Welcome to MAGIX 3D Maker is the Number 1 tool for creating stunning, professional-quality still and animated 3D text and graphics, such as logos, titles, headings and buttons. MAGIX 3D Maker can produce both still and animated graphics that are anti-aliased and optimized for the best possible on-screen appearance, and exported in all the popular formats such as GIF, PNG, AVI and Flash.
Support If you experience any problems with your software, please get in touch with our support team: Support website: http://support.magix.net This website will lead you to the MAGIX user service page, which, among other things, contains the following free offers: FAQs (frequently asked questions) and general tricks and tips. In most cases you'll find the solution to your problem here. If not, use the Email support form: E-mail support form.
Further assistance on using MAGIX 3D Maker If you can't find the answer in this manual, the Help menu has several options: Use menu "Help > Play Movie" to watch a program introduction movie. MAGIX 3D Maker Support links to our support website (support.xara.com) which includes comprehensive FAQs. MAGIX 3D Maker Forum links to the TalkGraphics discussion forums (www.talkgraphics.com) where you can ask other MAGIX 3D Maker users for advice or suggestions.
Working with MAGIX 3D Maker This section describes the basics of using MAGIX 3D Maker. Later sections provide more details of the various dialog boxes and toolbars and how to perform particular actions.
The MAGIX 3D Maker window Display of the toolbars and Status Bar is optional. The Window menu lets you select which to display. Standard toolbar: This provides common editing functions such as load and save. For more details see The standard toolbar . Text toolbar:_This provides quick access to the main text editing options such as font and size. For more details see The text toolbar . Time line: (Not displayed by default. Select Time line on the Window menu.) This provides greater control over animations.
holes and border. For more details see Design options . Status bar: This provides feedback on available editing options and also shows you the current size and rotation angles of the 3D graphic. For more details see The status bar .
Getting started Traditional 3D programs are notoriously difficult to use and understand. This is not the case with MAGIX 3D Maker. MAGIX 3D Maker is so simple to use, literally anyone can produce high quality still and animated 3D graphics in minutes. Typically the first step is to enter your own text which you can do by just deleting the default text with the regular Delete key and typing your own.
How To ... This section describes using MAGIX 3D Maker to create quality 3D headings or buttons and then exporting static or animated files. In these descriptions we use 'graphic' as shorthand for the text or shape shown in the MAGIX 3D Maker window.
Open a new document Click New on the File menu. This loads the default graphic. You can replace this default graphic with your own — see Customizing MAGIX 3D Maker .
Change the text The easiest way of changing the text is to delete the existing text (using Backspace) and then typing in the wording you want. You can also display the text cursor. Select the show/hide cursor button on the standard toolbar. You can then use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor in the text and to select part of the text — for more information on this, see select characters .
Rotate and position the graphic The easiest way to rotate the graphic is simply to drag on it in the MAGIX 3D Maker window or drag on the background if you don't have a background texture (don't drag on the shadow — this moves the shadow). This lets you rotate the graphic horizontally, vertically or around its center line. Otherwise, use the scroll bars. Status bar The Status bar shows the current angles (horizontal, vertical and rotation around the center line.
Status bar The Status bar shows the current angles (horizontal, vertical and rotation around the center line.
Rotate options Vertically only Shift-drag on the window or use the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation) or use Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) Horizontally only Ctrl-drag on the window or use the left/right arrow keys (1º rotation) or use Ctrl and the left/right arrow keys (15º rotation) Rotate the graphic around its center line Ctrl+Shift-drag on the window or use Shift and the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation) or use Shift+Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) To cance
Positioning options Normally the graphic is centered in the window. Alt-drag moves the graphic off-center. To return the graphic to the center of the window press Alt+Home (this also cancels any rotation.
Light the graphic Three colored lights create the highlights and shadows on the graphic. You can change the positions and colors of each light. The fourth light (shown striped) controls the position of the shadow — see shadows . To display the lights: click the 'light bulb' button or choose Display lighting on the View menu To change the color of a light, display the color options dialog box by double-clicking on the light or choosing Light color 1, 2, 3 on the View menu.
Color the graphic You can color the graphic either by changing the colors of the graphic or by changing the light colors or both. If you are creating a graphic and you want two or more colors on the text, it is easier to use pale colored lights and to color the text. (The default text of X3D Version 6 is an example of this: the X3D is pale gray, the Version light blue and 6 dark blue. The light shining on the face of the text is an orange cream color.
