Copyright: Xara Ltd


1,2,3,4 (File Menu)

Use the numbers and names listed near the bottom of the File menu to open one of the documents recently worked on. Choose the number or name that corresponds to the document you want to open.

You can change the number of files listed in the General Options.


A bars settings file is invalid or corrupt

Cause

CorelXARA creates two files in your Windows directory to save the configuration of the control bar and Galleries in normal mode and full screen mode :

CORELXBN.INI	Settings for Normal mode.

CORELXBF.INI	Settings for Full Screen mode.

This error indicates that one of these files is corrupted or missing.

Recommended action

No action is necessary as clicking on OK recreates the corrupt or missing file using the default settings. This loses any customised control bar and gallery settings for that mode.


A problem occurred when installing or de-installing a font

Cause

You have tried to install a font that is already installed, or you have tried to de-install a font that is currently being used within a document.  Alternatively, the font file itself is corrupt.

Recommended action

Installing a font - check that it isn't installed already.

De-installing a font - make sure it isn't being used in any loaded documents.

If these do not apply, then recreate the font from a backup.


ATM
ATM (Adobe Type Manager) fonts are PostScript fonts. ATM is a software component available from Adobe which allows the PostScript fonts to be rendered on screen and hence allows matching of PostScript printer fonts and screen fonts. CorelXARA also supports TrueType fonts which are supported as standard by Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT.


Abort or continue printing

Cause

You have suspended a print job.

Recommended action

Click the Abort button to cancel the suspended print job

Click the Continue button to resume printing.


About CorelXARA (Help Menu)

  CTRL+F1

About CorelXARA on the Help menu opens a dialog box containing the following information :

CorelXARA Version Number.

CorelXARA Licensee.

Licensee Organisation.

CorelXARA Serial Number.

Host Operating System.


About Xara Ltd

Xara was set up by Computer Concepts Ltd (UK) to develop CorelXARA. Computer Concepts have been developing mainstream application software since 1981. CC was one of the pioneer microcomputer software houses of the early eighties in the UK developing applications such as the Wordwise word processor which sold a quarter of a million copies.

With over fifteen years of development experience, more than six of which have been developing 32-bit windowing based applications for RISC based computers, this has given us an unrivalled experience of developing microcomputer application software. This experience predates the arrival of 32-bit Windows based environments by many years.

The arrival of 32-bit Windows programming environments (Windows 95, NT and Win32s) meant we could exploit that experience in the wider PC and Windows market, rather than the more niche markets we occupied before.

Xara Ltd

Gaddesden Place

Hemel Hempstead

Hertfordshire HP2 6EX

United Kingdom

Tel	+44 1442 350000

Fax	+44 1442 350010

Email	info@xara.com

WWW	http://www.xara.com/


Add Folder Dialog Box

To add new folders or directories to a gallery, you use the Add Folder dialog box. This is opened by clicking the appropriate 'Add' button in one of the disk-based galleries (Font Gallery, Fill Gallery or Clipart Gallery) or selecting the Add option from the gallery pop-up menu.

Add

Add will add the selected folder to the gallery. If it contains an index and thumbnails a section (or sections) will appear in the gallery showing the folder's contents. If the folder does not contain an index or thumbnails you will be asked if you would like to create them.

Update

Update updates all the index and thumbnail information for a folder where necessary. This is generally most useful where you have added files to a folder and you want them to appear in the gallery.

Find CD

FindCD will attempt to find the CorelXARA CD on your machine so you can add the folders of fonts, clipart and fills supplied on it.

Network

The Network button allows you to connect networks drives to your machine so you can access folders on your network. For more information, see your Windows User Guide.

First you should choose the drive for the folder. Do this by either:

Choose from the Drives drop-down list.

Click Network to add a drive from the network (if your computer is connected to a network).

Click FindCD to pick the CD drive containing a CorelXARA CD on your computer.

Next you should choose the required directory in the usual way and click OK.

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See also

Adding a folder to a gallery

Adding files to a gallery

Updating a disc-based gallery


 Add Shapes (Arrange Menu)

Add shapes turns the selected objects into a new, single shape. The new shape is much like a shadow of the original as it covers the entire area taken up by the combined objects.

On-line Demonstration


Adding a folder to a gallery
 Add a folder to a gallery

To add a pre-built folder to a gallery

1. Open the Fill Gallery, Font Gallery or Clipart Gallery.

2. Click Add to open the Add Folder dialog box (or select add from the gallery pop-up menu).

3. Select the drive where the folder is located.

4. Browse until you reach the folder.

5. Click Add.

To add a new folder to a gallery

The Clipart Gallery and the Fill Gallery allow you to build your own indexes and automatically create any required thumbnails for a directory containing graphics files. The Clipart Gallery allows both vector and bitmap files to be added to its indexes, whereas the Fill Gallery is limited to bitmap files (such as TIFFs and BMPs, but not .XAR files).

1. Copy the files you wish the gallery to contain into a separate directory.

2. Open the Clipart Gallery or the Fill Gallery.

3. Click Add to open the Add Folder dialog box or select Add from the gallery pop-up menu)

4. Select the drive where the folder is located.

5. Browse until you reach the folder.

6. Click Add.

Creating an index and thumbnails will use disk space up, so you will be asked if you're sure. If you click to go-ahead, but the selected directory is read only (if it was a CD for example), you will be asked if you want the index to be placed in your temporary directory instead. This enables third-party CD's containing images to be added to the gallery.


Adding files to a gallery
 Add files to a gallery

To add files to an existing folder

You can add more files to a folder, and update the index by using the 'Update' button in the Add Folder dialog box .

To add a folder of files to the gallery, see Adding a folder to a gallery.

Note

Adding files to a folder which already contains an index and clicking 'Add' will not include the new files in the gallery, you must use Update.


Adding points into a line or shape
 Add points into a line or shape

1.	Select the line or shape.

2.	Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

3.	Click on the line to add a new point handle.

Click to add a point handle


Aligning the centres of QuickShapes
 Align the centres of QuickShapes

1. Enable Magnetic Snapping (see Snap to Objects).

2. Drag the QuickShape by the cross in its centre over the point you wish to align it with. The centre will lock onto the edges of all objects and the centres of QuickShapes.


Alignment
Alignment is the horizontal and vertical relationship of several objects to each other. For example, objects can be aligned so that their top-most edges all line up and they are distributed evenly horizontally. To change the alignment and distribution of objects, use the Alignment dialog box.


 Alignment (Arrange Menu)

CTRL+SHIFT+L

This dialog box allows the alignment of objects within the selection.

The objects can be aligned or distributed around either the vertical or horizontal axes. The diagram in the centre of the dialog box shows the effect the changes will have.

The centre setting controls whether the alignment will take place within the bounds of the selection, the page(s) or the spread.

On-line Demonstration


Altering gallery display format
 Alter gallery display format

The way in which information is displayed in some galleries can be altered using the Options button in the gallery.

To alter gallery display format

1. Open the gallery.

2. Click the Options button.

3. Choose the Properties option.

4. Choose the required display format from the display format drop-down list in the Gallery Properties dialog box.

The options available for each of the galleries are shown below.

Colour Gallery Options

Full information (colour swatch, name and 'Not in use')

Name (colour swatch & name only)

Icons only (colour swatch only)

Clipart Gallery Options

Large Icons

Full Information

Small Icons

Bitmap Gallery Options

Full Information

Fill Gallery Options

Large Icons

Full Information

Small Icons

Font Gallery

Large Icons

Full Information

Small Icons

Icons Only

Note

Display options cannot be altered for the Layer Gallery and Line Gallery.

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See also

Reordering gallery items

Reordering gallery sections

Galleries


Always on Top

Always On Top is available from the Document Control Menu.

If Always On Top is selected for a view, it will always remain on top of all other views.

This could be used, for example, to edit one view of a document with a smaller higher Quality view set to always be on top. The edits made in the first, larger view would be reflected in the smaller view which would always be visible.


Anti-Aliasing
Anti-Aliasing improves the quality of on-screen images by inserting extra pixels of calculated colours around the edges of objects on screen. This has the effect of smoothing the edges and of appearing to improve the resolution of the display. Anti-aliasing only occurs when the CorelXARA Quality setting is at its highest level.


Application Control Menu
The Application Control Menu is displayed by clicking the application control button at the top left of the main CorelXARA window or pressing ALT+SPACEBAR. This menu contains application specific controls. e.g. Exit and Maximise.


Applying a bitmap fill
 Apply a bitmap fill

1. Drag-and-drop a bitmap from the Fill Gallery or Bitmap Gallery onto the object. To apply the bitmap fill to an object inside another object, hold down CTRL as the bitmap is dropped.

or

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Double-click the required bitmap in the Fill Gallery or the Bitmap Gallery (CTRL-double-click to close the gallery afterwards).

or

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. In Fill Gallery or Bitmap Gallery select the bitmap to be used as a fill.

3. Click the Fill button in the gallery.

or

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Choose the Fill Tool

3. Choose Bitmap from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Infobar.

4. Choose the Tiling for the bitmap from the Bitmap & Fractal Fill Tiling drop-down list on the Infobar.

5. Choose the Bitmap for the fill using the Bitmap drop-down list on the Infobar.

6. Choose the Resolution for the bitmap using the Bitmap & Fractal Fill Resolution drop-down list on the Infobar.

Note

Applying a bitmap fill from the Fill Gallery imports and adds the bitmap to the Bitmap Gallery.

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See also

Editing bitmap fills


Applying a circular fill
 Apply a circular fill

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Choose the Fill Tool

3. Either

SHIFT-drag from where you want the centre of the fill to where you want the fill to end,

or choose Circular from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Fill Tool Infobar.

A  fill arrow shows you the radius of the fill.

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See also

Editing circular fills


Applying a conical fill
 Apply a conical fill

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Choose the Fill Tool

3. Choose Conical from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Fill Tool Infobar.

A semicircular  fill arrow shows you the angle of the fill.

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See also

Editing conical fills


Applying a fractal fill
 Apply a fractal fill

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Choose the Fill Tool

3. Choose Fractal from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Infobar.

A pair of  fill arrows show you the extent and angle of the fill.

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See also

Editing fractal fills


Applying a linear fill
 Apply a linear fill

1. Select the object(s) to be filled

2. Choose the Fill Tool

3. Drag from where you want the fill to start to where you want the fill to end. During the drag a fill arrow shows you the extent and angle of the linear fill.

Note

If the object already has a (non-linear) fill applied, the above will reapply the current fill type. To explicitly apply a linear fill to the shape you must choose 'Linear' from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Fill Tool Infobar.

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See also

Editing linear fills


Applying a mould
 Apply a mould

To apply a mould

1.  Select the object(s) to be moulded.

2.  Choose the Mould Tool.

3.  Choose the required envelope or perspective mould shape from the Infobar. If a custom envelope or perspective is required, choose the default envelope or perspective mould and edit it after application.

To apply a mould from the clipboard

1. Copy or Cut the shape you wish to use as a mould to the clipboard.

2. Select the object(s) to be moulded.

3. Choose the Mould Tool.

4. Do one of the following :

Click the Paste Envelope Button on the Infobar to use the clipboard contents as an envelope mould.

Click the Paste Perspective Button on the Infobar to use the clipboard contents as a perspective mould.

Note

You can only apply perspective moulds to bitmaps.

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See also

Editing an envelope mould

Editing a perspective mould


Applying an elliptical fill
 Apply an elliptical fill

1 Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Choose the Fill Tool

3. Choose Elliptical from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Fill Tool Infobar.

A pair of  fill arrows show you the extent and angle of the fill.

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See also

Editing an elliptical fill


Applying attributes to text
 Apply attributes to text

Applying Attributes to a Whole Text Object

1. Select the text object (see Selecting and deselecting objects).

2. Apply the required attributes. For example; drag-and-drop a colour from the Colour Line, or a bitmap from the Fill Gallery or a line width from the Line Gallery.

Attributes can also be applied to an unselected text object using drag-and-drop.

To apply text-specific attributes, the Text Tool must be chosen.

Applying Attributes to a Selected Region of Text

1. Choose the Text Tool

2. Select the text region (see Selecting text).

3. Apply the required attributes. (e.g. font, size, colour, bitmap fill).

Note that attributes can be applied to the selected region by dragging and dropping the attribute onto the selected region..

Applying Attributes to Individual Text Characters

1. Select the text character (see Selecting text).

2. Apply the attributes.

It is also possible to apply attributes to a single character by holding CTRL whilst using drag-and-drop.

For example, dragging a fill from the Fill Gallery and dropping it on a character whilst holding down CTRL will apply a bitmap fill to that character rather than the whole text object.

Applying Attributes to the Text Cursor

If attributes are applied when the text cursor is present in a text object, the attributes are applied to the cursor and used for all text typed subsequently. When the text cursor is moved, it takes on the attributes of the character to its left (or right if there is no character to the left).

Text Specific Attributes

The following is a list of all attributes which can be applied to text. They are all available using controls on the Text Tool Infobar.

Font (typeface)

Font Size

Aspect Ratio

Bold

Italic

Left Justification

Centre Justification

Right Justification

Full Justification

Superscript and Subscript

Line Spacing & Tracking

Baseline Shift & Kerning

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See also

Text Tool

Creating New Text

Editing Text

Placing Text Around a Curve

Text Tool Key Shortcuts

Installing a Font


Applying bitmap transparency
 Apply bitmap transparency

To apply a bitmap transparency

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. In the Fill Gallery or the Bitmap Gallery select the bitmap.

3. Click the Transp (Transparency) button in the gallery.

or

1. Select the object to be filled.

2. Right-click on the bitmap to open the gallery pop-up menu.

3. Choose Apply As Transparency.

Selecting a bitmap from the Fill Gallery imports the bitmap and also adds it to the Bitmap Gallery.

For details of how to edit a bitmap transparency, see Editing Bitmap Transparency.

Note

Only greyscale bitmaps can be used for transparency. If necessary, CorelXARA creates a greyscale bitmap from the selected bitmap. This creation can be after a user prompt or automatic - see Ask before making greyscale bitmaps.


Applying circular transparency
 Apply circular transparency

To apply a circular transparency

1. Select the object(s).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Place the mouse pointer over the document and SHIFT-drag. During the drag a transparency arrow shows you the radius of the circular transparency.

For details of how to edit the circular transparency, see Editing Circular Transparency.


Applying conical transparency
 Apply conical transparency

To apply a conical transparency

1. Select the object(s).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose 'Conical' from the Transparency Shape drop-down list on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

4. Place the mouse pointer over the document and drag. During the drag a semicircular transparency arrow shows you the direction of the conical transparency.

For details of how to edit the elliptical transparency, see Editing Conical Transparency.


Applying elliptical transparency
 Apply elliptical transparency

To apply an elliptical transparency

1. Select the object(s).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose 'Elliptical' from the  on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

4. Place the mouse pointer over the document and drag. During the drag a pair of transparency arrows show you the angle and size of the elliptical transparency.

For details of how to edit the elliptical transparency, see Editing Elliptical Transparency.


Applying fills
 Apply fills

The Fill Tool can be used to apply a linear fill, circular fill, conical fill, conical fill, bitmap fill or fractal fill to any text, shape or QuickShape object.

Applying linear fills

Applying circular fills

Applying elliptical fills

Applying conical fills

Applying bitmap fills

Applying fractal fills

On-line Demonstrations

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See also

Editing fills


Applying flat transparency
 Apply flat transparency

To apply flat transparency

1. Select the object(s).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Flat from the Transparency Shape drop-down list on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

For details of how to edit the flat transparency, see Editing Flat Transparency.

Note

Applying flat transparency to an object with an outline (or a line) will also apply the transparency to the line. To remove the line transparency, change the object's line colour (and back again if necessary).


Applying fractal transparency
 Apply fractal transparency

To apply fractal transparency

1. Select the object(s) to be filled.

2. Choose the Fill Tool.

3. Choose Fractal from the Fill Type drop-down list on the Infobar.

For details of how to edit a fractal transparency, see Editing Fractal Transparency.


Applying linear transparency
 Apply linear transparency

To apply a linear transparency

1. Select the object(s).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Place the mouse pointer over the document and drag. During the drag a transparency arrow shows you the angle and extent of the linear transparency .

For details of how to edit the linear transparency, see Editing Linear Transparency.

Note

If the object already has transparency applied, the above will reapply the current transparency type. To explicitly apply a linear fill to the shape you must choose 'Linear' from the Transparency Shape drop-down list on the Transparency Tool Infobar.


Applying transparency
 Apply transparency

The Transparency Tool can be used to apply a flat transparency, linear transparency, circular transparency, elliptical transparency, conical transparency, bitmap transparency or fractal transparency to any object.

Applying Flat Transparency

Applying Linear Transparency

Applying Circular Transparency

Applying Elliptical Transparency

Applying Conical Transparency

Applying Bitmap Transparency

Applying Fractal Transparency

On-line Demonstrations

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See also

Transparency Tool

Removing transparency


Are you sure you want to install or deinstall this font?

Cause

This message is displayed when you install or de-install a font.

Recommended action

Click the Install button to install the font or de-install to de-install the font.

Click the Cancel button to abort the operation.

Note

De-installing a font removes it from your system. The font cannot be recovered unless you have another copy.


Arrange Control Bar

Bring to Front

Put to Back

Move Forwards

Move Backwards

Move to Layer in Front

Move to Layer Behind

Group

Ungroup

Alignment

Convert to Editable Shapes

Join Shapes

Break Shapes

Add Shapes

Subtract Shapes

Intersect Shapes

Slice (cut) Shapes

Fit Text to Curve

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See also

Default Control Bars


Arrange Icons (Window Menu)

Arrange Icons arranges the icons of all minimised documents at the bottom left-hand corner of the main CorelXARA window.


Arrange Menu

Move to Layer in Front

Bring to Front

Move Forwards

Move Backwards

Put to Back

Move to Layer Behind

Group

Ungroup

Alignment

Join Shapes

Break Shapes

Combine Shapes

Convert to Editable Shapes

Create Bitmap Copy

Fit Text to Curve

Note

When a text object is selected which has been fitted to a curve, the bottom item on the Arrange menu reads Remove Text From Curve.


Arrange Views (Window Menu)

Arrange Views tiles all the open document views to fill the main CorelXARA window.


ArtWorks
ArtWorks is a vector drawing software package developed by Computer Concepts Ltd in the UK. ArtWorks runs on Acorn RISC machines.


Attribute
Attributes are properties that you can apply to objects to affect the way they look and behave. The most familiar attributes are colours. When you click on a colour in the Colour Line you are actually applying a fill colour attribute to the selected objects.

In CorelXARA all attributes can be applied to all types of object. However, some objects simply don't use some attributes. For instance, you can apply a Font attribute to a line but because the line doesn't need to know anything about fonts nothing visible will change. Applying a Font attribute to a Group will not change any objects in the group that don't use fonts but if there's any text in the group then it will use the new Font attribute.

The transparent fills that you create using the Transparency Tool are attributes in the same way as normal fills created by the Fill Tool.

When you make a new object, e.g. by drawing a line or typing some text, CorelXARA has to decide what attributes to give that object, otherwise it would be invisible because it would have no colour, no font, etc. These attributes are called the Current Attributes. For example, if the current line colour attribute is red, all new lines you draw will have a red outline. The General Options allow you to control how the current attributes are set.


Background Redraw
When the Background Redraw option is selected (see View Options), CorelXARA will render documents in background mode. In background mode the drawing is rendered in time slices and the results of this made visible in the window about every half second. The advantage of using background redraw is that you can continue to edit the drawing whilst it is being redrawn, but it is a little slower than normal redraw.


Bars (Window Menu)

The Bars submenu of the Window menu controls the enabling/disabling of the Colour Line, Status Line, Scrollbars and Rulers. The submenu offers the following :

Colour Line

Status Line

Scrollbars

Rulers


Bevelled Join
Bevelled Join is one of the options available for line and shape corners:

Use the Line Gallery to choose a join style.


Bezier
Bezier curves are referred to In CorelXARA as 'curved lines'. The handles (or control points) used to alter the shape of a 'bezier' curve are called curve edit handles. The actual movable points on the line are referred to as point handles.


Bitmap
A Bitmap is a picture composed, of small 'dots' called pixels. Bitmaps are exported from programs such as Microsoft Paintbrush, CorelPaint and Photoshop or taken from scanners or PhotoCD's. CorelXARA can import and export all common bitmap formats.


 Bitmap Effects (Utilities Menu)

The bitmap effects dialog box can be used to manipulate bitmaps in a variety of ways. Each section of the dialog box contains a different set of options. The original bitmap is always shown in the panel on the left, and the proposed result on the panel on the right

When opened, the dialog box shows, on the left-hand side :

If you opened this dialog box from the Bitmap Gallery, the bitmap you selected in the Gallery.

The currently selected bitmap.

The default bitmap if no bitmap is currently selected.

A different original bitmap may be chosen from the drop-down list.

Test

To see the result of applying the bitmap effect, click the test button. When using the brightness and contrast tab, the display is interactive and you need not use this button

Insert

This button inserts the altered bitmap (displayed on the right-hand side) into the selected document. The altered bitmap also appears in the Bitmap Gallery as a new bitmap. The original bitmap is unchanged.

Close

This button closes the Bitmap Effects dialog box.

The operations which can be performed on bitmaps using the different sections in this dialog box are :

Brightness & Contrast

Colour Depth

Flip & Rotate

Resize

Special Effects

On-line Demonstration

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See also

Bitmap Tracer


Bitmap Effects - Brightness & Contrast

The Brightness & Contrast section of the Bitmap Effects dialog box provides basic brightness, contrast and colour (saturation) controls similar to those on a domestic television.

The results of changes using the sliders will be shown instantly in the preview on the right-hand side of the dialog box. There is no need to use the Test button.


Bitmap Effects - Colour Depth

The Colour Depth section of the Bitmap Effects dialog box allows the number of colours in a bitmap to be altered.

Bitmaps can converted to be :

Monochrome (2 colours)

Greyscale (256 shades of grey)

16 colours

256 colours

Increasing the number of colours in a bitmap will not increase its quality and will use more memory. Reducing the number of colours will use less memory, but the quality of the bitmap may be reduced. As a change in the number of colours of a bitmap creates a new bitmap, the original (unchanged) image has to be deleted before the memory is freed - see Bitmap Gallery.

Monochrome

These convert the bitmap to black-and-white. They can produce moire (interference) patterns. Therefore only use these where really necessary. They are not needed for printing to monochrome printers as CorelXARA automatically screens images.

The three monochrome operations are simply different conversion methods. Diffusion will generally give the best quality output.

Greyscale

This is useful for converting coloured images to shades of grey. Images processed in this way can have their palette altered to produce bitmaps which pass between any two colours, not just from black to white. See Editing Bitmaps.

16 Colour

These produce 16 colour bitmaps. Diffusion will generally give the best quality results.

256 Colour

These produce 256 colour bitmaps. Median will give the best colour balance, but Popularity produces higher quality dithering in the resultant image.


Bitmap Effects - Flip & Rotate

The Flip and Rotate section of the Bitmap Effects dialog box can be used to flip and rotate bitmaps by multiples of 90 degrees. Although the Selector Tool can rotate and flip objects (see Flipping Objects and Rotating Objects), these operations create new bitmaps with a rotated or flipped image.

The two flip operations flip the bitmap about its vertical or horizontal axis.


Bitmap Effects - Resize

The Resize section of the Bitmap Effects dialog box provides facilities to alter the size (resolution) of a bitmap.

In most cases it is easier to use the Selector Tool to resize objects (see Scaling Objects). However in some cases you may need to alter the actual bitmap. (For example, to reduce the memory needed.)

Lock Aspect Ratio

If the Lock Aspect Ratio option is set, only one of the values for the new size of the bitmap need be entered as the aspect ratio of the original bitmap is retained. De-selecting this makes it possible to stretch and squash the bitmap.

Linear Interpolation

It is recommended that Linear Interpolation is left selected as it will result in a much smoother end result. If it is de-selected the resulting bitmap is likely to be 'chunky'.


Bitmap Effects - Special Effects

The Special Effects section of the Bitmap Effects dialog box provides various effects that can be applied to bitmaps.

The effects provided are :

Custom

Isolate Points

Edge Detection

Laplacian

Dilation

Robert's Cross

Sharpen

Blur


Bitmap Export

CorelXARA can create bitmaps from the selected document and export them in a variety of different formats :

Exporting JPEG (JPG) files

Exporting CompuServe GIF files

Exporting Windows Bitmap (BMP) files

Exporting TIFF (TIF) files

Exporting Multi-page PCX (DCX) files

Exporting PaintBrush (PCX) files

Exporting Macintosh PICT (PCT) files

Exporting Sun Raster (RAS) files

Exporting TrueVision TARGA (TGA) files

Exporting WordPerfect Group (WPG) files

Exporting Animated GIF files

Tip

Remember CorelXARA includes a pixel unit. If you need to produce a bitmap of a specific size, you may want to set the Page Units (see Unit Options) and the grid and ruler units (see Grid & Ruler Options) to use this unit.

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See also

Supported File Formats


Bitmap Export - Animated GIF

CorelXARA can export animated GIF files which contain several separate images rather than just one. Programs which support this type of file show each image one after the other with a set time delay between each. This means you can create animations using CorelXARA. Most World Wide Web browsers (Netscape Navigator Version 2 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3) support animated GIFs, so using CorelXARA it is very easy to create animations for your WWW pages. Remember, as CorelXARA displays images at a very high quality and has a wide range of dithering and palette options, your animations will look great!

Creating Animated GIF Files

To create an animated GIF file you draw each frame and create a bitmap for each. When you have all the bitmaps in the Bitmap Gallery, you can drag them around so the are in the correct order and then create the animated GIF file.

To Create the Bitmaps

1. Draw what you want to appear in the first frame.

2. Select the objects in the drawing.

3. From the Arrange menu, choose Create Bitmap Copy. This creates a bitmap of the objects and places it in the Bitmap Gallery, it also places the bitmap on the page in the document (do not delete this) (for more information on Create Bitmap Copy, see Create Bitmap Copy).

4. Change the drawing to how you want it in the next frame.

5. Use Create Bitmap Copy again to create the next frame.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have built up the sequence of frames in the Bitmap Gallery.

7. Drag the frames in the Bitmap Gallery to place them in the right order.

To Create the Animated GIF File

1. In the Bitmap Gallery, select all the bitmaps you want in the animation. The easiest way to do this is to click on the first and SHIFT-click on the last (you can select or deselect individual bitmaps by CTRL-clicking).

2. In the Gallery, click the Save button to open the Export dialogue box.

3. When you have entered the filename and destination, click Save. This will open the Animated GIF Export dialogue box

4. The dialogue box contains all the normal GIF export options (see Bitmap Export - GIF) and also special options for the animation (described below). In the dialogue box, set the options, alter the width and height if you want (all the frames will be stretched to fit)

5. Click Export to create the file.

Animation Options

Delay

This sets the time delay between frames in the animation. The units are hundredths of a second, so if you want a delay of a second between each frame, enter a value of 100. Remember that many browsers display the frames quite slowly and may not be able to keep up with the value you set.

Restore

This option sets what happens after each frame has been displayed. Nothing means no action is taken, though many WWW browsers take this as meaning the same as the Background option. Leave As Is displays the frames one on top of another - this leaves many frames visible in a stack if some are transparent. Background restores the area covered by the graphic to the background colour of the GIF (except where the frame is transparent). Restore Previous restores the area covered by the frame to what it was before the frame was displayed.

Note that the way browsers interpret these values can vary, you may need to experiment to achieve the desired result.

Loop

This value defines the number of times the animation will repeat. If you enter a value of zero, the animation will loop continuously.

Tips

To ensure all your frames are the same size, draw a rectangle around the edge of all the frames and set its line colour and fill colour to 'no colour'. When you create a bitmap from the objects, ensure this rectangle is selected.

Remember that as your GIF file has several pictures in it, it may be larger than normal. To make the file smaller, use less frames or smaller frames.

The easiest way to preview your animated GIF is to drag-and-drop the file onto a WWW browser.

If you experience problems with the edges of objects in the frames being misaligned (you might see objects in slightly different positions between frames), set the page units to Pixels (see Unit Options) and turn on Grid Locking (see Snap to Grid). This will ensure all your objects are aligned to individual pixel edges.

Remember some programs do not support animated GIFs. Netscape 2 and Internet Explorer 2 do support them.

If you delete any bitmaps from the Bitmap Gallery, remember that all the unused bitmaps will be deleted as well as the one you selected (all the bitmaps that do not appear on the page in the document).

Loading Animated GIF Files

If you import or open an animated GIF file, all the frames are imported and placed on the page on top of each other. Note that the frames will appear in the Bitmap Gallery in the animation sequence (the first bitmap is the highest in the gallery).


Bitmap Export - Compuserve GIF

The GIF export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting GIF as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap. In addition CorelXARA also allows GIF files to contain simple transparency and interlacing - two facilities of GIF files used extensively on the World Wide Web. Remember you can also create animated GIF files using CorelXARA, see Bitmap Export - Animated GIF.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the bitmap is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in GIF files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

8	256 colours

4	16 colours

1	2 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

GIF Export Type - Interlacing

If interlacing is enabled the GIF file produced will be interlaced.

GIF Export Type - Transparency

If transparency is enabled the bitmap will be 'transparent' in all areas not covered by a selected object. If the selection has been chosen then this will be only the visible and selected objects. This makes it easy to remove the white background from exported pictures and makes them ideal for publication on the World Wide Web. (see Creating World Wide Web bitmaps).

If the Quality setting is high (i.e. anti-aliasing is turned on) the edges of the drawing will be anti-aliased with whatever is behind it (as normal). Normally the anti-aliasing will be to the paper colour of white.

When transparency is enabled, the selected items are used to determine what is going to be transparent in the GIF, but all objects are rendered. This makes it simple to create bitmaps which anti-alias to the background they will eventually be on, by placing that background behind the drawing in CorelXARA. Then when the bitmap is exported ensure that the background is not selected but the drawing is and that the selection option is used. One easy way of doing this is to put the background in another layer and make this layer not selectable.

Note that if you create a transparent GIF file, one of the palette colours is used as the transparency. This means (for example) that a 2 colour GIF contains one colour and transparency.

Note that GIF transparency has a different meaning to CorelXARA transparency. This process does not take into account any CorelXARA transparency applied to objects in the document.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results, but remember to only use dithering when really necessary as it prevents the file compression working so well and so makes files larger.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences you have chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - JPEG (JPG)

The JPEG export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting JPEG as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the 'quality' of the final bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

The size of the exported bitmap can be set in two ways :

Resolution	Type the resolution into the DPI field or select a value from the drop down menu. The Width and Height are calculated from this to ensure the aspect ratio of the area being exported is fixed.

Size	Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Quality

This setting is specific to JPEG output. A low setting will result in a small file with a loss in quality whereas a high value will give only slight file size reduction, but high quality. Note that a setting of 100% will still compress the file.

As an example, a setting of 75% will give good compression without causing a noticeable loss in quality for most uses.

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

JPEG files do not have palettes, these options are greyed.

Dithering

JPEG files cannot be dithered, these options are greyed.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences you have chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - Macintosh PICT (PCT)

The PICT export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting PICT as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in PICT files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - Multi-page PCX (DCX)

The DCX export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting DCX as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in DCX files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - PaintBrush (PCX)

The PCX export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting PCX as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in PCX files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - Sun Raster (RAS)

The Sun Raster export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting RAS as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in RAS files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - TIFF (TIF)

The TIFF export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting TIFF as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported, the number of colours in the bitmap and the bitmap compression.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

The size of the exported bitmap can be set in two ways :

Resolution	Type the resolution into the DPI field or select a value from the drop down list. The Width and Height are calculated from this to ensure the aspect ratio of the area being exported is fixed.

Size	Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

4	16 colours

1	2 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Compression

TIFF files can be exported from CorelXARA in a compressed form. The compression types available are :

24bpp	None, LZW.

8bpp	None, LZW.

4bpp	None, LZW.

1bpp	None, LZW, Huffman, Group 3 Fax, Group 4 Fax, Packbits.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results, but remember to only use dithering when really necessary as it prevents the file compression working so well and so makes files larger.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences you have set.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - TrueVision TARGA (TGA)

The TARGA export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting TrueVision TARGA as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in TARGA files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - Windows Bitmap (BMP)

The BMP export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting BMP as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

The size of the exported bitmap can be set in two ways :

Resolution	Type the resolution into the DPI field or select a value from the drop down list. The Width and Height are calculated from this to ensure the aspect ratio of the area being exported is fixed.

Size	Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

32	Millions of colours (not currently widely supported)

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

4	16 colours

1	2 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Compression

16 colour (4bpp) and 256 colour (8bpp) BMP files can be exported from CorelXARA in a compressed form. There are two types of compression available :

RLE	Run length encoding compression.

RGB	No compression.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences you have chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Export - WordPerfect Group (WPG)

The WPG export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting WPG as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colours in the bitmap.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current CorelXARA Quality setting is used for the bitmap. E.g. if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

Bitmap Size

Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Resolution information is not stored in WPG files, so the resolution field is dimmed.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

8	256 colours

4	16 colours

1	2 colours

Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Spread	The whole page, or both pages for a double page spread.

The Drawing	The area covered by objects.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.

Palette

You can use these options to choose between the standard document palette and an optimised palette

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Export

Clicking the Export button will create the bitmap named in the Export dialog box using the preferences chosen.

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See also

Bitmap Export


Bitmap Fill
A Bitmap Fill allows you to fill shapes with a bitmap. The bitmap can be tiled (repeated) to fill the object(s).


Bitmap Gallery
 Bitmap Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F11

The Bitmap Gallery shows all the bitmap objects that are currently being used in each of the loaded documents. It is used to view, insert, delete, and apply bitmaps as fills or transparency. It can also be used to choose bitmaps for use with other CorelXARA features such as the Tracer and Bitmaps effects controls. The gallery is divided into sections, one for each document currently open.

Insert	Insert the bitmap into the selected document.

Fill	Apply the bitmap as a bitmap fill to the selection.

Transp	Apply the bitmap as a bitmap transparency to the selection.

Delete	Delete the bitmap from the document.

Trace	Open the Bitmap Tracer to trace the bitmap.

Effects	Apply Bitmap Effects to the bitmap.

Options	Bitmap Gallery options.

Save	Save the bitmap.

Many operations using the Bitmap Gallery are made easier by the Bitmap Gallery pop-up menu.

Note

If a bitmap is deleted from a document it will remain in the Bitmap Gallery until the document is closed or saved; to remove it from the gallery, select it and click the Delete button.

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See also

Selecting items in a gallery

Galleries


 Bitmap Gallery (Utilities Menu)

  F11

The Bitmap Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Bitmap Gallery button open the Bitmap Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Bitmap Gallery - Delete Button

The Delete button in the Bitmap Gallery deletes the bitmaps, selected in the gallery, from the document. This operation cannot be undone, though Delete is generally unnecessary as unused bitmaps are automatically deleted when the document is closed or saved.

You can also delete a bitmap using the pop-up menu.


Bitmap Gallery - Effects Button

The Effects button in the Bitmap Gallery opens the Bitmap Effects dialog box ready to edit the bitmap selected in the gallery.

To apply effects to a bitmap quickly, right-click on it in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Effects.


Bitmap Gallery - Fill Button

The Fill button in the Bitmap Gallery applies the bitmap selected in the gallery as a bitmap fill to the selected objects. If no objects are currently selected, the current fill attributes are set to use this bitmap as a fill. i.e. all objects drawn from then on will be filled with the bitmap.

You can also drag-and-drop the bitmap onto an object to apply it as a bitmap fill (CTRL-drag to apply inside) , double-click it to apply it to the selection (CTRL-double-clicking closes the gallery afterwards) or right-click on the bitmap in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Apply As A Fill.

For details of editing the bitmap fill afterwards, see Editing a bitmap fill.


Bitmap Gallery - Insert Button

The Insert button in the Bitmap Gallery inserts the currently selected bitmap(s) into the selected document. Any bitmap in the gallery can be inserted into the selected document, even from other sections of the gallery. i.e. this button can be used to copy bitmaps between documents.

You can also drag-and-drop the bitmap onto a blank part of the page to insert it or open the pop-up menu over the bitmap and choose Insert. Note that if you drop the bitmap onto an object it will be applied as a bitmap fill - drop it on a blank area of the page to insert it.


Bitmap Gallery - Options Button

The Options button in the Bitmap Gallery opens a menu containing the single option, Find. Choosing this option allows you to search the Bitmap Gallery using the Gallery Find dialog box.

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See also

Searching a gallery


Bitmap Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Bitmap Gallery opens a pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Insert	Identical to the Insert Button.

Apply as a Fill	Identical to the Fill Button.

Apply as Transparency	Identical to the Transparency Button.

Delete	Identical to the Delete Button.

Save	Identical to the Save Button.

Trace	Identical to the Trace Button.

Effects	Identical to the Effects Button.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Right-clicking on a bitmap in the gallery will select it, so opening the pop-up menu over a bitmap allows you to operate on it directly.


Bitmap Gallery - Save Button

The Save button in the Bitmap Gallery opens the Export dialog box so you can save the selected bitmap in any of the supported bitmap export formats (see Supported file formats). Note that you will not be able to alter the size (resolution) or colour depth (number of colours) of the bitmap when you export it.

To save a bitmap more quickly, right-click on it to open the pop-up menu (this also selects the bitmap) and choose Save.


Bitmap Gallery - Trace Button

The Trace button in the Bitmap Gallery opens the Bitmap Tracer dialog box ready to trace the bitmap selected in the gallery. The tracing process converts a bitmap to a set of shapes.

To trace a bitmap quickly, right-click on it to open the pop-up menu (this also selects the bitmap) and select Trace.


Bitmap Gallery - Transparency Button

The Transparency button in the Bitmap Gallery applies the bitmap selected in the gallery as a bitmap transparency to the selection. If no objects are currently selected, the current transparency attribute is set. i.e. all objects drawn will have the bitmap applied as a bitmap transparency. For details of editing the bitmap transparency, see Editing bitmap transparency.

You can also apply a bitmap as transparency by opening the pop-up menu. over the bitmap (this also selects it) and choosing Apply as Transparency.


 Bitmap Tracer (Utilities Menu)

The Bitmap Tracer dialog box allows you to convert a bitmap image into a set of shapes. The tracer would typically be used to trace two types of artwork, photographs and line art (e.g. a logo).

For help with the tuning of the Bitmap Tracer parameters, see Bitmap Tracer Troubleshooting.

When opened, the tracer dialog box shows:

If you clicked the Trace button in the Bitmap Gallery, the bitmap you selected in the Bitmap Gallery,

The currently selected bitmap (if any),

The default bitmap if neither of the above.

The bitmap to be traced can be changed using the drop-down list.

It is recommended that the default settings are used for the first trace of an image and the values changed to achieve the desired result.

For more about the Tracer dialog box :

Bitmap Tracer buttons

Bitmap Tracer parameters

On-line Demonstration


Bitmap Tracer Troubleshooting

If you are having problems getting the desired results from the Bitmap Tracer, see Fine-tuning the bitmap tracer.


Bitmap Tracer buttons

Insert

This button inserts the current tracer output into the current document. This button is dimmed if you have not yet traced the bitmap.

Close

This button closes the tracer dialog box.

Trace

This button starts the tracer. A trace can be stopped at any time by pressing ESC (Escape).

Reset Settings

This button restores the settings to those saved using the Save Settings button.

Save Settings

This button saves the current tracer settings. The saved settings will be used the next time the tracer is opened. The settings are saved between CorelXARA sessions.

The settings are saved separately for each colour 'mode'. i.e. the monochrome mode tracing settings are separate from those saved for the True Colour mode and so on.

Defaults

This button restores the tracer settings to the 'factory default'.

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See also

Bitmap Tracer parameters


Bitmap Tracer parameters

Trace Mode

This drop-down list lets you specify the maximum number of colours in the final object. The colour depths available are :

Monochrome	 - 2 colours

Greyscale	 - 256 shades of grey

256 colour	 - 256 colours

Photographic	 - 16 million (24 bit) colours

Selecting more colours than exist in the original bitmap wastes memory and is not recommended. The only time increasing the colours is useful is when tracing a heavily dithered 256 colour bitmap and you want near-photographic quality.

Each of these modes has its own set of parameters which are all saved using the Save Settings button.

Passes

The greater the number of passes, the longer the trace operation takes, the greater the resultant file size, but the final result is closer to the original bitmap.

With each pass the tracer attempts to more closely match any shading in the original bitmap. Obviously this increases the memory required for the final object. You may require an object with minimum shading and just broad areas of colour. Use one pass for such bitmaps.

If you require the shading to be represented accurately, use multiple passes.

Remove Noise

Noise is very common in bitmaps. It can occur because of random interference or possibly through techniques such as dithering.

When tracing bitmaps containing noise, you should set Remove Noise to a high setting. This control removes noise by ignoring very small areas of colour.

Minimum Area

Areas smaller than the size (in pixels) set in Minimum area are ignored by the tracer. An example of its use would be a photo containing large amounts of fine details (e.g. grass).

Initial Colour Tolerance

Colour tolerance is how great a colour change is required before the tracer considers two areas to be a different colour.

This setting is used for the first of multiple passes. It is similar to the broad brush strokes used to create the underlying colours on a conventional painting.

As a trace proceeds, the colour tolerance is reduced from the initial value to the final value, so the initial value must be the larger.

For a trace using only a single pass this value is ignored - see Final Colour Tolerance.

Final Colour Tolerance

Colour tolerance is how great a colour change is required before the tracer considers two areas to be a different colour.

This setting is used for the final pass. It is similar to merging the edges of colour transitions to simulate shading.

As a trace proceeds, the colour tolerance is reduced from the initial value to the final value, so the initial value must be the larger.

For a trace using only a single pass only this value is used - Initial Colour Tolerance is ignored.

Accuracy

This controls how accurately the tracer follows the outlines of the original bitmap. The more accurately it traces the outlines, the more control handles are required on each shape and hence more memory is required for the final object.

This setting does not affect the corners of shapes, only smooth curves.

Smoothing

This controls how accurately corners (sharp changes in direction) are traced. Increasing the smoothing takes longer to trace the image, but can reduce the final object size.

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See also

Bitmap Tracer buttons


Bitmap Transparency
Bitmap Transparency is a type of transparency where the degree of transparency of the objects it is applied to is set by a bitmap. Usually, the lighter colours in the bitmap are the more transparent (You can alter the amount of transparency by selecting one of the Transparency handles and then dragging the Transparency slider). Bitmap transparency is particularly useful for semi-transparent patterning or creating effects such as feathering.

A bitmap must be greyscale to be used for bitmap transparency, but if a non-greyscale bitmap is applied it will automatically be converted to greyscale beforehand.


Bitmap is being used within a document

Cause

You have attempted to delete a bitmap in the Bitmap Gallery that is currently being used within a loaded document.

Recommended action

Choose Delete to delete the bitmap from the gallery.  The bitmap is replaced in the document by the default bitmap.

Choose Cancel to keep the bitmap in the gallery.


Bleach (Transparency Type)
Bleach is one of the three types of transparency supported by CorelXARA; mix, stained glass and bleach. Bleach transparency has no clear analogy in the physical world. All other colours are bleached out leaving only the colours of the selected object. It is most effective when used over dark colours. It is most useful for highlights when the light source is not white.

Technically, the process is additive, progressing towards unsaturated colours.

0% bleach transparency	Adds the selected object's colour to the colour of objects under it.

100% bleach transparency	Completely transparent.


Blend
A Blend is a compound object made by progressively changing one object into another.

A blend object consists of two or more objects, between which are a number of intermediate steps in the change from one end object to the other. You can control the number of intermediate steps.

In CorelXARA the in-between steps are created as they are needed - they do not take up memory space in the document.

Blends can be used to create complex highlights, blurred edges on objects, repetitive patterns and many other effects.

In many ways a blend behaves like a group; it can be moved and copied like a group and you can use select-inside to select the end objects and edit them while they are inside the blend.


Blend Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a blend, it contains the following options:

Blend Tool

- - - - - - - - - -

Remove Blend

1 to 1 node mapping

Anti-alias blend steps

- - - - - - - - - -

Cut

Copy

Paste

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete

Duplicate

Clone

- - - - - - - - - -

Convert to Editable Shapes

Create Bitmap Copy

Combine Shapes

- - - - - - - - - -

Colour Editor


  Blend Tool

The Blend Tool is used to blend between objects by creating several intermediate shapes.

The Blend Tool can also be chosen using the Blend Pop-up Menu.

F7

Blend Tool Infobar Controls

Number of Steps

Remove

One to One

Anti-alias

Effect

Blend Tool Operations

Blending objects

Removing a blend

Creating advanced blends

On-line Demonstrations

Note

Objects used in blends can be edited without removing the blend first. See Selecting objects inside objects.

You can blend between any type of objects.


 Blend Tool - Anti-alias Button

The Anti-alias button on the Blend Tool Infobar sets whether the intermediate shapes in the currently selected blends are anti-aliased.

Anti-aliasing of intermediate objects is often unnecessary and slows down screen redraws.

An anti-alias setting of a blend can be altered without choosing the Blend Tool using Anti-alias Blend Steps on the Blend Pop-up Menu.


 Blend Tool - Effect Field

The Effect field on the Blend Tool Infobar provides control of the way the colours in the currently selected blend(s) change through the blend.

Fade

With the Fade Effect, the colours fade simply from the colours of one object to the next.

Rainbow

With the Rainbow Effect, the colours in the blend change by following the shortest edge of the HSV colour wheel.

For example, a blend from a yellow shape to a cyan shape passes through green.

Alternate Rainbow

The Alternate Rainbow Effect acts in the same way as the Rainbow Effect except the colours follow the longest edge of the HSV colour wheel.

For example a blend from a yellow shape to a cyan shape passes through red, magenta and blue.


 Blend Tool - Number of Steps Field

The Number of Steps field on the Blend Tool Infobar sets the number of blend steps used in the currently selected blend(s). To change the number of steps, enter a new value and press RETURN.


 Blend Tool - One to One Button

The One-to-one setting on the Blend Tool Infobar only has an effect when both objects in the selected blend have the same number of point handles (if the objects are not shapes, the number of point handles they would have if there were converted must be the same).

When the one-to-one preference is not set, CorelXARA will add or removes points, as necessary, to blend one shape to another. When blending shapes with the same number of handles, this can produce unwanted effects. Selecting this button ensures that no points are added or removed during the blend.

     1-1 Mapping      No 1-1 Mapping (points added)

The blend mapping can be altered without choosing the Blend Tool using the 1-1 Node Mapping option on the Blend Pop-up Menu.


 Blend Tool - Remove Button

The Remove button on the Blend Tool Infobar removes any applied blends from the selection.

A blend can be be removed without choosing the Blend Tool using Remove Blend on the Blend Pop-up Menu.

Note

Objects used in blends can be edited without removing the blend first. See Selecting objects inside objects.


Blending objects
 Blend objects

Simple Blending

1. Choose the Blend Tool

2. Place the pointer over the first object.

3. Drag to and release over the second object.

Anti-aliasing

If anti-aliasing is enabled (see Blend Tool - Anti-alias Button) each individual step of the blend will be anti-aliased.

If the blend is a dense one, it may be useful to turn off the anti-aliasing as it will speed redraw but make little difference to the quality of the rendered object.

One to One Mapping

The intermediate objects produced when blending between objects with the same number of points may not be the shape you want. The One to One Node Mapping Button on the Blend Tool Infobar provides less shape distortion in the intermediate objects when blending between objects with the same number of points.

Multi-stage Blending

1. Choose the Blend Tool.

2. Create a blend object as described above.

3. Drag from the blend to another object.

This will create a multi-stage blend between all three objects. Blending a blend object with another will create a multi-stage blend.

Blending Between Points

It is possible to specify the way the Blend Tool blends the shapes.

1. Select the objects with the Selector Tool (with edit handles enabled).

2. Choose the Blend Tool.

3. Drag from a specific point on the first shape to a specific point on the second. The mouse pointer shows a tick when it is over the second point.

Note that blending between different points produces different effects.

Blend Steps

1. Select the blend object.

2. Choose the Blend Tool.

3. Type the required number of blend steps into the edit field (see Blend Tool - Number of Steps Field) and press RETURN.

On-line Demonstration

Note

Blending objects in different layers moves the objects into the same layer.

If you blend between two bitmaps the blend will show the first bitmap for all steps except the last (see Morphing bitmaps).

