Macromedia Fireworks 3 and Macromedia FreeHand 9 both create SWF files. These files can play back in the browser's Flash Player or they can be imported to the Macromedia Flash 4 authoring environment as raw material for further editing.
There are a few dozen tools that create or modify SWF files now. Each has its own special niche. Here is how the SWF support compares across Fireworks, Freehand, and Flash.
In Fireworks 3, the main goal of SWF export is to reclaim your artwork for use elsewhere. Fireworks is a specialized delivery editor, designed for the specific workflow of creating code and graphics for Web pages. But sometimes clients may change their minds late in the process, and you'll need to transfer graphics out of this specialized delivery editor into another specialized editor, such as the Flash authoring environment. The SWF and AI (Illustrator) export in Fireworks 3 lets you extract such assets easily.
When you use the "Export Special > SWF" setup dialog in Fireworks 3, you'll be able to specify whether vector objects are exported to SWF as vectors, or as pixels. Saving as vectors lets you keep a generally smaller file size, and also allows shape-editing and shape-morphing in the Flash authoring environment. Saving Fireworks objects as pixels lets you keep all the nice glows and bevels and other effects, but file size can often be a bit larger, and this pixel-based art is not as readily resized as vector-based art.
In Fireworks 3 you can also choose whether text should maintain its editability or be converted to paths when exporting to SWF. There is a simple quality slider for JPEG compression. You can specify whether all frames should be exported, or only some frames. Frame rate can also be specified.
If you export as vectors, then linear or radial gradients will remain editable in Flash. (The Satin, Waves, and other complex gradient styles in Fireworks do not have a parallel in the SWF file format.) Symbol libraries and buttons will not transfer between Fireworks and Flash.
Although Fireworks' SWF export can be used for standalone Web viewing, the main goal is to allow you to reclaim artwork from this specialized delivery editor.
Where Fireworks and Flash are specialized delivery editors, Freehand is more of a general design application. Its tools are tuned towards the rapid development of many types of design, with many possible destination formats. While Freehand 9 can export artwork in SWF format for development in the Macromedia Flash authoring environment, it also has more ability to create standalone interactive SWF animations, too.
The SWF export setup dialog in Freehand 9 includes options for degree of path compression, degree of image compression, and whether text should remain editable or be converted to paths. There is also an option to trace dashed strokes.
Freehand can create SWF animations from either multiple pages or multiple layers. You're able to specify whether a subset of pages should be used, target frame rate, whether the movie should autoplay or playback full screen. There are also options for Flash version, import protection, and for vector-based printing.
The Symbol Library in Freehand 9 will be exported in the SWF, and so can be further accessed by the Macromedia Flash authoring application. Simple navigational interactivity can also be passed from Freehand to Flash. (Freehand does not use pixel-based glows and bevels as Fireworks does, so there's not the need to distinguish between pixel- and vector-based SWF here.)
The Release-to-Layers feature in Freehand 9 does help in some types of animations that are difficult in Flash itself. Specifically, you can set blends, layers or groups to release to sequenced layers, or automatic buildups or builddowns, or can animate these to create trailing effects. A line of text can easily be set to appear letter-by-letter, for instance.
When opening a SWF from another application within Macromedia Flash 4, use the "File > Import" dialog. If shapes are grouped then you may need to ungroup them, or "break apart" artwork. For complex shapes, consider using Flash's "Optimize Curves" command to reduce the point count in a vector shape.
Many, many graphics applications now support the SWF file format. Macromedia Fireworks 3 offers animation and pixel-based effects, but the main goal of SWF export is to transfer art to a dedicated SWF editor. In Macromedia Freehand 9 the SWF export is a bit more general, with multiple pages and interactivity. The Macromedia Flash 4 is the fullest-featured SWF editor, specializing in interactivity, multiple media types, SWF packaging, and more.
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