Resize the graphic The easiest way to resize larger graphics is to resize the MAGIX 3D Maker window by dragging the corners or sides. For smaller graphics this can make the MAGIX 3D Maker window too small and you cannot see all the buttons. To avoid this, choose Display frame on the Window menu or click the display frame button ( Standard Tool Bar ). This displays the graphic in a smaller frame which you can resize independently of the main MAGIX 3D Maker window.
Add bevels & extrude The bevel is the decorative transition between the faces and the sides of the graphic. The extrude is the depth of the sides. Bevel designs range from a simple angled or rounded bevel on the corner to complex rippled bevels that run the length of the sides. Bevels are always applied to the sides of the graphic, not to the faces. The result is to make the graphic larger and, with larger bevel sizes, text characters can merge into each other.
Select characters Almost all MAGIX 3D Maker attributes (such as colors, bevels, textures, animation types) can be applied character-by-character. (The exceptions are the shadow, the lighting and some animation types.) Before you can apply an attribute to a character or block of characters, you must first select that character or block. First step is to display the text cursor. Click the show/hide cursor button on the standard toolbar: Then: Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor.
Add shadows A shadow behind the graphic gives an impression of the graphic floating above the surface and adds realism. To create a shadow, open the Shadow options dialog box and check Shadow . To move the shadow, either drag the shadow — the cursor will look like this when you hover over the shadow and can drag: Or display the lights. A fourth light (shown striped) controls the shadow position—drag that light.
Shadow styles Shadow options have two styles of shadow: Style 1 is a simple offset copy of the graphic. Artistically this is incorrect but looks 'right' for static images. Style 2 is artistically correct and looks best with animations where the eye is more aware of the shadow shape. Shadows and Flash vector format Flash vector format does not support shadows. If you want your graphic to have a shadow, use a different export format such as GIF or bitmap Flash.
Shadows and Flash vector format Flash vector format does not support shadows. If you want your graphic to have a shadow, use a different export format such as GIF or bitmap Flash.
Create animations You can easily create animated graphics using MAGIX 3D Maker. You have the option of either a single image (single page) or a sequence of images (multi-page). To create a single page animation, just create the image in the regular way then display Animation options and choose the required options. To create a multi-page animations, create the first image. Then press Ctrl+Enter to start a new page and create the image for that page. Alternatively you can use Text options.
Fade, Step and Typewriter animation styles: you cannot apply different settings to a selected area. Tips for creating animations Animations can create large file sizes, which are slow to download over the Internet. To keep animations small we suggest: Make the image as small as possible by selecting the Crop option on export. Select Front face only for Rotate animations. Have no more than about 20 frames per animation. (The fewer the better for keeping the size down.
Animation options and file format MAGIX 3D Maker can save animations in several different formats: AVI, ANI, Flash SWF and animated GIF. Some options in the Animation dialog box are not supported by all file formats. Pause is supported by all formats except AVI movies. Loop is supported only by animated GIF format (other formats play continuously.) To preview an animation Select the start/stop animation button on the standard toolbar.
For Flash animations, Fade or Step animations create much smaller files than the other animation styles. For multi-page Pulsate animations, overlapping the pages creates smaller animations. Don't get carried away! For example using loads of textures can create very large animation files. Turning the shadow off can reduce file size. When exporting select to optimize 'per frame'. For tips when saving as a Flash SWF file see Tips for creating flash files.
To preview an animation Select the start/stop animation button on the standard toolbar. To preview the animation in real-time, MAGIX 3D Maker displays a reduced-quality image. You have greater control over quality when exporting to disk. Editing the text for multi-page animations Unless you have the cursor displayed, new text is added to the page currently displayed in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This can make editing slightly tricky. Either stop the animation and edit the text or use Text options .
Editing the text for multi-page animations Unless you have the cursor displayed, new text is added to the page currently displayed in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This can make editing slightly tricky. Either stop the animation and edit the text or use Text options . The time line Displaying the Time line lets you step through an animation, frame-by-frame, or pause, stop or run the animation. You can export an individual frame by pausing the animation at the frame you want and using Export on the View menu.