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See also

Creating advanced blends

Removing a blend


Blur (Bitmap Effect)
The Blur (Bitmap Effect) process is the the opposite of Sharpen. It makes the boundaries between colours in a bitmap less obvious. This is useful in reducing noise and patterning. The Bitmap Effects dialog box offers three settings for Blur; Low, Medium and High - the value can then be set more accurately using the slider in the dialog box.


Bounding Box
The Bounding Box of an object is an imaginary box enclosing the whole object.


 Break Shapes (Arrange Menu)

Break Shapes splits any selected shapes previously joined with the Join Shapes option into their individual component shapes.

On-line Demonstration


Breaking lines and shapes apart
 Break lines and shapes apart

You sometimes want to break a line into two separate lines or break a shape (a closed object) to create an open object.

1. Select the line(s) or shape(s) (see Selecting and deselecting objects).

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

3. Select the point handle(s) to be broken.

4. Click on the Break Button on the Infobar.


 Bring to Front (Arrange Menu)

  CTRL+F

Moves every object in the selection to the front of the layer it is on.

On-line Demonstration


Butt Cap
Butt Caps are a type of ending which can be applied to lines. There are three types of 'cap' :

Butt Cap           Round Cap        Square Cap

The line cap style is applied using the Line Gallery.


Button Palette Control Bar

The Button Palette is a special control bar in CorelXARA which contains a copy of every button available. When a new, blank bar is created you can ALT-drag buttons from the button palette onto the new bar. The button palette cannot be deleted and buttons cannot be deleted from it.

See Control Bars dialog box for details on opening the button palette.

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See also

Default Control Bars

Moving & copying buttons

Creating & deleting control bars


Buttons are not being drawn correctly

Problem

Buttons in CorelXARA are being drawn incorrectly,

Cause

This may be due to a problem with your video drivers. In some cases the video drivers for some S3 chip set based cards can conflict with Win32s.

Recommended Action

Obtain a video driver update from your video card supplier.


CMYK
The CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black) ) colour model is used by commercial printers. CMY and K are the four inks used in full-colour printing. The Key colour is used to reinforce dark colours which would appear 'muddy' if printed using only C, M and Y. If the Key is set to 100%, the colour will appear black irrespective of the settings of C, M and Y. CMYK colours are stored in 32-bit format. They are printed (and output in EPS) in CMYK format unless the document uses transparency when they are converted to RGB.


Can't close file
Cannot close file

Cause

If the file is on a floppy disk, the disk may have been removed from the drive.

If the file is on a hard disk, the disk structure may be corrupt.

Recommended action

If the file is on a floppy disk, check the disk is correctly inserted in the drive.

If the file is on a hard disk, run your disk diagnostic utilities to check for a corrupted disk structure.


Can't create file
Cannot create file

Cause

CorelXARA tried unsuccessfully to create a new file.  This may be because:

The specified disk is full.

The specified drive is read-only. (For example, a CD-ROM drive.)

A file of that name already exists and is read-only.

You do not have write permission for the specified directory.

Recommended action

Check that the disk is not full - if it is, then choose another disk or delete some unwanted files from it.

Choose another name for the file, or another disk or directory.

Ask your system administrator to change your access permissions.


Cannot read or write your initialisation file

Cause

The initialisation file, CORELXRA.INI, has been moved, deleted, or corrupted.

Recommended action

CORELXRA.INI should be in your Windows directory.  If it has been moved to another directory,  close CorelXARA and copy CORELXRA.INI into the Windows directory. Then rerun CorelXARA.

If CORELXRA.INI has not been moved, then it may be corrupted.  Close CorelXARA and delete the CORELXRA.INI file. Then rerun CorelXARA.  This creates a new initialisation file with default settings.


Cascade (Window Menu)

Cascade shows all the open document views stacked on top of each other along a diagonal line.


Change the print method using the INI file

You should only attempt the following suggestion if you're an advanced user familiar with the concepts of manually editing configuration and initialisation files.

There are some hidden INI file settings which simplify the way in which CorelXARA prints (this only applies to Normal and PostScript printing).

1. Quit CorelXARA if it's running.

2. Start Notepad.

3. Open the file C:\Windows\CORELXRA.INI (replace C:\Windows with the path to your Windows/95/NT installation)

4. Find the line, "PrintMaskType=2".

5. Retype it as, "PrintMaskType=1" to simplify printing somewhat or "PrintWithMask=0" to simplify printing as much as possible.

6. Save the file.

7. Restart CorelXARA.

New document design rule:

With either form of simplified printing the transparent objects and other objects around them will be printed using a single bitmap. This sometimes means that objects which you would prefer to be printed at the best possible resolution get printed at the transparency resolution.

Thus, there is a new design rule you should apply to your documents. Try to arrange them so that highly-detailed objects (such as text or thin lines) are in front of any transparent objects. This will ensure that these objects are printed at the printer's resolution - not the transparency resolution. (See Output Options)

Tip: It's often a very good idea to keep highly detailed objects, such as text, in a layer at the front of the document. That way you can't accidentally draw any transparency on top of them.

Tip: You can use Bring to Front to reorder objects within layers and you can reorder whole layers using drag and drop in the Layer Gallery.

(To put printing back to the normal system type "PrintMaskType=2".)

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else can I try?


Changing a named colour
 Change a named colour

The named colours shown on the Colour Line can be changed if required. If they are altered the changes will be reflected in all objects that use them. If the named colour you change was used in the creation of shade colours or linked colours these will also change.

To change a named colour

1. Open the Colour Editor.

2. Drag-and-drop the colour from the Colour Line or Colour Gallery onto the Colour Editor.

3. Alter the colour using the Colour Editor.

or

1. Open the Colour Editor.

2. Choose the named colour from the drop-down list.

3. Alter the colour using the Colour Editor.

or

1. Open the Colour Gallery.

2. Select the colour in the gallery.

3. Click the Edit button.

To change the named colour applied to a particular object

1. Open the Colour Editor.

2. Select the object using the named colour.

3. Drag the object's fill or line colour from the swatch on the left-hand end of the Colour Line onto the Colour Editor.

Note

Selecting an object and editing the colour shown in the Colour Editor will force the colour of the object to be a local colour and this is what will be edited. You must specifically choose a named colour before you can edit it.

You can use Undo to undo the colour changes.

_______________

See also

Creating a named colour

Deleting a named colour

Using shades


Changing the colour of guides
 Change the colour of guides

Depending on the colours used in your drawing, you may want to change the colour of guide objects and guidelines so they are more clearly visible.

To change guide colour

1. Right-click on the guides layer in the Layer Gallery to open the pop-up menu.

2. Choose Properties to open the Layer Properties dialog box.

3. Open the Guides section.

4. Select a suitable colour from the drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog box.

5. Click OK.


Changing the default page size
 Change the default page size

CorelXARA defaults to a page size of US Letter.  If you wish to change this page size (to A4, for example), do the following :

1. Create a new, blank document.

2. From the Utilities Menu, choose Options.

3. In the dialogue box, click the Page tab.

4. From the Paper Size menu, choose the new paper size (e.g. A4).

5. Click OK to close the dialogue box.

6. From the File menu in the main CorelXARA window, choose Save Template. A dialogue box will appear asking if you are sure you want to replace the template document, click the Save button to save your new paper size setting. For more information about the template document, click the Help button.

All new documents will now appear with the chosen page size selected.

Tips

You can change any option permanently by saving out a new template document.

If you want to use a paper size not listed, select the Custom option from the menu and type the size into the fields below.


Circular Fill
A Circular Fill consists of colour graduating in a radial fashion. Circular fills are applied using the Fill Tool.


Circular Transparency
Circular Transparency graduates from one transparency to another in a radial fashion. The two transparency handles on either end of the transparency arrow represent the radius of the transparency. The outer handle can be used to change the outer transparency and alter the size of the circle, the inner one to move the circle and alter the centre transparency level.


 Clear Selection (Edit Menu)

  ESC (Escape)

Clear Selection deselects all selected objects. This can be useful to :

See the document without any handlers visible.

Reset the transformation centre.

Quickly clear the selected points on a line or shape so a new line or shape can be started (see Drawing a line with the Shape Editor Tool).


Clipart Gallery
 Clipart Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 SHIFT+F10

The Clipart Gallery lets you easily incorporate clipart from a folder into your document. The folder is usually on the CorelXARA CD but you can change to a different drive if necessary. You can also add your own clipart to the gallery if you wish.

Import	Import a file into the document

Open	Open a new file.

Options	Clipart Gallery Options

Add Clipart	Add Clipart to the gallery

Remove	Remove the selected sections from the gallery.

Many operations using the Clipart Gallery are made easier by the Clipart Gallery pop-up menu.

_______________

See also

Selecting items in a gallery

Galleries


 Clipart Gallery (Utilities Menu)

  SHIFT+F10

The Clipart Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Clipart Gallery button on the control bars open the Clipart Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Clipart Gallery - Add Clipart Button

The Add Clipart button in the Clipart Gallery opens a modified version of the Open dialog box that lets you choose a folder to add to the gallery or update an existing folder. This would usually be used to open the clipart folder on the CorelXARA CD, though any directory containing clipart can be added to the gallery. See Adding a folder to a gallery for more details.

_______________

See also

Using titles, descriptions and keywords


Clipart Gallery - Import Button

The Import button in the Clipart Gallery imports the selected image into the selected document. You can also import a clipart file by dragging it from the Clipart Gallery and dropping it on a document.


Clipart Gallery - Open Button

The Open button in the Clipart Gallery opens a new document and imports the selected picture into it. You can also open a clipart file by double-clicking on it in the gallery (CTRL-double-click to close the gallery afterwards).


Clipart Gallery - Options Button

Clicking the Options button in the Clipart Gallery opens a menu containing the following options :

Add Clipart	Add a clipart folder to the Clipart Gallery.

Find	Search the Clipart Gallery.

Sort	Sort the Clipart Gallery.

Properties	Clipart Gallery Properties.


Clipart Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Clipart Gallery opens a pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Open	Identical to the Open button.

Import	Identical to the Import button.

Remove Section	Identical to the Remove button.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Note

When you right-click in the gallery to open the pop-up menu the picture under the mouse pointer will be selected, so using the pop-up menu is a quick way to select a picture and operate on it in one go.


Clipart Gallery - Remove Button

The Remove button in the Clipart Gallery removes the selected sections from the Clipart Gallery. You will be asked to confirm the operation. You can add the sections again using the Add Clipart button.


Clipboard
The Clipboard is a temporary store and is used like a physical clipboard. You can cut or copy part or all of your drawing onto the clipboard. You can then transfer the clipboard contents to another part of the document or even a completely different document or application.

The clipboard can only hold one item or set of items at a time. Placing something on it overwrites any existing contents. Objects remain on the clipboard until deleted or overwritten by CorelXARA or another application. The contents of the clipboard are lost when Windows is exited.


 Clone (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+K

Clone creates a copy of the selection. and places it in the document in the same place as the original. Unlike Duplicate, no offset is used. As the copy is placed on top of the original it is possible no change will be visible after the operation has been performed.

This command is useful for ...

1. Making a copy of an object before using Combine Shapes.

2. Making a copy of a (possibly transparent) object so it overlays the object underneath exactly.

Clone is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.

On-line Demonstration

Note

You cannot clone objects selected using select inside. (See Selecting objects inside other objects.) This includes selected regions within text objects.

You can remember the key shortcut by thinking of Clone as 'Klone'!


 Close (File Menu)

Close closes the selected document and all views onto it. If you attempt to close a document which has been altered but not saved CorelXARA will ask whether the document should be saved or not before closing it.

If you have multiple views open for a single document, one of the views can be closed using Close on the document control menu. Alternatively, double click on the application control button (the top-left corner of the document window).

_______________

See also

Exit


Close open documents?

Cause

This message is displayed when the 'Ask about closing document views' option is set in the General Options. When ever a new document is created or an existing document is loaded  the message 'Would you like to keep the existing documents open?' is displayed with buttons labelled Keep and Close . The enables you to choose to use CorelXARA in the mode where only a single document is ever in memory at the one time.

Recommended action

If only the current document is required, and all others can be closed, then click Close. You will be warned about documents which have been modified and not saved in the usual way.

If all the existing documents should remain open then click Keep. This will do nothing to the existing documents open in CorelXARA. This acts the same as if the option is turned off.

If you do not require the warning any more then go to the General Options and turn the option off.,


Closing a gallery
 Close a gallery

Click on the icon in the top right-hand corner of the gallery.

Alternatively, when a gallery is open, its button on the control bars is pressed in - clicking the button closes the gallery.

_______________

See also

Galleries


 Colour Editor (Utilities Menu)

The Colour Editor is used to edit the colour of objects (local colours) and to create and change named colours. It allows you to edit colours using a range of colour models and even allows you to create colours which are linked to other colours (their 'parent' colour) so that when the parent colour changes, all connected colours will also change - see Colour Editor  - Advanced.

 CTRL+E (to open and close)

The Colour Editor can be reached in several ways :

Selecting Colour Editor from the Utilities menu.

Clicking the Edit Colour button on the Colour Line to edit the current fill colour.

Shift-Clicking the Edit Colour button on the Colour Line to edit the current line colour.

Selecting the Edit button in the Colour Gallery.

Selecting Colour Editor from the selection pop-up menu.

Drag-and-drop a colour from the Colour Line or Colour Gallery onto the Edit Colour button on the Colour Line.

Choose a Colour to Edit

The drop-down list shows the colour being edited. If the colour is a local colour,  the name field shows either Local Fill Colour or Local Line Colour (or Current Fill Colour or Current Line Colour if no objects are selected).

You can choose the colour to be edited by :

Choosing from the drop-down list. The first two items let you edit the current fill and line colours.

Selecting an object (or objects) to edit their local colour. See Selecting and deselecting objects.

Drag-and-drop a colour from the Colour Line or Colour Gallery onto the Editor.

If an object with a named colour applied is selected and the Colour Editor opened, making changes in the Editor will result in the object's colour becoming a local colour. The changes will not affect the named colour originally used. For more information, see Colouring objects.

New Named Colour

Clicking this button opens the New Named Colour dialog box. The new colour is applied to the selected objects, so if you just wish to create a new colour and not use it, make sure there are no objects selected. If you click this button whilst holding down keys, you can skip past the dialog box and specify what you want to do more quickly :

SHIFT	Create a copy of the current colour.

CTRL	Create a shade of the current colour.

SHIFT+CTRL	Use the current settings in the New Named Colour dialog box.

Show Menu

Clicking this button opens the Colour Editor Menu. You can also open the menu by right-clicking on the Colour Editor.

Colour Swatches

In the top-right corner of the colour editing area are two colour swatches; one shows the edited colour and the other shows the colour as it was before you changed it. Either of the swatches can be drag-and-dropped onto objects to apply them as local colours. When you first open the Editor, both swatches are the same colour.

Shades

The definition of a shade sets how much lighter/darker the shade is than the parent and so is edited differently from the normal colour models, see Editing Shade Colours.

Colour Model

When the Editor is opened, it will display a colour model. The model used can be either :

The model used when the colour was created.

The current model.

This setting is defined by the Automatic Colour Model Selection option in the View Options.

You can alter the Colour Model using the Colour Editor Menu.

The colour models available allow :

RGB Colour Model Editing

CMYK Colour Model Editing

HSV Colour Model Editing

Greyscale Colour Model Editing

Show Advanced Options

Clicking this button expands the Colour Editor to show additional options. See Colour Editor - Advanced for more details.

_______________

See also

Undo

Importing colours & palettes

Using shades

Creating a named colour

Copying colour to another object


 Colour Editor - Advanced

When the Show Advanced Options button in the Colour Editor is clicked, the Editor expands to show additional options at the bottom of the dialog. The first section shows the exact values for the components of the colour (dependent on the colour model), the second shows the colour model and the third displays the colour type.

Show Only Simple Options

Clicking this button closes the lower part of the Colour Editor, hiding the advanced options.

Component Values

These fields define the values for the components of the colour. The components shown depend on the colour model in use. For more details, refer to the relevant colour model in the section below. Note that when linked colours, tints and shades are being edited, some of these fields are dimmed and cannot be altered directly.

The values can be edited in one of two units, percentages (0% to 100%) or values (0 to 255). Which is used is set by the Colour Units setting in the Unit Options. If you need to enter a value in the other format, you can force the units by typing (for example) "25%" (for a percentage) or "25d" (for 0 to 255 value).

3D

When editing normal colours and linked colours using the RGB and CMYK models, the Colour Editor can be set to show a projection of the colour space. This button enables this pseudo-3D display. For more details, refer to the relevant colour type in the section below.

Colour Type

This drop-down list sets whether the named colour is a normal colour, a shade colour, a tint colour or a linked colour. For more details on editing a colour type, click on the type :

Colour Editor - Normal Colours

Colour Editor - Shade Colours

Colour Editor - Tint Colours

Colour Editor - Linked Colours


Colour Editor - CMYK Model

Normal colours and linked colours can be edited in several colour models. When editing a colour using the CMYK colour model, the Colour Editor can be used in two modes:

This mode displays the four component colours as bars (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black)). To alter the level of each colour, drag the marker or type values into the fields below the bars.

This mode displays a slice through a colour cube. The small arrow button to the top of the cube changes the component on the diagonal axis of the cube, much like rotating it. The small colour strip on it indicates the diagonal component.

On the right-hand side of the cube slice is the Key bar, ranging from 0% Key (no black) to 100% Key (black).

To edit the colour, drag the marker on the slice, or drag the slice using the handle on the diagonal and move the marker on the Key colour bar.

When the marker on the cube slice is being dragged, the CTRL key can be held down to constrain its movement to horizontal and vertical.

The mode used is set using the 3D button. Deselect it for slider editing, select it for colour cube editing. Use the mode you find most intuitive.

Note

If you are editing a linked colour, some of the values will be constrained by white boundaries (shown on the editing area) depending on the inheritance scheme in use.


Colour Editor - Greyscale Model

Normal colours and linked colours can be edited in several colour models. The greyscale model defines shades of grey between white (100%) and black (0%) by setting the amount of white (intensity). This colour model is the easiest to use when creating black-and-white illustrations.

The value can be altered by dragging the marker on the bar, or entering a value into the Intensity field.

3D editing is not available for this colour model.

The intensity can be edited in one of two units, percentages (0% to 100%) or values (0 to 255). Which is used is set by the Colour Units setting in the Unit Options. If you need to enter a value in the other format, you can force the units by typing (for example) "25%" (for a percentage) or "25d" (for 0 to 255 value).

_______________

See also

Colour Editor


Colour Editor - HSV Model

Normal colours and linked colours can be edited in several colour models. The HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) model is often found to be the most intuitive model.

To use this colour model, choose the Hue from the rainbow coloured strip along the bottom. This represents the edge of a circle, hence both ends are red. The Hue is an angle around the circle and can be entered in the Hue field.

The marker in the square panel represents the Saturation and Value components of the colour. These values can also be entered in fields under the colour strip.

The marker can be dragged and will be constrained to the horizontal and vertical axes if the CTRL key is held down during the drag.

3D editing is not available for this colour model.

Note

If you are editing a linked colour, some of the values will be constrained by white boundaries (shown on the editing area) depending on the inheritance scheme in use. If the Hue has been inherited, the marker on the Hue line will be bound by a white circle and cannot be moved.

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See also

Colour Editor


Colour Editor - Linked Colours

CorelXARA supports the editing of linked colours in exactly the same way as for normal colours (See Colour Editor - Normal Colours) except those components which have been inherited from the parent colour cannot be altered. Any changes to the parent colour will be reflected in the inherited components of its linked children. The marker defining the colour is constrained according to the inheritance - see in the diagram above how the marker is constrained to only moving in the vertical (Value) axis and the Hue marker is fixed in place due to the inheritance from the parent of Hue and Saturation.
The fields can be edited in one of two units, percentages (0% to 100%) or values (0 to 255). Which is used is set by the Colour Units setting in the Unit Options. If you need to enter a value in the other format, you can force the units by typing (for example) "25%" (for a percentage) or "25d" (for 0 to 255 value).


Colour Editor - Normal Colours

CorelXARA supports the editing of normal colours in all four colour models :

RGB Colour Model Editing

CMYK Colour Model Editing

HSV Colour Model Editing

Greyscale Colour Model Editing


Colour Editor - RGB Model

Normal colours and linked colours can be edited in several colour models. When editing a colour using the RGB colour model, the Colour Editor can be used in two modes:

This mode displays the three primary colours as bars (Red, Green and Blue). To alter the level of each colour, drag the marker or type values into the fields below the bars.

This mode displays a slice through a colour cube. The small arrow button to the top of the cube changes the component on the diagonal axis of the cube, much like rotating it. The small colour strip on it indicates the diagonal component.

To edit the colour, drag the marker on the slice, or drag the slice using the handle on the diagonal. When the marker is being dragged, the CTRL key can be held down to constrain its movement to horizontal or vertical.

The mode used is set using the 3D button. Deselect it for slider editing, select it for colour cube editing. Use the mode you find most intuitive.

Note

If you are editing a linked colour, some of the values will be constrained by white boundaries (shown on the editing area) depending on the inheritance scheme in use.

The values can be edited in one of two units, percentages (0% to 100%) or values (0 to 255). Which is used is set by the Colour Units setting in the Unit Options. If you need to enter a value in the other format, you can force the units by typing (for example) "25%" (for a percentage) or "25d" (for 0 to 255 value).


Colour Editor - Shade Colours

Shade colours are not edited using one of the four normal colour models, but using a display showing all the shades available from the chosen parent colour. Drag the marker to set the new shade. The parent colour is marked in the display as a small cross (shown above in the top-left corner). When the parent colour is altered, the change is reflected in all shades created using it.

The two fields shown at the bottom of the Colour Editor when editing a shade colour allow you to set the exact position of the shade. When the shade is no different from its parent, the values shown are 0.0 and 0.0. Moving the shade to the left or bottom edges of the editing area moves one of the values towards -100% and moving the shade to the top or right edges gives 100%. The first field controls the X (relative saturation) direction, while the other controls the Y (relative lightness/darkness) direction.

Note

A colour model can be selected, but the only change will be the display of the colour components.

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See also

Colour Editor

Using shades


Colour Editor - Tint Colours

Tint colours are not edited using a graphical colour model display as you only need to set the percentage of the tint. The display shows the full range of tints available, simply move the marker to select the required colour. Any change to the parent colour will be reflected in the tint. e.g. if a pink tint is created with Red as a parent and the Red then altered to Orange, the tint would become a light orange.

A colour model can be selected, but the only change will be the display of the colour components.


Colour Editor Menu

The Colour Editor menu, opened using the Menu button in the Colour Editor or right-clicking on it, contains the following options :

Rename	Opens the Rename Colour dialog box.

Edit Parent	Selects the parent (if any) of the current colour so it can be edited.

HSV	Selects the HSV colour model.

RGB	Selects the RGB colour model.

CMYK	Selects the CMYK colour model.

Greyscale	Selects the greyscale colour model.

Help	Opens the CorelXARA documentation on the Colour Editor.


Colour Gallery
 Colour Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F9

The Colour Gallery gives you full control over all the named colours in all the documents currently loaded. Local colours only exist on individual objects and are not shown in the Colour Gallery.

The Colour Line displays the named colours in a document in the same order as the Colour Gallery, so moving colours in the gallery also moves them on the Colour Line. The named colours on both can also be reordered either manually or using a specific sort - see Reordering gallery items. The list of named colours can also be searched (see Searching a gallery).

When a named colour is not currently used in a document, it has 'Not in use' shown next to it if the Full Information display option (see Altering gallery display format) has been chosen. In the same way, shade colours have "Shade of XX" written next to them where XX is the name of the parent colour.

Apply	Applying a named colour to objects

New	Creating a new named colour

Delete	Deleting a named colour

Options	Colour Gallery options

Redefine	Redefine a named colour from an object

Edit	Change a named colour

Name	Change the name of a colour

Many operations using the Colour Gallery are made easier by the Colour Gallery pop-up menu.

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See also

Galleries

Selecting items in a gallery

Colouring objects

Importing colours & palettes


 Colour Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F9

The Colour Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Colour Gallery button on the control bars open the Colour Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Colour Gallery - Apply Button

The Apply button in the Colour Gallery applies the named colour selected in the gallery as a flat fill colour to the selection. Double clicking on a named colour in the gallery has the same effect. CTRL+double-clicking on a colour in the gallery will apply the colour to the selection as a line colour.


Colour Gallery - Delete Button

The Delete button in the Colour Gallery deletes all the named colours currently selected in the gallery. If any of the selected colours are currently in use a warning will appear giving you the option to delete the entire set of selected colours, just delete the colours which are not being used or cancel the operation.

If you delete any colours which are in use in your document, any objects using those colours will not change in appearance, but the colours applied to them will become local colours.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the colour in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Delete which you may find easier.


Colour Gallery - Edit Button

The Edit button in the Colour Gallery opens the Colour Editor allowing you to change the named colour which is currently selected in the gallery.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the colour in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Edit.


Colour Gallery - Name Button

The Name button in the Colour Gallery opens the Rename Colour dialog box which allows you to change the name of the named colour selected in the gallery.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the colour in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Rename.


Colour Gallery - New Button

The New button in the Colour Gallery opens the New Named Colour dialog box into which the name of a new named colour can be entered. Selecting the Create button in this dialog box will then create a new colour with the name you give.

If a named colour is selected when the New button is pressed, the new named colour will be a copy of the selected named colour.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose New.


Colour Gallery - Options Button

The Options button in the Colour Gallery opens a menu containing the following options :

Find	Search the Colour Gallery

Sort	Sort the Colour Gallery

Properties	Alter the way the colours are displayed in the Colour Gallery.


Colour Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Colour Gallery opens the pop-up menu which contains the following options :

New	Creates a new named colour, see New above.

Edit	Opens the Colour Editor, see Edit above.

Delete	Delete the selected colours, see Delete above.

Redefine	Redefine the select named colour, see Redefine above.

Rename	Renames the selected colour, see Name above.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Note

When you right-click on a colour the colour is selected and the pop-up menu opens, so this is a quick and easy way to select a colour and operate on it.


Colour Gallery - Redefine Button

When the Redefine button in the Colour Gallery is clicked, the definition of the named colour selected in the gallery is set to that of the fill colour of the currently selected object. This provides an easy way of redefining an existing named colour to look like a colour used in your document.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the colour in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Redefine.


Colour Line

The Colour Line shows which of the named colours (if any) have been applied to the selected object(s). It also provides a quick way of applying named colours and of opening the Colour Editor. Note that if the selection uses local colours no markers are displayed on the Colour Line.

Named Colours

The majority of the Colour Line is taken up by a list of all the named colours in the document.

You can apply the named colours by dragging and dropping them from the Colour Line.

The fill and line colours are marked (see illustration for Current line and fill colour):

Diamonds show the colours if there objects selected,

Crosses show the current colour attributes if there are no objects selected,

Triangles show the two colours of a fill applied with the Fill Tool..

There are no marks if objects use local colours or multiple colours.

Line colour is marked on the right; fill colour on the left.

Current fill and line colours

The outer part of the colour swatch on the left-hand end of the Colour Line shows the line colour; the centre the fill colour. These are:

The colours of any selected objects,

Otherwise the current colour attributes.

These colours are also marked in the named colours section (see below).

Two way hatching indicates no colour.

One way hatching indicates multiple colours. (For example if the selection contains items with different fill colours.)

For a graduated fill, the centre shows the two colours used in the fill.

You can drag and drop colours from the swatch to apply them to objects in the drawing.

Open Colour Editor button

Clicking on this button opens the Colour Editor. The Editor shows the current fill colour. (Shown in the colour swatch.)

SHIFT-clicking also opens the Colour Editor but showing the current line colour.

No Colour

Clicking this applies a no colour fill. SHIFT-clicking applies No colour to a line.

Note: this is not the same as 100% transparent. 'No colour' and transparency are very different. A shape with transparency applied remains a solid shape. A shape filled with 'no colour' is effectively hollow. See Zero Width Lines for more details.

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See also

Colouring objects

Colour Gallery (reordering colours on the Colour Line)

Colour Line Enable/Disable

View Options (for display options for the Named Colours)


Colour Line & Pasteboard colours are drawn incorrectly

Problem

Many colours on the Colour Line have been drawn incorrectly and the pasteboard around the page in the document has been drawn in an incorrect colour.

Cause

It is likely you are suffering from a bug in the version 1.6 release of the S3 drivers supplied with Windows 3.1x.

Recommended Action

This problem can be fixed by :

Changing the BitmapBrushes= line in CORELXRA.INI (in your Windows system directory) to read "BitmapBrushes=1".

or

Obtaining a fixed version of the S3 video driver.


Colour Line (Window Menu)

Colour Line on the Bars submenu of the Window menu allows the Colour Line to be turned on and off. When it is set, the Colour Line is enabled, otherwise it is not.

This setting is stored when you quit CorelXARA.


Colour Model
Colour Models define the way in which a colour is defined. In CorelXARA you can define colours using four models :

RGB (Red-Green-Blue). Most often used by video cards to define colours.

CMYK (Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Key). Favoured by commercial printers. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black) are the colours of the inks used.

HSV (Hue-Saturation-Value). The "artists" method of defining colours. Hue is the pure pigment of the colour, Saturation is the amount of white mixed into the colour and Value is the amount of Black mixed into the colour. Hue is measured in degrees representing the angle around a colour wheel that sweeps from Red through Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Magenta and back to Red again.

Grey scale defines colours as Black, White or shades of Grey.


Coloured Text Not Printing

If you find that your printouts are working fine except any coloured text is not printing you are probably suffering from a problem with your printer drivers. Your first step is to try and get an updated version of the drivers from the manufacturer. If this is not possible, do the following :

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Options.

2. Open the Output tab.

3. At the bottom of the window, select the Print All Text As Shapes option.

This will convert all text objects into groups of simple shapes before the document is sent to the printer and should resolve the problem.


Colouring objects
 Colour objects

When colouring an object, you have two choices; You can use colours so they each only apply to individual objects (local colours), or you can use named colours so when the named colour is changed, all objects using the colour reflect the change.

To change the fill colour of an object

Do one of the following:

Drag-and-drop a named colour onto the object from the Colour Line. or the Colour Gallery. The objects need not be selected. To apply the colour to an object inside another object, hold down CTRL  as the colour is dropped.

Select the object(s) and click on  a colour on the Colour Line.

Select the object(s), select the colour in the Colour Gallery and click the Apply button in the gallery.

Select the object(s) and double-click on the colour in the Colour Gallery.

Select the object(s), open the Colour Editor and select "current fill colour" from the drop-down list. Note editing in this way will force the object's colour to become a local colour.

Select the object(s), open the Colour Editor and change the colour. Note that editing in this way will force the object's colour to become a local colour.

Select the object and double click on the current fill colour panel on the Colour Line. Note that editing this way will force the object's colour to become a local colour.

To change the line colour of an object

Do one of the following:

Drag-and-drop a named colour from the Colour Line or Colour Gallery onto the edge of the object. The objects need not be selected. To apply the named colour to an object inside another object, hold down CTRL  as the colour is dropped.

Select the object(s) and SHIFT-click (or click the right-hand mouse button) on the named colour on the Colour Line.

Select the object(s) and double click the required named colour in the Colour Gallery with the right mouse button.

Select the object(s), open the Colour Editor and select "Local line colour" from the drop-down list. Note that editing this way will force the object's colour to become a local colour.

Select the object and double click on the current line colour panel on the Colour Line. Note that editing this way will force the object's colour to become a local colour.

The following shows how a dragged colour will be applied:

The colour will be applied as a (flat) fill colour.

The colour will be applied as a line colour.

  	The colour will be used to set the current fill colour attribute. See Setting the current attributes.

Note

To remove the line or fill colour of a shape, apply No Colour (see Colour Line) to the object's fill or line.

You can also edit the colours of fills applied with the Fill Tool using drag-and-drop. See Editing Fills.

Once you have applied a named colour to an object, changes to the named colour will be reflected in the object. See Changing a named colour.

On-line Demonstration

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See also

Creating a named colour

Using shades

Copying colour to another object


Colours in bitmaps are darker than in shapes

Colours in bitmaps are stronger

You've noticed that some areas of your document print using much darker or stronger colours than others or that areas which should be white are appearing as light-grey.

Sadly, this is "normal" behaviour for many Windows printer drivers. They purposely make the colours "stronger" in bitmaps than in normal shapes.

This problem does not  occur on Postscript printer drivers or with EPS export. This can make it difficult to produce meaningful proofs of colour artwork unless you have access to some kind of colour Postscript device.

Suggestion for Windows 95:

   Adjust your printer driver's colour correction facilities:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Click Settings and then click Printers.

3. Click on the icon for your printer, click the File menu and click Properties.

4. Click the Graphics tab in the Properties dialog box.

5. If your printer has colour correction facilities there will be a Color button at the bottom of this tab.

6. Click Color and try adjusting the options presented. It's difficult to be more precise than that because these options will vary from printer to printer! Try pressing the Help button and reading the printer manual for more information.

7. If you changed any options click OK and try to print again.

Suggestion for Windows 3.1 or NT:

   Print the whole document as a bitmap so that all  colours are made uniformly stronger. See Output Options.

If you're an advanced user:

   Edit the INI file to use alternative print methods that will print more of the document as bitmaps and thus lessen the visible differences.

Did one of those suggestions fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else can I try?


Combine Shapes (Arrange Menu)

The Combine Shapes submenu contains four options for 'combining' objects to produce new shapes. They are :

Add Shapes

Subtract Shapes

Intersect Shapes

Slice Shapes

The Combine Shapes operations are also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.

Note

The Combine Shapes operations function equally well with objects other than shapes. With bitmaps, each bitmap is automatically converted to a simple shape filled with the original bitmap.


Compound Object
Compound Objects are objects in a document which contains other objects. The following are the compound object types :

Group	Contains one or more objects of any type

Mould	Contains one or more objects of any type

Blend	Contains two or more objects of any type

Text Object	Contains one or more Text Lines

Text Line	Contains one or more characters


Conical Fill
A Conical Fill fill consists of graduated colour swept around a central point to form a cone. It starts at the first colour, reaches the second half way around the circle and returns to the original colour at the start position. Conical fills are applied with the Fill Tool.


Conical Transparency
A Conical Transparency consists of graduated transparency swept around a central point to form a cone. It starts at the first transparency, reaches the second half way around the circle and returns to the original level at the start position. Transparency is applied with the Transparency Tool.


Contents

                      Welcome to CorelXARA

                    What's New in Version 1.2

          Tools             How To...?     Demonstrations

 Menus & Buttons   Galleries    Keyboard Short cuts

If you have trouble getting up and running with CorelXARA, see Troubleshooting.


Contone
Contone is short for "continuous tone". The term Contone is most commonly used in relation to bitmaps. A bitmap is a contone bitmap when all of the colours used in it are varying mixtures of two colours. For instance, a greyscale bitmap is a contone bitmap because all the colours in it are a mixture of black and white.

You can change the two colours of contone bitmap fills by selecting the fill handles and changing their colour in the usual ways. You can give a bitmap an old-fashioned sepia look by setting one contone colour to dark brown and the other to a yellow-creamy colour.


Control Bar
Control Bars are placed around the edges of the CorelXARA windows to make commonly used operations (in the form of buttons, sliders and edit boxes) more accessible. New Control Bars can be created and the size of the buttons on different bars altered. Control Bars can be free floating or docked (fixed) to the sides, top or bottom of the CorelXARA window. For more details, see Default Control Bars.


Control Bars (Window Menu)

The Control Bars dialog box allows you to customise the control bars. It is also used to set the size of the buttons on docked and floating control bars and the button size used for galleries.

Close

This button closes the Control Bars dialog box.

New

This button opens a dialog box which will prompt for the name of a new control bar. Entering a new name and clicking the OK button will create a new control bar with the given name. The new control bar will be opened, floating.

Delete

This button deletes the selected control bar. You will be asked to confirm deletion of the control bar. Note that you cannot delete the Infobar or the Button Palette.

Reset

This button resets the control bars to their 'factory' settings. It will remove all custom bars.

The list of control bars lets you choose which to display.

Button Size

The icons used for the buttons on the control bars and galleries  can be set to small icons or larger icons. The bottom part of the dialog box describes what sizes the icons on control bars at the top, left, right and bottom of the window are set to as well as the size of icons in floating control bars.

The setting for the size of buttons on floating bars is also applied to gallery buttons.

On-line Demonstration

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See also

Default control bars

Creating & deleting control bars

Moving & resizing control bars

Moving & copying buttons


 Convert to Editable Shapes (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+S

Convert to Editable Shapes takes an object and simplifies it so it is built from nothing more than lines and shapes.

This operation is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.

QuickShapes

Convert to Editable Shapes converts a QuickShape into a simple shape built up from straight and curved line segments. This may be useful to add extra points to the shape or to change its shape in a way not possible with the QuickShape Tools. Once a QuickShape has been converted to editable shapes it can no longer be edited with the QuickShape, Ellipse or Rectangle Tools.

Text

When Convert to Editable Shapes is applied to a text object, each character in the text object is converted to a simple shape, all of these simple shapes are then placed in a group. When this operation has been carried out, the individual characters can be edited as if they were shapes, although as the object is now a group containing shapes not a text object, they cannot be edited using the Text Tool. To edit individual characters inside the resulting group, you can Ungroup the group or use select inside; see Selecting objects inside other objects.

Bitmaps

Applying Convert to Editable Shapes to a bitmap creates a shape of the same size as original bitmap and applies a bitmap fill to it using the original bitmap. The end-result is an object which looks identical to the original bitmap. This is useful as the edge the shape can be altered creating what looks like a non-rectangular bitmap. (see Masking a bitmap).

Groups

If Convert to Editable Shapes is applied to a group object, the result is as if it had been applied to each object within the group.

Moulds

When a mould is converted to simple shapes, the result is a group consisting entirely of simple lines and shapes.

Blends

When a blend is converted to simple shapes, the result is a group consisting of all the blend steps. If each step contains more than one object, each will also appear as a group of simple lines and shapes.


 Copy (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+C

Copies the selection to the clipboard. Once the objects are on the clipboard they can be pasted back into the document any number of times, pasted into other documents or even into other applications. For more information, see Paste.

Cut is the same as Copy, but moves the objects to the clipboard removing them from the document.

Copy is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.


Copying colour from one object to another
 Copy colour from one object to another

It is sometimes desirable to take the colour applied to one object and apply it to another object to ensure they have the same appearance. As well as using a named colour that can be shared by several objects, you can "copy" a local colour by the following method.

To apply an object's colour to another object

1. Select the object using the colour you wish to copy (see Selecting and deselecting objects).

2. Drag the "current colour" indicator patch (from the left end of the Colour Line) and drop it onto the object you wish to colour.

The current colour can also be dragged from the Colour Editor in a similar manner.

You can also copy colour using Paste Attributes.


CorelXARA EPS Export

This dialog box allows you to control various characteristics of the EPS you export from CorelXARA.  It appears after you have selected the name of the EPS file you wish to export to from the Export dialog box.

PostScript language level

This allows you to control what kind of PostScript is stored in the EPS file, in terms of Level 1 or Level 2 compliance.  The default is 'Automatic' which outputs PostScript which will run on Level 1 interpreters, but which will take advantage of Level 2 interpreters.  Set the Level 2 option if you are sure your PostScript interpreter is Level 2 - this may result in faster printing, especially if your document uses bitmaps and/or transparency heavily.  The Level 1 setting should be used if difficulties occur with printing PostScript, but should rarely, if ever, be needed, due to the auto-detection systems used by the 'Automatic' setting.  If in doubt, use the automatic setting.

Resolution

If your drawing contains bitmaps or transparency, CorelXARA stores bitmap data in the file when exporting as CorelXARA EPS.  You can control the resolution of this bitmap data.  It defaults to 200 pixels per inch.  If you find this is not right, you can override this with a manual setting.  Bitmap resolution is always measured in pixels per inch (or dots per inch if you prefer).  CorelXARA will not let you export bitmap data in an EPS file at more than 600 pixels per inch, whatever method you choose.  This is because 600 dots per inch is very high resolution indeed and can produce very large EPS files - any higher resolution would be completely unnecessary. 300 DPI should be considered a practical maximum for exporting bitmap data to EPS.

Export text as shapes

When exporting text objects in EPS files, there is the usual PostScript problem of font matching to consider.  If you are using fonts in your document that you know or think your typesetter/printer does not have, then you can choose to export all text as shapes.  This means all text objects will be accurately printed when the EPS is printed.  However, because the text is now sent as shapes and not using a proper PostScript font, you may find that small text does not print well, due to lack of hinting.  If this is the case, disable printing of text as shapes, and solve the problem using font mapping (see below).

Font mapping

When exporting EPS, CorelXARA uses a font mapping table to convert TrueType font names to PostScript font names.  The most common font names are built in to CorelXARA's font mapping table, but you may add your own, if you know the name of a font that your typesetter/printer has, and you know which of your TrueType fonts it resembles.  To edit CorelXARA's font mapping table, you must edit the .INI file.  To do this, run Windows Notepad (which is usually found in the Accessories group in Program Manager - or you may use another text editor if you prefer), and load the file CORELXRA.INI.  This file may be in the same directory as the CorelXARA program, but will usually be in the directory that Microsoft Windows is installed into, usually C:\WINDOWS.  If you cannot find the file, use Search on the File menu of File Manager, or use "Find files..." on the Windows 95 Start Menu.

Once you have loaded the CORELXRA.INI file, find the EPS font mapping section - it should look something like this:

[EPSFontMapping]

Times-New-Roman=Times-Roman

Times-New-Roman-Bold=Times-Bold

Times-New-Roman-Italic=Times-Italic

Times-New-Roman-BoldItalic=Times-BoldItalic

Courier-New=Courier

Courier-New-Bold=Courier-Bold

<... rest of table deleted for simplicity...>

Just search for the string "EPSFontMapping" in Notepad to find this section easily.

As you can probably tell, the font mapping is simple - the TrueType name is on the left, and the PostScript name is on the right, with an equals ('=') sign in between.  To add more font mappings, just add more lines like these to the section.  Bear in mind the following points:

TrueType names often contain spaces - replace these with dashes when specifying these in font mappings - for example, "Times New Roman" has been changed to "Times-New-Roman" in the excerpt shown above.

You will need to map bold and italic variations explicitly, due to the way PostScript font names work. Again, as you can tell from the examples above, bold variations have "-Bold" added to the end, and italic versions have "-Italic" added to the end.  If the font is both bold and italic, it has "-BoldItalic" added to the end, and NOT "-Bold-Italic", "-ItalicBold", "-Italic-Bold" or any other permutations.

Here are some examples:

Mapping the  TrueType font "ZapfDingbats BT" to the PostScript font "ZapfDingbats":

ZapfDingbats-BT=ZapfDingbats

Mapping the TrueType font "Avanti" to the PostScript font "AvantGarde":

Avanti=AvantGarde-Demi

Avanti-Italic=AvantGarde-DemiOblique

Avanti-Bold=AvantGard-Bold

Avanti-BoldItalic=AvantGard-BoldOblique

Mapping the TrueType font ZapfChancery to the PostScript version:

ZapfChancery=ZapfChancery-MediumItalic

Mapping the TrueType font Michael to the PostScript font Palatino:

Michael=Palatino-Roman

Michael-Bold=Palatino-Bold

Michael-Italic=Palatino-Italic

Michael-BoldItalic=Palatino-BoldItalic


CorelXARA Font Not Found

Cause

This message is displayed if the XARAFONT.FON font has been de-installed. This font is required by CorelXARA to run.

Recommended action

Windows 95

Please run the Windows Control Panel application to reinstall this font.  Double-click the 'Fonts' icon in Control Panel to display the fonts installed on your computer.  Choose the File/Install New Font... menu option to display a dialog box that will allow you to enter the directory path to the font.  When CorelXARA is installed, the font is copied to the Fonts subdirectory of your Windows directory.  If the font has been deleted from there, a backup copy of it can be found in the CorelXARA directory, where the CorelXARA program is located.

Windows 3.1x

Please run the Windows Control Panel application to reinstall this font.  Double-click the 'Fonts' icon in Control Panel to display a dialog box that allows you to install or de-install fonts.  Click the Add button to display a dialog box box that will allow you to enter the directory path to the font.  When CorelXARA is installed, the font is copied to the System subdirectory of your Windows directory.  If the font has been deleted from there, a backup copy of it can be found in the CorelXARA directory, where the CorelXARA program is located.

Alternatively, reinstalling CorelXARA will solve the problem.


CorelXARA Terminology

The following words have special meanings in CorelXARA and its documentation. Click on them to see their definition. The meanings of other terms are defined in the glossary accessible using the Glossary button at the top of this window.

Document

Spread

Line

Shape

Object

Attribute

Current Attribute


CorelXARA Troubleshooting

Printing Troubleshooter

Buttons are not being drawn correctly

Colour Line & Pasteboard colours are drawn incorrectly

CorelXARA gives GrowStub errors

CorelXARA is running slowly

On-line Demonstrations

Bitmap Tracer

De-installing Win32s

If you experience a problem which cannot be solved by any of the above, it is possible you are suffering from a fault in CorelXARA. Please refer to Technical Support for details of how to report the problem.


CorelXARA gives GrowStub errors

Problem

As CorelXARA starts, there is a General Protection fault caused by "GROWSTUB in POINTER.DLL".

Cause

This problem is caused by a bug in GROWSTUB, which is part of the Microsoft Mouse driver version 9.01.

Recommended Action

Microsoft Mouse driver version 9.01b corrects this problem. Driver 9.01b is available via part number: 135-099-309 "Convert Mouse 2.0(dual) 9.01".

This driver does not introduce new functionality, therefore, you need only upgrade if you have run into this problem.

You can also avoid the problem by :

1. Open the file called "WIN.INI" which you will find in your Windows directory.

2. Find the line in the file beginning "load=".

3. Remove the section reading "POINTER.EXE" from this line.


CorelXARA is running slowly

Problem

If you find CorelXARA is running slowly on your machine (particularly on an 8Mb machine when the current document contains transparent objects) you may like to fine-tune the configuration to ensure it makes full use of your machine's resources. For 8Mb machines, we recommend at least 10Mb of virtual memory swap space - larger if possible.

Recommended Action

Alter the settings in the Tune up Options.


CorelXARA on-line help empty page

If you have reached this page, there is a fault with the On-line help system in CorelXARA. Please make a note of what you did to reach this help page and report this as a fault in CorelXARA to Corel Corp.

Please refer to Technical Support for more details.


Create Bitmap Copy (Arrange Menu)

The Create Bitmap Copy option creates a bitmap copy of the selected objects. When you select the option it opens the Create Bitmap dialogue box which allows you to set the options for the bitmap. Click the Create button to create the bitmap.

If you hold down SHIFT when you click the Create button in the dialogue box, the bitmap will be created on top of the selected objects. Note that this may mean it looks like nothing has changed after the bitmap has been created.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

These fields set the resolution (size) of the created bitmap. If you choose 96DPI, the bitmap will be the same resolution as it appears on screen. Either choose a resolution from the drop down menu or type a width or height into the fields.

Colour Depth

The number of colours in the exported bitmap can be set as follows :

24	Millions of colours

8	256 colours

4	16 colours

1	2 colours

Background

If you set the transparent option, any areas of the bitmap not covered by objects will be see-through. The see-through areas are not done using normal CorelXARA transparency so you can apply transparency to the bitmap after you have created it.

Only objects with no fill colour will appear see-through, objects with transparency applied will not.

Palette

These options set whether the bitmap has the standard document palette or an optimised palette.

Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering, ordered using an ordered (regular) dithering pattern and diffusion uses error-diffused dithering (a more complex dithering technique). In general, error diffusion will give the best results. You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimised palette.

Note that you can set the dithering type for the screen display too, see View Options.

Tip

To create a bitmap copy quickly, right click on the selection and choose Create Bitmap Copy from the pop-up menu.


Create greyscale bitmap?

Cause

You have tried to apply contoning to a non-greyscale bitmap or you have attempted to apply a non-greyscale bitmap as a bitmap transparency. Greyscale bitmaps must be used for the operations.

Recommended Action

Clicking Create will create a greyscale version of the bitmap and use that instead of the original. The new greyscale bitmap is added to the Bitmap Gallery with the same name as the original, but with "greyscale" appended to its name.

Clicking Cancel will cancel the operation.

If you do not wish to see this message, you can unset the Ask Before Making Greyscale Bitmaps option. See General Options.


Creating & deleting control bars
 Create & delete control bars

To create a new control bar

1. Open the Control Bars dialog box using the Control Bars item on the Window menu.

2. Click the New button.

3. Enter the name for the new control bar.

4. Click OK.

This creates a new, floating control bar. You can now move or copy buttons on the new control bar. For more details, see Moving & resizing control bars and Moving & copying buttons.

