Purchasing and unlocking Xara Web Designer 7 Premium When you run the downloaded trial version of Xara Web Designer 7 Premium, the start screen will present you with three options. Check the option you require and you will be presented with further instructions. Activate with serial number Select this option if you have already purchased your copy of Web Designer Premium and enter the serial number that you were given in the email confirming your purchase.
Support If you purchased Xara Web Designer 7 Premium from Xara you can contact Xara support and if you purchased from MAGIX you can contact MAGIX support, full details are given below. Xara Support http://support.xara .com Our own support site offers comprehensive FAQ page (frequently asked questions) which is constantly updated and available 24 hours, 7 days a week; always the best source for instant answers.
As a registered MAGIX customer, you have unlimited access to web support offered via the convenient MAGIX service portal on http://support.magix.net, including an intelligent help assistant, high-quality FAQs, patches and user reports that are constantly updated. The only requirement for use is product registration on www.xara.com The online community - on-the-spot support and a platform for exchange: MAGIX customers have free and unlimited access to the online community at www.magix.
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What is new in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium? Web Authoring/Web Publishing New widgets. Make your websites eye-catching and dynamic with our new smart widgets that enable you to add an advanced selection of slick photo and text animations to your web pages without the need for coding knowledge. More widgets will be automatically downloaded and added to your gallery over time. Presentation websites.
General Tools and Usability Enhancements Web Designer includes many customizable graphic templates, of course, and a good set of basic drawing tools, but Xara Web Designer 7 Premium now includes a range of additional graphic creation tools for those who wish to create their own graphics from scratch. These include the Freehand and Quickshape drawing tools, Shadow, Bevel and Mold tools, 3D extrude and feathering.
the style of any object by just selecting it then drawing a new object. Export animation documents as AVI files. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium now allows you to export any animation document as an AVI file, helping you create your own web-ready movie content. HTML 5 video. MP4 movie files added to your website will now play without Flash installed if the browser supports HTML5 video, so movies play on iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads.
Introduction It's evident that the vast majority of websites are of a graphical nature. The presentation of your website matters a great deal. You want a competent, professional looking website. We believe you should not have to use multiple different tools - graphics and HTML editing - to create your website. We believe you should have complete freedom to include any text, graphics, photos anywhere on the page.
Getting started with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium If you click on the contents tab of this help guide, you will find a detailed description of each of the tools, galleries, menus, and control bars. You can also click on the index tab to search for a particular keyword. Getting started with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Watch the demo movies Getting more help Program designed and developed by Xara Group Ltd. For more information about Xara and its products, click here. Alternatively, visit our web site: www.
What makes Web Designer Premium so special? Web Designer Premium is unique in that it's the only truly free-form web design tool, that allows true freedom of web page design, with 'anything anywhere' yet produces completely accurate WYSIWYG results. In other words you can position text, graphics, photos anywhere on the page, any size, any angle, overlaid, with transparency...and Web Designer Premium will produce a pixel accurate perfect working HTML page.
A Website In 6 Steps For those with short attention spans (that's most of us), you can discover the main benefits of Web Designer Premium by just following the instructions in the initial opening document when you start Web Designer Premium. This is both a basic introduction and an actual website you can experiment with. You can also find this example document in the Designs Gallery . Click the Designs Gallery tab, open the Introduction category and just double click on the first document.
Getting Help If you need some help using this program, see Support . Document info "File" > "Document info" displays information about the selected document such as its size and any fonts used. This is a good way to find out if you are missing a required font that could prevent the document from displaying correctly. Anything you type into the comment field is stored as part of the file. This comment is displayed whenever you display the document info dialog box.
Document info "File" > "Document info" displays information about the selected document such as its size and any fonts used. This is a good way to find out if you are missing a required font that could prevent the document from displaying correctly. Anything you type into the comment field is stored as part of the file. This comment is displayed whenever you display the document info dialog box.
ToolTips When you move over a button, the toolTip tells you the function of the button. About Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Choose "Help" > "About Xara Web Designer 7 Premium" . This displays general information about the program. If you contact Xara support, you may be asked for this information.
About Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Choose "Help" > "About Xara Web Designer 7 Premium" . This displays general information about the program. If you contact Xara support, you may be asked for this information.
Getting Started This section gives an overview of the main functionality of Web Designer Premium. Later sections go into more detail about each tool. In this chapter Program Layout Objects On The Page Object Based Web Design The Selector Tool Website Toolbar Creating a website Previewing Your Website Using Templates, Clipart & Widgets Website Colors Photos Text Page Size Saving Your Work.
Program Layout Info Bar - changes with each tool Zoom Preview Website Designs Gallery (Galleries bar) Page & Layer Gallery (Galleries bar) Selector Tool Photo Editing Tool Drawing Tools Text Tool Shadow Tool Tabs for all open documents - icon identifies document type. Color Line Note : All Web Designer Premium infobars now have improved text rendering for easier viewing, if you have ClearType text enabled in your Windows Control Panel. There are four buttons in the top bar that relate to website functions.
Link properties Website options Export Move your mouse pointer over each button in the flyout bar to see a tooltip describing the button. There are two ways to create a new website. Either by starting with a pre-designed template and then customizing this with your own text, photos and color scheme. Or by creating a website from scratch, placing all the required elements, text, graphics and photos on the page where you require.
See the Customizing chapter in the pdf manual for more information on flyout bars.
Zooming / Scrolling / Pushing your page These common operations are made very easy: To Zoom in or out, hold "Ctrl" and use the mouse-wheel To push the page, press your mouse-wheel and push (yes it's a button as well) To scroll use the mouse-wheel (or the scroll bars of course) Web documents are displayed in single page mode by default and print documents in multi-page view mode.
Flyout Bars Some tools on the main toolbar are grouped together under a single icon. These icons have a small triangle indicator in the bottom right corner and when you move the mouse pointer over one of these icons a flyout bar appears. The bar holds the other tool icons that are in this group. Simply move the mouse pointer over each one to see a tooltip, and click to select the tool you want. If you select a modal tool from a flyout bar, that tool becomes the primary tool for that group.
Objects On The Page Whether you customize a template or create your own graphics from scratch, you can rotate, resize and position anything on the page, anywhere you like. You can easily resize the page to be any required size and add new web pages as required. Certain features, such as changing color schemes, work across all pages simultaneously.
Object Based Web Design All the types of elements described above are collectively referred to as objects. One of the unique benefits of Web Designer Premium is that you have complete freedom to place any object anywhere on the page, and your website will faithfully reproduce this. The Selector Tool can be used to select any object on the page, and to move (just drag it), resize and rotate the objects.
Stacking Order All objects on the page are placed one on top of another. The most recently drawn or created object is always on top, that is, in front of any others. You can adjust the stacking position by right clicking and choosing Arrange or using the Arrange menu options. For example, when you draw a new rectangle it always appears to cover all the objects behind it.
The Selector Tool This tool is a general purpose tool that allows you to select, move, resize and rotate all objects on your web page. You can do all these things by just dragging on the objects on the page, or on the selection handles around the object, or you can enter precise numeric values. The selected object is shown with 4 or 8 handles around the outside, and the status line at the bottom of the screen also tells you what is selected. Drag on any corner handle to resize an object.
right click an object and choose Copy , but a really quick way to copy any item is drag on it with the right mouse button. You can also copy and paste a page anywhere in your document from the current document or another document ? see Copying and pasting pages.
Nudging Objects The arrow keys can be used to nudge the selected object, one pixel at a time. If you hold "Shift", it nudges objects 10 pixels at a time. Rotating Objects There are two ways to rotate an object. Either click on the object a second time, so the selection handles change to show rotation handles, which you can then drag on to rotate the object.
Rotating Objects There are two ways to rotate an object. Either click on the object a second time, so the selection handles change to show rotation handles, which you can then drag on to rotate the object. Or, when it's showing the square selection handles, move the mouse pointer just inside the corner handles until you see the mouse pointer change to a rotation indicator - you can then also drag to rotate the selected object.
InfoBar When an object is selected, the InfoBar - just above your document - shows all the relevant controls for the current tool. This bar changes depending on which tool is selected. This is the InfoBar in the Selector Tool : The InfoBar, just above your document, shows controls for the selected tool. You can enter numeric values into any field. e.g. to reduce the size of an object by 20% you can enter 80% into the W field (which is a % size).
Copying Objects You can use the usual "Edit" > "Copy" ("Ctrl + C") and "Edit" > "Paste" ("Ctrl + V") options or right click an object and choose Copy , but a really quick way to copy any item is drag on it with the right mouse button. You can also copy and paste a page anywhere in your document from the current document or another document ? see Copying and pasting pages.
Website Toolbar The Website Toolbar at the top of the Xara Web Designer 7 Premium provides convenient access to the main web functions you'll use regularly. Preview Link Website Options Export Move your mouse pointer over each button in the flyout bar to see a tooltip describing the button.
Creating a website There are two ways to create a new website. Either by starting with a pre-designed template and then customizing this with your own text, photos and color scheme. Or by creating a website from scratch, placing all the required elements, text, graphics, photos and placeholders on the page as you require.
Previewing Your Website When creating your website in Web Designer Premium, your working document shows an accurate static preview, but to check the behavior of pop-ups, mouseover effects and Flash and other widgets it's necessary to use true Browser Preview. There are two preview options, in the flyout bar on the web toolbar. Preview website exports all the pages of your site and then brings up the preview window. So all the pages and links in your site should be working.
, or you can just drag and drop the file onto an open browser window. Once you have exported then each time you click the Preview buttons, the export is updated as well, and so it's just necessary to click the Reload button in your browser (or press "F5").
Using Templates, Clipart & Widgets Open the Designs Gallery by clicking the Designs Gallery tab in the Galleries bar (or use "File" > "New from Designs Gallery "). This shows folders containing collections of website designs and associated graphic files that each follow a specific theme. There are also folders of widgets, like forms, e-commerce facilities, web gadgets, and many other features. Browse through the folders and double click to open any file as a new document.
Page or use the Insert blank page button in the 'page' flyout menu bar. You can delete pages by right clicking and choosing Delete current page or click the Delete current page button in the 'page' flyout menu bar.
Adding New Pages To Your Website You can drag any template design from the Designs Gallery onto your page. If this is a page template, it will add a new page to your website, after first asking if you want to match any color changes. If you drag a clipart item such as a button, heading or photo object, this gets added onto the page where you dropped it, and again you will be asked if you want to match any color changes you've made.
Embedding Movies, Flash And Other Widgets You can embed a wide variety of interactive widgets easily; YouTube™ videos, Google Maps, Flash files or any HTML snippet. This is done using placeholders, which are objects (simple rectangles or photos) that have an associated piece of HTML or Flash file that is substituted for the placeholder when saving your website. For full details on widgets and placeholders, see the Website Widgets Chapter in the pdf manual.
Flash Clipart Xara Web Designer 7 Premium includes the ability to create Flash animations from scratch (see the Flash Animations section in the pdf manual), but also includes a range of Flash templates you can customize. Flash templates cannot be dragged onto the page directly, but have to be opened as a separate animation document, where you can customize it as required, and then save the Flash (.swf) file to your local disk. Then use "File" > "Import" or drag and drop the .swf file onto your web page.
Widgets Some of the items in the Designs Gallery are dynamic widgets that you can add to your website quickly and easily. When you drag one of these onto your page, a browser window opens onto a widget website which allows you to configure the widget. Therefore you must be online to use widgets. Once you've finished configuring your widget click the Insert button at the bottom of the browser window.
Website Colors All the templates use a small set of theme colors, and various shades of those theme colors. The easiest way to re-color your site is to use one of the alternative color schemes provided with each web theme in the Designs Gallery . Just drop a scheme onto your page to change the color of the whole site, or double-click on it. Or you can edit each of the theme colors individually yourself.
Note that when you change a Theme Color in this way, all the related shades used throughout the document will change as well. Coloring Shapes You can fill any drawn shape with a color, either by dragging the color from the Color Line and dropping it on to the shape, or by first selecting the object and then clicking on the Color Line.
Background Color Panel Color Theme 1 & 2 colors Setting the page background color When you open a new blank page ("File" > "New " >) the page defaults to being white. This is the background on which you place all the elements of your website. If you drag a color from the Color Line over the page, and drop it, it will set the page background to that color. In the Web Browser this background color is shown over the whole area of the window background.
and you can see the page rectangle with its own color. You can use the color editor to edit these colors. Right click on the page and choose Change page background to bring up the color editor, then you can edit the page color. To edit the pasteboard background color, right click on the pasteboard and choose Change background color . To set a repeating background texture, drag the photo or bitmap onto your document.
your page. However you can add an offset so that there is some space above your page in the web browser. To add an offset, you change the page origin. Normally the page origin is set to be the top left corner of your page. By moving the origin up 20 pixels, for example, you add a 20 pixel margin to the top of your page when it's viewed in a web browser. You can change the origin in two ways.
Y coordinates: In the Selector Tool select the rectangle, edit the Width (W) value, press "Enter", then edit the X and Y positions to be whole numbers. 4. Using the Fill Tool, give it a graduated color fill as required: Just drag on the rectangle. Make sure it's graduated top to bottom by adjusting the fill arrow if necessarily. Click the Export as PNG icon .Once exported drag 5. Export the rectangle as a PNG image. it back onto the page from your File Explorer. 6.
Click this button to reveal the extra controls. You can now select any light or darker shade of the parent color. The cross marks the parent color. Select Shade from this drop-down list and then the parent color. You can also create a Linked Shade that appears on the Color Line (so you can easily apply it to other objects). When you select to create a new Named Color you can choose to make this a linked 'Shade of another color'.
Coloring Shapes You can fill any drawn shape with a color, either by dragging the color from the Color Line and dropping it on to the shape, or by first selecting the object and then clicking on the Color Line. Alternatively right click the shape and choose Fill Color or click the small Color Editor icon (or press "Ctrl + E") to display the Color Editor, where you can set any color you like. You can give drawn objects a graduated color fill using the Fill Tool.
Background Color Panel Color Theme 1 & 2 colors Setting the page background color When you open a new blank page ("File" > "New " >) the page defaults to being white. This is the background on which you place all the elements of your website. If you drag a color from the Color Line over the page, and drop it, it will set the page background to that color. In the Web Browser this background color is shown over the whole area of the window background.
and you can see the page rectangle with its own color. You can use the color editor to edit these colors. Right click on the page and choose Change page background to bring up the color editor, then you can edit the page color. To edit the pasteboard background color, right click on the pasteboard and choose Change background color . To set a repeating background texture, drag the photo or bitmap onto your document.
your page. However you can add an offset so that there is some space above your page in the web browser. To add an offset, you change the page origin. Normally the page origin is set to be the top left corner of your page. By moving the origin up 20 pixels, for example, you add a 20 pixel margin to the top of your page when it's viewed in a web browser. You can change the origin in two ways.
Y coordinates: In the Selector Tool select the rectangle, edit the Width (W) value, press "Enter", then edit the X and Y positions to be whole numbers. 4. Using the Fill Tool, give it a graduated color fill as required: Just drag on the rectangle. Make sure it's graduated top to bottom by adjusting the fill arrow if necessarily. Click the Export as PNG icon .Once exported drag 5. Export the rectangle as a PNG image. it back onto the page from your File Explorer. 6.
Click this button to reveal the extra controls. You can now select any light or darker shade of the parent color. The cross marks the parent color. Select Shade from this drop-down list and then the parent color. You can also create a Linked Shade that appears on the Color Line (so you can easily apply it to other objects). When you select to create a new Named Color you can choose to make this a linked 'Shade of another color'.
Coloring Photos If you try to color a photo it turns it into a 'contoned' photo. For example, to make any photo black and white, right click and choose "Contone" > "Make black and white" or select it and click on the white color patch on the end of the Color Line. You can set the light or dark color to be any two colors, not just white and black - right click, choose "Contone" > "Light " and click a color in the Color Editor.
When you open a new blank page ("File" > "New " >) the page defaults to being white. This is the background on which you place all the elements of your website. If you drag a color from the Color Line over the page, and drop it, it will set the page background to that color. In the Web Browser this background color is shown over the whole area of the window background. However you can also make the page background one color, as described above, and then set the area around the page to a different color.
To set a repeating background texture, drag the photo or bitmap onto your document. Open the Bitmap Gallery, scroll to the photo you just loaded, click on it to select it, and then click the Background button on the gallery. Page Background Layer When you set the page background color by dropping a color onto the page as described above, this actually adds another layer to your document, which you can see if you open the Page & Layer Gallery. It's called the Page background layer .
across the page. By creating a long thin strip as on the left, when set as a background,you get a graduated color background across the whole page. To create this effect, follow these steps; 1. Draw a tall thin rectangle. This needs to be as tall as any user is likely to make their browser window so it doesn't repeat vertically. A value of 1000 pixels or more is recommended, which is much taller than your page. You may need to zoom out to draw one large enough. It should be very narrow. 2.
This is a simple rounded rectangle with a graduated color fill created with the Fill Tool. In the Fill Tool you can click on the either end of the arrow to set the color. If you create the main green color as a named color, and then make a lighter or darker shade of the color, as a linked shade, when you now edit the named color the shades change as well, so you get simple re-coloring of complex shaded objects.
Coloring Imported Clipart When you import a clipart graphic by dragging from the Design Gallery, using the "File" > "Import" option, or dragging a .web or .xar file onto your page, you will usually be asked whether you want to match the colors. If you select not to, then any named colors used in this graphic will be added to the Color Line. Clicking on any color on the Color Line will give you the option to edit the color.
However you can also make the page background one color, as described above, and then set the area around the page to a different color. This area around the page is referred to as the pasteboard. Just drop a color onto the pasteboard to set its color and set the page color as described above. Now when you preview your page you'll see the browser window background color is set to the pasteboard color and you can see the page rectangle with its own color. You can use the color editor to edit these colors.
Page Background Layer When you set the page background color by dropping a color onto the page as described above, this actually adds another layer to your document, which you can see if you open the Page & Layer Gallery. It's called the Page background layer . This layer is normally locked, so you can't select and edit its contents. But you can unlock it in the Page & Layer Gallery in order to perform some limited editing of it, to customize your page background.
By creating a long thin strip as on the left, when set as a background,you get a graduated color background across the whole page. To create this effect, follow these steps; 1. Draw a tall thin rectangle. This needs to be as tall as any user is likely to make their browser window so it doesn't repeat vertically. A value of 1000 pixels or more is recommended, which is much taller than your page. You may need to zoom out to draw one large enough. It should be very narrow. 2.
color. If you create the main green color as a named color, and then make a lighter or darker shade of the color, as a linked shade, when you now edit the named color the shades change as well, so you get simple re-coloring of complex shaded objects. To create a linked shade, open the extra controls in the Color Editor and select the 'Normal Color' drop-down menu and choose 'Shade of another color '. Click this button to reveal the extra controls.
Page Background Color Most of the page designs in the Design Gallery have two types of background. A wide page background that extends across the background of the whole browser window. And on top of this is drawn the web page elements, that usually consists of various colored panels. On the Color Line there is usually one color named 'Background Color', another 'Panel Color', and by editing these you can control the various background colors.
However you can also make the page background one color, as described above, and then set the area around the page to a different color. This area around the page is referred to as the pasteboard. Just drop a color onto the pasteboard to set its color and set the page color as described above. Now when you preview your page you'll see the browser window background color is set to the pasteboard color and you can see the page rectangle with its own color. You can use the color editor to edit these colors.
Page Background Layer When you set the page background color by dropping a color onto the page as described above, this actually adds another layer to your document, which you can see if you open the Page & Layer Gallery. It's called the Page background layer . This layer is normally locked, so you can't select and edit its contents. But you can unlock it in the Page & Layer Gallery in order to perform some limited editing of it, to customize your page background.
By creating a long thin strip as on the left, when set as a background,you get a graduated color background across the whole page. To create this effect, follow these steps; 1. Draw a tall thin rectangle. This needs to be as tall as any user is likely to make their browser window so it doesn't repeat vertically. A value of 1000 pixels or more is recommended, which is much taller than your page. You may need to zoom out to draw one large enough. It should be very narrow. 2.
color. If you create the main green color as a named color, and then make a lighter or darker shade of the color, as a linked shade, when you now edit the named color the shades change as well, so you get simple re-coloring of complex shaded objects. To create a linked shade, open the extra controls in the Color Editor and select the 'Normal Color' drop-down menu and choose 'Shade of another color '. Click this button to reveal the extra controls.
Page Background Layer When you set the page background color by dropping a color onto the page as described above, this actually adds another layer to your document, which you can see if you open the Page & Layer Gallery. It's called the Page background layer . This layer is normally locked, so you can't select and edit its contents. But you can unlock it in the Page & Layer Gallery in order to perform some limited editing of it, to customize your page background.
By creating a long thin strip as on the left, when set as a background,you get a graduated color background across the whole page. To create this effect, follow these steps; 1. Draw a tall thin rectangle. This needs to be as tall as any user is likely to make their browser window so it doesn't repeat vertically. A value of 1000 pixels or more is recommended, which is much taller than your page. You may need to zoom out to draw one large enough. It should be very narrow. 2.
color. If you create the main green color as a named color, and then make a lighter or darker shade of the color, as a linked shade, when you now edit the named color the shades change as well, so you get simple re-coloring of complex shaded objects. To create a linked shade, open the extra controls in the Color Editor and select the 'Normal Color' drop-down menu and choose 'Shade of another color '. Click this button to reveal the extra controls.
Offsetting the top of your page Normally if you just set the page and pasteboard to different colors, when you preview you'll see that the page extends right to the top of the browser window. You can't see any of the pasteboard color above your page. However you can add an offset so that there is some space above your page in the web browser. To add an offset, you change the page origin. Normally the page origin is set to be the top left corner of your page.
very narrow. 2. Make sure your rectangle has no outline: Click it in the Selector Tool and set it to have no outline. Click on the 'no color' cross-hatch patch on the Color Line (or select 'none' from the Line Width drop down menu on the top button bar). 3. Ensure the rectangle is a few whole pixels wide, and then ensure it is on exact whole pixel X and Y coordinates: In the Selector Tool select the rectangle, edit the Width (W) value, press "Enter", then edit the X and Y positions to be whole numbers. 4.
Click this button to reveal the extra controls. You can now select any light or darker shade of the parent color. The cross marks the parent color. Select Shade from this drop-down list and then the parent color. You can also create a Linked Shade that appears on the Color Line (so you can easily apply it to other objects). When you select to create a new Named Color you can choose to make this a linked 'Shade of another color'.
Advanced backgrounds Web browsers do not allow a graduated color background over the whole visible window (i.e. as a real HTML background), but they do support repeating, tiled, bitmaps as backgrounds. So you can use this to create a full-window graduated background, by creating a bitmap, which is then tiled (repeated) across the page. By creating a long thin strip as on the left, when set as a background,you get a graduated color background across the whole page.
Linked shades You can create colors that are lighter or darker shades of another color, so that when you alter the 'parent' color, all the lighter and darker shades change to match the new hue. For example a graduated color shade on a button, such as this: This is a simple rounded rectangle with a graduated color fill created with the Fill Tool. In the Fill Tool you can click on the either end of the arrow to set the color.
Linked shades You can create colors that are lighter or darker shades of another color, so that when you alter the 'parent' color, all the lighter and darker shades change to match the new hue. For example a graduated color shade on a button, such as this: This is a simple rounded rectangle with a graduated color fill created with the Fill Tool. In the Fill Tool you can click on the either end of the arrow to set the color.
Photos You can replace any photo by dragging and dropping it from your File Explorer onto any photo in Web Designer Premium. If you drop it onto the background then it is imported and placed on the page where you dropped it. All imported photos are shown as 500 pixels wide, but you can of course change this to be any size in the usual way with the Selector Tool . Drag and drop your photo over any existing picture to replace it.
Some templates in the Designs Gallery , particularly photo album styles, can have multiple photos replaced at once. Select multiple photo files using Windows File Explorer ("Ctrl + click" to add more files to the selection, or "Shift + click" to select a range of files). Then drag and drop them onto the page in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. Photos are replaced one by one from the top of the page downwards.
). Click the Settings button next to the popup photo option, to change to the Image tab of the Web properties dialog. There you can change how your pop-up appears. One option allows you to place a title above each pop-up photo. Set the title for each photo using the Title field. You can also optionally show a caption below each popup photo. Just set the Image Caption (Alt text) for the thumbnail on the same dialog.
. Photo Resolution - It's All Automatic! When importing high resolution photos (anything above 1920 pixels either wide or high) into a web document, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically resizes the photo down to HD screen size without asking you if you want to import a lower resolution version.
Replacing Multiple Photos Some templates in the Designs Gallery , particularly photo album styles, can have multiple photos replaced at once. Select multiple photo files using Windows File Explorer ("Ctrl + click" to add more files to the selection, or "Shift + click" to select a range of files). Then drag and drop them onto the page in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. Photos are replaced one by one from the top of the page downwards.
Select the small thumbnail photo, and select the Pop-up photo option in the Link tab of the Web Properties dialog (click the Link button in the Web Toolbar ). Click the Settings button next to the popup photo option, to change to the Image tab of the Web properties dialog. There you can change how your pop-up appears. One option allows you to place a title above each pop-up photo. Set the title for each photo using the Title field. You can also optionally show a caption below each popup photo.
In Internet Explorer the Image caption ("ALT"-Text) will be also shown in a tooltip pop-up as you mouse-over the image. To show different text, typically something like 'Click to enlarge' as you move over the thumbnail image, go to the Mouse-over tab and set Show pop-up text to be Click to Enlarge .
Importing Large Photos When importing high resolution photos (anything above 1920 pixels either wide or high) into a web document, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically resizes the photo down to HD screen size without asking you if you want to import a lower resolution version.
Click the Settings button next to the popup photo option, to change to the Image tab of the Web properties dialog. There you can change how your pop-up appears. One option allows you to place a title above each pop-up photo. Set the title for each photo using the Title field. You can also optionally show a caption below each popup photo. Just set the Image Caption (Alt text) for the thumbnail on the same dialog.
Photo Resolution - It's All Automatic! When importing high resolution photos (anything above 1920 pixels either wide or high) into a web document, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically resizes the photo down to HD screen size without asking you if you want to import a lower resolution version.
The Photo Tool The Photo Tool provides a range of ways to enhance and crop any photo. To crop a photo, just drag across the photo while in the Enhance Photo Tool . You can adjust the crop edges by dragging on the crop handles around the outside of the photo. Or use the Clip Tool for more control over crops.
dialog. There you can change how your pop-up appears. One option allows you to place a title above each pop-up photo. Set the title for each photo using the Title field. You can also optionally show a caption below each popup photo. Just set the Image Caption (Alt text) for the thumbnail on the same dialog. See the popup photo section of the Web Properties Dialog chapter for full details of the options available.
Tool InfoBar width or height fields. When you drop a photo on the page (assuming you're not replacing an existing photo), it's sized to be 500 pixels wide. But if you want this to be exactly 200 pixels wide, just enter 200pix into the W size field of the Selector Tool . You can enter it in any unit e.g. entering 2in will make it 2 inches wide.
Thumbnail Photos With Pop-ups You can very easily create small thumbnail photos (just resize it to be tiny), that when clicked will show an enlarged version. Simply resize your photo to be small, the usual way using the Selector Tool . Select the small thumbnail photo, and select the Pop-up photo option in the Link tab of the Web Properties dialog (click the Link button in the Web Toolbar ). Click the Settings button next to the popup photo option, to change to the Image tab of the Web properties dialog.
There you can change how your pop-up appears. One option allows you to place a title above each pop-up photo. Set the title for each photo using the Title field. You can also optionally show a caption below each popup photo. Just set the Image Caption (Alt text) for the thumbnail on the same dialog. See the popup photo section of the Web Properties Dialog chapter for full details of the options available.
Photo Resolution - It's All Automatic! When importing high resolution photos (anything above 1920 pixels either wide or high) into a web document, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically resizes the photo down to HD screen size without asking you if you want to import a lower resolution version.
Text You can edit the text by selecting the Text Tool and clicking on the text. You have all the usual word processing facilities, and can paste text from the system clipboard. Double click will select a word, triple click will select a whole line - which can be useful for selecting all the text in a button. As usual the InfoBar provides a wide range of controls for this tool. Alternatively you can right click within text and choose Advanced Text Properties .
Mac and some Linux computers. These fonts are called the 'web safe fonts', and are listed at the top of the font menu. If you try and save a website using non-web safe fonts you will get a warning. If you turn any text object into a graphic, you are free to use any font. See the Groups section below for details about this. Creating New Text Objects There are three types of text object - a single line of text, a column of text or a rectangular text area.
Anchored Objects If you want a graphical object to appear next to a particular part of a block of text, you can anchor the object to the text so it moves with it. Right click the object and choose Anchor to text. Using the Selector Tool click and drag the anchor symbol that appears in the top left of the object to the location in the text where you would like the object anchored. Now if you edit or move the text, the anchored object moves with the anchor point.
with page layouts, "Ctrl + Shift + L", inserts a block of random pseudo Latin.
Font Size The font size field shows the font size in pixels, as this is the most reliable method of setting the text size for use in a web browser. But you can enter any size in points (or any other unit for that matter), by entering a value with pt after it (for point) e.g. 72pt or 1in and this will get converted to the correct pixel size.
are automatically repelling - the text will always flow around these objects as you drag them around. Repelling objects only repel text that is behind the object - so you may have to 'bring to front' the object in order for the repel to work ("Ctrl + F"). Alternatively if you only want an object to repel text within an individual layer, you can prevent text that is below that layer from being repelled (useful for popup layers within a web page) - see Layer Properties .
this will also mark all unrecognized words with a red dotted underline. Right click on any marked word to be presented with suggested alternatives. Embedded Fonts Web Designer Premium stores the character shapes of all the fonts used in your document. This means if you give someone else your .web file, or transfer the file to another computer they will see exactly what you see, even if the correct fonts are not installed on that computer.
Web Safe Fonts Only a small set of fonts can be used safely for the main text of a website - only those fonts that you know will exist on the computer of the viewer of your website. Although there are no guarantees, there is a common subset of fonts that are widely used by something like 98% of all computers, including Apple Mac and some Linux computers. These fonts are called the 'web safe fonts', and are listed at the top of the font menu.
All operations in the Text Tool are live - the text re-formats and re-flows as you adjust the column width or move repelling objects around. Note: You can now also repel text around anchored objects . Anchored Objects If you want a graphical object to appear next to a particular part of a block of text, you can anchor the object to the text so it moves with it. Right click the object and choose Anchor to text.
you give someone else your .web file, or transfer the file to another computer they will see exactly what you see, even if the correct fonts are not installed on that computer. But this only embeds the characters that are used in the document (it's not a full font that is included). So on computers with the fonts missing, any text that is added in the missing fonts may be missing the correct character shapes. Text Tip: There are a lot of shortcuts available in the Text Tool .
Creating New Text Objects There are three types of text object - a single line of text, a column of text or a rectangular text area. To create a simple line of text, select the Text Tool and then you can click anywhere on the background and start typing. To create a column click and drag horizontally on the background, and then start typing. You can adjust the column width at any time. To create a text area, click and drag diagonally.
Right click the object and choose Anchor to text. Using the Selector Tool click and drag the anchor symbol that appears in the top left of the object to the location in the text where you would like the object anchored. Now if you edit or move the text, the anchored object moves with the anchor point. Note: You can also repel text from an anchored object.
Rotated Text Unusually (uniquely for a web authoring tool) you can rotate any text object, even columns of text, using the usual rotate feature of the Selector tool. But because web browsers do not support native rotated text Web Designer Premium converts any rotated text into a graphic when the page is exported as a website. Bulleted and numbered lists Use the bullet and numbered list buttons on the Text Tool info bar to quickly enter bulleted or numbered lists.
Just as some Design Gallery buttons stretch to accommodate the text, so some text panels can adapt to the width or length of text entered into them. The panel background changes to accommodate longer or wider blocks of text. You can adjust the width of a text column by going into the Text Tool and dragging the column width handles (under the first line of text). Most of the Design Gallery templates provide a few text panels in keeping with the theme.
Bulleted and numbered lists Use the bullet and numbered list buttons on the Text Tool info bar to quickly enter bulleted or numbered lists. You can right click on a numbered list and choose List properties… from the context menu to change the numbering scheme for your list. See the Text Tool chapter for more information. Soft Shadows, Color Filled Text, Transparent Text You can apply any of these effects using the appropriate tools, e.g.
The panel background changes to accommodate longer or wider blocks of text. You can adjust the width of a text column by going into the Text Tool and dragging the column width handles (under the first line of text). Most of the Design Gallery templates provide a few text panels in keeping with the theme. Some text panels will only stretch vertically, others will stretch vertically and horizontally.
Soft Shadows, Color Filled Text, Transparent Text You can apply any of these effects using the appropriate tools, e.g., if you drag across some text in the Fill Tool it will give it a graduated color, or if you drag on it with the Shadow Tool it will give it a soft shadow. In all these cases Web Designer Premium will automatically convert the text to be a graphic on your exported website.
You can adjust the width of a text column by going into the Text Tool and dragging the column width handles (under the first line of text). Most of the Design Gallery templates provide a few text panels in keeping with the theme. Some text panels will only stretch vertically, others will stretch vertically and horizontally.
Text Repel Around Objects If you right click on an object like a photo and select the menu option 'Repel text under' ' you can make text flow around the object that is on top of the text. Many of the objects, such as photos, side panels, buttons and headings used in the templates from the Designs Gallery are automatically repelling - the text will always flow around these objects as you drag them around.
: You can create new stretching components using Xara Designer Pro. Spell Checker On the Text Tool InfoBar is a button that selects the spell checker options and language. If you select Check Spelling as you type this will also mark all unrecognized words with a red dotted underline. Right click on any marked word to be presented with suggested alternatives. Embedded Fonts Web Designer Premium stores the character shapes of all the fonts used in your document. This means if you give someone else your .
Anchored Objects If you want a graphical object to appear next to a particular part of a block of text, you can anchor the object to the text so it moves with it. Right click the object and choose Anchor to text. Using the Selector Tool click and drag the anchor symbol that appears in the top left of the object to the location in the text where you would like the object anchored. Now if you edit or move the text, the anchored object moves with the anchor point.
. Refer to the reference section on keyboard shortcuts to see them all. One useful one for experimenting with page layouts, "Ctrl + Shift + L", inserts a block of random pseudo Latin.
Text Panels Just as some Design Gallery buttons stretch to accommodate the text, so some text panels can adapt to the width or length of text entered into them. The panel background changes to accommodate longer or wider blocks of text. You can adjust the width of a text column by going into the Text Tool and dragging the column width handles (under the first line of text). Most of the Design Gallery templates provide a few text panels in keeping with the theme.
Spell Checker On the Text Tool InfoBar is a button that selects the spell checker options and language. If you select Check Spelling as you type this will also mark all unrecognized words with a red dotted underline. Right click on any marked word to be presented with suggested alternatives. Embedded Fonts Web Designer Premium stores the character shapes of all the fonts used in your document. This means if you give someone else your .
Embedded Fonts Web Designer Premium stores the character shapes of all the fonts used in your document. This means if you give someone else your .web file, or transfer the file to another computer they will see exactly what you see, even if the correct fonts are not installed on that computer. But this only embeds the characters that are used in the document (it's not a full font that is included).
Page Size The pages in the Designs Gallery are designed to be a width that is known to fit the vast majority of computer screens. Creating wider pages is not recommended, even though you will probably have a wider computer screen, experience shows most viewers prefer to have a fixed width page. However you can adjust the page size to be anything. You can set any page size you like by selecting the Page size tab of the Options dialog (right click and choose Page options or Page Options from the File menu).
Changing The Page Size of Templates You can change the vertical size of the pre-designed templates by just dragging on the bottom edge of the page. However you will often need to move and resize various objects on the page. For example many templates have a footer group. You can just drag this using the Selector Tool to the new position. Sometimes the main text will be on a colored background rectangle.
Saving Your Work. Creating A Website Use the Save or Save As menu options to save your work in progress. This saves a file with the .web extension, which is the native file format for Web Designer Premium (this is not a website). You are recommended to regularly save your work as you go along. If you want to edit or update your website in future, you must save a .web file this way and use to do further updates. It's also recommended that you work with the automatic backup facility turned on.
Automatic backups The Backups tab of the "Utilities" > "Options" dialog allows you to turn the automatic backup facility on and off. This facility saves a copy of all your modified open documents at regular intervals. It's recommended that you work with this backup option turned on, so your work is saved regularly. You can also choose whether you are prompted about unsaved documents when closing the program, or if instead all open documents should be backed up and restored for you when you next start up.
Stretchy Objects Many of the graphic objects, such as buttons and text panels, can automatically adjust their size depending on the size or length of text. For example some of the buttons are called 'stretch buttons' which means that the length of the button adjusts to accommodate the label text on the button. Most template sets, and all of the buttons in the Button folder in the Designs Gallery , have both fixed width and stretchy versions.
Groups You can group together any selection of objects on the page. Groups act much like a single object, in that you can drag them around the page, resize and rotate them as if they were one object. Many of the items in the template designs from the Designs Gallery such as buttons, text panels, and photo objects are grouped items. For example, you can draw a simple button from scratch by drawing a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool, and then placing a text label on top of this with the Text Tool.
Most buttons are Soft Groups, that is when you select, move or resize a button you are in fact performing these operations on two copies of the button, one called the 'MouseOff' version and another 'MouseOver' version. Some of the more complex panel objects in the Designs Gallery are Soft Groups. This is so that you can move it around as a single object, but the component parts, the photos, background shapes, are all exported into the HTML as separate items for maximum efficiency.
Converting Text To Be A Graphic As mentioned above only a very limited number of fonts are available in web browsers. If you want to use a different font on a button or, say, as a heading, you can do this by ensuring it is converted to a graphic, and all you need to do is group the object to make this happen automatically. You can still edit the text inside the group, but groups are automatically converted into a graphic when the website is exported.
Soft Groups There is another type of group, called a 'Soft Group', which is a more loosely connected set of objects. The difference between Groups and Soft Groups is: When you group items they must all be on a single layer (if they are not they are moved to a single layer when you group the items). Soft groups retain their layers, so you can tie together items across multiple layers. Groups are usually converted into a single graphic when exported as HTML for a website.
Synchronized Text There is another useful feature of Soft Groups. If you have the same text on two or more objects within a Soft Group, the text will be synchronized when you edit it. This is the mechanism used to keep the button text the same on both the normal and MouseOver buttons - see below. Anchored Groups When you make an object anchored to text, it gets put inside an Anchored Group. See Anchored Graphics for more information on anchored objects.
Anchored Groups When you make an object anchored to text, it gets put inside an Anchored Group. See Anchored Graphics for more information on anchored objects. Repeating Groups When you make an object repeating, it is placed inside a Repeating Group. See the Repeating Objects section of the Object Handling chapter for details.
Repeating Groups When you make an object repeating, it is placed inside a Repeating Group. See the Repeating Objects section of the Object Handling chapter for details.
Repeating Objects It's common to have items like navigation buttons, headers or logos repeating on all pages of your document or website. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium provides the ability to repeat any item in the same place on any of your web pages. When you update one of the copies, all changes are automatically replicated across all pages. See the Repeating Objects section of the Object Handling chapter for details.
Links, Buttons & Navigation Bars You can add a web link to any object, a button, graphic or some text. Select the object and just click the link icon on the top bar to enter the web address that you want to link to. Enter the web address you want to link to in the highlighted field. The Link tab of the Website Properties dialog allows you to control what happens when you click the linked object on the page.
3. Click Apply. Note: You cannot apply a transition effect to a link when it links to an anchor, a file, a pop-up layer or pop-up photo. You also cannot apply transitions to a link in a navigation bar. However you can apply effects directly to a page or layer , so page and layer contents can still display an effect when they open on the web page. The link transition takes precedence when both the link and the page it loads have a transition applied.
section below for more detail. Adding New Buttons In the Designs Gallery , each Theme has a collection of button graphics that you can just drag onto the page. Typically there are two types of button. The ones called Stretch Button will elongate to accommodate the button label text. In addition there is a Buttons category that has a set of general button designs that can be added to your page in the same way.
Applying a transition to a link You can also add a transition to the link, so that when it is clicked an animated effect is applied to the object that the link displays. 1. Enter the web address or choose the page you want to link to. 2. Under Link transition, choose a transition effect from the drop-down list and use the Speed slider to set the amount of time the effect displays. 3. Click Apply.
browser. This is called a mouseover, or sometimes a rollover effect. This is all automatic for most buttons used in the templates or from the Button section of the Designs Gallery . For the more advanced user: this mouseover effect is created using Named Layers. In fact the buttons are Soft Groups that consist of two styles, the mouse-off and the mouse-over styles on separate layers.
Link to Anchor You can link to any text or object anywhere in your website by using 'anchors'. First you need to apply a name to the object you want to link to. This is called the anchor. Right click the item (which can be a graphic or some text) and then select Names or choose Names from the Utilities menu to display the name dialog. Enter any unique name you like and click Add .
In addition there is a Buttons category that has a set of general button designs that can be added to your page in the same way. Or you can copy any existing button - this is probably the best way for adding more buttons to a navigation bar. You can copy / paste, but a much quicker shortcut is to drag with the right mouse button held down. (This is a general shortcut to copy any object). You can now just edit the text and link as required.
Link to File Sometimes you may want to provide a document, movie or other file to visitors to your site. To do this use the Link to file option. Select the object on your page that you want to link to the file. Then choose the Link to file option and browse for your file. This copies the file into a support folder alongside your design file, so that the file gets published along with the rest of your site. The folder is named using the name of your design file, with "_files" appended.
Button Bars (NavBars) Most websites, and so most of the template designs we provide, have a row or column of buttons to navigate around the website or to other places. This is called a Navigation Bar and Xara Web Designer 7 Premium includes special support for these bars. To edit a navbar, double click on it, or right-click and choose Edit Navigation bar from the context menu. The Navigation bar dialog opens.
Changing Button Text This is easy - in the Text Tool , just click on the button text and edit it. Hint : if you triple-click on the button text that selects the whole line of text for easy replacement when you type. Note : You can't edit the text of navigation bars this way, if the bar is set to be a site navigation bar. You need to edit the labels using the Navigation Bar Properties dialog instead - double-click a navigation bar to display it.
controls are grayed out. In the Navigation Bar Properties dialog you can also turn on the Site navigation bar option. This makes your bar automatically appear on new pages you add to your site and buttons/links are added to the bar automatically for each new page. However you can't edit your bar on canvas when this option is turned on ? you can only edit it using this dialog.
Mouseover (Rollover) Buttons You will have noticed that most buttons highlight as you move the mouse pointer over them in your browser. This is called a mouseover, or sometimes a rollover effect. This is all automatic for most buttons used in the templates or from the Button section of the Designs Gallery . For the more advanced user: this mouseover effect is created using Named Layers.
Adding New Buttons In the Designs Gallery , each Theme has a collection of button graphics that you can just drag onto the page. Typically there are two types of button. The ones called Stretch Button will elongate to accommodate the button label text. In addition there is a Buttons category that has a set of general button designs that can be added to your page in the same way. Or you can copy any existing button - this is probably the best way for adding more buttons to a navigation bar.
Button Bars (NavBars) Most websites, and so most of the template designs we provide, have a row or column of buttons to navigate around the website or to other places. This is called a Navigation Bar and Xara Web Designer 7 Premium includes special support for these bars. To edit a navbar, double click on it, or right-click and choose Edit Navigation bar from the context menu. The Navigation bar dialog opens.
Drawing Tools Web Designer Premium provides all the graphics tools you need to create just about any graphical object on your page, as well as a range of pre-designed graphical elements in the Designs Gallery . There are several basic drawing tools that let you create rectangles, ellipses, regular polygons, stars or any shape you like. Web Designer Premium provides vector drawing tools which means you can resize, edit the outline shape and re-color with no loss of quality.
zero for open shapes. For the same reasons, text attributes make up a third attribute group. The text attribute group is only set when you select text objects, or when you set the attributes manually while in the text tool. Exempt attributes Some attributes do not get set as current automatically even when 'Give new objects most recent attributes' is on. This is because some attributes can cause problems if they become current.
Reverse path The slider on the infobar allows you to change the size of the arrow head and tail on the current selected line. Or you can enter a percentage value into the size text field to the right of the slider. By default new arrowheads are created with a width of around 6 times that of the line width and that is taken as the 100% size, as indicated by the size slider. If you make the line wider, the arrowhead width also updates accordingly.
across your object. The fill arrow can be adjusted by dragging the ends to alter the direction, angle and extent of the graduation. Rounded rectangle with a graduated fill. Note: If you drag with the Fill Tool across a grouped item, such as a text panel, then everything in the group takes on the same fill style. To overcome this you must first select just the item you want to fill. You can do this several ways.
top bar. Try it on your rectangle shape. Select the shape and then click this Feather control on the right of the top bar. The shadow below the ball drawing above has a feathered edge. Combining all of these controls you can very quickly produce amazing layered graphics for your website, all directly in Web Designer Premium without needing any other graphics tools. This is an example of a rounded rectangle with grad color, grad transparency and feathered edges with some text placed on top of it.
You may find you can convert the whole graphic to a JPEG to save space. Whether this works or not depends on what's behind the shadow. If it's a plain or static non-text background you can probably use a JPEG which is a much smaller file size (quicker website download). To force an object to be a JPEG use the Image tab of the Web Properties dialog.
Current attributes (styles) An 'attribute' is some characteristic of an object which you can modify in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. For example a shape's attributes include its color, its outline width and its outline color. As mentioned above you can change the attributes of an object after you've drawn it, by selecting it and then changing its fill color, line width, or any of its other attributes.
heads/tails, text font, text font size, text margins. Examples of attributes which are not copied automatically: Feather, transparency, shadow, bevel, 3D extrude. Resetting current attributes You can reset all current attribute groups instantly by pressing "Esc" when you have no objects selected. If you have objects selected, pressing "Esc" clears the selection, so just press "Esc" again to reset the current attributes back to their default values.
Adding more line segments Lines created with the Straight Line Tool are of course fully compatible with the other drawing tools. So if you want to add more segments to a line, make it curved, or perhaps even turn it into a closed shape, use the Shape Editor Tool . Rectangle Tool To draw a rectangle, select the Rectangle Tool and just drag across the page. You will see a solid filled shape as you drag across the page, indicating the fill and line color and boundaries of the shape you are drawing.
a click in the Selector Tool with the "Ctrl" key pressed (this is called 'select inside' because it selects just the one item inside the group). Now when you drag it will fill only the selected object. To edit the start or color of the fill just drag and drop a color from the color line onto the shape, or you can select the end of the Fill Arrow in the Fill Tool and use the Color Editor ("Ctrl + E").
This is an example of a rounded rectangle with grad color, grad transparency and feathered edges with some text placed on top of it. This has a graduated color fill, light to dark green going left to right. It also has a vertical graduated transparency fading from top to bottom. The feather gives it a soft edge. It takes a couple of seconds to create such an image, and it's automatically converted to the right graphic when you save your web page.
Example Graphics This is a perfect example of what can be created in Web Designer Premium. This button combines many of the features described above - it's drawn by combining just a few feathered shapes, and using graduated transparency (the white reflection effect). The text has a slight soft shadow and the button has a glow shadow. The whole thing is grouped. (You do not need to draw this button as it's provided in the Button category of the Designs Gallery ).
Shape Tool The Shape Editor Tool allows you to create detailed vector based shapes, and also to edit the outline of any shape. For preset shapes such as rectangles or ellipses, or if you want to edit the outline of your text character shapes, you need to convert the object to an editable shape first. You can do this by selecting the "Ctrl + 1" key shortcut. You can then use the Shape Editor Tool to perform various advanced vector editing.
To draw a rectangle, select the Rectangle Tool and just drag across the page. You will see a solid filled shape as you drag across the page, indicating the fill and line color and boundaries of the shape you are drawing. Click the 'curved corners' button on the InfoBar to make this a rounded rectangle - and you can drag on the curved corner handle to adjust the roundedness. You can drag on any corner handle to resize an object. Drag and drop a color from the Color Line onto your shape to re-color it.
new color. You can now drag this fill point, or select "Ctrl + E" to adjust the color using the Color Editor. There are different fill styles, for example this is a circle with a circular fill. The shadow is another ellipse with a graduated color fill and feathered (see below). Transparency Tool Modern browsers support advanced transparency effects, and so does Web Designer Premium. You can adjust the transparency of any graphic or photo to make it see-through. Try it on your rectangle example.
import almost all graphics files, from Adobe EPS, to Photoshop PSD, Camera RAW and more. Technical note : Web Designer Premium automatically converts any vector graphics into PNG images, an alpha-channel PNG if transparency is used. It uses CSS layers to replicate the object layer stacking in Web Designer Premium. This is compatible with all modern web browsers. Shadow Tool A very popular graphics effect is to create a soft drop- shadow under a graphic or some text.
On top of that you can re-color using the Named Color system, and it will even stretch as required everything in Web Designer Premium remains non-destructive (which means you can always edit it, with no loss of quality). Something that would take skill and time to produce using alternative graphics software, is trivially easy in Web Designer Premium.
Straight Line and Arrow Tool The Straight Line Tool makes it easy to draw single segment straight lines and to add arrow heads and tails to any lines. Simply click and drag on the page to draw a straight line. You can click on any existing line to select it, and once selected you can click-drag on either end to move the end of the line around.
You can drag on any corner handle to resize an object. Drag and drop a color from the Color Line onto your shape to re-color it. See Coloring Shapes. With the Selector Tool you can drag it, resize it and rotate it as required. See Selector Tool. You can put this rectangle behind all other objects as a background image, by pressing "Ctrl + B" for 'Put to back'.
The shadow is another ellipse with a graduated color fill and feathered (see below). Transparency Tool Modern browsers support advanced transparency effects, and so does Web Designer Premium. You can adjust the transparency of any graphic or photo to make it see-through. Try it on your rectangle example. Just select the Transparency Tool , and adjust the large slider on the InfoBar. More than this, Web Designer Premium supports graduated transparency. It works very like the graduated color fill.
more. Technical note : Web Designer Premium automatically converts any vector graphics into PNG images, an alpha-channel PNG if transparency is used. It uses CSS layers to replicate the object layer stacking in Web Designer Premium. This is compatible with all modern web browsers. Shadow Tool A very popular graphics effect is to create a soft drop- shadow under a graphic or some text. This serves to lift the object away from the background.
On top of that you can re-color using the Named Color system, and it will even stretch as required everything in Web Designer Premium remains non-destructive (which means you can always edit it, with no loss of quality). Something that would take skill and time to produce using alternative graphics software, is trivially easy in Web Designer Premium.
Rectangle Tool To draw a rectangle, select the Rectangle Tool and just drag across the page. You will see a solid filled shape as you drag across the page, indicating the fill and line color and boundaries of the shape you are drawing. Click the 'curved corners' button on the InfoBar to make this a rounded rectangle - and you can drag on the curved corner handle to adjust the roundedness. You can drag on any corner handle to resize an object.
and use the Color Editor ("Ctrl + E"). You can create a multi-stage graduated fill by making sure the fill arrow is visible (select it with the Fill Tool ), now just drag a color from the Color Line and carefully drop it on the arrow line where you want the new color. You can now drag this fill point, or select "Ctrl + E" to adjust the color using the Color Editor. There are different fill styles, for example this is a circle with a circular fill.
This is an example of a rounded rectangle with grad color, grad transparency and feathered edges with some text placed on top of it. This has a graduated color fill, light to dark green going left to right. It also has a vertical graduated transparency fading from top to bottom. The feather gives it a soft edge. It takes a couple of seconds to create such an image, and it's automatically converted to the right graphic when you save your web page.
Example Graphics This is a perfect example of what can be created in Web Designer Premium. This button combines many of the features described above - it's drawn by combining just a few feathered shapes, and using graduated transparency (the white reflection effect). The text has a slight soft shadow and the button has a glow shadow. The whole thing is grouped. (You do not need to draw this button as it's provided in the Button category of the Designs Gallery ).
Fill Tool You can easily put a graduated color fill onto a shape using this tool (and a lot more besides). Select the tool and just drag across your object. The fill arrow can be adjusted by dragging the ends to alter the direction, angle and extent of the graduation. Rounded rectangle with a graduated fill. Note: If you drag with the Fill Tool across a grouped item, such as a text panel, then everything in the group takes on the same fill style.
Feather This is a graphical term for blending the edges of objects. Web Designer Premium provides a feather control that enables any object, graphics, text or photo to be feathered - giving it a blurred edge that blends with the background. The Feather control is not a tool on the left, but one of the controls on the top bar. Try it on your rectangle shape. Select the shape and then click this Feather control on the right of the top bar. The shadow below the ball drawing above has a feathered edge.
: Note that because a shadow itself is semi- transparent (part of the objects below show through the shadow) objects with shadows are converted to PNG images when saved on a web page (it's the only image format that supports transparency). PNG images can be quite large, especially for photos. It's perfect for images such the above shadow graphic. You may find you can convert the whole graphic to a JPEG to save space. Whether this works or not depends on what's behind the shadow.
Transparency Tool Modern browsers support advanced transparency effects, and so does Web Designer Premium. You can adjust the transparency of any graphic or photo to make it see-through. Try it on your rectangle example. Just select the Transparency Tool , and adjust the large slider on the InfoBar. More than this, Web Designer Premium supports graduated transparency. It works very like the graduated color fill. In the Transparency Tool just drag across your shape and you can see the transparency fades.
A very popular graphics effect is to create a soft drop- shadow under a graphic or some text. This serves to lift the object away from the background. The Shadow Tool lets you add a soft shadow to any object, text, graphics or photo. Select the Shadow Tool and just drag on the object. You can adjust the shadow blur and transparency using InfoBar controls. Some text with a soft shadow.
Something that would take skill and time to produce using alternative graphics software, is trivially easy in Web Designer Premium.
Feather This is a graphical term for blending the edges of objects. Web Designer Premium provides a feather control that enables any object, graphics, text or photo to be feathered - giving it a blurred edge that blends with the background. The Feather control is not a tool on the left, but one of the controls on the top bar. Try it on your rectangle shape. Select the shape and then click this Feather control on the right of the top bar. The shadow below the ball drawing above has a feathered edge.
Advanced note : Note that because a shadow itself is semi- transparent (part of the objects below show through the shadow) objects with shadows are converted to PNG images when saved on a web page (it's the only image format that supports transparency). PNG images can be quite large, especially for photos. It's perfect for images such the above shadow graphic. You may find you can convert the whole graphic to a JPEG to save space. Whether this works or not depends on what's behind the shadow.