The time line Displaying the Time line lets you step through an animation, frame-by-frame, or pause, stop or run the animation. You can export an individual frame by pausing the animation at the frame you want and using Export on the View menu. Applying animation effects to selected text The animation style applies to all characters (see notes below) but you can apply most attributes of the animation to just a selected character or block of characters.
Applying animation effects to selected text The animation style applies to all characters (see notes below) but you can apply most attributes of the animation to just a selected character or block of characters. For example, for a Rotate animation, you could have some characters rotating in a different plane to the others. Notes: Rotate, Swing and Pulsate animation styles have two versions, 1 animates all characters as a group and 2 animates each character individually.
Tips for creating animations Animations can create large file sizes, which are slow to download over the Internet. To keep animations small we suggest: Make the image as small as possible by selecting the Crop option on export. Select Front face only for Rotate animations. Have no more than about 20 frames per animation. (The fewer the better for keeping the size down.) For multi-page animations avoid having too many pages.
Using the animation picker A quick way of creating an animation is to copy the settings from an existing X3D file. Choose Import animation on the File menu. This opens the animations folder, which contains ready-made animations in a wide variety of styles. This short cuts the creation of animations. For each of the ready-made animations, the file name gives you information about the animation type.
Save and export MAGIX 3D Maker has two basic save and exporting options: Save as an X3D format file. You can reload an X3D file for further editing in the future. Export in another format (see File Formats for a full list of supported formats.) You cannot reload exported files into MAGIX 3D Maker and edit them. (Although you can load BMP, GIF, ICO, JPEG and PNG format files as textures.) To save in X3D format—use Save or Save as on the File menu. (To reload an X3D file use Open on the File menu.
Exporting movies and screensavers You can also export you MAGIX 3D Maker-design as an AVI video file. (The same thing is happen when you export it as a screen saver) Clicking AVI options when exporting a movie or screen saver will allow you to choose from any of the AVI codecs on your computer. Use the default setting or a codec of your choice. For some codecs you can also set the quality percentage and how often key frames are set, and you can click configure for more options.
General info on AVI videos The AVI format (Audio Video Interleaved) isn't actually a proper video format! It's rather a so-called container where very general conventions can be specified like audio and video data and sent to a program. The exact memory format of the files is specified via the codec (coder/dec oder). A codec compresses audio/video files into its own private format with which only the codec can work and decodes the files on playback again.
Exporting transparent title animations for movies If you plan to use a MAGIX 3D Maker animation as title in a MAGIX slide show or movie editing program like MAGIX Movie Edit Pro, often the title should not stand alone, but should play on top of a movie introduction scene. With the standard AVI export an animation is exported with a solid background, covering the movie behind it.
Importing 2D objects For use as a board or border design You can import a 2D object by for use as a board, board with holes or border design (if you are in text only mode, you will automatically be switched to a button design type when importing). To do this, just click the design picker button under design options or select Import design from the File menu.
For use as a board or border design You can import a 2D object by for use as a board, board with holes or border design (if you are in text only mode, you will automatically be switched to a button design type when importing). To do this, just click the design picker button under design options or select Import design from the File menu. Supported file formats are WMF, EMF and Xara's WEB and XAR files (Xara Webster can export shapes as a WEB file, while Xara Xtreme can export as either).
For use as a text character You can also import 2D objects to use a character in your text. To do this, click Import on the File menu. Supported file formats are WMF, EMF and Xara's WEB and XAR files (Xara Webster can export shapes as a WEB file, while Xara Xtreme can export as either). Showing the text cursor (Ctrl-E) will allow you to choose the correct place to import the object. As it is then a text object, you can color and animate it as you would with normal text.
Copying from Xara Xtreme Pro You can design your own shapes in Xara Xtreme Pro then easily import them into MAGIX 3D Maker. This is a quick and simple way of importing 2D shapes, and is a combination of both methods outlined above. If you are in text design mode, the shape will be used as a text character. If you are creating a board, board with holes or border design the object will be used as the design's overall shape. In Xara Xtreme copy the object you wish to use (Ctrl-C, or select Edit then Copy).
Apply the style of an existing graphic Sometimes you want to create a graphic that is similar to an existing graphic (either one you created or one of the samples supplied with MAGIX 3D Maker.) For example, you might like the look of one of the samples but are not sure how to create the effect. MAGIX 3D Maker makes it easy to copy either the animation options or selected options from another graphic. Copy the animation options Use the animation picker (Import animation on the File menu.