To delete a control bar

1. Open the Control Bars dialog box using the Window menu.

2. Click on the name of the control bar in the dialog box.

3. Click the Delete button. CorelXARA asks you to confirm the deletion.

To restore the factory settings

1. Open the Control Bars dialog box using the Window menu.

2. Click the Reset button.

This is useful if you accidentally delete a control bar.

On-line Demonstration

Note

That you cannot delete the Button Palette control bar or the Infobar.

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See also

Removing & restoring buttons


Creating World Wide Web bitmaps
 Create World Wide Web Bitmaps

CorelXARA redraws pictures at an exceptional quality level and supports both transparency and interlacing in exported GIF files and is therefore ideal for creating bitmaps for publication on the World Wide Web. You can also create animated GIF files with CorelXARA, see Bitmap Export - Animated GIF.

      A GIF with transparency                      A GIF file without transparency

The transparency used by World Wide Web browsers is extremely basic, but allows the removal of the background from pictures - this is particularly useful when the Web browser supports the use of bitmaps for backgrounds (as shown above). If Transparency is enabled when a GIF file is exported, any areas not covered by objects are left transparent in the file.

Note that transparency has a different meaning in GIF and CorelXARA terminologies. Transparency in GIF means that parts of the bitmap are completely 'see-through'. but any objects shown are completely solid. Transparency in CorelXARA means you can see through objects.

To create a WWW bitmap

1.   Create the image in CorelXARA as normal & select all objects in it.

2.   Set the Quality setting to high.

3.   Choose Export from the File menu.

4.   Choose GIF as the export format type (see CompuServe GIF Export).

5.   Choose the location to save the file, enter a filename & click Export.

6.   Enter the size, exported area & colour depth (256, 16 or 2 colour).

7.   Enable the GIF Interlacing setting.

8.   Enable the GIF Transparency setting.

9.   Choose the Diffusion dithering option if you want the image to look as good as possible, but remember the file may be larger.

10. Select whether you want to use the standard document palette or an optimised palette (see Tips).

11. Click Export to create the bitmap.

Bitmap Edges

If your final bitmap has see-through areas, it will look better if the edges of the objects in the drawing are smoothed against the background colour. This is easily achieved if you place a copy of the background behind the objects when you export them (remember not to select the background). For example, import the background bitmap into CorelXARA and place it behind the drawing (ideally in a non-editable layer) and export as normal by selecting your drawing (not the background), it will export as before, but with its edges carefully anti-aliased to the background. This will create a bitmap with very smooth edges.

Palettes

You can create completely non-dithered images for Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer by loading the WWW.PAL palette file included with this software and using the colours in it. This gives you access to a full range of colours which will be displayed without dithering in these two browsers (as long as you do not use blends, graduated transparency or graduated fills). If you usually create WWW bitmaps, you might like to replace the default document with one using this set of colours, see Installing the WWW template document.

You may find it easier to use the Colour Gallery instead of the Colour Line to apply colours as you can resize it to show all the colours in a small area.

Alternatively, always create use an optimised palette, these nearly always give exceptional results, but give slightly larger files.

Recommendations

For really good WWW bitmaps :

Always turn the Quality setting to its highest level.

Use error-diffused dithering (though remember this may increase the file size)

Use an optimised palette (this will also increase the file size)

Tips

If you create your bitmap using an optimised palette it will look far better in true colour (millions of colours) and high colour (thousands of colours) modes. You may also find that it looks better in 256 colour modes. You will nearly always get better results by using an optimised palette, although you will usually find the file will be larger.

Remember CorelXARA includes a Pixel unit. If you turn on the grid and use pixels for the page units (see Units Options) and for the Grid and Ruler units (see Grid and Ruler Options) you can move objects by individual pixels and see all measurements measured in pixels.

To ensure you do not get any strange effects on the edges of your bitmap, align the outlines of objects with the edge of the bitmap you are creating.

If your picture doesn't use many colours, try creating a 16 colour or 2 colour GIF, the file will be smaller.


Creating a named colour
 Create a named colour

Creating new named colours allows you to add your own custom colours (each individually named) to the Colour Line. You can create the new named colour using a colour you have already applied to an object, using an existing colour or from scratch. Named colours are also an ideal way to create drawings using many shades of different colours as you can link the colours so changing one changes all shades of that colour.

To create a named colour

1. Open the Colour Gallery.

2. Select the existing named colour in the gallery.

3. Click New.

4. If you would like the new colour to be a shade (see shade colour) of another named colour, select the shade option.

     If you would like the new colour to just be a copy of another colour, deselect the shade option.

5. Enter a name for the colour.

6. Click Create.

The new named colour is added to the Colour Line and displayed in the Colour Gallery.

To create a named colour from an object

1. Select an object which is filled with the required colour.

2. Open the Colour Editor.

3. Click the New Named Colour button to open the New Named Colour dialog box.

4. Deselect the shade option.

5. Enter a name for the new colour.

6. Click Create.

The new named colour is applied to the selected objects, added to the Colour Line and also shown in the Colour Gallery.

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Changing a named colour

Deleting a named colour

Using shades


Creating a new index

Cause

This message is displayed after attempting to create a new index for a folder.

Recommended action

Unless otherwise stated, the index and thumbnails will be placed in the XaraInfo subdirectory in the selected folder. This will require disk-space, and it is left up to you to delete this sub-directory if you require the space back. If this is OK, click Create, otherwise click Cancel.


Creating advanced blends
 Create advanced blends

As mentioned in the multi-stage blending section of Blending objects, when you blend a blend object with another object, you create a new single multi-stage blend.  However, it can be useful to treat a blend object as an ordinary object before blending it.  You can do this by using groups. Here is an example :

1. Create a simple blend object by blending an ellipse to a rectangle (see Blending objects).

2. Ensure the ellipse and rectangle are widely spaced and contain different fill colours.

3. Select the blend (see Selecting & deselecting objects) and choose Group from the Arrange menu (or press CTRL+G). This creates a group that has just one object contained within it - the ellipse to rectangle blend.

4. Clone the group.

5. Move the clone group away from the original group (see Moving objects), but ensure both groups are visible on the page.

6. Choose the Blend Tool.

7. Blend from one group to the other.

You will see that each stage of the first blend is blended to each stage of the second blend, just as if they weren't blend objects at all.  Grouping the blend has effectively turned it into an ordinary object (as far as the Blend Tool is concerned).

You can use select inside (see Selecting objects inside other objects) to access either grouped blend object and change it as a blend (e.g. number of steps, etc).

On-line Demonstration


Creating fully justified text
 Create fully justified text

CorelXARA does not support fully justified text blocks (frame text), but the effect can be achieved using the method described below.

To create a full-justified text block

1. Draw a horizontal line across the width of the text block.

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click the Full Justification Button on the Infobar.

4. CTRL-click on the line to start the text at the start of the line.

5. Type the text, pressing RETURN when each line is filled to the required density.

The line can be rendered invisible by selecting the text object, choosing the Shape Editor Tool and right-clicking on the no colour (hatched) button on the Colour Line.


Creating guidelines
 Create guidelines

You can create guidelines in the guides layer using the Layer Gallery or simply by dragging out from the rulers.

Using the rulers

Do one of the following :

Drag from the ruler onto the editing window. For example to create a vertical guideline, drag from the left-hand ruler.

Double click on the ruler to create a guideline aligned at the click point. For example, to create a vertical guideline, double-click on the top ruler.

Using the Layer Gallery

1. Right click on the guides layer in the Layer Gallery to open the layer pop-up menu.

2. Choose Properties to open the Layer Properties dialog box.

3. Open the Guides tab.

4. Select Horizontal or Vertical.

5. Click New.

6. Type in the required position for the new guideline & click OK.

Note

After creating guidelines you can prevent them being accidentally moved. To do this turn off the Editable setting for the guides layer using the Layer Gallery.

_______________

See also

Show Rulers


Creating lighting effects
 Create lighting effects

If you want to draw a picture of a shiny 3D object in most drawing programs you have to draw highlights as part of the object. The transparency system in CorelXARA makes this much easier.

To add a lighting 'highlight' to a drawing

1. Create your drawing without worrying about highlights so that it looks matt and dull. Remember to include enough shading and shadows so that the object looks three-dimensional.

2. Identify where a light source would bounce off the object into the viewers eye and draw a shape over that area. Set the colour of the object to white.

3. Use the Transparency Tool to make the object partly transparent and use the "Bleach" transparency type.

Bleach transparency is the key to this technique it allows the colours of the dull object underneath to be lightened. The most realistic highlights are achieved by using linear fills and circular fills in the highlight object or by drawing several highlight objects and blending them together (see Blending objects). You can alter the colour of the light source producing the highlights by altering the fill colour of the transparent highlight objects. White highlights objects look as if the light source is white. Slightly yellow highlights look as if the light source is the sun. Orange highlights can make the object look as if it's being viewed at sunset.


Creating new text
 Create new text

To create text

1. Choose the Text Tool.

2. Position the pointer where the text is required and click - a red text cursor appears.

3. Set any attributes you would like to be applied to the text typed. e.g. fill colour, font, font size.

4. Type the required text, pressing RETURN to create new lines if necessary.

See placing text around a curve for details of entering text directly onto a line or shape.

On-line Demonstration

Note

To use a font for subsequent text typed, you can drag a font from the Font Gallery and drop it onto the text cursor.

_______________

See also

Editing text

Selecting text

Applying attributes to text

Text Tool Key Shortcuts

Entering special characters


Creating parallel lines
 create parallel lines

To create parallel lines

1. Draw a line along the path between where you want the two lines. See Drawing a line.

2. Set it to the colour you want the two lines. See Colouring objects.

3. Set its line thickness so the line is wide enough to cover where the two parallel lines would be.

4. Clone the line.

5. Set the line colour of the clone to the background colour.

6. Reduce the line thickness of the clone.


Creating realistic shadows

To create a realistic shadow

1. Select your object(s) (on the left, above).

2. Clone them.

3. Apply Add Shapes to the clone to create a single shape covering the same area to form the shadow.

4. Set the fill colour of the new shape to black and move it behind the original objects, offset slightly - as shown in the centre above.

5. Making the back object transparent (see Applying transparency) allows you to see the background through it and creates a very realistic shadow.


Creating remote indexes

Cause

This message is displayed when the selected folder is read-only, but does not have an index.

Recommended action

If creating an index, and thumbnails, in the specified location is OK, click Create. If you do not want to create an index there, click Cancel.

Note that you can change the location which CorelXARA attempts to use for the remote indexes via the 'CORELXRA.INI' file which can be found in your Windows\System directory.

Exit CorelXARA, load the 'CORELXRA.INI' file into a text editor, such as Notepad, and add a directory path to the line that starts "RemoteIndexLocation=". (For example if your remote indexes were being written to your CorelXARA directory, you'd have the following line in your ini file: "RemoteIndexLocation=C:\CorelXra".) Save the edited ini file, and re-run CorelXARA.


Creating the guides layer
 Create the guides layer

It is only possible to have one guides layer. The guides layer is created automatically if you create a guideline using the rulers; see Creating guidelines. If you wish to create objects in the guides layer or move existing objects to the guides layer, you must create it manually.

To create the guides layer

1. Open the Layer Gallery.

2. Right-click on the Layer Gallery to open the pop-up menu.

3. Choose Create Guides Layer.

To place objects in the guides layer, click on the guides layer in the Layer Gallery (to make it the current layer) and create the objects as normal. For further details on creating guide objects, see Moving objects to the guides layer.


Current Attribute
The Current Attributes are those attributes which get applied automatically to an object when it is created. For example, if the current line colour attribute were red, the next object drawn would have a red outline. if you intend to draw many objects that are to share the same attributes, then it is useful to make these shared attributes Current Attributes. In CorelXARA, Text objects have their own separate set of Current Attributes. See Setting the current attributes for more details.


Current Fill Attribute
The Current Fill Attribute is the current default setting for the fill attribute which is the type of fill that will be applied to newly created objects. To set the current fill attribute, apply a fill with no objects selected.


Current Layer
The Current Layer is that currently selected (highlighted) in the Layer Gallery. It is the layer into which all newly created objects are inserted. The equivalent in CorelDRAW is the 'active layer'.


Curve Edit Handle
Curve Edit Handles are handles used on curved line segments to alter the curve shape.

The curve edit handles for selected point handles are only shown if there is one selected point handle. The two curve edit handles for the selected point are shown plus the nearest curve edit handles for adjacent points.


Custom Bitmap Effect
Custom Bitmap Effects allow you to alter the brightness of each pixel in a bitmap depending on the brightness of adjacent pixels using a method known as convolution. The matrix on the right of the Bitmap Effects dialog box controls the process. Type values into the matrix such that the sum of all the values is 1.

For example :

-2	-1	0

-1	1	1

0	1	2


 Cut (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+X

Cuts the currently selected object(s) to the clipboard. This means the selected objects are removed from the document. Note that you can use  get the objects back in the same place (or use CTRL-SHIFT-V to paste the objects back in the same place). Once the objects are on the clipboard they can be pasted back into the document any number of times, pasted into other documents or even into other applications. For more information, see Paste.

Copy is the same as Cut, but copies the objects to the clipboard leaving the selection in the document

Cut is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.


Cyan
The Cyan colour component is used in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key) colour model, which is commonly used by printers. By mixing various quantities of these four inks, a large range of colours can be generated.


Dash
Dashing is a term used by CorelDRAW to describe patterns applied to lines and shape outlines. In CorelXARA these options are available using the Line Gallery.


 De-installing Win32s

If it you need to reinstall Win32s, it will be necessary to remove it first. The following process will remove all files installed by the Win32s installer. This process applies to Win32s 1.0, 1.1, 1.15 and 1.2. This process will remove all of Win32s from your system.

To remove Win32s

1. Remove the following line from [386Enh] SYSTEM.INI in your Windows directory.

device=<WINDOWS>\<SYSTEM>\Win32s\w32s.386

Where <WINDOWS> and <SYSTEM> are the names of your Windows and System directories. This will normally be \Windows\System. (e.g. C:\Windows\System)

2. Find the following line in the [BOOT] section of SYSTEM.INI :

drivers=mmsystem.dll winmm16.dll

and change it to :

drivers=mmsystem.dll

3. Delete the following files from your Windows System directory (normally \Windows\System) :

W32SYS.DLL

WIN32S16.DLL

WIN32S.INI

4. Delete all the files in the <WINDOWS>\<SYSTEM>\WIN32S subdirectory.

5. Delete the <WINDOWS>\<SYSTEM>\WIN32S directory.

6. Restart Windows.


De-installing a font
 De-install a font

To de-install a font

1. Open the Font Gallery.

2. Find and select the required font(s) in the Installed section of the gallery (see Selecting items in a gallery).

3. Click the De-install button.

Note that you can only de-install fonts listed in Installed fonts.

A few programs will continue to show a de-installed font in their font list unless you quit and then reload them. This is beyond the control of CorelXARA.

_______________

See also

Installing a font


Default Bitmap
The Default Bitmap is always present in CorelXARA documents (in the Bitmap Gallery). This default bitmap is the Xara Ltd logo in greyscale and can be used like any other bitmap but cannot be deleted.


Default Control Bars

CorelXARA contains several default control bars in addition to the Toolbar and the tool-specific Infobar. The Button Palette contains all the buttons available in CorelXARA. You can copy buttons from the Button Palette to existing or new control bars. You can also remove buttons from control bars (but not from the Button Palette.) Descriptions of the functions of the buttons can be found in the following pages :

Standard Control Bar

File Control Bar

Edit Control Bar

Arrange Control Bar

Window Control Bar

Gallery Control Bar

General Control Bar

Button Palette Control Bar

_______________

See also

Hidden buttons

Moving & copying buttons

Creating & deleting control bars

Moving & resizing control bars

Removing & restoring buttons


Definitions

- A -

Alignment

Anti-Aliasing

Application Control Menu

ArtWorks

ATM

Attribute

- B -

Background Redraw

Bar

Bevelled Join

Bezier

Bitmap

Bitmap Fill

Bitmap Transparency

Bleach (Transparency Type)

Blend

Blur (Bitmap Effect)

Bounding Box

Butt Cap

- C -

Circular Fill

Circular Transparency

Clipboard

CMYK

Colour Model

Conical Fill

Conical Transparency

Contone

Control Bar

Current Attribute

Current Fill Attribute

Current Layer

Curve Edit Handle

Custom Bitmap Effect

- D -

Dash

Default Bitmap

Description

Dilation (Bitmap Effect)

Docked

Document

Document Control Menu

- E -

Edge Detection (Bitmap Effect)

Edit Handle

Elliptical Fill

Elliptical Transparency

em

Envelope Mould

EPS & EPSF

- F -

File Format

Fill Arrow

Fill Handle

Flat Fill

Flat Transparency

Floating

Folder

Font

Fractal Fill

Fractal Transparency

Full-screen Mode

- G -

Gallery

GIF

Grid

Guides Layer

Guide Object

Guideline

- H -

Handle

HSV

Hue

- I -

Infobar

Interlacing (GIF)

Inter-line Spacing

Isolate Points (Bitmap Effect)

- J -

JPEG

- K -

Kern

Key

Keyword

- L -

Laplacian (Bitmap Effect)

Layer

Line

Linear Fill

Linear Transparency

Linked Colours

Local Colour

- M -

Magnetic

Mitre Join

Mirroring

Mix (Transparency Type)

- N -

Named Colour

Normal Colour

Normal Mode

- O -

Object

Outlining

- P -

Page

Panning

Perspective Mould

PhotoCD

Point Handle

PostScript

- Q -

Quality

QuickShape

- R -

Redo

Redraw

Rendering

RGB

Robert's Cross (Bitmap Effect)

Rotate/Skew Mode

Round Cap

Round Join

Ruler

- S -

Saturation

Scale Mode

Scrollbar

Selection

Selection Handle

Select Inside

Selection Marker

Select Member

Select Under

Shade Colour

Shape

Sharpen (Bitmap Effect)

Slider

Snapping (Magnetic)

Spread

Square Cap

Stained Glass (Transparency Type)

- T -

Template Document

Temporary Directory

Text Cursor

Text Object

Tint Colour

Tool

Tracer

Tracking

Transformation Centre

Transparency

Transparency Arrow

Transparency Handle

TrueType

- U -

Undo

- V -

Value

Vector Format

View

Visual Selector

- Y -

Yellow

- Z -

Zoom


 Delete (Edit Menu)

 DEL (Delete)

Delete removes the selection from the document. Unlike Cut, Delete does not copy the selection to the clipboard, the clipboard is not affected in any way by Delete. A Delete operation can be reversed using Undo.

Delete is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.


Deleting a named colour
 Delete a named colour

1. Select the named colour(s) in the Colour Gallery.

2. Click the Delete button in the gallery.

Note

If any of the named colours you selected are in use in the document you will be asked to confirm the deletion. If you choose to delete even the used colours, any objects previously using these colours will look the same, but will now have local colours applied.

_______________

See also

Creating a named colour

Changing a named colour


Deleting guidelines
 Delete guidelines

Do one of the following :

Drag the guideline back onto the appropriate ruler.

Right-click on the guideline to open the guideline pop-up menu and choose Delete.

Note that guidelines cannot be deleted if the editable setting for the guides layer has been turned off in the Layer Gallery.


Deleting points on lines and shapes
 Delete points on lines and shapes

1. Select the line(s) or shapes(s) (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

3. Select the points (see Selecting points on lines and shapes).

4. Click the Delete Point(s) Button on the Infobar.


Deleting the guides layer
 Delete the guides layer

To Delete the guides layer

1. Open the Layer Gallery.

2. Click the guides layer to select it.

3. Click the Delete button.

If the guides layer contains objects you will be asked to confirm the deletion.


Demonstrations
On-line Demonstrations

The following is a full list of categories of CorelXARA On-line demonstrations. Click on the button to run the demonstration. For more details on how to view and operate the on-line demonstrations, see Viewing the on-line demonstrations.

CorelXARA Basics

Colour

Manipulating Objects

Blending & Moulding

Text

Bitmaps

Lines & Shapes

Fills & Transparency

Control Bars


Demonstrations - Bitmap


Demonstrations - Blending & Moulding


Demonstrations - Colour


Demonstrations - Control Bars


Demonstrations - CorelXARA Basics

These demonstrations will explain the basics behind making use of CorelXARA. The first demonstration is a full-length movie displaying the wide range of features provided by CorelXARA.


Demonstrations - Fills & Transparency


Demonstrations - Lines & Shapes


Demonstrations - Manipulating Objects


Demonstrations - Text


Description
A Description can be stored with each CorelXARA document which is displayed when the file is added to the Clipart Gallery. See Document Info for further information.


Deselect All Points

This option on the Point Handle pop-up menu deselects all point handles which are currently selected.


Deselecting objects
 Deselect objects

To deselect a selected object

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. SHIFT-click on the selected object to swap it from being selected to not being selected.

  SHIFT-Click to swap the object under the mouse pointer between selected and not selected

To deselect all objects

Do one of the following :

Choose the Selector Tool and click on a blank area of the page.

Choose Clear Selection from the Edit menu,

Press ESC (Escape).


Dialation (Bitmap Effect)
Dilation (Bitmap Effect) widens light areas and narrows dark areas of bitmaps. Its main use is emphasising edges after using Edge Detection or Isolate Points.


Displaying and hiding guides
 Display and hide guides

CorelXARA uses two types of guide; guidelines and guide objects, both of which live within the guides layer. To display or hide the guides you must display or hide the guides layer.

To display or hide the guides layer

Do one of the following :

Choose Show Guides from the Window menu.

Open the Layer Gallery and click the left-hand option on the left of the guides layer to swap it between visible and hidden. (see Layer Gallery - Editable and Visible Settings)

Both operations have exactly the same effect.


Displaying and hiding the rulers
 Display and hide the rulers

1. Choose Bars from the Window menu.

2. Choose Rulers from the submenu to hide or display the rulers.


Dithering
Dithering is a technique where patterns are applied to areas of colour in order to simulate a wider colour range. It works very well in pictures which contain a large number of colours. CorelXARA uses two types of dithering, simple ordered dithering and the more complex error diffused dithering. Remember that if you use dithering when you create a bitmap, it may not compress as well, e.g. the GIF file will be larger.


Docked
A Docked control bar is one which is attached to one of the edges of the CorelXARA window and moves with the window. A docked control bar can be dragged away from the edge of the window so it becomes a floating control bar.

              A docked control bar


Document
You can think of a Document as a conventional sheet of paper. Like a sheet of paper, you can draw lines and write text (and erase them later). You can save the document for later use by storing it on disk or printing it.

Unlike conventional paper, the computer provides you with many extra options. You can move objects around on the document just by grabbing them and sliding them around, even over other objects. You can copy objects and reuse them, either in the same document or in a different document.

CorelXARA documents are displayed as a page (or spread) with a wide margin around all four sides shown in grey on screen. You can create objects on the page margin before moving them onto the page, or move objects onto the page margin for temporary storage.


Document Control Menu
The Document Control Menu contains options for manipulating documents (for example, closing, minimising & maximising)

To display the menu using the keyboard press ALT+HYPHEN.


 Document Info (File Menu)

Document Info opens the Document Information dialog box which displays information about the current document. It also contains a comments field which you can use to add a title, description and keywords to the document.

Location

The folder where the file is located.

File Name

The name given to the document.

Created

The time and date when the document was created.

Last Saved

The time and date when the document was last saved.

Memory Used

The total memory used by the document.

Undo Size

The amount of memory used by undo information. See Undo.

Undo Steps

The number of undo steps stored.

Number of Bitmaps

The total number of bitmap in the current document.

Bitmap Size

The amount of memory used by bitmaps in the current document.

Number of Fractals

The total number of fractal fills and fractal transparencies in the document.

Fractal Size

The amount of memory used by fractals

Number of Objects

The total number of objects in the document.

Number of Selected Objects

The total number of objects in the Selection.

Document Fonts

This drop-down list contains a full list of all the fonts contained in the document. If the document uses a font not currently installed on your PC, an asterisk ( * ) will appear next to the font name.

Comments

The comments field allows details about the file to be added to the document. It can also be used for adding keywords and a title to a file which is then displayed in the Clipart Gallery. Note that the first line of this field is stored as the description of the file and will be displayed in the Clipart Gallery if the file is added to it.

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See also

Using titles, descriptions and keywords


Document file is invalid

Cause

The file you tried to open or import is corrupt or has the wrong format.

Recommended action

Recreate the document file from a backup or from the original creating program.


Document is unsaved

Cause

You have tried to close a document, or exit CorelXARA when a document has changes that have not been saved to disk.

Recommended action

Click the Save button if you want to save your work.

Click the Don't Save button to discard the changes you have made to the document.

Click the Cancel button to cancel the close. This lets you continue running CorelXARA.


Drawing a light source
 Draw a light source

Bleach transparency is ideal for drawing bright light sources.

To create a light source

1. Draw a large rectangle covering the entire drawing and flat fill it with the required light source colour.

2. Select the rectangle.

3. Choose the Transparency Tool.

4. Apply a circular transparency to the rectangle.

5. Change the transparency type to Bleach.

6. Clone the rectangle (this improves the look of the effect) and group with the original.

It is recommended that you cover the whole drawing with the rectangle containing the light source transparencies because you can then experiment with which area of the drawing is affected by the light source.


Drawing a line
 Draw a line

You can use the Pen, Shape Editor or Freehand Tools to draw lines.

The Shape Editor Tool is the most flexible and can also edit lines.

The Pen Tool is provided for users familiar with programs such as CorelDRAW & Adobe Illustrator.

The Freehand Tool lets you draw and edit lines by following freehand mouse movements.

What do you want to do?

Draw a line with the Shape Editor Tool

Draw a line with the Pen Tool

Draw a line with the Freehand Tool


Drawing a line with the Freehand Tool
 Draw a line with the Freehand Tool

To draw a line

1. Choose the Freehand Tool.

2. Place the mouse pointer at the start of the line.

3. Drag the mouse to draw a line.

4. Release the mouse button to complete the line.

Important: line drawing stops as soon as you release the mouse button.

As you are drawing the line you can do the following :

Draw straight lines sections

Erase part of the freehand line

When you have finished drawing the line you can smooth it. See Smoothing a freehand line.

On-line Demonstration


Drawing a line with the Pen Tool
 Draw a line with the Pen Tool

1. Choose the Pen Tool

2. Place the mouse pointer at the position of the first point and click.

3. Move the pointer to the next position along the line.

4. Do one of the following :

Drag to add a curved segment and shape it

Click to add a straight segment.

5. Repeat step 4 as necessary.

6. Complete the line with a SHIFT-click.

On-line Demonstration

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See also

Extending a Line

Drawing a shape


Drawing a line with the Shape Editor Tool
 Draw a line with the Shape Editor Tool

1. Ensure no lines or shapes are selected.

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool

3. To draw a straight line, click the Straight lines button on the Infobar or press S.

    To draw a curved line, click the Curved lines button on the Infobar or press C.

4. Click where you want to start drawing. A point handle will appear in the document.

5. Click where you want the line to be drawn to. If the mouse button is held down, you can move the end point before it is drawn. Each subsequent click will add a new line segment.

     To swap between drawing straight and curved line segments, repeat step 3.

6. Complete the line by:

SHIFT-clicking away from the line

or clicking on the start point to close the line and create a shape filled with the current fill attribute.

Note: if an end point handle is selected, clicking adds a new line segment.

If CTRL is held down during a drag, the handle will be constrained to the angle set in the General Options.

On-line Demonstration


Drawing a shape
 Draw a shape

As a shape is just a line where the end points touch, to create a new shape you just draw using any of the Shape Editor Tool, Pen Tool or Freehand Tool and make the start and end of the line coincide. The mouse pointer changes to show a '+' to indicate the shape will be closed. When a shape is created, it is filled with the current fill attributes.

Shape Editor Tool

1. Ensure the line is selected and the Shape Editor Tool has been chosen.

2. Do one of the following:

Drag one end of the line over the other and release.

Select one end point handle & click on the other.

Pen Tool

1. Ensure one point handle on the end of the line is selected & the Pen Tool has been chosen.

2. Click on the other end point handle.

Freehand Tool

1. Ensure the line is selected & the Freehand Tool has been chosen.

2. Place the pointer over one end of the line (the mouse pointer will show a '+').

3. Drag to the other end of the line & release.

A shape can be drawn with the Freehand Tool simply by drawing a line and finishing it at the start point.

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See also

Drawing a line


Drawing concentric circles
 Draw concentric circles

Method 1

1. Choose the Ellipse Tool.

2. CTRL-drag to create a circle. (Remember that CTRL constrains the ellipse to a circle).

3. Choose Clone from the Edit menu. This creates a duplicate on top of the original.

4. Choose the Selector Tool.

5. SHIFT-drag one of the corner selection handles (in scale mode). This scales the top-most circle around its centre which is also the centre of the original circle.

Method 2

1. Turn on grid snapping. See Snap To Grid.

2. Choose the Ellipse Tool.

3. CTRL-SHIFT-drag to create a circle by its centre. The centre of the circle will be locked onto the grid.

4. CTRL-SHIFT-drag starting at the same point (ensuring the circle centre locks onto the grid in the same place).

Method 3

1. Turn on magnetic snapping. See Snap To Objects.

2. Choose the Ellipse Tool.

3. CTRL-drag twice to create two circles.

4. Choose the Selector Tool.

5. Drag one of the circles by its centre. The centre of the circle will now snap to other objects in the document. The magnetic snap indicator on the Status Line indicates when the centre of the second circle is over the centre of the first circle - releasing the mouse button at this point aligns the circles exactly.

All of these methods also work for creating "concentric" rectangles and ellipses and "concentric" QuickShapes. There are other methods not described here.


Drawing ellipses & circles
 Draw ellipses & circles

Ellipses and circles are drawn using the Ellipse Tool. It is also possible to use the QuickShape Tool, though it is generally easier to use the Ellipse Tool.

1. Choose the Ellipse Tool or QuickShape Tool.

2. QuickShape Tool: depress the Ellipse button on the Infobar.

3. Choose the method to be used to draw the ellipse:

By Radius - depress the Radius Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Diameter - depress the Diameter Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Bounds - depress the Bounds Creation Button on the Infobar.

(By Radius and By Diameter create circles.)

4. Drag on the page to create the ellipse

Holding down CTRL during a By Bounds drag creates a circle instead of an ellipse.

Holding down SHIFT during the drag will force creation around the centre of the ellipse. If Diameter creation is selected, this will force the use of Radius creation.

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See also

Editing ellipses & circles


Drawing motion blur
 Draw motion blur

To draw a motion blurred shape

1. Draw the shape to be blurred.

2. Clone the shape.

3. Apply a flat transparency of (for example) 85% to the clone.

4. Clone the transparent shape.

5. Move the new shape in the blur direction.

6. Alter the transparency of the second shape to be almost 100%.

7. Blend between the two transparent shapes.

8. Increase the number of blend steps as required.


Drawing polygons
 Draw polygons

1. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

2. Set the required number of sides in the Number of sides field on the Infobar.

3. Choose the method to be used to draw the polygon:

By Radius - depress the Radius Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Diameter - depress the Diameter Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Bounds - depress the Bounds Creation Button on the Infobar.

4. Drag on the page to create the polygon.

5. Use the curved corners and star buttons on the Infobar to apply these features to the new polygon.

Holding down CTRL during a radius and diameter drag will constrain the shape to certain angles.

Holding down CTRL during a bounds drag will constrain the shape to being regular.

Holding down SHIFT during the drag will force creation around the centre of the polygon.

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See also

Editing polygons

Drawing starred polygons


Drawing rectangles & squares
 Draw rectangles & squares

Rectangles and squares are drawn using the Rectangle Tool. It is also possible to use the QuickShape Tool, though it is generally easier to use the Rectangle Tool.

To draw a rectangle

1. Choose the Rectangle Tool or QuickShape Tool.

2. QuickShape Tool: depress the Polygon Button on the Infobar.

3. QuickShape Tool: set the Number of sides field on the Infobar to 4.

4. Choose the method to be used to draw the rectangle:

By Radius - depress the Radius Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Diameter - depress the Diameter Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Bounds - depress the Bounds Creation Button on the Infobar.

(By Radius and By Diameter create squares.)

5. Drag on the page to create the rectangle.

Holding down CTRL during a By Bounds drag creates a square instead of a rectangle.

Holding down SHIFT during the drag will force creation around the centre of the rectangle. If Diameter creation is selected, this will force the use of Radius creation.

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See also

Editing ellipses & circles


Drawing starred polygons
 Draw starred polygons

1. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

2. Click on the Star Button on the Infobar.  Note that this will make all selected QuickShapes starred, so you may want to press ESCAPE to clear the selection.

3. You can click the Curved Corners Button too, if you want the shape to have curved corners.

4. Choose the method to be used to draw the polygon:

By Radius - depress the Radius Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Diameter - depress the Diameter Creation Button on the Infobar.

By Bounds - depress the Bounds Creation Button on the Infobar.

5. Drag on the page to create the polygon.

Holding down CTRL during a radius and diameter drag will constrain the shape to certain angles.

Holding down CTRL during a bounds drag will constrain the shape to being regular.

Holding down SHIFT during the drag will force creation around the centre of the polygon.

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See also

Editing starred polygons

Drawing polygons


Drawing straight lines with the Freehand Tool
 Draw straight lines with the Freehand Tool

To insert a straight section while drawing a freehand line with the Freehand Tool, press ALT during the drag, move the mouse pointer to the end of the straight section and release ALT. (The straight line is shown while the ALT key is pressed.) You can then continue drawing the freehand line.

The straight section can be constrained to the angle set in the General Options using CTRL.


 Duplicate (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+D

Duplicate creates a copy of the selection. The copy is offset from the original by a distance and direction defined in the General Options. After the copy has been created, it is selected and the original deselected.

Duplicate is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.

On-line Demonstration

Note

You cannot duplicate objects selected using Select inside. (See Selecting objects inside objects.) This includes selected regions within text objects.


EPS & EPSF
EPS & EPSF are Encapsulated PostScript - a variant of the PostScript language. EPS is commonly used as a file format to transfer data between different programs. Not all CorelXARA commands can be implemented in EPS format and so some information is lost when you export as EPS.

PostScript is a trademark Of Adobe Systems Inc.


Edge Detection (Bitmap Effect)
Edge Detection (Bitmap Effect) highlights sharp edges in bitmaps. You can detect edges with a specific orientation. e.g. vertical or 45 degrees. See Bitmap Effects for further details.


Edit Control Bar

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste Attributes

Paste in Same Position

Delete

Select All

Clear Selection

Duplicate

Clone

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See also

Default Control Bars


Edit Handle
Edit Handles are used to edit objects. They appear on the object itself and are specific to the object type. Their function is different depending on which type of object they are on. Edit handles can be be used to edit the shape of lines, shapes and QuickShapes for example. Edit handles can be displayed when the Selector Tool has been chosen allowing objects of different types to be edited using one Tool.

Edit handles appear on each selected object and allow editing operations specific to the object type. Edit handles appear most object types, including moulds, lines, shapes, QuickShapes and groups. Edit handles are very similar to the handles used by Macromedia Freehand and Microsoft Office. See Enabling edit handles.


Edit Menu

Undo

Redo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste Attributes

Delete

Select All

Clear Selection

Duplicate

Clone


Editing a bitmap fill
 Edit a bitmap fill

Bitmap fills are controlled using a pair of fill arrows joined at one end with three associated fill handles. The arrows point from the centre of the bitmap to its top and right-hand edges and so control its position and the angles of the sides of the bitmap. The central fill handle controls the position of the bitmap.

To Move a Fill Handle

Select the object with the fill applied and simply drag the fill handle using the Fill Tool or Selector Tool (if Fill handles have been enabled - see Enabling fill handles & fill arrows).

If the CTRL key is held down whilst dragging a fill arrow, the angle of the arrow will be constrained to 45 degree intervals.

The mouse pointer when over a fill handle

If the SHIFT key is held down whilst dragging a fill arrow, the angle between the two fill arrows is locked during the drag, i.e. the bitmap is prevented from being stretched or skewed and can be scaled easily.

When in the Fill Tool, you can nudge the selected fill handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To Alter Fill Colour

You can create a contone or duotone bitmap fill by applying colours to the fill handles. Click on a fill handle to select it and do one of the following :

Click on a colour on the Colour Line

Double click a colour in the Colour Gallery

Select a colour in the Colour Gallery and click Apply.

Note that if none of the fill handles are selected, this applies a flat fill.

To return a bitmap fill to its original colours, apply 'no colour' to both fill handles using the Colour Line.

To select all fill handles of a particular type (e.g. all centre (start) handles) within the selection, CTRL+SHIFT-click on one of the handles.

SHIFT-click can be used to select additional fill handles.

Fill Effect

The way in which the bitmap palette changes from the start to the end colours can be altered using the Fill Effect Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

Resolution

The resolution (or size) of the bitmap fill can be altered accurately using the Bitmap Fill Resolution Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

Bitmap Tiling

The tiling (repetition) of the bitmap in the fill can be altered using the Bitmap Tiling Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

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See also

Applying a bitmap fill


Editing a circular fill
 Edit a circular fill

Circular fills are controlled using a single fill arrow with a fill handle on either end. Each end of the arrow has a colour associated with it and the fill graduates from the colour at the start handle (in the centre ) to the end handle on the radius.

To Move a Fill Handle

Select the object with the fill applied and simply drag the fill handle using the Fill Tool or Selector Tool (if Fill handles have been enabled - see Enabling fill handles & fill arrows).

CTRL-dragging a fill handle constrains movement to 45 degree intervals.

The mouse pointer when over a fill handle.

When in the Fill Tool, you can nudge the selected fill handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To Alter Fill Colour

Simply drag a colour from the Colour Line or the Colour Gallery onto the filled object - as the mouse pointer moves over the object, it changes shape to show where the colour will be applied :

Dropping the colour will apply it to the outside (end handle) of the circular fill

Dropping the colour will apply it to the centre (start handle) of the circular fill

The fill colours can also be altered by applying colour direct to the fill handles. Click on a fill handle to select it and do one of the following :

Click on a colour on the Colour Line

Double click a colour in the Colour Gallery

Select a colour in the Colour Gallery and click Apply.

Note that if there are no fill handles selected, applying colour in this way creates a flat fill of the chosen colour.

To select all fill handles of a particular type (e.g. all centre (start) handles) within the selection - CTRL+SHIFT-click on one of the handles.

SHIFT-click can be used to select additional fill handles.

Fill Effect

The way in which the colours change across the fill from the start to the end colours can be altered using the Fill Effect Field.

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See also

Applying circular fills


Editing a conical fill
 Edit a conical fill

Conical fills are controlled using a single semicircular fill arrow with a fill handle on either end. Each end of the arrow has a colour associated with it and the fill graduates radially from the colour at the start handle to the end handle on the opposite side. There is a third fill handle in the centre of the fill controlling its position; this handle cannot be selected or have colour applied to it.

Note that although the fill arrows allow the size of the fill to be altered, they do not affect the fill itself - only the rotation of the arrows alters the fill.

To Move a Fill Handle

Select the object with the fill applied and simply drag the fill handle using the Fill Tool or Selector Tool (if Fill handles have been enabled (see Enabling fill handles & fill arrows).

If the CTRL key is held down whilst dragging a fill arrow, the angle of the fill will be constrained to 45 degree intervals.

The mouse pointer when over a fill handle.

When in the Fill Tool, you can nudge the selected fill handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To Alter Fill Colour

Simply drag a colour from the Colour Line or the Colour Gallery onto the filled object - as the mouse pointer moves over the object, the pointer changes to reflect how the colour will be applied :

Dropping the colour will apply it to the end handle of the conical fill

Dropping the colour will apply it to the start handle of the conical fill

The fill colours can also be altered by applying colour direct to the fill handles. Click on a fill handle to select it and do one of the following :

Click on a colour on the Colour Line

Double click a colour in the Colour Gallery

Select a colour in the Colour Gallery and click Apply.

Note that applying colour in this way with no fill handles selected will result in a flat fill of the chosen colour being applied. Remember also that the colour cannot be applied to the central handle.

To select all fill handles of a particular type (e.g. all centre (start) handles) within the selection - CTRL+SHIFT-click on one of the handles.

SHIFT-click can be used to select additional fill handles.

Fill Effect

The way in which the colours change across the fill from the start to the end colours can be altered using the Fill Effect Field.

_______________

See also

Applying conical fills


Editing a fractal fill
 Edit a fractal fill

Fractal fills are controlled using a pair of fill arrows joined at one end with three associated fill handles. The arrows point from the centre of the fractal to its top and right-hand edges and so control its position and the angles of the sides of the fractal. The central fill handle controls the position of the centre of the fractal. A fractal fill repeats a square of fractal texture to fill an object - it is very similar to a bitmap fill.

To Move a Fill Handle

Select the object with the fill applied and simply drag the fill handle using the Fill Tool or Selector Tool  (if fill handles have been enabled, see Enabling fill handles & fill arrows).

If the CTRL key is held down whilst dragging a fill arrow, the angle of the arrow will be constrained to 45 degree intervals.

The mouse pointer when over a fill handle.

If the SHIFT key is held down whilst dragging a fill arrow, the angle between the two fill arrows is locked during the drag. i.e. the fractal is prevented from being stretched or skewed and can be scaled easily.

When in the Fill Tool, you can nudge the selected fill handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To Alter Fill Colour

The colours in the fractal fill can be altered to graduate from one colour to a second. The colours are altered by applying colour direct to the fill handles. Click on a fill handle to select it and do one of the following :

Click on a colour on the Colour Line

Double click a colour in the Colour Gallery

Select a colour in the Colour Gallery and click Apply.

Note that applying colour in this way with no fill handles selected will result in a flat fill of the chosen colour being applied to the object.

To select all fill handles of a particular type (e.g. all centre (start) handles) within the selection CTRL+SHIFT-click on one of the handles.

SHIFT-click can be used to select additional fill handles.

Fill Effect

The way in which the fractal colours changes from the start to the end colours can be altered using the Fill Effect Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

Fractal Resolution

The resolution (or size) of the fractal fill can be altered accurately using the Fractal Fill Resolution Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

Fractal Tiling

The tiling (repetition) of the bitmap in the fill can be altered using the Fractal Tiling Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

Fractal Grain

The grain of the fractal can be altered using the Fractal Fill Grain Field on the Fill Tool Infobar.

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See also

Applying a bitmap fill


Editing a linear fill
 Edit a linear fill

Linear fills are controlled using a single fill arrow with a fill handle on either end. Each end of the arrow has a colour associated with it and the fill graduates from the colour at the start handle to the colour at the end handle across the object it is applied to.

To Move a Fill Handle

Select the object with the fill applied and simply drag the fill handle using the Fill Tool or Selector Tool (if Fill handles have been enabled - see Enabling fill handles & fill arrows).

CTRL-dragging a fill handle constrains movement to 45 degree intervals.

Fill handle can be dragged.

To Alter Fill Colour

Simply drag a colour from the Colour Line or the Colour Gallery onto the filled object. As the mouse pointer moves over the object, it changes shape to show where the colour will be applied :

Dropping the colour will apply it to the start of the fill

Dropping the colour will apply it to the end of the fill

Fill colours can also be altered by applying colour direct to the fill handles. Click on a fill handle to select it and do one of the following :

Click on a colour on the Colour Line

Double click a colour in the Colour Gallery

Select a colour in the Colour Gallery and click Apply.

Note that if there are no fill handles selected, applying colour in this way creates a flat fill of the chosen colour.

To select all fill handles of a particular type (e.g. all end handles) within the selection - CTRL+SHIFT-click on one of the handles.

SHIFT-click can be used to select additional fill handles.

Fill Effect

The way in which the colours change across the fill from the start to the end colours can be altered using the Fill Effect Field.

_______________

See also

Applying linear fills


Editing a perspective mould
 Edit a perspective mould

Perspective envelopes are controlled using four mould handles around the mould. Editing of the envelope is very similar to editing a shape with the Shape Editor Tool. Moulds can be edited using the Shape Editor Tool, the Mould Tool or the Selector Tool (if edit handles have been enabled - see Enabling edit handles).

To move a mould handle

1. Select the moulded object.

2. Drag the handle to its new position. If several handles are selected, they will all move simultaneously.

Click on a mould handle to select it. To select additional mould handles, SHIFT-click on them. SHIFT-click can also be used to deselect a selected mould handle.

Note

You can edit a mould without your changes being reflected until you have the required shape. Click the Detach Mould Button on the Infobar and make your changes. Deselect the button to remould the object.

The Mesh Button on the Infobar displays a mesh over all selected moulds which you may find helpful to visualise the mould shape.


Editing an elliptical fill
 Edit an elliptical fill

Elliptical fills are controlled using a pair of fill arrows with a fill handle on the end of each and one at the point at which they meet. The centre handle controls the position of the centre of the fill and its colour. The outer two handles control the width and height of the fill and the outer colour. Elliptical fills are very similar to circular fills, except that the second fill arrow to give extra control over the shape of the fill.

To Move a Fill Handle

Select the object with the fill applied and simply drag the fill handle using the Fill Tool or Selector Tool (if Fill handles have been enabled - see Enabling fill handles & fill arrows).

CTRL-dragging a fill handle constrains movement to 45 degree intervals.

The mouse pointer when over a fill handle.

When in the Fill Tool, you can nudge the selected fill handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To Alter Fill Colour

Simply drag a colour from the Colour Line or the Colour Gallery onto the filled object - as the mouse pointer moves over the object, it changes shape to show where the colour will be applied :

Dropping the colour will apply it to the outside (end handle) of the elliptical fill

Dropping the colour will apply it to the centre (start handle) of the elliptical fill

The fill colours can also be altered by applying colour direct to the fill handles. Click on a fill handle to select it and do one of the following :

Click on a colour on the Colour Line

Double click a colour in the Colour Gallery

Select a colour in the Colour Gallery and click Apply.

Note that if there are no fill handles selected, applying colour in this way creates a flat fill of the chosen colour.

To select all fill handles of a particular type (e.g. all centre [start] handles) within the selection - CTRL+SHIFT-click on one of the handles.

SHIFT-click can be used to select additional fill handles.

Fill Effect

The way in which the colours change across the fill from the start to the end colour can be altered using the Fill Effect Field.

_______________

See also

Applying elliptical fills


Editing an envelope mould
 Edit an envelope mould

Envelopes are controlled using four mould handles around the mould, each of which has two curve handles attached to it. Editing of the envelope is very similar to editing a shape with the Shape Editor Tool. Moulds can be edited using the Shape Editor Tool, the Mould Tool or the Selector Tool (if edit handles have been enabled - see Enabling edit handles).

To move a mould handle

1. Select the moulded object.

2. Drag the handle to its new position. If several handles are selected, they will all move simultaneously.

Click on a mould handle to select it. To select additional mould handles SHIFT-click on them. SHIFT-click can also be used to deselect a selected mould handle.

To move a mould curve handle

1. Select the moulded object.

2. Select a single mould handle - two curve handles will be displayed.

3. Drag the curve handles to alter the shape of the mould.

Note

You can edit a mould without your changes being reflected until you have the required shape. Click the Detach Mould Button on the Infobar and make your changes. Deselect the button to remould the object.

The Mesh Button on the Infobar displays a mesh over all selected moulds which you may find helpful to visualise the mould shape.


Editing bitmap transparency
 Edit bitmap transparency

Bitmap transparency produces a pattern across the selected objects. You can alter the 'grain' of the bitmap to produce a smooth or 'lumpy' transparency texture. You can alter the angle, direction and degree of transparency.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose  Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

To alter the start or end transparency level

1. Select the object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Select the transparency handle(s).

4. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To move a transparency handle (position and size of the bitmap)

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Drag the transparency handle to its new position.

Holding down CTRL during the drag constrains movements of the transparency arrow to 45 degree intervals.

Holding down SHIFT during the drag locks the aspect ratio of the bitmap.

You can nudge the selected transparency handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To change the transparency bitmap

1. Select the object.

2. Open the Bitmap Gallery or the Fill Gallery.

3. Select the new bitmap.

4. Click the Transp button.

To change the bitmap transparency tiling

1. Select the object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose one of the three tiling types from the Tiling Field on the Infobar.

_______________

See also

Editing Transparency


Editing bitmaps
 Edit bitmaps

To alter bitmap palettes

It is possible to apply a contone effect to bitmaps.

The two colours used for the contoning are applied in the same way as fill and outline colours are applied. Drag a colour and drop it on the edge of the bitmap to change one colour, or drop it over the bitmap away from the edge to set the second colour. It is also possible to use right and left mouse button clicks on the Colour Line to achieve the same effect. Alternatively, open the Colour Editor and edit the line and fill colours of the bitmap directly.