Shadow Tool A very popular graphics effect is to create a soft drop- shadow under a graphic or some text. This serves to lift the object away from the background. The Shadow Tool lets you add a soft shadow to any object, text, graphics or photo. Select the Shadow Tool and just drag on the object. You can adjust the shadow blur and transparency using InfoBar controls. Some text with a soft shadow.
everything in Web Designer Premium remains non-destructive (which means you can always edit it, with no loss of quality). Something that would take skill and time to produce using alternative graphics software, is trivially easy in Web Designer Premium.
Example Graphics This is a perfect example of what can be created in Web Designer Premium. This button combines many of the features described above - it's drawn by combining just a few feathered shapes, and using graduated transparency (the white reflection effect). The text has a slight soft shadow and the button has a glow shadow. The whole thing is grouped. (You do not need to draw this button as it's provided in the Button category of the Designs Gallery ).
Right-click menus When you right-click any object in the Xara Web Designer 7 Premium workspace, a drop-down menu lists useful operations that are relevant to the object clicked on. For example, if you right-click a rectangle you've drawn previously, the drop-down menu allows you to perform actions only relevant to a rectangle. If you right-click a photo, however, some of the menu options that appear apply only to photos, while others are similar to the actions you can perform on a rectangle.
Layers, Mouseover (Rollover) & Pop-ups As mentioned earlier all objects have a stacking order on the page - from the backmost to the frontmost item. These objects are stacked over each other. In addition, all items can be placed into named layers. Each layer can have any number of objects, and has the ability to be turned on or off. When the layer is turned off all objects on that layer become invisible. The layers are controlled from the Page & Layer Gallery in the Galleries bar.
If you open the Page & Layer Gallery you can show or hide any layer by checking or un-checking the visibility icon (the eye symbol). This is a way of showing what your MouseOver elements will look like on your page. The current layer is always highlighted in the Page & Layer Gallery - the MouseOff layer in the above diagram - and this is the layer that all new objects are drawn on.
version on the other layer, even if the layer is switched off. When you edit the text of the button on one layer, it's automatically synced with the other version of the button. To ensure the text on both the Off and Over states changes when you edit either, Soft Group the buttons on both layers. To do this you will need to enable both layers in the Page & Layer Gallery, and lasso select around both buttons. The status line should tell you if you have everything selected.
Note that you only need to be concerned with these ordering rules if you are building complex pages with multiple popup effects! If you are just using the template designs provided in the Designs Gallery , you should not have any problems with layer ordering on your website. Moving Objects Between Layers There are several ways to move objects between layers. First select the object or objects you want to move, then; Cut the object ("Ctrl + X" or right click and Cut).
Pop-up Layers A more powerful alternative allows you to display the contents of any layer as a result of mousing over, or clicking, any object. This can be used for a range of different pop-up effects such as pop-up photos, menus or detailed object descriptions.
If you want the pop-up to only appear when you click, then select the same option on the Link tab of the same Web Properties dialog instead. Note: The mouseover layer appears and disappears as you move the mouse pointer on and off the triggering object. If you use a click method to display the layer (from the Link dialog), then the layer is revealed by a click on the object, and is hidden when you click anywhere else on the page.
Mouseover Effects There are two types of mouseover effect you can control. Firstly the one used by mouseover buttons, where any object with a web address can display an overlapping graphic object that appears on a layer called MouseOver . See below for more detail. There is a more powerful mouseover ability where you can make the contents of any layer appear as your mouseover, or click any object on your page. This pop-up layer can contain text, graphics, photos or any combination of these things.
Creating Your Own Mouseover Buttons You can create your own mouseover buttons from scratch by drawing the necessary elements from rectangles, text, etc. Just draw the main parts of the button on the MouseOff layer (remember to group it ) and place the corresponding 'highlight' version on the MouseOver layer. As long as the MouseOff version has a web address link, then the MouseOver version will automatically be displayed as you move the mouse over it on the web page.
(foreground to background). All layers are optional and the layer names can be anything you like, except for the characters shown in Bold, which identify the special mouseover and mousedown layers. MouseDown popup n MouseOver popup n PopUp layer n ... MouseDown popup 1 MouseOver popup 1 Popup layer 1 MouseDown MouseOver Static layer n ...
Pop-up Layers A more powerful alternative allows you to display the contents of any layer as a result of mousing over, or clicking, any object. This can be used for a range of different pop-up effects such as pop-up photos, menus or detailed object descriptions.
If you want the pop-up to only appear when you click, then select the same option on the Link tab of the same Web Properties dialog instead. Note: The mouseover layer appears and disappears as you move the mouse pointer on and off the triggering object. If you use a click method to display the layer (from the Link dialog), then the layer is revealed by a click on the object, and is hidden when you click anywhere else on the page.
The MouseOff and MouseOver Layers All the main objects on your website are placed on the bottom layer, usually called MouseOff. Buttons that highlight when you move the mouse over them on the web page have an alternative graphic on the layer called MouseOver . If you open the Page & Layer Gallery you can show or hide any layer by checking or un-checking the visibility icon (the eye symbol). This is a way of showing what your MouseOver elements will look like on your page.
, and place the required mouseover versions of your button on this layer so it overlaps the linked object. Technical note: Any graphic object on the MouseOver layer will be displayed as long as at least 50% overlaps with the object on the MouseOff layer. The two versions of mouseover buttons are kept in sync by using the Soft Groups feature. When you select the button on one layer, it automatically selects the Soft Grouped version on the other layer, even if the layer is switched off.
MouseDown MouseOver Static layer n ... Static layer 2 MouseOff Note that you only need to be concerned with these ordering rules if you are building complex pages with multiple popup effects! If you are just using the template designs provided in the Designs Gallery , you should not have any problems with layer ordering on your website. Moving Objects Between Layers There are several ways to move objects between layers.
Pop-up Layers A more powerful alternative allows you to display the contents of any layer as a result of mousing over, or clicking, any object. This can be used for a range of different pop-up effects such as pop-up photos, menus or detailed object descriptions.
If you want the pop-up to only appear when you click, then select the same option on the Link tab of the same Web Properties dialog instead. Note: The mouseover layer appears and disappears as you move the mouse pointer on and off the triggering object. If you use a click method to display the layer (from the Link dialog), then the layer is revealed by a click on the object, and is hidden when you click anywhere else on the page.
Mouseover (Rollover) Buttons Almost all the ready-made buttons from the Designs Gallery have a mouseover effect in Web Designer Premium. These are created by having two versions of each button, the main one on the MouseOff layer and a 'highlight' one on the MouseOver layer. Normally you do not need to know or care about this because both buttons behave as one - the changes you make to one, such as editing the label text, are reflected on the other version.
several, in which case they must be the first layers in the layer stack. Next comes the MouseOver layer, if there are mouseover effects on the static layer(s). This contains the mouseover states for all your mouseover buttons. This must be followed by the "MouseDown" layer, if you have mousedown effects on the static layer(s). Next you may have a popup layer. If the objects on this popup layer have mouseover effects, then the next layer following the popup layer must be the layer holding those effects.
mouse-over action or a click. So for example if you apply a fade transition, when the popup layer appears it will fade in instead of appearing instantly. 1. Click the layer in the Page & Layer Gallery and click the Properties button at the top of the gallery. 2. Click the Web transition tab of the Layer properties dialog. 3. Choose an effect from the Transition effect drop-down list and move the slider to set a speed for the transition in seconds. 4. Click Apply.
just drag on the rectangle). 3. Create a block of text on top of your rectangle. Select the Text Tool and drag diagonally across the rectangle. Type your text. You probably want to hide the pop-up layer now, so just un-check the 'eye' checkbox of your new layer. 4. Back on the base (MouseOff) layer (click it in the Page & Layer Gallery to set this as current layer) now select the text you want to trigger the pop-up, using the usual method (in the Text tool).
Creating Your Own Mouseover Buttons You can create your own mouseover buttons from scratch by drawing the necessary elements from rectangles, text, etc. Just draw the main parts of the button on the MouseOff layer (remember to group it ) and place the corresponding 'highlight' version on the MouseOver layer. As long as the MouseOff version has a web address link, then the MouseOver version will automatically be displayed as you move the mouse over it on the web page.
which is shown in the same order as displayed by the Page & Layer Gallery (foreground to background). All layers are optional and the layer names can be anything you like, except for the characters shown in Bold, which identify the special mouseover and mousedown layers. MouseDown popup n MouseOver popup n PopUp layer n ... MouseDown popup 1 MouseOver popup 1 Popup layer 1 MouseDown MouseOver Static layer n ...
Pop-up Layers A more powerful alternative allows you to display the contents of any layer as a result of mousing over, or clicking, any object. This can be used for a range of different pop-up effects such as pop-up photos, menus or detailed object descriptions.
If you want the pop-up to only appear when you click, then select the same option on the Link tab of the same Web Properties dialog instead. Note: The mouseover layer appears and disappears as you move the mouse pointer on and off the triggering object. If you use a click method to display the layer (from the Link dialog), then the layer is revealed by a click on the object, and is hidden when you click anywhere else on the page.
Layer ordering in website documents If your website document has mouseover effects, popup layers and perhaps even mouseover effects on those popup layers, there are some important rules you need to follow in terms of how you order the layers in your document. If you don't follow these ordering rules, you may find that some of the effects don't work. Considering the layers in turn from background to foreground (which is working upwards in the Page & Layer Gallery ), first you must have all the static layers.
layer, ignoring the layer structure, use the Paste in current layer option instead. If you want to retain layer structure, choose Paste in place in current layer. These paste options are also in the clipboard fly-out bar on the top bar, as well as the Edit menu. Right click and choose Arrange then Move to layer in front / Move to layer behind to shift the selected objects one layer up or down.
Here are the steps to create a pop-up text block like this: 1. Click New in the Page & Layer Gallery, while you have a layer selected, to create a new layer. 2. Draw a rounded rectangle with the Rectangle Tool, click a (pale) color patch on the Color Line to give it a fill color. For good measure give it a soft shadow (select the Shadow Tool and just drag on the rectangle). 3. Create a block of text on top of your rectangle. Select the Text Tool and drag diagonally across the rectangle. Type your text.
Moving Objects Between Layers There are several ways to move objects between layers. First select the object or objects you want to move, then; Cut the object ("Ctrl + X" or right click and Cut). Ensure the target layer is the current layer (shown with , click the layer if it's not) and then right click and choose Paste or Paste in Place . Note that if you cut or copy multiple items that are on different layers, the layer structure is preserved when you paste.
A more powerful alternative allows you to display the contents of any layer as a result of mousing over, or clicking, any object. This can be used for a range of different pop-up effects such as pop-up photos, menus or detailed object descriptions.
Applying transitions to popup layers You can apply a transition to a popup layer to control how the layer appears, whether it's triggered by a mouse-over action or a click. So for example if you apply a fade transition, when the popup layer appears it will fade in instead of appearing instantly. 1. Click the layer in the Page & Layer Gallery and click the Properties button at the top of the gallery. 2. Click the Web transition tab of the Layer properties dialog. 3.
1. Click New in the Page & Layer Gallery, while you have a layer selected, to create a new layer. 2. Draw a rounded rectangle with the Rectangle Tool, click a (pale) color patch on the Color Line to give it a fill color. For good measure give it a soft shadow (select the Shadow Tool and just drag on the rectangle). 3. Create a block of text on top of your rectangle. Select the Text Tool and drag diagonally across the rectangle. Type your text.
Pop-up Layers A more powerful alternative allows you to display the contents of any layer as a result of mousing over, or clicking, any object. This can be used for a range of different pop-up effects such as pop-up photos, menus or detailed object descriptions.
Pop-up Photos There is a second, easier, way of showing enlarged photos from thumbnails, that does not involve creating new layers. See the Photo section earlier in this chapter. This method is better for when you have large pop-up photos as the pop-up photos are not loaded until the thumbnail image is clicked.
Creating Buttons, Banners And Other Web Graphics Web Designer Premium is great tool for creating any standalone web graphics for use with other programs or other web authoring tools. You can draw these objects from scratch using the drawing tools, or use ready made web clipart from the Designs Gallery. Just draw, design or import an item from the Designs Gallery onto a blank page.
Here you can compare side-by-side two different versions of the same image. For example you can compare a JPEG against a PNG version of the same graphic to compare the quality and / or file size, or you can compare two differently optimized PNG images. Refer to the reference chapter on the Export dialog in the pdf manual. The in the above example the JPEG compression is being adjusted to produce the optimum file size.
Publishing Your Website You will need a web hosting company to host your website. MAGIX Online World is recommended for this, although quite often your existing Internet provider will include 'web space' as part of your normal subscription. The dialog shown below also contains suggested hosting solutions in its Profile list. Most companies also offer the ability to purchase your own domain name (e.g. like www.xara.com) and have this set to point to your web pages.
'http://yourname.magix.net/public/sub-folder', then you'd set a sub-folder to be 'sub-folder'. If you set a sub-folder this way then all the pages in your website will be published to this folder. 6. If you want a sitemap generated for your website, or if you want your site included in the Xara or MAGIX User Gallery, you need to enter the full URL of your published website in the Website URL field. See the Publish tab help for information on sitemaps.
World web address: http://yourname.magix.net/public. Note : If you entered a sub-folder in the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog, your website is saved there. In this case, you have to add the name of the sub-folder to your web address (http://yourname.magix.net/public/sub-folder) to open the page. See the Web Properties Dialog chapter for full details on how to use this dialog. Note: Many web servers use case sensitive filenames. So, for example, the web address xara.com/products.
Document handling In this chapter Starting Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Starting a new document Opening an existing document The Xara Web Designer 7 Premium window Opening a second window Changing the zoom value Sliding the document within the window Changing the page size Multiple pages in the document Saving the document Support folders Closing the document Automatic Backups On-screen grid Rulers View quality Galleries Undo and Redo Page 222
Starting Xara Web Designer 7 Premium To start Web Designer Premium: Choose "Start" > "All programs" > "Xara" > "Xara Web Designer 7 Premium". Or double click the Xara Web Designer 7 Premium icon on your desktop (shown left). This may vary depending on which version of Windows you are using.
Starting a new document Primarily, there are three different types of documents in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium, i.e. web page, photo and animation. To start a new document: Choose "File" > "New" This opens a sub menu with several pre-defined template documents to start from. The first template is the default and is used to create a new document after starting Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. The Animation template is the default template for animation documents.
Opening an existing document To open an existing document: Drag & drop a file. Select the file in Windows Explorer or on your desktop, and drag it over an existing open document to import it into that document, or any other part of the Web Designer Premium window to open the document. Or double click a Web Designer Premium file. Or to open a recently used file, select it from "File" > "Open recent" Or select "File" > "Open" (shortcut "Ctrl + O").
The Xara Web Designer 7 Premium window Title bar File name for currently displayed file Standard button bar Galleries bar InfoBar Toolbar Rulers Page Pasteboard Color line Status line Live drag / snapped indicators Web toolbar Document tabs for every open file The Web Designer Premium window is similar to a conventional sheet of paper on a drawing board or easel. The white rectangle represents the sheet of paper (the spread or page). The gray border is the pasteboard.
documents as tabs at the top of the workspace. The current document is displayed in the workspace and its name is highlighted gray in the document tabs. The current document type is indicated in the top left corner of the Web Designer Premium window, next to the menu options. The current document receives all input. Any unsaved changes in a document are indicated with a star after the file name. Document tabs show all open documents, with the current document tab highlighted gray.
You can hide the rulers, change their zero point (origin), and use them to create guidelines. For more information, see Rulers . The status line Selected objects Available options Indicators Mouse pointer X-Y This appears at the bottom of the window. The status line tells you about the selected objects, available options, live drag/snapping indicators, and the X/Y position of the pointer.
Normal/full screen is controlled by "Window" > "Full Screen" or right click and choose Full Screen ("8" on the numeric keypad). To display the menu bar in full screen mode, move the pointer to the top of the screen.
Selected document and title bar You can have more than one file open at a time in Web Designer Premium, which displays all open documents as tabs at the top of the workspace. The current document is displayed in the workspace and its name is highlighted gray in the document tabs. The current document type is indicated in the top left corner of the Web Designer Premium window, next to the menu options. The current document receives all input.
This is a control bar that initially contains all the tools available in Web Designer Premium (see left). You can customize the toolbar, or move tools to other control bars. Some of the toolbar icons have a small triangle indicator in the bottom right corner. This indicates that there is a flyout bar containing more tool icons. Hold your mouse pointer over the icon to see the flyout bar appear. You can then move the mouse pointer over each icon in the bar to see a tooltip indicating what each one does.
Snapped indicator This indicator is active when Snap to objects is enabled (by default in web documents - click the Snap to objects button (shown on the lower left) to toggle off and on. Snap to objects allows you to see potential snapping paths and points relative to other objects and the page center and edges by showing blue snapping lines for snapping paths and red dots for points as you drag an object. For more information on snapping, refer to "Object Handling ".
Control bars These contain buttons that you can use to operate Web Designer Premium. You can customize control bars in several ways, such as re-ordering, creating, and hiding bars. The default window shows the standard button bar with commonly used buttons: You can customize the standard control bar in the same way as other control bars. Those icons with a triangle indicator in the bottom right corner have "fly-out bars" on them.
Selected objects Available options Indicators Mouse pointer X-Y This appears at the bottom of the window. The status line tells you about the selected objects, available options, live drag/snapping indicators, and the X/Y position of the pointer. The indicators These appear on the right of the status line: Live drag indicator This indicator shows whether live drag is active or not (it is active by default). Double click the indicator to toggle live drag on/off.
InfoBar This is a special control bar. Its contents change when you select different tools. InfoBars specific to certain tools are described in their relevant chapters. You cannot customize the InfoBar. The InfoBar for the Selector Tool Main toolbar This is a control bar that initially contains all the tools available in Web Designer Premium (see left). You can customize the toolbar, or move tools to other control bars. Some of the toolbar icons have a small triangle indicator in the bottom right corner.
Live drag indicator This indicator shows whether live drag is active or not (it is active by default). Double click the indicator to toggle live drag on/off. When active, if you reposition, resize, or rotate an object, the whole object moves (not just an outline), making it far easier to judge the effect of your edits in real time. Drawing in the Freehand, Straight Line, Quickshape, Rectangle and Ellipse Tools is also live with this option on.
Main toolbar This is a control bar that initially contains all the tools available in Web Designer Premium (see left). You can customize the toolbar, or move tools to other control bars. Some of the toolbar icons have a small triangle indicator in the bottom right corner. This indicates that there is a flyout bar containing more tool icons. Hold your mouse pointer over the icon to see the flyout bar appear.
with a particularly complex document, it will automatically turn active drag off to ensure editing remains fast and efficient. Snapped indicator This indicator is active when Snap to objects is enabled (by default in web documents - click the Snap to objects button (shown on the lower left) to toggle off and on.
Rulers You can hide the rulers, change their zero point (origin), and use them to create guidelines. For more information, see Rulers . The status line Selected objects Available options Indicators Mouse pointer X-Y This appears at the bottom of the window. The status line tells you about the selected objects, available options, live drag/snapping indicators, and the X/Y position of the pointer.
screen mode, fullscreen, which displays a more streamlined screen. You can configure each screen mode as you wish. For example, each can have its own configuration of the control bars. The configuration is remembered and applies whenever you swap between screen modes. Normal/full screen is controlled by "Window" > "Full Screen" or right click and choose Full Screen ("8" on the numeric keypad). To display the menu bar in full screen mode, move the pointer to the top of the screen.
The status line Selected objects Available options Indicators Mouse pointer X-Y This appears at the bottom of the window. The status line tells you about the selected objects, available options, live drag/snapping indicators, and the X/Y position of the pointer. The indicators These appear on the right of the status line: Live drag indicator This indicator shows whether live drag is active or not (it is active by default). Double click the indicator to toggle live drag on/off.
The indicators These appear on the right of the status line: Live drag indicator This indicator shows whether live drag is active or not (it is active by default). Double click the indicator to toggle live drag on/off. When active, if you reposition, resize, or rotate an object, the whole object moves (not just an outline), making it far easier to judge the effect of your edits in real time. Drawing in the Freehand, Straight Line, Quickshape, Rectangle and Ellipse Tools is also live with this option on.
X/Y co-ordinates Web Designer Premium shows measurements relative to the bottom left corner of the page area or spread. However, this is configurable. For more information refer to "Object Handling ". Normal/full screen modes In normal screen mode part of the window is occupied by the title bar, menu bar, and scroll bars. This can be inconvenient if you want the maximum possible editing area. Web Designer Premium has a second screen mode, fullscreen, which displays a more streamlined screen.
Normal/full screen modes In normal screen mode part of the window is occupied by the title bar, menu bar, and scroll bars. This can be inconvenient if you want the maximum possible editing area. Web Designer Premium has a second screen mode, fullscreen, which displays a more streamlined screen. You can configure each screen mode as you wish. For example, each can have its own configuration of the control bars. The configuration is remembered and applies whenever you swap between screen modes.
Opening a second window You may want to open a second window onto the same document to: Get an enlarged or reduced view of the document; Show another part of the document; Have two views of the same area at different quality settings (quality settings are described later.) Choose "Window" > "New View" to open another window. You can have several windows open on the same document. Selecting which window to display Each window that you have currently open is displayed as a tab below the infobar.
Selecting which window to display Each window that you have currently open is displayed as a tab below the infobar. Click on a tab to display the window or click on the Window menu and choose a window name at the bottom. Ordering multiple windows "Window" > "Arrange views" helps you organize multiple windows. Each window has its own title bar but no control bars. Click on a window to make it the current window. Pressing "Ctrl + F6" steps through the windows in sequence.
Ordering multiple windows "Window" > "Arrange views" helps you organize multiple windows. Each window has its own title bar but no control bars. Click on a window to make it the current window. Pressing "Ctrl + F6" steps through the windows in sequence. Arrange views displays the windows arranged vertically or, for more than three windows, as tiles. Minimizing multiple windows Minimizing one of several windows displays an icon on the background of the main Web Designer Premium window.
Minimizing multiple windows Minimizing one of several windows displays an icon on the background of the main Web Designer Premium window. Double click the icon to reopen the window.
Changing the zoom value It's often useful to enlarge your view of the document to examine details or reduce your view to get an overall impression. Scalings above 100% show an enlarged view (similar to looking through a magnifying glass); below 100% a reduced view. The only change is your view of the document; the size of the document itself and the objects in it are unchanged (changing the document size is described later). To change the zoom value you can use either the Zoom Tool , mouse, or control bars.
zoom values are retained. Shortcut "1" Click the Zoom to 100% button. The zoom factor is changed to 100%. Shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + J". Click the Zoom to drawing button. The window shows all the objects in the document. Shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + P". Click the Zoom to Page button. The window shows the entire page or pair of pages. Shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + Z". Click the Zoom to Selection button. The selected object or objects fill the window. Type a value into the text box.
Using the Zoom tool To zoom: Select the Zoom Tool from the Main Toolbar. Or press "Alt + Z" to toggle between the current tool and the Zoom Tool. Or press and hold down "Alt + Z" to temporarily swap to the Zoom Tool (release "Alt + Z" to return to the previous tool). Or press "Shift + F7" to select the Zoom Tool. Changing the zoom value using the mouse If you have a mouse wheel: Hold "Ctrl" and scroll your mouse wheel to change the zoom level.
Type a value into the text box. Press " ¿" to implement the change, or select preset zoom values including those above (page, drawing, selected, previous) in the drop-down menu.
Changing the zoom value using the mouse If you have a mouse wheel: Hold "Ctrl" and scroll your mouse wheel to change the zoom level. You can also configure a mouse button to zoom in or out. Furthermore, you can change the mouse wheel action between scrolling and zooming in "Utilities" > "Options" > "Mouse tab" or right click and choose "Page Options" > "Mouse" tab. The opposite action is available then by pressing "Ctrl". Alternatively, select the Zoom Tool , and Click to zoom in (enlarge).
Changing the zoom using the zoom InfoBar/control bar There is a flyout bar on the standard toolbar which gives you quick access to zoom functions, without having to go into the Zoom Tool. There is also a flyout bar on the Zoom Tool icon on the main toolbar. Hold the mouse pointer over the zoom icon on the standard toolbar to see the flyout bar. To change the zoom: Shortcut "Ctrl + R". Click the Previous zoom button. This is the zoom value before the current setting.
Sliding the document within the window The quickest and easiest way to move around the document is to use the middle mouse button (normally the mouse wheel) if you have one. Click and hold the middle button down and then move the mouse. Release the button to return to your previous tool. To move the document within the window you can also: Use the scroll bars and arrows at the side of the window.
Changing the page size When you open a new Web Designer Premium document, the page size is 760 x 700 pixels (SVA web page). However, you can change the page size if required, e.g. to support other screen resolutions such as VGA. 1. Choose Menu "Utilities" > "Options" or right click a page and choose "Page Options". 2. If necessary, click the Page Size tab. 3. Choose the required page size. If you select Custom in the size selector, you can set a custom width and height in the fields below it.
Multiple pages in the document A Xara Web Designer 7 Premium document can have multiple pages. Each page is exported to a separate HTML page and so each document in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium corresponds to a website. By default when you open or create a new web document, Web Designer Premium shows only one page. Print documents however are displayed in multiple page view by default. Right click a page or its pasteboard and select/deselect Multiple Page View to toggle between display modes.
(or press "Ctrl + C"). When you paste a copied page, it is added immediately following the current page. To paste use "Ctrl + V" or right click the page and choose Paste > Page from the context menu. Note: If the document into which you paste a page has the All pages in document the same option enabled in File > Page Options , the dimensions of the pasted page will be overridden by the page dimensions of the document. So the new page will be given the same dimensions as all the other pages in the document.
than their contents) with a thumbnail for each page of the current design. Click on a thumbnail to go to that page. For more information see Page & Layer Gallery .
The current page If you click a page in a multi-page document it will become the current page. The current page is relevant when inserting, duplicating, or moving pages as described in the following sections. The current page in the document is shown by indicators on the page's corners. Inserting pages into your document Right click a page and choose New Page or New double page spread . A new blank page is inserted after the page.
If you wish to move a page's location within the document page order you can do so. To move the current page: Choose "Edit" > "Pages" > "Move page up" or right click and choose Move page up to swap the current page with the one previous to it. Choose "Edit" > "Pages" > "Move page down" or right click and choose Move page down to swap the current page with the one after it. These menu options will be grayed out of if you are on the first or the last page of the document respectively.
Inserting pages into your document Right click a page and choose New Page or New double page spread . A new blank page is inserted after the page. or Right click a page and choose Duplicate current page or Duplicate current double page spread . A duplicate of the current page is inserted after the page. The new page will be the same as the original page, including its size and orientation, and will include all its content so that you can use it as a template for new content.
respectively. Removing pages from your document To delete the current page from your document right click and choose Delete current page or select "Edit" > "Pages" > "Delete current page" . The current page and all its content will be deleted. Navigating between pages As well as the usual methods of moving through your document (such as scrollbars and the mouse wheel), there are also some other ways to navigate through the pages: Page up: Moves up the document. The amount moved depends on your zoom level.
Copying and pasting pages You can copy and paste whole pages in the current document or paste pages to another document. This copies the page dimensions, layers and other page attributes in addition to all the objects on the page. To copy the current page, clear any current selection by pressing Esc or by clicking on an empty part of the page or pasteboard. The status line says "No objects selected". Right click an empty part of a page and choose Copy Page (or press "Ctrl + C").
All of these movements are relative to the page you are viewing, not the current page. Page & Layer Gallery You can also use the Page & Layer Gallery to conveniently manage the pages in your document. It allows you to view, add, duplicate, delete, re-order and rename pages all from a single view. By default the Page & Layer Gallery is open on the right of the Web Designer Premium window in pages mode, only displaying pages (rather than their contents) with a thumbnail for each page of the current design.
Moving pages within the document If you wish to move a page's location within the document page order you can do so. To move the current page: Choose "Edit" > "Pages" > "Move page up" or right click and choose Move page up to swap the current page with the one previous to it. Choose "Edit" > "Pages" > "Move page down" or right click and choose Move page down to swap the current page with the one after it.
Removing pages from your document To delete the current page from your document right click and choose Delete current page or select "Edit" > "Pages" > "Delete current page" . The current page and all its content will be deleted. Navigating between pages As well as the usual methods of moving through your document (such as scrollbars and the mouse wheel), there are also some other ways to navigate through the pages: Page up: Moves up the document. The amount moved depends on your zoom level.
Navigating between pages As well as the usual methods of moving through your document (such as scrollbars and the mouse wheel), there are also some other ways to navigate through the pages: Page up: Moves up the document. The amount moved depends on your zoom level. The further you are zoomed out the bigger the move. Ctrl + Page up: Go to and center on the previous page. Page down: Moves down the document. The amount moved depends on your zoom level. The further you are zoomed out the greater the move.
Page & Layer Gallery You can also use the Page & Layer Gallery to conveniently manage the pages in your document. It allows you to view, add, duplicate, delete, re-order and rename pages all from a single view. By default the Page & Layer Gallery is open on the right of the Web Designer Premium window in pages mode, only displaying pages (rather than their contents) with a thumbnail for each page of the current design. Click on a thumbnail to go to that page. For more information see Page & Layer Gallery .
Saving the document This section covers saving in Web Designer Premium's own format (native format). Refer to Importing and Exporting for details of exporting in other formats. We recommend that you always save documents regularly. A complicated document may represent many hours of work and power failures or computer crashes always happen at just the wrong moment. Make sure you have the automatic backup facility turned on, so that regular backups are taken of your open documents as you work.
Save option (on the File menu) ("Ctrl + S", or click the Save button on the standard control bar.) This provides a quick way to save a document using the same file name. The option is disabled unless the document has unsaved changes, i.e. you have made changes, but haven't saved them to disk. For a new document that has not been saved to disk, this option acts like "Save as" (described below).
Save as (on the File menu) This opens a dialog box letting you save the document under a different name or to a different directory. This option is useful for making backups of Web Designer Premium documents. Save all (on the File menu) This acts like a series of Save or Save As commands to save all currently open files.
Save all (on the File menu) This acts like a series of Save or Save As commands to save all currently open files.
Support folders Some documents which are used to create websites need to reference external files which cannot be embedded in the .xar design file. For example you may have a Flash (.swf) file which is used on your website and so you'll want to keep that file with the design file because you can't export a fully working website from the design file without also having the Flash file.
Support folder naming The design file and its corresponding support folder are tied together by their names. The support folder for "mySite.xar" is always "mySite_xar_files". This naming convention makes it obvious which support folder belongs to which design file. So if you rename, copy or move a design file, always remember to do the same to the corresponding support folder, if it exists! And if you send a design file to someone else, send any support files folder along with it.
Support folder contents When you use the Placeholder Tab of the Web Properties dialog to insert a reference to an external file into your website design (using the Browse buttons), Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will automatically copy that file into the design's support folder for you. If the support folder doesn't already exist, it will be created.
Exporting websites with support folders When you export a website document, any files in the corresponding support folder are copied to the folder which contains all the generated images for your website. So if you export "mySite.xar" to "index.htm", then any files in folder "mySite_xar_files" are copied into the "index_htm_files folder".
Closing the document To close the document: Choose "File" > "Close". Or press "Ctrl + F4", or "Ctrl + W". Or click the smaller, lower X of the two in the top right hand corner.
Automatic Backups Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will optionally save regular backup copies of your open documents while you work. This helps you avoid losing your work in the event of a power failure or other abnormal program closure. It's also useful if you decide to return to an earlier version of your document, should you want to do so. To turn automatic backups on or off, open the "Utilities" > "Options" dialog and choose the Backups tab.
automatically. Each backup file is named using the name of the document from which it is taken, suffixed by the date and time at which the backup was taken. Warning : Note that if you have multiple documents that share the same filename in different folders on your computer, their backups will also share the same names in the backups folder. Therefore try and use unique filenames for your designs to avoid the backups of one design overwriting another with the same name.
which the backup was taken. It's treated as an independent document in its own right. Therefore if you decide to keep a backup document you should use "File" > "Save As" to save it elsewhere with a suitable name.
Backup open documents To turn backups on select this checkbox and choose how often you would like backups to be taken. The suggested period is 10 mins, which means each open document will be backed up if it's more than 10 mins since the last backup of that document was taken (or since the document was created or opened). Note that once the configured period since the last backup has expired, the next backup is only saved when the program has been idle for at least 15 secs.
The Backups tab in the Options dialog also allows you to turn on automatic backup and restore . When this option is on, when the you close Xara Web Designer 7 Premium you will not be prompted to save any modified documents that you have open. Instead all open documents are backed up to the backups folder and the program closes. Then when you next start the program, the same documents are automatically reloaded so that you can continue working where you left off.
Backup location User the Browse button if you want to change the folder where your backups are stored. You can access the backup documents saved here at any time using the "File" > "Open recent" > " Backups" menu option. This opens a file dialog onto your backup folder so that you can browse, open, or delete any of your backup files. Revisions By default up to 10 revisions of each design are kept in your backups folder, but you can choose to change this number in the revisions field.
Backups on system shut down If you shut down Windows without first closing the program, all open documents are backed up to the backup folder even if 'Backup open documents on program close' is not turned on. This allows system shutdown to proceed without Xara Web Designer 7 Premium interrupting it by prompting you about unsaved or modified documents. On next program startup you'll be asked whether or not you want to restore the documents that were open at the time of the system shut down.
Revisions By default up to 10 revisions of each design are kept in your backups folder, but you can choose to change this number in the revisions field. Older revisions in excess of the number chosen are deleted automatically. Each backup file is named using the name of the document from which it is taken, suffixed by the date and time at which the backup was taken.
You can access your document backups using the "File" > "Open recent" > "Backups" menu option. This opens a file dialog onto your backup folder so that you can browse, open, or delete any of your backup files. It's a good idea to use this file dialog to clear out any old unwanted backups periodically. Note that when you load a backup document, it is not automatically associated with the design file from which the backup was taken. It's treated as an independent document in its own right.
Untitled documents Documents that you have created and not saved are backed up using the name "Untitled" followed by a number and the date/time. This name and number corresponds to those shown in the titlebar when you are editing new unsaved documents. Warning : Since all new unsaved documents are named Untitled1, Untitled2, etc. backups of these documents are likely to be overwritten relatively quickly.
Backup open documents on program close The Backups tab in the Options dialog also allows you to turn on automatic backup and restore . When this option is on, when the you close Xara Web Designer 7 Premium you will not be prompted to save any modified documents that you have open. Instead all open documents are backed up to the backups folder and the program closes. Then when you next start the program, the same documents are automatically reloaded so that you can continue working where you left off.
Recovering from abnormal program closures If you have automatic backups turned on and the program closes abnormally (perhaps due to a power failure for example) the program should detect this when it is next restarted. It will then offer you the chance to restore the most recent backup version of each document that was open at the time of the last backup. Abnormal closure will not be detected if no automatic backup completed since the last normal program closure.
Backups on system shut down If you shut down Windows without first closing the program, all open documents are backed up to the backup folder even if 'Backup open documents on program close' is not turned on. This allows system shutdown to proceed without Xara Web Designer 7 Premium interrupting it by prompting you about unsaved or modified documents. On next program startup you'll be asked whether or not you want to restore the documents that were open at the time of the system shut down.
Recovering backups You can access your document backups using the "File" > "Open recent" > "Backups" menu option. This opens a file dialog onto your backup folder so that you can browse, open, or delete any of your backup files. It's a good idea to use this file dialog to clear out any old unwanted backups periodically. Note that when you load a backup document, it is not automatically associated with the design file from which the backup was taken. It's treated as an independent document in its own right.
On-screen grid To help you lay out your document, Web Designer Premium can display a grid on the screen (the grid appears only on the screen; it is never exported or printed.) The grid helps you align objects (similar to using graph paper as a drawing aid). Right click and choose "Show Grid/Guides" > "Show Grid" to turn display of the grid on/off or choose "Snap to" > "Snap to Grid". You can also choose "Window" > "Snap to Grid" .
Rulers Rulers are turned off by default. To turn them on: Right click and choose "Show Grid/Guides" > "Show Rulers" to turn display of the grid on/off. Press "Ctrl + Shift + R". Or select "Window" > "Bars" > "Show Rulers". Web Designer Premium uses rulers to: Control text margins, tabs and indents in the Text Tool. Let you know which part of the page you are viewing; Show the current pointer X/Y position; Apply guidelines.
Displaying/hiding rulers Right click and choose "Show Grid/Guides" > "Show Rulers" ("Ctrl + Shift + R") to turn rulers on/off. Any change applies to the current window and subsequent windows you open. It does not affect other open windows. Changing the ruler zero points It is often easier to measure objects if you align the origin (0,0) point of the rulers with the object. To move the origin (0,0) point, drag the square at the intersection of the two rulers.
Changing the ruler zero points It is often easier to measure objects if you align the origin (0,0) point of the rulers with the object. To move the origin (0,0) point, drag the square at the intersection of the two rulers. You can drag vertically or horizontally along the rulers or over any part of the Web Designer Premium editing window. As you do, a dotted line will outline the new position. This also moves the grid origin so that divisions on the ruler always align with the grid.
View quality There are five different quality settings available in the "Windows" > "Quality" menu, which affect how the document appears in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium: Outline only. This is now fully anti-aliased for higher quality screen display. Outline with blend steps. Full color (no anti-aliasing). High quality (full anti-aliasing and image smoothing) Very high quality (best anti-aliasing in the industry. New bi-cubic photo display considerably improves the quality of scaled down photos).
Galleries Xara Web Designer 7 Premium uses galleries to provide convenient access to libraries of content such as templates, fonts, colors, clip-art, line attributes, and bitmaps/photos. This section of the help gives general information on features which are common to multiple galleries. Individual sections describe features specific to a particular gallery.
1. Click or hover the mouse pointer over the vertical tab for the gallery to the right of the workspace (the gallery bar). The gallery opens automatically. When you move the mouse pointer away from the gallery, it automatically closes. 2. To keep a gallery open while you work, click the Auto Hide (pin) button in its top right corner. The Auto Hide button changes so the pin points downwards to indicate that the gallery is now 'pinned' to the workspace. 3. To close a 'pinned' gallery, see Closing a Gallery.
When you click and drag on a dockable gallery's title bar, a number of arrows appear on the workspace, indicating where you can dock the gallery. Dragging a gallery causes docking arrows to appear in the center, top, bottom, left and right of the workspace. Dock the gallery by dragging it to an arrow. Example of a gallery that has been docked to the left of the workspace To dock a gallery: 1. Click and drag the gallery to the arrow pointing towards the location where you want to place the gallery.
tab will be displayed in the new location. 4. Hover over or click its tab to reopen the gallery. Note: To move all galleries back to their default position, choose Control Bars from the Window menu, click Galleries then Reset . Grouping galleries You can arrange two or more frequently-used galleries so that they are next to each other. 1. To move a second gallery so that it is adjacent to a gallery you have previously docked, click and drag the second gallery to the four arrows in the workspace center. 2.
nearest to the last docking location. Using galleries To fold or unfold a section in a gallery: Click the Fold/Unfold icon. Or double click the title strip. Or right click a section to display a pop-up menu. Select Fold/Unfold section. The pop-up menu also has options to scroll to the previous section or next section. This illustration shows the gallery is unfolded. Other galleries are similar. The buttons along the top depend on the gallery (e.g. Fill and Transp are specific to the Bitmap Gallery .
Selecting items To select an item: Click an item to select it. Or click an item, then "Shift + click" on another item; all items in between the two points will be selected. Or "Ctrl + click" to add that item to the selection. Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria. The primary key controls the initial sort.
Closing a gallery By default a gallery's Auto Hide button is enabled (i.e., the gallery's Auto Hide button in the top right corner is unpinned), so that the gallery closes automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from it. However if you have disabled the Auto Hide button (pinned the gallery), you have to close the gallery manually. To close a free-floating gallery, click the Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar.
Displaying a gallery To display a gallery: 1. Click or hover the mouse pointer over the vertical tab for the gallery to the right of the workspace (the gallery bar). The gallery opens automatically. When you move the mouse pointer away from the gallery, it automatically closes. 2. To keep a gallery open while you work, click the Auto Hide (pin) button in its top right corner. The Auto Hide button changes so the pin points downwards to indicate that the gallery is now 'pinned' to the workspace. 3.
Bitmap Line Fill When you click and drag on a dockable gallery's title bar, a number of arrows appear on the workspace, indicating where you can dock the gallery. Dragging a gallery causes docking arrows to appear in the center, top, bottom, left and right of the workspace. Dock the gallery by dragging it to an arrow. Example of a gallery that has been docked to the left of the workspace To dock a gallery: 1.
2. When the mouse pointer reaches the arrow, a gray transparent box highlights the gallery's new location. 3. Let go of the mouse button to dock the gallery. Now when you close or 'auto hide' the gallery, its tab will be displayed in the new location. 4. Hover over or click its tab to reopen the gallery. Note: To move all galleries back to their default position, choose Control Bars from the Window menu, click Galleries then Reset .
Premium adds it to the group and its tab displayed at the bottom of the group. 6. When you dock a gallery group, all galleries within the group are also docked. When you auto hide or close a gallery group, all gallery tabs in the group are displayed in the workspace border nearest to the last docking location. Using galleries To fold or unfold a section in a gallery: Click the Fold/Unfold icon. Or double click the title strip. Or right click a section to display a pop-up menu.
Remove (clipart, fill, and fonts galleries) is described later in deleting sections from a gallery. Selecting items To select an item: Click an item to select it. Or click an item, then "Shift + click" on another item; all items in between the two points will be selected. Or "Ctrl + click" to add that item to the selection. Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria.
If you later want the section again, add its folder to the gallery (described earlier). Closing a gallery By default a gallery's Auto Hide button is enabled (i.e., the gallery's Auto Hide button in the top right corner is unpinned), so that the gallery closes automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from it. However if you have disabled the Auto Hide button (pinned the gallery), you have to close the gallery manually.
Moving and docking a gallery You can 'detach' any gallery from the gallery bar and move it to a more convenient location anywhere in the workspace. You can also dock the gallery (or a gallery group, see Grouping Galleries) in the top, bottom, left or right of the workspace. You can move a gallery anywhere in the workspace To move a gallery: 1. Open a gallery and click the Auto Hide button to pin the gallery.
Dragging a gallery causes docking arrows to appear in the center, top, bottom, left and right of the workspace. Dock the gallery by dragging it to an arrow. Example of a gallery that has been docked to the left of the workspace To dock a gallery: 1. Click and drag the gallery to the arrow pointing towards the location where you want to place the gallery. For example, if you want the gallery at the top of the screen, move it to the upward pointing arrow at the top of the workspace. 2.
Note: To move all galleries back to their default position, choose Control Bars from the Window menu, click Galleries then Reset . Grouping galleries You can arrange two or more frequently-used galleries so that they are next to each other. 1. To move a second gallery so that it is adjacent to a gallery you have previously docked, click and drag the second gallery to the four arrows in the workspace center. 2.
Using galleries To fold or unfold a section in a gallery: Click the Fold/Unfold icon. Or double click the title strip. Or right click a section to display a pop-up menu. Select Fold/Unfold section. The pop-up menu also has options to scroll to the previous section or next section. This illustration shows the gallery is unfolded. Other galleries are similar. The buttons along the top depend on the gallery (e.g. Fill and Transp are specific to the Bitmap Gallery .
Click an item to select it. Or click an item, then "Shift + click" on another item; all items in between the two points will be selected. Or "Ctrl + click" to add that item to the selection. Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria. The primary key controls the initial sort.
button in the top right corner is unpinned), so that the gallery closes automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from it. However if you have disabled the Auto Hide button (pinned the gallery), you have to close the gallery manually. To close a free-floating gallery, click the Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar. To close a docked gallery, click the Auto Hide (pin) or Close button in the top right of the gallery.
Grouping galleries You can arrange two or more frequently-used galleries so that they are next to each other. 1. To move a second gallery so that it is adjacent to a gallery you have previously docked, click and drag the second gallery to the four arrows in the workspace center. 2. Let go of the mouse when you are over the arrow pointing towards the previously moved (first) gallery. The second gallery docks next to the first.
Or double click the title strip. Or right click a section to display a pop-up menu. Select Fold/Unfold section. The pop-up menu also has options to scroll to the previous section or next section. This illustration shows the gallery is unfolded. Other galleries are similar. The buttons along the top depend on the gallery (e.g. Fill and Transp are specific to the Bitmap Gallery .) However, most galleries have these buttons: Apply applies the selected item in the gallery. Click on an item to select it.
Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria. The primary key controls the initial sort. For some sort parameters such as file type or name length, there may be two or more files with the same type or name length. These files can be further sorted using the secondary key. Searching for an item name You can search, for example, for all names containing the word red: 1. Choose "More" > "Find". 2.
button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar. To close a docked gallery, click the Auto Hide (pin) or Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the workspace border where you docked it. To re-open the gallery, hover over or click on its tab. Note: To remove a gallery completely, choose Galleries from the Utilities menu and choose the gallery you want removed.
Using galleries To fold or unfold a section in a gallery: Click the Fold/Unfold icon. Or double click the title strip. Or right click a section to display a pop-up menu. Select Fold/Unfold section. The pop-up menu also has options to scroll to the previous section or next section. This illustration shows the gallery is unfolded. Other galleries are similar. The buttons along the top depend on the gallery (e.g. Fill and Transp are specific to the Bitmap Gallery .
To select an item: Click an item to select it. Or click an item, then "Shift + click" on another item; all items in between the two points will be selected. Or "Ctrl + click" to add that item to the selection. Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria. The primary key controls the initial sort.
By default a gallery's Auto Hide button is enabled (i.e., the gallery's Auto Hide button in the top right corner is unpinned), so that the gallery closes automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from it. However if you have disabled the Auto Hide button (pinned the gallery), you have to close the gallery manually. To close a free-floating gallery, click the Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar.
Selecting items To select an item: Click an item to select it. Or click an item, then "Shift + click" on another item; all items in between the two points will be selected. Or "Ctrl + click" to add that item to the selection. Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria. The primary key controls the initial sort.
Closing a gallery By default a gallery's Auto Hide button is enabled (i.e., the gallery's Auto Hide button in the top right corner is unpinned), so that the gallery closes automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from it. However if you have disabled the Auto Hide button (pinned the gallery), you have to close the gallery manually. To close a free-floating gallery, click the Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar.
Re-ordering items in the gallery In some galleries, "More" > "Sort" opens a dialog box. You can sort by name and, depending on the gallery, by other criteria. The primary key controls the initial sort. For some sort parameters such as file type or name length, there may be two or more files with the same type or name length. These files can be further sorted using the secondary key. Searching for an item name You can search, for example, for all names containing the word red: 1. Choose "More" > "Find". 2.
button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar. To close a docked gallery, click the Auto Hide (pin) or Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the workspace border where you docked it. To re-open the gallery, hover over or click on its tab. Note: To remove a gallery completely, choose Galleries from the Utilities menu and choose the gallery you want removed.
Searching for an item name You can search, for example, for all names containing the word red: 1. Choose "More" > "Find". 2. Type "red" into the text box. 3. Select "Search Names & Keywords" to search only the item names, e.g. file, color, etc., or "Search All Information" to search the names and keywords available in some galleries. Adding to a gallery You may want to add extra items to these galleries (Design & Fill Galleries only). To do this: 1.
Removing a gallery from the workspace By default, when you close a gallery, Web Designer Premium returns it to the gallery bar so that you can reopen it by hovering the cursor over its icon or tab. However you can configure Web Designer Premium to remove any gallery from the workspace if it's not needed. To remove unwanted galleries from the workspace, do one of the following: Choose Galleries from the Utilities menu and choose the gallery you want removed.
Adding to a gallery You may want to add extra items to these galleries (Design & Fill Galleries only). To do this: 1. Copy the files you want to add into a new directory (folder) using the Windows Explorer. o For the Designs Gallery these files can be any of a wide range of vector or bitmap file types. o For the Fill Gallery they can be any of the bitmap formats supported by Web Designer Premium (listed in importing and exporting). 2. In the appropriate gallery, click the Disc Designs/Fills button.
to find Galleries. Click the Galleries box to show the Galleries toolbar. Click Close. In the Galleries toolbar that is now displayed above the workspace, you can toggle display of a gallery by clicking its toolbar button.
Deleting sections from a gallery To delete a section from a gallery (Designs & Fill Galleries only): 1. Click on the title strip of the section or sections you want to delete. 2. Click "Remove". If you later want the section again, add its folder to the gallery (described earlier). Closing a gallery By default a gallery's Auto Hide button is enabled (i.e.
Closing a gallery By default a gallery's Auto Hide button is enabled (i.e., the gallery's Auto Hide button in the top right corner is unpinned), so that the gallery closes automatically when you move the mouse pointer away from it. However if you have disabled the Auto Hide button (pinned the gallery), you have to close the gallery manually. To close a free-floating gallery, click the Close button in the top right of the gallery. The gallery closes and its tab is displayed in the gallery bar.
Removing a gallery from the workspace By default, when you close a gallery, Web Designer Premium returns it to the gallery bar so that you can reopen it by hovering the cursor over its icon or tab. However you can configure Web Designer Premium to remove any gallery from the workspace if it's not needed. To remove unwanted galleries from the workspace, do one of the following: Choose Galleries from the Utilities menu and choose the gallery you want removed.
Restoring the default control bars/galleries Choose "Window" > "Control Bars" and click Reset to restore the control bar setup to the default setting.
Undo and Redo What are undo and redo? We all make mistakes or change our minds. Web Designer Premium makes it easy to correct mistakes or cancel unwanted changes. Every action you make is recorded in an undo list which lets you undo not just the last operation, but also to step back by undoing successive operations. In this way, you can experiment freely knowing that you can always undo anything that doesn't look correct.
What are undo and redo? We all make mistakes or change our minds. Web Designer Premium makes it easy to correct mistakes or cancel unwanted changes. Every action you make is recorded in an undo list which lets you undo not just the last operation, but also to step back by undoing successive operations. In this way, you can experiment freely knowing that you can always undo anything that doesn't look correct.
The undo command "Undo " cancels the effects of the last operation. To undo an operation: Click Undo on the standard control bar. Or choose "Edit" > "Undo" (the exact wording tells you what the next undo step is, i.e. undo scale). Or press "Ctrl + Z". Or press the comma key (in any tool except the Text Tool). You can repeat the undo command to step back through the sequence of previous operations.
The redo command Redo cancels the last undo command. To redo the last operation: Click the Redo button on the standard control bar. Or choose "Edit" > "Redo" (the exact wording tells you what the next redo step is, i.e. redo scale). Or press "Ctrl + Y". Or press the period (full stop) key (in any tool except the Text Tool). You can only redo immediately after undo. You cannot redo after changing the document (for example, by moving or adding an object).
Object Handling In this chapter The Selector Tool Moving objects Removing objects from the document Duplicating and cloning Moving objects forward and backwards Rotating objects Scaling (resizing) objects Flipping objects Stretching and squashing objects Skewing objects The Mold tool Snapping Guide Objects and Guidelines Summary of shortcuts on the numeric keypad Grouping and ungrouping objects Soft Groups Alignment Copying Styles: Paste Attributes Naming objects Repeating Objects Page 340
The Selector Tool The Selector Tool is the main tool for selecting, moving, scaling, and rotating objects. It is typically used more than any other tool and is the central tool for manipulating documents. Dimensions of selection % size controls Lock aspect ratio Rotate and skew Flip Scale line widths Apply names To use the Selector Tool : Click on the Selector Tool on the Main toolbar. Or press "Alt + S", "V", or "F2".
Selecting objects To select a single object, click on any visible part of the object. Change object selection Once an object is selected, you can use the following keys to change the selection: End selects the back object. Home selects the front object. "Tab" selects the next object towards the back. "Shift + Tab" selects the next object towards the front. Front and back objects are described in "Object handling ". Marquee selection To select multiple objects, press and hold down the mouse button.
Or you can use the arrow keys ?on the keyboard to nudge the object. Selecting and layers You cannot select objects in locked or invisible layers. See "Page & Layer Gallery " for more details on layers. Selecting all objects To select all objects: Choose "Edit" > "Select all", Or press "Ctrl + A". Deselecting an object To deselect all objects: Click anywhere on an unused part of the document, Or choose "Edit" > "Clear selection", Or press "Esc".
Change object selection Once an object is selected, you can use the following keys to change the selection: End selects the back object. Home selects the front object. "Tab" selects the next object towards the back. "Shift + Tab" selects the next object towards the front. Front and back objects are described in "Object handling ". Marquee selection To select multiple objects, press and hold down the mouse button.
Selecting and layers You cannot select objects in locked or invisible layers. See "Page & Layer Gallery " for more details on layers. Selecting all objects To select all objects: Choose "Edit" > "Select all", Or press "Ctrl + A". Deselecting an object To deselect all objects: Click anywhere on an unused part of the document, Or choose "Edit" > "Clear selection", Or press "Esc". To deselect one object from several: "Shift + click" on the object. This deselects that object.
Marquee selection To select multiple objects, press and hold down the mouse button. Dragging the mouse draws a selection rectangle, and all objects wholly within the selection rectangle are selected. Some other drawing programs call this marquee selection. If you have an object in the way which is preventing you from drawing a rectangle because you end up moving the object, hold down " " while dragging out the selection rectangle. Extend Selection To select additional objects: "Shift + click" on them.
Deselecting an object To deselect all objects: Click anywhere on an unused part of the document, Or choose "Edit" > "Clear selection", Or press "Esc". To deselect one object from several: "Shift + click" on the object. This deselects that object. Other objects remain selected. Selection markers Each selected object displays a single selection marker to show it is selected. This is a useful reminder when selecting and deselecting several objects.
Extend Selection To select additional objects: "Shift + click" on them. Or "Shift + drag" the mouse pointer. This draws a selection rectangle and adds objects within the rectangle to the selection. Select under Hold down "Alt" to select objects hidden by other objects. By "Alt + clicking" you can step through several overlapping objects. Select inside You can select an object that's inside a group or other container object by holding down "Ctrl" while you click on it. This is called selecting inside.
Selection markers Each selected object displays a single selection marker to show it is selected. This is a useful reminder when selecting and deselecting several objects. Status line The status line at the bottom of the window also describes what is selected. Selection bounds handles Selection bounds handles let you scale and stretch selected objects. See Stretching and squashing objects for more details. Successive clicks on an object alternate between showing selection bounds and rotation handles.
Select under Hold down "Alt" to select objects hidden by other objects. By "Alt + clicking" you can step through several overlapping objects. Select inside You can select an object that's inside a group or other container object by holding down "Ctrl" while you click on it. This is called selecting inside. The object you click on will always become selected, even if it's deep down inside several levels of nested groups.
