Adobe Community: copying layers from one png to another

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1. Newsgroup_User,

Jan 24, 2007 8:42 AM in reply to Newsgroup_User

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Alex,

Not that I know of. Layers can be shared between Frames but not between
png's. I don't know of any extensions out there that add that
functionality either.

alex

Alexander Ross wrote:
> FW8
>
> If I have two images open and I want to copy an entire layer folder from
> one to the other ... um how? I tried putting the two windows side by
> side and dragging the folder onto the target image, but no dice. I
> realize that I could simply copy and past the contents, but then I have
> to manually recreate the folder, etc... not the end of the world, but
> there must be an easier way.
>
> --
> Alex

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2. Newsgroup_User,

Jan 24, 2007 8:43 AM in reply to Newsgroup_User

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So sad

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3. macandrew,

Dec 19, 2009 3:44 PM in reply to Newsgroup_User

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Fireworks is so lame.

I can't open a Fireworks ".png" (which isn't a png in case no-one has noticed) in Photoshop to make changes - and while I can open a PSD in Fireworks, I can't copy the layers into the Fireworks document. I get an arbitrary selection of layers. WTF?

Adobe has had two kicks at Fireworks and it still hasn't caught up with ImageReady.

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4. pixlor,

Dec 19, 2009 9:11 PM in reply to macandrew

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macandrew wrote:

I can't open a Fireworks ".png" (which isn't a png in case no-one has noticed) in Photoshop to make changes

The PNG specification allows developers to define additional information for their own purposes. The format is extensible. A Fireworks .png file is an extended format .png. It includes information that most other programs are not programed to read (including Photoshop). It is, however, a valid PNG format according to the specification. Most applications are only programmed to read flattened .png files, which is Fireworks outputs if you go through File > Export or File > Image Preview.

Best practice in FW is to use the save function to produce Fireworks-formatted working documents and export to produce output for the web.

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5. macandrew,

Dec 20, 2009 10:46 AM in reply to pixlor

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This is a herring of a distinctly roseate hue, and if I've given the impression that my rant was motivated by a perceived violation of the sanctity of the PNG file format than that's my bad.

But I thought the point was pretty clear - I am frustrated by the failure of Fireworks to integrate with the CS workflow.

I start with Illustrator (that's my "best practice"), export to layered PSD, which I open in Fireworks to prep it for export (slices, rollovers, whatever). So what happens when I make changes in the Illustrator file and need to update the Fireworks PNG? I can't copy the folders to the FW file. I have to copy the individual layers and recreate the folders.

Never had this problem with ImageReady. I could drag the folders from the AI export PSD into the ImageReady/Photoshop PSD. There was integration into the workflow.

I don't know whether this inability to copy folders in FW is due to limitations of the "extensible" PNG file format or just a failure on part of Adobe programmers to catch up to Imageready after two major releases. All I know is that it doesn't, and it should.

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6. pixlor,

Dec 20, 2009 11:59 AM in reply to macandrew

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If ImageReady was the export tool for Photoshop, Fireworks is not the replacement for that. Fireworks is an independent (of Photoshop) Web layout program with its own export capability. Fireworks should, for the most part, replace both Photoshop and ImageReady, not just ImageReady. In your case, you should also begin your layouts in Fireworks, rather than Illustrator. Unlike Illustrator and Photoshop, Fireworks has a Web-based workflow from the beginning. Once you become as good with Fireworks as you are with Illustrator and Photoshop, you'll find that designing in FW is much more efficient.

You will still want to use Photoshop for photo editing and some special effects. You will still want to use Illustrator for complex vector shapes that are difficult to produce with Fireworks. However, use FW for your compositing, layout, and export. It's built for that.

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7. macandrew,

Dec 20, 2009 2:07 PM in reply to pixlor

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I know what Fireworks is, and unlike you I know what Imageready was.

If you don't understand the the concept of "workflow" then you aren't going to understand the problem.

I can only hope you don't work for Adobe. If you do, gawd help us.

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8. Jim_Babbage,

Dec 20, 2009 2:10 PM in reply to macandrew

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If you already have the file in Fireworks, why bother going back to Illustrator in the first place to make those changes? Just perform the edits in Fireworks. FIreworks is not merely a "last stop, slice and dice" application. If your design is displaying as expected in Fireworks, there should be no need to go back to another version of the file in another program just to edit it.