If you attempt to apply contone colour to a bitmap which is not greyscale, it will be converted to greyscale first.

On-line Demonstration

This effect is easily achieved by altering the white to a cream colour and the black to a dark brown.


Editing circular transparency
 Edit circular transparency

A circular transparency applied to an object is a graduation of transparency from one level to another in a radial fashion. The single transparency arrow used to control it has a handle on either end; the length of the arrow defines the radius of the transparency graduation and the transparencies at either end defined by the levels applied to the handles.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

To alter the transparency level of a handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Select the transparency handle(s).

4. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To move a transparency handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Drag the transparency handle to its new position.

You can nudge the selected transparency handle using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

_______________

See also

Editing Transparency


Editing conical transparency
 Edit conical transparency

A conical transparency applied to an object is a graduation of transparency from one level to another swept out in a radial fashion. The single semicircular transparency arrow used to control it has a handle on each end with an additional handle in the centre; the handles on the ends of the arrow define the levels on either side of the conical transparency.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

To alter the transparency level of a handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Select the transparency handle(s).

4. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To move a transparency handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Drag the transparency handle to its new position.

Holding down CTRL during the drag will constrain movements of the transparency arrow to 45 degree intervals.

You can nudge the selected transparency handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

_______________

See also

Editing Transparency


Editing curved lines & shapes
 Edit curved lines and shapes

Point handle behaviour

The join of two curved line segments can be either smooth (shown above left) or sharp (shown above right). (A sharp join is sometimes called a cusp join.)

To change from smooth to sharp either:

1. Select the point handle.

2. Do one of the following :

Click the Sharp Point Button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar

Press Z on the keyboard.

You can also achieve the same result by double-clicking the point handle

To change from sharp to smooth either:

1. Select the point handle.

2. Do one of the following :

Click the Smooth Point Button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar

Press S on the keyboard.

You can also achieve the same result by double-clicking the point handle

To change curve shape

1. Select the line or shape.

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool

3. Click on the point handle you wish to edit

4. Drag either of the two curve edit handles.

or

1. Select the line or shape.

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

3. Move the mouse pointer over the line. (The pointer changes to an arrow.)

4. Drag to reform the line segment.

Drag to reform the line.

Selector Tool

When edit handles have been enabled in the Selector Tool it can be used to select and move point handles and curve handles. See Selecting points on lines and shapes.

Pop-up menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the pointer over a point handle, it can be used to edit lines and shapes without the need to choose the Shape Editor Tool. See Point Handle Pop-up Menu.

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See also

Moving points on shapes and lines


Editing ellipses & circles
 Edit ellipses & circles

To move an ellipse

1.  Choose the QuickShape Tool or the Ellipse Tool.

2.  Drag the cross in the centre of the ellipse to move the ellipse to the required position.

Ellipses can also be moved using the Selector Tool - see Moving objects.

To rotate an ellipse

1.  Choose the Ellipse Tool.

2.  SHIFT-dragging a handle will allow the ellipse to be rotated and scaled simultaneously. To rotate the ellipse without altering its size, hold down CTRL while dragging.

or

1.  Choose the QuickShape Tool.

2.  Dragging a handle will allow the ellipse to be rotated and scaled simultaneously. To rotate the ellipse without altering its size, hold down CTRL while dragging.

Ellipses can also be rotated using the Selector Tool - see Rotating objects.

To stretch an ellipse

1.  Choose the Ellipse Tool.

2.  Drag a handle to stretch the ellipse relative to the opposite handle.

Ellipses can also be stretched using the Selector Tool - see Stretching objects.

To scale an ellipse

In the Ellipse Tool:

     CTRL+SHIFT-drag a handle.

In the QuickShape Tool:

    CTRL-drag a handle.

Ellipses can also be scaled using the Selector Tool - see Scaling objects.

To change an ellipse into a polygon

1. Select the ellipse.

2. Do one of the following :

Double-click on the centre of the ellipse.

Open the Pop-up Menu over the ellipse and choose Make Polygonal.


Editing elliptical transparency
 Edit elliptical transparency

An elliptical transparency applied to an object is a graduation of transparency from one level to another in a radial fashion. The pair of transparency arrows used to control it have a handle on one end and one at their joining point; the length of the arrows defines the radii of the transparency graduation and the transparencies of the centre and outer edge are defined by the levels applied to the handles.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

To alter the transparency level of a handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Select the transparency handle(s).

4. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To move a transparency handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Drag the transparency handle to its new position.

Holding down CTRL during the drag will constrain movements of the transparency arrow to 45 degree intervals.

You can nudge the selected transparency handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

_______________

See also

Editing Transparency


Editing fills
 Edit fills

The Fill Tool and Selector Tool can be used to edit a linear fill, circular fill, conical fill, elliptical fill, bitmap fill or fractal fill which has been applied to an object.

Editing linear fills

Editing circular fills

Editing elliptical fills

Editing conical fills

Editing bitmap fills

Editing fractal fills

_______________

See also

Applying fills


Editing flat transparency
 Edit flat transparency

To alter the transparency level

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

_______________

See also

Editing transparency


Editing fractal transparency
 Edit fractal transparency

Fractal transparency produces random, varying transparency levels across the selected objects. This is similar to a fractal fill except that the fractal values alter the level of transparency rather than the colour. You can alter the 'grain' of the fractal to produce a smooth or 'lumpy' transparency texture. You can alter the angle, direction and exact degree of transparency.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

To alter the transparency level of a handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Select the transparency handle(s).

4. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To move a transparency handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Drag the transparency handle to its new position.

Holding down CTRL during the drag will constrain movements of the transparency arrow to 45 degree intervals.

Holding down SHIFT during the drag will lock the aspect ratio of the fractal.

You can nudge the selected transparency handle(s) using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

To change the fractal grain

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Ensure no transparency handles are selected by clicking away from the handles.

4. Drag the Grain Slider on the Infobar.

To change the fractal resolution

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Ensure no transparency handles are selected by clicking away from the object.

4. Alter the value in the Resolution Field on the Infobar.

To change the fractal transparency tiling

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose one of the three tiling types from the Tiling Field on the Infobar.

_______________

See also

Editing Transparency


Editing linear transparency
 Edit linear transparency

A linear transparency applied to an object is a graduation of transparency from one level to another in a linear fashion. The single transparency arrow used to control it has a handle on either end; the direction of the arrow defines the direction of the transparency graduation and the transparencies at either end defined by the levels applied to the handles.

To alter the transparency type

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose Mix, Stained Glass or Bleach from the Transparency Type Field on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

To alter the transparency level at a handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Select the transparency handle(s).

4. Move the Transparency Level Slider on the Infobar.

To move a transparency handle

1. Select the transparent object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Drag the transparency handle to its new position.

You can nudge the selected transparency handle using the cursor keys on the keyboard. CTRL-nudge and SHIFT-nudge give larger nudges (five and ten times larger, respectively).

_______________

See also

Editing transparency


Editing moulded text
 Edit moulded text

Text which has been moulded cannot be edited directly in this version of CorelXARA, but described below is a simple process which allows you to easily remove the mould, edit the text and reapply the mould.

To edit moulded text

1. Select the moulded text object.

2. Choose the Mould Tool.

3. Click the Copy Mould button on the Infobar.

4. Click the Remove Mould button on the Infobar to remove the mould from the text.

5. Edit the text object as normal.

6. Choose the Mould Tool

7. Click the Paste Mould button on the Infobar.


Editing polygons
 Edit polygons

To enable/disable curved corners on a QuickShape

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Double click on a corner of the QuickShape.

or

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

3. Click the Curved Corners Button on the Infobar.

To change the number of sides of a QuickShape

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

3. Choose the number of sides from the drop-down list or enter a value & press RETURN. Any value from 3 to 99 is valid.

or

1. Open the Pop-up Menu over the QuickShape and choose a value from the Number of Sides submenu.

To resize or rotate a QuickShape

1. Click on the polygon or starred QuickShape to select it

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Drag on one of the outer handles.  The shape scales and rotates about its centre to keep the point you are dragging under the pointer.  To just scale the shape, hold down CTRL and drag towards or away from the centre.  To just rotate the shape, hold down CTRL and drag the handle radially.

To alter the corner-curvature of a QuickShape

1. Select the polygon or starred QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Drag on one of the curvature handles.  The QuickShape becomes more or less curved as you drag the mouse between the two outer handles.

To warp the edges of a QuickShape

1. Select the polygon or starred QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Move the mouse pointer over a side of the QuickShape. (The pointer changes to an arrow.)

4. Drag to reform the sides of the object.

The sides of a QuickShape can be made straight again using the Restore Edges Button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar.

To enable/disable polygon stellation

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Double-click on the edge of the polygon (not on a curved corner).

or

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

3. Click the Star Button on the Infobar.

To change a polygon into an ellipse

1. Select the polygon.

2. Do one of the following :

Double-click on the centre of the polygon.

Open the QuickShape Pop-up Menu over the polygon and choose Make Elliptical.

_______________

See also

Editing starred shapes

Drawing polygons


Editing rectangles & squares
 Edit rectangles & squares

To change a rectangle into an ellipse

1. Select the rectangle.

2. Do one of the following :

Double-click on the centre of the rectangle.

Open the Pop-up Menu over the rectangle and choose Make Elliptical.

To move a rectangle

1. Choose the QuickShape Tool or the Rectangle Tool.

2. Dragging the cross in the centre of the rectangle moves the rectangle.

Rectangles can also be moved using the Selector Tool - see Moving objects.

To rotate a rectangle

1. Choose the Rectangle Tool.

2. SHIFT-dragging a handle will allow the rectangle to be rotated and scaled simultaneously. To rotate the rectangle without altering its size, hold down CTRL while dragging.

or

1. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

2. Dragging a handle will allow the rectangle to be rotated and scaled simultaneously. To rotate the rectangle without altering its size, hold down CTRL while dragging.

Rectangles can also be rotated using the Selector Tool - see Rotating objects.

To resize a rectangle

In the Rectangle Tool:

   CTRL+SHIFT-drag a handle.

In the QuickShape Tool:

    CTRL-drag a handle.

Rectangles can also be scaled using the Selector Tool - see Scaling objects.

Note

To warp the edges of a rectangle, you must use the QuickShape Tool. See Editing polygons.

_______________

See also

Drawing rectangles & squares


Editing starred polygons
 Edit starred polygons

To move the star handles

1. Select the polygon or starred QuickShape to select it

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Drag on one of the inner handles.  The star handle moves to stay under the mouse pointer. To just move the point in and out, hold down CTRL and drag towards or away from the centre. To just rotate the point, hold down CTRL and drag the handles radially.

(The star handles are shown as 'stellation radius & offset' in the diagram)

To enable curved corners on a QuickShape

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Double click on a corner of the QuickShape.

or

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

3. Depress the Curved Corners Button on the Infobar to enable curved corners.

To disable curved corners on a QuickShape

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Double click on a curved corner handle.

or

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

3. Pull out the Curved Corners Button on the Infobar.

To change the number of sides of a QuickShape

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

2. Choose the number of sides from the Number of Sides drop-down list on the Infobar or enter a value & press RETURN. Any value from 3 to 99 is valid.

To resize or rotate a QuickShape

1. Select the polygon or starred QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Drag on one of the outer handles.  The shape scales and rotates about its centre to keep the point you are dragging under the pointer.  To just scale the shape hold down CTRL and drag outward from the centre.  To just rotate the shape hold down CTRL and move the mouse around the circumference of the shape.

To alter the corner-curvature of a QuickShape

1. Select the polygon or starred QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Drag on one of the curvature handles.  The QuickShape becomes more or less curved as you drag the mouse between the two outer handles.

To warp the edges of a QuickShape

1. Select the polygon or starred QuickShape to select it

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool

3. Move the mouse pointer over a side of the QuickShape. (The pointer changes to an arrow.)

4. Drag to reform the sides of the object.

The sides of a QuickShape can be made straight again using the Restore Edges Button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar.

To make a starred polygon a standard polygon

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Double-click on the edge of the starred polygon.

or

1. Select the QuickShape.

2. Choose the QuickShape Tool.

3. Pull out the Star Button on the Infobar.

To change a polygon into an ellipse

1. Select the polygon.

2. Do one of the following :

Double-click on the centre of the polygon.

Open the QuickShape Pop-up Menu over the polygon and choose Make Elliptical.

_______________

See also

Drawing starred polygons

Drawing polygons


Editing text
 Edit text

There are two editing modes used with the Text Tool. You can either edit text using the cursor or edit selected text regions.

Editing Text with the Text Cursor

1. Choose the Text Tool.

2. Click in the text object to insert the text cursor.

3. Edit the text as required (see Text Tool Key Shortcuts).

Editing Text Selections

When a region of text has been selected (see Selecting text) it is possible to :

Apply attributes to the selected region - see Applying attributes to text

Replace the selected region by typing new text.

Scaling & Stretching text

You can use either the Text Tool (see Font size or Aspect ratio) or the Selector Tool (see Scaling objects or Stretching objects).

On-line Demonstration

Note

Remember that whenever the text cursor is moved it takes on the attributes of the character to its left.

_______________

See also

Creating new text

Placing text around a curve

Entering special characters


Editing transparency
 Edit transparency

The Transparency Tool and Selector Tool can be used to edit a flat transparency, linear transparency, circular transparency, elliptical transparency, conical transparency, bitmap transparency or fractal transparency which has been applied to an object.

Editing Flat Transparency

Editing Linear Transparency

Editing Circular Transparency

Editing Elliptical Transparency

Editing Conical Transparency

Editing Bitmap Transparency

Editing Fractal Transparency

Removing Transparency

On-line Demonstration


  Ellipse Tool

The Ellipse Tool creates and edits elliptical and circular QuickShapes. It is a customised version of the QuickShape Tool.

SHIFT+F4

Ellipse Tool Infobar Controls

Bounds Creation

Diameter Creation

Radius Creation

Mode Indicator

Parameters

Ellipse Tool Operations

Drawing ellipses & circles

Editing ellipses & circles

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Rectangle Tool

QuickShape Tool


 Ellipse Tool - Bounds Creation Button

The Bounds Creation button on the Ellipse Tool Infobar selects Bounds Creation mode. Dragging the mouse creates a new ellipse within the bounding box. This lets you create ellipses rather than circles. To create a circle, hold down CTRL while dragging.

_______________

See also

Drawing ellipses & circles


 Ellipse Tool - Diameter Creation Button

This button on the Ellipse Tool Infobar selects Diameter Creation. Drag the mouse to create a new circle across its diameter.

_______________

See also

Drawing ellipses & circles


 Ellipse Tool - Mode Indicator

This indicator on the Ellipse Tool Infobar displays the 'mode' of the tool. It displays one of the following :

New:

Changes made to the Infobar fields set the defaults for the tool. i.e. the settings that apply to all subsequent ellipses you draw.

Change:

The selection contains at least one elliptical QuickShape. Changes made to the Infobar fields alter the selected ellipse(s).


 Ellipse Tool - Parameters Field

These fields on the Ellipse Tool Infobar allow the accurate editing of elliptical QuickShape parameters. From the drop-down list choose either

The width & height of the ellipse,

The coordinates of the centre of the ellipse.

Alter the values by typing into the edit fields and pressing RETURN or using the arrow buttons.

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


 Ellipse Tool - Radius Creation Button

This button on the Ellipse Tool Infobar selects Radius Creation. Dragging the mouse creates a circle from the centre outward.

_______________

See also

Drawing ellipses & circles


Elliptical Fill
An Elliptical Fill consists of colour graduating in a radial fashion. It is very similar to the circular fill, but uses three fill handles to allow the fill to be stretched in two directions.


Elliptical Transparency
An Elliptical Transparency uses two transparency arrows, the transparency graduates from the centre out to the edges of the ellipse defined by the arrows. It is very similar to the circular transparency, but uses the extra transparency handle to allow the transparency to be stretched in two directions.


Enabling edit handles
 Enable edit handles

Edit handles allow you to edit an object's shape with the Selector Tool.

To enable edit handles

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Depress the Edit Handles button on the Selector Tool Infobar.


Enabling fill handles & fill arrows
 Enable fill handles & fill arrows

Fill handles and fill arrows are used to edit fills in the Fill Tool. If they are enabled in the Selector Tool, fills can also be edited using the Selector Tool.

To enable fill handles & fill arrows

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Depress the Fill Handles Button button on the Selector Tool Infobar.


Enabling selection handles
 Enable selection handles

Selection handles are used in the Selector Tool and allow objects to be resized, scaled, rotated and skewed.

To enable selection handles

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Depress the Selection Handles Button on the Infobar.

On-line Demonstration


Enabling transparency
 Enable transparency

If your document contains transparency, the transparency can be enabled and disabled. This does not affect the document, just the way it appears on screen. Transparency display is automatically enabled as soon as you create a transparent object or load a document containing transparency objects.

Transparency can be manually enabled and disabled using the transparency indicator on the Status Line. For more details, see Status Line.


Entering special characters
 Enter special characters

CorelXARA includes shortcuts for the following special characters. The characters are entered in the Text Tool by first pressing CTRL along with a modifier, releasing both keys and then pressing the letter to which the modifier should be applied.

So, for example, to enter an õ, you would hold down CTRL, type a ~ (usually SHIFT+#), release CTRL and then press o.

ÀÈÌÒÙàèìòù 	CTRL+ ` then a,A,e,E,i,I,o,O,u or U

ÁÉÍÓÚÝáéíóúý	CTRL+ ' then a,A,e,E,i,I,o,O,u, U, y or Y

ÃÑÕãñõ 	CTRL+ ~ then a,A,n,N,o or O

ÂÊÎÔŠÛâêîôšû 	CTRL+ ^ then a,A,e,E,i,I,o,O,s, S, u or U

ÄËÏÖÜŸäëïöüÿ 	CTRL+ : then a,A,e,E,i,I,o,O,u, U, y or Y

¢	CTRL+/ then c

Øø	CTRL+/ then O or o

ç Ç 	CTRL+ , then C	(or c)

®	CTRL+@ then R (or r)

©	CTRL+@ then C (or c)

Åå	CTRL+@ then A or a

Note

Some keyboards (e.g. Portugal, German) do dead keys already.  CorelXARA does not affect this.

Some keyboards require you to press CTRL to get an accent character (e.g. French é).  In this case the accent appears and CorelXARA does nothing.

If you wish to disable this system and you know how to edit INI files, change the line in the CORELXRA.INI file reading UseDeadKeys=1 to UseDeadKeys=0

If you are in a country with a keyboard that does not have one of the required keys (e.g. Portugal does not have a ^) you must enter the character using ALT+<character code> or use CharMap or similar.


Envelope Mould
An Envelope Mould is a shape used to mould objects. For instance a line of text could be moulded into a circle using a circular envelope.


  Erasing part of a freehand line

Whilst drawing a freehand line with the Freehand Tool, you can erase backwards along the line. Hold down SHIFT and move the mouse (without releasing the mouse button) backwards along the line. Release SHIFT to continue drawing.


Exit (File Menu)

Ends a CorelXARA session. CorelXARA prompts you to save any unsaved documents. You can also exit CorelXARA by doing one of the following:

Open the application control menu, (press ALT+SPACEBAR) and choose Close.

Double-click the application Control-menu box.


 Export (File Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+E

Selecting Export from the File menu allows you to export your document in a wide variety of file formats. Type in a file name, choose a directory, choose a file format and click OK.

Exporting Bitmaps

If a bitmap format is chosen, a second dialog box appears allowing you to alter settings controlling how the bitmap is exported. For more information, see Bitmap Export.

Exporting CorelXARA EPS

If CorelXARA EPS is chosen, a second dialog box appears letting you set specific options for the EPS file. See CorelXARA EPS Export for more information.

Note

PostScript does not support transparency and so any areas of a drawing containing transparency will be exported as bitmap data in EPS files.

The Export dialog will look slightly different under Windows 3.1, 3.11 and Windows NT.

_______________

See also

Supported File Formats


Exporting a bitmap at a specific size
 Export a bitmap at a specific size

When exporting a picture as a bitmap, you might wish to specify a particular height or width in pixels (e.g. you might want to create a bitmap which is exactly 640x480 pixels) However, the Bitmap Export  dialog box uses the "dpi" field to determine how to scale the image, so it can sometimes export the wrong size - for example, when asked for 150 pixels wide, it may give a final image only 139 pixels wide. To remedy this, select the entire image and scale it down so it more closely matches the destination size. Now, when you export it, the DPI setting is more accurate within the range of values you require, and thus the program can more closely match the desired pixel sizes.


Extending a line
 Extend a line

Lines can be extended using the Pen, Shape Editor or Freehand Tools.

The Shape Editor Tool is the most flexible and can also edit lines.

The Pen Tool is provided for users familiar with programs such as CorelDRAW & Adobe Illustrator.

The Freehand Tool lets you extend the line by following freehand mouse movements.

What do you want to do?

Extend a Line with the Pen Tool

Extend a Line with the Freehand Tool

Extend a Line with the Shape Editor Tool


Extending a line with the Freehand Tool
 Extend a line with the Freehand Tool

1. Select the line (see Selecting and deselecting objects).

2. Choose the Freehand Tool.

3. Move the mouse pointer over the end of the line - the pointer will change (see below).

4. Drag and move the mouse to create the new line section.

Dragging will extend an existing line


Extending a line with the Pen Tool
 Extend a line with the Pen Tool

1. Select the line (see Selecting and deselecting objects).

2. Click on the end point handle to extend from (the Shape Editor Tool or Selector Tool can be used for this).

3. Choose the Pen Tool.

4. Now click or drag as normal (see Drawing a Line with the Pen Tool) to add the new line section.


Extending a line with the Shape Editor Tool
 Extend a line with the Shape Editor Tool

1. Select the line (see Selecting and deselecting objects).

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool

3. Click on the point handle on the end of the line you wish to extend. (This can also be done with the Selector Tool if edit handles have been enabled - see Enabling edit handles.)

4. The Shape Editor Tool can now be used as normal to draw lines - the first segment of which will be connected to the existing line (see Drawing a line with the Shape Editor Tool).


Failed to find the CD

Cause

This message is displayed when the 'Find CD' button is clicked in the Add folder dialog box, and the CD cannot be found.

Recommended action

Insert the CD, and click 'Find CD' again.


Failed to make transparency mask for GIF

Cause

The GIF file that was being imported or opened has been loaded correctly but it specifies that it requires transparency. When the transparency mask was being created, a problem was encountered and the process halted. Therefore, the GIF file will be displayed without the transparency mask. The reason for the failure is likely to be lack of memory.

Recommended action

Free up some memory by closing documents or quitting other applications and try loading the GIF file again.


Feathering a bitmap
 Feather a bitmap

To feather a bitmap

1.  Import the Bitmap.

2.  Draw a shape using the Freehand Tool around the edge to be feathered.

3.  Fill the shape black, set the line colour to white and give it a thick line width.

4.  Clone the shape, set its outline to a small line width and change its line colour to black.

7.  Use the Blend Tool to blend from the thick-outlined shape to the topmost shape.

8.  Increase the blend steps so you have a nice gradual fade (see Number of Steps Field).

9.  Draw a large white rectangle the same size as the original bitmap and position it between the bitmap and the blend. Make sure it is the only selected shape.

10. Export the selection as a bitmap (see Bitmap Export). The format is unimportant, but it must be in at least 256 colours.

11. Import the bitmap.

12. Delete the blend and the white rectangle.

13. Select the original bitmap.

14. Open the Bitmap Gallery and select the newly created bitmap.

15. Click the Transp button to apply the created bitmap as a bitmap transparency. If the bitmap is not a 256 colour greyscale bitmap CorelXARA will offer to convert it to a suitable form before it is applied.

16. Edit the bitmap transparency to align it with the bitmap (see Editing bitmap transparency).


File Control Bar

Close

Save As

Save All

Save Template

Import

Export

Document Info

Print

Print Setup

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See also

Default Control Bars


File Format
File Format is the way in which information is arranged in a file. Different programs arrange the information in different ways depending on their requirements. This means that files from one program cannot be read by another or, if it can be read, not all the information can be displayed correctly.

CorelXARA's native file format is called ".xar" format. ".xar" files can describe all of the advanced graphics produced by CorelXARA such as zero-memory blends and transparent objects. No other file format can fully describe the same graphics and, if drawings are saved in other formats, either some parts of the drawing are lost or changed or they are  no longer editable when the file is reloaded into CorelXARA.

There are two major groups of graphic file formats; Bitmap (a rectangle of coloured dots) and Vector (a list of drawing instructions). CorelXARA can import and export many types of both Bitmap and Vector file formats.

Vector file formats can also be divided into two further subgroups: those that are designed to be edited and those that are designed simply to be rendered (displayed). Postscript files (and their variant, EPS files) are usually intended to be rendered rather than edited.


File Menu

Open

Close

New

Save

Save As

Save All

Save Template

Import

Export

Document Info

Print Setup

Print

1,2,3,4 (recently loaded files list)

Exit


File already exists

Cause

You have tried to save or export to a file that already exists.

Recommended action

Click the Replace button to overwrite the existing file.

Click the Cancel button to abort the save or export. You can then repeat the operation using a different filename.


File is read-only

Cause

CorelXARA attempted to write to:

a file that is read-only,

a read-only drive, such as a CD-ROM drive.

Recommended action

Use the Windows Explorer to check if the file is read-only.  If it is, then the file's read-only status can be changed. (Although there may be a reason why the file is read-only - if in doubt, then contact your system administrator.)

Alternatively, choose another file name or another disk drive.


File not found

Cause

The document file name you typed in does not exist.

Recommended action

Check that the name, drive and directory path are correct.

Check that the file exists.


File-sharing violation

Cause

Another process (or possibly, in the case of a file on a network, another user) has already claimed the file for writing.

Recommended action

Often if you wait a few seconds for the other user to finish, you can write to the file yourself. If this fails, contact your system administrator.


Fill Arrow
Fill Arrows are shown on filled objects and are used to edit the fills. The ends of the arrows can be clicked and dragged to move the fill. Some Fill Arrows have fill handles on the ends which allow colours to be applied to the fill.


Fill Gallery
 Fill Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 SHIFT+F11

The Fill Gallery contains bitmap textures suitable for use as bitmap fills and bitmap transparencies. These bitmaps are not loaded into memory - only when one is used is it loaded.

Fill bitmaps are normally loaded from the CorelXARA CD, but you can change to a different drive. You can also add textures to the gallery.

Import	Import the fill as a bitmap.

Fill	Apply the bitmap as a bitmap fill.

Transp	Apply the bitmap as a bitmap transparency.

Add Fills	Add more fills to the gallery.

Options	Fill Gallery options.

Remove	Remove the selected gallery sections.

Many operations using the Fill Gallery are made easier by the Fill Gallery Pop-up Menu.

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See also

Galleries

Selecting items in a gallery


 Fill Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 SHIFT+F11

The Fill Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Fill Gallery button open the Fill Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Fill Gallery - Add Fills Button

The Add Fills button in the Fill Gallery opens a modified Open dialog box that lets you choose the directory containing the library. Usually you would read the directory directly from the CorelXARA CD, but you can copy the library onto a hard disk if required and use Add Fills to use the fill bitmaps. See Adding a folder to a gallery.


Fill Gallery - Fill Button

The Fill button in the Fill Gallery imports and applies the selected bitmap as a bitmap fill to the selection. If no objects are selected, the current fill attribute is set to a bitmap fill using the selected bitmap.

You can also drag-and-drop a fill bitmap onto an object to apply it as a fill or double-click it to apply it to all the objects selected. CTRL-double-clicking closes the gallery afterwards.


Fill Gallery - Import Button

The Import button in the Fill Gallery imports the selected bitmap(s) into the selected document resulting in it appearing in the Bitmap Gallery.

You can also drag-and-drop the bitmap onto a blank part of the page to import it.


Fill Gallery - Options Button

Clicking the Options button in the Fill Gallery opens a menu containing the following options :

Add Fills

Find

Sort

Properties


Fill Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Fill Gallery opens the pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Import	Identical to the Import button.

Apply as a Fill	Identical to the Fill button.

Apply as Transparency	Identical to the Transparency button.

Remove Section	Identical to the Remove button.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.


Fill Gallery - Remove Button

The Remove button in the Fill Gallery removes the selected sections from the gallery. You will be asked to confirm the operation.


Fill Gallery - Transparency Button

The Transparency button in the Fill Gallery imports and applies the selected bitmap as a bitmap transparency to the selection. If no objects are currently selected, the current transparency attribute is set to a bitmap transparency using this bitmap. i.e. all subsequent objects drawn will have the selected bitmap applied as a transparency.


Fill Handle
Fill Handles are the squares on the ends of fill arrows. To change the colours in the fill select a handle and apply a colour to it.

To easily swap between the start and end handles, press TAB (this swaps the selected status of all handles). Note that this only works in the Fill Tool.

Fills can be edited using the Selector Tool if fill handles and fill arrows have been enabled in the Selector. See Enabling fill handles & fill arrows.

Pressing TAB whilst dragging a fill handle alters the way in which redraws are performed during the drag. The redraw type used can be set using the View Options.

You can alter the colours of a bitmap fill by applying colours to the fill handles. (This works best with greyscale bitmaps.)

If you CTRL+click on a fill handle, all handles of that type on the selection will be selected. e.g. all the end fill handles.

SHIFT+clicking on a fill handle will select it without deselecting any other handles (or deselect it if it is already selected).


  Fill Tool

The Fill Tool lets you fill the selected object(s) in a variety of graduated colour, fractal and bitmap fills.

Fills are controlled using fill arrows that control the position and direction of the fill. The colours of the fill are controlled using fill handles.

F5

Fill Tool Infobar Controls

Which fields appear on the Infobar depends on the current fill type.

Fill Type

Bitmap & Fractal Fill Tiling

Bitmap & Fractal Resolution

Bitmap

Bitmap Fill Colour

Fractal Fill Grain

Selected Fill Handle Colour

Fill Effect

Fill Tool Operations

Applying fills

Editing fills

On-line Demonstrations

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See also

Colour Line

Selector Tool

Transparency Tool


 Fill Tool - Bitmap & Fractal Fill Resolution Field

The Resolution field on the Fill Tool Infobar sets the resolution (the size) of the currently selected bitmap/fractal fill. You can change the resolution by:

Scaling the bitmap/fractal in the fill using the fill handles

Entering a new value in this field and pressing RETURN.

Note

This field only appears on the Infobar when the selection contains only bitmap/fractal filled objects, and there are no selected fill handles. Click away from the fill handles with the Fill Tool to deselect all the handles.

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See also

Editing fills

Applying fills


 Fill Tool - Bitmap & Fractal Fill Tiling Field

The Tiling field on the Fill Tool Infobar sets the method used for 'tiling' fractal fills and bitmap fills. There are three choices available :

Single Tile

This places a single copy of the fill bitmap inside the filled shape(s). The shape(s) may not be entirely covered by the fill bitmap. You can scale up the bitmap to fill the shape but the individual pixels of the bitmap may then be noticeable.

Repeating Tile

This repeats the fill bitmap to fill the shape(s).

Repeat Inverted

This is similar to Repeating Tile, but alternate tiles are reflected. This is very useful for bitmap textures which you need to tile without the joins being obvious. In the example below, the lighting over the texture makes it impossible for normal tiling to be effective.

Left to right: Single Tile, Repeating Tile and Repeat Inverted.

Note

This field only appears on the Fill Tool Infobar when the fills in the selection are all bitmap fills or all fractal fills.

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See also

Fill Tool

Applying fills

Editing fills


 Fill Tool - Bitmap Field

The Bitmap field on the Fill Tool Infobar sets the bitmap used in bitmap filled object(s) in the selection.

Note

This field only appears on the Fill Tool Infobar when the current Fill Type is set to Bitmap.

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See also

Applying fills

Editing fills


 Fill Tool - Bitmap Fill Colour Field

The Bitmap Fill Colour field on the Fill Tool Infobar displays the colour applied to the currently selected fill handles.

Note

This field only appears on the Infobar when the selection contains one bitmap fill.

This field shows 'Many' if the currently selected fill handles have different colours applied.

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See also

Applying fills

Editing fills


 Fill Tool - Fill Effect Field

The Fill Effect option on the Fill Tool Infobar defines the way in which the colours change from one to another in a fill. There are three effects available:

Fade

Simply fades from the colours of one object to the next.

Rainbow

This is a more colourful fade following the shortest edge of the HSV colour wheel.

For example, a fade from yellow to cyan passes through green.

Alternate Rainbow

This acts in the same way as Rainbow except the colours follow the longest edge of the HSV colour wheel.

For example a fade from yellow to cyan passes through red, magenta and blue..

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See also

Applying fills

Editing fills


 Fill Tool - Fill Type Field

The Fill Type field on the Fill Tool Infobar sets the type of fill applied to the selection.

The fill types available are :

Flat Fill

Conical Fill

Circular Fill

Linear Fill

Elliptical Fill

Bitmap Fill

Fractal Fill

The field shows 'Many' if the selection contains fills of different types.

The field shows 'None' if there are no selected objects.

The field shows 'Flat fill' if only flat filled objects are selected.

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See also

Fill Tool

Applying fills

Editing fills


 Fill Tool - Fractal Fill Grain Field

The Grain field on the Fill Tool Infobar sets the 'grain' for the currently selected object with a fractal fill applied. Low values gives a smooth, cloud-like effect; higher values give a sharper, more 'grainy' texture.

Note

This field only appears when the selection contains only fractal filled objects, and there are no selected fill handles. (when a fill handle is selected the handle type and colour will be displayed).

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See also

Applying fills

Editing fills


 Fill Tool - Selected Fill Handle Colour Fields

These fields are on the Fill Tool Infobar. The left hand of the two shows the currently selected fill handle(s). The right hand field shows the colour applied to the selected handle(s).

Note

This field is shown for all fill types if there is a fill handle selected.

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See also

Applying fills

Editing fills


Finding clipart
 Find clipart

To find clipart, use the Clipart Gallery. You can find pictures using the filename of the picture, the title of the picture or using keywords (words related to the picture). For more details, see Searching a gallery.


Fine-tuning the bitmap tracer
 Fine-tune the bitmap tracer

Problem:

Too many handles on each shape

If the bitmap uses dithering - increase the Remove Noise setting.

If the handles are evenly spaced along the lines - reduce the Accuracy setting.

If the handles are clustered around the corners - increase the Smoothing setting.

Too many shapes

Too many small shapes - increase the Minimum Area setting and possibly increase the Reduce Noise setting.

Too many shapes of a similar colour - increase the Final Tolerance setting.

Trace not accurate enough

... at the corners - decrease the Smoothing setting.

... in smooth areas (along lines) - increase the Accuracy setting.

Trace missing small areas

Reduce the Minimum Area setting.

Tracing is too slow

Try the following :

Decrease the Passes setting.

Reduce the Smoothing setting.

Reduce the bitmap size using Bitmap Effects.

Increase the Minimum Area setting.

Sharp edges look blurred

Try the following :

Use the 256 Colours mode if currently using True Colour.

Use the Monochrome mode if currently using Greyscale.

Reduce the Noise Removal setting.

Increase the Final Colour Tolerance setting.

Tracing accesses the disk frequently or runs out of memory

Reduce the bitmap size using Bitmap Effects

You have selected too many colours for the bitmap.

Tracer spends too long on the detail

Try the following :

Reduce the number of Passes.

Increase the Initial Colour Tolerance setting.

Decrease the Minimum Area setting.

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See also

Bitmap Tracer


 Fit Text to Curve (Arrange Menu)

When the selection consists of a single line, shape or QuickShape and a text object, selecting Fit Text To Curve will fit the text along the edge of the object. The text can still be edited as normal after it has been fitted.

When a text object is selected which has been fitted to a curve, the Fit Text to Curve menu item will read Remove Text From Curve - selecting it will separate the two components leaving a text object and a line or shape (if a QuickShape was used it will have been converted to a shape).

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See also

Text Tool

Placing text around a curve


Flat Fill
A Flat Fill is a solid fill of a single colour. This type of colouring is applied using the Colour Line or the Colour Gallery. For more elaborate fills, use the Fill Tool.


Flat Transparency
Flat Transparency is a fixed level of transparency applied uniformly over a whole object(s).


Flip
Flipping an object is as if it was reflected in a mirror. This process is sometimes called 'mirroring' or 'reflecting'.


Flipping objects
 Flip objects

Objects can be flipped around the vertical and horizontal lines passing through the transformation centre.

1. Select the object(s) to be flipped (See Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Do one of the following :

Press the Horizontal flip button on the Selector Tool Infobar.

Press the Vertical flip button on the Selector Tool Infobar.

Note

The transformation centre is only visible when selection handles are enabled and in Rotate/Skew mode. The flip will normally occur around the centre of the selection unless you have moved the transformation centre.


Floating
A control bar is described as Floating when it has been dragged and dropped away from the edges of the CorelXARA window. A floating control bar has a thick edges so it can be resized, a title bar and a close button. A floating control bar moves independently of the CorelXARA window.

     A floating control bar


Folder
A Folder is a directory on disc which contains a number of graphics/font files and possibly a sub-directory containing an index and thumbnails for the items, depending what sort of files they are. Currently CorelXARA (.XAR) and Photo CD (.PCD) files do not require these external thumbnails, as they are built into the files themselves.


Font
A Font is a collection of characters which are all designed in a particular style. Also known as a "typeface". Many different types of fonts are available; often the difference between them is very slight. A font often has several variants, the commonest being Bold and Italic.


Font Gallery
 Font Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 SHIFT+F9

The Font Gallery allows you to select fonts visually from a list to use them in your drawings and also allows you to install and de-install TrueType and Adobe Type Manager (ATM) fonts.

The gallery usually shows all available fonts in three sections :

Installed fonts

Uninstalled fonts grouped by appearance and type (from the CorelXARA CD)

Uninstalled fonts (complete list of the CD fonts)

On the left-hand side of the font is an indicator which shows the format of the font :

Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Type 1

TrueType

Apply	Apply the font to the selection.

Install	Install the selected font(s).

De-install	De-install the selected font(s).

Remove	Remove the selected gallery section(s).

Add Fonts	Add more fonts to the gallery.

Options	Font Gallery options.

Many operations using the Font Gallery are made easier by the Font Gallery pop-up menu.

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See also

Selecting items in a gallery

Galleries


 Font Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 SHIFT+F9

The Font Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Font Gallery button open the Font Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Font Gallery - Add Fonts Button

The Add Fonts button in the Font Gallery opens a dialog box that lets you choose a folder of fonts to add to the gallery as a library. Only font folders on (or copied from) CorelXARA CD's can be added. See Add Folder dialog box.


Font Gallery - Apply Button

The Apply button in the Font Gallery applies the selected font to the currently selected text objects and regions.

A font can also be applied by dragging a font over a text object and dropping. Dropping onto a selected region applies the font to that region otherwise the font is applied to the whole text story.

If you want to apply a font to a single character do one of the following :

Select the character then drag-and-drop the font onto the character (see Selecting text).

Start dragging the font then hold down CTRL. You can then drop the font onto the character without having to select it first.

If the selected font is currently not installed, it is installed when you apply it.

You can also apply fonts by double clicking them in the gallery, this will apply the font to the selection. CTRL-double-clicking will apply the font and close the gallery.


Font Gallery - De-install Button

The De-install button in the Font Gallery de-installs all selected fonts. Only those fonts shown in the Installed Fonts section in the Font Gallery can be de-installed. See De-installing a Font for more details.


Font Gallery - Install Button

The Install button in the Font Gallery installs all selected fonts, see Installing a Font for more information.

There are different suggested limits of the number of installed fonts on Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT. Check your Windows User Guide.


Font Gallery - Options Button

Clicking the Options button in the Font Gallery opens a menu containing the following options :

Add Fonts

Find

Sort

Properties


Font Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Font Gallery opens a pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Apply	Identical to the Apply Button.

Install	Identical to the Install button.

De-install	Identical to the De-install Button.

Remove Section	Identical to the Remove Button.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Using the pop-up menu can be quicker as it allows you to open the menu and select a font at the same time by right-clicking on the font.


Font Gallery - Remove Button

The Remove button in the Font Gallery removes the selected sections from the gallery. You will be asked to confirm the operation.


Fractal Fill
A Fractal Fill produces a patchy random fill for an object. It uses two colours and graduates between them. The two colours and the fill mapping can be used to alter the fill.


Fractal Transparency
Fractal Transparency produces a patchy, random transparency for an object. The three transparency handles give control of the block of fractal texture used to control the transparency of the object. One handle moves the entire fractal and the other two scale, skew and rotate it.

The start handles control the start transparency for the fractal, the end handle controls the end transparency.


Fractal too small
Problem creating fractal

Cause

Either (i) the program is short of free memory; or (ii) the "FractalDPI" setting in the CORELXRA.INI initialisation file is corrupt. This setting is the default resolution used for the creation of fractal fills.

Recommended action

Do one of the following :

Close some other applications to free some memory in your machine.

Close CorelXARA and edit the CORELXRA.INI file, found in your Windows directory, so the "FractalDPI" setting is 96.  Restart CorelXARA.

Close CorelXARA and delete the CORELXRA.INI file. Restart CorelXARA.


  Freehand Tool

The Freehand Tool allows you to draw freehand lines and shapes as you would with a pen on paper. You can edit freehand lines in the same way as those drawn with the Shape Editor Tool or Pen Tool. It can also be used to extend and redraw sections of existing lines and shapes.

F3

Freehand Tool Infobar Controls

Smoothing

Refit Indicator

Freehand Tool Operations

Drawing a line with the Freehand Tool

Drawing a shape with the Freehand Tool

Redrawing part of a line or shape

Extending a line

Joining lines

Smoothing a freehand line or shape

On-line Demonstrations

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See also

Pen Tool

Shape Editor Tool


 Freehand Tool - Re-fit Indicator

The Refit indicator on the Freehand Tool Infobar shows 'Re-fit' when you can use the Smoothing slider to smooth the currently selected line.


 Freehand Tool - Smoothing Slider

The Smoothing slider on the Freehand Tool Infobar controls how closely a freehand line follows the original mouse movements. Setting the slider to 100% smoothing will smooth out your mouse movements as much as possible, generating the smallest possible number of points on the resulting line. With the slider set to 0% almost no smoothing is performed, leaving you with a very accurate reproduction of your mouse movements and a great many control points.

After you have drawn a freehand line it is possible to modify the smoothing by dragging the slider, until you make further edits (for example by dragging a point handle). The Refit Indicator displays 'Refit' when you can still smooth the line.

If no freehand line is selected, the slider sets the default smoothing for lines drawn with the Freehand Tool.

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See also

Smoothing a freehand line or shape


 Full Screen (Window Menu)

 NumPad 8

CorelXARA works in two modes. Normal Mode and Full-screen Mode. They have their own settings for the display of the control bars and the Status Line and Colour Line. The current settings for each mode are remembered and apply whenever you change modes. This makes it possible to switch between two customised modes.

In Full Screen mode, move the pointer to the top of the screen to display the menu bar.

Full screen mode is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

On-line Demonstration

Note

The key shortcut only works if NumLock is enabled on your keyboard.

If the scroll bars are turned off in a mode, the Push Tool can be used to slide the page.

When you switch modes all galleries are closed.


Full-screen Mode
Full Screen Mode gives the maximum possible screen area for the editing window. No Title Bar, Menu Bar, Scrollbars or Status Line are displayed. Move the pointer to the top of the screen to display the Menu Bar.

8 on the numeric keypad lets you toggle between the two modes. (NumLock must be on.)

The alternative to Full-screen mode is Normal Mode.


GIF
Compuserve GIF bitmaps are widely used for pictures in World Wide Web pages. CorelXARA can import and export in GIF format.


Gaddesden Place

Gaddesden Place - the home of Xara Ltd

Gaddesden Place was designed by James Wyatt and built between 1768 and 1773. It is reputed to be Wyatt's first country work and accurately represents his conformity at the start of his active career to the English Palladian tradition. The house is set in an elevated position overlooking the Gade valley near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire and enjoys one of the finest views in the Home Counties. The conservatory was added in 1891 and has recently been extensively restored. The quadrant links and north and south pavilions were demolished in 1955 and 1963 because of dry rot. Since becoming the headquarters of Computer Concepts & Xara Ltd, work has commenced on the rebuilding of the south wing, and the house and its grounds have been frequently used as film locations.


Galleries

Galleries contain lists of items and support drag-and-drop to let you do things such as loading clipart, change the order of layers and apply attributes. Some galleries also let you create new items and some have search facilities to find items in long lists.

Four of the galleries list items that are in documents :

Colour Gallery

Layer Gallery

Bitmap Gallery

Line Gallery

Two galleries list items stored on disc that you can use in a document if you want.

Fill Gallery

Clipart Gallery

The Font Gallery shows both items that are in documents and items that are on disc.

Font Gallery

The galleries have many common features; the title bar allows you to position the gallery on the screen. You can resize any gallery using the window border in the normal way. The close button closes the gallery completely. When you want to reopen a gallery use the appropriate button on the control bar or a keyboard shortcut.

All galleries have a row of buttons under the title bar for working on selected items in the gallery and for setting gallery options. Note that you can make the buttons at the top of the galleries large or small using the Control Bars dialog box .

The main display area of all galleries is scrollable and contains one or more sections. Each section is shown by a grey "section bar" with a folder icon in it and the name of the section written in white. Sections can be folded so that only the section bar is showing or unfolded to see all the items within them. To fold or unfold a section double-click on its grey section bar or click on the folder icon.

Using Galleries

Selecting items in a gallery

Moving & resizing galleries

Reordering gallery items

Reordering gallery sections

Searching a gallery

Altering gallery display format

Closing a gallery

Adding a folder to a gallery

Adding files to a gallery

Updating a disc-based gallery


Gallery
Galleries provide you with an easy way to select items from external libraries or where there is a wide range of possibilities. CorelXARA has seven galleries; for more information, see Galleries.


Gallery Control Bar

The Gallery Control Bar contains seven buttons which are used to open and close the seven CorelXARA galleries.

Colour Gallery

Layer Gallery

Bitmap Gallery

Line Gallery

Font Gallery

Clipart Gallery

Fill Gallery

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See also

Default Control Bars


Gallery Find Dialog Box

Use this dialog box to search galleries to find and select items. It is particularly useful if a gallery contains many items, like the Clipart Gallery. The dialog is opened by clicking the Options button in a gallery and selecting Find from the menu.

Find items including text

Enter the text to search for in this edit-field.

Search Names and Keywords & Search full information

Click one of these radio-buttons to either restrict the search to the names (and filenames) and keywords of gallery items, or search all information available for each item. If you wish to find a piece of clipart from the clipart book, type the name shown by the picture into the edit field, and click Find First. There is no need to change the search type as both will search for the name of the file.

This table shows which information is searched for the two searching options.

Names & Keywords	All Information

Colour Gallery	colour name	name, definition (e.g. RGB(255,255,255) ) & 'not in use'

Bitmap Gallery	filename & title	filename & title

Font Gallery	typeface name & filename	typeface name, filename & file size

Clipart Gallery	title, keywords & filename	title, keywords, filename, file size & full description (if present)

Fill Gallery	title, keywords & filename	title, keywords, filename, file size & full description (if present)

Find first

Click this button to start the search.  If the gallery does not contain any items that match the search text, a message box will be displayed.

Find next

Click this button to continue a search that has just found an item (or which starts at the currently selected item).  If the gallery does not contain any more items that match the search text, a message box will be displayed.

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See also

Searching a gallery

Gallery Sort dialog box

Gallery Properties dialog box


Gallery Properties Dialog Box

The Gallery Properties dialog box is used to alter the way items are displayed in each of the Galleries. Note that not all the options shown are available for all galleries. The dialog box is opened by clicking the Options button in a gallery and selecting Properties from the menu.

Display as small icons

Choose this option to display the items smaller within a section, so that as many as possible are visible within the gallery.

Display as large icons

Choose this option to display items larger within a section, so each item can be more clearly seen.

Display full information

Choose this option to display items within a section with further information, such as a bitmap's file size.

Display as icons only

Some galleries, such as the font gallery, allow you to choose this option, which will cause the gallery to display only the descriptive thumbnails of the items it contains.

Display as text only

Some galleries, such as the font gallery, allow you to choose this option, which will cause the gallery to display only text descriptions of the items it contains.

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See also

Gallery Find dialog box

Gallery Sort dialog box


Gallery Sort Dialog Box

The Gallery Sort dialog box allows you to sort the contents of the Clipart Gallery, Font Gallery, Fill Gallery or the Colour Gallery. To open the dialog box, open the relevant gallery, click Options and select Sort from the menu.