Copy the animation options Use the animation picker (Import animation on the File menu.) As you click on file names, the preview shows you how the current graphic looks with the animation settings of the selected file. When you find the the animation effect you want, just click Open to update the current graphic. This just changes the animation settings—it does not change options such as wording, bevel, extrusion, and so on. To copy these, see the following section.
Copy selected options Use the style picker (Import style on the File menu.) Like the animation picker, you can browse through files and see how they affect the current graphic. Unlike the animation picker, you can select which options to copy from the selected file. You could for example copy both the lighting and the position (angles) from the selected file. You can copy any combination of options from the file, including the animation settings.
Create buttons, boards, boards + holes and borders There are four different design types: Boards. Sit your heading on a solid board, so the text extrudes from a solid background. Button. Creates a button with the text flat on its surface. Borders. Adds a border around your heading, giving it more impact. Board and holes. As if you'd taken a saw to your board, to give an impression of a cut-out image. You can either use one of MAGIX 3D Maker's predefined design shapes or import a shape from another X3D file.
You can also use your own drawn design shapes. Import the shape as a metafile (or, if you are using Xara X1 or later, just copy the shape and paste it into MAGIX 3D Maker) and export in X3D format to the designs folder.
Create screensavers Screensavers protect the monitor screen from being burnt by a static image when the computer is not being used and allow for a unique looking computer. Using MAGIX 3D Maker you can create a custom screensaver either for use on your own computer or for distribution to other people. Screensavers are always animated (because they need to show a moving image to avoid burning the screen.) We suggest: Use a dark-colored background, not white or other light colors.
Tips To create a smooth screensaver animation it's recommended you create an animation with a fast animation speed (15–20 frames per second) and between 50 and 100 frames in each cycle. Windows stretches the animation to fill the screen. If you want the text to partially fill the screen, select a point size, such as 72pt from the text size drop down, instead of fit to width. For ideas on creating screensavers look in the screensavers folder (in samples). This folder contains a wide range of examples.
Previewing a screensaver file 1. Browse to the screensaver (SCR) file. 2. Right-click on the file. This pops-up a menu. 3. Click Test to preview. Using a screensaver file If, in step 4, you installed the new screensaver as the default, everything is already set up for you. No further action is necessary. If you saved the screensaver to the Windows system folder: 1. Click Start on the Taskbar. If you are using Windows XP, go to step 3. 2. Choose Settings. 3. Choose Control Panel. Double-click Display. 4.
Using a screensaver file If, in step 4, you installed the new screensaver as the default, everything is already set up for you. No further action is necessary. If you saved the screensaver to the Windows system folder: 1. Click Start on the Taskbar. If you are using Windows XP, go to step 3. 2. Choose Settings. 3. Choose Control Panel. Double-click Display. 4. Click the ScreenSaver tab.The screensaver drop-down list shows all screensavers in the system folder. 5. Choose the screensaver you want. 6.
Tips To create a smooth screensaver animation it's recommended you create an animation with a fast animation speed (15–20 frames per second) and between 50 and 100 frames in each cycle. Windows stretches the animation to fill the screen. If you want the text to partially fill the screen, select a point size, such as 72pt from the text size drop down, instead of fit to width. For ideas on creating screensavers look in the screensavers folder (in samples). This folder contains a wide range of examples.
Create Flash files Flash format is often used on web pages, especially for animations. There are two formats for Flash files: Bitmap format: the advantage of this is that you can use any MAGIX 3D Maker options, including shadows. Vector format: the advantage is that you can enlarge vector objects without losing quality. The disadvantage is that some MAGIX 3D Maker options are not supported by Flash. Select display as Flash on the view menu to dim or hides unsupported options.
Tips for creating flash files Flash is not ideal for 3D graphics such as those created in MAGIX 3D Maker. You will often find that you can create smaller files using other formats such as GIF. This is especially true of animations. If you want to create Flash animations, we suggest: Step or fade animations produces smaller files than other styles. Avoid bevels. Some bevels are better than others but typically bevels make files five to ten times larger.
Customize You can customize MAGIX 3D Maker by either changing the default graphic or by docking or undocking dialog boxes or toolbars. With the Window menu item "Customize..." you can you can add icons to a menu or the standard toolbar, customize the right click menus available in the main working area and even create you own custom menu. You can also chnage the keyboard shortcuts there.
