Can't you do raster images in Photoshop, vector images in Illustrator, animations in Flash?

 

So what exactly is Adobe Fireworks for?

Fireworks is a great tool for webdesign, streamlined workflow, ability to copy aspects of the design through to all pages, slice and export easily etc I find it much faster and more streamlined to use than Photoshop. It's my preference when designing

 

However, please be aware that FW isn't built to handle large dimensions like Illustrator or even PS - too many large files open at once and it crashes so save regularly. Even still, I prefer it

...So what exactly is Adobe Fireworks for?

 

It's Adobe's attempt to produce a true Web Design tool. It does a solid job of merging vector and raster images and makes slicing up mockups quite easy.

 

It used to be a Macromedia product (like Flash and Dreamweaver), so when Adobe purchased it they kept it on despite having Photoshop and Illustrator. It definitely overlaps other products in their lineup but it gives designers another option for creating their work.

Can't you do raster images in Photoshop, vector images in Illustrator, animations in Flash?

 

So what exactly is Adobe Fireworks for?

 

As others have said above .

 

The workflow is more centralised on the web design creation aspect as that's its primary function unlike photoshop for instance which is image editing.

Besides,having tools on the Market is no reason to stop production of another vaguely similar tool.