Primary and Secondary Keys

You can choose a sorting-order for items within the gallery from these two drop-down lists.  Items can be sorted by name (alphabetically), by their size in memory, by their size on disk, by the file type, or by the length of their name (depending on the gallery).  If the Reversed check box is checked then the items are sorted in the reverse order.

For example, you may have a gallery of bitmaps that you would like sorted according to the type of bitmap, e.g. .BMP or .JPG, and within each category of bitmap, alphabetical order.  To sort the items this way choose Sort By File Type from the Primary Key list and Sort by name from the Secondary key.

Apply sort to all the gallery sections

Select this option to apply the sort to all the items within all folders contained in the gallery.

Only apply the sort to sections containing selected items

Click this radio-button to apply the sort to only those sections which have an item selected within them.  See Selecting items in a gallery.

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See also

Gallery Properties dialog box

Gallery Find dialog box


General Control Bar

Colour Editor

Bitmap Tracer

Bitmap Effects

Unit Options

Scaling Options

Page Options

Options

_______________

See also

Default Control Bars


 General Options

The general options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the General 'tab'.

Save Setting Now

This saves the current settings and overwrites the existing defaults.

This button is useful if Save Settings on Exit is not selected. Clicking Save Settings Now makes the current settings the defaults (they apply whenever you load CorelXARA).

Recent File List Size

The File menu contains a list of the most recently loaded files as a quick and easy way to reload them. The number of files shown in the File menu can be set (from 1 to 9) using this option.

Import With Layers

Many other packages have multiple layers. With this option selected, the layer information is preserved when EPS files are imported. If this option is not set, all objects imported from the EPS file will appear in one layer. The Import dialog box shows an Import Layers option, this can be used to enable or disable layer importing for a particular file (see Import).

Save Settings On Exit

With this option selected, the current settings are saved on exit and apply when you next run CorelXARA. These settings include the control bar positions (for normal and Full Screen mode) and the current directories set in the file dialog boxes (Open, Import etc).

Current Layer Always Visible and Editable

With this option selected, selecting a layer in the Layer Gallery automatically makes it both visible and editable. If this option is not set, the current editable and visible status do not change when you select a layer.

Give New Objects Most Recent Attributes

With this option set, new objects take the attributes that were most recently applied. So, for example, if a shape is filled with a fractal fill, the next shape drawn will also be fractal filled.

Ask Before Setting Attributes

With this option selected, CorelXARA asks before changing the current attribute.

This option is automatically unset when the Quiet option is selected in the warning dialog box that appears confirming the setting of the current attributes. If this button has been pressed, the warnings can be re-enabled by setting this option.

Ask before making greyscale bitmaps

Only greyscale bitmaps can be used as bitmap transparency or successfully recoloured (contoning). CorelXARA can convert other types of bitmap to greyscale when required. This option controls whether you are prompted before bitmap conversion.

Ask before closing views

With this option selected, when you load a document, CorelXARA asks if you want to close the existing document. Many other programs let you have only a single document in memory and you may prefer to work in this way.

With this option unselected, loading a document keeps the existing document in memory.

Angle Constraint

When moving, rotating and skewing objects and moving handles, the CTRL key can be used to constrain the angle of movement. This angle is set using this option. The value can be selected from the drop-down list, or typed into the field (in degrees).

Nudge Size

When moving (nudging) objects and handles using the cursor keys, they move by a set amount. This option sets the nudge distance.

Duplication Distance

Duplicate creates a duplicate of the selection which is offset from the original object(s). The horizontal and vertical offset is set using this option.

Positive values set the offset to the right and above the selection, negative values down and to the left.


General failure to read or write a file

Cause

There may be a number of reasons why it is not possible to read or write the file.

If the file is on a floppy disk, the disk may have been removed from the drive.

If the file is on a hard disk, the disk structure may be corrupt.

Recommended action

If the file is on a floppy disk, check the disk is correctly inserted in the drive.

If the file is on a hard disk, run your disk diagnostic utilities to check for a corrupted disk structure.


Getting help with CorelXARA
 Get help with CorelXARA

If you experience a problem using CorelXARA, try :

Looking through the CorelXARA manual to see if you can find what you need.

Reading the text on the Status Line at the bottom of the main CorelXARA window. It always describes what actions are currently possible and what they will do, even during drags and so is ideal for learning to use the CorelXARA tools. It also gives details of what buttons and controls do as you move the pointer over them.

Choose Help Topics from the Help menu and search the on-line documentation.

ToolTips; Hold the mouse pointer over a button or control for a short while and a small message  appears describing its function.


Grid
A Grid is a set of regularly spaced points to which objects and points can be snapped. By setting an appropriate grid spacing and turning grid snapping on, it is very easy to create drawings of very precise dimensions.

The grid can be shown or hidden whether or not grid snapping is turned on.

At small zoom levels, grid points may become very close to each other. If they were all displayed, the screen would be covered by points and it would be difficult to see the drawing. To prevent this, CorelXARA leaves out some points if necessary. You can still snap to these invisible points.

There are two types of grid in CorelXARA. Rectangular grids space points at 90 degrees to each other forming squares. Isometric grids space points at 60 degrees to each other forming isometric triangles.


 Grid & Ruler Options

The grid and ruler options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Grid & Ruler 'tab'. They control the way the grid and rulers appear. The grid and rulers share the same options because they are so similar.

Grid and Ruler Spacing

Major Spacing defines the distance between the major grid and ruler divisions. You can type a values into this fields using any unit (see Using units).

Number of Subdivisions sets how many subdivisions exist between each major division.

The units used for the grid and rulers is defined by the units you use for the Major Spacing. e.g. entering a major grid spacing of "2cm" will set the grid and ruler units to centimetres regardless of the page units specified in the Unit options.

Grid Type

CorelXARA  allows the use of a standard rectangular grid or an isometric grid.

Origin (0,0 point)

Normally the origin for the grid and rulers is at the bottom left-hand corner of the page. If you wish to move it to a different location, change the Origin value.

You can also move the origin by dragging on the rulers, see Moving the ruler zero point for more details.


 Group (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+G

Combines the selection into a single grouped object.

Objects inside groups can be selected and edited without being first removed from the group. See Selecting objects inside objects

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Ungroup


Guide Objects
Guide Objects are objects placed or created in the guides layer. They can be any type of object including text and QuickShapes. Use guide objects to align or position objects on other layers. To make this easier you can make guide objects magnetic. Guide objects are non-printing and are always displayed as dotted outlines. For more information, see Using guides.


Guideline Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up Menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a guideline, it contains the following options :

Delete	Removes the guideline.

Snap To Guides

- - - - - - - - - -

Properties

Guide Layer Properties


Guideline Properties Dialog Box

This dialogue box allows you to enter the exact position for the guideline. Type a value and click OK.

If you are creating a new guideline, clicking Cancel will stop a new guideline being created. If you are altering the position of an existing guideline, it will leave the guideline where it was.

Note

The units used for the guideline position are the Page Units set for the document. You can change these in the Unit Options. Note however that the units used on the rulers (and grid) are set using the Grid and Ruler Options.

______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


Guidelines
Guidelines are horizontal and vertical dotted lines displayed across the entire width or height of the window. You can use them to align or position objects. To make this easier you can make guidelines magnetic. Guidelines are non-printing and live in the guides layer.

For more information, see Using guides.


Guides Layer
The Guides Layer is a special layer containing guide objects and guidelines which are used to align and position objects accurately. All objects on the guides layer are shown as dotted outlines and can be made magnetic to aid positioning. If a blend object is placed on the guides layer the intermediate objects are ignored. The guide layer is created automatically when you create a guideline and can be created manually using the Layer Gallery. The guides layer would normally be used to hold objects providing a framework to which objects in other layers are aligned. For more details, see Using guides.


HSV
Many people find HSV the easiest colour model to use. The HSV colour model uses Hue, Saturation and Value components to define colours. Hue is the pure pigment (defined as an angle round the colour circle) of the colour. Saturation is the amount of white added to the colour. The smaller the Saturation value, the greater the amount of added white. Value is the amount of black added to the colour which can be viewed as the brightness of the colour. So the Saturation and Value produce all the shades of the basic Hue value.


Handle
A Handle is a small square used to edit something. For example Fill Handles are used to edit fills and Selection Handles to manipulate the currently selected objects.

Handles are usually dragged to perform editing function.

      Handles can be used to edit an object.


Help Menu

Help Topics

Using Help

Using the Tools

Using the Galleries

On-line Demonstrations

Technical Support

About CorelXARA


Help Topics (Help Menu)
Contents (Help Menu)  F1

 F1

Help Topics on the Help menu opens the CorelXARA on-line documentation.


Hewlett Packard Printers

Some HP printer drivers (the driver versions are 6.1D, 7.0 and 7.1) default to using an old Windows printing method. CorelXARA and other applications do not support this method of printing and output with the standard settings will be wrong. The symptoms of these problems can appear as :

1.  Very long print times

2.  General Protection errors within an HP module during printing

3.  CorelXARA locking up when asked to print

4.  The printer spooler failing to respond after CorelXARA has started printing.

5.  When using the "Normal" output printing type from CorelXARA, vector images print incorrectly (as though the object is scaled by a very large value)

The problem can be solved by altering a value within an INI file.  The specific file for users of version 6.1D drivers is called DeskJetC.ini (irrespective of whether you have a laser printer or an InkJet printer). Version 7 drivers create an HP**.ini file (where ** is a number depending upon the type of printer in use).  The file is held within the Windows directory:

Version 6 drivers

1. Load Windows\DeskJetC.INI into an Editor (Notepad or WordPad for example).

2. Scroll down through the text until you find the entry "0jumbotechnology=0100".

3. Change this to read "0jumbotechnology=0000".

4. Save the file and restart Windows. Your printer should now produce satisfactory results from CorelXARA and other packages. (see note)

Version 7 drivers

1. Load Windows\HP**.INI (the ** will be a number depending on the printer in use) into an Editor (Notepad or WordPad for example).

2. Scroll down through the text until you find the entry "0jumbotechnology=0100".

3. Change this to read "0jumbotechnology=0000".

4. Save the file and restart Windows. Your printer should now produce satisfactory results from CorelXARA and other packages. (see note).

Note

Hewlett Packard indicate that this flag switches off the old windows print system, but that some applications may require the flag to be reset. This would require altering the above ini file in reverse. Please note that CorelDRAW 5 also requires the "0jumbotechnology=0000" setting.


Horizontal white lines across some objects

Turn off error-diffused dithering in Windows 95

There is an unhappy interaction between the way CorelXARA prints and Windows 95's error-diffused dithering.

1. Click on the Start button then click Settings.

2. Click Printers.

3. Click the printer that you're using then go to the File menu and click Properties.

4. Click the Graphics tab.

5. Ensure that the "Error diffused" switch isn't checked in the Dithering area. You'll have to choose a different dither mode to uncheck it.

6. If you made any changes click OK and try to print again.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


How To...?

This documentation contains a large collection of pages to help you to use CorelXARA. Choose one of the categories below for more information on that subject.

Manipulating objects

Lines and shapes

Colour

Fills

Transparency

Bitmaps

Text

Moulds

Blends

Control bars and galleries

Miscellaneous


How to reach Corel worldwide

Worldwide Technical Support

Customer Service Worldwide is handled by Alexander and Lord, Dublin, on behalf of Corel Corporation. Customer service for any countries not listed below is handled on a toll-line at +(353)1 706 3912

Telephone Numbers for CorelXARA Technical Support

Austria	0660 5875	Italy	1678 74791

Belgium	0800 11930	Norway	800 11661

Denmark	800 18755	Spain	900 953538

France	0590 6512	Switzerland	155 8224

Germany	01 308 15074	Sweden	0207 91085

Holland	0602 22084	United Kingdom	0800 581028

Corel Corporation	Customer Service in Australia

49 B Bracken Road	Micromatch Pty. Limited	1-800-658-850

Sandyford Industrial Estate	7B Green Street

Sandyford, Dublin, Ireland	Brookvale, NSW

2100, Australia

World Wide Support

Corel customers residing outside of North America  can contact Corel Technical Support representatives in Dublin, Ireland, or a local Authorised Support Partner. The Corel Support Representatives in Ireland handle calls in the following languages: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and English. Calls are handled on toll lines. A charge will appear on your telephone bill,  but there is no charge for the technical support.

Warranty Support

Free technical support is available to you for 30 days from the day you place your first call to technical support. If you require technical support beyond your warranty period, see  Extended Technical Support Services listed above.

Access Numbers for Corel Technical Support

Dutch	+(353) 1-708-2266	German	+(353) 1-708-2344

English	+(353) 1-708-2333	Italian	+(353) 1-708-2377

French	+(353) 1-708-2355	Spanish	+(353) 1-708-2388

Australian Authorised Support Partner

Support 24	07-55-918-0043

_______________

See also

Electronic Support Options

How to use Automated Fax System


Hue
The Hue colour component is used in the HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) colour model, which is an intuitive colour model most often used by artists.

Hue represents an angle in degrees around an imaginary colour wheel, where the colours appear in a "rainbow" fashion: Red (0), Yellow (60), Green (120), Cyan (180), Blue (240), Magenta (300) and back to Red (360)


 Import (File Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+I

Importing EPS

Choose the file you wish to load, choose the file format and click on OK. The file will then be loaded into the current document.

Alternatively, as CorelXARA supports drag and drop, files can be dropped onto the window to load them into the current document.

If Import Layers is enabled any layer information in the file will be retained, otherwise, all objects in the file will be grouped as one object in a single layer. The default setting for this option is in the General Options. If the file format does not support layers, the setting is ignored.

Importing Colours

CorelXARA can load palette files created with CorelDRAW. See Importing colours & palettes.

Importing Bitmaps

CorelXARA can load bitmap files of several different formats directly into the current document. They can then be moved, rotated, scaled, sheared and have transparency applied to them within the document as well as used for bitmap fills and bitmap transparency.

Choose the relevant bitmap file type from the list or the Bitmaps item. Choose the bitmap file to load and click OK. The bitmap will appear in the top left corner of the current document (and in the Bitmap Gallery).

Note

The Import dialog will look slightly different under Windows 3.1 (& 3.11) and Windows NT.

_______________

See also

Importing CorelDRAW files

Importing transparent GIF files

Importing colours & palettes

Supported file formats


Importing CorelDRAW (CDR) files

CDR files from versions 3, 4, and 5 of CorelDRAW can be imported. All types of objects from CDR files are loaded.

Fills

All fill types apart from full colour pattern fills are supported. However, custom fills are imported as fills from the start colour to the end colour. Square fills are approximated to radial fills. Full colour pattern fills which are just a bitmap (no paths or other objects) are imported as bitmap fills.

Text

Text is imported with the font name, font size, bold, italic, underline, super/subscript and line spacing attributes. Only the alignment and baseline shift options from the fit path to text roll-up are imported.

Text on a path can only be imported if the path it is fitted to still exists in the file. If you delete a path in CorelDRAW after fitting text to it, the text will be imported into CorelXARA as normal text in the position it was before this operation.

Special Effect

Mix, Colour limit and ColourAdd Lenses are supported. Other types of Lenses are not supported.

Some PowerClips may be imported incorrectly.

All other effects are supported.

Envelopes

Envelopes are approximated. You will be warned about this after the file has been imported if there were any envelopes in the file.

Extrusions

Some extrusions cannot be imported correctly.

Colours

CorelDRAW has no concept of a named colour, so all objects have to be imported with local colours applied to them. The colours on the Colour Line are the default set for CorelDRAW. If you've edited these colours in your copy of CorelDRAW, you'll need to import your edited palette file into the document using the CorelDRAW Palette file filter as these colours are not stored in CDR files. See Importing colours & palettes.

Lines

If lines are imported which have arrowheads, the object will appear as a group containing two objects, a line and a shape (the arrowhead).

If Problems Occur

If any of these limitations cause problems, try saving the .CDR file from CorelDRAW as EPS and import that instead.

If a file is found to load incorrectly, please send the file to Corel Ltd with full details so we can fix the problem. See Technical Support for further details.


Importing Transparent GIF Files
 Import transparent GIF files

CompuServe GIF files support 'masks' which are a very basic form of transparency. When a GIF with a mask is placed on a background (for example in a World Wide Web browser) some areas of the background will show through the bitmap. This method is often used to remove the background from pictures so the bitmap doesn't look rectangular.

If you import one of these files, the transparent mask is retained, you will be able to see through parts of the bitmap when it is in CorelXARA!

Tips

You can apply transparency to any bitmap, including this type of GIF file.

Remember you can create transparent GIF files with CorelXARA.


Importing colours & palettes
 Import colours & palettes

CorelXARA can import the following colour table and palette files.

CorelDRAW palette 	.CPL and .PAL

Microsoft palette	.PAL

Adobe Colour Tables	.ACT

Adobe Colour swatches	.ACO

PaintShop Pro palettes	.PAL

When imported, the colours contained in the file are recreated as named colours in CorelXARA and displayed in the Colour Gallery and on the Colour Line. As palette files do not contain names, the names are made up using the components of each colour and the colour units (set in the Unit Options). This means pure red would appear as "R255G0B0" or "R100%G0%B0%" (depending on the colour unit setting).

For palette files that contain large numbers of colours, it may be easier to import the palette into a blank document and use the Colour Gallery to move the required named colours from the blank document into your selected document.  Using the Colour Gallery to apply a named colour from the blank document automatically copies that named colour into the selected document.

Tip

To import a palette into a document quickly, drag the palette file from Explorer or File Manager and drop it on the document page. The new palette will be added to the Colour Line. To create a new blank document containing one of your palette files, drop the file onto CorelXARA away from the document page.

_______________

See also

Deleting a named colour


Incompatible processor

Cause

The processor in you computer is not suitable for running CorelXARA.  CorelXARA requires an i486 processor or better on Intel platforms.  If you have a Pentium processor, it may be an early version that exhibits the FDIV floating point division bug.

Recommended action

Contact your computer system vendor for an upgrade.  Intel have offered to replace defective Pentium processors free of charge.


Increase the pixel resolution

Objects which have transparent fills or bitmap fills are printed at the Transparency resolution (see Output Options). When the Transparency resolution is quite low you can see the square pixels.

   Increase the transparency resolution.

1. Click the Utilities menu.

2. Click the Options item.

3. Click the Output tab.

4. Find the Transparency resolution area and click the "Manual" switch.

5. Type in a new transparency resolution (not higher than the resolution of the printer). A value between 150 and 300 is usually OK.

6. Click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else can I try?


Infobar
The Tool Infobar is a context sensitive control bar. It displays different information and controls dependent on the currently selected Tool. For example, when the Text Tool has been chosen the Infobar contains only text related controls.

The different functions available on the Infobar are described in the descriptions of the individual tools in the Tools section.

For information on hiding the Infobar, see Control Bars dialog box.


Input is invalid

Cause

You have entered data that is not of the correct format, or is incomplete.

Recommended action

The displayed error message explains what is wrong with what you have typed.  Please reenter the data and click OK.

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


Installing a font
 Install a font

To install a font

1. Open the Font Gallery.

2. Find and select the required font(s) (see Selecting items in a gallery)

3. Click the Install button.

Alternatively, clicking the Apply button installs the font and applies it to the selected text/cursor (or sets the current attribute if nothing is selected).

Most programs show the installed font(s) in their font list immediately. You may find a few programs that you have to close and then reload before they show the new fonts. This is beyond the control of CorelXARA.

_______________

See also

De-installing a Font

Applying Attributes to Text


Installing the WWW template document
 Install the WWW template document

If you want to set CorelXARA up so every time you create a new document it uses the WWW browser palette and has the page units set to pixels, do the following :

1. Load www.xar.

2. From the File menu, choose Save Template.

Tip

If you want to return to the original settings, delete the file template.xar from inside the CorelXARA directory. When you next run CorelXARA, it will re-create the original file.


Inter-line Spacing
Inter-line Spacing is a term used by CorelDRAW to refer to what CorelXARA calls Line Spacing. See Text Tool - Line Spacing.


Interlacing (GIF)
Interlacing can be used with CompuServe GIF files. This means that when the file is loaded into an application which supports it, the file will first appear as a low resolution image and the resolution increase as more of the file is loaded.

This technique is used commonly on the World Wide Web to improve the appearance of bitmap loading.


Internal error

Cause

A logical error in CorelXARA has been detected.

Recommended action

Please note the circumstances that led up to this message being displayed, and report the problem to Corel. See Technical Support.

If you click the Continue button you will usually be able to save your work and restart the program. It is highly recommended that you save the file to a different filename. It is possible the file created will be corrupt due to the internal error and saving the document to the same filename will delete the old version and possibly remove any chance of data recovery.

After saving the file, exit CorelXARA and restart.


 Intersect Shapes (Arrange Menu)

Discard those areas of the selected objects not covered by the front object. The front object disappears.

The front object may be a group for more complex intersection. This operation is the opposite of Subtract shapes.

If the intersection results in more than one shape they will be grouped.

On-line Demonstration


Invalid filename

Cause

You have entered an incorrect name for a file.  Often this is because the filename contains characters that are not permitted in filenames.

Recommended action

Different versions of Windows have different rules concerning what is valid in a filename.  Generally filenames conforming to the MS-DOS convention will work on all versions of Windows.

MS-DOS filenames consist of:

Up to 8 characters,

Followed by a period (.),

Followed by up to 3 characters (the extension).

Spaces, control characters, or punctuation marks are not permitted.

Windows NT and Windows 95 relax these rules, allowing filenames up to 256 characters long that may contain spaces.  If your filename does contain spaces, you should surround it with double quotation marks, e.g. "this filename has spaces.xar"


Isolate Points (Bitmap Effect)
Isolate Points (Bitmap Effect) highlights colour changes in bitmaps that apply to a single pixel. It can be used to create some interesting effects.


JPEG
The JPEG format allows bitmaps to be stored in compressed form. Unlike most other compression techniques, the amount of compression is user selectable. JPEG works by discarding redundant information (it is 'lossy') although generally there is no noticeable reduction of image quality.

CorelXARA can import and export JPEG bitmaps.


 Join Shapes (Arrange Menu)

Join Shapes joins all the shapes and lines in the selection to form a single object. Because overlapping parts of the same shape are drawn with no fill colour (i.e. you can see through the overlapping parts), you can use this effect to create holes in shapes, by joining several shapes together.

The Join menu options will tie together a number of different shapes into one shape making all the parts that overlap see-through.

For example, joining an object with a smaller circle on top of it produces an object with a circular hole in it.

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Break Shapes


Joining lines
 Join lines

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Click on the first line to select it.

3. SHIFT-click on the second line to select it.

4. (Using either the Selector Tool or the Shape Editor Tool) drag the end point handle of one line over the end handle of the other line - the mouse pointer shows a '+' when the two handles are over each other.

5. Release the mouse button and the lines will be joined.

_______________

See also

Breaking lines and shapes apart

Adding points to a line or shape

Extending a line


Kern
Kerning allows you to alter the space between two characters in a line of text. Kerning is useful when two characters look unbalanced or too far apart. Small kerning changes between the two characters can improve their appearance. This is often necessary in very large headline or banner text where the "balance" of the characters is highly visible.

Kerning is measured in em's (the width of an "M" in the current font and font size).


Key
The Key component is used in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key) colour model, which is commonly used by printers. By mixing various quantities of these four inks, a large range of colours can be generated. Key is black ink.


 Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+A	Select all

CTRL+B	Put object to back

CTRL+C	Copy object to clipboard

CTRL+D	Duplicate object with offset

CTRL+E	Open/close the Colour Editor

CTRL+F	Bring object to front

CTRL+K	Clone object

CTRL+L	Show Rulers

CTRL+N	New document

CTRL+O	Open document

CTRL+P	Print document

CTRL+R	Previous Zoom

CTRL+S	Save document

CTRL+V	Paste object from clipboard

CTRL+X	Cut selection to clipboard

CTRL+Y	Redo

CTRL+Z	Undo

CTRL+SHIFT+D	Move object to layer behind

CTRL+SHIFT+A	Paste Attributes

CTRL+SHIFT+U	Move object to layer in front

CTRL+SHIFT+B	Move object backwards

CTRL+SHIFT+Z	Zoom to Selection

CTRL+SHIFT+E	Export

CTRL+SHIFT+F	Move object forwards

CTRL+SHIFT+I	Import

CTRL+SHIFT+L	Open the Alignment dialog box

CTRL+SHIFT+O	Open the Options dialog box

CTRL+SHIFT+P	Zoom to Page

CTRL+SHIFT+S	Convert to Editable Shapes

CTRL+SHIFT+T 	Display time taken to redraw the current document.

CTRL+SHIFT+V	Paste object in original position

ALT+S	Choose Selector Tool

ALT+X	Choose Push Tool

ALT+Z	Choose Zoom Tool

DELETE	Delete the selection (unless Text Tool selected)

ESC	Clear selection

SPACE	Choose Selector Tool (unless Text Tool selected)

#	Show Grid

<	Undo

>	Redo

F1	Help with CorelXARA

F2	Choose Selector Tool

F3	Choose Freehand Tool

F4	Choose Shape Editor Tool

F5	Choose Fill Tool

F6	Choose Transparency Tool

F7	Choose Blend Tool

F8	Choose Text Tool

F9	Open Colour Gallery

F10	Open Layer Gallery

F11	Open Bitmap Gallery

F12	Open Line Gallery

CTRL+F1	Display Information about CorelXARA

SHIFT+F2	Choose QuickShape Tool

SHIFT+F3	Choose Rectangle Tool

SHIFT+F4	Choose Ellipse Tool

SHIFT+F5	Choose Pen Tool

SHIFT+F6	Choose Mould Tool

SHIFT+F7	Choose Zoom Tool

SHIFT+F8	Choose Push Tool

SHIFT+F9	Open Font Gallery

SHIFT+F10	Open Clipart Gallery

SHIFT+F11	Open Fill Gallery

Numeric Keypad .	Snap to grid

Numeric Keypad *	Snap to objects

Number Keypad 8	Select full screen

' , ' or '<'	Undo

' . ' or '>'	Redo

Cursor keys	Move the selection in the Selector Tool or specific handles in other tools (e.g. fill handles)

_______________

See also

Text Tool Key Shortcuts


Keyword
All the CorelXARA clipart has Keywords associated with it. Keywords are associated words which help you to find documents more easily. As an example a document containing a picture of a puppy might contain the keywords "animal" and "dog".

For information on adding keywords to your own files, see Using titles, descriptions and keywords.


Laplacian (Bitmap Effect)
Laplacian (Bitmap Effect) highlights sharp colour changes in bitmaps.


LaserJet

Ensure LaserJet driver is in "Raster" mode

   Under Windows 3.1 set the driver to "Raster" mode instead of "HP-GL/2".

1. Click the File menu in CorelXARA and click Print Setup.

2. Click the Options button of the Setup dialog box.

3. Use the "Graphics Mode" list to choose "Raster" instead of "HP-GL/2".

4. If you changed any settings Click OK and try to print again.

   Under Windows 95 set the driver to "Raster" mode instead of "Vector".

1. Click the File menu in CorelXARA and click Print Setup.

2. Click the Properties button of the Setup dialog box.

3. Click the Graphics tab and check the "Raster graphics" switch instead of "Vector graphics".

4. If you changed any settings Click OK and try to print again.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


LaserJet 2

Ensure LaserJet driver properties are correct

Make sure the printer driver knows the correct amount of memory in the printer.

   Under Windows 3.1:

1. Run Control Panel and double-click Printers.

2. Make sure your printer is selected then click Setup.

3. Find the field labelled Memory (MB) and set its value correctly. (Refer to your printer's manual for details of how to find the correct values for both these fields.)

4. If you changed any settings Click OK and try to print again.

   Under Windows 95:

1. Click the File menu in CorelXARA and click Print Setup.

2. Click the Properties button of the Setup dialog box.

3. Click the Device options tab and alter the value of the Printer memory field to be correct for your printer.

4. Also set the Reserved memory field correctly. (Refer to your printer's manual for details of how to find the correct values for both these fields.)

5. If you changed any settings Click OK and try to print again.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Layer
CorelXARA drawings can be drawn in Layers with different objects in each and with the layers laid on top of each other.

Layers behave exactly as the name suggests. They act like a series of transparent sheets laid on each other with opaque objects on one layer obscuring anything underneath them on lower layers.

With layers it is possible to :

Permit editing of all layers or restrict it to only the current layer.

Show as many or as few layers as you wish.

Change the order of layers, front to back.

Name layers.

Create and delete layers.

The Layer Gallery is used to manage layers.

Layers can be used to act as overlays to show different levels of detail or to divide an illustration into layers for easy editing.

CorelXARA uses two types of layer: foreground and background. Background layers are identical to foreground layers except the do not print and are always behind the foreground layers.


Layer Gallery
 Layer Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F10

The Layer Gallery gives you full control over the layers in a document. This includes the foreground and background layers and the guides layer.

The gallery shows two sections. The upper section lists all the foreground layers in the selected document, the lower section details the background layers which will not print. Note that the guides layer will never print. The current layer is the layer highlighted in the gallery and is the layer into which all newly created objects are placed.

Layers can be reordered simply by dragging them in the gallery. While the layer is dragged the mouse pointer will show an upward or a downward pointing arrow to indicate whether the layer will be placed above or below the layer under the mouse pointer.

New	Create a new layer

Copy	Copy an existing layer

Properties	Layer properties

Delete	Delete a layer

All Visible	Display all layers

All Editable	Unlock all layers

Visible and Editable	Hide/lock individual layers

Guides Layer

Many operations using the Layer Gallery are made easier by the Layer Gallery Pop-up Menu.

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Galleries

Selecting items in a gallery


 Layer Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F10

The Layer Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Layer Gallery button open the Layer Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Layer Gallery - All Editable

When the All Editable button in the Layer Gallery is selected all layers are unlocked and editable so objects in any layer can be edited. When this button is not selected the editable status of a layer is set by its own editable setting.


Layer Gallery - All Visible Button

When the All Visible button in the Layer Gallery is selected all layers in the document become visible. When this button is not selected, the visibility of a layer is set by its own visibility setting.

This button does not affect the guides layer.

Note

Objects in a non-visible layer cannot be seen or edited.


Layer Gallery - Copy Button

The Copy button in the Layer Gallery is used to copy a layer and its contents. Clicking it will open a dialog box from where the name for the copy can be entered.


Layer Gallery - Delete Button

The Delete button in the Layer Gallery will delete the current layer. If the layer contains objects you will be asked to confirm the deletion.


Layer Gallery - Guides Layer

Guidelines and guide objects live within the guides layer which can be locked to prevent editing of guides and also made visible or invisible as with any other layer. Remember that all objects in the guides layer are shown as dotted outlines. For more information on guides, see Using guides. Note that locking the guides layer against editing prevents you from moving or deleting all guidelines and guide objects.

You can quickly swap the visibility setting for the guides layer using Show Guides on the Window menu.


Layer Gallery - New Button

The New button in the Layer Gallery is used to create a new layer in a document. Clicking it opens a dialog box which prompts for a name for the layer.


Layer Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on a layer in the Layer Gallery opens a pop-up menu which allows you to operate on the layer. The menu contains the following options :

Copy	Identical to the Copy Button.

Delete	Identical to the Delete Button.

New Layer	Identical to the New Button.

Create Guide Layer	Creates the guides layer. For details more details on guides, see Using guides.

Properties	Opens the Layer Properties dialog box.


Layer Gallery - Visible and Editable Settings

Next to the layers listed in the Layer Gallery are two columns of switches. For each layer the left-hand switch indicates whether the layer is visible and the right-hand switch whether it is editable. The settings of these switches can be changed simply by clicking on them. The individual settings of both switches can be overridden by the All Visible and All Editable buttons (see below).

The current layer can also be forced to always be editable and visible (see General Options).

When a layer is visible, objects on it can be seen and edited. Making a layer invisible is a useful way of temporarily removing objects from a drawing which would otherwise make editing on other layers difficult.

When a layer is editable, objects on it can be selected and edited (making a layer non-editable renders all selected objects on it deselected). If you try to click on an object on a non-editable layer the click will pass straight through it as if it was not there. Select All will only select object in visible, editable layers.

The visible and editable settings for a layer can also be set by selecting Properties from the Layer Gallery pop-up menu and using the Layer Properties dialog box.

If you shift-click on a Visible or Editable switch, all layers between that one and the last layer you clicked on will have that switch turned on/off (depending on whether the one you shift-clicked was off or on, respectively). This makes it much faster and easier to select/deselect a range of layers.

Note

A non-visible layer cannot be seen or edited.


Layer Properties Dialog Box

The Layer Properties dialog box allows you to alter the properties of a layer and change the guides layer settings. The dialog box has two 'tabs'; Layer and Guides.

Layer

The Layer tab in the dialog box allows you to alter :

The name of the layer

Whether the layer is visible.

Whether objects in the layer can be edited.

These settings are duplicates of those shown in the Layer Gallery itself.

Guides

The Guides tab (shown above) allows you to create new guidelines and set the colour of all the guidelines and guide objects in the guides layer.

The Horizontal\Vertical settings sets whether horizontal or vertical guidelines are shown.

The New button allows you to create a new guideline.

The Delete button deletes the selected guideline(s).

The Properties button opens the Guideline Properties dialog box and allows you to set the exact position of the selected guideline.

At the bottom of the dialog box is a drop-down list from which you can select the colour used to display the dotted outlines of all objects in the guides layer.

_______________

See also

Using guides


Line
A Line can be straight, curved or contain a mixture of both straight and curved segments. A line must have a start and an end; thus it cannot be filled. You can apply a thickness, colour and transparency to a line as well as line ends and patterns. When the two ends of a line are joined the line can be filled and is referred to as a shape.

If a line has a fill applied to it, the fill will only be visible when the ends of the line have been joined.


Line & Shape Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a line or shape, it contains the following options :

Shape Editor Tool

- - - - - - - - - -

Cut

Copy

Paste

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete

Duplicate

Clone

- - - - - - - - - -

Convert to Editable Shapes

Create Bitmap Copy

Combine Shapes

- - - - - - - - - -

Colour Editor


Line Attribute Gallery (Utilities Menu)
 Line Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F12

The Line Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Line Gallery button open the Line Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.


Line Attribute Gallery - Dash Pattern
Line Gallery - Dash Pattern

The Dash Pattern section of the Line Gallery allows you to apply different dash patterns to objects outlines.

To change the dash pattern :

Drag-and-drop the required pattern onto the object. Hold down CTRL to apply 'inside'.

Double click on the dash pattern to apply it to the selection.

Click the required dash pattern to select it and click Apply to apply it to the selection.


Line Gallery
 Line Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F12

The Line Gallery gives full control over the appearance of lines and shape outlines. It allows you to alter dash pattern, width, joins and ends.

The line attributes that can be set using the gallery are :

Line Width

Dash Pattern

Arrows

Join Type

Line Cap

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Selecting items in a gallery

Galleries

Zero Width Lines


Line Gallery - Arrows

The Arrowheads section of the Line Gallery allows you to apply arrowheads (and tails) to lines.

To apply an arrow head or tail to a line :

Drag-and-drop the arrow head or tail from the Line Gallery onto the line. Hold down CTRL to apply 'inside'

Select a line and double-click on the arrow head or tail in the line gallery.  This will apply the arrow head or tail to the appropriate end of the line, e.g. a rounded arrowhead will be applied to the start of the line while a feathered arrow tail will be applied to the end of the line.

Select a line and select an arrow head or tail in the line gallery. Click the Apply button.

To apply an arrow head or tail to the other end of a line, e.g. applying a feathered arrow tail to the start of a line, not the end, either drop the arrow head or tail onto the line where you would like it to appear, or use the second and third methods above while holding down CTRL.


Line Gallery - Join Type

This sets the style of corners on the line or shape.

Selecting a join type from the menu will set the join type of all currently selected lines and shapes. The join types available are :

Bevelled Join

Mitre Join

Round Join


Line Gallery - Line Cap

This sets the style of the ends of the line.

Selecting a line cap from this menu will set the end type of all currently selected lines and shapes. The line caps available are :

Butt Cap

Round Cap

Square Cap


Line Gallery - Line Width

You can change the line width using the drop-down list at the top of the gallery or using the Line Width section.

If there is a line selected, this field will change the width of the line(s). Otherwise it changes the line width current attribute so the line width is drawn for all newly created objects.

To alter the line width, enter a value into the field and press RETURN or select the required line width from the menu.

Alternatively you can change the line width as follows :

Drag-and-drop the required line width from the gallery onto the object.

Double click on the line width to apply it to the selection.

Click the required line width to select it and click Apply to apply it to the selection.


Line Width

The Line Width control allows you to edit the current line width attribute, or the line width of the selection.

Either choose a width from the drop-down list or type in the required width and press RETURN.

The line width settings are available from the Control Bars and the Line Gallery.

_______________

See also

Zero Width Lines

Units in CorelXARA


Linear Fill
A Linear Fill is a smooth, linear graduation of colour.


Linear Transparency
A Linear Transparency is a smooth, linear graduation between two transparencies.


Linked Colour
Linked Colours are a type of named colour and inherit components from another colour (called the parent colour). You define which components you want the linked colour to take from the parent named colour.

For example you could create a linked RGB colour that shared the Red and Green components of the parent named colour, but not the Blue. Any changes to the components of the parent named colour would be reflected in the linked colour.

If you wish to create a set of shades of the same colour which are all linked so their hue can be changed simultaneously, use shade colours.


Listing the positions of guidelines
 List the positions of guidelines

1. Open the Layer Gallery

2. Select the guides layer.

3. Open the layer pop-up menu

4. Choose Properties to open the Layer Properties dialog box.

5. Open the Guides tab - it shows the positions of all the guidelines.

To change the position of a guideline, select it and click the Properties button to open the Guideline Properties dialog box.


Loading & importing files
 Load & import files

To load a file

1. Click the Open button on the control bars.

2. Choose the location and filename of the file (see Open for details).

3. Click OK.

To import a file into an existing document

1. Drag the file from the Windows 3.1 File Manager, Windows 95 Explorer or equivalent and drop it on the document.

or

1. Choose Import from the File menu.

2. Choose the location and filename of the file (see Import for details).

3. Click OK.

If the file is in the Clipart Gallery, you can use the buttons on the gallery and drag-and-drop to open or import the file.

For a list of types of file CorelXARA can load, see Supported File Formats.


Local Colour
CorelXARA has two types of colour; Local Colours and named colours. Local colours are used in only one place in a document. This is useful if you want to change the colour of an object without affecting other objects. Local colours are especially useful in simple documents that use relatively few colours. Local colours do not appear on the Colour Line nor the Colour gallery.


Magenta
The Magenta colour component is used in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key) colour model, which is commonly used by printers. By mixing various quantities of these four inks, a large range of colours can be generated.


Magnetic
Magnetic snapping makes one point or object snap towards another when one of them is moved. Magnetic snapping only takes place when it is enabled by Snap to Objects on the Window menu or by the Magnet button on the Standard Control bar. See Using magnetic snapping for more details.

You can specify separate snapping distances for point and lines. This makes it possible to snap two points together precisely.

The small magnet icon on the status line lights up and a magnet appears on the mouse pointer when the point or object being dragged has been snapped magnetically to a stationary object.

Guides can also be made magnetic using Snap to Guides on the Window menu.


Make more room for spooling

The Windows printing system needs space on your hard disc to store a temporary file when Spooling is turned on. It's likely that you haven't got enough space at the moment.

Try one or both of these suggestions:

   Make more space on your hard disc by deleting any unwanted files.

   If you are running Windows 95 empty the Recycle bin.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?

Tip

If you have more than one hard drive, try moving your virtual memory swap-file onto a different drive from that used for your temporary directory to prevent problems with the two clashing.


Making guides magnetic
 Make guides magnetic

To make guides magnetic, select Snap To Guides from the Window menu. Enabling guide-snapping will mean all guidelines and guide objects become magnetic so dragging handles and objects near the guide will lock it to the guide. The mouse pointer will show a magnet to show that the object has snapped to the guide.


Manipulating documents
 Manipulate documents

Loading & importing files

Moving the page

Using scrollbars

Zooming

Using guides

Timing CorelXARA redraw

Using titles, descriptions and keywords

Exporting a bitmap at a specific size


Manipulating objects
 Manipulate objects

Selecting & deselecting objects

Rotating objects

Scaling objects

Moving objects

Skewing objects

Flipping objects

Colouring objects

Applying fills

Editing fills

Applying transparency

Editing transparency

Using guides

Using rulers

Aligning the centres of QuickShapes

Editing bitmaps


Masking a bitmap
 Mask a bitmap

To mask a bitmap

1. Import the Bitmap into CorelXARA.

2. Choose the Freehand Tool.

3. Carefully draw around the area to be masked and form a shape.

4. Select the bitmap and the shape.

5. Choose Intersect Shapes from the Combine Shapes submenu on the Arrange menu.

To mask a bitmap 2

1. Select the bitmap

2. Choose Convert to Editable Shapes from the Arrange menu.

3. Edit the new shape as normal.

In both cases, the bitmap is converted to a simple editable shape with a bitmap fill applied. The object can then be edited like any other shape. For example using the Freehand Tool; see Redrawing part of a line or shape.

You can create masks using the QuickShape, Ellipse, Rectangle, Pen and Shape Editor Tools. Using a rectangle is an ideal way to crop a bitmap.


Maybe there's something wrong with the printer?

Maybe there's something wrong with the printer or the way it's set up?

Suggestions:

   Are you running Windows 95? If so, try using its Print troubleshooter.

1. Click the Start button on the task bar and choose Help from the menu.

2. Double-click "Troubleshooters" in the Help window.

3. Double-click "If you have trouble printing" in the Help window.

   Check that there's paper in the paper feed.

   Check that the printer isn't warning you of an error such as "out of ink".

   Check for paper jams.

   Check that the printer connectors are plugged in and the printer is turned on.

   Check that the printer is "on-line".

Did that fix the problem?

   Yes. My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. Try to diagnose the problem.


Menu bar

CorelXARA provides the following menus on the menu bar :

File

Edit

Arrange

Utilities

Window

Help


Menus & Buttons

CorelXARA has a standard Windows menu bar containing all the options additional to the Tools. Additionally CorelXARA has a wide range of default control bars available which provide buttons to access these options more easily.

Menu bar

Default control bars

_______________

See also

Creating & deleting control bars


Mirroring
Mirroring is a term used by CorelDRAW to describe what CorelXARA refers to as flipping. See Flipping objects.


Miscellaneous tasks
Zooming

Moving the page

Using guides

Drawing concentric circles

Drawing simple lighting effects

Drawing a light source

Drawing motion blur

Timing CorelXARA redraw


Mitre Join
Mitre Join is one of the options available for line corners:

Use the Line Gallery to choose a join style.


Mix (Transparency Type)
Mix is one of the three types of transparency supported by CorelXARA; Mix, Stained Glass and Bleach. Mix is similar to spraying a thin coat of colour over underlying objects. Technically, the process is reflective.

0% transparency	Solid colour

100% transparency	Completely transparent


Morphing bitmaps
 Morph bitmaps

Using transparency and blending it is possible to create simple pseudo-morphing effects with CorelXARA.

To morph two bitmaps

1.   Import two bitmaps into a document.

2.   Create a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool and give it a bitmap fill with the first bitmap (see Applying a bitmap fill).

3.   Clone the square.

4.   Give the clone a bitmap fill using the second bitmap.

5.   Group both squares.

6.   Duplicate the group.

7.   Move the duplicate group away from the original group (see Moving objects).

8.   Ungroup the duplicate group.

9.   Select the top object (filled with the second bitmap).

10. Use the Transparency Tool to give it 100% transparency.

11. Select this transparent square and the square underneath, and group them.

12. Blend the two groups together.

The result is a pseudo-morphing effect from one bitmap to the other bitmap. If you only require one 'frame' from the sequence, apply Convert to Editable Shapes to the blend and remove the required section.


Mould
Applying a Mould to an object allows it to be warped. CorelXARA supports two types of mould; envelope moulds with up to four curved sides and perspective moulds with four straight sides. Perspective moulds can also be controlled using two vanishing points. For more information, see Applying a mould.


Mould Handle
Mould Handles are used to control moulds. They are very similar to point handles. For more information, see Editing an envelope mould and Editing a perspective mould.


Mould Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a mould, it contains the following options:

Mould Tool

- - - - - - - - - -

Detach Mould

Rotate Mould

Copy Mould

- - - - - - - - - -

Default Envelope

Default Perspective

- - - - - - - - - -

Cut

Copy

Paste

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete

Duplicate

Clone

- - - - - - - - - -

Convert to Editable Shapes

Create Bitmap Copy

Combine Shapes

- - - - - - - - - -

Colour Editor


 Mould Tool

The Mould Tool is used to apply Envelope and Perspective moulds to objects to warp, bend and reform them.

The Mould Tool can also be chosen using the Mould Pop-up Menu.

SHIFT+F6

Mould Tool Infobar Controls

Mesh

Remove

Copy Mould

Detach

Rotate Contents

Default Envelope

Circular Envelope

Elliptical Envelope

Concave Envelope

Banner Envelope

Paste Envelope

Default Perspective

Left Perspective

Right Perspective

Floor Perspective

Ceiling Perspective

Paste Perspective

Mould Tool Operations

Applying a mould

Editing an envelope mould

Editing a perspective mould

On-line Demonstrations

Note

Objects can be edited inside moulds without removing the mould first. See Selecting objects inside other objects.

You can apply a Perspective mould to a bitmap; you cannot apply an envelope mould.


 Mould Tool - Banner Envelope Button

The Banner Envelope button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a banner envelope to the selection. You can edit the envelope as required. The selection always remains within the envelope whatever edits you make.


 Mould Tool - Ceiling Perspective Button

This button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a ceiling facing perspective to the selection.


 Mould Tool - Circular Envelope Button

The Circular Envelope button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a circular envelope to the selection. You can edit the envelope as required. The selection always remains within the envelope whatever edits you make.


 Mould Tool - Concave Envelope Button

The Concave Envelope button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a concave envelope to the selection. You can edit the envelope as required. The selection always remains within the envelope whatever edits you make.


 Mould Tool - Copy Mould Button

The Copy Mould button on the Mould Tool Infobar copies the mould from the currently selected object (where possible) to the clipboard as a shape.

For example, if the selection contains an elliptical mould, this button places the ellipse on the clipboard.

A mould can also be copied using Copy Mould on the Mould Pop-up Menu.


 Mould Tool - Default Envelope Button

The Default Envelope button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a default rectangular envelope to the selection. You can edit the envelope as required. The selection always remains within the envelope whatever edits you make.

The default envelope mould can also be applied using Default Envelope on the Mould Pop-up Menu.


 Mould Tool - Default Perspective Button

The Default Perspective button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies the default, flat perspective to the selection. You can then edit the shape of the mould as required.

The default perspective mould can also be applied using Default Perspective on the Mould Pop-up Menu.


 Mould Tool - Detach Mould

With a moulded object selected, press the Detach Mould button on the Mould Tool Infobar to 'detach' the mould. You can then edit the mould without waiting for the moulded object being 'recalculated'. Click the Detach button again to update the display of the moulded object.

A detached mould will not be recalculated until the detach button is pulled out or the document is saved and reloaded.

A mould can also be detached using Detach Mould on the Mould Pop-up Menu.


 Mould Tool - Elliptical Envelope Button

The Elliptical Envelope button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies an elliptical  envelope to the selection.  You can edit the envelope as required. The selection always remains within the envelope whatever edits you make.


 Mould Tool - Floor Perspective Button

This button applies a 'floor' facing perspective to the selection.

_______________

See also

Mould Tool


 Mould Tool - Left Perspective Button

The Left Perspective button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a left facing perspective to the selection.


 Mould Tool - Mesh Button

The Mesh button on the Mould Tool Infobar is used to display a mesh over all selected moulds. The mesh lets you see the amount of distortion applied to the object. The mesh appears only on screen - it is never printed.


 Mould Tool - Paste Envelope Button

The Paste Envelope button on the Mould Tool Infobar takes a shape from the clipboard and pastes it as an envelope over the selection.  For this operation to succeed there must be a four-sided shape on the clipboard. An error will be reported if the shape is unsuitable to be pasted as an envelope. Once pasted, you can edit the envelope as required with this tool or with the Selector Tool.


 Mould Tool - Paste Perspective Button

This button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a perspective to the selection using the contents of the clipboard as a perspective mould.

For this to work, the clipboard must contain a shape with four straight sides.


 Mould Tool - Remove Button

The Remove button on the Mould Tool Infobar removes the moulds from all moulded objects in the selection.


 Mould Tool - Right Perspective Button

This button on the Mould Tool Infobar applies a right facing perspective to the selection.