If you find the window is redocking when you don't want to, hold the Ctrl key while moving it. To redock an option bar. Just drag the window back to the panel options bar at the right of your screen, and the window will redock. Pinning an option bar open. After undocking a window, by default it will minimize once you move your mouse away from it. As soon as you move your mouse back, it will expand. To get the window to remain open, just click the little pin icon at the top right of the window.
Changing the default template If you want MAGIX 3D Maker to start-up showing a different image: 1. Create the image you want to use as the starting (default) image. 2. Choose Save as default on the File menu. To restore the original default document, delete Default.x3d in the system folder. This is in the same folder as where you installed MAGIX 3D Maker.
Docking and undocking dialog- boxes and toolbars To give you freedom in how you use the program, you can undock and move toolbars and windows and position them where you wish. This is particularly useful if you have two monitors, so you could for example put your windows on one screen and keep the other monitor dedicated to the MAGIX 3D Maker workspace. Moving toolbars There are five toolbars: standard, design, options, text and time line. You can turn these on and off via the Window menu.
Moving toolbars There are five toolbars: standard, design, options, text and time line. You can turn these on and off via the Window menu. You can drag them around the screen by clicking and holding them (see the image above) and dragging. If you drag a toolbar to an edge of the program it will dock there. You can also just drag the toolbar out elsewhere on the screen, and it will undock entirely. Option bars The option bars can be found to the right of the screen when you first start MAGIX 3D Maker.
Option bars The option bars can be found to the right of the screen when you first start MAGIX 3D Maker. Rather than opening and closing endless windows, most of MAGIX 3D Maker's settings are contained here. You can easily switch between the tabs to access the different features. You can turn this entire panel off or on via the window menu. You can also tailor how you use them as follows: To undock an option bar. Just click and drag one of the options (where it says color options, extrusion options etc.
Reference Section This section provides details of the toolbars and windows in MAGIX 3D Maker in their default state, and describes the function of each option. It is possible to customize the toolbars, for example by adding extra buttons. See Customize MAGIX 3D Maker for details on customizing. The previous section, How to... , describes how to use these options to create 3D graphics.
The Toolbars The standard toolbar Many of these are standard Windows options such as load and save. To display or hide this toolbar, Use Standard toolbar on the Window menu. Options New —open a new graphic, displaying the default MAGIX 3D Maker graphic ready for customizing. Open —open an existing X3D file. Or import a drawn shape in EMF, WEB, WMF or XAR format and extrude the shape. Save —save the graphic in X3D format. MAGIX 3D Maker can reload X3D files for future editing.
Note: if the graphic has a shadow, a fourth, striped light that creates the shadow is also shown. Display as Flash —Flash vector format does not support all MAGIX 3D Maker features (such as shadows and some bevel types). Selecting Display as Flash shows only options compatible with Flash vector format. Show/Hide Frame —this displays the graphic in a small window (the Frame) within the main MAGIX 3D Maker window. The advantage of the Frame is that MAGIX 3D Maker remembers its size when you save the file.
Back —display the previous frame in the animation. Forward —display the next frame in the animation. Fast forward —display the last frame in the animation Time line —when the animation is playing, this displays progress through the animation. Or you can drag the slider to move to a particular point in the animation. The status bar This gives you information about the graphic and currently available options.
The standard toolbar Many of these are standard Windows options such as load and save. To display or hide this toolbar, Use Standard toolbar on the Window menu. Options New —open a new graphic, displaying the default MAGIX 3D Maker graphic ready for customizing. Open —open an existing X3D file. Or import a drawn shape in EMF, WEB, WMF or XAR format and extrude the shape. Save —save the graphic in X3D format. MAGIX 3D Maker can reload X3D files for future editing. (MAGIX 3D Maker cannot edit exported files.
—Flash vector format does not support all MAGIX 3D Maker features (such as shadows and some bevel types). Selecting Display as Flash shows only options compatible with Flash vector format. Show/Hide Frame —this displays the graphic in a small window (the Frame) within the main MAGIX 3D Maker window. The advantage of the Frame is that MAGIX 3D Maker remembers its size when you save the file. Opening the file in the future displays the Frame at that same size.
—display the next frame in the animation. Fast forward —display the last frame in the animation Time line —when the animation is playing, this displays progress through the animation. Or you can drag the slider to move to a particular point in the animation. The status bar This gives you information about the graphic and currently available options. When the window isn't maximized you can click and drag the bottom right hand corner to resize the window.