Each selected object displays a single selection marker to show it is selected. This is a useful reminder when selecting and deselecting several objects. Status line The status line at the bottom of the window also describes what is selected. Selection bounds handles Selection bounds handles let you scale and stretch selected objects. See Stretching and squashing objects for more details. Successive clicks on an object alternate between showing selection bounds and rotation handles.
Select inside You can select an object that's inside a group or other container object by holding down "Ctrl" while you click on it. This is called selecting inside. The object you click on will always become selected, even if it's deep down inside several levels of nested groups. When you have such deep nesting of groups, sometimes you may want to select one of the nested groups (a group inside another group). If you hold down the "Alt" and "Ctrl" keys while you click you can do this easily.
Selection bounds handles Selection bounds handles let you scale and stretch selected objects. See Stretching and squashing objects for more details. Successive clicks on an object alternate between showing selection bounds and rotation handles. Tab With any selected object, pressing "Tab" and "Shift + Tab" will move through the selected objects (previous and next object in the document).
Moving objects selected under or inside If you need to move a selected object that's either under others or inside a group, then just dragging doesn't work as it will select and drag a different object. To overcome this hold "Ctrl + Alt" and start dragging. This will always drag the existing selected object. You can let go of the keys once you've started dragging. Or you can use the arrow keys ï€ on the keyboard to nudge the object.
Tab With any selected object, pressing "Tab" and "Shift + Tab" will move through the selected objects (previous and next object in the document).
Selecting and layers You cannot select objects in locked or invisible layers. See "Page & Layer Gallery " for more details on layers. Selecting all objects To select all objects: Choose "Edit" > "Select all", Or press "Ctrl + A". Deselecting an object To deselect all objects: Click anywhere on an unused part of the document, Or choose "Edit" > "Clear selection", Or press "Esc". To deselect one object from several: "Shift + click" on the object. This deselects that object.
Selecting all objects To select all objects: Choose "Edit" > "Select all", Or press "Ctrl + A". Deselecting an object To deselect all objects: Click anywhere on an unused part of the document, Or choose "Edit" > "Clear selection", Or press "Esc". To deselect one object from several: "Shift + click" on the object. This deselects that object. Other objects remain selected. Selection markers Each selected object displays a single selection marker to show it is selected.
Deselecting an object To deselect all objects: Click anywhere on an unused part of the document, Or choose "Edit" > "Clear selection", Or press "Esc". To deselect one object from several: "Shift + click" on the object. This deselects that object. Other objects remain selected. Selection markers Each selected object displays a single selection marker to show it is selected. This is a useful reminder when selecting and deselecting several objects.
Selection markers Each selected object displays a single selection marker to show it is selected. This is a useful reminder when selecting and deselecting several objects. Status line The status line at the bottom of the window also describes what is selected. Selection bounds handles Selection bounds handles let you scale and stretch selected objects. See Stretching and squashing objects for more details. Successive clicks on an object alternate between showing selection bounds and rotation handles.
Status line The status line at the bottom of the window also describes what is selected. Selection bounds handles Selection bounds handles let you scale and stretch selected objects. See Stretching and squashing objects for more details. Successive clicks on an object alternate between showing selection bounds and rotation handles. Tab With any selected object, pressing "Tab" and "Shift + Tab" will move through the selected objects (previous and next object in the document).
Selection bounds handles Selection bounds handles let you scale and stretch selected objects. See Stretching and squashing objects for more details. Successive clicks on an object alternate between showing selection bounds and rotation handles. Tab With any selected object, pressing "Tab" and "Shift + Tab" will move through the selected objects (previous and next object in the document).
Tab With any selected object, pressing "Tab" and "Shift + Tab" will move through the selected objects (previous and next object in the document).
Moving objects To slide an object across the page 1. Choose the Selector Tool. 2. Drag the object to the required position. Hold down "Ctrl" to restrict the direction of movement to one of the constrain angles. The constrain angles are user definable. Refer to "Customizing Web Designer Premium " Hold down "Ctrl + Alt" and you can drag the selected object even if the pointer is not over it. This is useful when the selected object is hidden behind another object or part of a group.
Usually you can move an object a small amount by using the arrow?keys to nudge the object (these keys sometimes have other uses, especially in the Text Tool ). Nudging is not affected by either magnetic or grid snapping (snapping is described later).
Paste format/attributes Preserves the format (e.g., font and font size) or style attributes (e.g., line and fill color) of the pasted object. Paste position This option applies the position of a copied object on the clipboard to a currently selected object, which moves to the exact same position as the copied object.
Drop copy During a move (and while still holding the left mouse button down) click the right mouse button or press + on the numeric keypad to drop a copy of the object. The original object doesn't move. You can do this as many times as you wish to create a series of duplicated objects. You can also hold down the right mouse button and drag a copy of the object. Left click to leave a copy at the current mouse position.
layer by first making it the current layer and then choosing "Edit" > "Paste" > "Paste in layer" or "Paste in place in current layer" . The layer from which the objects were copied is ignored in this case. However if the objects you copy are on several different layers , then the layer structure is maintained when you paste. This allows you to copy layered data within a document or to a different document. Any layers which are missing in the target document are created automatically by this operation.
Paste in current layer The same as Paste in place, except your object will only be pasted into the current layer. This is useful if you want to display or hide just your pasted object when layers above or below are displayed. Paste in place in current layer The same as Paste in current layer, except your object will be pasted into the current layer in the exact same position from which you copied it.
Fills Usually, moving an object also moves the fill with it: Normal move left to right with a linear filled object. This also applies to rotating, skewing, scaling and stretching objects. Web Designer Premium can also move the object but not the fill origin. To do this click the "−" key on the numeric keypad during the move. The same move, but pressing "−" (minus) during the drag.
layer, to a new document, the MouseOff and MouseOver layers will be created if they don't already exist and the button objects copied onto them. "Ctrl + Shift + V" or "Edit" > "Paste in place" pastes the clipboard contents into the same X/Y position from where they were cut or copied. This only applies to objects cut or copied from within Web Designer Premium. Objects imported from other programs are always pasted into the center of the current view.
except your object will be pasted into the current layer in the exact same position from which you copied it.
Nudging objects Usually you can move an object a small amount by using the arrowï€ keys to nudge the object (these keys sometimes have other uses, especially in the Text Tool ). Nudging is not affected by either magnetic or grid snapping (snapping is described later).
Paste unformatted text Pastes any text on the clipboard into your document without any formatting. Paste format/attributes Preserves the format (e.g., font and font size) or style attributes (e.g., line and fill color) of the pasted object. Paste position This option applies the position of a copied object on the clipboard to a currently selected object, which moves to the exact same position as the copied object.
Cut, copy and paste These let you move or copy an object in the same document or between different documents. The procedure is: 1. Select the object. 2. To remove the object, choose "Edit" > "Cut" (or "Ctrl + X"). To copy the object but not remove it, choose "Edit" > "Copy" (or "Ctrl + C"). Either option puts the object (or a copy of it) onto the clipboard. 3. Choose "Edit" > "Paste", "Ctrl + V", or "Insert". This pastes the clipboard contents into the document.
If you have multiple items selected when you 'paste size', each of those objects is made the target size, instead of the selection as a whole. So for example if you copy a 200x200 pixel photo, then select 10 other photos and 'paste size', all 10 photos each become 200x200 pixels. This gives a quick way to make a bunch of objects a particular size.
Removing objects from the document First select the objects you want to remove. You can then either cut the objects to the clipboard or delete them. Cutting objects Choose "Edit" > "Cut", or press "Ctrl + X".The contents of the clipboard are overwritten and you can paste the deleted object(s) somewhere else if desired. Deleting objects Right click and choose Delete or choose Delete from the Edit menu, or press the "Delete" key, or click the delete button on the Standard control bar.
Cutting objects Choose "Edit" > "Cut", or press "Ctrl + X".The contents of the clipboard are overwritten and you can paste the deleted object(s) somewhere else if desired. Deleting objects Right click and choose Delete or choose Delete from the Edit menu, or press the "Delete" key, or click the delete button on the Standard control bar. In this case the deleted objects are not put onto the clipboard. If you accidentally delete an object, undo retrieves it.
Deleting objects Right click and choose Delete or choose Delete from the Edit menu, or press the "Delete" key, or click the delete button on the Standard control bar. In this case the deleted objects are not put onto the clipboard. If you accidentally delete an object, undo retrieves it.
Duplicating and cloning Both these options create a copy of the selected object. The original object is deselected and the duplicate or clone becomes the selected object. You can also duplicate an object during moving, rotating, scaling, or skewing. During the drag action (and while still holding the left mouse button down) click the right mouse button or press "+" on the numeric keypad to drop a copy of the object. The original object doesn't move.
Duplicating Right click and choose Duplicate, or choose "Edit" > "Duplicate ", or press "Ctrl + D". The copy is displaced slightly, usually down and to the right, from the original. The duplicate distance is user definable, see "Customizing Web Designer Premium " Cloning Choose "Edit" > "Clone", or press "Ctrl + K". This places a copy exactly on top of the original. Cloning is an easy way to create concentric shapes.
Cloning Choose "Edit" > "Clone", or press "Ctrl + K". This places a copy exactly on top of the original. Cloning is an easy way to create concentric shapes. This example uses an original large letter "A" with a black fill and a 4pt thick white outline and a clone with no fill and a 1pt black line.
Moving objects forward and backwards Complex documents have objects stacked on top of each other, such as this target: The target on the left is made from three circles stacked on top of each other. To ensure that objects overlay each other in the correct order, you often need to rearrange their order from front to back. The front object always covers lower objects, and objects always cover other objects which are further back. Each new object you create is always created on top of older ones.
Rotating objects This is part of the Selector Tool . When in rotate mode, the transformation center (around which the object rotates) initially appears in the center of the object, as shown by a small target like this. Simply click on an object again to put the selector into rotate mode. To move the transformation center, drag the transformation center target where required.
the object by dragging with the mouse.
Rotating using the mouse The Selector Tool must be in rotate/skew mode (the selection handles are arrow shaped). Dragging the side handles stretches the object. This is described in Stretching and squashing objects. Drag on a corner arrow. As you drag, the object rotates around the transformation center. The InfoBar shows the current rotate angle. " + drag" to rotate the object around its center (the transformation center is ignored). Hold down "Ctrl" to restrict rotation to the constrain angles.
Rotating by exact angles (using the InfoBar) Type an angle into the rotate box and press " ¿". Positive angles rotate anti-clockwise and negative angles rotate clockwise. Click the arrows to the right to nudge the rotate angle. Rotating objects in Resize Mode It is possible to rotate and skew an object even if not in rotate mode. Using resize mode, move the mouse pointer into the according small areas near the selection area handles as illustrated above.
Rotating objects in Resize Mode It is possible to rotate and skew an object even if not in rotate mode. Using resize mode, move the mouse pointer into the according small areas near the selection area handles as illustrated above. The mouse pointer changes into a rotate or skew icon, showing you that you are now able to rotate or skew the object by dragging with the mouse.
Scaling (resizing) objects This is part of the Selector Tool . Scale Line Widths button The Scale line widths button on the Selector Tool infobar is used in many operations where the width and height of the selected objects are important. It controls whether the line attributes (not just line widths) are taken into account when working out the size and position of the selected object(s). With the Scale line widths button set, scaling an object also scales its line widths.
With this button unset, you can change the aspect ratio as you scale the object, in other words, you can stretch object one way or another when dragging a corner resize handle or when entering a new size. Scaling using the mouse The Selector Tool must be in scale mode (the selection bounds handles are squares). If necessary, click on the object to change to scale mode. Drag one of the corner handles. The object scales as you move the pointer diagonally. The InfoBar shows the current scaling.
Scale Line Widths button The Scale line widths button on the Selector Tool infobar is used in many operations where the width and height of the selected objects are important. It controls whether the line attributes (not just line widths) are taken into account when working out the size and position of the selected object(s). With the Scale line widths button set, scaling an object also scales its line widths. With this button unset, line widths remain unchanged.
The Selector Tool must be in scale mode (the selection bounds handles are squares). If necessary, click on the object to change to scale mode. Drag one of the corner handles. The object scales as you move the pointer diagonally. The InfoBar shows the current scaling. The object will scale between the dragged handle and the opposite one. To use any other point of the object as the fixed point move the transformation center to it and use the InfoBar buttons to scale.
Lock Aspect button With the Lock aspect button set, the width/height aspect ratio remains constant as you scale the object. In other words, the shape remains in the same proportions as the original. It's recommended that this button remains selected most of the time in order to ensure that when you resize objects they do not become squashed.
Scaling with the InfoBar buttons (or number boxes) always scales around the transformation center. You can position this anywhere else in the object, as described in Rotating objects.
Scaling using the mouse The Selector Tool must be in scale mode (the selection bounds handles are squares). If necessary, click on the object to change to scale mode. Drag one of the corner handles. The object scales as you move the pointer diagonally. The InfoBar shows the current scaling. The object will scale between the dragged handle and the opposite one. To use any other point of the object as the fixed point move the transformation center to it and use the InfoBar buttons to scale.
Scaling using the InfoBar Type into the Scale Text boxes and press " ¿". Scalings below 100% reduce the object. 50 halves the size of the object. Scalings above 100% enlarge the object. 200 doubles the object size. If Lock Aspect is set, you can type into either text box to resize the object by the desired percentage. If this button is unset, you can enter separate values for both the width and height. Alternatively, type the required size of the object into the W or H text boxes.
Flipping objects This is part of the Selector Tool. Clicking on the Flip buttons flips the object vertically or horizontally around the transformation center. The scale and aspect ratio do not change; the object just flips.
Stretching and squashing objects This is similar to scaling objects except that the object is scaled in one direction only. Stretching and squashing are basically the same action ? stretching makes the object larger, squashing makes it smaller. Stretching/Squashing using the mouse The Selector Tool must be in scale mode. (The selection handles are squares.) If necessary, click on the object to change to scale mode.
Skewing objects This is part of the Selector Tool . Left is the original object, to the right with a horizontal skew Skewing using the mouse Switch the Selector Tool to rotate/skew mode. (The selection handles are arrow shaped) by clicking on the object. Drag a side, top or bottom arrow to skew the object. Note that these handles are shown only on rectangles which are not photo filled, because skewing other objects rarely produces useful results (eg. photos become distorted).
The Mold tool The Mold Tool is used to distort shapes. It is used for both perspectivizing (that is, rotating in three dimensions) and enveloping (like distorting a rubber sheet). Mold tool InfoBar Mesh Remove mold Detach mold Rotate mold Copy mold Enveloping Paste envelope mold Perspectivizing Paste perspective mold The InfoBar contains two sets of preset mold shapes. Just click a button to apply the preset mold.
Perspective The Mold Tool lets you perspectivize shapes to give an impression of depth. You can perspectivize all types of objects including text and bitmaps. Note that bitmaps lose perspective if you later blend them or convert them to editable shapes. 1. Select the object or objects. 2. Select the Mold Tool (shortcut "Shift + F6"). 3. Choose one of the perspective options: The right-hand button (paste perspective) is described later. Web Designer Premium draws a rectangle around the object or selection.
Removing perspective Click Remove to remove perspective. If the selected object has more than one perspective or envelope mould applied, only the most recent mold is removed. Rotating the object within the mold Sometimes you will find that the mold is the correct shape but the object needs rotating within it. You can rotate the object by clicking the rotate object button.
Enveloping The Mold Tool lets you envelope shapes in a wide variety of ways. The effect is similar to a rubber sheet or balloon that you can stretch in any direction. You can envelope all types of objects except bitmaps. Sample enveloped text Enveloping is similar to applying perspective. That is: 1. Select the object or objects. 2. Select the Mold Tool (shortcut "Shift + F6"). 3. Choose one of the envelope options: The right-hand button is similar to paste perspective described earlier.
Editing mold shapes You can edit the contents of a mold (essentially a group) using editing inside groups. Editing is not possible using direct selection inside (molds do not allow objects inside them to become selected). To edit a mold inside, right click on the mold and choose Open mold from the context menu. You can edit the shape of envelope or perspective molds with the Shape Editor Tool (or the edit handles with Selector Tool , if shown).
Snapping Snapping makes it easier to position edges, or specific points on objects, exactly where required. It can be used to align edges to a specific point or line, or to evenly space objects, using the grid. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium offers three types of snapping. Snap to grid Magnetic snapping (snap to objects) Snap to guidelines or guide objects Grid snap is useful for making objects evenly spaced, or making the sizes exact multiples of a given value.
that it partly overlaps the inside of the shape and partially goes outside). With scale line widths on, the width of the outline is deemed to be important and so 'snap to grid' will snap the bounds of objects, including outlines, to the grid. Snap to objects will allow you to snap using the bounds or the outline center lines. If the outlines as they appear on screen are small, so there is little difference between these two snapping positions, bounds snaps are favored.
over different background colors. The snapping distance is controlled by the Mouse tab of the Options dialog box ("Utilities" > " Options" or right click a page and choose Page Options ). You can specify two snap distances in the "Magetic snap radii" section, which control how close things need to be before they will snap together. The size of a circle around points (point) and the distance either side of lines (lines).
Snap to grid When Snap to Grid is selected, grid points act like magnets. Right click on the pasteboard and choose "Snap to" > "Snap to Grid" or use the menu option "Window" > "Snap to grid", (or press "." (decimal point) on the numeric keypad). You can control the grid spacing from the options dialog (right click and choose Page Options or use the menu command "Utilities" > "Options ") on the Grid and Ruler tab.
Magnetic object snapping (snap to objects) Magnetic object snapping makes it much easier to accurately position objects relative to each other or relative to the page center or edges. So, for example, if you want several lines to start at exactly the same point, or want a line to exactly join the edge of a circle, then using "magnetic object snap" is useful.
You can specify two snap distances in the "Magetic snap radii" section, which control how close things need to be before they will snap together. The size of a circle around points (point) and the distance either side of lines (lines). It's usually best to make the point value larger than the line value, so that it's easier to snap to the end points of lines. Customizing Web Designer Premium has full details of the Options dialog.
Snapping and line widths The Scale line widths control on the Selector Tool InfoBar affects whether snapping happens to the bounds of objects including their outlines. The above example shows a shape with a very thick gray outline. It also shows (thin black line) the outline of the shape itself (you can see the thick outline is drawn equally on either side of the center line so that it partly overlaps the inside of the shape and partially goes outside).
Snap indicators are shown whenever a snap occurs. That is whenever a point of interest on the object you are dragging comes in range of a point of interest in the document (which could be on another object or be part of the page). Web Designer Premium snaps to the point of interest and the mouse pointer changes to show a magnet symbol so you know a snap has happened. Also further indications are shown dynamically on screen to help you see what snap has occurred.
Magnetic object snapping (snap to objects) Magnetic object snapping makes it much easier to accurately position objects relative to each other or relative to the page center or edges. So, for example, if you want several lines to start at exactly the same point, or want a line to exactly join the edge of a circle, then using "magnetic object snap" is useful.
You can specify two snap distances in the "Magetic snap radii" section, which control how close things need to be before they will snap together. The size of a circle around points (point) and the distance either side of lines (lines). It's usually best to make the point value larger than the line value, so that it's easier to snap to the end points of lines. Customizing Web Designer Premium has full details of the Options dialog.
Guide Objects and Guidelines Guide objects and guidelines are objects on a special layer, the guides layer. A guide layer is automatically created when you create a guideline (see below), or you can create one manually by right clicking in the Page & Layer Gallery and selecting Create Guide Layer (see Layers for more information). Use Snap to guides in the Window menu (or key 2 on the numeric keypad) to turn on snapping to guide objects. Any object placed on the guides layer becomes a guide object.
4. Click New. 5. Type in the required position. Deleting a guideline Using the Selector Tool drag the guideline onto the appropriate ruler (the vertical ruler for vertical guidelines, horizontal ruler for horizontal). Or, right click on the guideline and then choose Delete .
Placing objects onto the Guides Layer First ensure there is a guide layer in the Page & Layer Gallery, see above. You can create objects directly on the guides layer by selecting it and creating objects as usual. You can also cut or copy objects from another layer and then paste those objects into the guides layer. To paste the objects in the same relative position on the guides layer use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + V".
Creating a guideline Guidelines are vertical or horizontal lines and are a quick and easy way to align a series of objects on the page. Turn rulers on ("Ctrl + L") or right click and choose "Show Grid/Guides" > "Show Rulers" Drag from a ruler onto the page. Or Double click on the ruler to create a guideline aligned to the click point. This automatically creates a guides layer and puts the guidelines on that layer. Or, using the Page & Layer Gallery : 1.
Deleting a guideline Using the Selector Tool drag the guideline onto the appropriate ruler (the vertical ruler for vertical guidelines, horizontal ruler for horizontal). Or, right click on the guideline and then choose Delete .
Summary of shortcuts on the numeric keypad + / * 2 . Makes a copy while dragging, resizing, skewing, and so on. The original object doesn't change. Toggles leaving line widths unchanged during scaling and scaling with changing line widths. Toggles leaving fills unchanged during moves, scaling, skewing, etc. Toggles object magnetic snap on and off. Toggles snap to guides on and off. Toggles snap to grid on and off.
Grouping and ungrouping objects The Shadow and Transparency Tools offer different results depending on whether objects are grouped or not. For more information see "Transparency" and "Shadows ". You will often create complex shapes from several different objects. The "Arrange" > "Group" menu option (or right click selected objects and choose Group ) lets you lock those objects together to form what appears as a single object.
nearest the front.
To create a group 1. Select all the objects you want in the group. 2. Right click and choose Group or choose Group from the Arrange menu (or "Ctrl + G") to create the group. Ungrouping objects 1. Select the group. 2. Right click and choose Ungroup or choose Ungroup from the Arrange menu (or "Ctrl + U"). After this, all the individual objects in the group remain selected. To add more objects to a group 1. Select the group. 2. Ungroup ("Ctrl + U") 3. Select the extra objects. 4.
Ungrouping objects 1. Select the group. 2. Right click and choose Ungroup or choose Ungroup from the Arrange menu (or "Ctrl + U"). After this, all the individual objects in the group remain selected. To add more objects to a group 1. Select the group. 2. Ungroup ("Ctrl + U") 3. Select the extra objects. 4. Group again ("Ctrl + G") You can also incorporate a group into a second group by omitting step 2. Web Designer Premium remembers the original grouping information.
To add more objects to a group 1. Select the group. 2. Ungroup ("Ctrl + U") 3. Select the extra objects. 4. Group again ("Ctrl + G") You can also incorporate a group into a second group by omitting step 2. Web Designer Premium remembers the original grouping information. If you ungroup the objects later, the original group remains. Removing objects from a group 1. Ungroup the objects. 2. "Shift + click" on the objects you want to remove. This deselects them; the other objects remain selected.
Removing objects from a group 1. Ungroup the objects. 2. "Shift + click" on the objects you want to remove. This deselects them; the other objects remain selected. You can then choose "Arrange" > "Group " to regroup the remaining objects. Selecting a single object from within a group This feature is useful for changing an object's color, for example. "Ctrl + click" on the object (you can also use this to select a "group within a group").
Selecting a single object from within a group This feature is useful for changing an object's color, for example. "Ctrl + click" on the object (you can also use this to select a "group within a group"). Pressing "Tab", or "Shift + Tab" moves the selection within the group, to the next, or previous object. Once you have selected an object inside a group, you can also use "Alt + click" to select the object under the selected one. This is called "select inside".
Groups and layers There's more about layers in Layers . If all the objects to be grouped are in one layer, the group is created in that layer. The group is at the level of the highest member of the group, i.e. the group does not automatically become the front object. If the objects are in more than one layer, then the group is created in the layer containing the object nearest the front.
Soft Groups Ordinary Groups as described in "Grouping and ungrouping objects" sit on a single layer, they cannot span layers. Soft Groups are an alternative way of linking objects together where the objects can be across several different layers. Selecting one member of a Soft Group also selects all other members of the same Soft Group ? even members that are on invisible or locked layers.
Creating Soft Groups To create a Soft Group, select all the objects that are to be included in it and then choose "Arrange" > "Apply soft group" (or press "Ctrl + Alt + G"). Note that if the Soft Group is to include members on invisible or locked layers, you'll need to make those layers temporarily visible and editable using the Page & Layer Gallery in order to select the objects and Soft Group them.
Removing Soft Groups To disband a Soft Group, select it and choose "Arrange" > "Remove soft group " (or press "Ctrl + Alt +U"). The objects don't get deleted, they are just no longer linked together by a Soft Group. Text Synchronization Any text objects which have the same text value and which are members of the same Soft Group are kept synchronized if any of those text objects are edited.
Text Synchronization Any text objects which have the same text value and which are members of the same Soft Group are kept synchronized if any of those text objects are edited. So change the text in one object and any other text objects that had the exact same characters will also be changed to match. Only the text value itself if synchronized, so different text objects can have different sizes, fonts and text attributes.
Alignment This lets you accurately align or distribute two or more objects. Quick aligning Select the objects you want to align, and right click the selection to choose Align from the drop-down menu, and then do one of the following: Align the objects vertically by choosing Left edges, Centers or Right edges. Align the objects horizontally by choosing Top edges, Centers or Bottom edges.
Bounds of Back object : The boundaries are the outer edges of the backmost selected object. This object is not affected by the alignment. You can use this to define the "reference" object when you want to align several objects in a row, for instance. With the normal "Selection bounds" options on the leftmost object is the reference object (the one that won't move) Page(s): If the objects are on a single page, the boundaries are the edges of the page.
Centers distribution : the centers of the objects are evenly spaced. Equi-spaced distribution: the objects are evenly spaced from each other. The horizontal position options are similar but operate in the horizontal direction.
Within This section of the dialog controls the boundaries within which you align or distribute the objects. The options are: Selection bounds : The boundaries are the outer edges of the selected objects. Their relative position on the page or spread has no effect. Bounds of Back object : The boundaries are the outer edges of the backmost selected object. This object is not affected by the alignment.
Distribute The distribute options will position all the selected objects evenly across the "Within" area (usually within the selection bounds, but it could be the page or spread). Again all the distribute options work in a similar way. The following examples show how the different vertical position options align objects: Top edges distribution: the tops of the objects are evenly spaced. Bottom edges distribution is the inverse?the bottom of the objects are evenly spaced.
Aligning To align objects, for example, so their left edges are aligned to the left. 1. Select the objects and right click the selection. 2. Choose "Align" > "Left Edges" from the drop-down list. The selected objects move to align the left edges. Alternatively: 1. Choose "Align" > "Alignment" or press "Ctrl + Shift + L" or choose Alignment from the Arrange menu to open the Object Alignment dialog. 2. Select the required Within option, e.g. Selection bounds. 3. Select Align Left for horizontal positions. 4.
Select Horizontal positions: Distribute centers Select Vertical position: Align top Click Apply And they will now look like this, all equally spaced horizontally and aligned to the top. Remember if you make a mistake you can always undo the operation.
Distribute The distribute options will position all the selected objects evenly across the "Within" area (usually within the selection bounds, but it could be the page or spread). Again all the distribute options work in a similar way. The following examples show how the different vertical position options align objects: Top edges distribution: the tops of the objects are evenly spaced. Bottom edges distribution is the inverse?the bottom of the objects are evenly spaced.
Copying Styles: Paste Attributes This lets you copy attributes (such as line pattern or fill color) between objects. It is a quick way of applying multiple attributes to an object. The square has a specific color, shadow, line and fill style. Copying it and then pasting its attributes on to the circle in the middle, results in the circle to the right. 1. Select the object from which you wish to copy the attributes. 2. Copy the selection to the clipboard. ("Edit" > "Copy", or "Ctrl + C".) 3.
Naming objects You can apply names to any object in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium using the Apply, remove or inspect names of objects button on the Selector Tool infobar. Naming is a general mechanism which has a variety of uses, some of which are described below. Most commonly names are used to form loose sets of objects. Example uses of names Flash Animations: Names are used in flash animations to mark objects which are to be tweened by the Flash exporter. See the Flash chapter for full details.
Adding names To add a name to an object, select the object and open the Names dialog using the button on the Selector Tool infobar or right click on the object and choose Names... Type the new name into the Apply name field, or use the drop down list on the same field to select a name which is already used elsewhere in the current document. Click Add. You should see the name appear in the Names applied list. Names applied The Names Applied field shows you the names applied to the current selection.
Names applied The Names Applied field shows you the names applied to the current selection. If more than one object is selected, a list of names is only shown if all objects in the selection have exactly the same set of names applied. Otherwise "" is displayed, indicating that there are differences in terms of the names applied to different objects in the selection. To remove a name from the selected object(s), click the name in the Names Applied list to select it and then click the Remove button.
Repeating Objects It's common to have items like navigation buttons, headers or logos repeating on all pages of your website. Web Designer Premium provides the ability to repeat any item in the same place on any of your web pages. When you update one of the copies, Web Designer Premium automatically replicates those changes across all pages that have a copy of the repeating object. On most of the template designs the main navigation buttons are repeating.
Web Designer Premium places each repeating object inside a repeating group If you want to edit an item inside this repeating group, press "Ctrl + click" on the item to select it inside the repeating group. You can also double click on a group to edit it in a new sub-document view (or right click on it and choose Open from the context menu). It contains only the contents of the group and not the group itself, so you can select all the direct children of the group just by clicking on them.
. Stopping objects repeating Right click an object and choose Stop updating to turn off the repeating nature of an object, or all of its copies in your website. Choosing Stop updating from the Arrange menu also allows this. You'll be asked whether you want to just stop the selected object repeating or all copies of the object in the website. Choose the All option. Now the different copies of that object can be independently edited and the next time one is changed it won't update any of them.
Editing the contents of a repeating object When Web Designer Premium creates a repeating object, the repeating items are placed in a containing 'repeating group', similar to a normal group. If you drill down to a layer containing a repeating object in the Page & Layer Gallery , you can see that there's a repeating group containing each repeating object on that layer.
For some repeating objects, this automatic decision making about whether the object should be positioned relative to the top or bottom of pages may be inappropriate. So if required you can force any repeating object to be positioned relative to the top or bottom of pages by right clicking on it and choosing "Repeat position" > "Top" or "Repeat position" > "Bottom". To restore normal automatic positioning behavior to a repeating object, right click it and choose " Repeat position" > "Automatic" .
Headers/Footers You may have pages in your site of varying lengths and want some repeating objects to be positioned relative to the top of each page and others (e.g. footers) positioned relative to the bottom of each page. You can configure Xara Web Designer 7 Premium to do this, so header and footer repeating objects will move with respect to the top and bottom of each page. The position of a repeating object on the page determines whether it is considered to be a header or footer.
Stopping objects repeating Right click an object and choose Stop updating to turn off the repeating nature of an object, or all of its copies in your website. Choosing Stop updating from the Arrange menu also allows this. You'll be asked whether you want to just stop the selected object repeating or all copies of the object in the website. Choose the All option. Now the different copies of that object can be independently edited and the next time one is changed it won't update any of them.
Deleting repeating objects If you don't want a copy of the repeating object on a page, just delete it from that page. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium displays a prompt asking whether to delete just that copy or all copies of that repeating object. Pressing "Ctrl + Delete" will delete just the selected repeating object without asking whether you want to delete all instances or just this one.
Drawing Lines and Shapes In this chapter Drawing a line or shape The Freehand & Brush Tool Editing lines/shapes with the Freehand & Brush Tool The Straight Line & Arrow tool The Shape Editor tool Extending the line Finishing the line Adding a new point handle Selecting multiple point handles Deleting points Moving point handles—Shape Editor Tool Smoothing a line Constraining the line Changing curves Changing a straight line to a curve (and vice versa) Joining lines Splitting a shape Changing the line width
Drawing a line or shape You can use any of these tools to draw lines and shapes: The Freehand & Brush Tool ("F3"). The Straight Line & Arrow Tool The Shape Editor Tool ("F4"). The Freehand & Brush Tool is the easiest way to draw simple lines, curves, and shapes, and it acts rather like a pencil. The Straight Line & Arrow Tool is best if you want to draw single segment straight lines, or add arrow heads and tails to any types of lines. The Shape Editor Tool is best for drawing precise curves and lines.
The Freehand & Brush Tool You can use this tool to draw in a freehand manner, as you would with a pencil. It can also be used to create brush strokes, which is described later. And it includes the option to draw variable width lines using a compatible pressure sensitive drawing device such as a graphics tablet. While using this tool the status line provides reminders on how to use the tool. 1. Position the pointer where you want the line to start. 2. Press and hold down the mouse button.
Joining two lines Select both lines, ("Shift + click" on the second line to add it to the selection) and you can now just draw from the end of one line to an end of the other. A small + sign next to the pencil icon (appearing after a pause) indicates you are over the end. Closing a freehand shape (to create a filled shape) If you connect the start and end of a line, then it becomes a filled shape. You can now alter the fill color by dragging colors from the Color Line or using the Color Editor.
Erasing while drawing Before you release the mouse button you can erase part of the line by holding "Shift". The pencil icon reverses so the eraser at the end is downwards. You can now erase back along the line. Release "Shift" and you can continue drawing. Drawing straight segments in the Freehand Tool While drawing a freehand line hold down "Alt", move the pointer to a new position and release "Alt" to draw a straight line.
Drawing straight segments in the Freehand Tool While drawing a freehand line hold down "Alt", move the pointer to a new position and release "Alt" to draw a straight line. You can continue drawing a line or hold down "Alt" again to draw another straight segment. Remember, you can use "Ctrl" to constrain the angle of the line. If you only want to draw lots of single segment straight lines, use the Straight Line Tool described below.
Extending a line Make sure the line is selected (a single click on the shape or line in the Freehand & Brush Tool will do this). Now if you move over the end of the line, a small + sign next to the pencil icon will indicate you can just draw to add a new freehand section to the line. Joining two lines Select both lines, ("Shift + click" on the second line to add it to the selection) and you can now just draw from the end of one line to an end of the other.
Joining two lines Select both lines, ("Shift + click" on the second line to add it to the selection) and you can now just draw from the end of one line to an end of the other. A small + sign next to the pencil icon (appearing after a pause) indicates you are over the end. Closing a freehand shape (to create a filled shape) If you connect the start and end of a line, then it becomes a filled shape. You can now alter the fill color by dragging colors from the Color Line or using the Color Editor.
Closing a freehand shape (to create a filled shape) If you connect the start and end of a line, then it becomes a filled shape. You can now alter the fill color by dragging colors from the Color Line or using the Color Editor.
Editing lines/shapes with the Freehand & Brush Tool You cannot directly modify shapes created by the Quickshape, Rectangle, or Ellipse Tools. First convert them to editable shapes using "Arrange" > "Convert to editable shapes ". See "Shape handling" for more information. You can use the Freehand & Brush Tool to edit lines (or outlines of shapes) by simply redrawing the section of line you want to replace. For example: To edit the object: Select the object that you wish to edit.
Turn on trace mode using the toggle button on the infobar. Draw with the Freehand tool over a photo and you should see that the line tries to follow edges in the image. You can also turn trace mode on and off while you are actively drawing a line, by pressing the T key. The mouse pointer changes to indicate whether trace mode is on or off. This allows you, for example, to turn off trace mode when you are drawing over a complex part of an image where there is no obvious edge for trace mode to follow.
for details). Or you can go into mask mode, draw a mask shape over the photo and then use cut, copy and paste (or the combine shapes operations) to cut or copy the part of the photo you've indicated with the mask. See the Photo Handling chapter for more information on using mask mode. Once you've cut out a piece of a photo, it's often a good idea to apply a small amount of feather to blur the edge slightly.
Sketch Mode This option is useful if you are rapidly sketching lots of separate lines close to each other, perhaps using a drawing tablet. When working this way you won't normally want to edit existing lines you've already drawn, but instead draw new lines with every stroke. But as described above, if you start a draw operation on an existing line, or on its end point, that existing line is modified.
when a correct route has been found. Then continue and trace mode will find more routes between the last commit point and the mouse pointer. Commit points are automatically added for you every 50 screen pixels, because you don't normally want to re-route the line more than that distance from where you are currently drawing.
Trace mode Trace mode helps you to draw lines which follow visible edges in photo images. For example you can use it to help you draw around a building or other object in a photo, that you want to cut out. For most photos it's best to turn smoothing down from the default value, so that the line more closely follows complex edges with less smoothing of the line as you draw. You can always adjust the smoothing after drawing the line, if required.
trace mode. There is often texture in the objects themselves or in the background which mean that trace mode will find many different candidate edges. Zoom into difficult parts of photos to get more control over the trace and use the space bar to enter manual commit points more often, the more complex the image. And press T to turn tracing on and off as you move between parts of an image that are easy to trace and parts that are not.
Brush styles The Freehand & Brush Tool can also be used to apply different brush stroke styles along the path of the line. Instead of being a solid, fixed-width line, you can change it to be a variable-width line, or one of a near-infinite range of fancy brush styles, like airbrush, felt tip marker, and many more. It's important to understand that the line remains fully editable so, unlike most painting or photo re-touching programs, you can select and later adjust the line shape and the brush stroke.
The Straight Line & Arrow tool This tool makes it easy to draw single segment straight lines and to add arrow heads and tails to any lines in a way that is much easier and more powerful than doing the same thing with the Line Gallery .
Why a straight line tool? Prior to the addition of this simple tool, many users new to Xara Web Designer 7 Premium had great difficulty doing something as simple as drawing a straight line using the other drawing tools! That's because the Shape Editor is more geared to drawing multi-segment lines and shapes and the Freehand Tool to drawing freehand. Hence the need for this tool, which makes it obvious how to do something elementary.
Drawing & editing straight lines Simply click and drag on the page to draw a straight line. You can click on any existing line to select it, and once selected you can click-drag on either end to move the end of the line around. Adding arrowheads & tails The infobar has two dropdown lists on the left which allow you to choose an arrow head or tail style for each end of the selected line.
Adding arrowheads & tails The infobar has two dropdown lists on the left which allow you to choose an arrow head or tail style for each end of the selected line. Arrow head Arrow tail Arrow head/tail size Reverse path The slider on the infobar allows you to change the size of the arrow head and tail on the current selected line. Or you can enter a percentage value into the size text field to the right of the slider.
Reverse path Press the Reverse path button on the infobar to switch around the head and tail of the selected line. Adding more line segments Lines created with the Straight Line Tool are of course fully compatible with the other drawing tools. So if you want to add more segments to a line, make it curved, or perhaps even turn it into a closed shape, use the Shape Editor Tool .
Adding more line segments Lines created with the Straight Line Tool are of course fully compatible with the other drawing tools. So if you want to add more segments to a line, make it curved, or perhaps even turn it into a closed shape, use the Shape Editor Tool .
The Shape Editor tool The Shape Editor Tool is the main tool used for both creating precise curves, lines, and shapes, as well as editing or altering lines and shapes. Add/Change/Edit Indicator Make curve Make line Smooth join Sharp join Break at points Delete points Reverse paths Positions of handles Smoothing The InfoBar, shown above, provides a wide range of controls as well as precise numeric control.
draw a straight line segment. Either click where you want the next point handle to be, or click and drag, and then release the mouse button when the line is correct. This creates a line segment and selects the new end point handle. Mixing curved and straight lines To create an object which is a mixture of straight and curved segments, just switch between the Make Curve and Make Line buttons as you create the object (you can also press "L" or "C" on the keyboard.
To draw a straight line segment Using the Shape editor Tool, start a straight line: 1. Click where you want to start the line. You can start a line at either end; you don't have to work left to right, or top-to-bottom. This creates a point handle, and is displayed as a red square to indicate that it is the selected handle. 2. If necessary select the Make line button on the InfoBar ("L"). This ensures the next click will draw a straight line segment.
Mixing curved and straight lines To create an object which is a mixture of straight and curved segments, just switch between the Make Curve and Make Line buttons as you create the object (you can also press "L" or "C" on the keyboard.) Note: You can also use the keyboard shortcut "X" to create a Cusp Join or "S" to create a Smooth Join while using the Shape Editor Tool . These affect the way two line segments come together.
To draw a curved line segment: This is similar to starting a straight line (described above). 1. Click where you want to start the line. 2. If necessary select the Make curve button (shortcut "C".) 3. Either click or drag (as described for straight lines) to create a second point handle, and a curve segment will be added to the line. A curve segment has Curve handles associated with the selected point handle. You can drag these to adjust the angle and radius of the curve.
Extending the line Make sure an end point handle is the selected handle (red outline) and then just click again to add a new line or curve section. Each successive click places a new point handle and draws a new line segment to the selected point handle.
Finishing the line ?+ click completes the line (keeps it selected), or press "Esc" to finish the line and de-select it. After this, additional clicks will start a new line.
Adding a new point handle The Shape Editor Tool has three modes, depending on whether no point handles are selected (a click will start a new line), an end handle is selected (a click will add a new section), or one or more other point handles are selected (you can drag or change the handles). The InfoBar shows the current mode. New: Click to start a new line, Add: Click to extend the line, Change: Drag or delete point handles to change. This applies to the Shape Editor Tool only.
To the end of a line: Make sure the line is selected, then: 1. If necessary, click on the end point to select it. 2. Position the pointer and click to add a new section. To the middle of a line: Make sure the line is selected, then; 1. Click on the line to add a new point handle into the line 2. Drag the point handle to the required position. To the start of a line: If the end point is selected, clicking on the start point closes the shape (this is described in "Closing a shape ").
To the middle of a line: Make sure the line is selected, then; 1. Click on the line to add a new point handle into the line 2. Drag the point handle to the required position. To the start of a line: If the end point is selected, clicking on the start point closes the shape (this is described in "Closing a shape "). To add a new control handle to the start of a line: 1. Finish the line using "Shift + click". 2. Click on the start handle. 3. Position the pointer and click.
To the start of a line: If the end point is selected, clicking on the start point closes the shape (this is described in "Closing a shape "). To add a new control handle to the start of a line: 1. Finish the line using "Shift + click". 2. Click on the start handle. 3. Position the pointer and click.
Selecting multiple point handles You may want to select several point handles to delete them, move them as a group, or change a region of points to curved or straight lines. To do this: 1. Select one point handle in the normal way by clicking on it. 2. "Shift + click" the other point handles to select them ("Shift + click" also deselects.) o Or "Ctrl + Shift + click" on a point handle to select all point handles on the line. o Or drag the mouse pointer diagonally to create a selection rectangle.
Deleting points Select the point handle(s) as described above and either click the Delete points button (Shape Editor Tool InfoBar), or press "Del".
Moving point handles—Shape Editor Tool You can move one or more selected handles: Drag the handles using the mouse. Or use the arrow keys on the keyboard. Or to move a single handle, type new values into the text boxes on the InfoBar (see below). Using the text boxes on the InfoBar The center pair of text boxes always shows the X/Y co-ordinates of the selected point. The surrounding X/Y fields show the co-ordinates of the curve handles on either side of the selected point.
Using the text boxes on the InfoBar The center pair of text boxes always shows the X/Y co-ordinates of the selected point. The surrounding X/Y fields show the co-ordinates of the curve handles on either side of the selected point. X/Y co-ordinates are relative to the bottom left corner of the page by default for print document and top left for web documents. You can change this in the "Grid and ruler" tab in the options dialog.
Smoothing a line Imported shapes or shapes from tracers may have unnecessary points on a line. Lines with too many points can be unwieldy and can slow down rendering. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can smooth the line to remove unnecessary points. Select all the points on the part of the line you want to smooth (see above). Drag selecting around the region in the Shape Editor Tool is probably the easiest way to select a large number of points. Drag the smoothing slider on the end of the Shape Editor InfoBar.
Constraining the line When dragging a point handle, holding down the constrain key ("Ctrl") will constrain the movement to multiples of the constrain angle (controlled from the options dialog, general tab). When dragging a curve handle the angle is constrained.
Changing curves Using the curve handle Dragging the curve handle will adjust the curvature of the adjoining curve segments. Move the curve handle towards or away from the point handle to pull the curve in the required direction. Dragging the line segment You can also change the curve by dragging the line segment between points. Notice the difference between dragging the line to change its shape, and clicking on the line to add a new point handle.
with "Shift" held down. As you drag one curve handle the other one will move to be exactly opposite it and the same distance from the point handle.
Using the curve handle Dragging the curve handle will adjust the curvature of the adjoining curve segments. Move the curve handle towards or away from the point handle to pull the curve in the required direction. Dragging the line segment You can also change the curve by dragging the line segment between points. Notice the difference between dragging the line to change its shape, and clicking on the line to add a new point handle. Dragging a straight line segment changes it to a curved line segment.
Dragging the line segment You can also change the curve by dragging the line segment between points. Notice the difference between dragging the line to change its shape, and clicking on the line to add a new point handle. Dragging a straight line segment changes it to a curved line segment. Making sharp corners Normally, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium draws a smooth curve through a point handle. For this, the two curve handles either side of a point handle are linked.
Making sharp corners Normally, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium draws a smooth curve through a point handle. For this, the two curve handles either side of a point handle are linked. Moving either curve handle also moves the other. Sometimes you will want a sharp corner, and to achieve this, you need to unlink the curve handles: 1. Double click the point handle, 2. Or select the point handle and either: Click the Cusp join button, or press "Z". You can now move each curve handle independently.
Making smooth curves To convert a sharp join into a smooth curve: 1. Double click the point handle, 2. Or select the point handle and either: Click the Smooth join button, or "S". The two curve handles become linked and move to opposite sides of the point handle. This may change the shape of the curve. Balancing curves Balancing makes the two curve handles the same distance from the point handle, which gives smoother, more symmetrical curves.
Balancing curves Balancing makes the two curve handles the same distance from the point handle, which gives smoother, more symmetrical curves. To balance a curve, select the point handle, then drag one of the curve handles with "Shift" held down. As you drag one curve handle the other one will move to be exactly opposite it and the same distance from the point handle.
Changing a straight line to a curve (and vice versa) 1. Select the point handles at both ends of a line segment. For several line segments select all bordering point handles. 2. Click the Make curve or Make line button on the InfoBar, or press "L" or "C" (these shortcuts only work in the Shape Editor Tool). After changing the line type, you may need to move the curve handles for a smooth transition between curved and straight line segments. You can select several line segments and convert them all.
Joining lines You can only join lines if both are selected (the point handles are shown on both lines): Using the Selector Tool, hold down "?" and click on the lines to select them (if you are already in the Shape Editor Tool, you can press "Alt + S" to temporarily go into the Selector Tool, "?+ click" to select the second line, then "Alt + S" again to return to the Shape Editor Tool ). Selecting objects is described fully in "Selecting objects ".
Splitting a shape If you want to split (break) a line or shape: Either select an existing point handle on the line or outline of the shape, or create a new one where you want to break the line. Just click on the line in the Shape Editor Tool (see above). Click on the Break at points button, or press "B". If you split a line, there is no visible change. However, if you move the point handle, then only part of the line moves. If you split a shape, it changes to being a line. Any fill disappears.
Changing the line width (thickness) To change the line thickness or the outline thickness of a shape, first select the object or objects: Type a new line width into the text box on the standard control bar or choose the default line thickness from the menu. Line thickness is traditionally measured in points, abbreviated to pt. 1 point is 1/72nd of an inch (about 0.3mm), which is slightly less than the thickness of one screen pixel when viewed at 100% zoom.
Line Gallery The Line Gallery can be used to apply a range of line styles or attributes, such as brush strokes, dash patterns, arrow heads, and more. To display the Line Gallery : Choose "Utilities" > "Line Gallery" Or click the Line Gallery tab on the Galleries tab. The Line Gallery is split into sections. To open or close any section, click on the small folder icon in the gallery window.
Dash pattern This section provides a selection of line dash styles. Arrowheads The best way to apply an arrowhead is to use the Straight Line & Arrow Tool , as described earlier in this chapter. However you can also use the line gallery. Drag and drop the arrowhead from the gallery onto the appropriate end of the line. Alternatively, to apply an arrowhead: Double click on the arrowhead in the gallery. Or select the required arrowhead and click Apply.
Change join type This control on the top of the Line Gallery sets the style of corners. To change an existing line, select the line. To change the current join type, deselect all lines. Select the required type from the menu. Change line cap This control at the top of the Line Gallery sets the style of the ends of the line. To change an existing line, select the line. To change the default line cap, deselect all lines. Select the required type from the menu.
Change line cap This control at the top of the Line Gallery sets the style of the ends of the line. To change an existing line, select the line. To change the default line cap, deselect all lines. Select the required type from the menu.
Shape Handling In this chapter Closing a shape Joining shapes Combining shapes Changing the line width (thickness) Variable width lines Creating rectangles and squares Creating circles and ellipses Creating regular polygons (the Quickshape Tool) Creating stars (polygons with indented sides) Editing stars Page 507
Closing a shape A shape is a closed object with no start or end handle. Only shapes can be color filled. To close a shape: 1. Create an open object with the end point handle close to the start handle. All the point handles (except the end handle) should be in their required positions. 2. Position the pointer over the end handle. 3. Drag the end handle over the start handle and release the mouse button. The two handles snap together. Or: 1.
Closing a freehand shape You can directly create a closed shape by ending a line back at the beginning over the start handle. A + by the pointer shows when it is positioned over the start handle.
Joining shapes "Arrange -> Join shapes" lets you create holes in solid shapes. Because overlapping parts of the same shape are drawn with no fill color (i.e. you can see through the overlapping parts), you can use this effect to create holes in shapes but retain the ability to break them apart later. For example, to create a donut shape: 1. Create an ellipse (described later). 2. Create a second ellipse over the first. (The color of the second ellipse has been changed to make it obvious.) 3. Select both. 4.
Breaking joined shapes Choose "Arrange -> Break shapes". This breaks the joined shape into separate objects, but the original attributes will not be restored to the separated objects. You can also break several joined shapes in one operation.
Combining shapes The menu option "Arrange" > "Combine shapes" (or right click and choose Combine Shapes ) provides you with a range of advanced options to combine shapes to make new shapes, such as adding, cutting, or slicing. You can use combine shapes on any type of object, including bitmaps. Creating holes in shapes Use "Arrange" > "Combine shapes" > "Subtract shapes" . This is similar to using join shapes (described above).
shape are discarded. The top shape can be a group for more complex subtracting. Groups are described in Object handling . Slicing shapes Xara Web Designer 7 Premium lets you easily slice shapes into two or more pieces, and you can use either a solid object or a line for slicing. For example, to cut a segment from a circle: 1. Create a circle and a triangle on top 2. Select them both. 3. Choose Arrange" > "Combine shapes" > "Slice shapes". The edges of the triangle cut the circle into two shapes.
Creating holes in shapes Use "Arrange" > "Combine shapes" > "Subtract shapes" . This is similar to using join shapes (described above). The differences are: The top shape (or top group) becomes a hole through the other shapes. The line attributes and colors of the underlying shapes are unchanged. Combine shapes physically alters the lines. The only way to restore the original shapes is by using undo. The number of overlapping shapes has no effect.
Xara Web Designer 7 Premium lets you easily slice shapes into two or more pieces, and you can use either a solid object or a line for slicing. For example, to cut a segment from a circle: 1. Create a circle and a triangle on top 2. Select them both. 3. Choose Arrange" > "Combine shapes" > "Slice shapes". The edges of the triangle cut the circle into two shapes. The triangle disappears. 4.
Merging several shapes into one For example, to produce the shape on the right from the three shapes on the left: 1. Create the two circles and the rectangle. 2. Select all three shapes. 3. Right click and choose "Combine shapes" > "Add shapes". The new shape takes line attributes and colors from the top shape (in this case the rectangle in the illustration). Intersecting shapes With intersecting shapes , the new object is created from those parts of lower shapes that are covered by the top object.
Intersecting shapes With intersecting shapes , the new object is created from those parts of lower shapes that are covered by the top object. Select the shapes you want to mask and the front (mask) shape. Choose "Arrange" > "Combine shapes" > "Intersect shapes" . This creates a new shape. The top shape disappears. The line attributes and colors of the underlying shapes are unchanged. Areas not covered by the top shape are discarded. The top shape can be a group for more complex subtracting.
Slicing shapes Xara Web Designer 7 Premium lets you easily slice shapes into two or more pieces, and you can use either a solid object or a line for slicing. For example, to cut a segment from a circle: 1. Create a circle and a triangle on top 2. Select them both. 3. Choose Arrange" > "Combine shapes" > "Slice shapes". The edges of the triangle cut the circle into two shapes. The triangle disappears. 4.
Changing the line width (thickness) To change the line thickness or the outline thickness of a shape, first select the object or objects: Type a new line width into the text box on the standard control bar or choose the default line thickness from the menu. Line thickness is traditionally measured in points, abbreviated to pt. 1 point is 1/72nd of an inch (about 0.3mm), which is slightly less than the thickness of one screen pixel when viewed at 100% zoom.
Variable width lines From the Freehand & Brush Tool InfoBar you can select a drop-down menu that shows a selection of alternative variable line thickness profiles. As you move the mouse over the selection, an enlarged preview is shown on the right. Selecting one of the styles will change the line (or outline of a shape) from being a constant thickness line, to a variable thickness. This is great for creating pen and ink style artwork, and is often used in the creation of cartoons.
Creating rectangles and squares To create a rectangle: Use the Rectangle Tool ("Shift + F3", or "M"). Click and drag on the canvas to draw a rectangle. Creating a square To create a square rather than a rectangle, hold down "Ctrl" while dragging. Creating and editing rounded corner rectangles To give your rectangle rounded corners, select it and then press the "Curved corners" button on the Rectangle Tool infobar.
Creating a square To create a square rather than a rectangle, hold down "Ctrl" while dragging. Creating and editing rounded corner rectangles To give your rectangle rounded corners, select it and then press the "Curved corners" button on the Rectangle Tool infobar. You can then drag on the selection handles shown on the corners to adjust the diameter of the rounded corners. You can resize rectangles using either the Rectangle Tool (by dragging on the handles shown at the corners) or the Selector Tool .
Creating and editing rounded corner rectangles To give your rectangle rounded corners, select it and then press the "Curved corners" button on the Rectangle Tool infobar. You can then drag on the selection handles shown on the corners to adjust the diameter of the rounded corners. You can resize rectangles using either the Rectangle Tool (by dragging on the handles shown at the corners) or the Selector Tool .
Creating circles and ellipses To create an ellipse or circle: Select the Ellipse Tool ("Shift + F4", or "L"). The Radius and diameter buttons automatically create circles. Radius Diameter Bounds creation With the Bounds creation button selected, drag on the canvas to draw an ellipse. Hold down "Ctrl" while dragging to create a circle rather than an ellipse. Select the Radius option to draw circles. The start point of a drag determines the circle's center. Select the Diameter option.