 Mould Tool - Rotate Contents

The Rotate Contents button on the Mould Tool Infobar 'rotates' the contents of the mould. This lets you align one edge of the moulded shape with any edge of the mould shape.

A mould can also be rotated using Rotate Mould on the Mould Pop-up Menu.


 Mouse Options

The mouse options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and opening the Mouse section of the dialog box.

Left Mouse Button Function

This sets the function of the left mouse button.

Normal Click

SHIFT-click

CTRL-click

ALT-click

Pop-up Menu

Enable/disable Full Screen Mode

Zoom In or Out

Right Mouse Button Function

This has the same range of options as for the left button.

Reset Defaults

This button returns the setting for left and right mouse buttons to their 'factory' defaults.

Magnetic Snap Radii

These two fields set the magnetic snap distances. These are the distances at which the mouse pointer will lock onto points and lines when magnetic snapping has been enabled with Snap To Objects.


 Move Backwards (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+B

Moves every object in the selection backwards in the stack of objects in its layer.

On-line Demonstration


 Move Forwards (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+F

Moves every object in the selection forwards in the stack of objects in its layer.

On-line Demonstration


 Move to Layer Behind (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+D

Moves all objects in the selection back one layer to the previous visible layer.

Note

The guides layer is ignored and skipped.

_______________

See also

Move to Layer in Front

Moving objects to the guides layer


 Move to Layer in Front (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+U

Moves all objects in the selection forwards one layer to the next visible layer.

Note

The guides layer is ignored and skipped.

_______________

See also

Move to Layer Behind

Moving objects to the guides layer


Moving & copying buttons
 Move & copying buttons

To move a button

1. Hold down ALT.

2. Drag the button to a different position on the control bar or to a different control bar.

To copy a button

1. Hold down the ALT & CTRL keys.

2. Drag the button to the new position. A copy remains in the original location.

On-line Demonstration

Note

Buttons on the Infobar cannot be moved or copied.

There is a control bar called the Button Palette which contains a copy of every available button in CorelXARA. Buttons cannot be deleted from this bar.

_______________

See also

Creating & deleting control bars

Moving & resizing control bars

Removing & restoring buttons


Moving & resizing control bars
 Move & resize control bars

All control bars can be anchored to the sides of the CorelXARA window or left free-floating. You can also change the size of a floating control bar.

To move a control bar

1. Place the mouse pointer over an area of the bar not occupied by buttons or fields.

2. Drag the bar to its new location.

As the bar is dragged it has either a thick or a thin outline. A thick outline means dropping the bar will leave it floating. A thin outline indicates that dropping the bar will become docked. If you want the bar to remain floating, hold down CTRL while dragging.

To resize a floating control bar

1. Move the mouse pointer over the edge of the control bar window. The mouse pointer changes to a double ended arrow.

2. Drag to resize the control bar.

_______________

See also

Moving & copying buttons

Creating & deleting control bars


Moving & resizing galleries
 Move & resize galleries

To move a gallery

Do one of the following :

Drag the title bar of the gallery.

Drag the background of the gallery behind the buttons.

To resize a gallery

Drag the outer edge of the gallery as you would with any other resizeable window.


Moving a point on a line or shape
 Move a point on a line or shape

1. Select the line or shape (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool (or Selector Tool, see note).

3. Do one of the following to move a single point:

Drag the point handle you wish to move. Hold down CTRL to constrain handle movement to multiples of the angle set in the General Options.

Alter the values in the centre Parameter Field on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar and press RETURN.

Use the arrow buttons on the coordinate Parameter Field on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar (the centre field).

Click on a point and use the cursor keys to move (nudge) it (Shape Editor Tool only). The nudge distance is set in the General Options.

Holding down CTRL and using the cursor keys nudges the selection by five times the distance.

Holding down SHIFT and using the cursor keys nudges the selection by ten times the distance.


Moving guidelines
 Move guidelines

Using the mouse

Drag the guideline to the required position.

Using the Pop-up Menu

1. Right-click on the guideline to open the guideline pop-up menu.

2. Choose Properties to open the Guideline Properties dialog box.

3. Type a new position into the field and click OK.

Using the Layer Gallery

1. Open the Layer Gallery.

2. Right-click on the guides layer to open the layer pop-up menu.

3. Choose Properties to open the Layer Properties dialog box.

4. Open the Guides tab.

5. Select Horizontal or Vertical.

6. Click Properties (this button is dimmed if you have more than one guideline selected) to open the Guideline Properties dialog box.

7. Enter a new value for the position.

Note

If the Editable setting for the guides layer (set using the Layer Gallery) has been turned off, you will not be able to use the first two methods - the guides layer must be unlocked first.

The units used for guideline positioning are the page units defined in the Unit Options. Note however that the units used on the rulers (and grid) are set using the Grid and Ruler Options.


Moving objects
 Move objects

Objects can be moved using the mouse, accurately using the Infobar or in small steps using the keyboard.

What do you want to do?

Move objects by dragging

Move objects accurately

On-line Demonstration


Moving objects accurately
 Move objects accurately

1. Select the object(s).

2. Do one of the following

Enter values in the Position Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Use the Position field arrow buttons on the Infobar to alter the values.

Press the cursor keys to 'nudge' the objects. The nudge distance is set in the General Options.

When you use the cursor keys, holding down CTRL nudges the selection by five times the distance and holding down SHIFT nudges it by ten times the distance.


Moving objects by dragging
 Move objects by dragging

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Drag the object to the new position. If the object is part of the selection, the entire selection will move.

To constrain the move angle, hold the CTRL key down during the drag. Press CTRL after the mouse click  (otherwise the action will become a Select Inside operation).

Grid Locking

When an object is moved with grid locking enabled the leading edge(s) of the bounding box of the selection will lock onto the nearest grid points. The normal operation of this feature is the same as with CorelDRAW!.

It is possible to force the object to remain at the same relative position on the grid as it is moved. To do this hold down ALT during the drag. This style of grid locking is the same as that used in ArtWorks.

Note

To leave a copy of the original object, press NumPad '+' during the drag.

To move the object but not any fill applied to it, press NumPad '-' during the drag.


Moving objects to the guides layer
 Move objects to the guides layer

You can create objects in the guides layer exactly as on other layers. Simply select the guides layer in the Layer Gallery and create the object as normal.

You can also move or copy existing objects to the guides layer using Cut-Copy-Paste. Pasting using CTRL+SHIFT+V (see Paste) pastes the object in the same position it was Cut/Copied from (if the object was Cut or Copied in CorelXARA).

When objects are created in the guides layer or moved to it, only a dotted outline is shown.

Note that Move To Layer in Front and Move to Layer Behind skip over the guides layer.


Moving points on shapes and lines
 Move points on shapes and lines

When editing a line or shape you can move point handles individually or several at a time. You can do this using the mouse, the controls on the Infobar or the keyboard.

What do you want to do ?

Move a point on a line or shape

Move several points on a line or shape

Set the length or angle of a straight line segment

Note

The Shape Editor Tool is the main line editing Tool in CorelXARA, but you can use the Selector Tool for simple line editing operations if edit handles have been enabled - see Enabling edit handles.


Moving several points on a line or shape
 Move several points on a line or shape

1. Select the line or shape (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool (or Selector Tool, see note).

3. Select the point handles to be moved (see Selecting points on lines and shapes).

4. Do one of the following :

Drag one of the selected handles. Hold down CTRL to constrain handle movement to multiples of the angle set in the General Options.

Use the cursor keys to move (nudge) the selected points (Shape Editor Tool only). The nudge distance is set in the General Options.

Holding down CTRL and using the cursor keys nudges the selection by five times the distance.

Holding down SHIFT and using the cursor keys nudges the selection by ten times the distance.


Moving the page
 Move the page

To move the page

1. Choose  the Push Tool.

2. Move the pointer over the page and drag; the page will follow your movements.

On-line Demonstration

Note

You can also move the page using the scrollbars. See Using scrollbars.


Moving the ruler zero point
 Move the ruler zero point

It is often easier to measure objects if you align the 0,0 point of the rulers with the object. To move the 0,0 point drag the square shown at the intersection of the two rulers. You can drag vertically or horizontally along the rulers or over any part of the CorelXARA editing window.

This also moves the grid origin so the divisions on the ruler always align with the grid.

You can move the origin more accurately in the Grid & Ruler Options.

To reset the origin to the bottom left corner of the page, double click on the square at the intersection of the two rulers.


Name Layer Dialog Box

The Name Layer dialog box allows you to enter a name for the layer. Type the name and click OK.


Named Colour
CorelXARA has two types of colour: Local colours and Named Colours. Named colours are much like styles in a word-processor and can be used again and again in documents. The Colour Gallery gives control over the named colours in documents and the Colour Line is a list of all the currently defined named colours. All alterations made to named colour definitions are reflected in all objects using the named colour. Named colours can be copied between documents. CorelXARA allows four types of named colour, Linked Colours, Shade Colours, Normal Colours and  Tint Colours.


 New (File Menu)

 CTRL+N

New creates a new, blank document. The blank document is based on the CorelXARA template document. You can create your own template document (see Save Template) so that you can fix the appearance and options settings (see Options) in every new document.


New Named Colour Dialog Box

   Creating a new normal colour      Creating a new shade colour

Selecting the shade option sets whether you want the new colour to be a shade (on the right) of the colour you select in the drop-down list (see Using shades) or a normal colour (on the left). If you do not select this option, the new named colour will be a stand-alone colour created as a copy of the colour you select in the list.

Once you have created the colour you can change it to any type of named colour you like.


 New View (Window Menu)

New View opens another view on the current document. Changes in one view are reflected in all others.

The Quality setting can be different for different views.

New View is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.


No library index file available

Cause

Index file not found for this folder.

Recommended action

Choose the correct directory path where the index file can be found, or click the Create button to make a new index file for the folder.


No library index file available_1
No library index file available

Cause

No index file for a library is available.

Recommended action

Enter the correct directory path to where the index file can be found.


No result on combining shapes

Cause

Either

(a) you have attempted to combine some shapes (see Combine Shapes) that do not intersect,

or (b) you have subtracted shapes so that no shape will result.

Recommended action

(a) Move the shapes so that they intersect.

(b) Change one of the shapes to be different from the other(s).

If you have tried to slice using a line, ensure both ends of the line lie outside the bounding box of the object(s) being sliced.


No suitable texture is available

Cause

You have tried to use an unsuitable bitmap for a fill, or there is no bitmap available at all.

Recommended action

Import a suitable bitmap.


Normal Colour
Normal Colours are a type of named colour. Normal named colours are stand-alone and their colour is defined independently of all other colours. The other colour types (Shade Colours, Tint Colours and Linked Colours.)are linked to another colour definition in some way.


Normal Mode
CorelXARA has two screen modes; Normal Mode and Full Screen Mode. In Normal mode all the usual screen furniture is displayed such as a Menu Bar and Scrollbars.

8 on the numeric keypad lets you toggle between the two modes. (NumLock must be on.)

For more details, see Full Screen Mode.


Object
Objects in CorelXARA are the building blocks used to create drawings. Object is a general term used to describe the contents of the document.

Objects can be contained within other objects. For example, groups, moulds and blends all contain objects.


Objects are missing

Are you using Superprint printer drivers under Windows 95?

Suggestion:

   Turn off queuing in SuperQueue.

1. Run SuperQueue

2. Click the File menu and choose Queue setup.

3. Make sure your printer is selected in the list of printers.

4. Press the Unqueue button.

5. If you made any changes click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


On-line Demonstrations (Help Menu)

This option displays the On-line Demonstrations page of the on-line documentation


Online Demonstrations

If you have trouble running the on-line demonstrations supplied with CorelXARA, refer to On-line Demonstrations.


 Open (File Menu)

 CTRL+O

Opens an existing document or file in a supported format in a new window. CorelXARA keeps track of the document you last worked on.

CorelXARA lets you have several documents open at the same time.  You may prefer to have only one document open at a time - if so, set the Ask Before Closing Views option in the General Options.

To open a document quickly without using the Open dialog box :

Choose the filename from the bottom of the File menu (see 1,2,3,4) if it has been loaded recently.

Drag the file from the Windows 95 Explorer (or the Windows 3.1 File Manager) to CorelXARA and drop it onto any part of the CorelXARA window except a document view (dropping onto a document will import the file into that document).

Double click the file from the Windows 95 Explorer (or the Windows 3.1 File Manager).

When you finish working on a document and you want to remove it from your screen, close it by using Close.

File Name

The filename field specifies what type of file should be displayed in the list of files box below it. You can choose pre-defined types from the List of Files of Type drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog box. Normally for opening CorelXARA files this box will read " *. XAR ". If it does not, you can choose "CorelXARA Documents" from the types list. The Open dialog box can also open many other types of graphics file, to list all files choose All Files from the types list. You can restrict the files displayed to a particular type by selecting the file type from the types list. For a full list of the types of file CorelXARA can load, see Supported File Formats.

Drives

Choose the drive that contains the file you want to open.

Directories

Choose the directory that contains the file you want to open.

Network

Opens the Connect Network Drive dialog box so that you can make a connection to a network

drive. For more information, click the Help button in the dialog box.

Note

The Open dialog box will look slightly different under Windows 3.1, 3.11. and Windows NT.

_______________

See also

Save As

New

Opening CorelDRAW files


Operation cancelled

Cause

You cancelled an operation, such as a file import.

Recommended action

Continue as usual - this message is for your information only.


Optimised Palette
A bitmap with an optimised palette is one where the colours in the bitmap have been chosen carefully to make the bitmap look as good as possible. If you display an optimised palette image in Netscape or Internet Explorer in a 256 colour mode, the browser will do the best it can to display the image correctly (it will usually be very good). However, if you display an optimised palette image in a high colour (thousands of colours) or a true colour (millions of colours) mode, the images will look nearly perfect. Note that an optimised palette image will be larger than a normal image.


 Options (Utilities Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+O

Options on the Utilities menu brings up the Options dialog box from where the CorelXARA options are set. There are two types of option :

Program options

Options for the current document

When options apply only to the current document, the section of the Options dialog box will show the document name (e.g. 'Scaling for map.xar'). The program options are saved when you finish using CorelXARA whereas the document options are saved with the document.

The options are divided into the following sections :

General Options

Grid & Ruler Options

Mouse Options

Output Options

Page Options

Print Options

Scaling Options

Tune up Options

Units Options

View Options

Default Document Options

If you wish to set the document options that are used every time a new document is created, do the following :

1. Open a New blank document.

2. Set the document options as appropriate.

3. Choose Save Template from the File menu.

This will create a new template document with the desired settings.


Out of memory

Cause

CorelXARA cannot perform the current task because your system does not have enough free memory.

Recommended action

Please remember that CorelXARA requires a computer with at least 8 megabytes of physical memory and a Windows swap file of at least 10 megabytes of virtual memory.  If your swap file is too small, then its size can increased using the Windows Control Panel program. (You will have to restart your computer after changing the size.) For further details, refer to your Windows User Guide.

If you are certain that your computer's memory is adequate then, if feasible, close some other programs you are running, particularly graphics applications which generally require a lot of memory to run.

CorelXARA requires more memory when editing or displaying documents that contain transparency effects.  If your document contains such effects, you might like to try turning transparency mode off - to do this, double-click the transparency indicator on the Status Line.

It is also possible to change your computer's screen mode to one with a lower resolution and colour depth, e.g. if your computer normally displays 1024 x 768 pixels with a 24-bit colour depth (millions of colours), change to an 800 x 600 pixel mode with an 8-bit colour depth (256 colours).


Outlining
Outlining is a term used by CorelDRAW and refers to changing the outline colour of an object. CorelXARA refers to 'changing the line colour' of an object. See Colouring objects.


 Output Options

The output options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Output 'tab'. These options control what is printed and how it is printed.

Print layers

Only foreground layers are printed - background layers are never printed.  You can choose to print what you see on screen (Visible foreground layers), or to print all foreground layers, regardless of whether they are visible or not (All foreground layers).

PostScript language level

There are two variants of PostScript - Level 1 & Level 2. All PostScript devices can interpret Level 1; more recent devices can also interpret Level 2, which contains speed and colour control enhancements.

We recommend selecting Automatic. This produces PostScript that uses the extra features of Level 2 but also runs on Level 1 devices.

Choose Level 2 if you know the destination PostScript device is Level 2. This may result in faster printing, especially if your document includes several bitmaps and/or transparency.

Choose Level 1 if Automatic gives problems. This should rarely, if ever, happen.

Print As

This controls the printing method. Some CorelXARA features, such as transparency, are not supported by current printers. This means CorelXARA has to send such features to the printer as a bitmap.

For most drawings you should choose Normal. (This option reads 'PostScript' if a PostScript printer is selected.) This uses the standard printing system except for areas that include bitmaps or transparency. Normal works well except for drawings that include large areas of bitmaps or transparency. With such drawings printing can be slow.

If printing is slow, choose Bitmap or Anti-aliased Bitmap. This sends the entire drawing to the printer as a bitmap. The resolution of the bitmap is controlled by the Resolution field on this dialog box. Generally Anti-aliased bitmap gives the best results except on drawings that include fine lines. (Fine lines do not print well when anti-aliased.)

The general rule is, try printing in Normal mode and, if you have problems, try again using Bitmap or Anti-aliased Bitmap. The best thing is experiment - you will soon know which print method best reproduces different types of drawings.

Transparency/Bitmap resolution

This is controls the resolution of bitmaps sent to the printer.

Automatic is suitable for most drawings. CorelXARA then automatically selects a resolution suitable for the current printer.

If necessary, type in a value to choose a specific resolution. (Resolution is measured in dots per inch [dpi]. The maximum value is 600dpi - this gives very high resolution but can produce very large print jobs that take a long time to run. Only rarely is a resolution greater than 150 dpi necessary.)

Fill Quality

This only has any effect when printing in 'Normal' mode (not PostScript, Bitmap, or Anti-aliased bitmap modes).  It controls the number of steps (between 10 and 256) used when printing graduated fills.

Normal is suitable for most drawings.

Use Low if your drawing uses a lot of graduated fills and produces large print jobs (which take a long time to print). This reduces the number of steps and hence the size of the print job.

Use High if you think more steps are necessary. (This should be rare.)  Be careful: this setting can produce very large print jobs if you use graduated fills, and especially if you have lots of blends from one graduated filled shape to another.

Text Options

If you set the Print All Text as Shapes option, all text will be converted to simple shapes before the document is sent to the printer. This makes it possible to print text on the printer using fonts your PostScript printer does not have installed.


Overrun/truncated file.

Cause

CorelXARA has tried to read a file that is incomplete.  This usually means that it has been corrupted, possibly by cancelling an earlier export.

Recommended action

Run your system's disk diagnostics - it may be possible to recover the rest of the file.


Page
The Page is the area onto which drawings are placed. The white area represents the paper with the grey area around the outside a 'pasteboard' for rough drawings or unwanted objects. This outer area is never printed. There can be one or two pages on each spread.


 Page Options

The page options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options item from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Page 'tab'. You can also access them by selecting Page Options from the View Pop-up Menu.

These options control how the document appears on the screen.

Summary Line

This line displays the same information as in the normal Print dialog box - probably the most useful piece of information is how many pages will fit onto the piece of paper when printed.

Paper Size

The paper size setting sets the paper size used for the current document.

Centimetres	Inches

A0	84.0x118.8	33.07x46.77

A1	59.4x84.0	23.39x33.07

A2	42.0x59.4	16.54x23.39

A3	29.7x42.0	11.69x16.54

A4	21.0x29.7	8.27x11.69

A5	14.85x21.0	5.85x8.27

A6	10.5x14.85	4.13x5.85

US Legal	35.56x21.59	14.0x8.5

US letter	27.94x21.59	11x8.5

Fanfold	30.48x20.95	12x8.25

To set a size not shown in the drop-down list, choose Custom and enter the required values in the Width and Height fields.

For details on setting the Page option for all new documents, see Changing the default page size.

Orientation

These two buttons allow you to control whether the paper is displayed so that its longest side is vertical ("portrait") or horizontal ("landscape"). When you come to print the drawing you will have to choose how to fit the drawing onto the paper and the Print Options contain controls which allow you to do this.

Outer Page Margin

This value sets the margin left around the page. This area is shown as grey in the CorelXARA document window and is called the 'pasteboard'.

Double Page Spread

Your illustration may run across two facing pages in a multi-page publication. This is called a double page spread. Choose this option to make the current document a spread.

Bleed

Bleed-off allows your drawing to be printed over the edge of the page. This setting determines the bleed-off. Standard bleed-off distance is 0.3cm. If in doubt ask your printing company.

Note that bleed-off may require a larger paper size and increase costs.

Show Page Shadow

CorelXARA shows a shadow under the page in documents. Choose this option to show the shadow or deselect it to disable the shadow.


Panning
Panning is a term used by CorelDRAW to describe moving the page. See Moving the page.


Paper orientation is wrong

Make sure the paper orientation matches the page

   Firstly, make sure that the printer driver's Paper orientation is correct:

1. Click CorelXARA's File menu and choose Print setup.

2. Click the Portrait button.

3. If you changed any settings click OK.

       Portrait page.

   Secondly, make sure the Page orientation is correct inside CorelXARA:

4. Click CorelXARA's Utilities menu and choose Options.

5. Choose the Print Options.

6. If the page you're trying to print is taller than it is wide, click the Upright button.

7. If the page you're trying to print is wider than it is tall, click the Sideways button.

8. If you changed any settings click OK.

      Upright printing

      Sideways printing

Tip: Turn on Print Borders to see on screen how much of the page will be printed.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Paper size is different

Use Best fit to ensure the drawing fits on the paper

   Make sure the CorelXARA page fits on the paper.

1. Click CorelXARA's Utilities menu and choose Options.

2. Choose the Print section.

3. Click Best fit.

4. If you changed any settings click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Paper size is wrong

Make sure the paper size is correct

   Make sure the printer driver knows about your paper:

1. Click CorelXARA's File menu and choose Print setup

2. Make sure the field labelled Form or Paper size is the same as the size of the paper in your printer. E.g. if you're printing on A4 paper make sure the field says "A4" and not "Letter" or "Legal".

3. If you changed any settings click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


 Paste (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+V

Paste copies objects from the clipboard into the centre of the current view in the current layer. The objects may originally have come from the same document, they may have come from another document loaded in CorelXARA or they may even have come from another document in another application.

If the clipboard contains text, paste will place the text at the text cursor or overwrite the selected region (as appropriate).

The Paste menu item displays a brief description of what will be pasted. e.g. "Paste bitmap".

Paste is also available from the Selection Pop-up Menu.

You can paste only the attributes of the objects on the clipboard using Paste Attributes.

Pasting to the Original Position

You can paste the clipboard contents into the same X-Y position on the page as they were cut or copied from. This is useful for moving items between documents or moving between layers. (This applies only to objects cut or copied from CorelXARA.)

 CTRL+SHIFT+V

Pasting from Other Applications

Occasionally, when pasting into CorelXARA from another application, the data you are pasting can be transferred in several different formats. For example, text copied from Microsoft Word can be pasted as "unformatted text", or as a "Windows metafile picture". If this is the case, the Paste menu items will read Paste... and selecting it will open the Paste Special dialog box so you can choose how you want to transfer the data.


 Paste Attributes (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+A

Paste Attributes lets you copy attributes (such as the line pattern or fill colour) between objects. It is a quick way of applying multiple attributes. when you choose Paste Attributes, the attributes of the objects on the clipboard are applied to all the objects currently selected.

1. Select the objects with the required attributes.

2. Copy the selection to the clipboard (Copy on the Edit menu or CTRL+C).

3. Select the objects you wish to apply the attributes to.

4. Choose Paste Attributes from the Edit menu or press CTRL+ALT+V.

The objects remain on the clipboard until overwritten by, for example, a Cut or Copy operation. This makes it possible to repeat Paste Attributes many times.

Paste Attributes only applies attributes which are identical on all objects on the clipboard. So for example if the clipboard contained objects with different fill colours, Paste Attributes would not affect the fill colour of the selected objects when chosen.


Paste Special Dialog Box

If when you Paste with data on the clipboard from another application and there is more than one format that the data could be transferred as, the Paste Special dialog box will appear giving you a chance to choose the specific format that you require CorelXARA to import. The highlighted format (always the top item in the list) is the one which is considered the "best" format to paste.

Choose the format which you prefer to paste, and then click the Paste button.

Alternatively, you may click Cancel to cancel the paste operation entirely.

Note

Once you have pasted into CorelXARA, the pasted data is remembered in order to make subsequent pastes faster (as importing some clipboard data formats can take some time). This means the Paste Special dialog box will not appear again until you copy new data to the clipboard from another application.


Pasteboard
The Pasteboard is the area around the page. The pasteboard can be used just like the page area, but objects on it are never printed.


  Pen Tool

The Pen Tool is an alternative way of creating lines and shapes. We recommend using the Shape Editor Tool as it lets you create and edit lines using the same tool.

The Pen Tool operates in exactly the same way as equivalent tools in other programs such as CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator. If you are familiar with such programs, you may prefer to use this tool to draw lines and shapes.

SHIFT+F5

Pen Tool Operations

Drawing a line

Drawing a shape

Extending a line

On-line Demonstrations

_______________

See also

Shape Editor Tool

Freehand Tool


Perspective Mould
An object in CorelXARA can be placed inside a Perspective Mould. This perspectivises the selection and ensures it is contained by the mould. The perspective can be edited using the four corners of the mould or by moving a vanishing point.


PhotoCD Files
Photo CD is a Kodak proprietary process for storing photographs and transparencies in digital form on a CD. The CD can contain up to six copies of each image at different resolutions. For details on loading PhotoCD files, see PhotoCD Import.


PhotoCD Import Dialog Box

When you attempt to Open or Import a PhotoCD file you will be presented with this dialog box which allows you to choose which resolution you would like to load.

PhotoCD files contain up to six versions of the image at differing resolutions, these are defined by Kodak as :

Name	Resolution	Memory Required

Base/64	96x64	24Kb

Base/16	192x128	96Kb

Base/4	384x256	384Kb

Base	768x512	1.5Mb

Base*4	1536x1024	6Mb

Base*16	3072x2048	24Mb

Base/64 is used for small 'thumbnail' previews of the image. You cannot load Base/64 images into CorelXARA.


Placing text around a curve
 Place text around a curve

Existing text can be fitted to an existing curve, or alternatively, single or multi-line text can be typed directly onto a line or shape starting at any point.

To type text onto a curve

1. Select a line or shape.

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click on the line or shape and type the text.

Remember that text will always follow the direction in which the curve was drawn. You can use the flip buttons in the Selector Tool to flip the line as necessary. See Flipping objects.

A kern will be placed on the curve so the text always starts at the point clicked. To explicitly start the text at the beginning of the line, CTRL-click.

To fit text to a curve

1. Choose the Selector Tool

2. Click on the line or shape to select it.

3. SHIFT-click on the text object to select it.

Select only one line/shape and one text object.

4. Choose Fit Text to Curve from the Arrange menu.

To remove text from a curve

1. Select the text object

2. Fit Text to Curve on the Arrange menu now reads Remove Text from Curve. Choose it.

To edit the curve under text

1. Select the text object on the curve.

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

To make the curve invisible

1. Select the text object on the curve.

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

3. SHIFT-click (or right-click) on the No Colour button on the Colour line.

To reverse the direction of the text on the curve

1. Open the text pop-up menu over the text object.

2. Choose Reverse Text on Curve

This can also be described as "moving the text onto the other side of the curve".

To move text along the curve

Insert a kern before the text. See Kerning.

When text has been fitted to a curve, applying full justification adjusts the spacing to exactly fit the text on the line.

With other justifications, if text does not fit on the line it continues over the end at the same angle as the last character on the line.

Note that text around a curve can be edited and selected as normal. The text cursor follows the path of the curve.

_______________

See also

Text Tool

Creating New Text

Editing Text

Selecting Text

Applying Attributes to Text

Text Tool Key Shortcuts


Point Handle
Point Handles are the handles visible on the points of lines and shapes when the Shape Editor Tool or the Selector Tool (with Edit Handles enabled) is being used.


Point Handle Pop-up Menu

If the Pop-up Menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a point handle, it contains the following options :

Shape Editor Tool

- - - - - - - - - -

Change to lines

Change to curves

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete point(s)

Break at point(s)

- - - - - - - - - -

Select all points

Deselect all points


Pop-up Menus

Many commonly used CorelXARA functions can be found on the pop-up menu which appears when you right-click on a document. Note that you can configure the mouse's right-button click to do other things if you prefer. See Mouse Options for more details. Pop-up menus are also available in other areas of CorelXARA, for example in the Galleries.

View Pop-up Menu

When you right-click where there are no objects (e.g. on the page or the page margin) the pop-up menu allows you to set up the document and the view onto it.

View Pop-up Menu

Selection Pop-up Menu

When you right-click on an object the pop-up menu offers options for that object and options about objects in general. Note that right-clicking on an unselected object will select it before showing the pop-up menu.

Line & Shape Pop-up Menu

QuickShape Pop-up Menu

Blend Pop-up Menu

Mould Pop-up Menu

Text Pop-up Menu

Handle Pop-up Menu

When you right-click on a path handle the pop-up menu offers options for that handle.

Point Handle Pop-up Menu

Guidelines Pop-up Menu

When you right-click on a guideline the pop-up menu offers a range of guideline related options.

Guideline Pop-up Menu


PostScript
PostScript is a file format commonly used for outputting to printers and typesetters. It has the advantage of being standardised and so any PostScript file should be readable by any PostScript device.  There are two variants: level 1 and level 2. Level 2 includes additional commands for colour handling and speed improvements.

PostScript is a trademark Of Adobe Systems Inc.


 Previous Zoom

 CTRL+R

Previous Zoom is available from the Zoom drop-down list on the control bars and on the Push Tool and Zoom Tool Infobars. It restores the magnification level to its previous level. It can be used to toggle between two levels of magnification.


Print (File Menu)
 Print (File Menu)  CTRL+P

 CTRL+P

This dialog box allows you to control the printing of a document.  It displays basic information on the printer and how the drawing will be printed.  If you want to change printer settings, press the Setup button.  If you want to change how CorelXARA will print your drawing, press the Options button.

Printer

This shows you which printer the printout will be sent to.  If you want to change this, click on the Setup button.

Print Objects

These options are available when any objects in the document are selected.  You can choose whether to print all the objects in the document, or to print only those objects that are selected (see Selecting & deselecting objects).  When you print selected objects, this means that the selected objects are printed, not that all the objects within the bounds of the selection are printed.

Remember that objects in the background layers and the guides layer never print. See Layer Gallery for more details.

Print Pages

If your document is a Double Page Spread (DPS) then you can control which page or pages are printed.  You can print the left page, the right page, or both pages.

Copies

Specifies how many copies of the drawing will be printed.  NB. some printers, such as Laser printers (or similar page printers) can support multiple copies of a page directly, whereas other printers, such as ink jet printers, cannot, and must be sent multiple copies of the drawing by CorelXARA.  This means that you may run out of disk space if you print many copies to a printer that does not support this option directly.

Collate Copies

This option is dimmed except when printing multiple copies of a double page spread as two separate pages.

With this option selected, pages are printed as left-right-left-right... etc.

With this option deselected, all the left-hand pages are printed, followed by all the right-hand pages.

Printers that hold a page in memory (such as PostScript printers) take some time to process the image. The printer can then print multiple copies at its maximum speed. For such printers it is often faster to manually collate the pages after printing.

Print To File

If this is enabled, then the print job will not be sent to the printer, but will be diverted to a file instead.  When you initiate the print by clicking on the print button, CorelXARA will prompt you for the name of the file to redirect the print job to.  This option is most useful when used in conjunction with PostScript printers, as it enables you to produce a PostScript print file that can then be sent to a typesetter.

Summary Line

This is at the bottom of the print dialog box, and displays useful information about how the job will be printed.  It provides the following information:

What kind of layout will be used - Best Fit, Multiple Fit or Custom Fit (see Print Options).

The scaling to be used - 100% means print at normal size, 50% means print half size, 200% means print at twice the normal size.

The orientation of the job - Upright or Sideways.  This is normally used to fit landscape pages onto portrait pages by rotating the drawing when printing (see the orientation buttons in the Print Options).  This effect can also be achieved by changing options in the Print Setup dialog box, but it is best to leave these settings alone, and use the controls provided in the Print Options instead.

How many pages, if any, will fit onto the paper with the current settings.  This takes account of the print margins of the printer (that is, which areas around the edge that the printer is physically unable to print to).  To change this, go to the Print Options.

Note

The Print dialog box will look slightly different if you are using Windows 3.1, 3.11 or Windows NT.

Printing documents containing transparent objects will take longer than printing documents which do not use transparency.

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See also

Print Borders

Output Options

Page Options

Print Setup

Changing the default page size.


 Print Options

The print options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Print 'tab'. The print options control how your document appears on paper.

All the options in this section apply to the selected document only.

Summary Line

This is at the bottom of the print dialog box, and displays useful information about how the job will be printed.  It provides the following information:

What kind of layout will be used - Best Fit, Multiple Fit or Custom Fit.

The scaling to be used - 100% means print at normal size, 50% means print half size, 200% means print at twice the normal size.

The orientation of the job - Upright or Sideways.  This is normally used to fit landscape pages onto portrait pages by rotating the drawing when printing (see the orientation buttons in the Print Options).  This effect can also be achieved by changing options in the Print Setup dialog box, but it is best to leave these settings alone, and use the controls provided in the Print Options instead.

How many pages, if any, will fit onto the paper with the current settings.  This takes account of the print margins of the printer (that is, which areas around the edge that the printer is physically unable to print to).

If the summary line says 'Page only partially printable', this means that part of the page lies outside the Print Borders.

Paper Size

This field shows the currently selected paper size. (The paper size is defined using the Print Setup.)

Orientation

These options choose upright or sideways printing. Upright prints without rotating the document, whereas Sideways rotates the document through 90 degrees.

For example, to print an A4 landscape page on most printers requires sideways printing.

Note: This option is not the same as the one shown in the Print Setup or the Printer Properties dialog box. We strongly recommend that you ensure that the printer is always set to Portrait printing and that you only use the Print Options orientation buttons to fit the drawing on the paper.

Tip: Turn on Print Borders before printing to check whether the drawing will fit on the paper.

Scale

The document can be scaled for printing. 100% is full size.

This can be used to print several copies of a document on a page. See Multiple Fit below.

Print Whole Spread

This option is only available when the current document is a double page spread. If this option is set, the spread is printed as one page.

Print Individual Pages

This option is only available when the current document is a double page spread. If this option is set, the two sections of the spread are printed as separate pages.

Best Fit

This option automatically chooses settings that print the page as best it can on the printer's paper.

It chooses the most appropriate orientation, depending on the shape of you page and the shape of the paper in your printer.

The scale and margins are adjusted so that the page just fits within the paper's print borders.  You can see the scale it chooses in Scale field, and the margins it chooses in the Margin fields within the Custom fit section.

When this option is set, the Scale and Orientation fields are dimmed.

Custom fit

This option allows you set all aspects of the printing manually.

The Orientation buttons can be used to choose the orientation of the print out.

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.

The Width and Height fields give you an alternative way of setting the print scale.  When you change one of these settings, the other changes to ensure the page is always printed with a 100% aspect ratio.

Note that when you select Custom fit after selecting one of the other fit types, the values generated by the previous fit type (such as scale and margins) will remain. For example, if you select Best fit and then select Custom fit, and you will see how the values remain as for Best Fit.

Multiple Fit

When the scaling is adjusted accordingly, it is possible to print multiple copies of the CorelXARA document on a page. To print multiple copies, choose this option, 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).

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See also

Print Borders

Print

Print Setup

Printing a drawing centrally


 Print Setup (File Menu)

This dialog box is primarily used to specify which printer you wish to print to. To change the printer, click on the drop-down list and choose the printer you require.  Assuming your printer is set up correctly, you may also choose what size of paper to print on.

You can change the orientation of the paper here, but it is preferable to use the Print Options as the setting in the Print Setup dialog box usually defaults to Portrait.

You can usually change the resolution of the printer from this dialog box, either directly, or by pressing the More button.

Note

Your print setup dialog box may look significantly different to the one shown above if you are running CorelXARA under Windows 3.1 (and 3.11) or Windows NT.

The process of installing printers is beyond the scope of this On-line documentation. If you require assistance, please consult your Windows User Guide.

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See also

Print

Print Borders

Output Options

Page Options


Print stops halfway down the page

Printing stops part-way down the page

Try these suggestions:

   Lower the transparency resolution.

1. Click CorelXARA's Utilities menu and choose Options.

2. Click the Output tab of the Options dialog box.

3. Find the Transparency resolution or Bitmap resolution area and click Manual.

4. Now type in a lower value into the Pixels per inch field. Any value between 90 and 200 should be OK.

5. Click OK.

Or:

   Print the document as a bitmap.

1. Click CorelXARA's Utilities menu and choose Options.

2. Click the Output tab of the Options dialog box.

3. Find the Print as... area and click Bitmap.

4. If you changed any options click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Print text as shapes

Print Text as Shapes on the Text Pop-up Menu converts text to simple shapes during the printing process. This is useful when a font has been used which is not present on the printer on which the file will be printed. If a text object has Print Text as Shapes set it will be converted to shapes before it is sent to the printer, but can still be edited in a document as a normal text object using the applied font.

If you want all text to print as shapes, you can set the Print All Text As Shapes option in the Output Options (see Output Options).


Print works but nothing happens

Are you printing to a network printer?

Suggestions:

   If the printer is a Postscript printer try using different printer driver. There are often several possible drivers for a given Postscript printer and it is possible that one of the alternatives will work better.

   If the printer is a Postscript printer and it supports a language other than Postscript try using that.

   Print your document as a bitmap.

   Print from a computer connected directly to the printer.

   When printing to a network printer, check to make sure the LPT port is actually connected to the network printer.

In Windows 3.1, this can be checked in Control Panel's Printers applet.

In Windows 95, just use the "Print Test Page" button which is on the General tab to make sure you are connected ok.

Did one of these suggestions work for you?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. It still doesn't print. What else could be wrong?


Printing Troubleshooter

Print Troubleshooter

The CorelXARA printing troubleshooter will help you diagnose problems that may occur when you print documents from CorelXARA and, where possible, it will offer solutions. Always make sure you're running the latest version of Windows and the latest versions of any printer drivers.

Before using the troubleshooter, click here if you have a Hewlett Packard printer.

Do other applications print correctly?

   Yes. So, what's wrong with CorelXARA's printing?

   No. What could be wrong?


Printing a drawing centrally

To print a drawing in the middle of the page

Choose Multiple fit with Rows and Columns set to 1, and Gutter set to 0.

Choose the orientation that best matches the paper in your printer (choose Best fit, then choose Multiple fit again for an automatic way to do this).

The status line at the top of the dialog will tell you if the page is entirely printable.  If parts of the page lie outside the [link on]print borders[link off], it will say 'Page only partially printable'.  If the page is entirely printable, it will say '1 tile fits on the paper'.

If you need to get the entire page printed, increase the Gutter value until the status line says '1 tile fits on the paper'.


Printing is very slow

CorelXARA uses bitmaps to produce its advanced transparency effects. Sending bitmaps to printers is often a time-consuming task. For this reason relatively simple documents which use transparency may take longer to print than you'd normally expect.

However, this is not all bad news. When several transparency effects are overlaid CorelXARA accumulates them all into one bitmap and sends that to the printer.

So, as transparent effects in a document become more complex it won't become significantly slower to print.

Other programs that can do simple transparency effects produce exponentially more objects as

you overlay transparencies. This means that their print times appear to be quite good for simple documents but they take a long time to print complex drawings

Suggestions to improve print times:

   Turn off spooling

   Reduce the pixel resolution


Problems Installing or De-installing an ATM Font

A problem occurred when trying to install or deinstall an ATM font.

Cause

You have tried to install a font that is already installed, or you have tried to de-install a font that is currently being used within a document, or by another program.  Alternatively, the font file itself is corrupt, or a problem was caused by Adobe Type Manager.

Recommended action

Installing a font - check that it is not installed already.

De-installing a font - make sure it is not being used in any loaded documents, or other applications, then try again. If this fails, use the ATM control panel to deinstall the font.


Problems creating a new index

Cause

This message is displayed if creating a new index file ran into problems. Possible problems include running out of disc-space, or writing to a floppy disk which has just been taken out of the drive.

Recommended action

Ensure the disc is accessible and contains sufficient free space.


Problems creating a thumbnail

Cause

This message is displayed when a problem occurs generating thumbnails for a file. This is likely to be because the type of files is not supported by CorelXARA. It is also possible the file is corrupt or has the wrong file extension.

Recommended action

Click OK to ignore this file, or Quiet to ignore all files with this problem. Stop will cause the index generation to cease.


Program installation incomplete or corrupted.

Cause

Some of the components of CorelXARA were not installed, have been moved, or have been deleted.  The program will not run correctly until the problem has been resolved.

Recommended action

Reinstall CorelXARA.


  Push Tool

The Push Tool lets you use the mouse to move a document within the window. The Infobar contains controls for zooming on the document.

ALT+X or SHIFT+F8

Push Tool Infobar Controls

Previous Zoom

Zoom to Drawing

Zoom to Selection

Zoom to Page

Zoom

Push Tool Operations

Moving the page

On-line Demonstration

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See also

Zoom Tool

Zooming

Using the Push Tool temporarily


 Put to Back (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+B

Moves every object in the selection to the back of the layer it is on.

On-line Demonstration


Quality
Document view Quality is the way in which documents are drawn on the screen. The Quality can range from the drawing being rendered in simple outline, to being edited in full colour, anti-aliased mode. This facility is useful for altering the speed at which a document is redrawn as a lower quality setting will result in faster redraw times, but a higher setting will give far better results.

Sometimes it is useful to set the Quality to its lowest level for selecting some objects which would be obscured by other objects on higher settings.

CorelXARA also uses the Quality setting when exporting bitmaps.


Quality (Window Menu)

The Quality submenu on the Window Menu, the Quality slider on the control bars and the Quality buttons allow you to alter the way CorelXARA redraws documents. Low settings show the document in simple 'outline' mode whilst high settings give a full-colour, anti-aliased view. There are also buttons available (not on the default control bars - see Moving & copying buttons) for each of the four main settings.

The Quality setting is also used when bitmaps are exported from CorelXARA. i.e. if the Quality setting is low, any bitmaps exported will show the document in outline.

The four main Quality levels are also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

Remember that if you want to improve the way your document looks on the screen, you can change the dithering pattern. For more details, see the dithering section in the View Options.

Anti-aliased

On this quality setting all edges are anti-aliased to reduce on-screen jaggies and graduated fills are shown with 256 steps.

Normal

On this setting all detail is shown, but anti-aliasing is not used.

Simple

On this setting, graduated fills are shown in flat colour, anti-aliasing is not used and lines are all shown one pixel wide.

Outline

On this setting, no solid colours shown - only outlines even for bitmaps and objects with no outline colour). If the Quality slider is moved to a fraction above outline bitmaps are shown in full.

On-line Demonstration


QuickShape
QuickShapes are 'intelligent' shapes created using the QuickShape, Rectangle and Ellipse Tools. All QuickShapes can be edited in a very flexible manner. For instance, a circular QuickShape can be converted to a polygon QuickShape with one click using the QuickShape Tool.

If you wish to change a QuickShape so it can be edited as a shape built from straight and curved lines, you must use Convert to Editable Shapes.


QuickShape Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a QuickShape, it contains the following options :

QuickShape Tool

- - - - - - - - - -

Make Elliptical / Make Polygonal

- - - - - - - - - -

Make Stellated / Remove Stellation

Make Curved / Remove Curvature

- - - - - - - - - -

Number of Sides

- - - - - - - - - -

Cut

Copy

Paste

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete

Duplicate

Clone

- - - - - - - - - -

Convert to Editable Shapes

Create Bitmap Copy

Combine Shapes

- - - - - - - - - -

Colour Editor


  QuickShape Tool

The QuickShape Tool creates and edits QuickShapes.

The QuickShape Tool can also be chosen using the Line & Shape Pop-up Menu.

SHIFT+F2

QuickShape Tool Infobar Controls

Mode Indicator

Radius Creation

Diameter Creation

Bounds Creation

Ellipse

Polygon

Star

Curved Corners

Restore Edges

Number of Sides

Shape Parameters

QuickShape Tool Operations

Drawing rectangles & squares

Drawing polygons

Drawing starred polygons

Editing rectangles & squares

Editing polygons

Editing starred polygons

On-line Demonstrations

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See also

Ellipse Tool

Rectangle Tool


 QuickShape Tool - Bounds Creation Button

This button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar selects Bounds Creation. Dragging the mouse to create a new QuickShape draws the shape within the bounding box. This lets you create QuickShapes that have different height to width ratios.


 QuickShape Tool - Curved Corners Button

This button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar rounds the corners of polygon/starred QuickShapes. It has no effect on ellipses and circles.

Curved corners on QuickShapes can also be enabled and disabled using Make Curved and Remove Curvature on the QuickShape Pop-up Menu.


 QuickShape Tool - Diameter Creation Button

This button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar selects Diameter Creation. Dragging the mouse to create a new QuickShape draws the shape from side to side (across the diameter).


 QuickShape Tool - Ellipse Button

Pressing this button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar :

changes all currently selected QuickShapes to ellipses,

or, if no QuickShapes are currently selected, sets the tool default so the next QuickShape you draw will be an ellipse.

You can also use the Ellipse Tool to draw ellipses - you may find this more convenient to use.

QuickShapes can also be swapped between ellipses and polygons using Make Polygonal and Make Elliptical on the QuickShape Pop-up Menu.

_______________

See also

Drawing ellipses

Editing ellipses


 QuickShape Tool - Mode Indicator

This indicator on the QuickShape Tool Infobar displays the 'mode' of the tool. It shows one of the following :

New:

Changes made to the Infobar fields set the defaults for the tool, i.e. the settings that apply to all subsequent QuickShapes you draw.

Change:

The selection contains at least one QuickShape. Changes made to the Infobar fields are reflected in the selected QuickShape(s).


 QuickShape Tool - Number of Sides Field

The Number of Sides field on the QuickShape Tool Infobar sets the number of sides for all the QuickShapes in the selection (excluding ellipses). If no QuickShapes are currently selected, it sets the default. The number of sides can be any value from 3 to 99.

To set the number of sides, do one of the following :

Type in a value and press RETURN,

Choose a value from the drop-down list.

The number of sides a QuickShape has can also be altered using the Number of Sides submenu on the QuickShape Pop-up Menu.

_______________

See also

Editing polygons

Drawing polygons


 QuickShape Tool - Polygon Button

Pressing the Polygon button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar :

changes all currently selected QuickShapes to polygons,

or, if no QuickShapes are currently selected, sets the tool default so the next QuickShape you draw will be a polygon.

The Rectangle Tool can be used for drawing rectangles and squares. It draws QuickShapes, but does not require the setting of fields before the shape can be drawn.

QuickShapes can also be swapped between ellipses and polygons using Make Polygonal and Make Elliptical on the QuickShape Pop-up Menu.

_______________

See also

Drawing polygons

Editing polygons


 QuickShape Tool - Radius Creation Button

This button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar selects Radius Creation. Dragging the mouse to create a new QuickShape draws the shape from the centre outward.


 QuickShape Tool - Restore Edges Button

You can edit the edges of QuickShapes to make them curved (see Editing polygons). Click the Restore Edges button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar to straighten them again.

Note that this button affects only the sides of QuickShapes - it does not affect the corners. (Use the Rounded corners button to change the corners.)


 QuickShape Tool - Shape Parameters Field

The Parameter fields on the QuickShape Tool Infobar allow the accurate editing of QuickShape parameters. Choose the values to alter from the left hand field and alter the values by typing into the edit fields and pressing RETURN or use the arrow buttons.

_______________

See also

Editing ellipses

Editing polygons

Editing starred shapes

Units in CorelXARA


 QuickShape Tool - Star Button

Pressing the Star button on the QuickShape Tool Infobar :

changes all currently selected QuickShapes polygons to star-shaped polygons,

or, if no QuickShapes are currently selected, sets the tool default so the next QuickShape polygon you draw will be star-shaped.

You can click this button only when the Polygon button has been clicked.

QuickShapes can be swapped between starred and non-starred using Make Stellated and Remove Stellation on the QuickShape Pop-up Menu.

_______________

See also

Drawing starred shapes

Editing starred shapes


RGB
RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the natural model of computers. Colours would usually be defined using this model if they are to remain 'on-screen' - for example if the CorelXARA were being used to create bitmaps for use on the World Wide Web.