The options toolbar This gives short cuts for the main editing dialog boxes in MAGIX 3D Maker. The Option Bars section describes these dialog boxes in detail. To display or hide this toolbar, use Options toolbar on the Window menu. The text toolbar These options duplicate options in the Text options dialog box. See the description of the Text options dialog box for details. To display or hide this toolbar, use Text toolbar on the Window menu.
maximized you can click and drag the bottom right hand corner to resize the window. To display or hide the status bar, use Status bar on the Window menu. Options The left-hand section gives you information about editing options (when the mouse is over the editing window) or button functions (when the mouse is over a button). This section shows the size in pixels of the editing window. This section shows the rotation angles (vertical window axis, horizontal window axis and horizontal text axis).
The text toolbar These options duplicate options in the Text options dialog box. See the description of the Text options dialog box for details. To display or hide this toolbar, use Text toolbar on the Window menu. The time line These options let you step through or play animations. You can also pause the animation at any intermediate frame and then export that frame as a static image. To display or hide the time line, use Time line on the Window menu.
window) or button functions (when the mouse is over a button). This section shows the size in pixels of the editing window. This section shows the rotation angles (vertical window axis, horizontal window axis and horizontal text axis). For more information on rotation see Rotate and position the graphic . (Only shown when the MAGIX 3D Maker isn't maximized.) Click and drag this to resize the MAGIX 3D Maker window.
The time line These options let you step through or play animations. You can also pause the animation at any intermediate frame and then export that frame as a static image. To display or hide the time line, use Time line on the Window menu. Options Play—preview the animation in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This is the same as clicking Start/Stop animation on the Standard Toolbar. Pause —pause the animation at the current frame. Click again to restart the animation at the next frame.
(Only shown when the MAGIX 3D Maker isn't maximized.) Click and drag this to resize the MAGIX 3D Maker window.
The status bar This gives you information about the graphic and currently available options. When the window isn't maximized you can click and drag the bottom right hand corner to resize the window. To display or hide the status bar, use Status bar on the Window menu. Options The left-hand section gives you information about editing options (when the mouse is over the editing window) or button functions (when the mouse is over a button). This section shows the size in pixels of the editing window.
The Option Bars These option bars, which as standard are on the right hand side of the MAGIX 3D Maker window, provide the main editing functions (except rotating the graphic). Just click the relevant bar to bring up its options. You can also click the buttons on the Options toolbar or use keyboard short cuts to open and close these options (except Text options). (You cannot close the Text options dialog box using the button or keyboard short cut.
Animation options Frames per cycle For single-page animations, this is the number of frames in the animation. For multi-page animations, this is the number of frames for which each page is displayed. Reducing the number of frames makes the file size smaller but can give jerky animations. Frames per second This controls the speed of the animations. A low speed can give jerky animations. High speeds can also give jerky animation if the program displaying the animation cannot keep up with the animation speed.
the size of the text does not change but the text fades in or out from the background. Fade is especially useful for Flash animations as it produces smaller file sizes than other animation styles. Step: applies only to multi-page animations. Displays each page in sequence. Typewriter: displays each character in sequence as if someone was typing the character on a keyboard. Pulse: animates each character in sequence, making it either bigger (Size above 100%) or smaller (Size below 100%.
Bevel options The bevel is the join between the sides and face of the graphic or button. Apply to: If you are using a board, board + holes or border design then you can choose whether to apply these bevel settings to just the text, the board/border or both. Bevel types: This lists the different bevel designs available to you. Miter/Round: This has an effect on sharp corners or serifs on text. Miter squares off corners, Round creates smooth, rounded corners. Depth: This is the size of the bevel.
Color options Here you can alter the colors of the faces and sides of the graphic, the lights, the shadow and the background. If you use a texture, you can tint the texture. For more information see Color the graphic . Color list This dropdown lists which parts of the graphic you can recolor. Each item can be a separate color; the front and back faces of a graphic can be a different color to the sides, for example.
Design options You can make a text message or shape into an instant design using these options. See Create buttons, boards, boards + holes and borders for more information on creating designs. Design type (left drop-down list) Choose from a number of different designs: Text Creates the text only Button Creates a button with the text flat on its surface. Borders Adds a border around your text, giving it more impact. Boards Sit your text on a solid board, so the text extrudes from a solid background.
menu dims all button options.