Creating regular polygons (the Quickshape Tool) The Quickshape Tool lets you quickly create almost any regular, symmetrical shape with sharp or rounded corners. You can then drag the edges to bend the sides, and at any time you can change the number of sides or make the object an ellipse, a polygon, or a star. Creation Modes: Radius/Diameter/Bounds Polygon Ellipse Stellate Round corners Restore edges Number of sides Editable items menu Editing fields 1. Select the Quickshape Tool ("Shift + F2"). 2.
Or double click a control handle. Editing a polygon The Selector Tool lets you move, rotate, resize, and skew a polygon as normal (the Selector Tool is described in Object handling .) Using the Quickshape Tool, you can resize or rotate: Drag the corner handles. Or select Size & rotation in the Editable Items menu. Type the required values into the text boxes. Size Rotation You can also nudge the values using the buttons to the right. To move: Drag the handle in the center of the polygon.
Polygons with rounded corners Select the Round corners button or double click on a corner point. The polygon has extra handles (radius handles) where the rounding starts. To increase or decrease the radius, drag any of the radius handles. To remove the round corners: Click the Round corners button. Or double click a control handle. Editing a polygon The Selector Tool lets you move, rotate, resize, and skew a polygon as normal (the Selector Tool is described in Object handling .
Change the number of sides by typing the number into the menu or selecting from it.
Editing a polygon The Selector Tool lets you move, rotate, resize, and skew a polygon as normal (the Selector Tool is described in Object handling .) Using the Quickshape Tool, you can resize or rotate: Drag the corner handles. Or select Size & rotation in the Editable Items menu. Type the required values into the text boxes. Size Rotation You can also nudge the values using the buttons to the right. To move: Drag the handle in the center of the polygon. Or use the arrow keys on the keyboard.
Creating stars (polygons with indented sides) Select the Quickshape Tool. To create a star or to make the selected polygon stellated: Stellated/stellation = star shaped. Select the Starred Shapes button . Or double click on a side. Left: polygon with starred off. Right : starred on. Removing stellation Click the starred shapes button. Or double click on the star handle. Note : double click on the star handle, not the control handle.
Removing stellation Click the starred shapes button. Or double click on the star handle. Note : double click on the star handle, not the control handle.
Editing stars You can edit stars in the same ways as ordinary polygons (described earlier). To increase or decrease the depth of stellation: Drag a star handle or select stellation radius & offset on the editable items menu. Type the required values into the text The original shape is on the left. boxes. Or drag the sides to make them curved: The original shape is on the left. You can also nudge the values using the buttons to the right.
Color Handling Xara Web Designer 7 Premium gives wide control over applying, creating and altering the colors of objects. For simple documents, you can just choose colors from the on-screen color palette, the Color Line. More advanced color operations are described later.
The color line The Color Line is displayed at the bottom of the window. It shows you the current fill and line colors, provides access to the color editor and provides a palette of pre-defined colors including a special "no color". Color swatch: The outer part of the color swatch on the left-hand end of the Color Line shows the line color and the center shows the fill color. These are the colors of any selected objects, or the current color attributes if no objects are selected.
designed as a simple, limited selection of colors to apply to objects (either by dragging on to the object or clicking). Little markers in the color icons shows which of the named colors (if any) or palette colors have been applied to the selected object(s). Diamond markers show the colors used by the selected objects. A diamond in the top-left corner indicates the fill color, in the top-right corner indicates the line color.
Colors on the color line Named (Theme) Colors: First comes the Named Colors (if present in the document, see below). Named colors are used to give templates and designs theme colors, so that the color scheme of a design can easily be changed without editing every object in it individually. Linked Colors are represented differently on the color line by smaller rounded rectangles, so it's much easier to distinguish which are normal independent Named Colors and which are linked to a parent.
Options Opens the General tab of the Options dialog. If the selected object is a bitmap, you can also see Set contone dark color / Set contone light color. See Bitmap coloring for more information. When clicking the "no color" swatch, the fill and line color options are replaced by: Clear fill color / Clear line color . This sets the selected object's relative attributes to "no color".
Re-ordering colors on the color line You may prefer to re-arrange colors on the Color Line. To do this, "Ctrl + drag" colors along the Color Line. This also reorders the Color Gallery . Only named colors can be re-arranged on the Color Line.
Color line context menu Click on a color on the Color Line to show a context sensitive menu with the following options: Edit Opens the color editor with the selected color (not available for palette colors) Set fill color / Set line Set the fill or line color of the selected object with color this color Rename Rename a named color (not available for palette colors) Delete Delete a named color (not available for palette colors) Options Opens the General tab of the Options dialog.
Applying fill & line colors by drag & drop To apply a fill color to an object (selected or unselected), drag a color from the Color Line and drop it into the center of the shape. To set the line or outline color, drop it on the outline, not the center. To change the current fill color, drag a color into a blank space. To change the page background color, "Ctrl + drag" a color onto the page background.
Editing an object’s color To edit the fill color of the selected object(s): Choose "Utilities" > "Color editor" ("Ctrl + E"). Or click the Edit color icon on the Color Line. Or right click the object and choose Fill Color Or double click on the current line and fill color icon on the Color Line (the edge of the leftmost panel).
The Color Editor The Color Editor is used to change the color of objects in the document.
HSV or CMYK), so the color is copied exactly to the selected object(s). If the target color is a named or palette color, instead of simply copying the color the color picker will apply the same color to the selected object(s). If the object under the mouse pointer is complex (eg. has transparency applied) and the color cannot be determined, screen RGB color is applied. The color sampler shows a small popup at the mouse pointer which indicates the color that is being sampled at that point.
Previous and Current color As you drag on the color editor the two small color swatches in the upper right of the color editor show the current color and the previous (before you started changing the color). This is useful if you want to make a small change and want to compare the old and new colors.
graphics is to enter a hex RGB color. The H, S and V fields allow you to specify the color as HSV (hue saturation value) values in percent. In the # field you can enter RGB value in hexadecimal numbers (0-F). Also a 'No fill color' button and a help button is available here.
Using the eye-dropper to pick colors Instead of selecting hues and shades on the Color Editor you can instead pick a color from any part of the document or any part of the computer screen?even from other windows and programs. To do this just click and drag on the eye dropper icon. As you drag you see the color editor continuously picks up the color under the eye dropper. Release the mouse button when you have the desired color.
Advanced color operations Click the Show advanced options icon on the Color Editor to reveal the lower part of the dialog that provides more options. No fill color Make named color local to Frame/Layer Rename named color HSV color values RGB hex value Color model (HSV, RGB or grayscale) Color type: See Creating a Tint, Shade or Linked color Here you can enter precise RGB (or HSV) color values. The most common requirement for web graphics is to enter a hex RGB color.
Local colors and Theme colors Web Designer Premium has two types of color: Local colors are used in only one place in the document. Each object has a separate color and nothing is shared. This is useful if you want to change the color of an object without affecting other objects. Local colors are the easiest method and best for simple documents that use relatively few colors. "Applying color" and "Editing an object's color" above describe local color handling.
Theme color schemes Many of the web themes offered in the Designs Gallery and in separately purchasable Template Packs include alternative color schemes which can easily be applied to websites which use the same theme, to transform the color scheme instantly. The color schemes are normally found in the Designs Gallery in each theme, after all the page layouts and separate graphic elements that make up the theme.
Creating your own color schemes It's very easy to create your own color scheme files, which you can pass on to other Web Designer Premium users for them to apply to websites created with the same theme. 1. Load one of the page templates for the theme. Choose one which shows off all the colors of the theme most effectively. You can add more elements to the page if required, to help show off the range of theme colors. 2.
Creating new named colors If you want to use the same color in different parts of the drawing, and there is any chance you might want to change that color in future, if is highly recommended that you create a named color . This is easy in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium: Select an object whose color you want to use and then click New named color in the Color editor . Click to create a new named color Give the color a suitable name, like "car color" and click create.
Editing named colors There are three ways to display the color in the Color Editor so it can be edited: Choose from the menu in the Color Editor. Or right click on the color on the Color Line and choose Edit from the menu that appears. Or drag & drop a color from the Color Line onto the Color Editor. You can then edit the color as required. All objects that use this color are automatically and immediately updated to show the new color.
Renaming named colors While editing a Named Color, right click on the Color Editor and select Rename Or right click the color on the Color Line and select Rename. Deleting named colors To delete a named color right click on the color on the Color Line and choose Delete . Deleting unused colors To clear the Color Line of unused colors, right click a Theme or Named color and choose Delete .
Deleting named colors To delete a named color right click on the color on the Color Line and choose Delete . Deleting unused colors To clear the Color Line of unused colors, right click a Theme or Named color and choose Delete . If the color is being used in the current document, Web Designer Premium displays a message that allows you to cancel the deletion or use local colors instead. However note that by default unused named colors are automatically deleted when a document is saved or loaded.
Deleting unused colors To clear the Color Line of unused colors, right click a Theme or Named color and choose Delete . If the color is being used in the current document, Web Designer Premium displays a message that allows you to cancel the deletion or use local colors instead. However note that by default unused named colors are automatically deleted when a document is saved or loaded. You can change this option in the View tab of the "Utilities" > "Options " dialog.
Importing named colors When a design is imported into the current document (e.g. import from the Designs Gallery , import a XAR file or paste objects in from another design) if there are any named colors in the imported design which have the same names but different color values as colors in the current design, an alert appears as follows: If you want the imported objects to inherit the colors of your current design, choose the "Match " option.
Make Named Color local to Frame/Layer When you click this button, a new named color is created which is identical to the one you have selected. This new color is then applied to all objects in the current frame or layer that use the selected named color. This means that with one click you can localize a color to the frame/layer. You can then independently edit the original color and this localized color.
Normal colors, Tints, Shades and Linked colors Normal colors These are the normal stand-alone colors you apply to objects. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can also define colors that are linked to another color, that is when the parent color changes the linked color will change as well. There are three ways you can link a color to its parent Tints, Shades, and Linked colors . These are very powerful techniques that allow, for example, single-click re-coloring of complex shaded drawings.
Normal colors These are the normal stand-alone colors you apply to objects. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can also define colors that are linked to another color, that is when the parent color changes the linked color will change as well. There are three ways you can link a color to its parent Tints, Shades, and Linked colors . These are very powerful techniques that allow, for example, single-click re-coloring of complex shaded drawings. Some of the example clipart uses this technique.
Tints Tints are based on other colors (called the parent color) and are always a paler version of the parent. They have two main uses: Where you have paler shades of a parent color and you may want to change the parent color in future with the tints automatically updating. To extend the range of colors available from printing inks. For example, a 25% red tint gives a pink color. Therefore using just a red ink you can have both a pure red and a pink using only one ink.
Shades These allow both lighter and darker colors to be created all based on a parent color. Changing the color of the parent changes all associated shades. For example, a drawing of a car might use shades for the highlight and shaded regions of the car body. A single edit to the parent changes all the colors of the entire body but keeps the shading correct. Setting up shades this way is more time consuming but it is a very powerful way of altering colors.
Linked colors Linked colors are similar to shades but give greater flexibility. These are also based on a parent color but you define which attributes you want the linked color to share with its parent. For example you can create a linked color that is a more or less saturated version of the parent, but the hue and lightness / darkness follow the parent.
Creating a Tint, Shade or Linked color See above for a description of Tints, Shades and Linked colors . They are useful where you want a lighter or darker shade to track that of a parent color. Tints, shades and Linked color have to have a master "parent" color, which needs to be a named color, so that when you change this parent color, the tint will change as well. So, if necessary, first create a named color (see Creating new named colors ). To create a tint, shade or linked color: 1.
parent. Note: Be careful not to edit the color of objects on the page to which you've applied Named, Tints, Shades, or Linked colors as this will change them to Local colors .
Editing the parent color The key point of using tints, shades and linked colors is that they track any changes to the parent color. To see this working try editing the Named color that is the parent (drag it from the Color Line to the Color Editor and alter the color). You will see the objects with the tint, shade or linked color change in sync with the parent.
Text Handling In this chapter Introduction Terminology The Text Tool The Font Menu Simple text Text in a column Text areas Text along a curve Editing text Spell checker Find & Replace Synchronising Text using Soft Groups Tabs, Margins and Indents Repelling text objects Anchored Graphics Applying text styles Text links Text inside groups for websites Copying text styles Copying/Pasting formatted text (RTF) Seeing fonts in use Font embedding Browser text compatibility Page 566
Introduction The text editing facilities of Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are very like your text editor or word processor, but in addition it provides a range of features you won't find in those programs: You can enlarge or magnify text to a huge degree. You can apply the range of normal Xara Web Designer 7 Premium attributes and effects: fills, feather, transparency, color fades, shadows, and still continue to edit the text.
Terminology Font or Typeface : A set of characters with a consistent style. Font family : A set of similar fonts. For example Garamond and Garamond Italic are different fonts from the same Garamond family. Justification: An alternative way of describing text alignment. Left aligned text is sometimes called left justified, or flush-left, or ragged right. Monospaced : All the individual characters of a monospaced font have the same width. Sometimes referred to a fixed width fonts. Useful for program listings.
The Text Tool Use the Text Tool ("F8") to enter or edit text. Text Tool InfoBar Left Side Font Font Size Bold Italic Underlined Justification Text Tool InfoBar Right Side Subscript/Superscript Line Spacing Paragraph Spacing Bulleted Lists Numbered lists Indent Outdent Spell Checker Xara Web Designer 7 Premium supports three basic type of text objects Simple text lines: Click on the page, and type. Text columns: Click and drag to create a column, and type.
The Font Menu The font menu lists all installed fonts, and is split into three sections. The top section displays those fonts that are currently used in the document. The second section shows the "web safe" fonts. These are the fonts you can safely use in web pages, because all commonly used web browsers will support these fonts. See Web Safe Fonts section. The final section displays an alphabetical list of all other installed fonts.
Live Font Size preview Next to the font size menu is a small pop-up slider control, like that used elsewhere in Web Designer Premium. This provides a direct, live font size control, and will adjust the font size of the selected text in real-time as you drag the slider. Click to display font size pop-up As with the pop-up sliders used elsewhere this can be used two ways. "Click + release" on the arrow and the pop-up will appear and stay on screen.
Web Safe Fonts Only a small set of fonts can be used safely for the main text of a website - only those fonts that you know will exist on the computer of the viewer of your website. Although there are no guarantees, there is a common subset of fonts that are widely used by something like 98% of all computers, including Apple Mac and some Linux computers. These fonts are called the 'web safe fonts', and are listed in a separate section of the font menu.
Live Font Preview As you move the mouse pointer over any entry in the font menu, the selected text in the document is instantly updated to preview the font. This is not a permanent change until you actually click on the required font. Moving the mouse pointer over the menu will revert back to the initial font until you move over another entry. This is great for very rapidly previewing large numbers of fonts.
Live Font Size preview Next to the font size menu is a small pop-up slider control, like that used elsewhere in Web Designer Premium. This provides a direct, live font size control, and will adjust the font size of the selected text in real-time as you drag the slider. Click to display font size pop-up As with the pop-up sliders used elsewhere this can be used two ways. "Click + release" on the arrow and the pop-up will appear and stay on screen.
Instant font menu navigation While the font menu is displayed, you can type the initial characters of the font name, and the menu will be scrolled to that section of the list. E.g. if you type "ver" it will instantly scroll and locate the Verdana font.
Simple text If you wish to type a small amount of simple text, position the pointer where you want to enter text and click. A red cursor appears where you clicked and you can now start typing on the keyboard. If you make a mistake, use "Delete" and "Backspace" in the usual way. Pressing "Enter" completes the line and starts a new line of text below it. The inter-line spacing is controlled by the line spacing text box on the InfoBar. By default text has no outline color.
Text in a column If you are entering larger amounts of text, over multiple lines, using a column may be more useful. Changing the width of the column will automatically re-flow the text. To type a column of text: 1. Select the Text Tool. 2. Move the mouse pointer where you want the column to start. 3. Drag right to create a horizontal line the width of the column. This red line just shows you the width of the column. It is never exported or printed. 4. Type in the text.
Changing the width of the column Drag either of the two red handles at the ends of the line. Changing the angle of the column "ñ+ drag" either of the red handles at the end of the line to change the angle of the column. Alternatively, "Ctrl + drag" to restrain the line to the constrain angles. Or alternatively you can use the Selector Tool to rotate the object in the usual way. For more on constrain angles, see Introduction to Xara Web Designer 7 Premium.
Changing the angle of the column "ñ+ drag" either of the red handles at the end of the line to change the angle of the column. Alternatively, "Ctrl + drag" to restrain the line to the constrain angles. Or alternatively you can use the Selector Tool to rotate the object in the usual way. For more on constrain angles, see Introduction to Xara Web Designer 7 Premium.
Text areas In the Text Tool if you click and drag diagonally on the page you will create a rectangular text area. The blinking cursor will be positioned in the top left corner and you can type or paste text. A text area can contain a "flowing" text story. This is where a single piece of text flows from one text area to another. It's called flowing text because, like water, as you add or remove text in one area it overflows into connected text areas or flows back from text areas.
a resize will resize the text and areas together. But if you resize a text area that is part of a flowing series of text areas, then only the container size is altered and the text inside remains the original size, and will be re-formatted to fit the new size. This is like resizing a text area with the Text Tool. If you want to resize all text in a text story, select it all with "Ctrl + A", and apply the required font size.
Connecting text areas—text flow When text overflows the bottom of the text area, an overflow indicator is shown on the bottom of the area. If you drag this over any other text area, the overflow text will flow into the new text area, and the two areas become connected. This is shown with a flow arrow. Dragging the overflow indicator from one text area to another will connect the two areas so text flows from one to another. You can link as many together as you require.
Text flow is unaffected if you rotate any of the text areas Hold down "Ctrl" while rotating to constrain the text rotation angle to 90° angles and screen aligned angles. Word count The word and character count total of the current text is shown in the status line. This also shows the number of overflowing words. If any region of text is selected, it shows the count of this selection instead.
Resizing text areas Using the Text Tool , you can click and drag on any of the corner control handles. The text in the area will be reformatted to fit the new size. Alternatively you can use the Selector Tool to resize the text object, but in this case the behavior is different. If you resize a text object using the Selector Tool, the text itself changes size. This is consistent with the normal operation of the Selector Tool .
Word count The word and character count total of the current text is shown in the status line. This also shows the number of overflowing words. If any region of text is selected, it shows the count of this selection instead.
Text along a curve To place text along a curve of your choice: 1. Create either basic text, text in a column or a text area (see above). 2. Select your text object and one curve. 3. Choose "Arrange" > "Fit text to curve". Alternatively, select a curve or line and then in the Text Tool , click on the line, where you want the text to start, and type. This automatically fits the text along the line.
Adjusting the left and right margin of text on a curve If you just start typing or place a column of text on a curve, you can change the start and end position of the red handles. Just drag them along the curve as required. If you center text it will be between these two margins. Swapping sides of the line Right click on the text and select the Reverse text on curve menu option.
Swapping sides of the line Right click on the text and select the Reverse text on curve menu option. Alternatively, if you reverse the direction of the line (Shape Editor Tool, Reverse paths button on the InfoBar), then the text will move to the other side of the line or, in the case of a closed shape, move from the inside to the outside of the shape.
Editing text Double clicking on a text object in any tool takes you into the Text Tool and places the cursor at the click position in the text. All the normal word processor-style cursor and mouse operations can be used. For example: Click where you want to place the cursor. Use the left and right arrow keys to move left, right, up or down. Use "Ctrl + left and right arrow keys" to move left or right one word. Press "Home" or "End" to move to the start or end of the line.
Entering dummy text ('Lorem Ipsum') When creating page layouts, it's common practice to use dummy text, which is a type of pseudo-Latin (it doesn't really mean anything), but has the overall appearance of typical English text (or other similar Latin-based languages). The text begins "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet...
Selecting the whole text object There is a quick shortcut for selecting the whole text object. Instead of using "Ctrl + A" or dragging across all the text, simply press the "Esc" key. This removes the cursor but selects the whole text (the status line will confirm 1 text object). This makes it easy to apply an effect or attribute to the whole text story. For example, to change the font size of the whole text object, just press "Esc" and select the new size from the InfoBar.
Swap case Pressing "Ctrl + W" will swap the case of the character after the cursor and move the cursor on. So, if you've accidentally typed a section of text with the caps lock key on, just place the cursor at the start and press and hold "Ctrl + W". You can swap the case of a selected region of text, the same way. The cursor will not be moved.
Smart Quotes When you type quote ' or double quote " characters, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will automatically convert these into the more appropriate and aesthetically accurate opening or closing quotes. So this changes 'this' into 'this' and "quotes" into "quotes". It's smart enough to understand the use of single quotes within words to signify missing characters, so that 'don't' becomes 'don't' .
Entering special characters There are a number of useful shortcuts to allow insertion of special characters, like © or ™. See Special characters (in Text Tool) section in "Menus and keyboard shortcuts". All these shortcuts (with the exception of the hard space) are compatible with Microsoft Word.
Entering dummy text ('Lorem Ipsum') When creating page layouts, it's common practice to use dummy text, which is a type of pseudo-Latin (it doesn't really mean anything), but has the overall appearance of typical English text (or other similar Latin-based languages). The text begins "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet...
Spell checker The Text Tool includes a spell checker. To turn it on, select the Spell Checker icon on the Text Tool infobar, which opens a menu. Select "Check spelling as you type ". Now all unrecognized words in your document and as you type are shown with a red dashed underline. To correct a misspelled word, right click on it and the context menu shows you suggested correct spellings of the word at the top of the menu. Simply select one of the suggestions to replace the word.
Language selection The menu shown when you click on the Spell Checker icon on the infobar lists all the languages for which you have dictionaries installed. By default the language corresponding to the current locale setting is selected. You can choose different languages for different text objects, so you can use text in multiple languages in your document if required.
User dictionary Words that you use regularly which are not in the dictionary provided with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can be added to your own personal dictionary. Right click on the word and choose "Add to user dictionary ". Now the word is no longer shown as being misspelled. The user dictionary applies to all documents that you use on your computer and it applies to all languages.
Find & Replace The Find & Replace function performs live search so that as you type the search string the text is searched and highlighted in real-time. To search for some text select the menu "Edit" > "Find/Replace..." or "Ctrl + Alt + F" and the following dialog is displayed: Enter the search string and it's shown highlighted in the text. You can choose to search just the current text story, page or the whole document (all text flows on all pages).
Synchronising Text using Soft Groups In some designs, you may find you need multiple text objects to always show the same text, but perhaps using different styles. Animating text in an animation document is one example of this and mouse over buttons which highlight when the mouse pointer is moved over them in a web browser is another. Normally when you want to change the text shown on these objects, you'd need to edit each one individually.
Tabs, Margins and Indents Rulers To adjust tabs, margins and indents you need to turn on rulers in your document. To do this: Choose "Windows" > "Show Rulers" or right click a page and choose "Show Grid/Guides" > "Show Rulers". Or press "Ctrl + ñ + R". Or press "Ctrl + L" (when not in the Text Tool). The enhanced text features will only appear on the ruler when you are using the Text Tool and when the text cursor is in a text story or the text object is selected when in the Text Tool .
If you have clicked on the line or fitted a column of text to a curve or line then you have left and right margin indicators (small red squares) that can be dragged along the line to adjust the margins used for justification. Tabs By default, text stories are created with tabs set 0.5 cm apart. This means you can just press "Tab" and your text will be moved along to the next tab stop. You only need to define new tab stop positions if you want alternative tab spacing.
tab-aligned. How to creating hanging indents Hanging Indents, as they are known, are where the first line of a paragraph has a negative margin or a margin that hangs to the left of the normal left margin. Numbered or bulleted lists are examples of hanging indents. To create hanging indents: 1. Drag the left margin inwards. 2. Click on the ruler away from the left margin (creates a new tab stop) and drag this tab stop to be exactly over the left margin. 3.
Rulers To adjust tabs, margins and indents you need to turn on rulers in your document. To do this: Choose "Windows" > "Show Rulers" or right click a page and choose "Show Grid/Guides" > "Show Rulers". Or press "Ctrl + ñ + R". Or press "Ctrl + L" (when not in the Text Tool). The enhanced text features will only appear on the ruler when you are using the Text Tool and when the text cursor is in a text story or the text object is selected when in the Text Tool .
Tabs By default, text stories are created with tabs set 0.5 cm apart. This means you can just press "Tab" and your text will be moved along to the next tab stop. You only need to define new tab stop positions if you want alternative tab spacing. These default tabs are shown as faint Ls on the ruler: Standard tabs, indicated by faint "L"s Custom tabs To create a custom tab position, just click on the ruler where you wish to place the new tab. It will replace default tabs up to that point on the ruler.
How to creating hanging indents Hanging Indents, as they are known, are where the first line of a paragraph has a negative margin or a margin that hangs to the left of the normal left margin. Numbered or bulleted lists are examples of hanging indents. To create hanging indents: 1. Drag the left margin inwards. 2. Click on the ruler away from the left margin (creates a new tab stop) and drag this tab stop to be exactly over the left margin. 3.
Margins and indents Any changes you make are made to the current paragraph of text. (i.e. the paragraph containing the text cursor) or, if you have a selected region of text, to the paragraphs of the selected region. You can apply changes to all text in a text story by selecting all the text within that story ("Ctrl + A"). To change more than one text story, select the text objects while in the Selector Tool then change to the Text Tool and make the required changes. Left margin .
The triangle indicates a custom tab To set more than one tab click multiple times on the ruler. To move a custom tab drag it along the ruler. To remove a tab drag it off of the ruler (default tabs will come back). Custom tab types You can set different types of custom tab. By default, custom tabs are left align tabs. This means that text will be aligned with the tab on the left of the text. To change the tab type, click the tab icon on the ruler. The following custom tab types are available.
Text along a curve If you have fitted a single line of text to the curve using the Fit text to curve option, then the curve line is the margin. If the text is longer than the line it will just flow off the end. If you have clicked on the line or fitted a column of text to a curve or line then you have left and right margin indicators (small red squares) that can be dragged along the line to adjust the margins used for justification. Tabs By default, text stories are created with tabs set 0.5 cm apart.
Decimal point align: The decimal points in the text will be aligned with the tab. This is useful for lists and, however long the number, the decimal points (periods) will be tab-aligned. How to creating hanging indents Hanging Indents, as they are known, are where the first line of a paragraph has a negative margin or a margin that hangs to the left of the normal left margin. Numbered or bulleted lists are examples of hanging indents. To create hanging indents: 1. Drag the left margin inwards. 2.
Tabs By default, text stories are created with tabs set 0.5 cm apart. This means you can just press "Tab" and your text will be moved along to the next tab stop. You only need to define new tab stop positions if you want alternative tab spacing. These default tabs are shown as faint Ls on the ruler: Standard tabs, indicated by faint "L"s Custom tabs To create a custom tab position, just click on the ruler where you wish to place the new tab. It will replace default tabs up to that point on the ruler.
How to creating hanging indents Hanging Indents, as they are known, are where the first line of a paragraph has a negative margin or a margin that hangs to the left of the normal left margin. Numbered or bulleted lists are examples of hanging indents. To create hanging indents: 1. Drag the left margin inwards. 2. Click on the ruler away from the left margin (creates a new tab stop) and drag this tab stop to be exactly over the left margin. 3.
Custom tabs To create a custom tab position, just click on the ruler where you wish to place the new tab. It will replace default tabs up to that point on the ruler. For example: The triangle indicates a custom tab To set more than one tab click multiple times on the ruler. To move a custom tab drag it along the ruler. To remove a tab drag it off of the ruler (default tabs will come back). Custom tab types You can set different types of custom tab. By default, custom tabs are left align tabs.
2. Click on the ruler away from the left margin (creates a new tab stop) and drag this tab stop to be exactly over the left margin. 3. Now each line will start outdented?you can insert any special character or number and press "Tab" to move to the left margin. And (as with this paragraph) all subsequent lines of text are indented to the left margin.
Custom tab types You can set different types of custom tab. By default, custom tabs are left align tabs. This means that text will be aligned with the tab on the left of the text. To change the tab type, click the tab icon on the ruler. The following custom tab types are available. You are not limited to just one type in a story, and can choose a different type then set additional tabs. Left align: The text will be aligned with the tab to the left.
How to creating hanging indents Hanging Indents, as they are known, are where the first line of a paragraph has a negative margin or a margin that hangs to the left of the normal left margin. Numbered or bulleted lists are examples of hanging indents. To create hanging indents: 1. Drag the left margin inwards. 2. Click on the ruler away from the left margin (creates a new tab stop) and drag this tab stop to be exactly over the left margin. 3.
Repelling text objects You can make any object in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium repel text so that text underneath it automatically flows around the object, instead of appearing underneath it. This makes it easy to lay out pages containing long passages of text combined with photos and graphics. Once you've set them to repel, you can adjust the positions of your graphics and photos and the text will automatically adjust and reflow around them.
the H (horizontal) box and width in the V (vertical) box. Click OK . To turn off repelling right click the object and choose the Repel text under option again to deselect it. Or right click and select Repelling & Anchoring to display the Text repelling & anchoring dialog again. Click the Repel text around this graphic checkbox to deselect it and click OK . Note that single lines of text do not respond to repelling objects, only text areas and text columns do.
Making an object repel To make an object repel text, right click it and select the Repel text under option. Any text in the same layer underneath the object will be repelled with a default margin of 5 pixels between the text and object. Note that repelling text objects only repel text that is underneath the objects, not any text that is on top. Alternatively right click on the object and select Repelling & Anchoring to display the Text repelling & anchoring dialog.
Anchored Graphics You can position any graphic, or group, so it's tied (anchored) to a position in some text, so that as the text moves because of editing, the graphic object will move to remain at the same relative position. 1. The quickest way to anchor a graphic or group is to right click it and choose the Anchor to text option. However, if you also want to edit anchoring properties, you can right click on the object and select Repelling & Anchoring to display the Text repelling & anchoring dialog. 2.
This is an example column of text with various graphic elements hanging to the left. Each of these is anchored to the start of a line of text immediately to its right. It's possible to anchor any graphic object or group, including groups containing text, such as the example side-panel, shown above. It's also possible to anchor objects to appear on top of, or below the text. The example pale blue flower graphic, shown above, is anchored this way and will flow with the text.
Tool . However, when you start to edit the text, the red caret, arrow and anchored symbol temporarily disappear until you stop typing. If you are close to the anchor point, Web Designer Premium displays the caret mark, along with an arrow pointing to the anchor symbol, to let you know when you're close.
Moving Anchored Objects As new text is added or deleted, the object moves as the text flows, but will always maintain its new position relative to the anchor point. You can move an anchored graphic by dragging on it as usual. This changes its position relative to the anchor point, but does not move the anchor point, which remains visible at the end of the anchor symbol arrow as you click/move the graphic.
Viewing the anchor point The anchor point of an anchored object is only visible if you click the anchored object in the Selector Tool or click in the surrounding text area in the Text Tool . When you click in a region of text with the Text Tool, it shows any anchors points within an inverted 'T' symbol, and also draws an arrow from the anchor point to the anchor symbol in the top left of each anchored object. So the easiest way to see all the anchor points for any text is to click in it with the Text Tool .
Inline anchored objects If you want to embed a small graphic into a line of text, such as an icon graphic like this ; inline with the text, so it flows with the text, drag or paste the image in as an anchored object that repels and position its anchor point anywhere in the copy. It's recommended you use non-breaking space characters ("Ctrl + Space bar"). Soft Groups You can anchor Soft Groups (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ) the same way, even where part of the group is on another layer.
Soft Groups You can anchor Soft Groups (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ) the same way, even where part of the group is on another layer. For example web buttons with mouseover effects or pop-ups on different layers can be anchored in this way. Removing an anchor To remove an anchor from an object, right click it and choose Anchor to text again to disable the option. Now when you click the object in the Selector Tool or in the text in the Text Tool , the anchor symbol is no longer displayed.
Removing an anchor To remove an anchor from an object, right click it and choose Anchor to text again to disable the option. Now when you click the object in the Selector Tool or in the text in the Text Tool , the anchor symbol is no longer displayed.
Applying text styles Changing the font size There are several ways to change the font size: Type a new value into the size text box on the InfoBar and press ¿. Or select from the Font size drop-down list on the InfoBar. Or use the Font size pop-up slider. Or manually increase/decrease font size with the "Ctrl + Shift + >" and "Ctrl + Shift + <" keyboard shortcuts. This applies only if all selected text parts are of the same font size. Or use the Selector Tool to scale the whole text object.
Indents and Outdents Indent a paragraph of text. Outdent a paragraph of text. Bulleted Lists You can turn any text into a bulleted list by selecting the text and then selecting the bulleted list button on the infobar. Each paragraph of text becomes a separate bullet. If you press return to finish a line at the end of one bullet point, the next line starts with a bullet point to.
Subscript & superscript Click the appropriate button on the InfoBar. Normal text subscript superscript Line spacing Line spacing allows you to change the space between two lines (so affects vertical spacing). Line spacing is measured in percentages (120%) or points (12pt). You can either type the line space value in the text box or click the arrows to nudge the values. A percentage setting has the benefit of scaling accordingly if you change your font size.
Changing the font size There are several ways to change the font size: Type a new value into the size text box on the InfoBar and press ¿. Or select from the Font size drop-down list on the InfoBar. Or use the Font size pop-up slider. Or manually increase/decrease font size with the "Ctrl + Shift + >" and "Ctrl + Shift + <" keyboard shortcuts. This applies only if all selected text parts are of the same font size. Or use the Selector Tool to scale the whole text object.
Outdent a paragraph of text. Bulleted Lists You can turn any text into a bulleted list by selecting the text and then selecting the bulleted list button on the infobar. Each paragraph of text becomes a separate bullet. If you press return to finish a line at the end of one bullet point, the next line starts with a bullet point to. To finish entering a bulleted list, hit return on the end of the last bullet and then immediately hit return again on the new bulleted line.
Click the appropriate button on the InfoBar. Normal text subscript superscript Line spacing Line spacing allows you to change the space between two lines (so affects vertical spacing). Line spacing is measured in percentages (120%) or points (12pt). You can either type the line space value in the text box or click the arrows to nudge the values. A percentage setting has the benefit of scaling accordingly if you change your font size.
Bold & Italic Click the Bold or Italic button on the InfoBar ("Ctrl + B" or "Ctrl + I") This applies the bold or italic variant of the current font. Attention: Xara Web Designer 7 Premium does not allow you to apply italic or bold to text if the necessary italic/bold font is not installed. However you can easily emulate the same effect. To embolden a font, just give it a small line width and apply a line color. To slant a font, use the skew / slant feature of the Selector Tool .
normal text again. You can nest bulleted lists by pressing the indent button on the infobar. This indents the current bulleted line and changes the bullet character to a different style, to distinguish it from the parent bullet. Example of a nested bulleted list To move a bullet point from a sub-list into its parent bulleted list, simply place the text cursor in it and press the outdent button. So it's easy to make and edit arrangements of nested bulleted lists using the indent and outdent buttons.
contains 90% and 100% text, the line spacing is calculated on 100%. Paragraph Spacing The last two fields on the end of the Text Tool InfoBar allow you to set the spacing above and/or below paragraphs. This is particularly useful where you want half line spaces between paragraphs. Like Microsoft Word, when you use both spacing above and below paragraphs, the spacing between paragraphs is whichever is the greater value (it's not cumulative).
Text Underlining Click the underline button on the InfoBar to apply an underline to the selected text. The underline color and size is automatically derived from the text color and size. Justification or text alignment Justification always applies to the complete line. Any selected region is ignored. Left justification: Align the left-hand edge of the text to the initial click position. Center justification: Centers the text around the click position.
Example of a nested bulleted list To move a bullet point from a sub-list into its parent bulleted list, simply place the text cursor in it and press the outdent button. So it's easy to make and edit arrangements of nested bulleted lists using the indent and outdent buttons. Numbered lists You can create and edit numbered lists in just the same way as described for bulleted lists above, using the numbered list button.
The last two fields on the end of the Text Tool InfoBar allow you to set the spacing above and/or below paragraphs. This is particularly useful where you want half line spaces between paragraphs. Like Microsoft Word, when you use both spacing above and below paragraphs, the spacing between paragraphs is whichever is the greater value (it's not cumulative). Paragraph spacing above paragraphs will move the first paragraph down in a frame of text.
Justification or text alignment Justification always applies to the complete line. Any selected region is ignored. Left justification: Align the left-hand edge of the text to the initial click position. Center justification: Centers the text around the click position. Right justification: Align the right-hand edge of the text to the initial click position. Full justification: This only applies when text is along a curve or in a column and when there is at least one full line of text to justify.
place the text cursor in it and press the outdent button. So it's easy to make and edit arrangements of nested bulleted lists using the indent and outdent buttons. Numbered lists You can create and edit numbered lists in just the same way as described for bulleted lists above, using the numbered list button. You can also choose the numbering scheme to be used for each list, using the List properties dialog.
Indents and Outdents Indent a paragraph of text. Outdent a paragraph of text. Bulleted Lists You can turn any text into a bulleted list by selecting the text and then selecting the bulleted list button on the infobar. Each paragraph of text becomes a separate bullet. If you press return to finish a line at the end of one bullet point, the next line starts with a bullet point to.
subsequent entries in the list. Subscript & superscript Click the appropriate button on the InfoBar. Normal text subscript superscript Line spacing Line spacing allows you to change the space between two lines (so affects vertical spacing). Line spacing is measured in percentages (120%) or points (12pt). You can either type the line space value in the text box or click the arrows to nudge the values. A percentage setting has the benefit of scaling accordingly if you change your font size.
Bulleted Lists You can turn any text into a bulleted list by selecting the text and then selecting the bulleted list button on the infobar. Each paragraph of text becomes a separate bullet. If you press return to finish a line at the end of one bullet point, the next line starts with a bullet point to. To finish entering a bulleted list, hit return on the end of the last bullet and then immediately hit return again on the new bulleted line.
Line spacing Line spacing allows you to change the space between two lines (so affects vertical spacing). Line spacing is measured in percentages (120%) or points (12pt). You can either type the line space value in the text box or click the arrows to nudge the values. A percentage setting has the benefit of scaling accordingly if you change your font size. If a percentage is applied to a line of text with more than one font size, the largest font size is used.
Numbered lists You can create and edit numbered lists in just the same way as described for bulleted lists above, using the numbered list button. You can also choose the numbering scheme to be used for each list, using the List properties dialog. Place the text cursor in one of the numbered list points, press the right mouse button and choose 'List properties… " from the context menu.
Subscript & superscript Click the appropriate button on the InfoBar. Normal text subscript superscript Line spacing Line spacing allows you to change the space between two lines (so affects vertical spacing). Line spacing is measured in percentages (120%) or points (12pt). You can either type the line space value in the text box or click the arrows to nudge the values. A percentage setting has the benefit of scaling accordingly if you change your font size.
Line spacing Line spacing allows you to change the space between two lines (so affects vertical spacing). Line spacing is measured in percentages (120%) or points (12pt). You can either type the line space value in the text box or click the arrows to nudge the values. A percentage setting has the benefit of scaling accordingly if you change your font size. If a percentage is applied to a line of text with more than one font size, the largest font size is used.
Paragraph Spacing The last two fields on the end of the Text Tool InfoBar allow you to set the spacing above and/or below paragraphs. This is particularly useful where you want half line spaces between paragraphs. Like Microsoft Word, when you use both spacing above and below paragraphs, the spacing between paragraphs is whichever is the greater value (it's not cumulative). Paragraph spacing above paragraphs will move the first paragraph down in a frame of text.
Text links You can apply a link to any part of a text object, so that when the document is exported as HTML the text shows as a clickable link in web browsers. Use the Text Tool to select the words or characters that you want to apply the link to, then click the link button on the Web toolbar. This brings up the Web Properties dialog, with the Link tab selected. On this tab you can choose whether to link to a URL, to another page of your website, or even to a pop-up layer.
Text inside groups for websites When a document is exported as a website, all groups get exported as images. So any text inside groups is not present as text in your exported website, and so it can't be picked up by search engines or selected and copied as text by a visitor to your site. For graphical buttons, headings, logos etc. this is usually desirable as the text just forms part of the graphic.
Copying text styles It's easy to copy the style of any text to any other region of text using the Paste attributes feature: Select the source region from where you want to copy the style. This can be as little as a word (just double click). Select "Edit" > "Copy" ("Ctrl + C"). Select the region of text to which you want to apply the style. Select "Edit" > "Paste attributes" ("Ctrl + ñ + A").
Applying attributes to whole text stories When you have the cursor in a simple or column text object, pressing "Esc" will select the whole text object. You can then apply an attribute, say a color, and the whole text object is altered. This is often quicker than performing "Select all" ("Ctrl + A"). With text areas this method only works if all text areas of the story are selected. You can do this in the Selector Tool clicking and "Shift + clicking" on the different text areas to select them.
Copying/Pasting formatted text (RTF) You can copy "rich text" (as it's sometimes known) from other applications such as word processors or editors and paste into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium as text, and the fonts, margins, line spacing and text links will be preserved. This makes it dramatically easier to retain the style and appearance of your text.
Seeing fonts in use It is sometimes useful to see what fonts are used in your document, particularly if you are sharing files with other Web Designer Premium users who may not have the same fonts installed. For a complete list of fonts used in your document choose "File" > "Document info ". Any fonts that are used in the document but are not currently installed on your computer have not installed by them.
Font embedding Xara Web Designer 7 Premium stores the character shapes of all the fonts used in your document. This means if you give someone else your design file, or transfer the file to another computer, the text will still look exactly right, even if the correct fonts are not installed on that computer. But this only embeds the characters that are used in the document (the full font is not included).
Browser text compatibility It is a sad fact that different browsers display the same text slightly differently, usually at a slightly different size or line length (so for example 10pt text is not displayed at 10pt size but at the nearest whole pixel size instead (13 pixels). Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is designed to emulate the behavior of the most common browsers and adjusts intermediate sizes to be whole pixels, and adjusts the line lengths to closely emulate the text on Windows browsers.
The Fill Tool In this chapter Creating a graduated color fill Fill types Fill Tool InfoBar Flat fills Linear fills Circular fills Elliptical fills Conical fills Diamond fills Three-color fills Four-color fills Bitmap fills Fractal fills Multi-stage color graduations The Fill Gallery Creating a graduated color fill The process of creating a different fill is almost identical for all the fill types: 1. Select the object or objects to which you want to apply the fill. 2. Select the Fill Tool ("F5") 3.
Creating a graduated color fill The process of creating a different fill is almost identical for all the fill types: 1. Select the object or objects to which you want to apply the fill. 2. Select the Fill Tool ("F5") 3. Select the fill type from the dropdown menu 4. Click-drag across the object to create the fill. Or, drag one of the fill handles to adjust the fill size and position Xara Web Designer 7 Premium provides a smooth interactive live preview of the fill as you drag.
Fill types Web Designer Premium has these types of color fill: Flat fills - the shape has an even color or tone over its surface. Linear fills - the color gradually changes from one color to another. Circular fills - the color change radiates out from a single point in a circular pattern. Elliptical fills - similar to circular fills except the change radiates out in an elliptical pattern. Conical fills - the color change rotates around a single point.
contrast than a fractal cloud fill. The Fill Tool lets you apply these fill types to the selected object(s) and to edit and adjust the fills. Automatic select inside In the Fill Tool, an automatic "Select inside" is performed when you click on an object that is a part of a group, instead of selecting the group as a whole. This makes it easier for you to work on photos and fills inside groups.
Fill Tool InfoBar Fill Type Fill tiling Fill effect Bitmap name Fill handle/Resolution Handle color/Grain Fill type selects the type of fill. Selecting from this menu: with a selected object, applies the fill to the object; without a selected object, sets the default current fill type, which is then used for newly drawn objects. Fill tiling is used when applying bitmap and fractal fills. The options are described later in bitmap fills. Fill tiling changes the repetition of the fill effect.
between the start and end of the fill. Show three different black-to-white graduated color fills and the corresponding profile dialogs. The center, default, is a linear black-to-white transition. Fill handle -tells you if the start or end handle is selected. This field is blank for flat fills. Resolution (bitmap and fractal fills only)-shows the resolution of the bitmap (as long as you don't have a fill handle selected). You can type in a new resolution to change the size of the bitmap.
Flat fills To apply or change a flat fill: 1. Select flat fill from the fill type menu. 2. Choose a color from the Color Line. The Color Line is described in Color handling .
Linear fills To apply a linear fill: 1. Select linear fill from the fill type menu (not necessary if the object currently has a flat fill). 2. Position the pointer where you want to start the fill (this can be outside the object). 3. Drag the mouse pointer to where you want the fill to end (again, this point can be outside the object). The arrow drawn on the selected object is called the fill arrow. It indicates the direction and extent of the fill. You can select either end of the arrow by clicking it.
Moving the start or end handle of the fill To change the direction and extent of the fill: 1. Move the pointer over the handle you want to move. When over the handle, the pointer changes shape. 2. Drag the handle. Changing the colors in a fill To change a color in a fill: Drag & drop the color from the Color Line onto a fill handle (you do not have to select the handle first.) Or, drag & drop the color onto the object. Each fill has an imaginary center line halfway along the fill arrow.
Changing the colors in a fill To change a color in a fill: Drag & drop the color from the Color Line onto a fill handle (you do not have to select the handle first.) Or, drag & drop the color onto the object. Each fill has an imaginary center line halfway along the fill arrow. Dropping the color on the start handle side changes the start handle color, and the end handle side changes the end handle. Or, if one of the end handles is selected (it's shown highlighted) just click on a color.
Circular fills For circular fills, applying the fill, moving handles and changing colors are the same as for linear fills. The start handle is the center of the fill. Circular fills are useful for creating highlight effects. Changing the height/width ratio of the object automatically changes a circular fill into an elliptical fill (see below).
Elliptical fills Applying an elliptical fill is similar to applying linear fills. As you drag the mouse pointer, you first create a circle with two end handles. You can then drag the end handles to create a suitable ellipse. " ?+ drag" preserves the aspect ratio of the fill. "Ctrl + drag" constrains rotation to the preset constrain angles. Moving handles and changing colors are the same as for linear fills. A quick way to apply a elliptical fill: "Shift + drag" to create a elliptical fill.
Conical fills When you apply a conical fill, the fill arrow displays as a semi-circle with two end handles. You can then rotate either end handle around the start handle to create suitable shading. The size of the semi-circle is irrelevant-it has no effect on the fill. "Ctrl + drag" constrains rotation to the preset constrain angles. You can also drag the center handle to change the position of the fill. Moving handles and changing colors are the same as for linear fills.
Diamond fills Applying diamond fills is similar to applying elliptical fills. As you drag the mouse pointer, the fill boundary appears as a square with two end handles. You can then drag the end handles to resize the diamond. "Shift + drag" unlocks the aspect ratio of the fill, allowing you to move the fill handles independently. "Ctrl + drag" constrains your selection to the preset constrain angles.
Three-color fills Three-color fills give the effect of three colored spotlights lighting the object. As you drag the mouse pointer, the fill displays as a triangle with three end handles. By default there is a 60° angle between the two fill arrows. "n+ drag" to create triangles with different angles to form the fill triangle you require. Unlike other three-handle fill types, three-color fills can have a different color applied to each handle (the center and the two end points).
Four-color fills Four-color fills are similar to three-color fills and give the effect of four colored spotlights lighting the object. When you apply a four-color fill, the fill boundary displays as a square with four end handles. You can then drag the handles to scale and rotate the rectangles. "n+ drag" to create parallelograms instead of rectangles. Hold down Ctrl while dragging to constrain the rotation of the fill.. You can apply different colors to all four fill handles/lines.
Bitmap fills Fill Type Fill Tiling Not used Bitmap name Resolution Not used The Bitmap Gallery is described in The Bitmap Gallery in the Photo Handling chapter, for the Fill Gallery see below . Bitmap fills are one of the most powerful fill types. It allows any photo or texture to be used as a fill for any shape and you have direct immediate control over the size, angle, position and tiling. You can color bitmap fills.
while replacing a photo in this way causes the position, scale and rotation of the bitmap fill to be preserved. Bitmap coloring You can color any bitmap or photo fill by just clicking on a color on the Color Line (make sure no fill handles are selected, by just clicking on the image). This will create a Contone (technically a Duotone) which uses colors between black and the selected color. Alternatively right click on the object and choose Contone > Set Light Color or Contone > Make Black and White.
1. Drag the photo or bitmap file from Windows Explorer (or from the Bitmap Gallery if it is already used in the document) over the ellipse, and drop it while holding down "Shift". The Fill Tool becomes the current tool. 2. You can now adjust the angle and size of the image by dragging on the Fill Handles. The above example has a simple shadow - see the chapter on the Shadow Tool for more information.
Replacing Bitmap Fills If a shape already contains a bitmap, or is a photo, then you can just drag and drop a new bitmap from any source, such as Windows Explorer, and it will replace the existing bitmap. The new image is 'best fitted' into the shape so that it just fits in. Doing this will also replace all other instances of that photo on the current page. Holding down Shift while replacing a photo in this way causes the position, scale and rotation of the bitmap fill to be preserved.
To fill the ellipse on the left with the photo in the center; 1. Drag the photo or bitmap file from Windows Explorer (or from the Bitmap Gallery if it is already used in the document) over the ellipse, and drop it while holding down "Shift". The Fill Tool becomes the current tool. 2. You can now adjust the angle and size of the image by dragging on the Fill Handles. The above example has a simple shadow - see the chapter on the Shadow Tool for more information.
Bitmap coloring You can color any bitmap or photo fill by just clicking on a color on the Color Line (make sure no fill handles are selected, by just clicking on the image). This will create a Contone (technically a Duotone) which uses colors between black and the selected color. Alternatively right click on the object and choose Contone > Set Light Color or Contone > Make Black and White. You can also right click the color line and select either the 'Set Contone Light Color' or 'Set Contone Dark Color '.
becomes the current tool. 2. You can now adjust the angle and size of the image by dragging on the Fill Handles. The above example has a simple shadow - see the chapter on the Shadow Tool for more information.
Resizing and re-positioning bitmap fills Once the fill has been created, you can drag anywhere on the image to re-position the fill inside the shape. When you mouse over the outer fill handles the mouse pointer changes into a "rotate" mouse pointer. Dragging on these handles will stretch and rotate the bitmap fill with the current aspect ratio locked; hold down " Å„" while dragging to change the horizontal and vertical size independently and to skew the fill.
An example To fill the ellipse on the left with the photo in the center; 1. Drag the photo or bitmap file from Windows Explorer (or from the Bitmap Gallery if it is already used in the document) over the ellipse, and drop it while holding down "Shift". The Fill Tool becomes the current tool. 2. You can now adjust the angle and size of the image by dragging on the Fill Handles. The above example has a simple shadow - see the chapter on the Shadow Tool for more information.
Fractal fills Xara Web Designer 7 Premium supports two types of fractal fill which are mathematically created naturalistic fill patterns. They are great for simulating sky and clouds or other natural textures. Each time you create a new fractal fill a new pattern is created. To replace an existing fractal with a new pattern choose fractal from the fill menu again. The Grain control on the InfoBar provides control over the graininess of the pattern.
Multi-stage color graduations Many of the graduated color fill types support multi-stage graduation fills, which means instead of just fading from one color to another, you can go through a number of different color fill stages. To add a new color stage to a graduation, select the Fill Tool so the fill arrow shows and then: Either drag a color onto the fill arrow where required. Or double click on the fill arrow to create a new fill handle, and now click a color or display the Color Editor.
The Fill Gallery The Fill Gallery contains bitmap textures suitable for use as bitmap fills. Only when you use a fill is it copied into the document. To display the Fill Gallery : To display the Fill Gallery click its tab in the galleries bar to the right of the Web Designer Premium window. Or you can toggle display of the Fill Gallery by choosing Utilities > Galleries > Fill Gallery or pressing "Shift + F11". Import - imports the selected bitmap into the document.
There are some differences between either dragging a bitmap from the Bitmap or Fill Gallery: When dragging bitmaps from the Fill Gallery and dropping on shapes to create a bitmap fill, the fill will be tiled and the bitmap won't be best-fitted into the shape. This different behavior to that seen when dragging from the Bitmap Gallery is because normally textures are applied from the Fill Gallery and these should normally be tiled and not best-fitted.
Shadows In this chapter The Shadow Tool Applying a shadow Changing the shadow color or fill effect Removing a shadow Applying a shadow to several objects Selecting objects using the Shadow Tool Copying shadows onto other objects Page 687
The Shadow Tool The Shadow Tool (shortcut "Ctrl + F2") lets you apply, remove, and modify semi-transparent (or "soft") shadows. The transparency of soft shadows increases towards the edges, which gives a very realistic effect. Shadows are resolution independent so you can scale them without losing quality.
Applying a shadow Applying a wall shadow To apply a wall shadow: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Select the Wall button on the Shadow Tool InfoBar. 4. You can drag the shadow away from or towards the object to create more or less distance between the object and the imaginary wall. Alternatively to create a wall shadow you can: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Drag from the center of the object in the direction of the shadow. Applying a floor shadow 1.
3. On the Shadow Tool InfoBar either drag the blur slider or type a value into the text box on the right. Change the transparency of the shadow A semi-transparent shadow is more realistic than a solid shadow. But you can change the transparency level of the shadow to suit your needs. To change the transparency: 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. On the Shadow Tool InfoBar, drag either the transparency slider or type a value into the text box on the right.
Applying a wall shadow To apply a wall shadow: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Select the Wall button on the Shadow Tool InfoBar. 4. You can drag the shadow away from or towards the object to create more or less distance between the object and the imaginary wall. Alternatively to create a wall shadow you can: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Drag from the center of the object in the direction of the shadow. Applying a floor shadow 1. Select the object. 2.
Change the transparency of the shadow A semi-transparent shadow is more realistic than a solid shadow. But you can change the transparency level of the shadow to suit your needs. To change the transparency: 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. On the Shadow Tool InfoBar, drag either the transparency slider or type a value into the text box on the right.
Applying a floor shadow 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Select the Floor button on the Shadow Tool InfoBar. 4. Drag towards or away from the object to change the size or radially to change the direction. Applying a glow effect Adding a glow or halo behind an object can create dramatic graphics. To create a glow effect: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Select the Glow button on the Shadow Tool InfoBar. 4.
Applying a glow effect Adding a glow or halo behind an object can create dramatic graphics. To create a glow effect: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Select the Glow button on the Shadow Tool InfoBar. 4. Drag towards or away from the object to change the size of the glow. Blur the edges of the shadow This changes the size of the shadow. A small blur gives the effect of a sharp light source, a large blur, a diffused or distant light source.
