, you may want to clear the contents of the History panel, to remove the clutter. To view the History panel, choose Window>History. Click the little menu at the top right of the panel, and choose “Clear History” - this will remove all undo steps, so use with caution.

clear history

To insert a few pixels of white space at the top of the canvas, choose Modify>Canvas>Canvas Size

In the dialog window, add 10 pixels to the height of the canvas and set the anchor to the bottom/middle. This setting will lock the contents to the bottom of the canvas and apply all 10 pixels to the top area.

New Canvas Size