Extrusion options The extrude is the depth of the sides. You can change the extrude by clicking and dragging on the side of the text. You will see the cursor change to this: These extrusion options offer greater control over extrusion. Apply to: If you are using a board, board + holes or border design then you can choose whether to apply these extrusion settings to just the text, the board/border or both. Outline: Creates a hollow graphic.
Shadow options This gives you control over the optional shadow displayed behind the graphic. See Add shadows for more details of using shadows. Shadow Check this Shadow option you want a shadow. Style: Style 1 is a blurred copy of the graphic. This looks 'correct' for simple drop shadows (the most common type.) Style 2 is a true shadow and looks best in animations where the eye is more aware of the shape of the shadow. Transparency: Controls how much of the background shows through the shadow.
Text options This duplicates many of the controls on the Text toolbar. If there is a selected area of text, any changes apply only to the selected characters. Options at the top of this dialog box (left–right) Bold: Make the text Bold. Italic: Make the text Italic. Outline: This duplicates outline in the Extrude options (described earlier.) Font size: Dimmed unless there is a selected area of text. Lets you make the selected characters smaller (below 100%) or larger (above 100%) than other characters.
Dimmed unless there is a selected area of text. Positive values raise the selected characters above other characters. Negative values lower the selected characters. Kerning: Dimmed when there is a selected area of text. This controls the spacing between the pair of characters either side of the cursor. This is similar to tracking except that kerning applies to a pair of characters. Tracking applies to either all characters or the characters in the selected area.
Texture options This dialog box lets you apply and change textures applied to any part of the graphic or used as a background behind the graphic. You cannot resize or rotate background textures as they need to be identical to the texture used on your web page. Drop-down list: This lets you select which parts of the graphic or the background you want to add a texture to or change the texture of. Texture: Check this to add a texture to the selected part of the graphic or background.
File Formats MAGIX 3D Maker can load and save/export in a variety of formats. This section describes the different formats and where you would use them. See How To ... for details of loading and saving files. ANI —Export only (animated cursors) Animated cursors are usually 16x16, 32x32 or 48x48 pixels although custom sizes are allowed. Using ANI files requires some programming knowledge as they are used internally in programs.
Bitmap format lets you use all MAGIX 3D Maker features, including shadows. (Flash—vector format, static or animations) – the advantage of vector format is that you can scale up a graphic without losing quality. However not all MAGIX 3D Maker features are supported by Flash vector format. For the smallest file size select Display as Flash on the View menu. This disables all unsupported features. Alternatively you can export unsupported features as bitmaps within the vector file.
Keyboard Shortcuts *—options disabled when Display as Flash selected Ctrl+A Select entire heading Ctrl+B Bold text Ctrl+C Copy Ctrl+E Display/hide cursor Ctrl+F Display as Flash Ctrl+H * Display/hide hotspot (for cursors) Ctrl+I Italic Ctrl+L Select line Ctrl+M Edit comment-comments are saved in X3D files and let you add notes to files Ctrl+N New document Ctrl+O Open existing X3D file Ctrl+P Select entire page (for multi-page animations) Ctrl+R Display/hide frame Ctrl+S Save in X3D format Ctrl+T Display/hid
keypad Ctrl+Home Ctrl+End Ctrl+PageUp Ctrl+PageDown F5 Ctrl+F5 F6 Ctrl+F6 Ctrl+Shift+A Ctrl+Shift+B * Ctrl+Shift+C * Move cursor to start of page Move cursor to end of page Move to first page in a multi-page animation Move to last page in a multi-page animation Kern left 5/1000ths of an em Kern left 50/1000ths of an em Kern right 5/1000ths of an em Kern right 50/1000ths of an em Open animation picker Open design picker Open texture picker to choose a text (faces & sides) texture Ctrl+Shift+D * Open texture
Alt+Q Alt+R Alt+S Alt+T Alt+U Alt+X Alt+Home Open quality settings Open Frame size dialog box Open shadow options Open text options Open design options Open texture options Cancel rotation (graphic is face-on) Page 89
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Trademarks MAGIX is a registered trademark of MAGIX AG. Windows and FrontPage are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. TrueType is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the US and other countries. Macromedia, Flash and Dreamweaver are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated, in the United States and/or other countries.