Blur the edges of the shadow This changes the size of the shadow. A small blur gives the effect of a sharp light source, a large blur, a diffused or distant light source. It is recommended that shadows are always blurred slightly as this is more realistic. To blur the shadow edge: 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. On the Shadow Tool InfoBar either drag the blur slider or type a value into the text box on the right.
Change the transparency of the shadow A semi-transparent shadow is more realistic than a solid shadow. But you can change the transparency level of the shadow to suit your needs. To change the transparency: 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. On the Shadow Tool InfoBar, drag either the transparency slider or type a value into the text box on the right.
Changing the shadow color or fill effect After applying a shadow to an object, you can change the shadow's color or fill effect. You can apply any of Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's color effects including multi-stage fills. How to change the shadow color: For more on colors and the Color Line refer to Color handling . The easiest way is to drag & drop a color from the Color Line onto the shadow (make sure you drop the color onto the shadow and not the object).
Removing a shadow To remove a soft shadow: 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Shadow Tool. 3. Select the No shadow button on the Shadow Tool InfoBar.
Applying a shadow to several objects The result of applying a shadow depends on whether the objects are grouped: If the objects are grouped, overlapping shadows merge (they do not get darker if they overlap). If the objects are ungrouped, each object has a separate shadow. Overlapping areas of shadow are darker. If you have several shadowed objects selected, any changes apply to all the shadows.
Selecting objects using the Shadow Tool Before you can apply or edit a shadow on an object, you must first select that object. The regular way of selecting objects is to use the Selector Tool but you can also use the Shadow Tool, simply click on the object while in the Shadow Tool.
Copying shadows onto other objects Once you've got a shadow looking how you want it on one object, you can copy it onto other objects using "Paste attributes". Simply copy the object that has the shadow ("Edit" > "Copy"), select the object or objects you want to paste the shadow onto and choose "Edit" > "Paste attributes" .
Transparency The Transparency Tool lets you specify how much of the underlying colors and objects appears through an object. Shape Transparency type Tiling Bitmap name Profile Handle/Resolution Amount of transparency You have control over the level of transparency from fully opaque to fully transparent. Web Designer Premium goes further than other drawing packages by offering a wide range of different graduated transparencies.
Applying flat transparency It's called "flat" transparency because all parts of the objects have the same transparency, as opposed to graduated transparency. 1. Select the object or objects 2. Select the Transparency Tool ("F6") 3. Drag the transparency slider on the InfoBar Xara Web Designer 7 Premium provides live-preview. As you drag the transparency slider the objects on the document are changed so you can see the effect immediately.
Technically the process is subtractive in RGB color space. Bleach Bleach has no clear analogy in the physical world. It is useful for highlights when the light source is not white. The color of the object with Bleach applied: Gray & White - lightens the colors in underlying objects. Black - no effect on the colors of underlying objects. Other colors - lighten underlying colors towards unsaturated color. (Light-red over light-red gives a pale-red: green over red gives yellow.
Gray & White - increase the luminosity of underlying objects. White has the greatest effect, producing saturated color. Black - remains as a black object. Other colors - convert the color to the equivalent shade of gray. (Yellow gives light gray, Red dark gray.) Then increase the luminosity of underlying objects. Hue Hue is useful for color-shifting underlying objects. Its action is most easily understood using the HSV color model.
Applying flat transparency It's called "flat" transparency because all parts of the objects have the same transparency, as opposed to graduated transparency. 1. Select the object or objects 2. Select the Transparency Tool ("F6") 3. Drag the transparency slider on the InfoBar Xara Web Designer 7 Premium provides live-preview. As you drag the transparency slider the objects on the document are changed so you can see the effect immediately.
underlying colors, you may find Darken transparency type easier to use. Technically the process is subtractive in RGB color space. Bleach Bleach has no clear analogy in the physical world. It is useful for highlights when the light source is not white. The color of the object with Bleach applied: Gray & White - lightens the colors in underlying objects. Black - no effect on the colors of underlying objects. Other colors - lighten underlying colors towards unsaturated color.
object with Luminosity applied: Gray & White - increase the luminosity of underlying objects. White has the greatest effect, producing saturated color. Black - remains as a black object. Other colors - convert the color to the equivalent shade of gray. (Yellow gives light gray, Red dark gray.) Then increase the luminosity of underlying objects. Hue Hue is useful for color-shifting underlying objects. Its action is most easily understood using the HSV color model.
Applying graduated transparency Graduated transparency works in a very similar way to graduated color fills. You just drag on the objects in the Transparency Tool to create a fading transparency. You have a very similar range of transparency shapes, the simplest being linear, but you can also have circular, elliptical, conical, fractal and bitmap transparencies, and others. To create a graduated fade: 1. Select the object or objects 2.
Technically the process is additive in RGB color space. Contrast Usually you would use C on a separate object to modify the color of underlaying objects (that is, you would use an object as a filter). Depending on the color chosen, it increases the contrast of underlying colors (make them brighter or duller).The color of the object with Contrast applied: Gray (below a 50% tint of black) & White - increase contrast (compress the color range) to make the underlying colors brighter.
have no hue. If the underlying color is gray, white, or black - Hue transparency type has no effect. Other colors - replace the Hue of the underlying color with the Hue of this object. Use the Saturation and Value of the underlying color. For more information on HSV refer to Color handling . For all these, the slider controls the amount of transparency from opaque (0% transparent) to fully (100%) transparent.
Multi-stage graduated transparency Just as you can add multiple stages to a graduated fill, you can do the same with a graduated transparency. This allows you to fade, for example, from opaque to 50% transparent then back up to 25% transparent, back to opaque, etc. You can set the level of transparency at each stage, by selecting a handle and then adjusting the transparency slider. Add additional stages by double-clicking on the graduated transparency line then adjusting the slider.
objects brighter or duller. The color of the object with Saturation applied: Gray (below a 50% tint of black) & White - increases saturation in the colors of underlying objects towards pure color. Gray (above a 50% tint of black) & Black - reduces saturation (colorization) towards black. Other colors - convert the color to the equivalent shade of gray. (Yellow gives light gray, Red dark gray.) Then increase or decrease the color saturation of underlying objects.
. Enhance See Enhance below for more information on Enhance transparency.
Transparency types The most common type of transparency, and the only type that many other applications understand is called "Mix transparency". But Xara Web Designer 7 Premium supports different type that affect the objects in different ways. Web Designer Premium has these types of transparency: Mix The color of the object mixes with the color of underlying objects. The effect is similar to spraying a thin coat of color (or paint) over underlying objects.
object with Darken/Lighten applied: White - no effect on the colors of underlying objects. Gray & Black - darkens/lightens the colors of underlying objects. Other colors - convert the color to the equivalent shade of gray. (Yellow gives light gray, Red dark gray.) Then darken/lighten the colors of underlying objects. Brightness Depending on the color chosen, Brightness makes the colors of underlying objects lighter or darker.
Enhance Enhance transparency allows you to modify any part of your design using the Enhance Photo Tool, just as if it was a photo. For example you can draw a shape over any part of your design, apply enhance transparency to it and then adjust the brightness of just the area of your design which is covered by the shape. Applying Enhance transparency To apply enhance transparency:1. Draw or select the shape to which you want to apply the enhance transparency effect. 2.
and draw around the area of the photo you want to modify. Then go to the Photo Enhance Tool and start to modify the photo using the controls on the infobar. The mask shape is converted into a shape with enhance transparency applied. The shape is also grouped with the photo, to form a Photo Group . This means as you move or otherwise transform the photo, the enhanced shapes move/transform with it. The enhance shape is also clipped to the edges of the photo.
Applying Enhance transparency To apply enhance transparency:1. Draw or select the shape to which you want to apply the enhance transparency effect. 2. Go into the Transparency Tool and select "Enhance" from the transparency type list on the infobar. 3. The shape seems to have disappeared from your page! That's because it will only apply enhancements to objects underneath it, and you've yet to specify the enhancements it will apply. The object should still be selected however. 4.
Bitmap & Fill Galleries are described in Photo Handling and Fills . When you select a transparency type of Bitmap, a default bitmap is initially used. Click on Bitmap Name in the transparency InfoBar, or use the Bitmap or Fill Galleries to change the bitmap used (click the Transp button in the gallery or drag-and-drop from the gallery). By default, the lighter colors in a bitmap are the most transparent (you can, of course, alter the relative amounts of transparency later).
Photo editing with Enhance transparency When you apply enhance transparency as described above, the shape remains as an independent object that is not tied to any photos or other objects in your design (unless you go on to manually group it with other objects of course). Because you will most commonly want to use this effect when editing photos, there is a better way to use Enhance transparency which is more suited to working with photos.
Profile You can change the rate of change of transition between the start and end of transparencies. This applies to all single stage graduated transparency types except three point and four point (where the option is not available) To change the profile of a transparency: 1. Select the object. 2. On the Transparency Tool InfoBar click Profile. This opens the Profile dialog. 3. You either select a predefined profile from the dropdown list or drag the sliders to create a custom profile.
Bitmaps Bitmap & Fill Galleries are described in Photo Handling and Fills . When you select a transparency type of Bitmap, a default bitmap is initially used. Click on Bitmap Name in the transparency InfoBar, or use the Bitmap or Fill Galleries to change the bitmap used (click the Transp button in the gallery or drag-and-drop from the gallery). By default, the lighter colors in a bitmap are the most transparent (you can, of course, alter the relative amounts of transparency later).
Handle/resolution If you have a handle selected, this box tells you what handle it is. With no handles selected, and when using a bitmap transparency, it controls the DPI.
Applying transparency to several objects If you group objects and apply transparency, the whole group is treated as one object and the entire group is made transparent. But if the objects are not grouped and you apply transparency, each individual object is given a separate transparency and you get an entirely different effect when the objects are overlaid.
Mixing individual and group transparencies You can combine the methods above to create complex transparency combinations. For example you could set an object to 50% transparency, then group it and apply a transparency to the group as well. You are also able to apply a transparency to a group first, and then later apply attributes to individual objects within a group. Just hold down "Ctrl", click the individual object and change its attributes. Group transparency on blends For more on blends see Blends.
Group transparency on blends For more on blends see Blends. When adding a transparency to a Blend object, the transparency will be applied to the blend as a whole. It is treated like group transparency. If you want the transparency to be applied to each individual step of the blend, first make the objects transparent, and then blend.
Bevels In this chapter The Bevel Tool Applying a bevel Applying a bevel to several objects Modifying a bevel Removing a bevel Page 728
The Bevel Tool The Bevel Tool (shortcut "Ctrl + F3") gives objects an appearance of depth instead of being flat on the page. Bevels are resolution-independent so you can scale them without losing quality. Bevel type Slider type list Slider and numeric value for selected parameter Outer bevel Inner bevel Join style You can apply bevels to most types of object. The exceptions are: Part of a block of text (such as a single letter)-the bevel is instead applied to all the text.
Applying a bevel To apply a bevel to a single object: 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. 3. Choose the bevel shape you want from the Bevel type list. Note that None removes any applied bevels.
Applying a bevel to several objects The result of a bevel on several objects depends on if the objects are grouped: If the objects are grouped, overlapping bevels merge together. The bevel color is the same as the rear-most object in the group. If the objects are ungrouped, each object has a separate bevel. The bevel color is the same as the object color.
Modifying a bevel You can change the angle and elevation of the light and change the shape, direction and size of the bevel edge. Bevel direction Bevels can be inside the object or outside. Outside bevels make objects larger; inside bevels do not change the object size. To change bevel direction: 1. Select the object. 2. Click either the Inner or Outer button. Changing the bevel light source The bevel effect is created by a light shining across the object and highlighting the shape (profile) of the bevel.
Changing the bevel size How to change the bevel size: 1. Select the object. 2. Drag any of the outside arrows to enlarge the bevel. Alternatively: 1. Select the object. 2. From the Slider type list choose Size. 3. Either drag the slider or type a value into the text box. Changing the bevel shape 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. 3. Choose the bevel shape you want from the Bevel type list.
Bevel direction Bevels can be inside the object or outside. Outside bevels make objects larger; inside bevels do not change the object size. To change bevel direction: 1. Select the object. 2. Click either the Inner or Outer button. Changing the bevel light source The bevel effect is created by a light shining across the object and highlighting the shape (profile) of the bevel. You can change the direction and height of the light and its strength (the contrast).
How to change the bevel size: 1. Select the object. 2. Drag any of the outside arrows to enlarge the bevel. Alternatively: 1. Select the object. 2. From the Slider type list choose Size. 3. Either drag the slider or type a value into the text box. Changing the bevel shape 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. 3. Choose the bevel shape you want from the Bevel type list. Changing the bevel color or fill effect After applying a bevel to an object, you can change the bevel's color or fill effect.
Changing the bevel light source The bevel effect is created by a light shining across the object and highlighting the shape (profile) of the bevel. You can change the direction and height of the light and its strength (the contrast). Changing the light angle (horizontal direction): 1. Select the object. 2. Drag the arrowhead to change the position of the light source. You cannot move the center of the arrow, only the arrowhead. For precise angles, select Light angle from the Slider type list.
Changing the bevel shape 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. 3. Choose the bevel shape you want from the Bevel type list. Changing the bevel color or fill effect After applying a bevel to an object, you can change the bevel's color or fill effect. You can apply any of Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's color effects including multi-stage fills. For more on colors and the Color Line, refer to Color handling .
Changing the light strength (contrast) To change the light strength: 1. Select the object. 2. Select Contrast from the Slider type list. Then drag the slider or type into the text box. If you have several beveled objects selected, any changes apply to all the bevels. The colors used in the bevel affect the contrast. For example, strong (saturated) colors require more contrast than weak colors to get the same effect. For best results, you will probably have to adjust the contrast for each object.
2. Use the Color editor to edit the color. Changing the bevel join style After applying a bevel to an object, you can change the shape of the corners (joins). How to change the bevel join style: 1. Select the object. 2. Click the appropriate join button on the Bevel Tool InfoBar.
Changing the light elevation (vertical angle) This lets you move the light anywhere from immediately above the object (90º) to the side of the object (0º). 1. Select the object. 2. Select Light elevation from the Slider type list. Then drag the slider or type into the text box. For rounded bevels we recommend a light elevation of 30º. At this angle the bevel blends smoothly with the object. Changing the bevel size How to change the bevel size: 1. Select the object. 2.
2. Click the appropriate join button on the Bevel Tool InfoBar.
Changing the bevel size How to change the bevel size: 1. Select the object. 2. Drag any of the outside arrows to enlarge the bevel. Alternatively: 1. Select the object. 2. From the Slider type list choose Size. 3. Either drag the slider or type a value into the text box. Changing the bevel shape 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. 3. Choose the bevel shape you want from the Bevel type list.
Changing the bevel shape 1. Select the object 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. 3. Choose the bevel shape you want from the Bevel type list. Changing the bevel color or fill effect After applying a bevel to an object, you can change the bevel's color or fill effect. You can apply any of Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's color effects including multi-stage fills. For more on colors and the Color Line, refer to Color handling .
Changing the bevel color or fill effect After applying a bevel to an object, you can change the bevel's color or fill effect. You can apply any of Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's color effects including multi-stage fills. For more on colors and the Color Line, refer to Color handling . How to change the bevel color: The easiest way is to drag-and-drop a color from the Color Line onto the bevel (make sure you drop the color onto the bevel and not the object.
Changing the bevel join style After applying a bevel to an object, you can change the shape of the corners (joins). How to change the bevel join style: 1. Select the object. 2. Click the appropriate join button on the Bevel Tool InfoBar.
Removing a bevel To remove a bevel: 1. Select the object(s) from which you want to remove the bevel. 2. Choose the Bevel Tool. Choose None from the Bevel Type list.
Masks A number of operations can take a mask to indicate which parts of a photo or drawing are to be operated on. The Content Aware photo scaling is one example where you can mark an area of a photo that is to be protected from the stretching operation. Another example is the photo enhance tool. You can mark part of a photo using a mask shape and then apply the enhance tool only to that part of the photo.
To Create A Mask First select the object(s) to which you wish to apply a masked operation. Then select the Mask mode button, below the main toolbar on the left of the Xara Web Designer 7 Premium window. Or select the menu option "Window" > "Mask mode on". This will cover the whole drawing area with a pink semi-transparent mask, so you always know when mask mode is on. It also hides all unselected objects, to make it clear which objects in your design are to be operated on using the mask.
Operating On The Mask Shapes When you've drawn any shape on the mask, it's selected and acts pretty much like any normal line or shape. Drawing additional shapes will just add to the mask. The status line will indicate whether selected objects are on the mask layer or not. Pressing Escape will clear any selection (so there are no selected objects). If you have multiple separate objects on the mask layer, you can click on the outline (on the marching ants outline) to select any one particular shape.
Moving the mask objects Dragging anywhere on the pink mask will move all shapes on the mask layer. Where you have multiple shapes selected on the mask layer and want to operate on one shape only, clear the selection (press Esc) and then click on the edge of or inside the specific shape you want to select.
Operations That Use The Mask This section outlines some of the operations that work with masks and refers to other sections of the help for information on others. ClipView You can clip your drawing or photo to be inside the mask shape. Select the object(s) you want to clip, switch on mask mode and draw the required shape on the mask. Now when you select "Arrange" > "ClipView" (or press the key short cut "Q") the drawing will be clipped to the visible areas of the mask.
On the left example the mask has been inverted. Now when you cut or delete the masked pink area is protected, everything else is deleted. You can use masks on top of any drawing or photo. If you have a mask shape selected when you apply these operations, you'll be asked whether you want to apply the operation to the mask shape itself, or to the objects shown under the mask using the mask.
Combine Shapes There are a set of operations under the "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" menu that allow you to combine shapes in a number of different ways. These work with the mask. For example to slice a piece of a photo out (cookie cutter style), draw your cookie cutter shape on the mask, and select "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" > "Slice" Mask Notes: The mask is really a special type of layer. If you open the Page & Layer Gallery you will see a mask layer appear when you switch on mask mode.
ClipView You can clip your drawing or photo to be inside the mask shape. Select the object(s) you want to clip, switch on mask mode and draw the required shape on the mask. Now when you select "Arrange" > "ClipView" (or press the key short cut "Q") the drawing will be clipped to the visible areas of the mask. ClipViews are live and non-destructive in that the whole drawing is retained inside the Clipview object. . See the Object Handling chapter for details.
On the left example the mask has been inverted. Now when you cut or delete the masked pink area is protected, everything else is deleted. You can use masks on top of any drawing or photo. If you have a mask shape selected when you apply these operations, you'll be asked whether you want to apply the operation to the mask shape itself, or to the objects shown under the mask using the mask.
Combine Shapes There are a set of operations under the "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" menu that allow you to combine shapes in a number of different ways. These work with the mask. For example to slice a piece of a photo out (cookie cutter style), draw your cookie cutter shape on the mask, and select "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" > "Slice" Mask Notes: The mask is really a special type of layer. If you open the Page & Layer Gallery you will see a mask layer appear when you switch on mask mode.
Cut, Copy, Delete These operations are useful when used with masks, to cut pieces from photos, but you can use them on any objects. Select the object(s) you want to apply the operation to, then turn on mask mode and draw your mask shape(s). Then perform the cut/copy/delete operation. This shows a photo with mask on and an ellipse drawn on the mask. After a Cut or Delete the visible part of the photo is cut or deleted, as shown on the right. On the left example the mask has been inverted.
protected, everything else is deleted. You can use masks on top of any drawing or photo. If you have a mask shape selected when you apply these operations, you'll be asked whether you want to apply the operation to the mask shape itself, or to the objects shown under the mask using the mask. This is because you may want to use these operations on the mask shapes themselves and it's not clear from the context what your intention is.
Duplicate, Clone This will copy only the visible un-masked parts of the drawing or photo. The Clone option places a copy exactly on top of the original. Content Aware photo scaling To protect part of a photo from being scaled, switch the mask on, draw around the area with the Freehand tool. Now go into the Content Aware photo scaling tool (Photo tool fly-out bar on the main toolbar). See the Content Aware Scaling feature for more information.
Content Aware photo scaling To protect part of a photo from being scaled, switch the mask on, draw around the area with the Freehand tool. Now go into the Content Aware photo scaling tool (Photo tool fly-out bar on the main toolbar). See the Content Aware Scaling feature for more information. Photo enhance tool Use a mask to apply brightness, contrast, saturation, temperature and blur/sharpen changes to any part of a photo.
Photo enhance tool Use a mask to apply brightness, contrast, saturation, temperature and blur/sharpen changes to any part of a photo. Just draw the mask shape in mask mode, then go into the Photo Tool and start using the enhance controls on the infobar. See the Photo Tool and Photo Handling chapters for more information. Photo clone tool The clone tool will take a mask shape and convert it into a clone shape, which copies one part of a photo to another part.
Photo clone tool The clone tool will take a mask shape and convert it into a clone shape, which copies one part of a photo to another part. See the Clone Tool section of the Photo Tool chapter for details. Combine Shapes There are a set of operations under the "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" menu that allow you to combine shapes in a number of different ways. These work with the mask.
Combine Shapes There are a set of operations under the "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" menu that allow you to combine shapes in a number of different ways. These work with the mask. For example to slice a piece of a photo out (cookie cutter style), draw your cookie cutter shape on the mask, and select "Arrange" > "Combine Shapes" > "Slice" Mask Notes: The mask is really a special type of layer. If you open the Page & Layer Gallery you will see a mask layer appear when you switch on mask mode.
Copying Shapes To The Mask Layer You may prefer to draw your mask shape while not in mask mode, or to use an existing shape on your mask layer. This is easy. With the mask mode off, select the shape, and copy, or cut it. Now switch the mask mode on, and Paste. Use Paste in Place if you want the shape to appear in exactly the same place it was copied from. To copy shapes from the mask layer to any other, do the reverse. Select the shapes with the mask on, switch the mask mode off, and paste.
Web Properties Dialog The Web properties dialog is a multi-tabbed dialog which allows you to add and configure most of the web related features in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium and set different web properties on objects, on pages and on your whole website. Open it by right clicking an object and choosing Web Properties or by using the "Utilities" > "Web properties… " menu option (shortcut Ctrl + Shift + W).
Link Tab The settings on this tab apply to the selected object(s) or selected text. Typically you use this tab to add a link to an object on your web page (eg. a button or photo), or to some text, so that when a visitor to your site clicks on the object/text, they are redirected to another page. You can add links to other pages in your website, to a URL (web address) or even cause a pop-up window to appear.
SPAM robots will find your email address from the web page. This requires Javascript to be enabled in the browser (currently >95% of browsers). Link to... Select this option to link to another page in the current website, or if you are in a presentation document, to link to the next or previous presentation step. The drop-down list allows you to select which page or step to link to.
placed it in the support folder for your design. This is a folder next to your .web or .xar file. If your design is called "MySite.web", the support folder will be called "MySite_web_files" alongside it. All the files in the support folder get published along with your website and so that means your file will be published with your website and so the link you just added will work. See the Document Handling chapter for more information on support folders.
Use common website link colors This option lets you choose how the selected text links should be displayed. It is selected by default, meaning that the text link will show with the link color you have defined for the whole website. You can set this color on the Website tab (see Website Tab section). If you uncheck this option, then the selected text link will keep the color that you give it on the page. So you can give different links different colors if desired.
from Slide out from Fade Fade through black Shutter Current page contents slide out in various directions New page contents appear gradually Current page contents fade into a black screen and new page contents then appear gradually A black bar moves across the screen from the right, obscuring the old contents, then moves back to reveal the new page contents.
Link to web address Enter a web or email address to link to that address. If you leave the "Correct address automatically" checkbox selected, your address will be adjusted if required when you click OK or Apply . For example, if you enter "www.xara.com" it will correct it to "http://www.xara.com/". You can put an email address in the Link address field, in which case clicking the link will launch the reader's email program with the To: field filled in.
automatically scrolls the page down so that your anchor object is visible. Note : You cannot apply a transition to a link to an anchor. Link to File This link option is useful if you want to add a document, movie or any other file to your website to make it available to your visitors. For example you may have a PDF document that you want to make available. Select the object or text that you want to link.
Pop-up photo This option gives you a very easy way to add pop-up photos and other photo gallery features to your website, without adding any layers! Simply import your photo and use the Selector Tool to scale it right down so it appears as just a small photo thumbnail on your webpage. Then select it and choose this " Pop-up photo " option.
This option allows you to apply a transition effect to a link so that the page linked to (whether it's an external site or one of the pages in your site) appears with the page transition that you select. Link transitions can only be used when the link is opening a new page, and are disabled otherwise. Note: If you apply a link transition to a link that goes to a page with its own transition set using the Page tab , then the link transition is used.
Link to... Select this option to link to another page in the current website, or if you are in a presentation document, to link to the next or previous presentation step. The drop-down list allows you to select which page or step to link to. TIP: If you have many pages in your website document, giving each one a name makes it much easier to set up and maintain your page links, because the page list will show the page names instead of just "Page 2", "Page 3", etc.
the support folder get published along with your website and so that means your file will be published with your website and so the link you just added will work. See the Document Handling chapter for more information on support folders. Note: Because there is a separate copy of your file held in the support folder for your design, you need to update that copy whenever you modify the file and want to publish the modified version.
Use common website link colors This option lets you choose how the selected text links should be displayed. It is selected by default, meaning that the text link will show with the link color you have defined for the whole website. You can set this color on the Website tab (see Website Tab section). If you uncheck this option, then the selected text link will keep the color that you give it on the page. So you can give different links different colors if desired.
Slide out from Fade Fade through black Shutter Current page contents slide out in various directions New page contents appear gradually Current page contents fade into a black screen and new page contents then appear gradually A black bar moves across the screen from the right, obscuring the old contents, then moves back to reveal the new page contents.
Link to anchor This option allows you to jump the visitor to a specific part of any page in your website. To setup an anchor point, first go to the page and object you want to be jumped to. Select the object and add a name to it by right clicking and choosing the Names... option. Then select the object to which you want to add the link and choose the anchor name you added from the list provided with the "Link to anchor" option.
Gallery, open the layer properties so that you can apply a transition directly to a layer to achieve an animated effect when the layer contents appear. Now when a visitor clicks on your object, the layer contents appear! Clicking anywhere else on the page makes the pop-up disappear again. Note that all the content on the pop-up layer is loaded as soon as the visitor visits your page. So if you want to provide a lot of pop-up photos, use the Pop-up Photo feature described below instead.
not supported for HTML websites (the rectangle surrounding the object is always used), it works only when exporting to Flash. Shape of object : The user must click inside the exact outline of the object to invoke the link. Rectangle surrounding object : The user can click anywhere in the rectangle surrounding the object (the bounding box) to invoke the link.
Link to File This link option is useful if you want to add a document, movie or any other file to your website to make it available to your visitors. For example you may have a PDF document that you want to make available. Select the object or text that you want to link. Then turn on this Link to file option and use the Browse button to browse for the file on your computer. The name of the file appears in the text field to the left of the Browse button. Click OK and your link is applied.
This option gives you a very easy way to add pop-up photos and other photo gallery features to your website, without adding any layers! Simply import your photo and use the Selector Tool to scale it right down so it appears as just a small photo thumbnail on your webpage. Then select it and choose this " Pop-up photo " option. Click the Settings button next to this option to go to the Image tab, where you can set the size of the pop-up photo, add a title and caption, and choose from many other options.
transitions can only be used when the link is opening a new page, and are disabled otherwise. Note: If you apply a link transition to a link that goes to a page with its own transition set using the Page tab , then the link transition is used. So the link transition overrides the page transition for a given link. Transition effect: Choose your animation effect from the drop-down list.
Pop-up layer You can add any content you like to a separate layer on your page and have that content shown as a pop-up only when your visitor clicks on a link. For example you could add some descriptive text about a photo on your web page and have that text only shown to the user if they click on the photo. To add a popup layer, first you need to add the layer itself using the Page & Layer Gallery and add your pop-up content to that layer. See the Page & Layer Galler y chapter for full details.
window and frame as the link. The dropdown list contains four options that cause the browser to do special things. You can select one of these options, or type in the name of a frame: New window (_blank) Open the link in a new browser window. Same frame (_self) Open the link in this frame (the frame that contains this object). Parent frame (_parent) Open the link into the parent window or frameset that contains this frame.
slide in Speed (secs): Set the duration of the effect in seconds.By default objects will only slide in/out to the edge of the web page. If you would like objects to start from the browser window edges, rather than the web page edges, deselect the Clip to page edges checkbox in the Website tab of the Web Properties dialog. By default when a transition is applied, objects will only slide in/out to the edge of the web page.
Pop-up photo This option gives you a very easy way to add pop-up photos and other photo gallery features to your website, without adding any layers! Simply import your photo and use the Selector Tool to scale it right down so it appears as just a small photo thumbnail on your webpage. Then select it and choose this " Pop-up photo " option.
This option allows you to apply a transition effect to a link so that the page linked to (whether it's an external site or one of the pages in your site) appears with the page transition that you select. Link transitions can only be used when the link is opening a new page, and are disabled otherwise. Note: If you apply a link transition to a link that goes to a page with its own transition set using the Page tab , then the link transition is used.
Use common website link colors This option lets you choose how the selected text links should be displayed. It is selected by default, meaning that the text link will show with the link color you have defined for the whole website. You can set this color on the Website tab (see Website Tab section). If you uncheck this option, then the selected text link will keep the color that you give it on the page. So you can give different links different colors if desired.
from Slide out from Fade Fade through black Shutter Current page contents slide out in various directions New page contents appear gradually Current page contents fade into a black screen and new page contents then appear gradually A black bar moves across the screen from the right, obscuring the old contents, then moves back to reveal the new page contents.
Open link in This option does nothing if either of the "Pop-up layer" or "Pop-up photo" link options are selected. But for other links it allows you to tell the web browser how the target web page should be loaded. By default it is set to "Not specified" which usually means the browser will open the link in the same browser window and frame as the link. The dropdown list contains four options that cause the browser to do special things.
Shutter A black bar moves across the screen from the right, obscuring the old contents, then moves back to reveal the new page contents. New contents slide in, split into two halves which slide together either vertically or horizontally Split, vertical/ horizontal slide in Speed (secs): Set the duration of the effect in seconds.By default objects will only slide in/out to the edge of the web page.
Clickable area This option lets you specify what area of the object must be clicked on to invoke the link. However it is not supported for HTML websites (the rectangle surrounding the object is always used), it works only when exporting to Flash. Shape of object : The user must click inside the exact outline of the object to invoke the link. Rectangle surrounding object : The user can click anywhere in the rectangle surrounding the object (the bounding box) to invoke the link.
Link transition This option allows you to apply a transition effect to a link so that the page linked to (whether it's an external site or one of the pages in your site) appears with the page transition that you select. Link transitions can only be used when the link is opening a new page, and are disabled otherwise. Note: If you apply a link transition to a link that goes to a page with its own transition set using the Page tab , then the link transition is used.
Website Tab The settings on this tab apply to the entire current document/website, so it doesn't matter what object or page is selected. Title, Description & Keywords: These fields are just as described in the Page Tab section above. You can optionally set these fields here so that they apply to every page in your site, unless overridden by the Page Tab settings for a page. So for example a page that doesn't have its own title set in the Page Tab will get the title you specify here.
named Theme Color from the dropdown list (if there are any in your current document) or click the Edit button to open the Color Editor so you can choose any other color. Mouse Over : Text links will change to this color when a visitor moves the mouse pointer over them. Visited : Text links that point to a page which the visitor has already visited will display with this color instead of the Mouse Off color.
Website Link Colors This section of the Website Tab allows you to control how text links appear on your website. Underline Text Links : Underlining is commonly used to highlight clickable links in text, so this option is selected by default. Uncheck it if you don't want your text links underlined. Mouse Off : Here you can choose the color you would like to be used for all your text links.
Web Presentations Click the Presentation website checkbox to convert an existing website into a presentation. Note: If you created your presentation document by choosing 955 pix presentation from the New menu, the Presentation website check box is automatically selected. Clip to page edges (enabled by default): If you have objects in your website that overlap the web page borders, click this checkbox to crop these objects so that only the portion on the page is visible.
Page Tab The options on this tab apply to the current page, not to the selected object(s). The current page is indicated with black angle lines just outside each corner of the page. All fields on this tab are optional; you do not necessarily need to fill in these fields for every page of your site. If you want the same title, description and keywords on every page of your site, you can set these just once on the Website tab instead of setting them on every page here.
your page with an internet search. The page description may also be displayed by browsers and other web services. Advanced: The description is inserted as metadata into the page header ('
would like objects to start from the browser window edges, rather than the web page edges, deselect the Clip to page edges checkbox in the Website tab of the Web Properties dialog. Technical Note : Page transitions work by first loading the target page into a hidden iFrame and then revealing that iFrame with the visual effect. Then the target page is loaded again normally.
Image Tab Photo pop-up This section of the Image tab lets you add pop-up photos and other photo gallery features to your web page easily. Simply import your photo and use the Selector tool to scale it right down so it appears as just a small photo thumbnail on your webpage. Then with the photo still selected, select the Pop-up photo checkbox on this tab. Choose the size you would like for the pop-up photo by entering a value in the pop-up width field (default 500 pixels).
Popup Options The following options change the appearance of the popup photo. Dim page while popup is open : With this option selected, the entire page is dimmed whenever a popup photo is displayed. This helps emphasize the popup photo, so that it stands out against the darker background of the page. Show shadow behind popup : This option puts a drop shadow behind the popup photo window, again to help make it stand out against the page background.
: Turn this on to show gallery controls on your popup photo. This appears on top of your photo whenever the mouse pointer is over the photo. It allows your site visitor to view the other popup photos in the current page, without having to close the popup window and click on the thumbnails for the other photos. The visitor can move to the previous or next photo, or start and stop an automatic slideshow where each photo is shown for a few seconds before moving onto the next.
on the page in place of the image, if the image can't be obtained for some reason. Web image type Due to the nature of HTML websites, most objects you see and can select on the page in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium have to be converted to bitmap images during the process of exporting your website. This all happens automatically for you when you preview and export, but the controls on this tab give you some control over how these images are created.
Photo pop-up This section of the Image tab lets you add pop-up photos and other photo gallery features to your web page easily. Simply import your photo and use the Selector tool to scale it right down so it appears as just a small photo thumbnail on your webpage. Then with the photo still selected, select the Pop-up photo checkbox on this tab. Choose the size you would like for the pop-up photo by entering a value in the pop-up width field (default 500 pixels).
Show shadow behind popup : This option puts a drop shadow behind the popup photo window, again to help make it stand out against the page background. Show image title : If you have entered title text (see above) for each of your photos, this option causes that title to be above the popup photo. Note that title text is separate to any caption text, which appears below the photo. See below for information on setting caption text.
Image Tab. Note that this feature works on objects other than photos, such as shapes and groups, but can't be used directly on text. You can put text inside a group (Ctrl+G) to work around this restriction. For those familiar with HTML, this text is also used as the "ALT" text on the image that is exported for the currently selected object, whether or not the image also has a pop-up. Web browsers show this text on the page in place of the image, if the image can't be obtained for some reason.
Popup Photo Options Click the Options button to bring up the Pop-up Photo Options dialog. Here you can choose from a variety of options that change the way your pop-up photos are presented. Popup Options The following options change the appearance of the popup photo. Dim page while popup is open : With this option selected, the entire page is dimmed whenever a popup photo is displayed. This helps emphasize the popup photo, so that it stands out against the darker background of the page.
Note that title text is separate to any caption text, which appears below the photo. See below for information on setting caption text. Gallery Options The following options turn on gallery features for your popup photos. Show gallery browser controls : Turn this on to show gallery controls on your popup photo. This appears on top of your photo whenever the mouse pointer is over the photo.
For those familiar with HTML, this text is also used as the "ALT" text on the image that is exported for the currently selected object, whether or not the image also has a pop-up. Web browsers show this text on the page in place of the image, if the image can't be obtained for some reason. Web image type Due to the nature of HTML websites, most objects you see and can select on the page in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium have to be converted to bitmap images during the process of exporting your website.
Image Captions You can optionally show a caption below each pop-up photo. Enter the caption text in this field in the Image Tab. Note that this feature works on objects other than photos, such as shapes and groups, but can't be used directly on text. You can put text inside a group (Ctrl+G) to work around this restriction. For those familiar with HTML, this text is also used as the "ALT" text on the image that is exported for the currently selected object, whether or not the image also has a pop-up.
image. Higher quality means a larger JPEG file size.
Web image type Due to the nature of HTML websites, most objects you see and can select on the page in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium have to be converted to bitmap images during the process of exporting your website. This all happens automatically for you when you preview and export, but the controls on this tab give you some control over how these images are created. Remember that each group, shape, heading, logo, photo, panel background, etc. is exported as a separate image.
Mouse-over Tab The options on this tab specify what should happen when a visitor moves the mouse pointer over the selected object. So for example you can pop-up some text or a whole layer of content when a visitor hovers their mouse pointer over a photo on your web page. By default when a pop-up layer is triggered it will appear instantly. But you can apply a transition effect to the popup layer so that it appears with an effect, such as fading in or sliding in.
Placeholder Tab The Placeholder tab is used to add and edit manually editable widgets. These are widgets you insert onto your web page by manually pasting in HTML code for the widget or by importing a Flash or movie file. You won't normally need to use the Placeholder tab on widgets that you've added from the Designs Gallery, because the code and files that make those widgets function are handled for you automatically. See the Website Widgets chapter for full details.
that it gets exported and published with your site. When you export and publish your site, the placeholder image is replaced by the actual file you imported. Similarly if you've copied some HTML code from a third-party widget website, you can simply paste that code into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium (make sure you are in the Selector Tool when you do this, not the Text Tool or it will be inserted as text!).
copied to the _htm_files folder of your website when you export. Therefore you also need to make sure that any references to these files in the HTML code references them at the right location. Let's take a simple example to make this clearer. Suppose I want to insert a small piece of HTML code which adds an image to my website. The HTML code I add will need to reference the image file somewhere. First I copy the image file, say "myLogo.gif", into the support folder of my document.
Replace with Flash Select this option to replace the placeholder object with a Flash animation. Use the Browse button to locate the Flash (.swf) file you want to use. The chosen file is automatically copied to the support folder for the current design, so that when you export your website the file will be included in the _htm_files folder along with all the generated images for your site. See the Document Handling chapter for information about support folders.
along with my web page when the site is published. Of course if I really only wanted to put an image on my website, it's much easier to just import the image into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium directly! But this is a simple example that shows how to add HTML code which references an external file. Check Embedding YouTube, Flash And Other Widgets for more examples! Placeholder objects The placeholder object is actually included in your website and it can be shown to the visitor in some circumstances.
Replace with graphic file Select this option if you want to insert a graphic or image into your website in place of the placeholder object (eg. a PNG, GIF or other web compatible image file). Use the Browse button to select the file. The chosen file is automatically copied to the support folder for the current design, so that when you export your website the file will be included in the _htm_files folder along with all the generated images for your site.
The placeholder object is actually included in your website and it can be shown to the visitor in some circumstances. For example if you've added a Flash animation, if the visitors to your page do not have Flash installed in their web browser, or if they've disabled Flash, the browser will show the placeholder image instead. Therefore it's sometimes a good idea to make your placeholder object more than just a black rectangle, or an accurate image of the widget that appears on your page.
Replace with HTML code With this option you can paste HTML code which you've obtained from somewhere else into the head and/or body sections of your page; i.e., between the
tags or tags. For example many sites provide widgets that you can add to your page by pasting the HTML in here. Follow the instructions given by the provider.can see your Flash content. Regenerate placeholder image automatically: If this option at the bottom of the Placeholder tab is selected, then the placeholder image gets automatically generated from the content you have added, whenever the content changes or when you resize the placeholder object. When you paste code or import files directly onto your page, as recommended above, this option is selected automatically for the placeholder image that gets generated.
Placeholder objects The placeholder object is actually included in your website and it can be shown to the visitor in some circumstances. For example if you've added a Flash animation, if the visitors to your page do not have Flash installed in their web browser, or if they've disabled Flash, the browser will show the placeholder image instead. Therefore it's sometimes a good idea to make your placeholder object more than just a black rectangle, or an accurate image of the widget that appears on your page.
Publish Tab You will need a web hosting company to host your website. MAGIX Online World is recommended for this, although quite often your existing Internet provider will include 'web space' as part of your normal subscription. Most companies also offer the ability to purchase your own domain name (e.g. like www.xara.com) and have this set to point to your web pages. The dialog shown below contains MAGIX Online World as a suggested hosting solution in its Profile list.
you have a domain name this is often the same as your domain name) and username. For example, for MAGIX Online World users, the host address would be ftp.magix-online.com. If you chose the Magix web hosting option in the profile list, the FTP host address is set for you automatically. For MAGIX Online World users, the username is the same as your Online World login (FTP username = your email address). You don't need to enter the password at this stage if you don't want to.
your computer as a profile. Then you can easily add the details to any document in future by simply selecting the profile from the profile list, instead of having to re-enter them manually each time. Click the Save in profile button to save the FTP details shown to a profile. This brings up a small dialog containing an editable profile list. You can either enter the name of a new profile, or choose an existing profile from the list to overwrite that profile.
By default Xara Web Designer 7 Premium keeps track of the files that make up your published website and when you come to re-publish after making changes to your site, it attempts to re-publish only the files that have changed. This makes re-publishing much quicker in most cases. However Xara Web Designer 7 Premium does not know if you have deleted or modified files in your web space using another tool.
Save details in current document The FTP Details you've entered are associated only with the current open document. If you switch to a different document you'll see the FTP details fields become blank, unless you've already entered details for that other document. By default the FTP details are NOT saved with the document. That means each time you load the document and want to publish it, you'll need to either re-enter the FTP details, or select a profile from which the details should be copied.
publish the document. This behavior means that it may look to you like the password was actually stored in your document! But that can only happen if the Save password in document option is selected. Publishing Once you've set your Publish details, you can then select "File" > "Publish Website" . Your website will be published. See Publishing your website for more information. Note: Many web servers use case-sensitive filenames. So, for example, the web address xara.com/products.
Scroll through a list of files you have uploaded to your ftp server Returns to the original file view that opened when you launched the Explore web space dialog Takes you up a folder level Deletes individual or multiple selected files Page 833
Save password in document If you chose to save the FTP details in your document, this option becomes enabled next to the password field. It controls whether or not the FTP password is also stored in the document, along with the other FTP details. If you choose to do this, you can re-publish the website without having to re-enter the password.
Many web servers use case-sensitive filenames. So, for example, the web address xara.com/products.htm is not the same thing as xara.com/Products.htm. To reduce confusion and the likelihood of errors Web Designer Premium enforces that all page names are all lower-case and contain only allowable characters. This means that spaces are not allowed in page names. We suggest using an underscore as an alternative separator.
Takes you up a folder level Deletes individual or multiple selected files Page 836
Save in profile If you want to publish more than one website document to the same web space, or if you don't want FTP details stored in your design document, you will probably want to have the FTP details stored on your computer as a profile. Then you can easily add the details to any document in future by simply selecting the profile from the profile list, instead of having to re-enter them manually each time. Click the Save in profile button to save the FTP details shown to a profile.
If you have not set an export filename, when you first publish you will be asked to enter a filename. index.htm is the usual name for the first page of a website. Re-publish changed files only By default Xara Web Designer 7 Premium keeps track of the files that make up your published website and when you come to re-publish after making changes to your site, it attempts to re-publish only the files that have changed. This makes re-publishing much quicker in most cases.
Deleting a profile To delete a profile, select it in the profile list at the top of the Publish dialog and click the Delete button next to it. You cannot delete the standard profiles. Loading a document containing FTP details When you load a document that has FTP details saved in it, the FTP details will be shown in the Publish tab. If those details exactly match one of the profiles stored on your computer, then that profile will be shown as selected in the profile list.
Explore web space button to browse, view and delete files you have uploaded to your ftp server. You can view files and open folders to view subfolder contents. You can also delete individual or multiple files. Select multiple files by clicking and holding down Shift or Ctrl, as in Windows Explorer. Click on each column header to sort files using that column's criteria.
Loading a document containing FTP details When you load a document that has FTP details saved in it, the FTP details will be shown in the Publish tab. If those details exactly match one of the profiles stored on your computer, then that profile will be shown as selected in the profile list. Otherwise Custom is shown in the profile list instead, to indicate that the document's FTP details don't match any profile.
Scroll through a list of files you have uploaded to your ftp server Returns to the original file view that opened when you launched the Explore web space dialog Takes you up a folder level Deletes individual or multiple selected files Page 842
Publishing Once you've set your Publish details, you can then select "File" > "Publish Website" . Your website will be published. See Publishing your website for more information. Note: Many web servers use case-sensitive filenames. So, for example, the web address xara.com/products.htm is not the same thing as xara.com/Products.htm. To reduce confusion and the likelihood of errors Web Designer Premium enforces that all page names are all lower-case and contain only allowable characters.
Scroll through a list of files you have uploaded to your ftp server Returns to the original file view that opened when you launched the Explore web space dialog Takes you up a folder level Deletes individual or multiple selected files Page 844
Re-publish changed files only By default Xara Web Designer 7 Premium keeps track of the files that make up your published website and when you come to re-publish after making changes to your site, it attempts to re-publish only the files that have changed. This makes re-publishing much quicker in most cases. However Xara Web Designer 7 Premium does not know if you have deleted or modified files in your web space using another tool.
Explore web space When you have completed the FTP host address, FTP username and FTP password boxes, click the Explore web space button to browse, view and delete files you have uploaded to your ftp server. You can view files and open folders to view subfolder contents. You can also delete individual or multiple files. Select multiple files by clicking and holding down Shift or Ctrl, as in Windows Explorer. Click on each column header to sort files using that column's criteria.
Photo Handling In this chapter Introduction Photo Objects Photo Groups Importing Photos Photo resolution Zero-memory Copies The Bitmap Gallery Embedded JPEG files Lossless vs.
Introduction Photos are an integral part of almost all creative work nowadays, from websites, to flyers, brochures, DTP work and more. Photo handling in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is different than you may be used to with other graphics programs. In Xara Web Designer 7 Premium you can color, crop, copy, blend, mask, feather (fade the edges of) photos as much as you like.
Photo Objects In Web Designer Premium photos (or bitmaps) are just another type of object on the page. You can drag and drop photos onto the page from your file explorer, and then you can resize, rotate, copy and move them around just like any other object. Importantly you can adjust the transparency, even graduated transparency, feather edges and clip and cut shapes out of photos with ease. The transparency feature lets you blend, merge or create composite photos.
Photo Groups If you edit a photo using some tools such as the integrated Red Eye Tool, the photo becomes grouped with other objects that modify the image in some way. For example with the Red Eye Tool, the ellipse shapes that are used to modify the red eye areas of the photo are grouped with the photo itself. This is called a Photo Group and you'll see this on the status line when you select such a modified photo.
Importing Photos Xara Web Designer 7 Premium supports a very wide range of photo or bitmap types including JPEG, PNG, TIFF and RAW digital camera images, as well as many more types. The term "bitmap" is the general term encompassing all types, but interchangeable with the word "photo". The easiest way to open an image is to drag the photo or bitmap file from your Windows file explorer onto the Web Designer Premium Window. Or you can select the "File" > "Open" or Import menu options.
documents , where dropping a photo on the page will always import it as a new document. When replacing a photo or bitmap this way, it is sized to best fit in the existing picture outline. If you hold "Shift" when replacing a photo, the new one will fit into the same dimensions and rotation as the old photo. This is useful where you've manually adjusted the scale or rotation of a fill and then want to replace the image with another which has the same aspect ratio.
Replacing photos If you drag and drop a bitmap file over an existing photo it will replace that photo, but keep the same container or frame size. This makes it very easy to replace photos on templates. You can use the Fill Tool to adjust the size, position and angle of the photo inside its outline. This is not true for photo documents , where dropping a photo on the page will always import it as a new document.
If you replace a photo using drag and drop, then the photo is sized to exactly fit the container, and this means its size and resolution will depend on the size of the container.
Replacing multiple photos at once Most of the web templates provided in the Designs Gallery will allow you to replace multiple images at once, by dragging and dropping multiple image files from Explorer onto the canvas. Or use "File" > " Import" and select multiple images in the file dialog ("Ctrl + click" adds to the current selection, "Shift + click" allows you to select a range of files). The incoming photos are used to replace the images in the document.
Using photos as fills You can also use any bitmap as a fill style for any drawn shape. Simply drag the file over the shape (which can be from your file system, or from the Bitmap or Fill galleries), and hold the "Shift" key down before you drop. This will replace the existing color fill with a bitmap, fitted to the object. Again you can use the Fill Tool to adjust the size, angle and position. Initial Photo size When you import a JPEG it's initially sized to be 500 pixels wide.
Initial Photo size When you import a JPEG it's initially sized to be 500 pixels wide. To reduce the size, just drag a corner handle using the Selector Tool, or enter a new width in the Selector Tool InfoBar width field. If you replace a photo using drag and drop, then the photo is sized to exactly fit the container, and this means its size and resolution will depend on the size of the container.
Photo resolution One fundamental difference between Xara Web Designer 7 Premium and other photo tools is that when you resize a photo it retains the full resolution with which it was imported. Scaling an image to be smaller, just increases the dpi or ppi (pixels per inch). In other words no pixels are lost, they are just made smaller. 96ppi image on the left when scaled down to half size becomes twice the resolution, 192ppi. The status line shows the resolution of any selected image.
Zero-memory Copies One of the most revolutionary differences between Web Designer Premium and other software is that when you copy any photo on the page, it doesn't really make a complete new copy of the original imported photo but instead just displays another 'view' of the original image. Web Designer Premium's rendering engine is fast enough that it can display any number of copies of the same image 'on the fly' this way. This saves huge amounts of memory and dramatically reduces files sizes.
The Bitmap Gallery The Document handling chapter has general information about galleries. The Bitmap Gallery shows all the bitmaps or photos used in any document, along with information about its pixel size and file size. You can open it by clicking it in the Galleries bar, or from within the " Utilities" > "Galleries" menu, or "F11". This shows the Bitmap Gallery for the above document, and shows the original JPEG image of the girl which is embedded into the native .web file.
you can select an image in the gallery and click one of the buttons across the top. The following section details the operation of the Bitmap Gallery controls, most of which are for the more advanced user. Filling shapes with a bitmap Select the shape on the page, then select the bitmap in the gallery and click the fill button. Alternatively drag the image from the Bitmap Gallery and drop it onto any shape while holding "Shift". You can adjust the size, angle etc in the Fill Tool .
as the Leave As Is option. Leave As Is displays the frames one on top of another - this leaves many frames visible in a stack if some are transparent. Some browsers clear the animation before it loops again, some do not. Background restores the area covered by the graphic to the background color of the GIF (usually white). Restore Previous restores the area covered by the frame to what it was before the frame was displayed.
Filling shapes with a bitmap Select the shape on the page, then select the bitmap in the gallery and click the fill button. Alternatively drag the image from the Bitmap Gallery and drop it onto any shape while holding "Shift". You can adjust the size, angle etc in the Fill Tool . Setting a Bitmap Transparency This is for the more advanced user. You can use any bitmap as a transparency mask on any filled shape or bitmap. The lightness of the bitmap affects how transparent the selected object is.
background color of the GIF (usually white). Restore Previous restores the area covered by the frame to what it was before the frame was displayed. This is interpreted by some browsers to mean that the frame should be cleared to the background before each frame is displayed and by others to mean that the frame should be shown on top of the previous frame. As browsers interpret these values in different ways, you may need to experiment to achieve the desired result.
Setting a Bitmap Transparency This is for the more advanced user. You can use any bitmap as a transparency mask on any filled shape or bitmap. The lightness of the bitmap affects how transparent the selected object is. The bitmap transparency size, rotation and tiling can be controlled from the Transparency Tool InfoBar. Deleting images from the Gallery When you delete a bitmap from the page, it remains in the Bitmap Gallery. Any unused bitmaps will be deleted from the file when saved and re-opened.
Deleting images from the Gallery When you delete a bitmap from the page, it remains in the Bitmap Gallery. Any unused bitmaps will be deleted from the file when saved and re-opened. However you can force the deletion of any bitmap by selecting it and pressing the Delete button. If the bitmap is used in the document, it will be replaced by the standard Xara bitmap. Setting the page background to a bitmap Select the bitmap in the gallery and click the Background button. This will tile the image.
Setting the page background to a bitmap Select the bitmap in the gallery and click the Background button. This will tile the image. When exporting the page as HTML, this image is tiled across the whole visible page background of the browser, unless you've also given the pasteboard (the area around the page) a different background. Save Select the bitmap and click Save will save the original image. In the case of an embedded JPEG this will save the original JPEG file.
Save Select the bitmap and click Save will save the original image. In the case of an embedded JPEG this will save the original JPEG file. Other bitmap types are best saved as PNG bitmap type. Bitmap Properties The Properties button will display information about the selected bitmap in the gallery. It also provides a way to stop image smoothing when bitmaps are enlarged. Usually all bitmaps are smoothed when enlarged, or zoomed into, on screen.
Bitmap Properties The Properties button will display information about the selected bitmap in the gallery. It also provides a way to stop image smoothing when bitmaps are enlarged. Usually all bitmaps are smoothed when enlarged, or zoomed into, on screen. There is a check-box option in the Properties dialog to turn this feature off, so that individual pixels are visible when you zoom in. Note that this option only affects scaled up bitmaps.
Embedded JPEG files JPEG files are hugely compressed from their original state, being up to 10 times smaller than the original uncompressed image. In the above example, the original uncompressed image requires more than 7mb of memory, but as the Bitmap Gallery shows, this JPEG file is only 1mb. A very significant reduction. This is why JPEG images are the standard file type for digital photography and use on the web.
Extracting the original JPEG Right click on any image in the Bitmap Gallery and select the Save menu option to save the original JPEG back to your file system.
Lossless vs. Lossy Because everything Web Designer Premium does with your photos is based on the original image, which remains untouched embedded in your file, everything it does is lossless. There is no re-compression of images when saving the native .xar file. Of course you can save or export your image as a compressed JPEG file, at any required size, and in this case the image quality and detail will be reduced in a "destructive" manner.
Blending & Merging photos By making copies of photos on top of each other, and applying different effects to the copies, combined with Web Designer Premium's advanced transparency controls, you can easily create blended photo compositions. For example to selectively blur parts of a photo takes a few seconds. By placing the blurred copy with the 'hole' created by the transparency effect over the sharp original, the blended result shows the sharp face area through.