Re-ordering gallery items
 Reorder gallery items

Items in galleries can often be reordered simply by dragging the items within the gallery. The gallery contents can also be sorted from the Gallery Display Options dialog box accessible from the Options button.

Note

The items in the Line Gallery cannot be moved.

Moving layers in the Layer Gallery alters the stacking of layers.


Re-ordering gallery sections
 Reorder gallery sections

To move a gallery section, drag the title of the section in the gallery to its new position. The mouse pointer will show where the section will be positioned.

Note

You cannot reorder sections in the Line Gallery or the Layers Gallery


  Rectangle Tool

The Rectangle Tool creates and edits rectangular and square QuickShapes. It is a customised version of the QuickShape Tool.

SHIFT+F3

Rectangle Tool Infobar Controls

Bounds Creation

Diameter Creation

Radius Creation

Mode Indicator

Parameters

Curved Corners

Rectangle Tool Operations

Drawing rectangles & squares

Editing rectangles & squares

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Ellipse Tool


 Rectangle Tool - Bounds Creation Button

This button on the Rectangle Tool Infobar selects Bounds Creation. Dragging the mouse creates a new rectangle within the bounding box. This lets you create rectangles rather than squares. To create a square hold down CTRL while dragging.

_______________

See also

Drawing rectangles & squares


 Rectangle Tool - Curved Corners Button

This button on the Rectangle Tool Infobar applies rounded corners to the currently selected rectangle QuickShapes or, if no QuickShapes are selected, it sets the rounded corners setting - this default applies when you next draw a rectangle.

_______________

See also

Editing rectangles and squares


 Rectangle Tool - Diameter Creation Button

This button on the Rectangle Tool Infobar selects Diameter Creation. Drag the mouse to create a new square from corner-to-corner across its centre

_______________

See also

Drawing rectangles & squares


 Rectangle Tool - Mode Indicator

This indicator on the Rectangle Tool Infobar displays the 'mode' of the tool. It will display one of the following :

New:

Changes made to the Infobar fields will set the defaults for the tool. i.e. the settings will be used for all subsequent rectangular QuickShapes drawn.

Change:

The selection contains at least one rectangular QuickShape. Changes made to the Infobar fields will be reflected in the selected rectangle(s).


 Rectangle Tool - Parameters Field

These fields on the Rectangle Tool Infobar allow the accurate editing of rectangular QuickShape parameters. Choose the values to alter from the left hand field and alter the values by typing into the edit fields and pressing RETURN or use the arrow buttons.

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


 Rectangle Tool - Radius Creation Button

This button on the Rectangle Tool Infobar selects Radius Creation. Dragging the mouse creates a square from the centre outward.

_______________

See also

Drawing rectangles & squares


Redo
Redo allows you to redo an editing operation which has been Undone.


Redraw
Redraw is the process of CorelXARA building up the on-screen image from the information stored about the drawing.


Redrawing part of a line or shape
 Redraw part of a line or shape

Any section of an existing line or shape may be redrawn using the Freehand Tool.

1. Select the line with the Selector Tool

2. Choose the Freehand Tool.

3. Place the pointer over the start of the section of the line you wish to redraw. The pointer shows a '~'.

4. Drag the mouse to draw the replacement line section.

5. Release the mouse button when the redrawn section is complete. (Ensure the mouse pointer is over the line and the pointer shows a '~'.) If you get it wrong, just Undo and try again.

Note

QuickShapes can be redrawn using the Freehand Tool only if Convert to Editable Shapes has been applied first.

To redraw part of a character in a text object, convert the text to editable shapes and Ungroup first.


Reduce the pixel resolution

   Lower the transparency resolution.

1. Click CorelXARA's Utilities menu and choose Options.

2. Click the Output tab of the Options dialog box.

3. Find the Transparency resolution or Bitmap resolution area and click Manual.

4. Now type in a lower value into the Pixels per inch field. Any value between 90 and 200 should be OK.

5. Click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Removing & restoring buttons
 Remove & restore buttons

To remove a button

1. ALT-drag the button and drop it away from all control bars.

To restore a  removed button

1. Choose Control Bars from the Window menu.

2. Scroll the list of control bars until you see the Button Palette listed.

3. Click the check box next to it to display the Button Palette.

4. ALT-drag the required button to a control bar.

_______________

See also

Creating & deleting control Bars

Moving & resizing control Bars

Moving & copying buttons


Removing a blend
 Remove a blend

To remove a blend

1. Select the blend object.

2. Choose the Blend Tool.

3. Click on the Remove button on the Blend Tool Infobar.


Removing selected sections

Cause

This message is displayed after clicking Remove in one of the disc-based galleries (Clipart Gallery, Fill Gallery or Font Gallery).

Recommended action

If you would like to remove all the selected sections, click Remove. Otherwise click Cancel.


Removing transparency
 Remove transparency

To remove transparency

1. Select the transparent object(s).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose 'No Transparency' from the Transparency Shape Field on the Infobar.

_______________

See also

Applying Transparency


Rename Colour Dialog Box

The Rename Colour dialog box allows you to change the name of a named colour.

To open it, do one of the following :

Click the Name button in the Colour Gallery.

Select Rename from the Colour Editor menu.


Rendering
Rendering is the process used by CorelXARA to draw the document on the screen.


Retain the clipboard contents after closing CorelXARA?

Cause

Some document objects have been placed on the Windows clipboard. On exit from CorelXARA, these objects may either be converted into a form suitable to be left on the clipboard, or can be discarded. Converting the objects may take some time and memory if there are a large number of objects.

Recommended action

Click the Keep button to keep the image of the objects in the clipboard after CorelXARA has closed. You can then paste them into another application.

Click the Discard button to discard the contents of the clipboard.


Return the print method to normal using the INI file

Return the print method to its default by editing the INI file

You should only attempt the following suggestion if you're an advanced user familiar with the concepts of manually editing configuration and initialisation files.

1. Quit CorelXARA if it's running.

2. Start Notepad.

3. Open the file C:\Windows\CORELXRA.INI (replace C:\Windows with the path to your Windows/95/NT installation)

4. Find the line, "PrintMaskType=X".

5. Retype it as, "PrintMaskType=2".

6. Save the file.

7. Restart CorelXARA.

When CorelXARA is using PrintMaskType 2 only those objects which need transparency are printed using bitmaps. This can make print jobs larger but it guarantees that non-transparent objects are printed at the best resolution the printer can manage.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. Return to previous page and try other suggestions


Reverse text on curve

 CTRL+SHIFT+R

Reverse Text on Curve on the Text Pop-up Menu flips text fitted to a curve so that the text is on the other side of the curve.

This is particularly useful when fitting text to a circle because it lets you fit the text to either the inside or the outside of the circle.


Robert's Cross (Bitmap Effect)
Robert's Cross (Bitmap Effect) lightens edges found in bitmaps.


Rotating objects
 Rotate objects

Objects can be rotated about their centre or about a movable transformation centre by dragging with the mouse or, more accurately, using the controls on the Infobar :

What do you want to do?

Rotate objects by dragging

Rotate objects accurately


Rotating objects accurately
 Rotate objects accurately

1. Select the objects (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Do one of the following :

Enter the required rotation in the Rotation Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Use the arrow buttons on the Rotation Field on the Infobar to rotate the selection in small increments.

The rotation will be centred around the transformation centre.


Rotating objects by dragging
 Rotate objects by dragging

1. Select the object(s) (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Ensure the selection handles are in rotate/skew mode (see Using selection handles).

3. Do one of the following

Drag the corner selection handles to rotate the selection around the transformation centre.

SHIFT-drag the corner selection handles to rotate the selection about its centre.

CTRL-drag to constrain the angle of rotation to that set in the General Options.

To leave a copy of the original non-rotated object, press and release NumPad '+' during the drag.

To rotate the object but not any fill applied to it, press and release NumPad '-' during the drag.

On-line Demonstration


Round Cap
Round Caps are a type of ending which can be applied to lines. There are three types of 'cap' :

Butt Cap           Round Cap        Square Cap

The line cap style is applied using the Line Gallery.


Round Join
Round Join is one of the options available for line corners:

Use the Line Gallery to choose a join style.


Ruler
Rulers are shown at the left-hand side and top of the document window. They let you know which part of the page you are viewing, display the current mouse X,Y position and allow the simple creation of guidelines. For more information, see Using rulers.


 Rulers (Window Menu)

CTRL+L

Rulers on the Bars submenu of the Window menu shows or hides the rulers. For more information, see Using rulers.


Saturation
The Saturation colour component is used in the HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) colour model, which is an intuitive colour model most often used by artists.

Saturation represents a mixture between the chosen Hue (colour) and white. A fully (100%) saturated red would be red, while a 50% saturated red would be pink. Any hue appears as pure white at 0% saturation.


 Save (File Menu)

 CTRL+S

Save saves the current document. The current document is saved to the same file that it was opened from or saved to. If the document is a new document that has not yet been saved, the Save As dialog box will appear asking what filename you would like to use and where you want to save the file.

_______________

See also

Save All

Save Template


 Save All (File Menu)

Save All is equivalent to selecting Save for each loaded document.

_______________

See also

Save Template


 Save As (File Menu)

The Save As dialog box allows you to save the current document in a named file.

The new file can simply be another file in the same folder or you can change the drive and folder so the document is saved in a completely different place. If you want to save the document not as a CorelXARA file but as a file that another program can load, use Export.

File Name

The filename field specifies what type of file should be displayed in the list of files box below it. You can choose pre-defined types from the List of Files of Type drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog box. Normally for saving CorelXARA files this box will read '* . XAR'. If it does not, you can choose "CorelXARA Documents" from the types list.

Save In

Choose the drive/folder where you wish to save the file.

Directories

Browse to the folder where you wish to save the file.

Note

The Save As dialog box will look slightly different if you are using Windows 3.1, 3.11 or Windows NT.

For more information on using Save As dialog boxes, refer to your Windows User Guide.

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See also

Save

Save All


 Save Template (File Menu)

Save Template overwrites the template document with the current document. This change remains until a new document is saved over the document template.

When you save the template document it is saved in your CorelXARA directory as 'template.xar'. If you wish to revert to the default template document, delete this file.

You need to use Save Template if you want to set the default document options. See Options.

CorelXARA includes an alternative template document. WWW.XAR contains the palette used by Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, if you use this template you can create WWW bitmaps with no dithering. See Installing the WWW template document.


Save new document template

Cause

You are about to overwrite the existing CorelXARA document template with a revised version.

Recommended action

Click the Save button to replace the existing document template.

Click the Cancel button to abort the save. The existing template document is unchanged.

When you save the template document it is saved in your CorelXARA directory as template.xar. If you wish to revert to the default template document, delete this file.


Scale Mode
Selection Handles operate in two modes; Scale Mode and Rotate/Skew mode. The former allows the selection to be scaled; the latter allows it to be rotated and skewed.

 Selection handles

    in Scale mode


 Scaling Options

The scaling options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Scaling 'tab'. The scaling options control how (if at all) your document is scaled.

Use Scale Factor

This option allows a whole document to be drawn using a scale factor. For example a map could be drawn at a scale of 1cm to 1km where all measurements in the document are actually shown in kilometres rather than centimetres.

To remove scaling, deselect this option.

Drawing to Real World

These two fields are only available if the above option has been selected. Values should be entered here to set the scale factor of the document. e.g. 1cm to 1km.

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See also

Units in CorelXARA


Scaling objects
 Scale objects

Objects can be scaled either by dragging with the mouse or more accurately using the controls on the Selector Tool Infobar :

What do you want to do?

Scale objects by dragging

Scale objects accurately


Scaling objects accurately
 Scale objects accurately

1. Select the object(s) to be scaled (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Do one of the following :

Enter the required scaling (%) in the Scaling Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Enter values in the Dimensions Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Scale the selection in small increments using the arrow buttons on the Infobar.

To lock or unlock the aspect ratio of the selection click the Aspect Ratio Lock button on the Infobar.

To force line thicknesses in the selection to increase/decrease with the scaling click the Scale Line Width Button on the Infobar.

Note

Stretching an object containing a circular fill will change the fill to an elliptical fill, but an undo will not revert this change - the fill will remain elliptical.


Scaling objects by dragging
 Scale objects by dragging

1. Select the objects to be scaled (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Ensure selection handles are in Scale Mode (see Using selection handles).

3. Do one of the following

Drag a corner selection handle to scale away from the opposite corner.

SHIFT-drag a corner selection handle to scale around the centre.

Drag a side selection handle to stretch in one direction.

SHIFT-drag a side selection handle to stretch in both directions.

To lock or unlock the aspect ratio of the selection click the Aspect Ratio Lock button on the Infobar.

To force line thicknesses in the selection to increase/decrease with the scaling click the Scale Line Width Button on the Infobar.

To leave a copy of the original non-scaled object, press and release NumPad '+' during the drag.

To scale the object but not any fill applied to it, press and release NumPad '-' during the drag.

On-line Demonstration

Note

Stretching an object containing a circular fill will change the fill to an elliptical fill, but an undo will not revert this change - the fill will remain elliptical.


Scrollbar

Horizontal and vertical scrollbars let you use the mouse to move the document within the window.

Scrollbars are located at the right and bottom edges of the document window. To display or hide scrollbars, see Scrollbars on the Window menu.

Scrollbars contain markers, called scroll boxes, that indicate the vertical and horizontal location of the section of document currently in view. For more information on using scrollbars, see Moving the page.


Scrollbars (Window Menu)

Scrollbars on the Bars submenu of the Window menu allows the scrollbars around the CorelXARA window to be turned on and off. When it is set, the scrollbars are enabled, otherwise they are not.

Normal mode and full screen mode store this setting separately, so you could have the scrollbars enabled in normal mode, but not in full screen mode.

When the scrollbars are turned off, you can use the Push Tool to slide the page within the window.

Current settings are stored when you quit CorelXARA.

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See also

Full screen


Searching a gallery
 Search a gallery

To search a gallery

1. Open the gallery.

2. Click the Options button.

3. Choose Find from the menu to open the Gallery Find dialog box.

4. Type in the text to search for.

5. Choose whether you wish to search just the names and keywords (title, filename & keywords) of gallery items or all the information stored for each item (title, filename, title, description and file size).

6. Click the Find First button to find the first match.

Click the Find Next button to continue searching.

Note

If you are searching for clipart from the clipart book, just enter the name shown by the picture into the field in the dialog box and click Find First. Clicking Find Next will find further matches.


 Select All (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+A

Select All selects (see selection) every object in all visible, editable layers in the current document. For details on using layers, see Layer Gallery.

Note

The CTRL+A key shortcut functions differently when the Text Tool has been chosen.


Select All Points

The Select all Points item on the Point Handle pop-up menu selects all the point handles on all the selected lines and shapes.


Select Inside
Select Inside can be used to select an object inside a group. This can be done in the Selector tool by CTRL-clicking or by Alt-CTRL-clicking on the object. Objects are said to be "inside" a group when they are members of the group. Normally, clicking on the object would select the group but a CTRL-click selects the object that you clicked on inside the group.

Select inside also works inside blends, moulds and text.

When any selected object is inside another one, the status line shows for example: "2 shapes selected ("inside")"

Select-inside is just like select member, except it goes straight to the innermost object.  It is a short-cut to select the object you actually click on, irrespective of whether it is part of a group, blend, or mould.

Some operations are unavailable when any selected object is inside another one.

For more details on this, see Selecting objects in objects.


Select Member

To select an object which is a member of a group. (This is a special form of Select inside.) This can be done in the Selector Tool by Alt-CTRL-clicking on the object. Objects are said to be "inside" when they are members of a group. Normally, clicking on the object selects the group but Alt-CTRL-click selects the object inside the group containing the clicked object. That object may itself be a group and then further Alt-CTRL-clicks can be used to select members of that group, etc. When the last selected object was not a group, it cannot have any members and so the next Alt-CTRL-click will select the outermost group again.

Select member also works inside blends, moulds and text.

When any selected object is inside another one the status line shows, for example:

"2 shapes selected ("inside")"

Some operations are unavailable when any selected object is inside another one.

For more details, see Selecting objects in objects.


Select Print, but not print dialog

Install the manufacturer's printer driver

Is your printer one of the following?

Hewlett Packard

DeskJet 500c

DeskJet 550

DeskJet 600

DeskJet 660c

DeskJet 880c

DeskJet 1200

LaserJet 4

LaserJet 5

Canon

BJ-200e

BJ-30

BJC-600

BJC-600e

BJC-70

BJC-4000.

   If so, then reinstall the printer driver from the disc that came with the printer. Follow the instructions in the printer's manual.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. Still no Print dialog box. What else could be wrong?


Select Under
Select Under  allows you to select an object which is underneath another object. This can be done in the Selector Tool by Alt-clicking on the top object. Select under is most useful when one object is completely covered by another one. Clicking on the top object selects the top object; Alt-clicking on the top object selects the object underneath.

If there are several objects covering each other, repeatedly using ALT-click selects the next object underneath the one that was last selected. When the last selected object is the one at the back, the next ALT-click will start at the top again and select the top object.


Selecting & deselecting objects
 Select & deselect objects

In CorelXARA objects must usually be selected before attributes or operations are applied to them (applying attributes using drag-and-drop is the exception to this). Objects are selected and deselected using the Selector Tool.

When an object is selected a selection marker is shown on it and selection handles, edit handles, fill handles and fill arrows are displayed on and around the selection (if they have been enabled).

What do you want to do?

Select a single object

Select several objects

Select objects under other objects

Select objects in objects

Deselect objects

Select difficult objects

On-line Demonstration

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See also

Using the Selector Tool temporarily

Enabling selection handles

Enabling edit handles

Enabling fill handles & fill arrows


Selecting a member of an object
 Select a member of an object

CorelXARA has a special form of Select Inside which allows you to select a particular member of a compound object as opposed to the normal select inside which will always selects the actual object you click on. With select member, a click selects the object inside the compound object which contains the clicked object. If that object is a compound object, another clicks will select a member in that object and so on. When the last selected object is not a compound object the next click will select the outermost object again.

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Place the mouse pointer over the member of the compound object.

3. Do one of the following :

CTRL+ALT-click to select the member object.

CTRL+ALT+SHIFT-click to swap the member object between selected and not selected.

If the required member object is deeper inside the object, repeat step 3.

 CTRL+ALT-click to select the next member of the selected object.

Example

The picture shows a group containing a rectangular QuickShape and a (2-line) text object. CTRL-ALT-clicking on the letter S will select the entire group. CTRL-ALT-clicking again will select the member of that group, the text object. CTRL-ALT-clicking again will select the member of that compound object, the upper line of text in the text object. CTRL-ALT-clicking again will select one level deeper; the single text character. A final CTRL-ALT-click reselects the entire group allowing you to cycle through all the objects under the mouse pointer.

Note

When any selected object is inside another one the status line shows, e.g. "2 shapes selected ("inside")"

Some operations are unavailable when any selected object is inside another one.


Selecting a single object
 Select a single object

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Click on the object.

  Click to select the object under the mouse pointer


Selecting difficult objects
 Select difficult objects

If you are having trouble selecting an object, you may like to try the following :

Zoom in on the object so you are sure you are clicking in the correct place.

Lower the Quality setting to outline - this usually allows any object to be selected.

If the object is the back object in a blend with many steps, try using a high-zoom on the tiny section of the back object still visible.


Selecting items in a gallery
 Select items in a gallery

Galleries allow you to perform operations on their contents (for example deleting named colours). Before these operations can be applied, the items in the gallery must be selected. Selected items are highlighted.

Selecting a Single Item

Click on the item

Selecting Several Items

1. Click on the first item

2. CTRL-click on each subsequent item

Selecting a Block of Items

1. Click on the first item in the block

2. SHIFT-click on the last item in the block. This selects all items between the first and last.


Selecting objects in objects
 Select objects in objects

CorelXARA lets you easily select objects that are contained within blends, moulds, text objects and groups; these objects can then be edited as if they were not contained. Select Inside is a shortcut to select the object you actually click on, irrespective of whether it is part of a group, blend, text object or mould.

If you wish to select a compound object inside another object you must use Select Member. See Selecting a member of an object.

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Place the mouse pointer over the contained object you want to select.

3. Do one of the following

CTRL-click to select the object.

CTRL+SHIFT-click to swap the object between selected and not selected.

CTRL-Click to select the object under the mouse pointer even if it is contained inside other objects

On-line Demonstration

Note

When an object has been selected inside another object, this information is displayed on the Status Line. e.g. "1 QuickShape (inside) in Layer 1"

Some operations are unavailable when any selected object is inside another one.


Selecting objects under other objects
 Select objects under other objects

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Place the mouse pointer above the hidden object.

3. Do one of the following :

ALT-click to select the object underneath.

ALT-click again to deselect that object and to select the next object underneath.

The first ALT-click will select the object on top first if it is not selected already.  Subsequent ALT-clicks will go on to select the objects underneath. ALT-clicking with the bottom object selected will reselect the top-most object.

Click to select the object under the selected object. (ALT-click)

On-line Demonstration


Selecting points on lines and shapes
 Select points on lines and shapes

You must select the line or shape before you can select points. See Selecting & deselecting objects.

To select a single point handle

1. Choose the Shape Editor Tool or the Selector Tool (see note).

2. Click on the point handle on the selected line or shape.

To swap the selection of a point handle

1. Choose the Shape Editor Tool or the Selector Tool (see note).

2. SHIFT-click on the point handle on the selected line or shape.

3. If selected the point is deselected, if not selected, the point is selected.

Use the Shape Editor Tool for the following operations :

To select several point handles:

Dragging creates a selection rectangle around the required point handles on the selected line or shape and selects them.

SHIFT-dragging around points toggles the selection of the point handles within the rectangle.

To deselect all point handles

CTRL-SHIFT-click on a selected point handle.

or

SHIFT-click away from the line or shape.

To select all point handles

CTRL-SHIFT-click on a deselected point handle.

To cycle which points are selected

Pressing the Tab key 'moves' the selection along the line or shape. (SHIFT-Tab 'moves' the selection in the opposite direction.)

The Home and End keys work in a similar way, but 'move' the selection to the beginning or end of the line.

Note

The Selector Tool can be used if edit handles are enabled, see Enabling edit handles.


Selecting several objects
 Select several objects

To select several objects

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Do one of the following :

Drag from an empty part of the page to form a rectangle that envelopes all the required objects. When you release the mouse button all the objects entirely contained within the rectangle will be selected.

Click on the first object you wish to select & SHIFT-click on each subsequent object to swap it from not being selected to being selected.

  SHIFT-click to swap the object under the mouse pointer between selected and not selected.

To select all objects

From the Edit menu, choose Select All or if you are not using the Text Tool press CTRL+A.


Selecting text
 Select text

To apply attributes to a region of text it must first be selected. It is possible to select an entire text object, a line of text, a specific region of text or individual characters.

Selecting text with the Selector Tool

To select an entire text object

Click on the text object.

To select a line of text in a text object

1. Click on the text object to select it.

2. ALT+CTRL-click on the line to select it inside.

To select a character in a text object

1. Click on the text object to select it.

2. Either:

CTRL-click on the character ,

or ALT+CTRL-click on the character twice. The first click selects the line, the second click selects the character.

Selecting text with the Text Tool

To select an entire text object

Do one of the following :

Click in the text object & press CTRL+A to select all characters in the object.

Drag from the start of the text object to the end to select all characters in the object.

To select a line of text in a text object

Click in the text object

Press CTRL+L to select all characters in the current line

To select a character in a text object

Select a region of text covering a single character - see below.

To select a region in a text object

Do one of the following :

Click and drag over the characters.

Double click on a word to select all the characters in the word.

CTRL-click to select all characters in a line.

SHIFT-click either side of a selected region to extend it.

Move the text cursor to one end of the required region. Hold down SHIFT and use the cursor keys to select the required region.

Press CTRL+L to select all characters in the line containing the text cursor.

Press CTRL+A to select all characters in the text object.

Click in the text to insert the cursor at the start of the region and SHIFT-click at the end of the required region.

Note

When a region of text is selected, the Text Tool Infobar shows the attributes applied to the region.

A selected region of text remains selected even after a tool other than the Text Tool has been chosen. This makes it simple to apply fills and transparency to selected text regions.

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See also

Text Tool

Creating New Text

Editing Text

Applying Attributes to Text

Placing Text Around a Curve

Text Tool Key Shortcuts


Selection
The Selection is all the currently selected objects. Objects are selected with the Selector Tool. See Selecting & deselecting objects.


Selection Handle
Selection Handles are displayed when the Selector Tool is the current tool and selection handles have been enabled (See Enabling Selection Handles). They are displayed around the boundary of the selection and allow the selection as a whole to be scaled, rotated, skewed and stretched. They operate in two modes: Scale mode and Skew/Rotate mode. See CorelXARA Basics for an on-line demonstration of the use of selection handles.

  Selection Handles      Selection Handles

     in Scale Mode        in Rotate/Skew Mode


Selection Marker
Selection Markers are small squares displayed on all selected objects.


Selection Pop-up Menu

The selection pop-up menu is displayed when the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over an object. The menu offers a set of standard options for manipulating the current selection and a set of options specific to the object under the mouse pointer.

Line & Shape Pop-up Menu

QuickShape Pop-up Menu

Blend Pop-up Menu

Mould Pop-up Menu

Text Pop-up Menu


 Selector Tool

The Selector Tool is the primary tool in CorelXARA. It is used for selecting, rotating, moving, skewing, stretching, flipping and scaling objects as well as other editing.

The Selector Tool can display three types of handle :

Selection Handles, which are used to rotate, scale and skew objects.

Edit Handles, which can be used to edit the shape of objects.

Fill Handles, which can be used to edit fills within objects.

F2 or SPACEBAR or ALT+S

Selector Tool Infobar Controls

Selection Handles

Edit Handles

Fill Handles

Rotate/Skew Mode or Scale Mode

Transformation Centre Grid

Position

Dimensions

Scaling

Aspect Ratio Lock

Rotation

Skew

Flip

Scale Line Widths

Selector Tool Operations

Using selection handles

Selecting & deselecting objects

Selecting objects under other objects

Selecting objects inside other objects

Moving objects

Rotating objects

Scaling objects

Flipping objects

Enabling selection handles

Enabling edit handles

Enabling fill handles & fill arrows

Stretching objects

Skewing objects

Editing fills

Using the Selector Tool temporarily

Moving points on shapes and lines

Selecting points on lines and shapes

Editing curved lines and shapes

On-line Demonstrations


 Selector Tool - Aspect Ratio Lock Button

The Aspect Ratio Lock button on the Selector Tool Infobar locks the height:width ratio of the selection. When the button is pressed in, the ratio is locked. When the button is pulled out, the height and width of the selection can be altered independently.

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See also

Scaling objects

Stretching objects


 Selector Tool - Dimensions Field

The Dimensions Field on the Selector Tool Infobar shows the dimensions of the selection. Its values alter dynamically if you scale or stretch the selection.

You can also resize the selection by :

 Typing into the fields and pressing RETURN,

Clicking the arrow buttons.

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See also

Stretching objects

Scaling objects

Units in CorelXARA


 Selector Tool - Edit Handles Button

The Edit Handles Button on the Selector Tool Infobar enables and disables edit handles. With edit handles displayed you can use the Selector Tool to edit objects.

The Selector Tool offers the ability to do basic object editing but the more specialised Tools often offer more. For instance the QuickShape Tool can bend the edges of a QuickShape whereas the Selector Tool can only perform simple QuickShape editing.

Objects can be edited using the Shape Editor Tool, Text Tool, QuickShape Tool, Freehand Tool, Pen Tool, Mould Tool, Ellipse Tool and Rectangle Tool.

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See also

Enabling edit handles


 Selector Tool - Fill Handles Button

The Fill Handles Button on the Selector Tool Infobar enables and disables fill handles and fill arrows.

When they are enabled you can use the Selector Tool to move fill handles on selected objects rather than being forced to choose the Fill Tool.

_______________

See also

Editing fills

Enabling fill handles and fill arrows


 Selector Tool - Flip Buttons

The Flip buttons on the Selector Tool Infobar flip the selection either vertically or horizontally. Both horizontal and vertical flips reflect the selection about the transformation centre. This will usually pass through the centre of the object unless it has been moved.

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See also

Flipping Objects


 Selector Tool - Position Field

The Position Field on the Selector Tool Infobar shows the coordinates of the bottom left corner of the bounding box of the selection relative to the bottom left corner of the spread. It updates dynamically as you drag the selection.

You can also move the selection by :

Typing into the fields and pressing RETURN,

Clicking the arrow buttons.

_______________

See also

Moving objects

Units in CorelXARA


 Selector Tool - Rotation Field

The Rotation Field on the Selector Tool Infobar lets you rotate the selection. To rotate the selection :

Type a value in degrees into the field and press RETURN.

Click the arrow buttons.

Positive angles rotate the selection anti clockwise; negative angles clockwise. The rotation is centred around the transformation centre. This will usually be in the centre of the selection unless it has been moved.

_______________

See also

Rotating objects


 Selector Tool - Scale Line Width Button

The Scale Line Widths button on the Selector Tool Infobar selects whether scaling the selection also scales the line widths (thickness). With the button pressed in, the thickness of the lines changes in proportion as you scale the selection. With the button pulled out, line widths are unchanged by scaling. Line widths are not altered when rotating, skewing or stretching objects.

_______________

See also

Scaling Objects


 Selector Tool - Scaling Field

The Scaling Field on the Selector Tool Infobar is used to scale the selection. Entering a value into the field and pressing RETURN scales the currently selected objects.

The Aspect Ratio Lock button to the right of the Scaling Field locks the ratio of the horizontal and vertical scaling values. This lets you scale objects without distorting them. To scale just the width or height of the selection, turn aspect ratio off.

The scaling is centred around the transformation centre. This will usually be in the centre of the selection unless it has been moved.

_______________

See also

Scaling objects

Stretching objects


 Selector Tool - Selection Handles Button

The Selection Handles Button on the Selector Tool Infobar enables and disables selection handles. With selection handles displayed, you can rotate, scale, stretch and skew the selection by dragging the handles.

_______________

See also

Using selection handles

Rotating objects

Scaling objects

Stretching objects

Skewing objects

Enabling selection handles


 Selector Tool - Skew Field

The Skew Field on the Selector Tool Infobar is used to skew the selection. To skew the selection :

Type a skew angle and press RETURN.

Click the arrow buttons to skew the selection.

Positive values skew the selection above the transformation centre to the right. Negative values skew the selection above the transformation centre to the right. The skew takes place along a horizontal line through the transformation centre. This will usually mean a horizontal line through the centre of the selection unless you have moved the transformation centre.

_______________

See also

Skewing Objects


Selector Tool - Skew/Rotate Mode Button
 Selector Tool - Rotate/Skew Mode Button

The Rotate/Skew Mode Button on the Selector Tool Infobar controls the operation of the selection handles around the selection. When the button is pressed in, the selection handles are in Rotate/Skew mode and when the button is pulled out selection handles are in scale mode.

If selection handles are not enabled, pressing this button enables them and places them in Rotate/Skew mode.

Clicking on a selected object with the Selector Tool chosen will swap the selection mode between Rotate/Skew mode and Scale mode - this is usually easier than using the Rotate/Skew mode button.

_______________

See also

Rotating objects

Scaling objects

Stretching objects

Skewing objects

Using selection handles


 Selector Tool - Transformation Centre Grid

The Transformation Centre Grid on the Selector Tool Infobar is used to move the transformation centre. Clicking on one of the nine buttons moves the transformation centre to the equivalent position on the selection. For example, pressing the central button moves the transformation centre to the centre of the selection.

The same effect can be achieved by CTRL-dragging the transformation centre. This constrains the transformation centre to one of the corners, the centre of the edges or the centre of the selection, whichever is closer to the mouse.

_______________

See also

Rotating objects

Skewing objects

Flipping objects


Set current graphic attribute?

Cause

You have attempted to apply an attribute with no objects selected. Applying attributes with no objects selected defines the attributes that will be used for all newly created objects (except text objects, see note).

Recommended Action

If you wish to set the current attribute, click Set.

If you want to cancel the operation, click Cancel.

If you  do not wish to see this warning in future, click Quiet. This sets the Ask Before Setting Current Attribute option. See General Options.

Note

Setting the current attribute with the Text Tool chosen sets the current text attributes; those used for all newly created text objects.

______________

See also

Setting the current attributes


Set current text attribute?

Cause

You have attempted to apply a text attribute with no objects selected. Applying attributes with the Text Tool chosen and no objects selected defines the attributes that will be used for all newly created text objects.

Recommended Action

If you wish to set the current attribute, click Set.

If you want to cancel the operation, click Cancel.

If you  do not wish to see this warning in future, click Quiet. This sets the Ask Before Setting Current Attribute option. See General Options.

______________

See also

Setting the current attributes


Setting a Current Attribute

Cause

This message is displayed when you apply an attribute, such as a fill or a line-width, when no suitable object is selected.  For example, trying to apply a fill to a blank page, or trying to apply a bold-text attribute to an ellipse. This action changes the current attributes.

Recommended action

Click the Set button to make the attribute current, i.e. the default for all objects subsequently created.  For example, if a line-width of 8 pt is made the current attribute, all the lines you later draw initially have a width of 8 pts.  Of course, you can still alter a line's attributes to be something different.

Click the Quiet button to set the attribute current, and also suppress future prompts when setting a new current attribute.  This button is useful when setting a number of current attributes in quick succession.

Clicking the Cancel button prevents the current attribute being set.

______________

See also

Setting the current attributes


Setting the current attributes
 Set the current attributes

The current attributes are those attributes which get applied automatically to an object when it is created. If you intend to draw many objects that are to share the same attributes, then it is useful to make these shared attributes 'Current'. For example if you want to draw a number of shapes with a red fill colour, and a 4pt line width. Then select red as your current fill colour, and '4pt' as your current line width. All shapes subsequently drawn will have these attributes applied.

When mixing Text with Graphics in a document you frequently want to keep the attributes applied to Text objects different to those which are applied to other graphics objects. For example all text in your document might be black, whilst all other objects might be blue. For this reason CorelXARA has two separate sets of Current

Attributes.

Current Text Attributes           Applied automatically to a new Text object.

Current Graphic Attributes   Applied automatically when any other type of object is created.

To prepare to set a Current Text Attribute, select the Text Tool

To prepare to set a Current Graphic Attribute, select any tool other than the Text Tool.

There are a variety of ways to set the current attributes :

Applying an Attribute With no Selected Objects

1. Deselect all objects (see Clear Selection)

2. Apply the attribute as you would normally to selected objects.

Drag-and-Drop

For attributes which can be applied using drag n' drop (e.g. colours, line widths & bitmap fills). Drag the attribute onto an empty part of the page.

Making the Last Applied Attribute a Current Attribute

In the General Options you can set the 'Give new objects most recent attributes' preference. Every time an attribute is applied to an object that attribute will become a Current Attribute. If you apply an attribute to a Text object then the attribute will become a Current Text Attribute. If you apply the attribute to a non text object then the attribute will become a Current Graphic Attribute.

Setting an Object's Attributes as Current Attributes

1. Copy the object to the clipboard

2. Deselect all objects

3. Use Paste Attributes to set the current attributes to those used by the objects on the clipboard.


Setting the length and angle of a straight line segment
 Set the length and angle of a straight line segment

1. Select the line.

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

2. Select the point handle on one end of the segment.

3. Enter the angle and length into the fields on the Infobar.


Shade Colour
Shade Colours are a type of named colour which are lighter or darker shades of a parent colour. The colours are linked so when the parent colour is altered the shades alter too. This allows you to create a range of shades where changing one parent colour alters the hue of all of them. Creating pictures using a set of shades gives great editing flexibility. For best results with shades, always make sure the parent colour is a 'pure' colour (saturation and value should be near 100%). For more information, see Using shades.


Shape
A Shape is a solid (or closed) object. The difference between a line and a shape is that a shape has no start or end. Because a shape is a closed object it can be filled with a colour. A thickness can be applied to the outline of the shape.

CorelXARA sometimes uses 'Shape' as shorthand for 'Line or Shape'.

In PostScript terminology, a shape is a closed path.

Shapes can have two main attributes applied; a fill and a line colour. The line colour is the colour used for the outline of the shape and the fill can be a simple colour or a more complex fill (e.g. conical, bitmap or fractal).


  Shape Editor Tool

Unlike other drawing programs, CorelXARA combines the main shape or curve editing functions and line or shape creation facilities in this one tool. The Shape Editor Tool can be used to alter curves or straight lines, insert or delete points, smooth complex curves, cut lines, reshape curves and create new lines or shapes. It is often easier to use than the Pen Tool. and provides more accuracy than the Freehand Tool for drawing lines and shapes.

The Shape Editor Tool can also be chosen using the Line & Shape Pop-up Menu.

F4

Shape Editor Tool Infobar Controls

Mode Indicator

Curved Lines

Straight Lines

Smooth Point

Sharp Point

Break

Delete Point(s)

Parameters

Smoothing

Shape Editor Tool Operations

Drawing a line

Drawing a shape

Extending a Line

Moving points on shapes and lines

Selecting points on lines and shapes

Deleting points on lines and shapes

Editing curved lines and shapes

Adding points to a line or shape

Smoothing a line or shape

Joining lines

Breaking a line or shape apart

On-line Demonstrations

_______________

See also

Freehand Tool

Pen Tool


 Shape Editor Tool - Break Button

The Break button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar 'breaks' the selected line(s) or shape(s) at each of the selected point handles.

Breaking a shape will form a line and breaking a line will form two lines.

_______________

See also

Breaking a line or shape apart


 Shape Editor Tool - Curved Lines Button

The Curved Lines button is on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar. If no point handles are selected, it sets the default line type to curved lines. The next line segment you draw will be curved.

If a number of point handles are selected (see Selecting points on lines and shapes), this button will change all the connecting line segments to curves. Only those line segments with both point handles selected change - any line segment with only one point handle selected does not change.

C

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Shape Editor Tool is the current tool.

_______________

See also

Drawing a line

Drawing a shape

Editing curved lines and shapes


 Shape Editor Tool - Delete Point(s) Button

The Delete Points button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar deletes all selected point handles.

If only one point handle is left after the delete operation, the entire line or shape will be deleted.

DEL (Delete)

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Shape Editor Tool is the current tool - normally Delete deletes all the objects selected.

_______________

See also

Deleting points on lines and shapes


 Shape Editor Tool - Mode Indicator

This indicator on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar shows the current state of the tool. It shows:

New:

No point handles are selected, click to start a new line or shape.

Add:

An end point handle is selected.

Click away from the line to extend the line,

Click on the line to add a new point handle,

Click on the other end point handle to close the shape.

Change:

An intermediate point handle or several point handles are selected. Click away from the line to start a new line or click on the line to add a new point handle.


 Shape Editor Tool - Parameter Fields

The parameter fields on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar display information about the currently selected point handle, the fields are blank if more than one point handle is selected.

Left Hand Field

This field displays :

The co-ordinate of the previous curve edit handle, if the previous segment is a curved line.

The length and angle of the previous segment, if it is a straight line.

Centre Field

This field displays the coordinates of the selected point handle.

Right Hand Field

This field displays :

The co-ordinate of the next curve handle, if the previous segment is a curved line.

The length and angle to the horizontal of the next segment, if it is a straight line.

One point handle is 'previous' to another if it is nearer the start of the line.

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


 Shape Editor Tool - Sharp Point Button

The Sharp Points button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar changes all the selected point handles into sharp (cusp) corner points with independently controllable curve edit handles - i.e. they are not smooth points.

If no point handles are selected it sets sharp points as the default.

Z

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Shape Editor Tool is the current tool.


 Shape Editor Tool - Smooth Point Button

The Smooth Point button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar changes all the selected point handles into smooth points - i.e. they are not corner (cusp) points.

If no point handles are selected it sets smooth points as the default.

S

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Shape Editor Tool is the current tool.

_______________

See also

Editing curved lines and shapes


 Shape Editor Tool - Smoothing Slider

The Smoothing slider on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar smoothes (simplifies) the currently selected line(s) by removing points (see Selecting points on lines and shapes) and altering the shape of the remaining line to match the original shape as closely as possible.

It is similar to the auto-reduce feature found in CorelDRAW!.

Note

The smoothing slider is dimmed when no point handles are selected.

_______________

See also

Smoothing a line or shape


 Shape Editor Tool - Straight Lines Button

The Straight Lines button is on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar. If no point handles are selected, it sets the default line type to straight lines. The next line segment you draw will be straight.

If a number of point handles are selected (see Selecting points on pines and shapes), this button will change all the connecting curved line segments to straight lines. Only those line segments with both point handles selected change - any line segment with only one point handle selected does not change.

L

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Shape Editor Tool is the current tool.

_______________

See also

Drawing a line

Drawing a shape

Editing curved lines and shapes


Shape not suitable for moulding

Cause

When pasting a shape from the clipboard as a mould, the first item on the clipboard which is or can become a shape is used. In this case the shape found is unsuitable for use as a mould. If you are pasting as a perspective mould, the shape is restricted to a four sided polygon. If you are pasting as an envelope mould the shape must be made up of four sides, be they curves or lines. If the shape fails the test for suitability you will get this error. Finally, twisted shapes of four sides such as a bow tie shape where two edges intersect cannot be used as a perspective mould. Twists are allowed however in envelope moulds.

Recommended Action

Paste the contents of the clipboard (CTRL+V ) into another document and have a look at the shape, it may be possible to edit this shape to make it suitable for use as a mould by using the Shape Editor Tool. Having edited the shape copy it back to the clipboard and try pasting again.


Sharpen (Bitmap Effect)
Sharpen exaggerates the boundary between colours in bitmaps. It is useful for bringing out detail. It is not useful for :

Gentle transitions between shades of the same colour.

'Noisy' bitmaps. Applying sharpening to such a bitmap is likely to emphasise the noise.

The Bitmap Effects dialog box contains three levels of Sharpening; Low, Medium and High. One of these can be selected, and the slider used to set the level more accurately.


 Show Grid (Window Menu)

  #

Show Grid sets whether or not the grid is displayed. A tick next to the option denotes that the grid is shown.

Show Grid is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

_______________

See also

Snap To Grid


 Show Guides (Window Menu)

Show Guides displays or hides the guides layer which contains all guidelines and guide objects. Show Guides is a short-cut for changing the visibility setting of the guides layer in the Layer Gallery.

For more information on guides, see Using guides.

Note

Selecting this option only affects the guides in the current document.

_______________

See also

Snap to Guides


 Show Print Borders (Window Menu)

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. The yellow rectangle represents the extremes of the paper (This corresponds to the paper size defined in the Print Setup dialog box) and the red rectangle represents the area which can be printed. The dark grey area around the outside is the area that will not be printed.

If no printer has been set up, no print borders are shown.

Note that the print borders are not necessarily central on the paper (especially for ink jet printers).

_______________

See also

Print


 Show hidden buttons

If buttons on a control bar are hidden because the window has been scaled and obscured them or you are using a small graphics mode, there are three options available :

Set the buttons to 'small' using the Control Bars option on the Window menu.

Make the bar float by dragging it away from the window edges. See Moving & resizing control bars

Drag some of the buttons to a new bar. See Moving & copying buttons.


Skew/Rotate Mode
Selection handles operate in two modes; Scale mode and Rotate/Skew Mode. The former allows the selection to be scaled, the latter allows it to be rotated and skewed.

   Selection handles

 in Skew/Rotate mode


Skewing objects
 Skew objects

Objects can be skewed along their edges, along a line parallel to their edges passing through the centre of the selected objects or along a line parallel to their edges passing through the transformation centre, either using the mouse or, accurately, using the Infobar.

What do you want to do ?

Skew objects by dragging

Skew objects accurately


Skewing objects accurately
 Skew objects accurately

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Select the objects to be skewed.

3. Move the transformation centre onto the required horizontal skew axis.

4. Do one of the following :

Enter the required skew in the Skew Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Use the Skew field arrow buttons on the Infobar.


Skewing objects by dragging
 Skew objects by dragging

1. Select the objects to be skewed (see Selecting & deselecting objects).

2. Ensure the selection handles are in Rotate/Skew mode (see Using selection handles).

3. Do one of the following :

Drag the side selection handles to skew the object with opposite side used as a base line.

SHIFT-drag the side selection handles to skew the selection about its centre.

The skew angle (see General Options) can be constrained by pressing CTRL during the drag.

Note

To leave a copy of the original non-skewed object, press NumPad '+' during the drag.

To skew the object but not any fill applied to it, press NumPad '-' during the drag.


 Slice (cut) Shapes (Arrange Menu)

This operation operates much like a pastry or cookie cutter. The object at the front of the selection is used as the cutter to slice through the other objects.

If the front object is a line, you can slice objects in two.

If the slice operation results in more than one shape, they will be grouped.

On-line Demonstration

Note

If you need to slice a line, it is easier to add a point to the line and use the  Break Button on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar. See Adding points into a line or shape and Breaking lines and shapes apart.

If a line is used to cut an object, the end points of the line must both lie outside the bounding box of the object.


Slider
Sliders allow values to be set by sliding a small button along a groove. They are sometimes referred to as 'trackbars'.


Smoothing a freehand line
 Smooth a freehand line

The slider on the Freehand Tool Infobar controls how accurately the final line follows your original mouse movements. At 0%, the final line closely follows your original movements. This creates a line with many point handles. Higher percentages insert fewer point handles and produce a less accurate but smoother line.

You can smooth a freehand line at any time until you draw another freehand line. The Infobar shows 'Refit' when smoothing is possible.

You can always smooth a line or shape using the Smoothing Slider on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar, see Smoothing lines and shapes.


Smoothing lines and shapes
 Smooth lines and shapes

Lines imported from tracers or freehand lines often have far more points than necessary. Smoothing removes these unnecessary points.

1. Use the Selector Tool to select the line(s) or shape(s)

2. Choose the Shape Editor Tool.

3. Select the points on the region of the line to be smoothed (or simplified). See Selecting Points on Lines and Shapes

4. Move the smoothing slider on the Shape Editor Tool Infobar.

Note

Smoothing only alters selected points. Unselected points are never altered. If there are areas of the line you do not want changed, make sure the points in these areas are unselected.


 Snap To Grid (Window Menu)

 Number Keypad  .

Snap to Grid sets whether or not objects drawn will automatically lock onto the grid in the document.

If the option is selected, items will lock onto the grid.

Snap to Grid is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

Note

The key shortcut only works if NumLock is enabled on your keyboard.

_______________

See also

Show Grid


 Snap To Objects (Window Menu)

 Number Keypad  *

Selecting Snap to Objects enables magnetic snapping. For more information, see Using magnetic snapping.

Snap to Objects is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

On-line Demonstration

Note

The key shortcut only works if NumLock is enabled on your keyboard.

The key shortcut can be used during a drag.


 Snap to Guides (Window Menu)

Selecting Snap to Guides will make all objects in the guides layer magnetic. This includes all guidelines and guide objects. With the option set, dragging objects near guides will result in them snapping onto the guide - the mouse pointer shows a magnet when this happens.

Note

Snap To Guides is also available on the Guideline Pop-up Menu.

_______________

See also

Show Guides

Using guides


Snapping (Magnetic)
Snapping cause an object or point to be pulled to a certain place while it's being dragged. CorelXARA has three forms of snapping, Grid snapping, Guide snapping and Magnetic snapping. Snapping is useful for precisely aligning  points or objects with each other. See Snap To Objects.


Some fonts have been substituted

Cause

A document has been opened or imported which contains fonts you do not have installed on your system.

Recommended Action

Open the Document Info dialog box and use the drop-down list of fonts to look for fonts listed with a ' * ' next to them, these are the fonts that have been substituted. You must install each of these fonts (see Installing a font).

If you do not have the fonts used, you can apply a different font to the text objects (see Applying attributes to text) or leave them as they are.


Some objects have jagged edges

Set print method to Normal

Did you change the print method by editing the INI file?

   Yes. Return the print method to the default setting.

   Set the print method to Normal:

1. Click on the Utilities menu and choose Options.

2. Click on the Output tab.

3. Ensure that the leftmost switch in the print method area (labelled either Normal or Postscript) is checked.

4. If you changed any options click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else can I try?


Some of the selected colour styles are in use in your document
Some of the selected named colours are in use in your document

Cause

You have attempted to delete named colours from the document which are being used.

Recommended Action

Clicking Delete Unused will delete all the colours you have selected apart from those currently in use.

If you click Delete All, all the colours you have selected will be deleted, including the ones being used. The objects which are using these colours will have local colours applied to them. The document will not look any different.


Some parts of the document could not be exported

Cause

The export format does not support certain of CorelXARA's unique features. (For example, CorelDRAW format does not support CorelXARA transparency or fractal fills.)