If there is a need for you to revisit the AI or PSD file in their respective apps, let us know what that reason is and perhaps we can supply you with a different workflow.

Jim Babbage

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9. Jim_Babbage,

Dec 20, 2009 2:19 PM in reply to macandrew

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Snarky responses like the one you gave above will not do much to help you gain answers. Pixlor is a very helpful VOLUNTEER in the forum, sharing her skills and giving her time to help others. And she has helped MANY people. You would do well to remember the people responding here are - 9/10 times - other users, not Adobe employees. This is a user to user forum. Be polite and professional, please.

If you have a concern about the functionality of the program, report it to the to the bug report form, which IS read by Adobe staff. https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform HTH

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10. macandrew,

Jan 1, 2010 10:16 AM in reply to Jim_Babbage

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Quoted from macworld.com:

Tip 9

“Take advantage of software integration. I create artwork in Illustrator and develop it in Photoshop. Vector elements pasted into Photoshop become Smart Objects that can be subjected to treatments like adjustment layers, masks, and smart filters–great for creating subtleties of texture and color that are lacking in designs made purely in Illustrator.”

Matt Lyon, designer and artworker

Emphasis mine.

I'm sorry if my tone struck you as snarky. I thought it was a model of restraint given my initial reaction to your (collective) suggestion that I should do everything in Fireworks. FW has (generously) 5% of the functionality of Illustrator and 10% of Photoshop. There is a reason Adobe sells Creative Suites.

FW's clumsy inept functionality with regards to updating from Photoshop is pathetic when compared to ImageReady's round-trip (PSD file compatibility) with Photoshop. It is an example of software dis-integration and as such is incredibly frustrating.

Apparently a brief history lesson is in order: Imageready was part of Adobe Creative Suite up to CS2. In CS3 it was replaced by Fireworks, presumably as part of the integration of the Macromedia product line with Adobe's.

Perhaps I could also point out that as a web developer I often work with designers (in advertising shops for ex.) who work in Photoshop and/or Illustrator - I am not in a position to tell them to "just do it in Fireworks". The real world just doesn't work that way.

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11. Michel Bozgounov,

Jan 2, 2010 6:41 AM in reply to macandrew

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1) Blame Adobe, if other Adobe apps cannot read well the Fireworks PNG format!

2) Fireworks, on the other hand, can import perfectly an Illustrator file and sometimes it can read pretty well .PSD files, too. Fireworks wins!

3) Fireworks is not ImageReady. Fireworks can create designs A to Z, Fw is not for slicing.

4) If you don't understand the concept of Fireworks, would be hard to talk... Anyway, being polite is always a good idea:) For example, I do not like Photoshop, and I prefer Fireworks for my screen designs most of the time, but I would not go to a Photoshop forum and blame Ps how lame it is for not reading the PNG Fw format...

We are all volunteers here and try to help...

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12. sebastianball,

Jun 14, 2012 8:43 AM in reply to Newsgroup_User

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I would also like to understand why I can't copy a layer (folder) FROM a Fireworks document TO another Fireworks document. Our client delivered about 3 different Fireworks files (with many pages each) to us and I am copying all the assets that need to be cut at 3 different sizes into a spritsheet. This way if another designer needs to reference or edit these assets they will all be in one document and they won't have to hunt through the mockups and move each layer into it's own layer folder. Right now this is so ridiculously difficult because I have to grab the layer from the correct folder in the original doc, copy and paste into my spritesheet, then create a new layer folder, rename it with the correct name (that was already in the original doc), then drag the layer into that folder. Then when I export all my assets they are named: foldername.png

This is crazy! Does anyone know of a way to get a layer folder from one document to another document in Fireworks?

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13. Michel Bozgounov,

Jun 14, 2012 9:02 AM in reply to sebastianball

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I think this free Fireworks extension can help you:

http://johndunning.com/fireworks/about/FrameLayerUtils

From the description, it seems

L - Copy to Next Doc / L - Copy Visible to Next Doc: Copy the contents of either the current layer or all visible layers to another document. If the target document doesn't have layers with the same names as those in the source document, then new layers will be created in the target. Only the contents on the current frame will get copied, not every frame in the document. Also, it's best to have just two documents open when running this command, in order to avoid ambiguity as to which document will be the target.

Hope this helps!

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copying layers from one png to another

Jan 24, 2007 8:25 AM

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