Photo display quality Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can display photos in one of five useful quality levels. The top two settings smooth the screen pixels so avoiding visible pixels or rough sections along the edges (anti-aliasing). Change the quality level using the Quality entry in the Window menu. Very High Displays images using bicubic sampling. This displays images Quality at the best quality, particularly for large hi-res images that are (default) scaled down or zoomed out a lot.
Saving & Exporting Photos Selecting the Save option will always save a native .web file. To save a photo as a JPEG, PNG or other image file type, it's necessary to use the Export option, or the shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + E". There are two icons available on the top bar that are short-cuts to save the selection as JPG or PNG. These are in the flyout bar shown when you move the mouse pointer over the Export HTML icon.
Click the 'Export selection as JPG' button on the top bar. Enter a filename, Click the Settings button if you need to control the compression, or just click Save To save any image as a PNG go through the same process except choose the PNG file type.
Example: To resize a photo and save as a new JPEG This process is very quick and simple: Drop your photo onto Web Designer Premium (either onto a blank page or onto the title bar to create a new document) In the Selector Tool either drag a corner handle to resize the image, or enter the required width or height into the "W" or "H" field on the InfoBar. Check the image size is correct at 100% Click the 'Export selection as JPG' button on the top bar.
Photo Edit Attributes All edits performed using the Photo Tool , such as any altering of the brightness, contrast, color, blur or sharpen values, are all just stored on the photo as Web Designer Premium attributes. Just as you can alter the color of a shape or line without altering the underlying shape, so Photo Tool attributes alter the visible appearance of the photo without affecting the original image (this is called non-destructive editing).
Editing the outline of Photos You can use the Shape Editor Tool to directly adjust the outline shape of a photo. Similarly you can apply outlines the same way as for any shape, and shadow, etc. Using the Shape Editor Tool you can push or pull on the sides. This example also has a black outline and soft shadow added. To restore the image back to it's original rectangular shape, select the "Un-clip" in the clip mode of the Photo Tool InfoBar.
Cropping photos The easiest way to crop a photo is to just drag on it when in the Enhance Tool , or you can just drag one of the 8 control handles around the outside to adjust the edge of any selected photo. For more advanced cropping control, select the Clip button on the Photo Tool flyout bar which provides aspect ratio control and precise numeric clipping control. This also provides an Un-clip button that will remove any clip rectangle and restore the original image.
Cropping photos with a mask If you want to make non-rectangular photo shapes or cut pieces out of a photo, use a mask. First select the photo and then turn on Mask Mode. Turn on Mask Mode by clicking on icon in the top bar. The view turns pink. Now use any of the standard drawing tools to draw onto the mask layer over your photo, just as you would draw onto a normal drawing layer. Then select the photo underneath, or clear the selection (press "Esc").
Cutting objects out of photos Using the drawing tools, it's easy to draw around shapes and cut them out of the background. You can use any of the Line Drawing Tools to do this. Perhaps the easiest way is using the Shape Editor Tool and draw a line around the edge of the shape you want to extract.
Screen capture utility This utility offers some advantages over the method above, including the option to capture the mouse pointer in the image. Open it by choosing Utilities > Screen Capture. Screen area: Here you can choose the screen area you would like to capture. You can capture the full screen, the active window in its entirety, or just the content of the active window without the window border. Options: Here you can choose whether or not the mouse pointer is included in the screenshot.
button closes the Screen capture dialog and activates the system-wide hotkey. Switch to the window you want to capture and press the chosen key combination, or wait for the chosen time period to elapse if the timer option was chosen. The screenshot is taken and inserted into Web Designer Premium or saved to file, depending on the option chosen. If you selected the "Capture always" option you can take additional screenshots by pressing the key combination again (this is unavailable with the timer option).
Coloring photos With any photo selected just click on the Color Line to apply a color to any photo. Clicking the white color patch and selecting 'Set Contone Light Color ' will turn any color photo to be black and white. It's called a contone because it's a continuous tone from black to white. Simply click a pale yellow colour on the colour line to create a yellow contone picture.
Integration with external Photo Editors While Xara Web Designer 7 Premium provides a great many photo editing and compositing features, it is not a "pixel editor", and for these purposes you may want to use a separate program. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium makes integration with these easy. You can configure any external program to be launched when you double click a photo while in the Photo Tool, and after editing, for the photo to automatically be transferred back into your Web Designer Premium document.
Resize, rotate and position a photo within its frame Photos in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are treated like a "bitmap filled" rectangle. The shape of your photo is really a fully editable outline around the image contained inside. So when you crop, or edit the outline shape, you're not affecting the fill, which is clipped inside the shape. Photos and bitmaps on the page are always contained within an outline shape.
Horizon Straighten Using the Fill Tool , as previously described, means it's easy to straighten the horizon of an askew picture. Select the Fill Tool and click on any photo. This will show the fill handles, which are arrows showing the extent of the fill inside the shape. Drag on the end of one of the fill arrows to resize, and rotate as required. The following shows a landscape (created using the panorama stitching feature of Web Designer Premium) that has a sloping horizon.
Viewing a scaled photo at its full size The Zoom to 1:1 button on the Photo Tool infobar adjusts the zoom so that the selected image is shown at full size, which is where each pixel of the image is mapped to each screen pixel. This is useful if you want to edit an image that's been scaled down on the page, but want to see it at its full size while you work on it.
Making a photo its full size The Scale photo to 100% button on the Photo Tool infobar takes the currently selected photo and scales it to its full size on the page. So for example if the selected photo is scaled down to 500 pixels wide, but the original imported photo was 1000 pixels wide, the photo on the page will be scaled up to 1000 pixels wide. When the document zoom is 100%, that means that each pixel of the image is mapped to each screen pixel.
Optimizing Photos and Bitmaps With the ever increasing resolution and file size of digital camera JPEGs, if you have a document containing many images, the file size can quickly become very large. For example, a multi-page document containing 20 full resolution JPEGs, each of 5mb, would produce a .xar file of over 100mb*. Furthermore, these photos are often unnecessarily high resolution.
By default the settings are such that the photo will be optimized to a 96dpi (normal screen resolution) JPEG at the size that it appears on your page. This is normally what you will want for photos in your website. You can change the resolution used in this dialog, by either choosing the physical size you want for the optimized image (width/height in pixels), or by entering a different dpi (eg. perhaps 150dpi if you want print quality).
Photo Documents Sometimes it's useful to work on one photo alone, rather than as "objects on a page". This is called a photo document or "photo mode" in Web Designer Premium, and it behaves more like a traditional photo editor.
Editing Photo Files You can use Xara Web Designer 7 Premium to easily edit your JPEG photos and save back the modified JPEG. And unlike with most photo editors, you can do this multiple times without loss of quality, even though the JPEG format is a lossy format (see Lossless versus Lossy earlier in this chapter). That's becauseXara Web Designer 7 Premium is able to save your edits in a lossless way, along with the original photo. Here's how it works.
The Photo Tools In this chapter Introduction Using the Photo Tools Common photo functions Enhance Tool Clip Tool Photo Tool Notes The Red Eye Tool Content Aware Photo Resize Panorama Stitching Page 895
Introduction The Photo Tool provides a direct and very fast way of cropping, adjusting the brightness levels and sharpening photos, even for ultra high-resolution images. This tool provides: One-click auto-enhance your photos; this is particularly good for dull, underexposed images. Manually adjust the brightness, contrast, color saturation, photo color temperature and blur or sharpness of photos. Crop images. This is "live crop" so you can un-crop and adjust the crop at any time.
quicker to handle, save, process and transfer.
Photo Tool Benefits There are three major benefits of this tool: 1. It's non destructive 2. It's very, very fast, even for huge images 3. Photo Edits require no memory. Benefits explained in more detail The non-destructive point means that all edits do not affect the original image. You can adjust or remove the edits and the original image remains unaffected. This differs from most photo editors where an alteration makes a permanent change to the pixels of the photo.
Benefits explained in more detail The non-destructive point means that all edits do not affect the original image. You can adjust or remove the edits and the original image remains unaffected. This differs from most photo editors where an alteration makes a permanent change to the pixels of the photo. In Web Designer Premium you can adjust the settings as many times as you like in the sound knowledge that you are not altering the real actual original photo data.
Using the Photo Tools To access the photo tools , move your mouse pointer over the Camera icon in the main toolbar on the left of the window. A flyout bar appears with icons for each of the available photo tools. If you're in the Selector Tool a double click on a photo will switch into the Photo Tool .
Common photo functions The following buttons are available on the infoBar when you are in the Enhance, Clip, Red eye or Content-aware scaling photo tools. Rotate by 90° controls The two rotate icons will rotate the selected photo or photos by 90 degrees anti-clockwise or clockwise.
Rotate by 90° controls The two rotate icons will rotate the selected photo or photos by 90 degrees anti-clockwise or clockwise. Previous & Next When you 'open' a photo using Xara Web Designer 7 Premium the photo is loaded into a new Photo Document, because Web Designer Premium assumes you want to edit or view the photo itself rather than use it as part of a drawing or other document.
Previous & Next When you 'open' a photo using Xara Web Designer 7 Premium the photo is loaded into a new Photo Document, because Web Designer Premium assumes you want to edit or view the photo itself rather than use it as part of a drawing or other document. When you've opened a photo you can use the 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons on the Photo Tool infobar to close the current photo document and open the next (or previous) photo in the same folder as the current photo.
Zoom 1:1 Select a photo and click the Zoom 1:1 button. The Zoom to 1:1 adjusts the zoom so that the selected image is shown at full size, which is where each pixel of the image is mapped to each screen pixel. Use this option if you want to work on a photo at full size in a document where you have scaled the photo down. Scale photo to 100% The Scale photo to 100% operation takes the currently selected photo and scales it to its full size. It also puts the photo onto the pixel grid.
Scale photo to 100% The Scale photo to 100% operation takes the currently selected photo and scales it to its full size. It also puts the photo onto the pixel grid. So for example if the selected photo is scaled down to 500 pixels wide, but the original imported photo was 1000 pixels wide, the photo on the page will be scaled up to 1000 pixels wide. When the document zoom is 100%, that means that each pixel of the image is mapped to each screen pixel.
Enhance Tool Click the Camera icon to enter the Enhance Tool . The Photo Tool provides a direct and very fast way of cropping, adjusting the brightness levels and sharpening photos, even for ultra high-resolution images. This tool provides: One-click auto-enhance your photos; this is particularly good for dull, underexposed images. Manually adjust the brightness, contrast, color saturation and blur or sharpness of photos. Crop images.
1. Click and release the pop-up arrow. The slider control now remains on screen and you can adjust the values as many times as you like by dragging the slider control. Alternatively, if the mouse is held over the control, the mouse-wheel can be used to make small adjustments up or down. The slider will hide when you click anywhere else in the document. 2. Or you can click & hold the mouse button down, and drag over the slider bar to adjust the value. When you release the mouse the pop-up vanishes.
Pop-up slider controls The pop-up sliders can be used in one of two ways: 1. Click and release the pop-up arrow. The slider control now remains on screen and you can adjust the values as many times as you like by dragging the slider control. Alternatively, if the mouse is held over the control, the mouse-wheel can be used to make small adjustments up or down. The slider will hide when you click anywhere else in the document. 2.
Auto Enhance Clicking the "Enhance" button will analyze the overall brightness and contrast of the picture and automatically adjust the enhance values to obtain the best image. It is particularly effective with under-exposed (dark) images. After applying automatic enhancement to a photo you can adjust the values that were chosen, using the controls to the right of the "enhance" button. Clicking the "Compare" button will restore the original, clicking it again restores the last enhance values.
Brightness/Contrast/Color Temperature/Saturation Brightness Contrast Saturation Color Temperature The image is altered as you adjust these values. The saturation alters the color intensity. At the minimum setting of -100 this will make a picture black and white. The Color Temperature control makes a picture more 'warm' or 'cool'. Blur/Sharpen This control blurs images if it's taken below zero, and sharpens images above 0.
Blur/Sharpen This control blurs images if it's taken below zero, and sharpens images above 0. For sharpen it's recommended that only small values be used, and typically only on images that have been reduced in size a lot. You can enter blur values larger than the -100 maximum value available on the slider. E.g. entering -400 will produce a very blurred image.
Compare & Restoring the original The Compare button can be used to reset all the Enhance Tool values back to their defaults, returning your photo to its original state. Press the compare button a second time, your previous values are reinstated. Therefore you can use the compare button to quickly toggle between your edited photo and the original photo so you can see the effects of the changes you've made.
Cropping or clipping images The simplest way to clip a photo is just start dragging on or across the photo with the Enhance Tool selected. The clipping is performed instantly after releasing the mouse. The resulting clipped photo has clip handles around it, where you can adjust the clip borders afterwards. This is a non-destructive operation meaning that you can both adjust the clip region after you've copped the image and even un-crop to restore the whole image.
Clip Tool Alternatively you can enter Clip Tool by selecting the Clip icon on the Photo Tool fly-out bar. This provides a range of addition crop options. You can enter exact pixel values, and select from various crop aspect ratios For interactive clipping and some more options regarding aspect ratio, enter the Clip Tool with the Clip Tool button. This alters the InfoBar to look like this: As you drag over the photo, the clip rectangle is highlighted.
will change the outline of any clipped photo, and also arbitrarily formed shapes with a bitmap fill, to that rectangular outline of the complete photo or bitmap used as the fill. You may have to select the Clear button to clear the crop rectangle (or click outside the rectangle). Adjusting the clip region Because the un-clip button restores the clip rectangle (showing the area outside faded), you can easily make fine adjustments to a clipped photo.
Clear Press the "Clear" button, or just click outside the marked clip region to clear the current clip rectangle. Rule of Thirds There's a photography guideline that helps the composition of many photographs called the "rule of thirds". Put simply this involves placing key objects in your photos at thirds across your picture. For example it's often better to position the horizon one third of the way down a picture rather than being across the center.
In photo mode, there is a one-pixel grid applied to the photo (when at 96dpi, the default resolution) and the clip rectangle snaps to this grid. This makes it very easy to get pixel exact clipping. For highly accurate or exact pixel snapping, it's recommended to operate in photo mode and to zoom in so you can see the pixels clearly. See Photo documents for more information.
Rule of Thirds There's a photography guideline that helps the composition of many photographs called the "rule of thirds". Put simply this involves placing key objects in your photos at thirds across your picture. For example it's often better to position the horizon one third of the way down a picture rather than being across the center. When you drag a clip region across your photos lines are displayed at thirds across and down the image to help position objects to follow these composition guidelines.
See Photo documents for more information.
Un-clip Press the Un-clip button with any clipped photo selected, to restore the original photo. This restores the clip rectangle, which you can adjust or clear by clicking outside it. The Un-clip button in the Clip Tool will change the outline of any clipped photo, and also arbitrarily formed shapes with a bitmap fill, to that rectangular outline of the complete photo or bitmap used as the fill. You may have to select the Clear button to clear the crop rectangle (or click outside the rectangle).
Adjusting the clip region Because the un-clip button restores the clip rectangle (showing the area outside faded), you can easily make fine adjustments to a clipped photo. Just select the photo, press the Un-clip button and adjust the sides of the clip rectangle as required. Double click inside the photo to clip it again. Width / Height After drawing a clip rectangle, you can enter values directly into the width and height fields on the InfoBar to set the clip rectangle dimensions to exact values.
Width / Height After drawing a clip rectangle, you can enter values directly into the width and height fields on the InfoBar to set the clip rectangle dimensions to exact values. Lock Aspect Select the "Lock aspect" check-box to constrain the clip rectangle to a specific aspect ratio as you drag. The radio buttons to the right of the check-box determine the aspect ratio used. Select "Current" to maintain the aspect ratio to that of the photo before the clip.
Lock Aspect Select the "Lock aspect" check-box to constrain the clip rectangle to a specific aspect ratio as you drag. The radio buttons to the right of the check-box determine the aspect ratio used. Select "Current" to maintain the aspect ratio to that of the photo before the clip. Note that the clip rectangle automatically changes between landscape and portrait orientation as you drag a corner of the rectangle. So if you drag sideways it tends to create a clip in landscape orientation.
Clipping in Photo Documents In photo mode, there is a one-pixel grid applied to the photo (when at 96dpi, the default resolution) and the clip rectangle snaps to this grid. This makes it very easy to get pixel exact clipping. For highly accurate or exact pixel snapping, it's recommended to operate in photo mode and to zoom in so you can see the pixels clearly. See Photo documents for more information.
Photo Tool Notes 1. You can select different photos while using the photo tools by just clicking on them. This also works for photos inside groups. 2. If you click and drag, while in the Enhance Tool, it will start a crop on the photo that you started dragging on. Or, if you start dragging on the background, the crop will be applied to the first photo you touch during the drag. 3.
The Red Eye Tool Select the Red Eye Tool from the Photo Tool flyout bar. The Red Eye Tool allows you to quickly remove red eye effects from faces in your photos. Click the icon shown above to enter red eye mode. Then: Zoom into the red eyes in your photo using the Zoom Tool or just using "Ctrl + Mousewheel". Click and drag from the centre of the red eye outwards, to drag a circular red eye patch. The red color is removed from the area within this circle.
red eye patches are good enough for removing red eye effects. The edge of the red eye ellipse has a 3 pixel feather applied by default, so there is no hard edge to the area from which the red is removed. You can easily adjust this feather value by selecting the red eye ellipse (as above) and adjusting the feather value with the main feather control (on the right hand side of the top bar), in the same way that you edit the feather values of ordinary shapes.
Content Aware Photo Resize Web Designer Premium includes the ability to stretch photos using a new technique that retains the proportions of key aspects of the photo. The human eye is particularly sensitive to changes in aspect ratio of everyday objects, and most people can tell something is wrong with images that are even slightly squashed or stretched. Here is an example photo of the famous Torii Gate in Japan. Clearly the gate itself is the main subject of this picture.
Select a photo, go into the Photo Tool , and the InfoBar should look like this; First click the Prepare button to prepare the photo for the scaling. This starts an analysis of the photo to calculate which parts of the image can be stretched and which parts should be kept. This process can take some time depending on the resolution of the photo, and how many processors your computer has.
Now when you use the Prepare button this area will be protected from distortion. You may need to select the photo to enable the Prepare button. In the Photo Tool you can do this just by clicking on the picture. Note: You can't mask more than half the image. The prepare operation will give an error if you try this. Adjusting a mask, or adding a new mask You can't add a mask to an image that has already been stretched.
although these two above examples use no mask. Alternative Content Aware Scaling When stretching photos there are two alternative ways to scale the image. The method of just dragging the size arrows sometimes works not so well with some image types. However by holding the "Alt" key when dragging one of the side handles in the Content-aware Scale Tool performs a different intelligent scale using an alternative algorithm.
Preparing Your Photo The content aware scaling feature is part of the Photo tools . Select your photo and from the Photo Tool fly-out bar. Select the Content Aware Scaling button. The right end of the InfoBar will now show a set of buttons. Select a photo, go into the Photo Tool , and the InfoBar should look like this; First click the Prepare button to prepare the photo for the scaling.
Freehand Tool and just draw around the object, making sure it's a closed shape (you end the drawing on the start point). The pink areas of the mask are the 'protected' areas, and so this mask needs to be inverted (you are trying to protect the area you drew around, not the outside area), so click the 'Invert Mask' button on the InfoBar or select "Window" > "Invert mask ". Now when you use the Prepare button this area will be protected from distortion.
The program has determined the flowers, not the background leaves, are the areas of interest and so scaled only those parts. Using the Mask feature you can protect any part of the picture from distortion, although these two above examples use no mask. Alternative Content Aware Scaling When stretching photos there are two alternative ways to scale the image. The method of just dragging the size arrows sometimes works not so well with some image types.
Optimize Photos that have been prepared to enable Content Aware resizing have a lot of additional data stored alongside them, to enable further adjustments. When you save a document this additional data is saved also, meaning that you can load such a document and continue to adjust the width or height without having to do a new Prepare operation. When you've finished scaling the photo you are recommended to 'fix' the changes by using the Optimize feature.
onto the mask layer. There is another alternative that you can 'fix' a stretched image using the Optimize feature, and then apply a new mask. This is not recommended in most cases because it will produce lower quality results than resetting the image and applying a mask to the original image. Content-aware photo zoom An alternative to content aware scaling is the whereby the photo remains the same size and the content is intelligently zoomed inside it. Here's an example of the effect.
saving photos like this.
Using Masks With Content Aware Scaling Using the mask feature you can provide further control by protecting areas of the picture from being distorted. Masked areas will not be distorted at all. See the Masks chapter to find out more about masks, but here's a brief summary of how to use masks with Content Aware Scaling.
Use the zoom slider on the Infobar to control content-aware photo zoom. The picture remains the same size, but the program automatically detects and scales (zooms) the 'interesting' content. Note this is not just a crop of the girl, but that every element, cloud, and grass that appears in the original is still there in the zoomed version. The program automatically detects the surfer is the 'region of interest' and so enlarges him only.
Content-aware photo zoom An alternative to content aware scaling is the whereby the photo remains the same size and the content is intelligently zoomed inside it. Here's an example of the effect. Use the zoom slider on the Infobar to control content-aware photo zoom. The picture remains the same size, but the program automatically detects and scales (zooms) the 'interesting' content.
Alternative Content Aware Scaling When stretching photos there are two alternative ways to scale the image. The method of just dragging the size arrows sometimes works not so well with some image types. However by holding the "Alt" key when dragging one of the side handles in the Content-aware Scale Tool performs a different intelligent scale using an alternative algorithm.
Content Aware Scaling notes You can only compress an image to half its initial width or height If you save a document with a photo that has been prepared for Content Aware resizing, then it saves the resizing information in the document. The advantage of this is that you can later re-adjust the photo using the Content Aware feature. There is a significant file size overhead of saving photos like this.
Panorama Stitching Xara Web Designer 7 Premium includes a tool that can automatically stitch together up to 6 photographs into a single wide, high-resolution panorama. Creating high-quality panoramas can be a very complex and technical process, often requiring special equipment or lenses and accurately exposed and aligned photographs.
Optimizing images Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will always stitch photos at the full resolution, even if you reduce the size of the image on the page. This is often a desirable thing since it produces the maximum quality, highest resolution results. But it does mean that the stitching process can take a few minutes. So sometimes you may prefer to reduce the resolution of the images before you stitch them together, especially if you only require a medium resolution final result, perhaps for the web.
Optimizing images Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will always stitch photos at the full resolution, even if you reduce the size of the image on the page. This is often a desirable thing since it produces the maximum quality, highest resolution results. But it does mean that the stitching process can take a few minutes. So sometimes you may prefer to reduce the resolution of the images before you stitch them together, especially if you only require a medium resolution final result, perhaps for the web.
Upgrades to Panorama Studio There is an optional upgrade to a more flexible and powerful panorama studio program. This provides more features and controls over the stitching process. Xara Designer Pro users get this separate program for free, bundled on the product CD. If Panorama Studio is installed, you will be given the option to use it instead of the standard version when you select the "Panorama" button.
3D Extrude Tool In this chapter Introduction Extruding a shape Extrude Tool InfoBar Textures & Photos Extruding Text Copying 3D extrude attributes Putting shadows behind Page 947
Introduction The Extrude Tool provides a fast and easy way of turning 2D drawn shapes and text into high quality 3D "extruded" versions, with colored light illumination and very high quality shading. It is based on the technology used in the Xara 3D stand-alone program. On-screen dragging allows real-time 3D object rotation, dragging of the extrude depth, and adjustment of three lights in 3D space around the object. The InfoBar provides control over the bevel type drawn down the extruded length.
Extruding a shape To turn a 2D shape into a 3D extruded object, go into the Extrude Tool on the main toolbar and simply click and drag on your object to rotate it in 3D space. Initially, your extrusion is given a default depth. The face color of the 3D shape is determined by the fill color of the original shape and the color of the extrude (or side) by its line color. After creating an extrude in this way, move your mouse pointer around over the 3D object.
Extrude Tool InfoBar Extrude on/off Slider type list Slider and numeric value for selected parameter Bevel type Bevel size slider and value Lights on/off Gloss/matt Rounded/mitred corner You can adjust a 3D extruded object by manipulating it directly on the page as described above, or by selecting it and using the controls on the InfoBar of the Extrude Tool.
in the Extrude Tool ). Lights Lights on/off You can adjust the lighting of your shape in 3D space by turning on the lights. There are 3 lights, each of which can be given their own color and position in 3D space around the 3D shape. In this example the face color of the shape is set to white. But you can see that it appears green because there is a green light shining almost directly onto the front face of the shape.
Turning extrudes on and off Extrude on/off Once a shape or other object has been extruded, there are only limited modifications that can be made to the original object with the extrusion in place. For example, if you've extruded a shape, it's not possible to then edit that shape in the Shape Editor Tool because it's no longer a simple 2D shape that you can interact with.
In this example the face color of the shape is set to white. But you can see that it appears green because there is a green light shining almost directly onto the front face of the shape. By adjusting the colors of the face and extrude and the positions and colors of the three lights, you can enhance the realism of the 3D objects in your design. Behind the object is a beige / orange colored light and another that is a purple color.
Extrusion depth The easiest way to adjust the depth of an extrusion is to simply click and drag on it, as described above. However, you can also use the slider on the left of the Extrude Tool InfoBar to adjust it. Make sure that Extrude depth is selected in the dropdown list to the left of the slider (this is the default setting) and then use the slider to adjust the extrude depth.
color selected in the color editor dropdown list changes to match your selection, so you can quickly select the different colors on your extrude to modify them. Gloss / Matt Use this toggle button to make the surface of a 3D object more or less reflective. With the gloss option on lights placed at the correct position behind the object will "bounce off" the sides to good effect. Mitred corner / Rounded corner You can choose either Mitred or Rounded corners for your 3D object.
Bevel Type & Size The bevel type determines the profile of the extruded side of your 3D shape and of its edges and corners. By default it's set to rounded which gives a flat side with rounded corners. The bevel type dropdown list contains a large selection of different bevel types you can choose from. You can adjust the size of the bevel using the slider to the right of the bevel type list.
Mitred corner / Rounded corner You can choose either Mitred or Rounded corners for your 3D object. "Mitre" gives square edges, while "Round" produces rounded edges.
Lights Lights on/off You can adjust the lighting of your shape in 3D space by turning on the lights. There are 3 lights, each of which can be given their own color and position in 3D space around the 3D shape. In this example the face color of the shape is set to white. But you can see that it appears green because there is a green light shining almost directly onto the front face of the shape.
Gloss / Matt Use this toggle button to make the surface of a 3D object more or less reflective. With the gloss option on lights placed at the correct position behind the object will "bounce off" the sides to good effect. Mitred corner / Rounded corner You can choose either Mitred or Rounded corners for your 3D object. "Mitre" gives square edges, while "Round" produces rounded edges.
Mitred corner / Rounded corner You can choose either Mitred or Rounded corners for your 3D object. "Mitre" gives square edges, while "Round" produces rounded edges.
Textures & Photos When you extrude a photo, the photo remains on the front face of your 3D object. Therefore, you can produce impressive 3D photo effects in seconds by simply importing a photo and extruding it. This effect is created by extruding a photo, rotating it slightly, creating a reflected copy using the Selector Tool , and the 3D angle adjusted to match. It's then given a graduated transparency to create the faded reflection. You can use any photo or texture on the face of your extrude.
Extruding Text Extrude text the same way that you extrude any shape; just click and drag on the text while using the Extrude Tool . As you would expect, doing this on more than a few words can be rather slow and is not recommended. Because text is usually black, unless you change the color the extruded result will also be entirely black, so making it difficult to see.
Copying 3D extrude attributes You can copy and paste the style of the 3D extrusion, from one 3D object to any other. This works the same way as for all Web Designer Premium attributes. Simply copy the source extruded object to the clipboard, and then select a new one and select "Edit" > "Paste attributes" . Note this will only paste the 3D attributes onto another 3D extruded objects. So you will have to extrude any shape first before pasting the 3D attributes.
Putting shadows behind Using the Shadow Tool you can enhance the 3D effect by placing a soft shadow behind the object. Simply apply the Shadow Tool and drag on the 3D object. The left example is using a wall shadow, the right us using a floor shadow.
Navigation Bars Most websites have a navigation bar, either horizontal or vertical, from which all the important pages of the site can be accessed. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium includes special support for navigation bars (known as Navbars for short), making it easy to add, edit and delete buttons. The buttons in a Navbar can adjust their widths to match their labels automatically and they are repositioned automatically after any changes you make.
Using template Navbars You can create Navbars yourself from any button design, but most users will simply use the many template Navbars available in the Designs Gallery . If you want to create your own, see the section describing how to do that later in this chapter. All the Navbar designs in the gallery are associated with a particular theme, and are carefully designed so that they fit nicely into the page designs of that theme.
Navigation bar properties dialog The best way to edit the labels, links and other attributes of a Navbar, and to add or remove buttons, is to use the Navigation Bar properties dialog. Double click on a bar to bring up the dialog, or right click on it and choose 'Edit navigation bar ' from the context menu. The upper half of the dialog allows you to set various properties of the Navbar.
setting determines whether the bar grows upwards (Bottom), downwards (Top), or both (center) when buttons are added. Adjust button widths to labels Turn this option on if you want your buttons to be stretchy, so they grow and shrink as required to fit in the label text applied to the button. With this option off, your buttons will remain the same size and so a label that's too long for the button will extend beyond the edges of the button.
Orientation Choose whether you want your Navbar to be horizontal or vertical. For vertical Navbars you will normally want to make all buttons the same width (the width of the widest button), so you get a rectangular bar. See the "Adjust all buttons to widest label " option below, which controls this. Justification Choose how you want your bar to behave when its length changes as you edit labels and add/remove buttons.
Justification Choose how you want your bar to behave when its length changes as you edit labels and add/remove buttons. A left justified horizontal bar will grow to the right as you add more buttons or make the button labels longer. And the left edge of the bar stays in the same place on the page. Similarly a right justified bar keeps its right edge in the same place and grows to the left. And a center justified bar grows to left and right equally.
Adjust button widths to labels Turn this option on if you want your buttons to be stretchy, so they grow and shrink as required to fit in the label text applied to the button. With this option off, your buttons will remain the same size and so a label that's too long for the button will extend beyond the edges of the button. All buttons the same width This option is enabled only if the above 'Adjust button widths to labels' option is on.
All buttons the same width This option is enabled only if the above 'Adjust button widths to labels' option is on. Select this option to make all your buttons the width of the widest button in the bar. For vertical Navbars this is almost always desirable so that you get a rectangular bar. For horizontal bars it often makes the bar look neater with each button the same size, but it requires more space and so you may not be able to fit as many buttons into your bar with this option turned on.
Button spacing Here you can choose to have some space between each button in your horizontal Navbar, if you don't want each button to sit right up against its neighbor. Simply enter the number of pixels of space you would like and see the result on the canvas immediately. Sometimes you may want to make this value negative so that there is a small overlap between your buttons. This is useful if your button design is such that you see an undesirable join line between the buttons when there is 0 spacing.
Site navigation bar This is a very important option on the Navbar dialog , which turns on automatic linking so that buttons and links are added to your bar for you, as you add pages. And all changes you make to the bar are reflected on every page of the site as soon as you close the Navbar dialog. Normally you have this option on only if you want your Navbar to appear on all pages of your website. However you can manually delete the bar from pages if desired.
their site, with a link to every page. But again, the option can easily be turned on in the Navbar dialog if required. Other points to note If you delete a button which points to one of your pages, or change the link on it to point elsewhere, no special action is taken to restore a button link to the page. It's assumed you decided that you didn't want a direct link to that page in your site navigation bar. New buttons and page links are only created when a page is added.
Moving and transforming a site navigation bar If you move a site navigation bar on the page, the bar is also moved on all the other pages on which it appears. Similarly if you scale the bar to make it larger or smaller using the Selector Tool, again the same transformation is applied to the copy of the bar on the other pages. No other transformations of a Navbar using the Selector Tool are supported (rotation, skew, scaling in one dimension).
Automatic page linking Whenever you add a new page to your site, a link to that page will be added to your site navigation bar for you and the new page will be given a copy of the bar, if it doesn't already have one. If your bar has an unused button on it, then the first such button will be linked to your new page. If all buttons are already linked, a new button is automatically added to the end of your bar and it is linked to the new page.
Turning site navigation bars on and off When you turn the site navigation option on or off in the Navbar dialog, the change is reflected in all copies of that bar on all pages of your website. Deleting a site navigation bar from a page If you don't want the site navigation bar on a particular page of your site, you can simply click on it to select it on that page and hit "Delete". You'll be asked whether you want to delete the bar from just that page, or from all pages.
Deleting a site navigation bar from a page If you don't want the site navigation bar on a particular page of your site, you can simply click on it to select it on that page and hit "Delete". You'll be asked whether you want to delete the bar from just that page, or from all pages.
Templates & Site navigation bars All the single page templates in the Designs Gallery have their Navbars set to be site navigation bars when you load them from the gallery to start a new website document. This means you can rapidly build a small website with all pages linked to the bar, without having to add buttons and page links manually. Similarly all website templates have site navigation bars turned on.
Other points to note If you delete a button which points to one of your pages, or change the link on it to point elsewhere, no special action is taken to restore a button link to the page. It's assumed you decided that you didn't want a direct link to that page in your site navigation bar. New buttons and page links are only created when a page is added.
Buttons & Menus Edit the button labels, links and other button attributes using the table and tree controls in the lower half of the Navbar dialog . Each row in the table corresponds to a button in the bar, or to an entry in a menu under one of the buttons. Adding & editing buttons To add a button, double click in the first column where it says "Double-Click To Add Button". A new row is added below the row for the last button.
Menu separators You can add a separator into your menu by clicking the Add separator button at the bottom of the dialog. The separator is added following the currently selected menu item. Separators allow you to visually group together related items in your menu. Menu Styles Click on the Menu Style… button to bring up the Menu Style dialog . This allows you to change how the menus appear and behave on your Navbar. Font Choose a font to be used for the text on your menus.
With this setting you can add space between the entries in your menu, spreading them out and making the menu larger as a result. Border Add a border to the panes of your menus by entering a border width in pixels. Animation By default menus will open instantly, but here you can choose to have the menu animating as it opens. Transparency You can choose to have your menus semi-transparent, so that your page can be seen through the menu panes. Enter the level of transparency you would like as a percentage.
Adding & editing buttons To add a button, double click in the first column where it says "Double-Click To Add Button". A new row is added below the row for the last button. Or click the Add button at the bottom of the dialog to add a button following the selected button. You can immediately start editing the label for the new button. Press return to complete the label edit, or click away from the label.
Font Choose a font to be used for the text on your menus. Only the web safe fonts are listed, which are the fonts that all visitors to your site should have. There is also an option to make the font bold and you can change the font size used. NOTE: This doesn't change the font used for the button labels of your bar, only the font used on menus. To change the button label font, see the section about this later in this chapter. Direction Choose the direction in which your menus should open.
Adding menus and sub-menus In the first (label) column, you'll notice that there is a plus icon to the left of each label. This is a tree control and clicking the plus icon next to a button label, expands that button node, allowing you to add a menu to that button. Click on the Double-Click To Add Menu Item text below the button to start adding a menu. Or click the Add button at the bottom of the dialog to add a menu item below the selected item. A new row appears in the table for each menu entry you add.
Font Choose a font to be used for the text on your menus. Only the web safe fonts are listed, which are the fonts that all visitors to your site should have. There is also an option to make the font bold and you can change the font size used. NOTE: This doesn't change the font used for the button labels of your bar, only the font used on menus. To change the button label font, see the section about this later in this chapter. Direction Choose the direction in which your menus should open.
Menu separators You can add a separator into your menu by clicking the Add separator button at the bottom of the dialog. The separator is added following the currently selected menu item. Separators allow you to visually group together related items in your menu. Menu Styles Click on the Menu Style… button to bring up the Menu Style dialog . This allows you to change how the menus appear and behave on your Navbar. Font Choose a font to be used for the text on your menus.
You can offset the menu panes horizontally or vertically from the buttons. Just enter the number of pixels of offset required.
Menu Styles Click on the Menu Style… button to bring up the Menu Style dialog . This allows you to change how the menus appear and behave on your Navbar. Font Choose a font to be used for the text on your menus. Only the web safe fonts are listed, which are the fonts that all visitors to your site should have. There is also an option to make the font bold and you can change the font size used. NOTE: This doesn't change the font used for the button labels of your bar, only the font used on menus.
Updating your Navbar across all pages As described above, if you have the Site navigation bar option turned on for a Navbar then all changes that you make to the bar on one page are automatically applied to all the other pages too, including the location of the bar on the page.
On canvas editing You can edit your button labels directly on the canvas using the Text Tool. Just go into the Text Tool and click in the label text to start editing it. If the text object is a repeating object (right click and choose Repeat on all pages ) all changes you make to one instance of the object automatically update across all instances.
Changing the font on Navbar buttons You can change the font used for the button labels on a Navbar easily. Select the bar by clicking on it. Then go into the Text Tool and select from the font list on the left of the Text Tool infobar . As you move the mouse pointer over the different fonts in the list, the Navbar updates immediately so you can see how that font would look. Select the required font. If your bar has a mouseover state, it is also updated to use the same font.
Importing & pasting Navbars If you import or paste a Navbar into your document, the site navigation option on that Navbar is turned off automatically, if it was on. This is to avoid any conflicts with any existing site navigation bar in your document. However if the incoming bar is of the same theme and type as the existing site navigation bar in your site (ie., are part of the same repeating group), it will immediately be updated to match that existing site navigation bar.
Creating your own Navigation Bars You can create a Navbar from any button design. The Designs Gallery contains many different button designs, or you can draw your own. See the „Creating your own Mouseover Buttons " section of the Getting Started chapter for information on how to do this.The button may or may not include a mouseover state. To create a Navbar, select the button and then select "Arrange" > "Create Navigation Bar".
Button design restrictions There are some rules you must follow when creating your own buttons for use in Navbars. Stretchy button limitations In order to get reliable results when your buttons are automatically stretched you are advised to make sure that there are no path control points or graduated fill/transparency control points in the horizontal area occupied by the button label text object.
Button margins In this section we refer to the „margins" as being the spaces between the button label and the ends of the button. For stretchy buttons (those with the „Adjust button widths to labels" option switched on) this is determined by the master button from which you create the Navbar. By adjusting the margins on the master button, you set the margins for the other buttons in the bar, which are based on it. The easiest way to change the margin on the first button is as follows: 1.
Advanced - Editing a Navbar button design However your Navbar was created, you can modify the button design it uses. For a Navbar where all buttons are the same design, the very first button in the bar is used as the master button from which all the other buttons are copied. Therefore by modifying the first button design, you modify the design for the whole bar. Editing inside For some bars you can do some editing of the button design directly on the first button, using select inside.
states together once you're done editing. Do this by making sure both layers are turned on in the Page & Layer Gallery, select both button state groups and then "Arrange" > "Apply soft group". See the Object Handling chapter for more information on soft groups (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ). It's a good idea to test your button works as expected by previewing your page, before re-assembling the bar. To put your bar back together, select the modified button and choose "Arrange" > "Create Navigation Bar" .
Editing inside For some bars you can do some editing of the button design directly on the first button, using select inside. This allows you to select shapes inside the button group. See the information about the Selector Tool in the Object Handling chapter for details of select inside. However you cannot do select inside editing, if either of the following options are turned on in the Navbar dialog.
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Ungrouping, editing and regrouping If you want to do any significant editing of a button design, it's best to ungroup the components that make up the Navbar and then regroup them again afterwards. To ungroup your bar, select the Navbar by clicking on it on the canvas and then do a normal ungroup operation ("Arrange" > "Ungroup" or "Ctrl + U"). Or click the Ungroup to edit graphics button at the bottom of the Navbar dialog.
Navbars with different first or last buttons Sometimes you may want a bar which has different first and last buttons. For example, perhaps a bar with rounded ends but with rectangular buttons in the middle. Navbars like this need 2 (if just one end should look different) or 3 (if both ends should look different) button designs. Position the button designs in order from left to right as you would like them to appear in a horizontal Navbar.
Website Presentations Xara Web Designer 7 Premium allows you to create web presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint® slideshow-style effects such as animated step transitions within a page and animated page transitions. Viewers of your web presentation can move through it sequentially, step by step and page by page, using the right arrow and Page Down key to view the next step/page, and the left arrow or Page Up key to move backwards.
The Presentation toolbar Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically displays the Presentation toolbar on the right of the standard toolbar when you create or open a presentation document. To hide/display the toolbar, choose Control Bars from the Window menu, click the Presentation checkbox and click Close . Just repeat this action to display the toolbar again. The toolbar allows you to: Make a new presentation step that contains any currently selected objects.
Creating a presentation There are three ways to create a new presentation: Start with a pre-designed template and then customize this with your own text, photos and color scheme. Create a presentation from scratch, bringing in all the required elements, text, graphics and photos onto the page and ordering the content into the presentation steps and pages you require. Convert an existing website/web document into a presentation.
Presentation Toolbar, called Make new step. Now look at the status line ? it now shows that the selected object is on "Presentation step 1" instead of MouseOff. 4. Preview the page again. Initially you can see only your initial text heading. Press the right arrow key on your keyboard and the second text object will fade in. That's the first step added to your presentation! 5. You can continue to add more content to your page the same way. 6. You may want to add an object to an existing presentation step.
The document's tab at the top of the workspace displays the presentation document icon. Note: Layers within the document are not automatically turned into presentation steps when you turn a website into a presentation. You have to manually convert each layer into a presentation step - see Turning a layer into a step . However, when you turn a presentation into a website, presentation steps are automatically converted to layers and renamed 'step 1' etc.
Creating a presentation from templates Open the Designs Gallery by clicking the Designs Gallery tab in the Galleries bar or File > New from Designs Gallery . Find the Presentations folder in the gallery and double click to expand it. The theme folders contain collections of presentation designs and associated graphic files that each follow a specific theme. Browse through the various theme folders until you find a design you like and double click on the first thumbnail, named 'Presentation'.
layer). Right click on the object and you'll see a Presentation sub-menu in the context menu that appears. That sub-menu itself has a Move to step sub-menu, that lists all the existing steps on this page. Just select Step 1 to make the rectangle part of step 1. There's also a New step option in the menu, that does the same thing as the Make new step button you used above. The status line now shows that the selected rectangle is part of presentation step 1. 7.
Creating your own presentation from scratch This section describes the best workflow for creating a presentation page by taking you through an example, to help you get started quickly. Choose New > 955 pix presentation from the File menu. A new blank document window opens, displaying the presentation document icon on its tab at the top of the document window. The Presentation Toolbar also appears at the right end of the top bar.
1. Now all the objects that were on step 3 are now on step 1, what was step 1 has become step 2, etc. So re-ordering your steps is easy. 12. The Designs Gallery includes some useful components for presentations, under " Presentations" > "Presentation components". Just drag and drop a component onto your page. Each component is added to a new step automatically for you, so it becomes the last step on the page.
Converting an existing website into a presentation In the website document, right click a page and choose Web page properties to display the Web Properties dialog. Click the Website tab and click the Presentation website checkbox to select it. The document's tab at the top of the workspace displays the presentation document icon. Note: Layers within the document are not automatically turned into presentation steps when you turn a website into a presentation.
Managing presentation steps You can typically manage presentation steps by: Right clicking an object in a step and choosing Presentation then choosing your required option from the sub-menu that appears Using the buttons on the Presentation toolbar Using the Page & Layer Gallery Creating a step Add new content to your page the same way you do with ordinary website documents. Normally since the current layer will be the MouseOff layer, this content will be visible as soon as the page loads.
Make sure Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is displaying the step you want to duplicate (click an object in the step - the step number is displayed in the Presentation toolbar step list). Right click and choose Presentation > Duplicate Step or click the Duplicate step button on the Presentation toolbar. Alternatively in the Page & Layer Gallery right click the step you want to duplicate and choose Duplicate Layer .
number of the step you want to move the object(s) to, or Right click and choose "Presentation" > "Move to Step" > "Background" if you want to move the objects to the MouseOff layer or "Presentation" > "Move to Step" > "New step" to move to a brand new step. In the Page & Layer Gallery, click and drag the object(s) from one step to another or right click the object(s) and choose Move to current layer.
Creating a step Add new content to your page the same way you do with ordinary website documents. Normally since the current layer will be the MouseOff layer, this content will be visible as soon as the page loads. To make objects part of a presentation step, so they can be revealed incrementally: Select the objects and click the Make new step button on the Presentation toolbar, or right-click and choose "Presentation" > "Move to step" > "New step" .
. Web Designer Premium displays the contents of the duplicate step, positioning the duplicated content in a way that retains the pattern of any previous steps. For example, a duplicated bulleted list item retains the spacing of list items already created. Select and edit the duplicated content as you wish. The step number in the Presentation toolbar shows the new step number. The step is placed immediately following the step that was duplicated.
Replacing existing objects in a step If you use one of the interactive presentation templates to build your presentation, you will want to replace existing objects in a step with your own content, such as your own images, photos, logos, and text objects. However if there's only one object in a step then deleting that object will remove the step, and you may want to retain its transition and its order in the step sequence.
Duplicating a step Perhaps the easiest way of creating a step is by duplicating an existing one. Make sure Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is displaying the step you want to duplicate (click an object in the step - the step number is displayed in the Presentation toolbar step list). Right click and choose Presentation > Duplicate Step or click the Duplicate step button on the Presentation toolbar. Alternatively in the Page & Layer Gallery right click the step you want to duplicate and choose Duplicate Layer .
Moving objects from one step to another You can move objects from one step to another step in one of three ways: Right click the object(s) and choose "Presentation" > "Move to Step" then choose the number of the step you want to move the object(s) to, or Right click and choose "Presentation" > "Move to Step" > "Background" if you want to move the objects to the MouseOff layer or "Presentation" > "Move to Step" > "New step" to move to a brand new step.
accordingly.
Turning a layer into a step If you have existing layers in your presentation, you can easily convert a layer into a presentation step: 1. In the Page & Layer Gallery, right click the layer and choose Layer Properties or click the layer and click Properties at the top of the gallery. 2. In the Web transition tab of the Layer Properties dialog, click the Presentation layer checkbox to select it and click Apply. The layer name becomes 'Presentation step 1'. 3.
Add your own content to the step, then delete the content you don't want . This ensures that the step won't be removed and its order remains unchanged. Note: If the object you want to replace is a photo, you can replace it by dragging the new photo from the file explorer directly onto the photo you want to replace - see Replacing photos. Changing step order The order in which steps are revealed is the order in which the steps appear in the Page & Layer Gallery, as indicated by the step numbers.
Viewing step contents Sometimes you may want a clearer view of exactly which objects are in a step. The best way to do this is using the Page & Layer Gallery . Click on the "S" (Solo) icon next to the step you want to view, to show only that step on the canvas. Click the icon again to return to normal view. As with ordinary layers, you can click and drag an object to move it from one step to another in the Page & Layer Gallery .
then choosing a new step number, or by choosing a new step number from the Presentation toolbar. You can also click and drag steps above or below each other in the Page & Layer Gallery until all steps are in the order you want. Deleting objects from a step Right click the object and choose Cut or Delete, or in the Page & Layer Gallery right click the object and choose Delete or click the object then press the Delete button in the standard toolbar.
Adding new objects to an existing step Right click the objects you want to add to a step and choose Presentation > Move to step then choose the step number. The objects are automatically added to the selected step. Alternatively click and drag the objects to a presentation step in the Page & Layer Gallery, or ensure the presentation layer you want to add content to is the current step before you create or add the new objects. All new content is placed on whichever layer is current.
deletes the empty step, reordering the remaining steps accordingly. Deleting an object when there's more than one in the step will not remove the step. Deleting a step Select an object in the step and click the Delete step button in the Presentation toolbar or right-click and choose Presentation > Delete Step . Alternatively in the Page & Layer Gallery right click the layer and choose Delete Layer .
Moving objects from one step to another You can move objects from one step to another step in one of three ways: Right click the object(s) and choose "Presentation" > "Move to Step" then choose the number of the step you want to move the object(s) to, or Right click and choose "Presentation" > "Move to Step" > "Background" if you want to move the objects to the MouseOff layer or "Presentation" > "Move to Step" > "New step" to move to a brand new step.
: When the step is deleted, Web Designer Premium automatically reorders the remaining steps accordingly.
Replacing existing objects in a step If you use one of the interactive presentation templates to build your presentation, you will want to replace existing objects in a step with your own content, such as your own images, photos, logos, and text objects. However if there's only one object in a step then deleting that object will remove the step, and you may want to retain its transition and its order in the step sequence.
Changing step order The order in which steps are revealed is the order in which the steps appear in the Page & Layer Gallery, as indicated by the step numbers. You can change this order either by right clicking an object in a step and choosing Presentation> Step Order then choosing a new step number, or by choosing a new step number from the Presentation toolbar. You can also click and drag steps above or below each other in the Page & Layer Gallery until all steps are in the order you want.
Deleting objects from a step Right click the object and choose Cut or Delete, or in the Page & Layer Gallery right click the object and choose Delete or click the object then press the Delete button in the standard toolbar. When you delete an object and it's the only object in a step, Web Designer Premium automatically deletes the empty step, reordering the remaining steps accordingly. Deleting an object when there's more than one in the step will not remove the step.
Deleting a step Select an object in the step and click the Delete step button in the Presentation toolbar or right-click and choose Presentation > Delete Step . Alternatively in the Page & Layer Gallery right click the layer and choose Delete Layer . Note : When the step is deleted, Web Designer Premium automatically reorders the remaining steps accordingly.
Adding new presentation pages Right click the Xara Web Designer 7 Premium pasteboard and choose New Page to add a new blank page or Duplicate Current Page to add a copy of the currently selected page.
Deleting presentation pages Right click the page and choose Delete Current Page .
Linking to next/previous step You can easily add buttons/objects to a presentation page that display the next step in the page. Just add or create your button, and use the Link to list in the Link tab of the Web Properties dialog to apply a link to the button/object that will display the next presentation step. When the viewer has displayed all the steps on the page using a 'next presentation step' link or the right arrow key, clicking the button or key again displays the next page.
Applying presentation page transitions Each presentation page can be given its own transition. To add a transition to a page, open the Page tab of the Web Properties dialog. Choose or enter the name of the page you want to apply a transition to in the Page filename box. Then select a page transition type from the Transition effect drop-down list and move the Speed slider to apply a transition speed from 0 to 5 seconds.
Applying transitions to presentation step links You can apply a link transition to any link object, such as a button, in your presentation page in the same way as you can in a web document page, using the Link tab of the Web Properties dialog. Link options for presentation documents also include next/previous presentation step . Applying presentation step transitions When you create a step, Web Designer Premium automatically assigns the Instant transition type to it.
display, as link transitions take precedence over page transitions.
Applying presentation step transitions When you create a step, Web Designer Premium automatically assigns the Instant transition type to it. To change a step transition: Open the Web Transitions tab of the Layer Properties dialog either by clicking the Layer Transition Properties button in the Presentation toolbar or right click an object in the step and choose Presentation > Transition. Or in the Page & Layer Gallery, right click the step and choose Layer Properties .
Applying presentation page transitions Each presentation page can be given its own transition. To add a transition to a page, open the Page tab of the Web Properties dialog. Choose or enter the name of the page you want to apply a transition to in the Page filename box. Then select a page transition type from the Transition effect drop-down list and move the Speed slider to apply a transition speed from 0 to 5 seconds.
Advanced presentation information You can also use the Page & Layer Gallery to manage presentation steps. Steps versus layers The steps within a presentation document are actually just different layers within the document. So when you place an object on a particular step you are really just moving that object to a specific presentation layer within the document.
When you create a new step, this checkbox is automatically selected. If you deselect it to turn a step into a layer, this removes the step from the presentation, even though its contents and any layer transition remain. The converted layer, however, will not be displayed when a viewer navigates through a presentation using either the arrow keyboard keys or a next/previous presentation step link. Viewing step contents in the Page & Layer Gallery Click a step to expand it.
Steps versus layers The steps within a presentation document are actually just different layers within the document. So when you place an object on a particular step you are really just moving that object to a specific presentation layer within the document. You can see this if you open the Page & Layer Gallery and view the layers in your presentation document ? each step of your presentation is actually a layer in your document.
When you create a new step, this checkbox is automatically selected. If you deselect it to turn a step into a layer, this removes the step from the presentation, even though its contents and any layer transition remain. The converted layer, however, will not be displayed when a viewer navigates through a presentation using either the arrow keyboard keys or a next/previous presentation step link. Viewing step contents in the Page & Layer Gallery Click a step to expand it.
Viewing step contents in the Page & Layer Gallery Click a step to expand it. All of the objects within it are displayed.
Hosting remote presentation sessions Once you have a published presentation website that was created by Xara Web Designer 7 Premium and published on MAGIX Online World, you can use Xara's remote presentation system to remotely control a run-through of your presentation with any number of viewers over the Internet. With this system, you provide each of the people you want to see your presentation with a unique link, which they access using their normal web browser.
Viewing a presentation When attendees click the link you gave them, they are first asked to enter their names. The name is used only to let you as the presenter see who is viewing your presentation. The viewer then sees the first page of your presentation site, with the welcome message you provided displayed on top. Or if your presentation has already started, they will see the same page as you, the presenter.
Website Widgets This chapter describes how to add dynamic content to your website, such as movies, animations, forms and thousands of the available gadgets such as page counters and currency converters. We refer to these using the general term of "website widgets", or just "widgets" for short.
Widgets & placeholders – it’s all automatic! In Xara Web Designer 7 Premium a widget is any object you can place on your web page that displays some sort of dynamic content, that may also be interactive. That content may be sourced from an external website (e.g., a news feed widget) or may be published with the website (e.g., a slideshow widget cycling through a selection of photos).
Widgets from the Designs Gallery The easiest way to add widgets to your site is to choose from the selection provided in the Designs Gallery. Look under the "Widgets, Forms & More (Download)" category near the top of the gallery. The widgets in the gallery are automatically updated from time to time, so that Xara can add, modify or delete the selection of widgets available to you at any time. You will sometimes see the Designs Gallery update when you first open it or when you first open a category folder.
7 Premium will then find the HTML code and will insert it into your page for you. For some widgets, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is unable to retrieve the HTML code from the site directly and you need to first copy the code to the clipboard. Select the code in the browser window and press Ctrl+C. Many widgets make this easy for you by providing a copy button next to the code. Once you've copied the code, click the Insert button.
Look at each page in turn and customize the text and photos. Some objects may be locked (clicking on them does nothing) which tells you that you can't edit that aspect of the widget, or perhaps it should be modified by changing unlocked objects on one of the other pages. Any locked objects are present as a visual aid, to help make the context of the unlocked editable parts of the design clear.
Inserting Press the Help button at the bottom of the window to see some information to guide you through the process of configuring the widget and inserting it on your page. For most widgets, you need to get to the point where the widget website offers you the HTML code that needs to be inserted into your web page. As soon as this is visible, you can normally click the Insert button at the bottom of the window.
conveniently edit and customize all the content for the widget. Normally there will be some specific instructions shown to the side of or above the first page, describing what aspects of the widget you can edit in the document and any aspects that are not editable. In most cases, you can edit the text you see using the Text Tool, but you can't normally change the font or style of the text.
Automatic placeholder generation When you press the Insert button, if Xara Web Designer 7 Premium found the widget code the widget website window is closed and you will see an indication that Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is busy rendering a placeholder image. After a few seconds an image of your widget appears on your page. For most widgets this is exactly the same size as the widget itself, so you can position it where you like using the Selector Tool .
click on the page and choose Duplicate current page ). A slide show widget may allow you to add more photos to it this way. After duplicating a page, change its photos or text as required. The instructions in the widget will tell you whether or not you can duplicate pages in this way to add content. If you make any changes that the instructions say should not be made, usually those changes will be ignored.
Widget site membership Some widgets may require you to open an account with the widget provider, before you can use them. Most are free, but some offer premium services over and above the free offering. See each individual widget and the information on the widget provider's site for details.
Saving changes When you've finished customizing, close the document and you'll be asked whether or not you want to save the changes you've made back to your website document. Alternatively, just hit "Ctrl + S" and the changes you've made will be saved and the editing document closed, returning you to your website document. The placeholder image that represents your widget should update, so that it reflects the first page of the editing document.
Editing existing widgets At any time you can double click the widget placeholder (or right click and choose Edit Widget ) in your Web Designer Premium's page to return to the widget provider's website so you can easily modify or replace the widget. Those widget providers who give you an account, will normally also keep a copy of any widgets you've created.
The placeholder image that represents your widget should update, so that it reflects the first page of the editing document. Preview your page to see the effects of your changes on the working widget.
Adding movie & animation files Xara Web Designer 7 Premium includes direct support for some types of file that you are likely to want to add to your website. For these files you can simply drag and drop them from Windows Explorer onto your page, or use "File" > "Import" . On import the file type is identified, an appropriate placeholder or link is added to your page, and the file is copied into the support folder for your design.
Clicking the link on your exported page normally opens the PDF file, but the exact behavior varies depending on the user's browser settings.
MP4 & FLV movie files Import an MP4 or FLV file and Xara Web Designer 7 Premium inspects the file to determine the aspect ratio and other information about the movie. It then inserts the movie file, and some other files for a Flash movie player, into the support folder of your website. A placeholder image resembling the movie player appears on your page. Position and resize the placeholder using the Selector Tool , and then preview your page.
Other movie formats Xara Web Designer 7 Premium doesn't support other movie formats directly, but visit this web page on the MAGIX website for information on how to easily convert movies into a format that can be added to your web page. Flash files To include a Flash animation on your website, import the Flash (.swf) file. The Flash file is copied into the support folder of your design, so it will be exported and published with your website. And a placeholder image is rendered and placed onto your page.
Flash files To include a Flash animation on your website, import the Flash (.swf) file. The Flash file is copied into the support folder of your design, so it will be exported and published with your website. And a placeholder image is rendered and placed onto your page. You can resize Flash animations, so simply use the Selector Tool to resize the placeholder image to the required size, and position it by dragging it around. Preview your page to see your working Flash animation on your web page.
Animated GIFs Add an animated GIF to your page just the same way as for Flash files. Import or drag and drop the GIF file onto your page. It gets copied to your design's support folder and a static placeholder image is generated for it. Resize and position the placeholder, then preview your page and you're done! PDF Files You can import PDF files into a web document in two different ways. Either import it so that the contents of the file are copied onto your page (as when importing a photo).
PDF Files You can import PDF files into a web document in two different ways. Either import it so that the contents of the file are copied onto your page (as when importing a photo). Or you can link to a copy of the file in your website and have the file published with your site. When importing a PDF file a prompt is shown to let you choose between these two options. When adding a link, the PDF file is copied into the support folder of your design, so it's exported and published with the rest of your site.
Widgets from other widget sites There are hundreds or thousands of sites offering widgets of some form or another and the Designs Gallery offers only a tiny subset of what is available on the web. Just about all widgets are provided to you in the form of a small piece of HTML code. The widget provider will normally give you some simple instructions on how to insert the code into your web page, but with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium it really is very simple.
Resizing widgets You can resize the placeholder images for Flash, MP4 movies and animated GIFs to similarly resize the content as it appears on your page, because this type of content is scalable. But most other widgets don't support this and will always render the same size. For these widgets the placeholder object merely determines the bounds of the area in which the widget can render, so making the placeholder too small for the widget will mean that the widget gets cropped in your web page.
Turning off placeholder re-generation The placeholder image will be regenerated whenever you resize it or change the code or file it's attached to. Sometimes you may want to turn off that regeneration so that the placeholder image won't change again. You can do this by deselecting the checkbox at the bottom of the Placeholder tab in the " Utilities" > "Web Properties dialog" .
Adding widget placeholders manually If you don't want Xara Web Designer 7 Premium to create a placeholder image automatically, you can set one up yourself. First create a placeholder object (perhaps a rectangle of the appropriate size or an imported image that you want to use to represent the widget on your page). Select the object and then open the Placeholder tab in the "Utilities" > "Web Properties" . Or press the placeholder button on the Web properties flyout bar on the top bar.
More Information See the website at xara.com/widgets for more information on widgets. And of course, keep an eye on the Designs Gallery , which is regularly updated with new widgets.
Page & Layer Gallery In this chapter The Page & Layer Gallery Pages Layers Layer Operations Special Layers Objects Hiding Layers Solo Mode Locking Layers Show All & Unlock All Moving Objects Between Layers Page 1076
The Page & Layer Gallery Note to users of older versions of this software: This replaces the Layer Gallery By default the Page & Layer Gallery is displayed open on the right hand side of the Web Designer Premium window when you open or create a new document. If you prefer, you can unpin, move, dock or close the gallery - see Galleries for more information.
Hide or show layers Lock layers (which makes the layer non-editable) Solo a layer - turn all other layers off Object control Display a list of all items (objects) on the page in the stacking order they appear on the page, bottom to top.
Layers mode - The News page has been expanded, by clicking on its small right facing arrow, to show all the layers on this page. The bottom layer 'Page background' is locked. The layer called MouseOff is the active or current layer, that is where all new objects will appear. The top 5 layers are hidden (closed eye icon), so only the MouseOff and Page background layers are visible in the document.
This shows the MouseOff layer has been expanded to show the contents of that layer. This shows a navbar group and other various groups, text line and text column items, and a couple of shadow group items. Hovering the mouse pointer over the tiny thumbnails will display a larger one so you can easily identify each object on the page.
Clicking on these icons will change the visibility and / or the locked or editable nature of each object.
Pages Clicking the Pages button on the top of the Page & Layer Gallery (or right clicking in the gallery and choosing Show page level ) will open pages mode, displaying only the pages in the document and collapsing all other opened levels. When in pages mode and the gallery is docked, the width of the gallery is reduced to its minimum, to take up as little space as possible. Also the number of buttons at the top of the gallery is cut down to just those applicable to pages.
Layers What are layers? Everything in your document has a stacking order - that is new items are placed on top of older items on the page, in exactly the same way as if you were adding bits of paper onto your desktop. You can click to select and move any object, but with more complex documents that have dozens, maybe hundreds or thousands of items, your work area can be become cluttered and difficult to organize. You might want to work on items hidden by others on top.
This example Page & Layer Gallery shows the current layer is called MouseOff (the current page is called news). So if you draw anything new it will be placed on the MouseOff layer. It also shows a shadow group item selected in the document (highlighted in blue) inside another group which is on a completely different layer called Holiday photo 2. Four layers are hidden (called Holiday photo 4, Holiday photo 3, Holiday photo 1 and MouseOver). The 'Page background' layer is locked.
make it the current layer does not normally change its visible or locked state. But there is a preference in the General tab of the Options dialog (right click a page and choose Page Options or choose Options from the Utilities menu) to make the current layers always visible and editable (unlocked). If you select this option then whenever you select any layer in the Page & Layer Gallery it's made visible and unlocked.
The Current Layer When you create any new object on the page, it's placed in one of the layers, called the active layer or simply the current layer. On a blank document this will either just be called Layer 1 or, in the case of web documents, it's called MouseOff. The current layer is shown with a selection arrow . Important: All new drawn items, shapes, photos, text, and all pasted items, are placed on the current layer marked with the symbol.
This example Page & Layer Gallery shows the current layer is called MouseOff (the current page is called news). So if you draw anything new it will be placed on the MouseOff layer. It also shows a shadow group item selected in the document (highlighted in blue) inside another group which is on a completely different layer called Holiday photo 2. Four layers are hidden (called Holiday photo 4, Holiday photo 3, Holiday photo 1 and MouseOver). The 'Page background' layer is locked.
make it the current layer does not normally change its visible or locked state. But there is a preference in the General tab of the Options dialog (right click a page and choose Page Options or choose Options from the Utilities menu) to make the current layers always visible and editable (unlocked). If you select this option then whenever you select any layer in the Page & Layer Gallery it's made visible and unlocked.
Layers on websites In websites saved from Web Designer Premium, layers are used for mouseover or pop-up effects (in the web browser the contents of these layers are displayed when you move over items on the page). You can find more details on this in the Web Graphics and Web Sites chapter in the Layers, Mouseover (Rollover) & Pop-ups section. Soft Groups and Layers Soft Groups (Soft Groups, Soft Groups) are unusual because they are groups of objects that can span different layers.
Soft Groups and Layers Soft Groups (Soft Groups, Soft Groups) are unusual because they are groups of objects that can span different layers. (Normal groups have to be contained within one layer). When you select any part of a soft group the other parts are also selected, even if they are on hidden or locked layers.
Layer Operations Clicking the Layers button on the top of the Page & Layer Gallery will display only the layers on the current page. This is a mode - the layers button stays depressed. While in layers mode, as you move to different pages the layers for the current page are always shown and all other page nodes are collapsed. Click the Layers button again to turn off layers mode.
text on the layer being repelled by objects in other layers and is useful for popup layers in web pages. Using guidelines The Guides tab allows you to create layer guidelines at precise numeric values and choose a color for guide layer objects. See the Guide objects & guidelines section in Object handling for more information on using guidelines. Web transitions Note: The Presentation layer checkbox is only enabled if you are in a presentation document.
Layer Properties This opens the Layer Properties dialog. Creating layers and editing layer properties Using the Layer tab you can: Create a new layer or edit an existing one. Make the layer editable and visible by default. Define the layer as a web page background that will not appear when printed. Specify that all objects in the layer will only repel text objects within the same layer.
Note: The Presentation layer checkbox is only enabled if you are in a presentation document. To convert a web document into a presentation document, see Web Presentations . Using this tab you can apply animated transition effects to a layer, if it's used as a pop-up layer on a web page, or if it's a presentation layer. The layer then appears with the transition effect when it's revealed in the exported web page. Use the slider to set a transition time from 0-5 seconds.
Special Layers There are several special types of layer. They appear in the Page & Layer Gallery and can be turned on and off as usual, but behave slightly differently. Background Layers are non-printing layers that appear at the bottom of the document, under everything else. When you apply a color to the page background (drag and drop color from the color line) this will create a Page background layer automatically. Normally this is locked.
Objects Inside each layer (sometimes we just say 'on' the layer) are all the items that make up your document; lines, shapes, text, photos, etc. By expanding the layer level the usual way (click the icon) you are presented with a list of all objects in the same order they appear on the page, top to bottom. Because new objects are always placed in front of (on top of) all other objects on the current layer, they will appear at the top of the list.
Each of these effects creates a new object attached to the original item. For example when you apply a shadow to a shape, really what's happening is that a separate shadow object is created and tightly grouped with the shape - so they are permanently attached to each other. The same applies to a bevel and contour. In the Page & Layer Gallery these items are shown as Shadow Group, Bevel Group or Contour Group.
Shadows, Bevels & Contours Each of these effects creates a new object attached to the original item. For example when you apply a shadow to a shape, really what's happening is that a separate shadow object is created and tightly grouped with the shape - so they are permanently attached to each other. The same applies to a bevel and contour. In the Page & Layer Gallery these items are shown as Shadow Group, Bevel Group or Contour Group.
Finding Objects With any item selected on the page, click the Locate button on the top of the Page & Layer Gallery to locate the item in the gallery.
Hiding Layers The rightmost two columns of icons in the Page & Layer Gallery control the visibility and locking of layers. Clicking on the open eye icon will hide the layer on the page, and the icon will turn to a closed eye . Clicking again will revert the layer to be visible. When any item is hidden, it becomes invisible on the page and can no longer be seen or selected. The way to get hidden items back is to click its closed eye icon. Alternatively you can click the More...
Solo Mode If you click any of the icons in the column next to each layer, it will 'solo' this layer which means it hides everything else, except this layer. You can now work on this layer in isolation. Clicking the icon again will restore everything back to how it was before. You can also click and drag down the column of icons to quickly browse through the layers in isolation from everything else. To exit the Solo mode, click the button again.
Locking Layers Clicking the open padlock icon on the right end of a layer row will lock the layer (icon changes to a closed padlock ). Now you cannot select any object on that layer. Any clicks on locked items will go straight through it, as if it's not there, and select items underneath. Clicking the padlock icon will unlock that layer again. Alternatively you can click the More.. button and select the Unlock All option. Soft Groups There is one exception to the locked rules.
Show All & Unlock All These two controls on the top of the Page & Layer Gallery are a short-cut to show all items on the current page or unlock all items. They are a temporary override of all the individual object and layer settings. Clicking the controls again will restore the previous state. So this is a quick way of showing or unlocking everything, on all layers, performing some operation, and then restoring the previous state.
Moving Objects Between Layers There are several ways to move objects between layers. First select the object or objects you want to move, then; Cut the object (Ctrl+X or right click and Cut). Ensure the target layer is the current layer (shown with , click the layer if it's not) and then right click and choose Paste or Paste in Place. Note that if you cut or copy multiple items that are on different layers, the layer structure is preserved when you paste.
Animations In this chapter Introduction Core Principles Your First Animation Exporting a Flash File Exporting animations as AVI The Animation Frame Gallery Photos Animation Frame Rate and Tween Steps Cropping, Clipping and Animation Size Animation Speed Animation smoothness Rotation Groups What Xara Web Designer 7 Premium features does Flash support? Color Transforms—Animating Color Changes Transparency URLs in Flash Advanced Flash Commands Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Flash Animation Summary Creating animat
Introduction Xara Web Designer 7 Premium takes a traditional animator's approach to Flash animation. You create key frames (or "snap-shots") of your animation through time, and Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically creates all the in-between frames for you, a process called 'tweening'. An example start frame The next key frame has the star shape moved, rotated a little, reduced in size, and changed to a different color.
5. Transparency: Adjust the overall (flat) transparency of the objects. 6. Color changes: Change the fill (flat) color of objects. The last item, color changes, can be applied to contoned (colored) photos. You can't transform a full color photo into a contoned one, but you can change a photo with one contone color into another color. Note: the above six transform types are absolutely key to all Flash animations.
What Flash can and cannot do The Flash format does not support some of the advanced effects that Xara Web Designer 7 Premium offers, for example complex graduated transparency, feathering and most of the advanced color fill types. However, it does support a range of effects that include simple transparency. So, for example, if you fade the star on the 2nd key frame above to be 100% transparent, you'll get an animation where the star moves, reduces in size, and then fades.
What you can't do with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Flash Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is not designed to be an advanced, all-encompassing Flash Tool . Instead, we feel it brings a new, innovative, very easy to understand approach to Flash animation. Combined with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's vector drawing tools and slick ease-of-use, it allows you to create really compact Flash animations more easily than other tools.
The 6 core types of animation In order to keep Flash files very compact, the types of shape tweening supported by Flash are limited to six basic types of animation. These are sometimes called the 6 core transforms, because these are the main ways you can transform an object from one key frame to the next. 1. Move: Move objects from one position to another. 2. Scale: Enlarge or reduce objects in size. 3. Squash or skew: Squash or skew objects. 4. Rotate: Rotate objects. 5.
What you can't do with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Flash Xara Web Designer 7 Premium is not designed to be an advanced, all-encompassing Flash Tool . Instead, we feel it brings a new, innovative, very easy to understand approach to Flash animation. Combined with Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's vector drawing tools and slick ease-of-use, it allows you to create really compact Flash animations more easily than other tools.
Core Principles In your animation you are likely to have some objects that remain static between key frames (i.e. no tweening is necessary) and other objects you will want to animate. To tell Xara Web Designer 7 Premium which objects you want to animate, it's necessary to give each object a name (via the Add Names button on the Selector Tool InfoBar). For more information on naming objects, see section "Naming Objects" in the "Document Handling" chapter.
Your First Animation To create a new animation: Create a new animation document. To do this: Choose "File" > "New" > "Animation" ("Ctrl + Shift + N"). A new document will open, and you will see the animation button bar appear that contains some relevant buttons. 1. Draw a simple shape, such as a rounded rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (but it can be any shape). 2. Click the Apply Name icon on the Selector InfoBar and name it "shape". 3. Click the Copy Frame button to create your 2nd key frame. 3.
Exporting a Flash File To export your animation as a Flash file: Select "File" > "Export Animation" and then choose Flash under Save As Type . Or click the Export Animated Flash button. This will save the finished SWF file into the location you choose. Previewing a Flash Object in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium To view your animation as it would look in a web page, click the Preview Flash button to instantly see a browser preview.
Previewing a Flash Object in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium To view your animation as it would look in a web page, click the Preview Flash button to instantly see a browser preview. The preview page will show your finished animation as well as useful information, such as the animation's dimensions, file size, etc. It also includes simple instructions on inserting your animation into a web page.
Inserting a Flash Object in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium For those using Xara Web Designer 7 Premium you can simply drop the Flash file onto your web page to insert it into your website. A static placeholder image is automatically created and placed on your page. Preview your page and you should see your working Flash animation! Alternatively you can create a placeholder object manually.
Inserting using a different web authoring tool To place your SWF animation into your HTML click the View HTML link on the Flash preview screen to get code that you can paste into your web page using your preferred HTML editor. Note: You must change the SWF file name in the code to match the actual name of your exported SWF file. You must also place your SWF file into the same directory as your web page for the code to work.
Exporting animations as AVI As well as exporting animations as animated GIFs and Flash animations, you can also export in the .AVI file format. In an animation document, choose Export Animation from the File menu, and choose AVI animation (*.AVI) from the Save As Type drop-down list in the Export File dialog. Click the Options button to choose the export settings, or just click the Export button to use the current or default settings.
The Animation Frame Gallery By default the Animation Frame Gallery is displayed open on the right hand side of the Web Designer Premium window (next to the Page & Layer Gallery ) when you open or create an animation document. To toggle display of the Frame Gallery, choose " Utilities" > "Galleries" > "Frame Gallery", or click the Frame Gallery icon on the Galleries toolbar. This shows a list of the key frames in your document. To view any key frame just click its name in the gallery.
The Animation Properties dialog A shortcut to display the Animation Properties dialog is to simply double click on a frame name in the Frame Gallery The All Frames Visible (the eye) and Edit All Frames (the padlocks) buttons on the Frame Gallery are useful because they allow you to view or edit all frames together, one on top of the other. This is particularly useful if you want to select objects that are on multiple frames.
Copying Objects You can copy objects from one frame to another in the usual way (i.e. copy the content, select the new frame and then paste into the new frame). The "Edit" > "Paste in Place " option ("Ctrl + Shift + V") is particularly useful when doing this, as this will always paste objects back to the exact position they came from but on the new frame.
Photos Because Flash files usually consist of vector shapes, and the transforms are relatively simple, the files can be very small. Photos and bitmaps can be embedded into Flash animations, but unless you are careful it will result in huge animation files. You can perform all core Flash transforms on bitmaps or photos (i.e. you can move, scale, squash, rotate, fade and re-color.). Flash files can include both PNG and JPEG images just as .
compression, which is usually the best compression type for these types of images Bitmap Quality Flash Player version 8 and later has higher quality bitmap display. This is particularly evident when rotating or scaling bitmaps and photos, whereas older versions of the player tend to produce pixelated, and rather jerky movements. You can tell which version of the Flash Player you have by right clicking on any Flash animation in your web browser and looking at the About menu.
Non-JPEG Bitmaps Other types of bitmaps, for example, BMP, TIFF, or PNG bitmaps, are usually a lot larger and thus less suitable for use in Flash animations (for photos JPEG compression is a lot better than PNG). However if you include a low resolution PNG image (that is one of 96dpi or less ? the status line shows you the resolution of any selected image) then this is kept as a PNG image in the Flash file. Higher resolution images (>96dpi) will be converted into a JPEG (transparent JPEG if required) .
Bitmap Quality Flash Player version 8 and later has higher quality bitmap display. This is particularly evident when rotating or scaling bitmaps and photos, whereas older versions of the player tend to produce pixelated, and rather jerky movements. You can tell which version of the Flash Player you have by right clicking on any Flash animation in your web browser and looking at the About menu. It's therefore recommended to export your Flash animation as Version 8 if you're using bitmaps or photos.
Animation Frame Rate and Tween Steps Flash animations run at a fixed frame rate. The faster the frame rate, the smoother the resulting animation and the larger the Flash file. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium animations default to showing 24 frames per second, but you can change this. When you create each key frame, you determine how long the period is until the next key frame.
Cropping, Clipping and Animation Size Before long you'll start to consider creating some Flash animations like you see on the web, say with some wording or a photo that whizzes in from one side. To create an animation like this, all you need to do is set the page size in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium to the size you want for your flash animation. So if for example you want a Flash banner which is 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels high, set the page size in your animation document to 468x60.
Animation Speed When you create a new keyframe, it defaults to having a period of half a second. So the animation from that keyframe to the next will take half a second. The longer you set the period, the slower the animation. To set the frame period for any frame, first select the desired frame in the Frame Gallery (click on it), and then click the Animation Properties button (or just double click the frame name).
Animation smoothness Flash movies play at a constant frame rate. The faster the frame rate, the smoother the animation. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium defaults to showing 24 frames per second. To change the rate select the Flash Options tab of the Animation Properties dialog. The Flash Options tab, where you can change the movie speed as well as the Flash export version. Note: The faster the frame rate, the larger the resulting Flash file.
Rotation Xara Web Designer 7 Premium calculates and generates the tween frames automatically by working out how to transform the shapes from one key frame to the next. But sometimes it's not possible to know exactly what type of rotation is required. Take this example. Suppose you tween from the first clock face to the second: You might expect it to rotate clockwise, but of course it could go counter clockwise: In fact there are other ways it could rotate.
The Rotate command To force the rotation to be around any other point you can use a special keyword "rotate" appended to the front of the object name. Or you can use "rotate +" to force the rotation to go clockwise or "rotate -" to make it go counter clockwise. To take the simple two keyframes animation example shown on the previous page, where the hour hand needs to move from 12 o'clock to 8 o'clock.
Groups Groups are treated specially when creating animations. To save you naming each individual part of a group, you can instead name the whole group and then copy the group to the next keyframe. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will animate the whole group from one keyframe to the next. And you can apply the normal transformations to the group (resize, rotate, squash, but not group transparency ? see the next page).
Group Transparency If you want to fade a grouped object, you need to apply transparency to each individual object in the group. There are two ways you can do this: Select each object in the group in turn and adjust its transparency. Or un-check the Make Groups Transparent as a Whole option in the Options dialog (" Utilities" > "Options", then the General tab).
What Xara Web Designer 7 Premium features does Flash support? The Flash vector rendering is quite primitive compared to Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's, and so you can't use many of the more advanced Xara Web Designer 7 Premium features such as feathering, complex transparency and fill types or soft shadows. Lines (strokes) are limited to be being simple constant thickness, round ended lines. No line dashing is supported.
whereas the Photo blur in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium only blurs the inside of the photo and keeps a sharp edge. Secondly, another special case: you can animate text on a curve. This is special because you can use this to seemingly morph text along one curve into text along a completely different curve. In fact what it does is tween from the character position in one keyframe to the corresponding character's position in the next frame. This can produce some interesting effects.
Non-moving Objects You can add new objects by just drawing them on any keyframe. They will appear in the animation at the start of the frame and will vanish at the next keyframe, unless they appear on that frame as well. So the simplest way to have an object appear static on all frames is to ensure it's copied to all the frames.
Color Transforms—Animating Color Changes This is what you can and cannot do with color transforms in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Flash: You can animate simple flat color changes of objects from one keyframe to the next. You can change the line color independently of the fill color. You can change photo contone colors. You cannot adjust the position of gradient fills.
Transparency As mentioned earlier, you can adjust the flat transparency of objects (not group transparency) and Flash supports this (for both static objects and tweening transparency changes), but Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's graduated transparency is not really supported with Flash. There is just one situation where you can use graduated transparency, and that is on flat color filled objects. It's possible to adjust, and animate, flat transparency given to all types of objects, shapes, text and photos.
URLs in Flash To make an object in your Flash animation a clickable link, just select the object you want to make clickable and select "Utilities" > "Web Properties ("Ctrl + Shift + W"). Enter the required URL. (If you require the link to open in a new browser window or browser frame select the target web frame by selecting from the 'Open Link In ' dropdown menu). If you want to make text clickable select the Rectangle Surrounding Object option.
Advanced Flash Commands Accelerating and Decelerating Usually the tween steps are evenly spaced between keyframes, producing a linear animation from one keyframe to the next. By appending < and > symbols to the front of the object name, you can make objects speed up or slow down. So naming an object >Name means that it starts fast and slows. The opposite,
If you want the jump to occur by just moving over an object, select the Mouse-Over tab instead of the Link tab, and select from the similar 'Jump to frame ' option. Now in your animation if you click or mouseover the object the animation will redirect to the the new frame and proceed from there. See the "River Thames" example file in the Designs Gallery . This uses a Goto command to loop from frame 4 to 3, and a URL frame re-direct to jump to Frame 1 if you click the Replay link in the corner.
Accelerating and Decelerating Usually the tween steps are evenly spaced between keyframes, producing a linear animation from one keyframe to the next. By appending < and > symbols to the front of the object name, you can make objects speed up or slow down. So naming an object >Name means that it starts fast and slows. The opposite,
If you want the jump to occur by just moving over an object, select the Mouse-Over tab instead of the Link tab, and select from the similar 'Jump to frame ' option. Now in your animation if you click or mouseover the object the animation will redirect to the the new frame and proceed from there. See the "River Thames" example file in the Designs Gallery . This uses a Goto command to loop from frame 4 to 3, and a URL frame re-direct to jump to Frame 1 if you click the Replay link in the corner.
Stop and Goto Commands You can append Stop or Goto commands onto the Frame names (separated by a semi-colon ;) to control the sequence flow. So for example if your first frame was named "Frame 1;Goto Frame 6", then the animation sequence would jump to Frame 6 at the start of Frame 1. This may produce tween errors, but these can be ignored. It also waits for the specified period of the frame with the Goto command on before jumping, but frames with Goto or Stop commands do not tween.
Clickable Buttons & Mouse-over Effects You can make the animation sequence jump to any keyframe either by clicking on an object or just by moving the mouse pointer over any object. To do this select the object you want to use as the trigger, open the Web Properties dialog (Ctrl+Shift+W) and on the Link tab, select the Jump to Frame option. If you want the jump to occur by just moving over an object, select the Mouse-Over tab instead of the Link tab, and select from the similar 'Jump to frame ' option.
Xara Web Designer 7 Premium Flash Animation Summary Xara Web Designer 7 Premium keyframes are "snapshots" of your animation at any point in time. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically produces a smooth blend or tween of objects from one keyframe to the next to produce a smooth Flash animation. There is no timeline. Instead, the Frame Gallery shows your snap shot keyframes though time (top down). Just click the frame name to see and edit that keyframe.
Creating animated GIFs Animated GIFs are an alternative way to present animated sequences in the web. An older, much simpler technology is used, which has some advantages and some disadvantages. An animated GIF is just a GIF file that contains a sequence of images, rather like frames in a movie. Every Xara Web Designer 7 Premium-frame is one frame in the final animation, just like a flip-book.
Opening an animation document To create an animated GIF, you must first open an animation document. To do this choose "File" > " New" > "Animation". You will then have access to the Frame Gallery . Creating the animation To create an animated GIF: 1. Choose "Utilities" > "Galleries" > "Frame Gallery", or click the Frame Gallery icon on the Galleries toolbar. 2. Draw what you want to appear in this first frame. 3. In the Frame Gallery, click New to create the next frame. 4.
Creating the animation To create an animated GIF: 1. Choose "Utilities" > "Galleries" > "Frame Gallery", or click the Frame Gallery icon on the Galleries toolbar. 2. Draw what you want to appear in this first frame. 3. In the Frame Gallery, click New to create the next frame. 4. Set the background and overlay flags as required. 5. Create the objects you want to appear in this frame. 6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 until you have built up the sequence of frames.
Exporting the animation To save the animation, choose "File" > "Export Animation" .
Animation properties To alter the animation's properties, right click on a frame in the Frame Gallery and select Properties . You can then change a number of options detailed below. The Frame tab In the Frame tab you can set: Name: The name of this frame. This is just as a reminder to you, and is not exported with the animated GIF. Background: If this is set, the frame covers all previous frames. This is useful if you want to create a background and then build up an animation on top of this background.
You can select options suitable for the graphic and then load it into your browser so you can preview it: Background options: Alter the background of the animated GIF to see which gives the best result. Additional information: The preview page will contain useful information such as potential downloading times when placed in a web page. Browser preview: Press this button to launch a preview in your web browser.
The Frame tab In the Frame tab you can set: Name: The name of this frame. This is just as a reminder to you, and is not exported with the animated GIF. Background: If this is set, the frame covers all previous frames. This is useful if you want to create a background and then build up an animation on top of this background. Often the first frame in the animation is a background frame. If the first frame is not a background frame, the animated GIF uses the page background as its background.
Browser preview: Press this button to launch a preview in your web browser. AVI Options Options : Select from a range of codecs you have installed Quality : Set the quality value of the AVI (up to 100%) Key frame every ...: Enable/disable the outputting of key frames and set the frequency. Transparency : Select to make the AVI background transparent. Area to save: Setting the area to save to be Drawing will create an AVI animation that is only as large as it needs to be ? i.e.
Flash Options Here are several options for Flash animations, most of them are described above Link to be applied to whole animation Flash Movie Speed JPEG quality Area to save GIF Options In the GIF Options tab you can set the color usage in GIF animations. (Not available for Flash animations). Click Options in the Export Animation dialog to show the GIF Options tab in the Animation Export Options dialog. Palette colors: Set the preferred color palette for your animated GIF.
the animation. This can be useful if you don't need a specific page size.
GIF Options In the GIF Options tab you can set the color usage in GIF animations. (Not available for Flash animations). Click Options in the Export Animation dialog to show the GIF Options tab in the Animation Export Options dialog. Palette colors: Set the preferred color palette for your animated GIF. The help guide contains more information on the difference between these options. Number of Colors in Palette: This option is available only when using optimized palettes.
Animation Loop and Speed In the Animation Loop and Speed tab you can alter the animation rate and frequency: Loop: Lets you specify how many times the animation should repeat itself. Display each frame for: If you want the same delay between each frame in the animation enter a value here. To specify a different delay for individual frames, use the frame tab (described above). This field reads "many" if the animation has more than one inter-frame delay time.
Preview in Browser You can select options suitable for the graphic and then load it into your browser so you can preview it: Background options: Alter the background of the animated GIF to see which gives the best result. Additional information: The preview page will contain useful information such as potential downloading times when placed in a web page. Browser preview: Press this button to launch a preview in your web browser.
AVI Options Options : Select from a range of codecs you have installed Quality : Set the quality value of the AVI (up to 100%) Key frame every ...: Enable/disable the outputting of key frames and set the frequency. Transparency : Select to make the AVI background transparent. Area to save: Setting the area to save to be Drawing will create an AVI animation that is only as large as it needs to be ? i.e. the same as the outer bounds of the animation. This can be useful if you don't need a specific page size.
Printing In this chapter Show print borders Selecting and setting up a printer The print dialog box Print Options: Output tab Print Options: Print Layout tab Page 1161
Show print borders The "Window" > "Show Print Borders" menu shows a yellow and red line around the page (non-printing) showing the print margins and borders. The page boundary is shown by a yellow rectangle and the printing area by a red rectangle. The printing area is determined by the margins on the currently selected printer. Some printers let you adjust the margins, but few let you print right up to the edge of the page.
Selecting and setting up a printer "File" > "Printer Setup" opens the standard Windows Print Setup dialog: Selecting a printer also selects a suitable paper size and paper orientation. Note that these are the size and orientation of the sheets of paper used in the printer. They are separate from the size/orientation of the document. Portrait prints the page without rotation. Landscape prints the page turned through 90° (these buttons are duplicated in the Print options dialog box, described later).
Properties button This displays a dialog box letting you set options for the selected type of printer. This dialog box is not controlled by Web Designer Premium. Network button If your computer is connected to a network, this lets you connect to shared printers on the network. This dialog box is not controlled by Web Designer Premium.
Network button If your computer is connected to a network, this lets you connect to shared printers on the network. This dialog box is not controlled by Web Designer Premium.
The print dialog box Choose "File" > "Print" ("Ctrl + P"). Print button When you have selected the required options click this to start printing. Printer… button This opens the "Print Setup" dialog box (described earlier). Options button This opens a tabbed dialog box that lets you set additional print options. These are described later . Pages All Pages: Prints every page of the document. Current Page(s): Prints the currently selected page or spread.
2 will print just page 2. 1,3,5-7 will print pages 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7. 2,3,6-8,11-12 will print pages 2,3,6,7, 8,11 and 12. The Options section of the dialog will indicate if your page range is OK or invalid. Print to File You can select the Print to File option to create a document that you can give to a printing company (if they are able to accept this type of file).
Print button When you have selected the required options click this to start printing. Printer… button This opens the "Print Setup" dialog box (described earlier). Options button This opens a tabbed dialog box that lets you set additional print options. These are described later . Pages All Pages: Prints every page of the document. Current Page(s): Prints the currently selected page or spread. Selected Objects: This option is available when any objects in the document are selected.
Printer… button This opens the "Print Setup" dialog box (described earlier). Options button This opens a tabbed dialog box that lets you set additional print options. These are described later . Pages All Pages: Prints every page of the document. Current Page(s): Prints the currently selected page or spread. Selected Objects: This option is available when any objects in the document are selected. When active, only the selected objects are printed.
Options button This opens a tabbed dialog box that lets you set additional print options. These are described later . Pages All Pages: Prints every page of the document. Current Page(s): Prints the currently selected page or spread. Selected Objects: This option is available when any objects in the document are selected. When active, only the selected objects are printed.
Pages All Pages: Prints every page of the document. Current Page(s): Prints the currently selected page or spread. Selected Objects: This option is available when any objects in the document are selected. When active, only the selected objects are printed. Note that other objects within the bounds of the selected objects are not printed ? only the objects which are actually selected are printed. Objects on hidden layers and the guides layer never print. See Page & Layer Gallery for more details.
Print to File You can select the Print to File option to create a document that you can give to a printing company (if they are able to accept this type of file). After checking this option, when you click Print Web Designer Premium displays the standard Windows Save dialog box so you can specify a file name and location for the file. Print files have a default extension of .prn. Number of copies Sets how many copies of the document to print.
Number of copies Sets how many copies of the document to print.
Print Options: Output tab Print layers There are two options: Print All Foreground Layers. Print only the currently Visible Foreground Layers. Note that only foreground layers are printed. Background layers are never printed. Print As Normal is suitable for most types of document. However some printers do not reproduce consistent colors when printing bitmaps or vector objects that are the same color (this is a fault with the printer driver).
same thing as "pixels-per-inch", which is what you see on screen. Generally, it's never necessary to print at more than 600 pixels-per-inch, and typically 300 pixels per inch produces perfectly adequate print results, especially if anti-aliased. Fill quality Using this option, you can choose how many steps make up the graduated fills in your document when it is printed. The Normal setting is suitable for most purposes. This option is dimmed for PostScript printers.
Print layers There are two options: Print All Foreground Layers. Print only the currently Visible Foreground Layers. Note that only foreground layers are printed. Background layers are never printed. Print As Normal is suitable for most types of document. However some printers do not reproduce consistent colors when printing bitmaps or vector objects that are the same color (this is a fault with the printer driver).
Print As Normal is suitable for most types of document. However some printers do not reproduce consistent colors when printing bitmaps or vector objects that are the same color (this is a fault with the printer driver). This is noticeable if objects overlap onto bitmaps or onto objects with transparency applied to them. In this case, select Bitmap or Anti-Aliased Bitmap and retry. The choice between Bitmap and Anti-Aliased Bitmap depends on the printer and personal preference.
Transparency resolution When printing, Xara Web Designer 7 Premium's transparency effects are created using bitmaps. This option controls the resolution of those bitmaps when sent to the printer. Automatic is suitable for most drawings, and means Xara Web Designer 7 Premium automatically selects a resolution suitable for the current printer. This might be unsuitable if printing to a very high resolution printer such as image setting devices.
Fill quality Using this option, you can choose how many steps make up the graduated fills in your document when it is printed. The Normal setting is suitable for most purposes. This option is dimmed for PostScript printers. Text options If your printer has problems reproducing fonts, select the Print All Text as Shapes option. All text is then converted to vector shapes before the document is sent to the printer. This may be slower, but will reproduce exactly what you see on screen.
Text options If your printer has problems reproducing fonts, select the Print All Text as Shapes option. All text is then converted to vector shapes before the document is sent to the printer. This may be slower, but will reproduce exactly what you see on screen.
Print Options: Print Layout tab Most options in print layout are dimmed if you have Best Fit or Automatic Fit selected. We recommend using these options as they are the easiest way to print. However you can choose custom options (see "custom fit" below). Best fit Your design will be moved to the center of the page and it will be expanded or shrunk to suit the paper size. This option is best if you have a large or small design and want it to fit on one page.
Best fit Your design will be moved to the center of the page and it will be expanded or shrunk to suit the paper size. This option is best if you have a large or small design and want it to fit on one page. Automatic fit Your design will be orientated as necessary, but Web Designer Premium will not change the size.
Automatic fit Your design will be orientated as necessary, but Web Designer Premium will not change the size. We recommend this option if you are having any difficulty getting the orientation right (there are at least four places where you can set the page orientation, sometimes more for some printer drivers). This option is best if you have a set size for your design and don't want it altered. Custom fit Allows you to have control over your print out, including orientation, size and margins.
Custom fit Allows you to have control over your print out, including orientation, size and margins. The Orientation buttons can be used to choose the orientation of the printout. The scale can be altered using the Scale field. The top and left margin fields can be changed (these set where the top left-hand corner of the page appears on the printer's paper).
Multiple fit To print multiple copies on one page, choose Multiple Fit , enter a value for the number of copies needed across the page (rows), the number down the page (columns), and the distance between each (gutter).
Importing and Exporting In this chapter General notes on exporting and importing Import and Export Supported File Formats Importing files Exporting files JPEG, PNG and GIF export dialog overview The Designs Gallery Page 1186
General notes on exporting and importing Web Designer Premium offers a wide range of import and export options. Firstly, it is important to note the distinction between saving and exporting files: Saving deals with storing your work so that you can open it and work on it at a later date. Xara Web Designer 7 Premium saves your work in the .web file format. Think of this as the "master document" format. Exporting deals with converting to other supported formats.
Import and Export Supported File Formats You can change the order of supported import and export file formats in the File > Export and File > Import dialogs by editing the FileFormats.xml file found in the program folder where you installed Web Designer Premium. Import formats It is important that you use the three letter file extensions listed below when you load files into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. Bitmap Import Formats .BMP Windows Bitmap .CUT Halo CUT (256 color) .
.EPS Photoshop EPS (For importing data from Photoshop into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium, use PSD files instead of EPS files for best results). .EPS Xara Other Import Formats .ACO Adobe Color Swatch .ACT Adobe Color Table .ART Xara Studio .CPL CorelDRAW palette .WEB Xara Webster files .AFF Acorn Draw .CDR CorelDRAW (3,4 & 5) .CDT CorelDRAW Template .CMX Corel CMX 5 & 6 .DRW Acorn Draw .GIF GIF Placeholder .HTM. .HTML Graphics on HTML pages .PAI MAGIX Photo Clinic Image .
Import formats It is important that you use the three letter file extensions listed below when you load files into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. Bitmap Import Formats .BMP Windows Bitmap .CUT Halo CUT (256 color) .DCM Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) image format .DCX DCX .FAX Fax image from a fax received or created with fax software .GIF Graphics Interchange Format .ICO Microsoft Windows Icon (16 color) .JPG JPEG .MXB MAGIX Bitmap .PBM UNIX monochrome .PCD PhotoCD .PCT PICT .
.CPL CorelDRAW palette .WEB Xara Webster files .AFF Acorn Draw .CDR CorelDRAW (3,4 & 5) .CDT CorelDRAW Template .CMX Corel CMX 5 & 6 .DRW Acorn Draw .GIF GIF Placeholder .HTM. .HTML Graphics on HTML pages .PAI MAGIX Photo Clinic Image .PAL CorelDRAW, Windows and PaintShopPro palettes .MXB MAGIX Bitmap .WMF Windows Metafile (16bit) .EMF/ .WMF Enhanced Windows Metafile .FLV FLV Placeholder .MP4 MP4 Placeholder .PAI MAGIX Photo Clinic Image .PDF PDF Placeholder .RTF Text .SWF Flash Placeholder .
Export formats Bitmap Export Formats (see GIF, PNG and JPEG export dialog overview ) .GIF CompuServe GIF .GIF Animated GIF files (see Creating animated GIF files ) .JPG JPEG .PSD Photoshop (see importing and exporting PSD files ) .PNG PNG Other Export Formats .AVI AVI animation (animation documents) .EMF, .WMF EMF/WMF documents .HTM, .HTML (Web pages and websites) .SWF Flash (see Flash Animations ) .RTF Rich Text Format .WIX, .WEB, .
Importing files To import a file: Select "File" > "Import" - This normally merges the file's contents into the existing document. With some formats you get the choice of importing the document into the current page or adding it as a new page. With some other formats you are given the option of either importing the file data conventionally, or adding a link to the file and including it in your published website. Or select "File" > "Open" - This opens the file as a new document.
Replacing Image Files You can replace any loaded image or image-filled shape with your own images. To replace an image simply drag your own file (JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP) from your Windows File Explorer and drop it on top of the picture that you want to replace. Your photo will automatically be scaled appropriately to replace the existing photo. The new photo will be selected and you'll be put into the Fill Tool so that you can easily adjust the position and scale of your photo if desired.
Importing a Photoshop PSD file To import a PSD file, import the file as normal with File > Import, or just drag and drop the .psd file into Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. The layers in the PSD file, and the layer visibility setting will be preserved and will become Xara Web Designer 7 Premium layers. You can view them by opening the Page & Layer Gallery .
PDF Import PDF is a complex vector graphics format that has evolved over 10 years or more and contains numerous sub-formats and options. PDF was designed as a portable document format for viewing and printing only, and was not intended as a file format for transferring data between applications. However Xara Web Designer 7 Premium should load the vast majority of PDF files. PDF is now the recommended way of transferring vector files from Adobe Illustrator to Xara Web Designer 7 Premium.
RAW photo import You can import RAW digital camera files, either by using the Import menu option or just drag & drop the file onto the Web Designer Premium window. Supported file extensions include: *.crw, *.cr2, *.rw2, *.nef,*.mrw,*raf,*.kdc,*.orf, *.dng, *.ptx, *.pef, *.anw, *.x3f However there are many different extensions used for RAW files by different camera manufacturers, so if you have a RAW file with a file extension not listed above it's worth trying to import it anyway.
Importing images from a website You can import graphics directly from web pages on the Internet into your document. Notice the difference between this menu option, which loads all the graphics from a web page, and Import, which loads a single graphic from disk. To import from a web page: 1. Choose "File" > "Import graphics from web" (or "Ctrl + Alt + W"). 2. Type in the web address (URL) of the page or graphic you want to import. If the URL is a page, all the images on that page will be imported. 3.
Exporting files To export a file: Right click and choose Export Or select "File" > "Export". Or press "Ctrl + Shift + E". An Export dialog box will appear. Choose a name for your file, and select the required format from the Save As Type dropdown list. Some of the supported formats are detailed below. Exporting as Flash You can export a drawing to Adobe's SWF Flash format (static). This is best suited to vector designs, and can provide very small file sizes.
PNG also supports semi-transparent graphics (use the True Color + Alpha option), but this is not correctly supported by older Microsoft Internet Explorer versions (it is by all other web browsers). The fewer colors you have in a file, the smaller the file and the lower the quality.
Summary In order to get maximum compatibility and editability in Photoshop: For the parts of your drawing that you want to remain separate layers in Photoshop, place them on separate layers in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. If you want your text to be editable in Photoshop, place it on a layer of its own, with no other graphic objects.
Exporting as Flash You can export a drawing to Adobe's SWF Flash format (static). This is best suited to vector designs, and can provide very small file sizes. You can then use the SWF in a website, or import it into Flash for use in Flash animations. You can also create animated Flash. See Flash Animations for more details on Flash export. Exporting as AVI Select File > Export animation and choose the AVI type from the type list.
Bitmaps are output at the current view quality so for best results make sure that "Window" > "Quality " is set to anti-aliased. Exporting a Photoshop PSD file Photoshop is a bitmap editor, so when exporting to PSD format all the vector objects in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are rasterized. You can select the resolution (dpi) when exporting. Always save your work in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium prior to exporting.
Exporting as AVI Select File > Export animation and choose the AVI type from the type list. Click the Options button on the file dialog to change the codec and other settings used for the export. Exporting as Windows metafiles (.wmf) Files in this format can be read by Word and several other programs. Exporting as Extended Metafile Format (EMF) Modern Windows applications support this enhanced type of vector graphic format.
your original objects in the future, just load Xara Web Designer 7 Premium, make any changes and then export the required objects again. To export as a PSD file choose "File" > "Export" then select Adobe Photoshop in the Save as Type list. Layers Layers in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are retained when exporting to PSD format. Each layer is rasterized as a separate PSD layer, including layer names.
Exporting as Windows metafiles (.wmf) Files in this format can be read by Word and several other programs. Exporting as Extended Metafile Format (EMF) Modern Windows applications support this enhanced type of vector graphic format. This format is also available to applications that provide a Paste Special menu option. Note that Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can contain features, such as advanced fill styles, that cannot be represented in vector formats such as EMF.
Layers Layers in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are retained when exporting to PSD format. Each layer is rasterized as a separate PSD layer, including layer names. Layers visibility is also passed through, so layers set to invisible in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will be exported and set to invisible in Photoshop. You can turn the layers on and off in Photoshop using the Layers palette.
Exporting as Extended Metafile Format (EMF) Modern Windows applications support this enhanced type of vector graphic format. This format is also available to applications that provide a Paste Special menu option. Note that Xara Web Designer 7 Premium can contain features, such as advanced fill styles, that cannot be represented in vector formats such as EMF. In this case parts of the image will be exported as bitmaps. Those vector parts that can be exported as vectors are exported as vectors.
layers set to invisible in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will be exported and set to invisible in Photoshop. You can turn the layers on and off in Photoshop using the Layers palette. Text You can export text from Xara Web Designer 7 Premium to be editable text in Photoshop, but the text must be on a layer on its own (on import you may be asked to update the text objects for them to be editable in Photoshop.
Quick export of HTML and web graphics formats You can use the dedicated options in the File menu to quickly export web pages and web graphics, without selecting the formats from the full list of available export formats shown when you use "File" > "Export ". "File" > "Export website": Export the current website document to a location of your choice on your computer. "File > "Export JPEG": Export the current selection, or current page, to a JPEG file.
editable in Photoshop.) Text that is on a layer with any other graphic objects will be rasterized into that layer, and thus not be editable. Export DPI You will be able to set the DPI of the bitmaps in the exported PSD file. A DPI of 96 is the normal Windows screen resolution, and so exporting at 96dpi will appear in Photoshop at the same size at 100% as it does at 100% in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. For print work you should choose a higher DPI.
Exporting as a bitmap JPEG, GIF and PNG are universal formats supported by most modern computer applications. PNG is the highest quality. JPEG is better suited to photographic work, but can produce acceptable, compact files (you can control the quality and file size). GIF format only supports 256 colors, and although common on many websites, PNG is a better format.
A DPI of 96 is the normal Windows screen resolution, and so exporting at 96dpi will appear in Photoshop at the same size at 100% as it does at 100% in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. For print work you should choose a higher DPI. You can select to export the whole Xara Web Designer 7 Premium page area or just the areas of the visible objects only.
Important Bitmaps are output at the current view quality so for best results make sure that "Window" > "Quality " is set to anti-aliased. Exporting a Photoshop PSD file Photoshop is a bitmap editor, so when exporting to PSD format all the vector objects in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are rasterized. You can select the resolution (dpi) when exporting. Always save your work in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium prior to exporting.
Exporting a Photoshop PSD file Photoshop is a bitmap editor, so when exporting to PSD format all the vector objects in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are rasterized. You can select the resolution (dpi) when exporting. Always save your work in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium prior to exporting. Then, if you wish to alter your original objects in the future, just load Xara Web Designer 7 Premium, make any changes and then export the required objects again.
Layers Layers in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium are retained when exporting to PSD format. Each layer is rasterized as a separate PSD layer, including layer names. Layers visibility is also passed through, so layers set to invisible in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium will be exported and set to invisible in Photoshop. You can turn the layers on and off in Photoshop using the Layers palette.
Text You can export text from Xara Web Designer 7 Premium to be editable text in Photoshop, but the text must be on a layer on its own (on import you may be asked to update the text objects for them to be editable in Photoshop.) Text that is on a layer with any other graphic objects will be rasterized into that layer, and thus not be editable. Export DPI You will be able to set the DPI of the bitmaps in the exported PSD file.
Export DPI You will be able to set the DPI of the bitmaps in the exported PSD file. A DPI of 96 is the normal Windows screen resolution, and so exporting at 96dpi will appear in Photoshop at the same size at 100% as it does at 100% in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. For print work you should choose a higher DPI. You can select to export the whole Xara Web Designer 7 Premium page area or just the areas of the visible objects only.
Summary In order to get maximum compatibility and editability in Photoshop: For the parts of your drawing that you want to remain separate layers in Photoshop, place them on separate layers in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium. If you want your text to be editable in Photoshop, place it on a layer of its own, with no other graphic objects.
JPEG, PNG and GIF export dialog overview The Export settings dialog has two preview windows, Image A on the left and Image B on the right, so you can compare alternative export settings or file types, side-by-side. Just click on the left or right preview window to change the active preview. Above the preview window is a small dropdown that lets you select from the most common three export types, JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
Zoom Tool: Click on a preview to zoom in. Shift-click to zoom out. Drag over an area of the preview to zoom into that area. Push Tool: Lets you drag the image around in the preview window. Zoom to Fit: Scales the preview image to fit the window. Zoom to 100%: Scales the image to full-size (100%). Zoom to Resolution of Image (1:1): Has no effect for GIFs. Scales the image so one pixel in the bitmap is one pixel on screen. This is useful for previewing detail in the bitmap.
control over those palette colors. See Color Selector above on how to select a color, or click on a color in the Color Palette ). Lock a Color You can specify the number of colors you want in the palette of exported bitmaps. You may want to ensure that certain colors always appear in the palette; you can lock these colors. Click on a color to select it, then select the Lock button. A small square appears in the bottom left of the color to tell you it is a locked color.
percentage. Scale is more suitable than Size if you want, for example, a bitmap 50% bigger than the original. Resolution: (Dimmed for GIF & BMP) Type the resolution into the DPI field. If you are exporting an image for viewing on screen (i.e. a website), you do not need a setting higher than 96 DPI. 96 DPI also ensures the bitmap is the same size as the objects on screen (at 100% magnification). Area to Save The bitmap can be created using one of these areas of the document: Page: The whole page area.
Using the A and B preview boxes in the Export dialog box (shown above), you can select the best compromise of file size and quality for web graphics. However the best test is checking how the graphic looks in a web browser. This tab provides a number of options for that preview. Click the Browser Preview button to launch your web browser and preview the graphics before exporting.
Preview Controls These buttons alter the preview of the images, but do not affect the exported file: Zoom Tool: Click on a preview to zoom in. Shift-click to zoom out. Drag over an area of the preview to zoom into that area. Push Tool: Lets you drag the image around in the preview window. Zoom to Fit: Scales the preview image to fit the window. Zoom to 100%: Scales the image to full-size (100%). Zoom to Resolution of Image (1:1): Has no effect for GIFs.
Buttons These buttons (except Transparent Background) apply when exporting 256 color images or less. These files are created with a limited palette of colors, and these controls provide a great degree of control over those palette colors. See Color Selector above on how to select a color, or click on a color in the Color Palette ). Lock a Color You can specify the number of colors you want in the palette of exported bitmaps.
bitmap is fixed, so changing one dimension automatically changes the other. Size is more suitable than Scale if you want to create a bitmap of a particular size in pixels. Scale: (Dimmed for JPEG & PNG). This lets you scale the bitmap up or down by a percentage. Scale is more suitable than Size if you want, for example, a bitmap 50% bigger than the original. Resolution: (Dimmed for GIF & BMP) Type the resolution into the DPI field. If you are exporting an image for viewing on screen (i.e.
) are used to name the exported files. Browser Preview Using the A and B preview boxes in the Export dialog box (shown above), you can select the best compromise of file size and quality for web graphics. However the best test is checking how the graphic looks in a web browser. This tab provides a number of options for that preview. Click the Browser Preview button to launch your web browser and preview the graphics before exporting.
Palette Options tab This tab allows you to alter the color settings of your exported image. Dithering & Palette The Dithering and Palette options only apply when you export with 256 color or less, and affect how the image is displayed and its color palette. It is recommended to always use an Optimized palette. Set Dither to none, which produces smaller files but may be banded, or Error Diffusion , which creates higher quality results, but larger files.
Make a Palette Color Transparent Make this color entry transparent. Note the difference between this option, which makes parts of the selected objects transparent, and Make The Image Background Transparent which makes those areas behind the selected objects transparent. Delete a Palette Color Delete this color from the palette. Any areas in the bitmap that use the deleted color then use the nearest color in the palette. The fewer colors in the palette, the smaller the bitmap file.
use, select this. Put HTML Image Tag on Clipboard This lets you save out the basic HTML IMG tag information when you save the bitmap. You can then paste the tag into your text or external HTML page editor. Options tab With this tab you can alter JPEG compression and turn on progressive/interlacing options if required. Progressive: (JPEG only) Selecting this option creates a progressive JPEG. This is useful when the JPEG is large and used on a web page.
Bitmap Size tab With this tab, you can change the size of the exported image. Bitmap Size and Resolution You can change the size of the exported bitmap by changing: Size: Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the bitmap is fixed, so changing one dimension automatically changes the other. Size is more suitable than Scale if you want to create a bitmap of a particular size in pixels. Scale: (Dimmed for JPEG & PNG).
resolution increases. Transparent: (GIF and PNG only) This makes any areas not covered by the selected objects transparent. Selecting this option automatically makes one entry in the palette transparent. Export each layer to a file of its own: Selecting this option when exporting a design that contains multiple layers results in a separate file being exported for each layer. The names of each layer (as set in the Page & Layer Gallery ) are used to name the exported files.
Options tab With this tab you can alter JPEG compression and turn on progressive/interlacing options if required. Progressive: (JPEG only) Selecting this option creates a progressive JPEG. This is useful when the JPEG is large and used on a web page. Web browsers will start displaying the image before the JPEG file has completely downloaded.
Browser Preview Using the A and B preview boxes in the Export dialog box (shown above), you can select the best compromise of file size and quality for web graphics. However the best test is checking how the graphic looks in a web browser. This tab provides a number of options for that preview. Click the Browser Preview button to launch your web browser and preview the graphics before exporting.
The Designs Gallery This gallery provides professionally designed templates, from complete web pages and websites to individual items of clipart you can use to spice up any design. To open this gallery: Choose "Utilities" > "Galleries" > "Designs Gallery". Or click the Designs Gallery tab on the Galleries bar. You can search using keywords, and sort the gallery contents. See Document Handling for more information on using galleries.
Customizing Web Designer Premium In this chapter Changing the blank template document Displaying your own icons in browser tabs: favicons Options in the Utilities menu General tab Grid and Ruler tab Mouse tab Page Size tab Backups Tab Control bars Page 1237
Changing the blank template document The blank template documents are the options available under "File" > "New" . Pre-designed templates are available from the Designs Gallery (or " File" > "New from Designs Gallery "). To add a template document: 1. Open an existing document ("File" > "Open", or "Ctrl + O") or create a new one with the New button on the Standard control bar or "Ctrl + N". 2. Make any required changes (these could be changing the page size, adding a logo or adding a message).
Displaying your own icons in browser tabs: favicons You may want to display your own customized icon, for example, a logo, on your site's page tabs when they are displayed in a web browser. Web Designer Premium allows you to do this by applying the name 'favicon' to your custom tab icon. To create a 'favicon', draw or drag on to a web page the image that you want to use. The image can be any size as it will be scaled to the right size automatically when displayed in a browser.
Options in the Utilities menu Keyboard shortcut: "Ctrl + Shift + O" or right click the page/pasteboard and choose Page Options. This menu option opens the Options dialog box. This lets you set various options for Web Designer Premium.
General tab This page describes the General tab of the Utilities, Options dialog Recent file list size The File menu shows a list of the most recently loaded or saved files in its 'Open recent' sub-menu. This list gives a quick way to reload any of those files. This option lets you change the number of files listed (between 1 and 20 files). Current layer always visible and editable With this option selected, selecting a layer in the Page & Layer Gallery automatically makes it visible and editable.
Maintain imported layer names With this option set, layer information is preserved when you import templates or other files. With Import layers into the active layer instead selected, all imported objects appear in the current layer and the layering information in the incoming data is ignored. Import layers into new layers will create a layer for each imported layer. IMPORTANT: Note that you should not change this setting if you use any of the web templates in the Designs Gallery .
Recent file list size The File menu shows a list of the most recently loaded or saved files in its 'Open recent' sub-menu. This list gives a quick way to reload any of those files. This option lets you change the number of files listed (between 1 and 20 files). Current layer always visible and editable With this option selected, selecting a layer in the Page & Layer Gallery automatically makes it visible and editable.
With this option turned off, if you apply a link to an object which is inside a group, that link will do nothing in the exported website because the whole group is exported as one image and so the link on just one of the group's members is ignored when exporting the website. However with this option turned on, the link is automatically promoted up to the group, just as if it had been applied to the group instead of to one of its members.
Current layer always visible and editable With this option selected, selecting a layer in the Page & Layer Gallery automatically makes it visible and editable. With this option unset, the visible and editable states of a layer remain unchanged when you select that layer. Ask before setting current attribute This applies when changing a current attribute (this happens when you change an attribute with no objects selected).
the whole button, with this option on the link is applied to the whole button for you. This option is on by default in all web templates. Show Windows compatible text lengths See Browser text compatibility in the Text Handling chapter. Nudge size This applies when moving objects using the arrowï€ keys on the keyboard. This text box defines how far the object moves for each key press. If the document uses scaled units (for example, 1inch to 1mile), this text box shows the distance in the scaled units.
Ask before setting current attribute This applies when changing a current attribute (this happens when you change an attribute with no objects selected). With this option set, you are asked to confirm whether you want to change the attribute. With this option unset, the change is made without confirmation. Make groups be transparent as a whole. See Transparency for more on transparencies.
Nudge size This applies when moving objects using the arrowï€ keys on the keyboard. This text box defines how far the object moves for each key press. If the document uses scaled units (for example, 1inch to 1mile), this text box shows the distance in the scaled units. When nudging, "Ctrl" and "Shift" increase the nudge distance by five and ten times, respectively. Duplication distance "Edit" > "Duplicate " (Ctrl + D) creates a duplicate which is offset from the original object.
Make groups be transparent as a whole. See Transparency for more on transparencies. When applying transparency to a group of objects, by default Web Designer Premium will apply the transparency to the group as if it were one object (i.e. you will not see individual transparencies within the group). Unselecting this option will make Web Designer Premium add transparency to each object in the group separately.
When nudging, "Ctrl" and "Shift" increase the nudge distance by five and ten times, respectively. Duplication distance "Edit" > "Duplicate " (Ctrl + D) creates a duplicate which is offset from the original object. These text boxes set the offset distance. Positive values create the duplicate above or to the right of the original object. Negative values create the duplicate below or to the left.
Maintain imported layer names With this option set, layer information is preserved when you import templates or other files. With Import layers into the active layer instead selected, all imported objects appear in the current layer and the layering information in the incoming data is ignored. Import layers into new layers will create a layer for each imported layer. IMPORTANT: Note that you should not change this setting if you use any of the web templates in the Designs Gallery .
Marquee Object Selection This option enables you to change the default setting for marquee selection (where you drag a selection rectangle over the objects you want to select). So you can choose to have objects touching the selection rectangle selected or only the objects wholly inside the rectangle. Angle constraint This applies when rotating or moving an object with "Ctrl" pressed. You can either select from the menu or type in a value in degrees.
Angle constraint This applies when rotating or moving an object with "Ctrl" pressed. You can either select from the menu or type in a value in degrees. Document is intended to be a website This option tells Xara Web Designer 7 Premium that the document is primarily intended to be exported as a website. It subtly changes the behavior of the program in terms of how it handles links on objects.
Document is intended to be a website This option tells Xara Web Designer 7 Premium that the document is primarily intended to be exported as a website. It subtly changes the behavior of the program in terms of how it handles links on objects.
Show Windows compatible text lengths See Browser text compatibility in the Text Handling chapter. Nudge size This applies when moving objects using the arrowï€ keys on the keyboard. This text box defines how far the object moves for each key press. If the document uses scaled units (for example, 1inch to 1mile), this text box shows the distance in the scaled units. When nudging, "Ctrl" and "Shift" increase the nudge distance by five and ten times, respectively.
Nudge size This applies when moving objects using the arrowï€ keys on the keyboard. This text box defines how far the object moves for each key press. If the document uses scaled units (for example, 1inch to 1mile), this text box shows the distance in the scaled units. When nudging, "Ctrl" and "Shift" increase the nudge distance by five and ten times, respectively. Duplication distance "Edit" > "Duplicate " (Ctrl + D) creates a duplicate which is offset from the original object.
Duplication distance "Edit" > "Duplicate " (Ctrl + D) creates a duplicate which is offset from the original object. These text boxes set the offset distance. Positive values create the duplicate above or to the right of the original object. Negative values create the duplicate below or to the left.
Grid and Ruler tab This page describes the Grid and Ruler tab of the Utilities, Options dialog Grid and Ruler spacing Major Spacing defines the distance between the major grid and ruler divisions. The units used for the grid and rulers are defined by the units you use for the major spacing. For example entering a major grid spacing of 2cm will set the grid and ruler units to centimeters regardless of the page units specified in the units options.
Grid and Ruler spacing Major Spacing defines the distance between the major grid and ruler divisions. The units used for the grid and rulers are defined by the units you use for the major spacing. For example entering a major grid spacing of 2cm will set the grid and ruler units to centimeters regardless of the page units specified in the units options. Coordinate Direction Here you can change the direction of page coordinates.
Coordinate Direction Here you can change the direction of page coordinates.
Mouse tab This page describes the Mouse tab of the Utilities, Options dialog Mouse button function Web Designer Premium gives you a range of possible actions when you click either the left or right mouse buttons. For example, if you're left-handed, you may prefer to use the right-hand button as the normal button. You would therefore assign the normal click to the right mouse button (you can also set both buttons to have the same action if you wish).
These text boxes define how close you can drag an object before it snaps to a magnetic object. These are distances on the screen and independent of any document scaling.
Mouse button function Web Designer Premium gives you a range of possible actions when you click either the left or right mouse buttons. For example, if you're left-handed, you may prefer to use the right-hand button as the normal button. You would therefore assign the normal click to the right mouse button (you can also set both buttons to have the same action if you wish). Possible actions: Normal click - At least one button should always be assigned as the normal click. "Shift + click".
Magnetic Snap Radii Snapping is described in Object Handling . These text boxes define how close you can drag an object before it snaps to a magnetic object. These are distances on the screen and independent of any document scaling.
Page Size tab This page describes the Page Size tab wd of the Utilities, Options dialog If the "All pages in website the same size " option is unselected, then pages in your document can be given different sizes using this dialog. To set the page size, choose one of the paper sizes provided in the dropdown list, or choose "Custom" and then enter the width and height required in the field s provided.
Backups Tab This tab allows you to turn the automatic backup facility on and off. This facility saves a copy of all your modified open documents at regular intervals. It's recommended that you work with this backup option turned on, so your work is saved regularly. You can also choose whether you are prompted about unsaved documents when closing the program, or if instead all open documents should be backed up and restored for you when you next start up.
Control bars You can move Web Designer Premium's control bars to different places around the window, re-order the buttons, create new control bars, move or copy buttons between control bars and many other operations. You cannot change the tool-dependent InfoBar or the contents of the fly-out bars which are on the main toolbar and top bars. Full screen mode Web Designer Premium has two configurations of control bars: One configuration appears when the window is its normal size.
Resizing a control bar Move the pointer over the edge of the control bar. It changes to a double-headed arrow. You can now drag the edge to resize the control bar. Creating new control bars To create a new control bar: Drag a button onto the editing area or off the window. This opens a new control bar containing the button. Or click New on the Control Bars dialog box. This lets you create a new control bar and allocate a name to it. The new control bar is empty. You can then drag buttons to it.
Full screen mode Web Designer Premium has two configurations of control bars: One configuration appears when the window is its normal size. The second configuration appears after you choose "Window" > "Full Screen". Any changes to one configuration of control bars (for example, resizing or moving) have no effect on the other configuration. Changes to individual buttons (for example, setting an option) apply in both normal and full screen modes.
the button. Or click New on the Control Bars dialog box. This lets you create a new control bar and allocate a name to it. The new control bar is empty. You can then drag buttons to it. Moving buttons is described below. Deleting control bars You can only delete control bars that are empty. Therefore move any buttons to another control bar. Close the control bar (either click on the Close icon or use the Control Bars dialog box). The control bar is automatically deleted when you quit Web Designer Premium.
Displaying & hiding control bars The display of control bars is controlled by the Control Bars dialog box ("Window" > "Control Bars "). Against the name of each control bar is a check box. A tick in the check box shows that the control bar is currently displayed. Click on the required control bar's check box to display or hide that bar. Docked and free floating control bars Normally, control bars are docked (attached to the edges of the window). Moving the window also moves docked control bars.
Close the control bar (either click on the Close icon or use the Control Bars dialog box). The control bar is automatically deleted when you quit Web Designer Premium. Moving buttons and tools To move buttons or tools: 1. Move the mouse pointer over the button you want to move. 2. Hold down "Alt" (left ALT) to move the button or "AltGr" (right ALT) to copy the button when used on user-defined control bars and other control bars.
Docked and free floating control bars Normally, control bars are docked (attached to the edges of the window). Moving the window also moves docked control bars. Control bars can also be floating. These do not follow movements of the window. Floating control bar Docked control bar You can hide a floating control bar either using the Control Bars dialog box (described above) or by clicking its Close icon.
o Or onto the editing area/off Web Designer Premium to create a new control bar. You cannot move buttons onto or off the InfoBar. Hiding buttons and tools Move the unwanted buttons or tools to another control bar and then hide that control bar (described above). If you need the button or tool in the future, use the Control Bars dialog box to redisplay the control bar. You cannot delete buttons or tools.
Resizing a control bar Move the pointer over the edge of the control bar. It changes to a double-headed arrow. You can now drag the edge to resize the control bar. Creating new control bars To create a new control bar: Drag a button onto the editing area or off the window. This opens a new control bar containing the button. Or click New on the Control Bars dialog box. This lets you create a new control bar and allocate a name to it. The new control bar is empty. You can then drag buttons to it.
Creating new control bars To create a new control bar: Drag a button onto the editing area or off the window. This opens a new control bar containing the button. Or click New on the Control Bars dialog box. This lets you create a new control bar and allocate a name to it. The new control bar is empty. You can then drag buttons to it. Moving buttons is described below. Deleting control bars You can only delete control bars that are empty. Therefore move any buttons to another control bar.
Deleting control bars You can only delete control bars that are empty. Therefore move any buttons to another control bar. Close the control bar (either click on the Close icon or use the Control Bars dialog box). The control bar is automatically deleted when you quit Web Designer Premium. Moving buttons and tools To move buttons or tools: 1. Move the mouse pointer over the button you want to move. 2.
Moving buttons and tools To move buttons or tools: 1. Move the mouse pointer over the button you want to move. 2. Hold down "Alt" (left ALT) to move the button or "AltGr" (right ALT) to copy the button when used on user-defined control bars and other control bars. Although on the predefined "Button palette" both ALT-keys do only copy the button. 3. Drag the button to: o A different place on the same control bar. o Or another control bar.
Hiding buttons and tools Move the unwanted buttons or tools to another control bar and then hide that control bar (described above). If you need the button or tool in the future, use the Control Bars dialog box to redisplay the control bar. You cannot delete buttons or tools.
Menus and Keyboard Shortcuts In this chapter Introduction File menu Edit menu Arrange menu Utilities menu Window menu Page 1280
Introduction This chapter describes the operations available on each of the menus and those available via keyboard shortcuts. In many cases the operations described in this chapter apply to the selected object. In most cases, the described action also applies when you have several selected objects. We use selected object as shorthand for selected object or objects. Often you can select options from either a menu, a control bar or a keyboard shortcut.
File menu New (Standard control bar or Ctrl+N) Opens a new document. New from Designs Gallery This option opens the Designs Gallery if it's not open already, allowing you to choose a template for a new document. Click on the folder icons in the gallery to open a folder and double-click on a template thumbnail to start a new document using that template. You can also open the Designs Gallery by clicking the tab in the Galleries bar.
Import (Ctrl+Alt+I) Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information). Note the difference between Open and Import: both load a variety of file formats but Open opens a new document. Import loads the file into the current open document. Export (Ctrl+Shift+E) Or right click and choose Export .
Export Website Also in Export toolbar. Export the current document as HTML. Publish Website This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so.
Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
New (Standard control bar or Ctrl+N) Opens a new document. New from Designs Gallery This option opens the Designs Gallery if it's not open already, allowing you to choose a template for a new document. Click on the folder icons in the gallery to open a folder and double-click on a template thumbnail to start a new document using that template. You can also open the Designs Gallery by clicking the tab in the Galleries bar.
Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information). Note the difference between Open and Import: both load a variety of file formats but Open opens a new document. Import loads the file into the current open document. Export (Ctrl+Shift+E) Or right click and choose Export . Lets you export the document in any of the export formats supported by Web Designer Premium (see Importing & Exporting for a list of formats).
Also in Export toolbar. Export the current document as HTML. Publish Website This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so.
for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
New from Designs Gallery This option opens the Designs Gallery if it's not open already, allowing you to choose a template for a new document. Click on the folder icons in the gallery to open a folder and double-click on a template thumbnail to start a new document using that template. You can also open the Designs Gallery by clicking the tab in the Galleries bar. Open (Standard control bar or Ctrl+O) Opens a new editing window and loads a file into it. This file can be: A Web Designer Premium .
new document. Import loads the file into the current open document. Export (Ctrl+Shift+E) Or right click and choose Export . Lets you export the document in any of the export formats supported by Web Designer Premium (see Importing & Exporting for a list of formats). Export JPEG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose Export - Export JPEG.) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a JPEG. Export PNG Also in Export toolbar.
Publish Website This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so. Then the website is published to your web space.
have unsaved changes.
Open (Standard control bar or Ctrl+O) Opens a new editing window and loads a file into it. This file can be: A Web Designer Premium .web file to view or edit an existing Web Designer Premium document, Or any of the other import formats (see Importing & Exporting for a list of formats). This opens a new document with the file. Open recent A list of the most recently loaded or saved files. Provides a quick way to reload any of these files.
Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose Export - Export JPEG.) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a JPEG. Export PNG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose " Export" > "Export PNG ".) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a PNG. Preview web page (F12) Export and preview the current page of the current website document. You can also preview your page by clicking the web page preview button on the Web toolbar.
Preview Flash This option is only enabled when the current document is an animation document. It exports your animation as Flash and brings up a pop-up window showing your Flash animation running. The window also includes basic information about your Flash animation, such as the size of the Flash file. The button on the animation toolbar is a quicker way to invoke this operation. Export Animation Also in the animation toolbar displayed under the standard toolbar in an animation document.
Open recent A list of the most recently loaded or saved files. Provides a quick way to reload any of these files. You can change the number of files in this list (refer to Customizing Web Designer Premium for details). Close (Ctrl+W) Closes the current editing window. Web Designer Premium remains loaded. You are warned if the file has unsaved changes. Save (Standard control bar or Ctrl+S) Saves the selected document.
Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a PNG. Preview web page (F12) Export and preview the current page of the current website document. You can also preview your page by clicking the web page preview button on the Web toolbar. Click a browser type at the top of the preview window to preview your page in your preferred browser.
Export Animation Also in the animation toolbar displayed under the standard toolbar in an animation document. Export an animation for use in a website. Document Info This displays an information box about the selected document, including which fonts are used in the current document. Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information).
Close (Ctrl+W) Closes the current editing window. Web Designer Premium remains loaded. You are warned if the file has unsaved changes. Save (Standard control bar or Ctrl+S) Saves the selected document. Save As Lets you save the selected document under a different name or to a different directory or drive. Save All Saves all loaded documents. Save Template Saves the selected document as a template document (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
You can also preview your page by clicking the web page preview button on the Web toolbar. Click a browser type at the top of the preview window to preview your page in your preferred browser. Previews your page in Google Chrome Previews your page in Mozilla Firefox Previews your page in Internet Explorer Previews your page in Opera Previews your page in Safari Preview Website Export and preview the current website document.
Document Info This displays an information box about the selected document, including which fonts are used in the current document. Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information).
Save (Standard control bar or Ctrl+S) Saves the selected document. Save As Lets you save the selected document under a different name or to a different directory or drive. Save All Saves all loaded documents. Save Template Saves the selected document as a template document (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Import (Ctrl+Alt+I) Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information).
Previews your page in Mozilla Firefox Previews your page in Internet Explorer Previews your page in Opera Previews your page in Safari Preview Website Export and preview the current website document. The document is exported to the same location it was last exported to (overwriting files as necessary without prompting), or to a temporary location if the site has not yet been exported. Then a browser window is shown displaying the first page of the website.
Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information).
Save As Lets you save the selected document under a different name or to a different directory or drive. Save All Saves all loaded documents. Save Template Saves the selected document as a template document (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Import (Ctrl+Alt+I) Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information).
Previews your page in Opera Previews your page in Safari Preview Website Export and preview the current website document. The document is exported to the same location it was last exported to (overwriting files as necessary without prompting), or to a temporary location if the site has not yet been exported. Then a browser window is shown displaying the first page of the website. This is the quickest way to preview your site as you work on it. You can also preview by clicking the button on the Web toolbar.
Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory.
Save All Saves all loaded documents. Save Template Saves the selected document as a template document (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Import (Ctrl+Alt+I) Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information). Note the difference between Open and Import: both load a variety of file formats but Open opens a new document. Import loads the file into the current open document.
Preview Website Export and preview the current website document. The document is exported to the same location it was last exported to (overwriting files as necessary without prompting), or to a temporary location if the site has not yet been exported. Then a browser window is shown displaying the first page of the website. This is the quickest way to preview your site as you work on it. You can also preview by clicking the button on the Web toolbar. Export Website Also in Export toolbar.
Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Save Template Saves the selected document as a template document (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Import (Ctrl+Alt+I) Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information). Note the difference between Open and Import: both load a variety of file formats but Open opens a new document. Import loads the file into the current open document. Export (Ctrl+Shift+E) Or right click and choose Export .
Export and preview the current website document. The document is exported to the same location it was last exported to (overwriting files as necessary without prompting), or to a temporary location if the site has not yet been exported. Then a browser window is shown displaying the first page of the website. This is the quickest way to preview your site as you work on it. You can also preview by clicking the button on the Web toolbar. Export Website Also in Export toolbar.
Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Import (Ctrl+Alt+I) Loads a file into the selected document. The file can be any of the import formats (see Importing & Exporting for more information). Note the difference between Open and Import: both load a variety of file formats but Open opens a new document. Import loads the file into the current open document. Export (Ctrl+Shift+E) Or right click and choose Export .
Export Website Also in Export toolbar. Export the current document as HTML. Publish Website This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so.
Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Export (Ctrl+Shift+E) Or right click and choose Export . Lets you export the document in any of the export formats supported by Web Designer Premium (see Importing & Exporting for a list of formats). Export JPEG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose Export - Export JPEG.) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a JPEG. Export PNG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose " Export" > "Export PNG ".
This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so. Then the website is published to your web space. A progress indicator appears during the publishing operation.
Export JPEG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose Export - Export JPEG.) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a JPEG. Export PNG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose " Export" > "Export PNG ".) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a PNG. Preview web page (F12) Export and preview the current page of the current website document. You can also preview your page by clicking the web page preview button on the Web toolbar.
appears during the publishing operation. See the Getting Started chapter for more details on publishing. Preview Flash This option is only enabled when the current document is an animation document. It exports your animation as Flash and brings up a pop-up window showing your Flash animation running. The window also includes basic information about your Flash animation, such as the size of the Flash file. The button on the animation toolbar is a quicker way to invoke this operation.
Export PNG Also in Export toolbar. Or right click and choose " Export" > "Export PNG ".) Lets you export selected objects, a page or the whole document as a PNG. Preview web page (F12) Export and preview the current page of the current website document. You can also preview your page by clicking the web page preview button on the Web toolbar. Click a browser type at the top of the preview window to preview your page in your preferred browser.
animation as Flash and brings up a pop-up window showing your Flash animation running. The window also includes basic information about your Flash animation, such as the size of the Flash file. The button on the animation toolbar is a quicker way to invoke this operation. Export Animation Also in the animation toolbar displayed under the standard toolbar in an animation document. Export an animation for use in a website.
Preview web page (F12) Export and preview the current page of the current website document. You can also preview your page by clicking the web page preview button on the Web toolbar. Click a browser type at the top of the preview window to preview your page in your preferred browser.
Also in the animation toolbar displayed under the standard toolbar in an animation document. Export an animation for use in a website. Document Info This displays an information box about the selected document, including which fonts are used in the current document. Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information).
Preview Website Export and preview the current website document. The document is exported to the same location it was last exported to (overwriting files as necessary without prompting), or to a temporary location if the site has not yet been exported. Then a browser window is shown displaying the first page of the website. This is the quickest way to preview your site as you work on it. You can also preview by clicking the button on the Web toolbar. Export Website Also in Export toolbar.
Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Export Website Also in Export toolbar. Export the current document as HTML. Publish Website This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so.
Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Publish Website This performs the same operation as the button on the Web toolbar. It exports and then publishes the current website document to your web space. If you haven't already entered the FTP details for your web space, the Publish tab of the Web Properties dialog will be displayed first. Then if you haven't already exported the site locally, the export dialog will appear to allow you to do so. Then the website is published to your web space.
Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Preview Flash This option is only enabled when the current document is an animation document. It exports your animation as Flash and brings up a pop-up window showing your Flash animation running. The window also includes basic information about your Flash animation, such as the size of the Flash file. The button on the animation toolbar is a quicker way to invoke this operation. Export Animation Also in the animation toolbar displayed under the standard toolbar in an animation document.
Export Animation Also in the animation toolbar displayed under the standard toolbar in an animation document. Export an animation for use in a website. Document Info This displays an information box about the selected document, including which fonts are used in the current document. Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information).
Document Info This displays an information box about the selected document, including which fonts are used in the current document. Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information).
Page Options Also right click and choose Page Options . Allows you to edit the page layout, size, etc. Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information).
Printer Setup Sets options relating to the current printer or print file (refer to Printing for more information). Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Print Options Alter the various options when printing, including orientation and scaling (refer to Printing for more information). Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Print (Ctrl+P) Sets options relating to printing the document and lets you print the document (refer to Printing for more information). Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Exit Closes all windows and removes Web Designer Premium from memory. You are warned if any files have unsaved changes.
Edit menu This section covers Undo (Standard control bar or Ctrl+Z) Redo (Standard control bar or Ctrl+Y) Cut (Edit control bar or Ctrl+X) Copy (Edit control bar or Ctrl+C) Paste (Edit control bar or Ctrl+V) Delete (Edit & Standard control bars or Delete) Select All (Ctrl+A) Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Duplicate (Edit control bar or Ctrl+Alt+D) Clone (Ctrl+K) Pages Undo (Standard control bar or Ctrl+Z) Undo the previous operation.
The same as Paste, except your object will be pasted in the exact same position from which you copied it. This is useful for moving objects from one layer or page to another, without changing its X/Y position. Paste format/attributes Preserves the format (e.g., font and font size) or style attributes (e.g., line and fill color) of the pasted object.
). Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Deselect all objects. If nothing is selected, the current attributes are set back to its default values. You can easily get this by pressing ESC twice. Duplicate (Edit control bar or Ctrl+Alt+D) Or right click and choose Duplicate . Copy the selected object placing the copy slightly offset from the original. The copy becomes the selected object. The offset distance can be customized (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Undo (Standard control bar or Ctrl+Z) Undo the previous operation. The description of this option reflects the last operation performed. For example, Undo Cut (refer to Undo & Redo ). Redo (Standard control bar or Ctrl+Y) Cancel the last Undo command. The description of this option reflects the last Undo operation (refer to Undo & Redo). Cut (Edit control bar or Ctrl+X) Cut the selected object to the clipboard.
objects. Paste size This option applies the size of a copied object on the clipboard to a currently selected object, which resizes around its center to the exact size of the copied object. If multiple items have been copied to the clipboard, Web Designer Premium treats them as if they are a group and resizes the currently selected object around its center to the exact size of the copied group as a whole.
Clone (Ctrl+K) Like Duplicate copies the selected object, but places the copy directly over the original. The copy becomes the selected object. Pages Or right click and choose Pages . The Pages submenu lets you add or remove pages from your multi-page document, duplicate the current page or move the current page up and down. Read more on multi-page documents in Multi-page Documents .
Redo (Standard control bar or Ctrl+Y) Cancel the last Undo command. The description of this option reflects the last Undo operation (refer to Undo & Redo). Cut (Edit control bar or Ctrl+X) Cut the selected object to the clipboard. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected (refer to Object Handling ). Copy (Edit control bar or Ctrl+C) Copy the selected object to the clipboard. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected.
If multiple items have been copied to the clipboard, Web Designer Premium treats them as if they are a group and resizes the currently selected object around its center to the exact size of the copied group as a whole. Paste replacing selection This is similar to Paste position , except that the copied object on the clipboard replaces the currently selected object and retains the deleted item's position. The copied object is pasted into the center position of the deleted object.
Pages Or right click and choose Pages . The Pages submenu lets you add or remove pages from your multi-page document, duplicate the current page or move the current page up and down. Read more on multi-page documents in Multi-page Documents .
Cut (Edit control bar or Ctrl+X) Cut the selected object to the clipboard. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected (refer to Object Handling ). Copy (Edit control bar or Ctrl+C) Copy the selected object to the clipboard. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected. The object remains in place in the document (refer to Object Handling ). Paste (Edit control bar or Ctrl+V) Or right click and choose Paste .
This is similar to Paste position , except that the copied object on the clipboard replaces the currently selected object and retains the deleted item's position. The copied object is pasted into the center position of the deleted object. Paste in current layer The same as Paste in place, except your object will only be pasted into the current layer. This is useful if you want to display or hide just your pasted object when layers above or below are displayed.
Documents .
Copy (Edit control bar or Ctrl+C) Copy the selected object to the clipboard. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected. The object remains in place in the document (refer to Object Handling ). Paste (Edit control bar or Ctrl+V) Or right click and choose Paste . Paste the clipboard contents into the selected document. The wording of this option reflects the contents of the clipboard (refer to Object Handling ).
Paste in current layer The same as Paste in place, except your object will only be pasted into the current layer. This is useful if you want to display or hide just your pasted object when layers above or below are displayed. Paste in place in current layer The same as Paste in current layer, except your object will be pasted into the current layer in the exact same position from which you copied it. Delete (Edit & Standard control bars or Delete) Or right click and choose Delete .
Paste (Edit control bar or Ctrl+V) Or right click and choose Paste . Paste the clipboard contents into the selected document. The wording of this option reflects the contents of the clipboard (refer to Object Handling ). Sometimes, when you paste the contents of the clipboard into a document, it could be inserted using several different formats. If this is the case the Paste Special dialog box will appear so you can choose a format.
Paste in place in current layer The same as Paste in current layer, except your object will be pasted into the current layer in the exact same position from which you copied it. Delete (Edit & Standard control bars or Delete) Or right click and choose Delete . Delete the selected object. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected (refer to Object Handling ). Select All (Ctrl+A) Select all objects in editable layers (editable and locked layers are described in Layers ).
Delete (Edit & Standard control bars or Delete) Or right click and choose Delete . Delete the selected object. The description of this option reflects the type of object selected (refer to Object Handling ). Select All (Ctrl+A) Select all objects in editable layers (editable and locked layers are described in Layers ). Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Deselect all objects. If nothing is selected, the current attributes are set back to its default values.
Select All (Ctrl+A) Select all objects in editable layers (editable and locked layers are described in Layers ). Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Deselect all objects. If nothing is selected, the current attributes are set back to its default values. You can easily get this by pressing ESC twice. Duplicate (Edit control bar or Ctrl+Alt+D) Or right click and choose Duplicate . Copy the selected object placing the copy slightly offset from the original. The copy becomes the selected object.
Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Deselect all objects. If nothing is selected, the current attributes are set back to its default values. You can easily get this by pressing ESC twice. Duplicate (Edit control bar or Ctrl+Alt+D) Or right click and choose Duplicate . Copy the selected object placing the copy slightly offset from the original. The copy becomes the selected object. The offset distance can be customized (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Duplicate (Edit control bar or Ctrl+Alt+D) Or right click and choose Duplicate . Copy the selected object placing the copy slightly offset from the original. The copy becomes the selected object. The offset distance can be customized (see Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Clone (Ctrl+K) Like Duplicate copies the selected object, but places the copy directly over the original. The copy becomes the selected object. Pages Or right click and choose Pages .
Clone (Ctrl+K) Like Duplicate copies the selected object, but places the copy directly over the original. The copy becomes the selected object. Pages Or right click and choose Pages . The Pages submenu lets you add or remove pages from your multi-page document, duplicate the current page or move the current page up and down. Read more on multi-page documents in Multi-page Documents .
Pages Or right click and choose Pages . The Pages submenu lets you add or remove pages from your multi-page document, duplicate the current page or move the current page up and down. Read more on multi-page documents in Multi-page Documents .
Arrange menu This section covers Move to Layer in Front (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+U) Bring to Front (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+F) Move Forwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+F) Move Backwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+B) Put to Back (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+B) Move To Layer Behind (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+D) Group (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+G) Ungroup (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+U) Apply soft group (Ctrl+Alt+G) Remove soft group (Ctrl+Alt+U) Alignment (Ctrl+Shift+L)
Move the selected object behind all others in the same layer (refer to Object Handling ). Move To Layer Behind (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+D) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move to Layer Behind . Move the selected object one layer backwards. The selected object becomes the front object in the new layer. In an animation document, this option is Move To Previous Frame . Group (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+G) Or right click and choose Group .
Repelling and Anchoring Or right click and choose Repel text under, Anchor to text or Repelling and Anchoring . Make the object repel underlying text, and anchor an object within a column of text. See Repelling text objects and Anchored Graphics for details. Create Navigation Bar This command allows you to create a navigation bar from a single button. Read more in chapter Navigation bars . Repeat on all pages (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R) Or right click and choose Repeat on all pages .
Move to Layer in Front (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+U) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move to Layer in Front . Move the selected object forward by one layer. The selected object becomes the back object in the new layer. In an animation document, this option is Move To Next Frame . Bring to Front (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+F) Or right click and choose Arrange > Bring to Front . Move the selected object to the front of all other objects in the same layer.
Or right click and choose Ungroup . Split the group or groups into separate objects. Dimmed unless the selected object is a group. Or, for several selected objects, there is at least one group. Apply soft group (Ctrl+Alt+G) Or right click and choose Apply soft group . Make the selected objects form a soft group. Unlike groups, soft groups can include objects on different layers. Refer to Object Handling (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ) for details.
Stop updating (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+O) Or right click and choose Stop updating . The "Arrange" > "Stop updating " operation allows you to turn off the repeating nature of an instance of a repeating object, or on all copies of that object in your website. Read more in the Object Handling Chapter .
Bring to Front (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+F) Or right click and choose Arrange > Bring to Front . Move the selected object to the front of all other objects in the same layer. See Object Handling for more information. Move Forwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+F) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move Forwards . Move the selected object one step towards the front (refer to Object Handling ). Move Backwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+B) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move Backwards .
Make the selected objects form a soft group. Unlike groups, soft groups can include objects on different layers. Refer to Object Handling (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ) for details. Remove soft group (Ctrl+Alt+U) Or right click and choose Remove soft group . Disband the selected soft group, so the objects are separately selectable objects again. Alignment (Ctrl+Shift+L) Or right click and choose Align . Used to align several objects.
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Move Forwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+F) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move Forwards . Move the selected object one step towards the front (refer to Object Handling ). Move Backwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+B) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move Backwards . Move the selected object one step towards the back (refer to Object Handling). Put to Back (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+B) Or right click and choose Arrange > Put to Back .
. Disband the selected soft group, so the objects are separately selectable objects again. Alignment (Ctrl+Shift+L) Or right click and choose Align . Used to align several objects. Has no effect when a single object is selected (refer to Object Handling for more information). Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve Or right click and choose Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve . Lets you fit a line of text to an arbitrary curve or remove text from a curve (see Text Handling for more information).
Move Backwards (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+B) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move Backwards . Move the selected object one step towards the back (refer to Object Handling). Put to Back (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+B) Or right click and choose Arrange > Put to Back . Move the selected object behind all others in the same layer (refer to Object Handling ). Move To Layer Behind (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+D) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move to Layer Behind .
Used to align several objects. Has no effect when a single object is selected (refer to Object Handling for more information). Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve Or right click and choose Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve . Lets you fit a line of text to an arbitrary curve or remove text from a curve (see Text Handling for more information). Repelling and Anchoring Or right click and choose Repel text under, Anchor to text or Repelling and Anchoring .
Put to Back (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+B) Or right click and choose Arrange > Put to Back . Move the selected object behind all others in the same layer (refer to Object Handling ). Move To Layer Behind (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+D) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move to Layer Behind . Move the selected object one layer backwards. The selected object becomes the front object in the new layer. In an animation document, this option is Move To Previous Frame .
. Lets you fit a line of text to an arbitrary curve or remove text from a curve (see Text Handling for more information). Repelling and Anchoring Or right click and choose Repel text under, Anchor to text or Repelling and Anchoring . Make the object repel underlying text, and anchor an object within a column of text. See Repelling text objects and Anchored Graphics for details. Create Navigation Bar This command allows you to create a navigation bar from a single button.
Move To Layer Behind (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+Shift+D) Or right click and choose Arrange > Move to Layer Behind . Move the selected object one layer backwards. The selected object becomes the front object in the new layer. In an animation document, this option is Move To Previous Frame . Group (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+G) Or right click and choose Group . Group the selected objects together to appear as a single object (refer to Object Handling ).
. Make the object repel underlying text, and anchor an object within a column of text. See Repelling text objects and Anchored Graphics for details. Create Navigation Bar This command allows you to create a navigation bar from a single button. Read more in chapter Navigation bars . Repeat on all pages (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R) Or right click and choose Repeat on all pages . The selected object will be copied to the same place on all pages.
Group (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+G) Or right click and choose Group . Group the selected objects together to appear as a single object (refer to Object Handling ). Ungroup (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+U) Or right click and choose Ungroup . Split the group or groups into separate objects. Dimmed unless the selected object is a group. Or, for several selected objects, there is at least one group. Apply soft group (Ctrl+Alt+G) Or right click and choose Apply soft group .
Repeat on all pages (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R) Or right click and choose Repeat on all pages . The selected object will be copied to the same place on all pages. The command automatically creates an appropriate Repeating:AutoRepeat name and applies it to all copies, so from this point on it will be updated when you select Update repeating objects . Stop updating (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+O) Or right click and choose Stop updating .
Ungroup (Arrange control bar or Ctrl+U) Or right click and choose Ungroup . Split the group or groups into separate objects. Dimmed unless the selected object is a group. Or, for several selected objects, there is at least one group. Apply soft group (Ctrl+Alt+G) Or right click and choose Apply soft group . Make the selected objects form a soft group. Unlike groups, soft groups can include objects on different layers. Refer to Object Handling (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ) for details.
updated when you select Update repeating objects . Stop updating (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+O) Or right click and choose Stop updating . The "Arrange" > "Stop updating " operation allows you to turn off the repeating nature of an instance of a repeating object, or on all copies of that object in your website. Read more in the Object Handling Chapter .
Apply soft group (Ctrl+Alt+G) Or right click and choose Apply soft group . Make the selected objects form a soft group. Unlike groups, soft groups can include objects on different layers. Refer to Object Handling (Soft Groups, Soft Groups ) for details. Remove soft group (Ctrl+Alt+U) Or right click and choose Remove soft group . Disband the selected soft group, so the objects are separately selectable objects again. Alignment (Ctrl+Shift+L) Or right click and choose Align . Used to align several objects.
The "Arrange" > "Stop updating " operation allows you to turn off the repeating nature of an instance of a repeating object, or on all copies of that object in your website. Read more in the Object Handling Chapter .
Remove soft group (Ctrl+Alt+U) Or right click and choose Remove soft group . Disband the selected soft group, so the objects are separately selectable objects again. Alignment (Ctrl+Shift+L) Or right click and choose Align . Used to align several objects. Has no effect when a single object is selected (refer to Object Handling for more information). Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve Or right click and choose Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve .
Alignment (Ctrl+Shift+L) Or right click and choose Align . Used to align several objects. Has no effect when a single object is selected (refer to Object Handling for more information). Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve Or right click and choose Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve . Lets you fit a line of text to an arbitrary curve or remove text from a curve (see Text Handling for more information).
Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve Or right click and choose Fit Text to Curve/Remove Text From Curve . Lets you fit a line of text to an arbitrary curve or remove text from a curve (see Text Handling for more information). Repelling and Anchoring Or right click and choose Repel text under, Anchor to text or Repelling and Anchoring . Make the object repel underlying text, and anchor an object within a column of text. See Repelling text objects and Anchored Graphics for details.
Repelling and Anchoring Or right click and choose Repel text under, Anchor to text or Repelling and Anchoring . Make the object repel underlying text, and anchor an object within a column of text. See Repelling text objects and Anchored Graphics for details. Create Navigation Bar This command allows you to create a navigation bar from a single button. Read more in chapter Navigation bars . Repeat on all pages (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R) Or right click and choose Repeat on all pages .
Create Navigation Bar This command allows you to create a navigation bar from a single button. Read more in chapter Navigation bars . Repeat on all pages (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R) Or right click and choose Repeat on all pages . The selected object will be copied to the same place on all pages. The command automatically creates an appropriate Repeating:AutoRepeat name and applies it to all copies, so from this point on it will be updated when you select Update repeating objects .
Repeat on all pages (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R) Or right click and choose Repeat on all pages . The selected object will be copied to the same place on all pages. The command automatically creates an appropriate Repeating:AutoRepeat name and applies it to all copies, so from this point on it will be updated when you select Update repeating objects . Stop updating (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+O) Or right click and choose Stop updating .
Stop updating (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+O) Or right click and choose Stop updating . The "Arrange" > "Stop updating " operation allows you to turn off the repeating nature of an instance of a repeating object, or on all copies of that object in your website. Read more in the Object Handling Chapter .
Utilities menu This section covers Galleries Color Editor (Ctrl+E) Names Web Properties (Ctrl+Shift+W) Optimize Photo Optimize all JPEGs Animation Check spelling as you type Options (Ctrl+Shift+O) Galleries Page & Gallery (Galleries control bar or "F10") Displays or hides the Page & Layer Gallery. Only used in non-animation documents (see Layers ). Bitmap Gallery (Galleries control bar or "F11") Displays or hides the Bitmap Gallery (see Bitmap Handling ).
Names Or right click and choose Names . Opens the Apply/remove names dialog . Web Properties (Ctrl+Shift+W) Or right click and choose Web Properties . Opens the Web Properties dialog, which allows web features such as links, pop-up layers, anchors, etc. to be added to your web page document. You can also control how images are exported for the web page and set various other web properties using this dialog. See Getting Started for details. Optimize Photo Or right click and choose Optimize Photo .
. Options (Ctrl+Shift+O) Or right click and choose Page Options . Opens the Options dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Galleries Page & Gallery (Galleries control bar or "F10") Displays or hides the Page & Layer Gallery. Only used in non-animation documents (see Layers ). Bitmap Gallery (Galleries control bar or "F11") Displays or hides the Bitmap Gallery (see Bitmap Handling ). Line Gallery (Galleries control bar or "F12") Displays or hides the Line Gallery (see Drawing Lines ). Designs Gallery (Galleries control bar or "+ F10") Displays or hides the Designs Gallery (see Importing and Exporting ).
how images are exported for the web page and set various other web properties using this dialog. See Getting Started for details. Optimize Photo Or right click and choose Optimize Photo . Optimize bitmap resolution for use in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium designs. See Photo Optimization for details. Optimize all JPEGs Optimizes all JPEG photos in the design. See Photo Optimization .
Color Editor (Ctrl+E) Or right click and choose Fill Color . Opens the Color Editor (refer to Color Handling). Names Or right click and choose Names . Opens the Apply/remove names dialog . Web Properties (Ctrl+Shift+W) Or right click and choose Web Properties . Opens the Web Properties dialog, which allows web features such as links, pop-up layers, anchors, etc. to be added to your web page document.
Options (Ctrl+Shift+O) Or right click and choose Page Options . Opens the Options dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Names Or right click and choose Names . Opens the Apply/remove names dialog . Web Properties (Ctrl+Shift+W) Or right click and choose Web Properties . Opens the Web Properties dialog, which allows web features such as links, pop-up layers, anchors, etc. to be added to your web page document. You can also control how images are exported for the web page and set various other web properties using this dialog. See Getting Started for details. Optimize Photo Or right click and choose Optimize Photo .
Web Properties (Ctrl+Shift+W) Or right click and choose Web Properties . Opens the Web Properties dialog, which allows web features such as links, pop-up layers, anchors, etc. to be added to your web page document. You can also control how images are exported for the web page and set various other web properties using this dialog. See Getting Started for details. Optimize Photo Or right click and choose Optimize Photo . Optimize bitmap resolution for use in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium designs.
Optimize Photo Or right click and choose Optimize Photo . Optimize bitmap resolution for use in Xara Web Designer 7 Premium designs. See Photo Optimization for details. Optimize all JPEGs Optimizes all JPEG photos in the design. See Photo Optimization . Animation This menu is only available in animation documents and offers three choices: Animation Properties: With this dialog box you can change the options for the animation and for each frame.
Optimize all JPEGs Optimizes all JPEG photos in the design. See Photo Optimization . Animation This menu is only available in animation documents and offers three choices: Animation Properties: With this dialog box you can change the options for the animation and for each frame. Preview All Frames: Use this to preview all the frames of your animation. This is not very useful for Flash animations as it shows only the key frames with no tweening.
Animation This menu is only available in animation documents and offers three choices: Animation Properties: With this dialog box you can change the options for the animation and for each frame. Preview All Frames: Use this to preview all the frames of your animation. This is not very useful for Flash animations as it shows only the key frames with no tweening.
Check spelling as you type This option activates the Spell Checker in the Text Tool . Options (Ctrl+Shift+O) Or right click and choose Page Options . Opens the Options dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Options (Ctrl+Shift+O) Or right click and choose Page Options . Opens the Options dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Window menu This section covers Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Multiple Page View New View Arrange Views Animation Show Scrollbars Show Rulers (Ctrl + L) Control Bars Quality (Standard control bar) Show Document Tabs Full Screen (8 on numeric keypad) Show Grid (#) Show Guides (1 on numeric keypad) Show Print Borders Snap to Grid (. on numeric keypad) Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Deselect all objects.
Displays the Control Bars dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Quality (Standard control bar) Selects how objects are displayed from wire frame to anti-aliased (see Document Handling ). Show Document Tabs Toggles display of the document tabs that provide quick access to each open document at the top of the Web Designer Premium window. Clicking on a tab makes that document the selected document. A "*" after the document name indicates that it currently has unsaved changes.
Clear Selection / Reset current attributes (Esc) Deselect all objects. If nothing is selected, the current attributes are set back to its default values. You can easily get this by pressing ESC twice. Multiple Page View Or right click and choose Multiple Page View . By default Web Designer Premium shows only the current page of the currently open document. Choosing multiple page view shows all the pages in your document. New View Opens a new window onto the selected document.
Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Grid . Makes the on-screen grid visible (see Document Handling ). Show Guides (1 on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Guides . Displays or hides the Guides layer which contains all guidelines and guide objects. Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper. With Show Print Borders selected two rectangles are displayed on screen.
Multiple Page View Or right click and choose Multiple Page View . By default Web Designer Premium shows only the current page of the currently open document. Choosing multiple page view shows all the pages in your document. New View Opens a new window onto the selected document. Arrange Views Displays all Web Designer Premium windows as tiles. Animation In an animation document, toggles display of the animation toolbar.
Show Guides (1 on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Guides . Displays or hides the Guides layer which contains all guidelines and guide objects. Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper. With Show Print Borders selected two rectangles are displayed on screen. One shows the edge of the paper, the other shows the printable area. Snap to Grid (.
New View Opens a new window onto the selected document. Arrange Views Displays all Web Designer Premium windows as tiles. Animation In an animation document, toggles display of the animation toolbar. Show Scrollbars Toggles display of the scrollbars at the side and bottom of the Web Designer Premium window. Show Rulers (Ctrl + L) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Rulers . Toggles display of rulers to the top and side of the Web Designer Premium window.
Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper. With Show Print Borders selected two rectangles are displayed on screen. One shows the edge of the paper, the other shows the printable area. Snap to Grid (. on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Snap to > Snap to Grid . With this option set, an object snaps to any grid point it is dragged close to (see Document Handling ).
Arrange Views Displays all Web Designer Premium windows as tiles. Animation In an animation document, toggles display of the animation toolbar. Show Scrollbars Toggles display of the scrollbars at the side and bottom of the Web Designer Premium window. Show Rulers (Ctrl + L) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Rulers . Toggles display of rulers to the top and side of the Web Designer Premium window.
printable area. Snap to Grid (. on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Snap to > Snap to Grid . With this option set, an object snaps to any grid point it is dragged close to (see Document Handling ).
Animation In an animation document, toggles display of the animation toolbar. Show Scrollbars Toggles display of the scrollbars at the side and bottom of the Web Designer Premium window. Show Rulers (Ctrl + L) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Rulers . Toggles display of rulers to the top and side of the Web Designer Premium window. Control Bars Displays the Control Bars dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ).
Or right click and choose Snap to > Snap to Grid . With this option set, an object snaps to any grid point it is dragged close to (see Document Handling ).
Show Scrollbars Toggles display of the scrollbars at the side and bottom of the Web Designer Premium window. Show Rulers (Ctrl + L) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Rulers . Toggles display of rulers to the top and side of the Web Designer Premium window. Control Bars Displays the Control Bars dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Quality (Standard control bar) Selects how objects are displayed from wire frame to anti-aliased (see Document Handling ).
).
Show Rulers (Ctrl + L) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Rulers . Toggles display of rulers to the top and side of the Web Designer Premium window. Control Bars Displays the Control Bars dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Quality (Standard control bar) Selects how objects are displayed from wire frame to anti-aliased (see Document Handling ).
Control Bars Displays the Control Bars dialog box (described in Customizing Web Designer Premium ). Quality (Standard control bar) Selects how objects are displayed from wire frame to anti-aliased (see Document Handling ). Show Document Tabs Toggles display of the document tabs that provide quick access to each open document at the top of the Web Designer Premium window. Clicking on a tab makes that document the selected document.
Quality (Standard control bar) Selects how objects are displayed from wire frame to anti-aliased (see Document Handling ). Show Document Tabs Toggles display of the document tabs that provide quick access to each open document at the top of the Web Designer Premium window. Clicking on a tab makes that document the selected document. A "*" after the document name indicates that it currently has unsaved changes. Full Screen (8 on numeric keypad) Toggles between full-screen and normal screen modes.
Show Document Tabs Toggles display of the document tabs that provide quick access to each open document at the top of the Web Designer Premium window. Clicking on a tab makes that document the selected document. A "*" after the document name indicates that it currently has unsaved changes. Full Screen (8 on numeric keypad) Toggles between full-screen and normal screen modes. Show Grid (#) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Grid . Makes the on-screen grid visible (see Document Handling ).
Full Screen (8 on numeric keypad) Toggles between full-screen and normal screen modes. Show Grid (#) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Grid . Makes the on-screen grid visible (see Document Handling ). Show Guides (1 on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Guides . Displays or hides the Guides layer which contains all guidelines and guide objects. Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper.
Show Grid (#) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Grid . Makes the on-screen grid visible (see Document Handling ). Show Guides (1 on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Guides . Displays or hides the Guides layer which contains all guidelines and guide objects. Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper. With Show Print Borders selected two rectangles are displayed on screen.
Show Guides (1 on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Show Grid/Guides > Show Guides . Displays or hides the Guides layer which contains all guidelines and guide objects. Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper. With Show Print Borders selected two rectangles are displayed on screen. One shows the edge of the paper, the other shows the printable area. Snap to Grid (.
Show Print Borders Most printers have a non-printing margin (the print border) around the edge of the paper. With Show Print Borders selected two rectangles are displayed on screen. One shows the edge of the paper, the other shows the printable area. Snap to Grid (. on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Snap to > Snap to Grid . With this option set, an object snaps to any grid point it is dragged close to (see Document Handling ).
Snap to Grid (. on numeric keypad) Or right click and choose Snap to > Snap to Grid . With this option set, an object snaps to any grid point it is dragged close to (see Document Handling ).
More about Xara Group In this chapter About Xara Group Ltd.
About Xara Group Ltd. One of the oldest independent UK software developers, Xara has been developing software since 1981. From Wordwise, one of the earliest microcomputer word processors, to Xara Designer Pro, the world's fastest, and many believe the world's best drawing and illustration software, Xara has developed a wide range of products covering the whole realm of publishing software. Xara has pioneered many technologies taken for granted nowadays.
Other Xara products There are trial versions and demo movies for many of these products at http://www.xara.com/products . Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 7 (formerly Xtreme) is quite simply the best value and fastest all-in-one graphics package you'll find. For drawings or photo work, for print or web graphics, it's the perfect choice. See http://www.xara.com/products/designer/ for more information.
Xara ScreenMaker 3D is a screensaver maker that's fast, fun and easy to use. Create animated 3D text or tumbling picture cube screensavers. See http://www.xara.com/products/screenmaker3d / for more information.
Legal In this chapter Copyright Xara Web Designer 7 Premium end user license agreement Acknowledgements Page 1433
Copyright This documentation is protected by law. All rights, especially the right of duplication, circulation, and translation are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in form of copies, microfilms or other processes, or transmitted into a language used for machines, especially data processing machines, without the express written consent of the publisher. All copyrights reserved. All other product names are trademarks of the corresponding manufacturers.
Xara Web Designer 7 Premium end user license agreement © 2011 Xara Group Ltd IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Xara Web Designer 7 Premium software ("Software") is the copyright of Xara Group Limited ("Xara") whose principal place of business is at Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX, United Kingdom and may not be stored on any computer or copied without the license of Xara. You are offered a license on the terms of the End User License Agreement ("EULA") set out below.
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CONSUMERS Nothing in this Agreement shall affect your statutory rights as a consumer. LICENSE CONDITIONS OF OTHER MANUFACTURERS If the licensed product contains additional software, or should additional software be integrated ? for example JQuery (or similar) Widgets or Gadgets - then compliance with the use and license conditions of the manufacturer of said delivered additional software is also compulsory.
Acknowledgements The Geotype font is provided by kind permission of Gary Bouton and remain © Gary Bouton, see www.theboutons.com . Some fonts copyright © FontBank Inc., all rights reserved. Other fonts are provided by third parties who retain the copyright. In all cases copyright is reserved by Xara or its licensors and is protected by international copyright law. Xara is a trademark of Xara Group Ltd.