Recommended action

This may be an acceptable limitation if  you must export in a non-CorelXARA format.  If this limitation is not acceptable, then export in CorelXARA's native format or create a bitmap of the document.

_______________

See also

Export


Some parts of the document could not be imported

Cause

Parts of an imported file cannot be converted to CorelXARA document format, e.g. an Adobe Illustrator complex graduated fill.

Recommended action

If you are familiar with the look of the original document, you can probably reconstruct the missing parts using the tools provided in CorelXARA.  You can then save the document as a CorelXARA document file.


Special effects
 Create special effects

Drawing motion blur

Creating advanced blends

Creating fully justified text

Drawing concentric circles

Creating parallel lines

Creating lighting effects

Drawing a light source

Morphing bitmaps

Feathering a bitmap

Masking a bitmap


Spread
A Spread is the name given to a number of pages that are joined together. The two pages in the middle of a magazine are often referred to as the 'centre-spread'. CorelXARA supports two types of spread, single-page-spreads and double-page-spreads (DPS). A single page spread is just one page on its own. A double-page-spread is two pages side by side. The line where two pages join on a double page spread is often used to fold the paper that the document is finally printed out on.


Spread too large

Cause

The values that have been entered into the page width, height and margins fields in the Page Options to modify the current page size mean that the height and/or width of the pasteboard is beyond what CorelXARA will cope with, which is about 275cm or about 9ft. The pasteboard is the grey area en compassing the page or pages of the spread and the margins around the outside.

The height of the pasteboard is always the total of the page height and twice the size of the margin, as there is a margin above and below the page.

If only a single spread is selected then the width of the pasteboard will be the total of the page width plus two margins.  However, if the double page spread option is selected, then the pasteboard width will be the total of two page widths and two margins.

Recommended action

Reduce the size of the width, height and margin fields so that the pasteboard size becomes less than the maximum.

_______________

See also

Scaling Options


Square Cap
Square Caps are a type of ending which can be applied to lines. There are three types of 'cap' :

Butt Cap           Round Cap        Square Cap

The line cap style is applied using the Line Gallery.


Stained Glass (Transparency Type)
Stained Glass is one of the three types of transparency supported by CorelXARA; mix, stained glass and bleach. The effect is similar to viewing underlying objects through coloured glass. It is useful for the simulation of glass. Technically, the process is subtractive, progressing towards saturated colour. This process always makes the underlying colours darker.

100% transparency	Completely transparent

0% transparency	Perfect colour filter using the fill colour(s)


Standard Control Bar

New

Open

Save

Delete

Undo

Redo

Zoom

Previous Zoom

Zoom to Drawing

Line Width

Quality

Snap To Objects

_______________

See also

Default Control Bars


Status Line

The Status Line help text is context sensitive. It continually displays to the user the current state of the application. This includes a description of what operations can be performed at any one time and progress information for longer processes. It also displays a simple description of the objects currently selected.

The Status Line is an ideal companion to learning how to use CorelXARA.

Mouse Position

The current position of the mouse pointer in the document relative to the bottom left-hand corner.

Magnetic Snap Indicator

This indicator only functions when Snap To Objects has been selected.

When the handle currently being dragged snaps onto an object this indicator shows a red magnet (in addition to a magnet appearing on the mouse pointer). Otherwise the indicator is dimmed.

Transparency Indicator

This indicator shows a glass when transparency is enabled for the selected document. It is dimmed otherwise. When a document containing transparent objects is loaded or a transparent object created in a document, the transparency is enabled automatically if Automatic Transparency is set in the View Options.

Double clicking on the transparency indicator swaps the document between redrawing with transparency and ignoring it.

_______________

See also

Status Line Enable/Disable


Status Line (Window Menu)

Status Line on the Bars submenu of the Window menu allows the Status Line to be turned on and off. When it is set, the Status Line is enabled, otherwise it is not.

Normal mode and full screen mode store this setting separately, so you could have the Status Line enabled in normal mode, but not in full screen mode.

Current settings are stored when you quit CorelXARA.


Stretching objects
 Stretch objects

You can stretch objects by either scaling or skewing them.

What do you want to do?

Scale objects

Skew objects


 Subtract Shapes (Arrange Menu)

Discard those areas of the selected objects covered by the front object. The front object disappears.

The front object may be a group for more complex cut-outs. This operation is the 'opposite' of Intersect shapes.

If the subtract results in more than one shape, they will be grouped.

On-line Demonstration


Supported File Formats

The following is a list of the file types which can be imported into CorelXARA.

Bitmap Import Formats

.301	Brook Trout

.BM	X Windows (2 colour)

.BMP	Windows Bitmap

.CAL	CALS (2 colour)

.CUT	Halo CUT (256 colour)

.DCX	DCX

.GIF	CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format (see GIF)

.GX2	Storyboard

.ICA	IOCA (2 colour)

.ICO	Microsoft Windows Icon (16 colour)

.IFF	Amiga IFF

.IMX	Sun Raster

.IMG	IMG (16 colour)

.JPG	JPEG

.i	KOFAX

.LV	LaserView (2 colour)

.MAC	MacPaint (2 colour)

.MSP	Microsoft Paint (2 colour)

.PCD	PhotoCD

.PCT	PICT

.PCX	PCX Paintbrush

.PSD	Photoshop

.RAS	Sun Raster

.TGA	TrueVision TARGA

.TIF	TIFF

.WPG	Word Perfect Group (256 colour)

.XBM	X Windows (2 colour)

.XPM	X Windows (256 colour)

EPS Import Formats

.AI	Illustrator EPS (88, 3, 4 & 5)

.EPS	Illustrator EPS (88, 3, 4 & 5)

.EPS	CorelDRAW! 3, 4 & 5 EPS

.EPS	FreeHand 3.0 EPS

.EPS	ArtWorks EPS

Other Import Formats

.XAR	CorelXARA

.AFF	Acorn Draw

.CDR	CorelDRAW (3,4 & 5)

.CDT	CorelDRAW Template

.DRW	Acorn Draw

.WMF	Windows Meta File

Palette Import Formats

.CPL	CorelDRAW Palette (see Importing colours & palettes)

.PAL	CorelDRAW Palette (see Importing colours & palettes)

.PAL	Microsoft Palette

.PAL	PaintShop Pro Palette

.ACT	Adobe Colour Table

.ACO	Adobe Colour Swatch

The following is a list of the file types which can be exported from CorelXARA.

Bitmap Export Formats

.BMP	Windows Bitmap (see BMP Export)

.DCX	DCX (see DCX Export)

.PCX	PCX (see PCX Export)

.GIF	CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format (see GIF Export)

.JPG	JPEG (see JPEG Export)

.PCT	PICT (see PICT export)

.RAS	Sun Raster (see Sun Raster Export)

.TGA	TrueVision TARGA	(see TrueVision TARGA Export)

.TIF	TIFF (see TIFF Export)

.WPG	Word Perfect Group (256 colour) (see WPG Export)

EPS Export Formats

.AI	Illustrator EPS (88)

.EPS	Illustrator EPS (88)

.EPS	ArtWorks EPS

.EPS	CorelXARA EPS

Other Export Formats

.XAR	CorelXARA

.WMF	Windows Meta File

_______________

See also

Open

Import

Save As

Export


Technical Support

Corel is committed to providing customers with high quality, real-time technical support.  We recognise that support needs vary from user to user, and offer a wide range of choices when you need answers to technical queries and problems which may arise from the use of this application.

If you have a question about CorelXARA features and functions,  look in the User's Manual or consult the online documentation. You might also like to try the Online Demonstrations.

If you cannot find the answer in these locations, you can speak to a Technical Support Representative located in North America or in Europe.

If you have problems after hours or on weekends or holidays, you can contact IVAN - our Interactive Voice Answering Network or the Automated FaxBack System.

We also offer Electronic Support Services from our Bulletin Board, Internet World Wide Web site (http://www.corel.com), and our FTP site.

Xara Ltd, the developers of CorelXARA, also have a World Wide Web site at http://www.xara.com/ which may help.

How to reach Corel in North America

How to reach Corel worldwide

Electronic support options

How to use Automated FaxBack System

Extended Technical Support


Technical Support - Automated Fax System

Technical Support maintains an Automated FaxBack System of numbered documents that contain up-to-date information about common issues, tips, and tricks This service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Calling the Automated FaxBack System

Dial 613-728-0826, extension 3080.  You will then be prompted for a document number and your own fax number.  The document you request is automatically sent to you. To fax a catalogue of documents to yourself, call the Automated FaxBack System number and request document #2000.


Technical Support - Electronic Options

BBS

Technical Support operates a BBS service that allows you to download program files that have been modified between releases.  A  Technical Support representative may request that you upload troublesome files to the BBS.

Calling the BBS

Dial 613-728-4752 or (613) 761-7798. Both lines are set for 8 bit word, 1 stop bit, no parity.  The supported speeds on these Hayes 288 modems are 2400-28,800 baud.

Microsoft Network (MSN)

Technical Support operates a forum on the Microsoft Network.  Periodic updates or patches are made available in the Corel Forum.  You will also find utilities and interesting information that forum members have made available.  Interact with other users and Corel technicians to obtain product and support information for CorelXARA.

For quick access to forums in the MSN, use Go Words.  In the MSN Central, go to the Edit Menu and choose Go To.  Choose Other Location, then type COREL.  Then click OK or press ENTER to go directly to the Corel Forum.

To Access the Corel Forum in the MSN

In the MSN Central, go to the Edit Menu. Click on GoTo. Choose Other Location. Type Corel. Click on OK.

Internet Services

WorldWide Web Site (WWW)

For late breaking technical news and information on all Corel products, visit our WWW home page at http://www.corel.com. From the home page, you can access Corels Technical Knowledge base, as well as corporate, marketing, and product information.

Additionally, Xara Ltd, developers of CorelXARA, have a site on the Internet at http://www.xara.com/.

FTP

You can download updates, patches and utilities by accessing our anonymous FTP site at ftp.corel.com.


Technical Support - Extended

For details on support options available to you after your warranty support expires, please contact Corel Technical Support at  1-613-728-9861


Technical Support in North America

Technical Support

Corel is committed to providing customers with high quality real-time technical support. We recognise that support needs vary from user to user, and offer a wide range of choices when you need answers to technical queries and problems which may arise from the use of this application. This document will introduce you to the variety of support services we provide.

Warranty Technical Support Services

1-613-728-9861 (North America Only)

Free technical support is available to you for 30 days from the day you place your first call to technical support.  CorelXARA support personnel are available to respond to your call from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. During and after your warranty support period, you can also use the basic services listed below.

Extended Technical Support services

To request an up-to-date listing of Corel's Authorised Support Partners world-wide, and a copy of Corel's Extended Technical Support Policy, please contact Corel Technical Support at 1-613-728-9861.

Basic Services

Corel offers the following technical support options, most of which are available 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day.  These services are useful if you prefer not to pay for support or encounter problems during off-hours.

IVAN (Interactive Voice Answering Network)

Ivan contains answers to commonly asked questions and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. IVAN is regularly updated with the latest information, tips, and tricks. You can request that IVAN's solutions be faxed to you.

Calling IVAN

Dial 613-728-6398. There is no charge for this service other than the cost of the telephone call.

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Dial 613-728-0826, extension 3080. You will be asked for a document number and your fax number. The document you request is automatically sent to you. To fax a catalogue of documents to yourself, call the automated FaxBack System and request document 2000.

Before You Call

Before calling Technical Support, please have the following information available.  It will assist the Technical Support Representative in helping you with your problem quickly and efficiently:

A brief description of the problem including the exact text of any error messages received, and the steps to recreate it.

Type of computer, monitor, pointing device (e.g., mouse, tablet), printer and video card (display adapter) in use.

The versions of Microsoft Windows and the CorelXARA product in use.  Choose the About Windows 95 command from the Help menu in Explorer to find which version of Windows you are running.

A list of any programs loaded into RAM (e.g., TSRs).  Check the Startup folder in the Programs menu to determine if you are running any other programs.

Customer Service in North America

Customer Service Representatives answer questions about specifications and pricing,  sell Corel products,  and issue replacement disks.  There is no charge for calling Customer Service.

General customer service and product information can  be accessed through the MSN and WorldWide Web at http://www.corel.com .

Internet	United States and Canada	1-800-772-6735

custserv@Corel.com

Customer Service

Corel Corporation

c/o UCA&L

P.O. Box 3595

Salinas

California 93912 - 3595


Template Document
The Template Document is the blank document that appears when you open a new document. The template document can be altered using Save As Template.


Temporary Directory
CorelXARA locates a Temporary directory using the 'TEMP' environment variable. If this variable is not set to a proper directory, various features of the program, such as the remote index building in the library galleries, will not work.


Text Cursor
The Text Cursor is displayed when the Text Tool is selected. The cursor shows you where characters will appear if you start typing or where editing will take place if the cursor is inside an existing text object. To move the cursor click the mouse where you want the cursor.

Note that no cursor is displayed if there is a selected text region.


Text Object
A Text Object is one or more lines of text which can be moved and copied like any other object. The Text Tool allows you to edit the contents of text objects by typing new characters, changing the font, font size, etc. Many normal attributes can be applied to text from the other tools such as line width, fill type and colour and even transparency.

Text objects can be fitted to a curve and they remain editable in the Text Tool.


Text Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a text object, it contains the following options :

Text Tool

- - - - - - - - - -

Left Justification

Centre Justification

Right Justification

Full Justification

- - - - - - - - - -

Reverse text on curve

- - - - - - - - - -

Print text as shapes

- - - - - - - - - -

Cut

Copy

Paste

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete

Duplicate (see note)

Clone (see note)

- - - - - - - - - -

Convert to Editable Shapes

Create Bitmap Copy

Combine Shapes

- - - - - - - - - -

Colour Editor

Note: Duplicate and Clone may be dimmed when you have a selected region. CorelXARA cannot duplicate or clone objects that are within other objects (in this case, a text story).

_______________

See also

Pop-up Menus


  Text Tool

The Text Tool allows you to create text objects consisting of one or many lines of text which can be placed around a curve if necessary and alter existing text objects. With the Text Tool selected, the Infobar shows the range of text attributes.

F8

If there is a selected region of text, any change to a text attribute applies to that region.

Otherwise, the change applies at the text cursor. Start typing and the text appears with the changed attribute.

If there is a selected region of text, the Infobar shows the attributes that apply to the region. If multiple values for one attribute have been applied, the field is blank, e.g. if the selected region includes both 10pt and 12pt text, the Font Size field is blank. When the cursor is visible, the Infobar shows the attributes that will apply when you type a character.

The Text Tool can also be chosen using the Text Pop-up Menu.

Text Tool Infobar Controls

Font

Font Size

Aspect Ratio

Bold

Italic

Left Justification

Centre Justification

Right Justification

Full Justification

Superscript and Subscript

Line Spacing & Tracking

Baseline Shift & Kerning

Text Tool Operations

Creating new text

Editing text

Selecting text

Applying attributes to text

Placing text around a curve

Creating fully justified text

Editing moulded text

Entering special characters

Text Tool key shortcuts

On-line Demonstrations

_______________

See also

Installing a font


 Text Tool - Aspect Ratio Field

This field on the Text Tool Infobar shows the aspect ratio of text.

100% is a 1:1 aspect ratio. An aspect ratio of 80% gives narrow (condensed) text whereas a ratio of 120% gives wide text. (Values below 80% and above 130% can make the text look distorted.)

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.


 Text Tool - Baseline Shift & Kerning

These two fields on the Text Tool Infobar are used to move characters either vertically (baseline shift) or horizontally (kerning).

Baseline Shift

Changing the baseline shift of text moves it vertically.

The baseline shift is displayed in the default text units (usually points (pt) ).

Kerning

Kerning lets you alter the horizontal space between two adjacent characters by inserting a 'kern' character in the text. This kern is a variable width space in the text which can be deleted like any other character if it is no longer required. Kerns can be used to simulate tab characters (particularly when the text has been fitted to a curve).

Place the text cursor between the two characters to insert or edit a kern.

Positive values increase the width of the kern, negative values decrease its width.

Kern size is measured in thousandths of em's.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

CTRL+ '+'	Increase tracking (if the text cursor is present)

CTRL+ '-'	Decrease tracking (if the text cursor is present)

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


 Text Tool - Bold Button

When this button on the Text Tool Infobar is depressed, the Bold attribute is applied to the text.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

CTRL+B

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Text Tool is the current tool.


 Text Tool - Centre Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text. When it is depressed, the text is centrally aligned around the point where you started typing.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

Centre justification can also be applied using the Text Pop-up Menu.

Note

You can centre justify text fitted to a curve.


 Text Tool - Font Field

This field on the Text Tool Infobar shows the current text font (typeface). Choose from the drop-down list to change the font. Note that you can also apply fonts using the Font Gallery. Refer to Applying Attributes to Text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

On the left-hand side of the font is an indicator which shows the format of the font :

Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Type 1

TrueType

If a font is listed with a ' * ' displayed next to it, this means the font required for the current document cannot be found. This may be due to it not being installed on your system or the font file being corrupt. It may be possible to solve this problem by reinstalling the font. See Installing a font. For a full list of fonts used in a document, see Document Info.


 Text Tool - Font Size Field

This field on the Text Tool Infobar shows the current point size of text. To change the font size :

Type in a value and press RETURN.

Choose a size from the drop-down list.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


 Text Tool - Full Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text that has been fitted to a curve. When it is depressed, text is justified fully between the ends of the line that the text has been fitted to. Full justification works by increasing or decreasing the spacing until the text fills the line.

Full justification can also be applied using the Text Pop-up Menu.

If you apply Full justification to text not fitted to a curve, the text is left justified.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

_______________

See also

Creating fully justified text


 Text Tool - Italic Button

When this button on the Text Tool Infobar is depressed, the Italic (slanted) attribute is applied to the text..

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

CTRL+I

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Text Tool is the current tool.


 Text Tool - Left Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text. When it is depressed, the text is justified so that its left-hand edge is aligned with the point where you started typing.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

Left justification can also be applied using the Text Pop-up Menu.

Note

You can left justify text fitted to a curve.


 Text Tool - Line Spacing & Tracking

Line Spacing

Changing the Line Spacing value on the Text Tool Infobar changes space between a line and that above it.. This attribute always affects entire lines of text, i.e. any changes made to the line spacing of a selected region affects all the text lines covered by the selection.

Line Spacing is displayed as a percentage of the character size. "100%" spaces the lines as closely as possible without lines coming into contact; "200%" is double-spaced text. Enter a value as a percentage of the size of the largest character in the line.

You can also enter absolute values using any unit, e.g. you can enter "4pt" or "2cm".

Tracking

Changing the Tracking value on the Text Tool Infobar changes the inter-character spacing.

Tracking is measured in thousandths of em's.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

CTRL+ '+'	Increase tracking (if a region is selected)

CTRL+ '+'	Decrease tracking (if a region is selected)

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


 Text Tool - Right Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text. When it is depressed, the text is justified to the right of the point where you started typing.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.

Right justification can also be applied using the Text Pop-up Menu.

Note

You can right justify text fitted to a curve.


Text Tool - Script Buttons
 Text Tool - Superscript & Subscript Buttons

These buttons on the Text Tool Infobar set the superscript and subscript attribute to text., this results in text which is about half size. Subscript is the lower button and places the text at the bottom of the text line, whereas Superscript (the top button) places the small text at the top of the text line.

Refer to Applying attributes to text for details of how changes to this field affect text.


Text Tool key shortcuts

Cursor keys	Move the text cursor one character at a time up, down, left or right.

Home	Move the text cursor to the start of the line.

End	Move the text cursor to the end of the line.

CTRL+right-cursor	Move the text cursor right one word.

CTRL+left-cursor	Move the text cursor left one word.

CTRL+HOME	Move the text cursor to the start of the first line in a text object.

CTRL+END	Move the text cursor to the end of the last line in a text object.

CTRL+A	Selects all characters in a text object.

CTRL+B	Apply the Bold attribute (see Bold).

CTRL+I	Apply the Italic attribute (see Italic).

CTRL+C	Copy the selected region of text to the clipboard.

CTRL+L	Selects all characters in the line containing the text cursor.

CTRL+V	Paste text at the text cursor position (If the clipboard contains text)

CTRL+W	Swap the case of the character to the right of the text cursor.

CTRL+equals/plus key	Increase kerning/tracking.

CTRL+underline/minus key	Decrease kerning/tracking.

RETURN	Start a new line of text.

DELETE	Delete the character to the right of the text cursor. If the cursor is on the end of a text line, join this line to the line below.

BACKSPACE 	Delete the character to the left of the text cursor. If the cursor is at the start of a text line, join this line to the line above.

SHIFT+cursor keys	Selects all text between the original position of the text cursor and its new position.

SHIFT+HOME	Select all text between the cursor position and the beginning of the line.

SHIFT+END	Select all text between the cursor position and the end of the line.

For details of how to enter special characters with the Text Tool, see Entering special characters.


Text to search for is invalid

Cause

You have not entered any text to search for.

Recommended action

Repenter the text you wish to search for.


The Adobe Type Manager is Not Running

The Adobe Type Manager is not running, or is turned off.

Cause

The Adobe Type Manager is not running, or is turned off. ATM currently does not work on Windows NT.

Recommended action

If you are running Windows 3.1, 3.11 or Windows 95 and ATM is not installed, you need to install it to use ATM fonts.

If you are running NT, you won't be able to use ATM fonts. Change to either Windows 3.x or Windows 95.

If ATM is installed, but is not turned on, enable ATM using the ATM control panel.


The CorelXARA Workplace

The CorelXARA Environment consists of:

Control Bars

Infobar

The Colour Line

The Status Line

Scrollbars

Page

Pasteboard

Rulers

Toolbar


The appropriate type of object is not selected

Cause

In CorelXARA, operations are often performed on objects that are selected.  You have tried to perform an operation when no object is selected, or the wrong kind of object is selected.

Recommended action

Select the object you wish to perform the operation on, then try the operation again.

_______________

See also

Selecting & deselecting objects


This operation will remove a perspective fill

Cause

Displayed when converting an object to editable shapes will discard the object's perspective moulded fill.

Recommended action

Click the OK button to discard the perspective mounded fill.

Click the Cancel button to keep the perspective mounded fill and therefore not convert the object to editable shapes.


Timing CorelXARA redraw
 Time CorelXARA redraw

CorelXARA lets you time the redraw of a document. This is useful for comparing the redraw speed of  CorelXARA with other drawing packages.

To time CorelXARA redraw

1. Open the document.

2. Zoom in and move the document until it is at the required size and position.

3. Press CTRL+SHIFT+T.

This redraws the document and afterwards a dialog box appears showing the time taken for the redraw.

To make a fair comparison between CorelXARA and other packages

1. Turn off anti-aliasing by setting the Quality slider to Normal (other packages do not generally anti-alias drawings).

2. Turn off background redraw in the View Options.

3. If transparency is enabled, disable it by double-clicking on the transparency indicator on the Status Line as documents with transparency take slightly longer to redraw.


Tint Colour
Tint Colours are a type of named colour. They are based on another named colour (called the parent colour) but with the addition of white, so any changes made to the parent colour will be reflected in the tint. They have two main uses:

As a quick way to define new named colours. e.g. Pink could be defined as 50% Red.

To extend the range of colours available for printing inks. For example, a 75% black tint gives dark grey, a 25% black tint light grey. This gives three colours using just one ink.

To create highlights of the parent colour.

A tint can be based on any other named colour, including another tint.


Title
A Title can be stored with each CorelXARA document which is displayed when the file is added to the Clipart Gallery. See Using titles, descriptions and keywords for further information.


Tool
A Tool in CorelXARA is much like a tool in normal life. It is used for a specific job. CorelXARA is divided into well-defined tools each of which has a specific purpose.

For more information on the CorelXARA Tools, see The Tools.


Toolbar
The Toolbar is a special control bar containing buttons for all the Tools available in CorelXARA.


Tools

Tools are the main method of drawing objects and editing your documents. Each tool customises the Infobar to show information and controls relevant to that Tool.

The currently chosen tool defines which actions can be performed on the document. The following are the buttons used to choose Tools; they are displayed on the Toolbar.

Selector Tool

Freehand Tool

Shape Editor Tool

Pen Tool

Rectangle Tool

Ellipse Tool

QuickShape Tool

Blend Tool

Fill Tool

Transparency Tool

Mould Tool

Text Tool

Push Tool

Zoom Tool

To remove a Tool button from the Toolbar, ALT-drag it and drop it away from the control bars. If you like you can copy or move Tool buttons to other control bars. See Moving & copying buttons and Removing & restoring buttons.


Tracer
The Bitmap Tracer produces a set of shapes that look like a bitmap. It examines a bitmap and tries to determine the shapes that best approximate the areas of colour in the bitmap.

The bitmap tracer has options to control the minimum size of the shapes, how many different colour levels it should try to find, etc.


Tracking
Tracking uniformly changes the spacing between all the characters in a region. (Note the difference between this and Kerning which adjusts the spacing between a pair of characters.) Tracking is often used to expand text to exactly fit an area of a document.

Tracking is measured in em's (the width of an "M" in the current font and font size).


Transformation Centre

The transformation centre is the point/axis around which objects are skewed, flipped and rotated using the Selector Tool. The transformation centre is only visible when the Selector Tool is in Rotate/Skew mode.

To move the transformation centre do one of the following :

Click on a square on the Transformation Centre Grid on the Infobar to move the transformation centre to a specific position on the selection.

Drag the transformation centre to a new position. If you hold down CTRL whilst dragging the centre, it will be constrained to the nine points shown on the Transformation Centre Grid on the Selector Tool Infobar.


Transparency
Transparent objects allow you to see some amount of the objects behind them. There are three types of transparency in CorelXARA; Mix, Stained glass and Bleach. Transparency is measured in percentages. 0% means that the transparent object affects all of what can be seen underneath it. 100% means that the transparent object does not affect your view of what's underneath it at all. By combining transparency types and shapes with different fill colours and types you can create a wide range of effects and shading. Note that documents using transparent objects takes longer to redraw on-screen and to print.


Transparency Arrow
Transparency Arrows let you control graduated transparency. The direction and length of the arrow directly control the direction and extent of the graduated transparency. The arrow has handles at either end which can be selected. The transparency set by the slider in the Transparency Tool Infobar is applied to the selected handles.


Transparency Handle
Transparency Handles are the handles at the ends of the Transparency arrow.

Drag the handles to change the direction and size of the graduated transparency.

Select a handle and drag the slider on the Transparency Tool Infobar to change the amount of transparency applied.

To easily swap between the start and end handles, press TAB.


  Transparency Tool

The Transparency Tool lets you apply graduated, fractal and bitmap transparency to objects. It works in a similar way to the Fill Tool.

F6

Transparency Tool Infobar Controls

Note that the Infobar shows only those controls relevant to the current Transparency Shape.

Transparency Shape

Bitmap & Fractal Transparency Resolution

Fractal Transparency Grain

Transparency Level

Bitmap & Fractal Transparency Tiling

Transparency Type

Transparency Tool Operations

Applying transparency

Editing transparency

Removing transparency

Enabling transparency

Using transparent lines

On-line Demonstrations

Note

Using transparent objects in drawings will result in slower redraw and printing.


 Transparency Tool - Bitmap & Fractal Transparency Resolution Field

This field is displayed on the Transparency Tool Infobar when the selection contains only bitmap/fractal transparencies and no transparency handles are selected.

Altering the value in the field changes the resolution of the bitmap/fractal fills in the selection by changing their size.


 Transparency Tool - Bitmap & Fractal Transparency Tiling Field

This field appears on the Transparency Tool Infobar when the selection contains only bitmap/fractal transparencies.

There are three options available which set sets the way in which the fractal/bitmap is tiled (repeated) to fill the shape.

Repeat Inverted

Fill the shape with multiple copies of the image - alternate images are reflected.

Repeating Tile

Fill the shape with multiple copies of the image.

Single Tile

Fill the shape with one single image.


 Transparency Tool - Fractal Transparency Grain Slider

This field only appears on the Transparency Tool Infobar when the selection contains only fractal transparencies and no transparency handles are selected.

Moving the slider changes the grain of the fractal fill(s). A low value gives a smooth, cloud-like pattern, a higher value gives a sharper, more 'grainy' texture.


Transparency Tool - Transparency Fill Type Field
 Transparency Tool - Transparency Shape Field

Transparency Shape field is always present on the Transparency Tool Infobar. It sets the transparency shape of the currently selected objects.

The options available are :

No Transparency

Linear transparency

Circular transparency

Elliptical transparency

Conical transparency

Bitmap transparency

Fractal transparency

_______________

See also

Applying transparency

Editing transparency


 Transparency Tool - Transparency Level Slider

This pair of controls is displayed on the Transparency Tool Infobar when the selection contains only flat/linear/circular/elliptical/conical fills.

The left hand field of the pair describes the selected handle(s).

The right hand field shows the amount of transparency applied to the selected handles. Drag the slider to alter the transparency of the selected handle.


 Transparency Tool - Transparency Type Field

This field is always present on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

This field sets the transparency type of the transparency (if any) of the selection.

The options available are :

Mix

Stained Glass

Bleach


Tried everything

You've tried the suggestions on other troubleshooter pages but:

They don't apply

They don't help

They're not satisfactory

Here are a few final suggestions:

   Have you tried changing the print method?

If you're using Normal printing try changing to Bitmap printing and vice-versa. (See Output Options for more information.)

   Have you tried reducing the transparency resolution?

If your document contains lots of transparent objects, a high transparency resolution setting may produce too much data for the printer to handle. Generally, the transparency resolution only needs to be about half the resolution of your printer. It rarely needs to be higher than 300dpi. It should never  be higher than the printer's resolution. (See Output Options for more information.)

   Have you tried reducing the fill quality?

Higher fill quality settings send more data to the printer. It's possible that your document will still look good if the quality of the fills is reduced. (See Output Options for more information.)

   Windows 95 has a Print troubleshooter of its own which may help you to track down your problem. If you're running Windows 95 and you haven't already tried the Print troubleshooter:

1. Click the Start button on the task bar and choose Help from the menu.

2. Double-click "Troubleshooters" in the Help window.

3. Double-click "If you're having trouble printing" in the Help window.

Remember that we recommend you only run the final release version of Windows 95 - not a pre-release copy. If you haven't already done so please upgrade to the final release version.

   If you're an advanced user there are hidden INI file settings you can try.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else can I try?


TrueType
TrueType is a type of font format. There are two main formats in use: TrueType and Adobe Type Manager (ATM). CorelXARA supports both types.


Tune-up Options
 Tune up Options

The tune up options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Tune up 'tab'. The tune up options allow various settings to be changed which affect everyday CorelXARA use.

Redraw

CorelXARA uses memory to build up the image on your screen (and also when you export bitmaps and print), the amount necessary for fastest redraw is shown at the top of this section. Normally you will select the Automatic option which will allocate as much memory as possible taking into account how much memory your PC has (if there is not enough available to reach the figure required, CorelXARA will reduce the memory required by redrawing the document in strips). Selecting Automatic will always give the best performance from CorelXARA.

If for some reason you wish to set the amount of memory used by CorelXARA manually you can do this using the Use Limited Memory option. You might wish to do this if you wanted to reduce CorelXARA's memory requirements to an absolute minimum (to be able to run other programs simultaneously or prevent disc access). Values can be entered in megabytes, kilobytes or bytes. e.g. "1M" (1Megabyte), "200K" (200 Kilobytes), "4000" (4000 bytes).

Cache

When displaying items in some galleries, CorelXARA reads the information off disk into a cache to alleviate the need to load images as the gallery is scrolled. This option sets the number of items to be cached at any one time. If your machine has spare memory, you might like to increase this value. Values can be entered from 1 to 99.

Undo Size

This applies only to the selected document. The amount of undo (see Undo) information stored can be unlimited, or a value can be set for the maximum amount of space to be taken up by it. When the undo buffer becomes full, the oldest information is always discarded first.

Values can be entered in megabytes, kilobytes or bytes. e.g. "1M" (1Megabyte), "200K" (200 Kilobytes), "4000" (4000 bytes).


Turn off "Print all layers"

Turn off "Print all foreground layers"

Make sure that CorelXARA is only printing the layers visible on screen:

1. Click CorelXARA's Utilities menu and choose Options.

2. Choose the Output section.

3. Click the Visible foreground layers switch.

4. If you changed any settings click OK and try to print again.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints correctly now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Turn off spooling

The Windows printing system uses a temporary file on your hard disc to queue up printing commands and send them to the printer in the background. If you turn off spooling the temporary file is no longer needed (so you won't need lots of space on your hard disc to store it) but all applications, including CorelXARA, will take longer to print.

 On Windows 95

1. Select your printer in the Printers window.

2. Choose  the Properties option from the File menu.

3. Open the Details section.

4. Click the Spool Settings button at the bottom of the dialog box.

5. Ensure the Print Directly to the Printer option is checked.

6. If you changed any settings, click OK.

 On Windows 3.1

1. Run Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Printers icon.

3. Ensure that the Use Print Manager option at the bottom of the dialog box is unchecked.

4. If you changed any settings, click OK.

 On Windows NT

1. Run Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Printers icon.

3. Make sure that your printer's window is the active window.

4. Click the Printer menu and then choose Properties.

5. Click Details.

6. Ensure that Print directly to ports is checked.

7. If you changed any settings, click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

   Yes! My document prints now. Close this troubleshooter.

   No. What else could be wrong?


Unable to find any files to add to index

Cause

This message is displayed after attempting to generate an index for a directory with no recognised files that can be used in the relevant gallery.

Recommended action

Check the path is correct. Files are currently chosen by their extensions, if these are incorrect this may explain the problem.

This error will be given if you attempt to add a folder containing no bitmaps to the fill gallery even if it contains vector format files (e.g. .XAR files).


Unable to find folder

Cause

Cannot find the required folder / directory for the gallery.

Recommended action

If the folder is on the CD, and the CD is not in the CD drive, insert the CD and click Retry. If this is not possible, or the folder has been deleted, click Add to locate a new folder. Cancel will open a, possibly empty, gallery.


Unable to find index

Cause

This message is displayed when an index is unavailable.

Recommended action

If the index is on the CD, and the CD is not currently in the CD drive, insert the CD and click Retry. If this is not possible, or the folder has been deleted, click Continue and the relevant folder will be removed from the gallery. Clicking Quiet will remove all the affected folders with no further warnings.


Unable to update index

Cause

This message is displayed when you try and update a read-only index.

Recommended action

If the index is on a CD, it is not possible to update it - the entire folder must first be copied to a writable drive.

If the index is on a read-only network mount, copy the folder to a different drive or contact your system administrator.


Undo
To Undo your most recent changes to a document. Undo allows you to get rid of changes which you've applied mistakenly to your document, which went wrong or which you simply don't like the look of. Undo is a very powerful tool when combined with Redo because it gives you the freedom to experiment with a drawing, secure in the knowledge that you can always undo any changes or if you eventually decide you do actually like the changes, to redo them again.


Undo & Redo (Edit Menu)

Undo

 CTRL+Z or '<'

Any changes you make to a CorelXARA document can be undone. The number of steps you can undo depends on the memory that was available to record them (see Tune up Options). The recorded undo information is not saved with the document and so, if you save a document and later reload it you will no longer be able to undo changes you made before the Save.

Redo

 CTRL+Y or '>'

At any time when you have Undone some changes you can choose to redo them again. This is very useful because it gives you the ability to change your mind about an edit as many times as you like. One point to note is that however far you go back through undo steps, as soon as you edit the document yourself you will no longer be able to redo any of those steps.

Undo and Redo always show a brief description of what will be undone or redone. e.g. "Undo Delete".

Note

The < and > key shortcuts do not work when the Text Tool has been chosen.


 Ungroup (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+U

Ungroup separates all selected groups into their constituent objects.

Objects inside groups can be selected and edited without being first removed from the group. See Selecting objects inside other objects

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Group


 Unit Options

The unit options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the Units 'tab'. This section allows the control of the use of units in CorelXARA and the definition of new, custom units.

The standard units are Pixels, Millimetres, Centimetres, Metres, Kilometres, Millipoints, Points, Picas, Inches, Feet, Yards and Miles. You can also define your own.

Page Units

The Page Units are the units used for most measurements in CorelXARA. For example the Status Line uses the units defined here as do many of the fields on the Selector Tool Infobar.

Note that the units used for the grid and rulers are set using the Grid and Ruler Options.

Font Units

The units set in this field are used by CorelXARA for text measurements.

Colour Units

The colour units are used by the Colour Editor when you are editing colours. You can choose to use percentages or values from 0 to 255. These units are also used to make up the names for colours imported from colour table files. e.g. colours can be named like R126G0B0 or R85%G0%B0%.

Unit Definition

To delete a unit, select it from the Unit Name drop-down list and click the Delete button. The standard units cannot be deleted.

To create a new unit, click the New Unit button and fill in each of the following fields.

Unit Name

This is the full name used for the new unit, e.g. Nautical miles.

Abbreviation

This is the abbreviation used for the unit, e.g. n.m., US$.

Prefix

If this option is set, the abbreviation is shown before the numeric measurement. e.g. £14.

Suffix

If this option is set, the abbreviation is shown after the numeric measurement. e.g. 12n.m.

Is Equivalent To

These three fields are used to define the size of the new unit in terms of one of the existing units. For example, for nautical miles  you would fill the fields to read "1 nautical mile is equivalent to 1852 metres".

To delete a unit, select it from the Unit Name drop-down list and click Delete. The standard units cannot be deleted. Also, units that are being used in the document cannot be deleted. These might be being specified in the grid spacing, the document scaling or in the default font or page units.

_______________

See also

Units in CorelXARA


Updating a disc-based gallery
 Update a disc-based gallery

To update a disc-based gallery

1. Open the gallery.

2. Select the sections you want to update.

3. Click the Add button to open the Add Folder dialog box.

4. Click the Update button.


Using Help (Help Menu)

Using Help on the Help menu opens Windows Help with an explanation on how to make use of it. This information can then be used to use the CorelXARA Help system, available from Contents on the Help menu.


Using bitmaps
 Use bitmaps

Editing bitmaps

Creating World Wide Web Bitmaps

Feathering a bitmap

Masking a bitmap

Fine-tuning the bitmap tracer

Importing Transparent GIF Files

Applying a bitmap fill

Editing a bitmap fill

Exporting a bitmap at a specific size


Using blends
 Use blends

Blending objects

Creating advanced blends

Removing a blend

Morphing bitmaps


Using colour
 Use colour

Colouring objects

Creating a named colour

Changing a named colour

Deleting a named colour

Importing colours & palettes

Copying colour from one object to another

Applying fills

Editing fills

Drawing simple lighting effects


Using control bars & galleries
 Use control bars & galleries

Closing a gallery

Selecting items in a gallery

Moving & resizing galleries

Reordering gallery items

Reordering gallery sections

Searching a gallery

Altering gallery display format

Moving & copying buttons

Creating & delete control bars

Moving & resize control bars

Show hidden buttons


Using fills
 Use fills

Applying linear fills

Applying circular fills

Applying elliptical fills

Applying conical fills

Applying bitmap fills

Applying fractal fills

Editing linear fills

Editing circular fills

Editing elliptical fills

Editing conical fills

Editing bitmap fills

Editing fractal fills

Colouring objects


Using guides
 Use guides

Guides are guidelines and guide objects on the guides layer. Use guides to align or position objects on other layers. For example, drawing a series of lines radiating from a single vanishing point lets you easily draw perspective drawings. To make alignment easier, you can make guides magnetic (see Snap to Guides).

Guidelines and guide objects are non-printing.

Guides are displayed with a coloured, dotted outline. You can change the colour used to display guides.

Guides

Creating the guides layer

Deleting the guides layer

Displaying and hiding guides

Changing the colour of guides

Making guides magnetic

Moving objects to the guides layer

Guidelines

Creating guidelines

Moving guidelines

Deleting guidelines

Listing the positions of guidelines

Note

You can use objects in layers other than the guides layer as guide objects by enabling magnetic snapping, see Snap to Objects.


Using lines and shapes
 Use lines and shapes

Drawing a line

Drawing a shape

Redrawing part of a line or shape

Joining lines

Extending a line

Editing curved lines and shapes

Smoothing lines and shapes

Moving points on shapes and lines

Selecting points on lines and shapes

Deleting points on lines and shapes

Adding points into a line or shape

Breaking lines and shapes apart

Drawing ellipses & circles

Drawing rectangles & squares

Drawing polygons

Drawing starred polygons

Editing ellipses & circles

Editing rectangles & squares

Editing polygons

Editing starred polygons

Using guides

Aligning the centres of QuickShapes

Drawing concentric circles


Using magnetic snapping
Use magnetic snapping

Magnetic snapping is a very powerful way of accurately aligning objects, lines and points on lines to any other object so they exactly touch.  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 snap to objects is the answer.  You can even use this to align the centres of objects.

When you pick an object up, with the magnetic snapping turned on, it will move the object so the nearest 'point of interest' is exactly under the mouse pointer position.  When the object is being dragged and the magnet snapping has been enabled, the point under the mouse pointer will snap to the nearest outline or any other 'point of interest' on any visible shape. The 'point of interest' is defined as the outline or any handle on the outline, and other positions such as the centre of objects.

For example, you can exactly align the corner of a square to the centre of a circle by picking up the corner of square (or very nearby) and dragging this near the centre of the object.  When the object has snapped, the mouse pointer will show a magnet and the magnet indicator on the Status Line will light up.

The Magnetic snapping distance stays the same on screen no matter what zoom factor is used to view the drawing. So, if two potential guide objects are very close together and you have difficulty controlling which of them things snap to, zoom in on the two guide objects so that you can see the separation between them more clearly. You can then consistently snap to either object. Changing the magnetic snapping distances is described in Mouse Options.

Magnetic Snapping is enabled using Snap to Objects on the Window menu.

_______________

See also

Using guides


Using moulds
 Use moulds

Applying a mould

Editing an envelope mould

Editing a perspective mould


Using rulers
 Use rulers

As you create or scale objects you can use the rulers to check their size. If you need to size or scale objects more accurately, you can use the Selector Tool.

The units and number of divisions on the rulers are the same as those for the on-screen grid. These are set in the Grid & Ruler Options. The right-hand end of the top ruler shows the units currently in use.

_______________

See also

Displaying and hiding the rulers

Moving the ruler zero point


Using scrollbars
 Use scrollbars

Scrollbars allow you to move the page around in the CorelXARA document window.

The Scrollbars in CorelXARA are proportional. For example if the current zoom on your document means you are looking at half the workspace, the scroll bar will take up half of the bar. This makes it easier to see, at a glance, at what scale the document is being viewed.

The scrollbars are also interactive meaning that the page scrolls as you move them, rather than waiting until you release the mouse button.

Clicking the right mouse button on scrollbars moves in the opposite direction from normal. For example, right-clicking above the scroll box scrolls down. This makes it simple to move backwards and forwards using the scrollbars without having to move the mouse.


Using selection handles
 Use selection handles

Selection handles allow basic manipulation of the selected objects. They are enabled using the Selection Handles Button on the Selector Tool Infobar (see Enabling selection handles). They operate in two modes, Scale Mode and Rotate/Skew Mode. The former allows the selection to be scaled and stretched and the latter allows it to be rotated and skewed.

To swap selection handle mode

Click the Rotate/Skew Mode Button button on the Selector Tool Infobar.

or

Click on one of the objects in the selection.

On-line Demonstration


Using shades
 Use shades

It is very easy to create a range of different shade colours using CorelXARA.

To create a shade

1. Click the New Named Colour button in the Colour Editor to open the New Named Colour dialog box.

2. Select the Shade option.

3. Select the parent for the shade from the drop-down list.

4. Enter a name for the colour.

5. Click Create.

Changing a shade

You can edit a shade or any named colour by dragging it from the colour line to the Colour Editor.  You will notice the name change in the editor to reflect the name of the colour you're editing.  If you're editing a shade you can only alter the Saturation and Value - the Hue is fixed by the parent colour.

When editing any named colour, all objects in the drawing that use this colour will change. In this respect it is like editing a style in a word processor.

To edit the parent colour of a shade you can either select the parent from the Colour Editor's drop down name list, drag it onto the Editor from the Colour Line or more easily right click on the editor and select 'Edit parent'.  When editing the parent you will notice that all shades created using it will change at the same time. The parent colour is shown in the Colour Editor as a small white cross.

For more information, see Colour Editor - Shade Colours.

Note

It is recommended that the parent colour is a bright, pure colour. i.e. that the marker in the colour editor is in the top left-hand corner. This means all shades will be selected as lighter or darker variations of the parent's pure colour.  This ensures that if you change the lightness or darkness of the parent, all the linked shades will change by the correct relative amount.


Using text
 Use text

Creating new text

Editing Text

Selecting text

Applying attributes to text

Placing text around a curve

Creating fully justified text

Editing moulded text

Entering special characters

Installing a font

De-installing a font

Text Tool key shortcuts


Using the Galleries (Help Menu)

This option opens the on-line documentation on the Galleries page.


Using the Push Tool temporarily
 Use the Push Tool temporarily

The Push Tool can be used temporarily - alleviating the need to manually choose the previous tool afterwards.

To use the Push Tool temporarily

1. Press and hold down ALT+X to swap to the Push Tool.

2. Use the Push Tool as required. See Moving the page.

3. Release ALT+X to return to the previous tool.

or

1. Press and release ALT+X to swap to the Push Tool.

2. Use the Push Tool as required.

3. Press and release ALT+X again to return to the previous tool.


Using the Selector Tool temporarily
 Use the Selector Tool temporarily

The Selector Tool can be used temporarily - alleviating the need to manually choose the previous tool afterwards.

To use the Selector Tool temporarily

1. Press and hold down ALT+S (or F2) to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Release ALT+S (or F2) to return to the previous tool.

or

1. Press and release ALT+S (or F2) to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Press and release ALT+S (or F2) again to return to the previous tool.

or (except from the Text Tool)

1. Press and hold down the Space Bar to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Release the Space Bar to return to the previous tool.

or (except from the Text Tool)

1. Press and release the Space Bar to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Press and release the Space Bar again to return to the previous tool.


Using the Tools (Help Menu)

This option opens the on-line documentation on the Tools page.


Using the Zoom Tool temporarily
 Use the Zoom Tool temporarily

The Zoom Tool can be used temporarily - alleviating the need to manually choose the previous tool afterwards.

To use the Zoom Tool temporarily

1. Press and hold down ALT+Z to swap to the Zoom Tool.

2. Use the Zoom Tool as required. See Zooming.

3. Release ALT+Z to return to the previous tool.

or

1. Press and release ALT+Z to swap to the Zoom Tool.

2. Use the Zoom Tool as required.

3. Press and release ALT+Z again to return to the previous tool.


Using the keyboard
 Use the keyboard

Both the CorelXARA manual and the On-line documentation follow conventions for showing keyboard Shortcuts.

Keys are shown in upper case. e.g. CTRL is the Control key.

Combinations of keys are shown like this: CTRL+A. This means :

1. Press and hold down the CTRL (Control) key.

2. Press and release the A key.

3. Release the CTRL key.

The Constrain Key

The CTRL (Control) key has a special function in CorelXARA. It constrains the action of the current operation in some way.

For example, normally you can rotate an object through any angle. Hold down CTRL and the rotation is constrained to preset angles (defined in General Options).

Similarly constraining the creation of an ellipse creates a circle.

The ALT keys

Most keyboards have two ALT keys. The right-hand ALT key is interpreted by Windows as CTRL+ALT. CorelXARA cannot alter this behaviour. As a result CorelXARA operations involving the ALT key only function using the left-hand ALT key.

_______________

See also

Mouse Use

Keyboard Short-cuts


Using the mouse
 Use the mouse

Click

Press and release the mouse button. This is usually the left mouse button, but this is configurable. See Mouse Options.

Double Click

Click twice in quick succession.

Drag

Hold down the mouse button whilst moving the mouse.

Drag-and-drop

Move the mouse over an item, drag the item to the required position and release the mouse button to drop it.

CTRL-Click

Hold down the CTRL key during the click.

SHIFT-Click

Hold down the SHIFT key during the click.

ALT-Click

Hold down the ALT key during the click.

Note

CTRL, SHIFT & ALT can be held down in any combination during an operation.

_______________

See also

Keyboard Use


Using titles, descriptions and keywords
 Use titles, descriptions and keywords

Using the Document Info dialog box it is possible to add a title, description and keywords to a document. If the file is then added to the Clipart Gallery this information will be used during searches and for displaying the document in the gallery.

The information is entered into the Comments field of the Document Info dialog box. The first line of the Comment field is taken as a description of the file, unless it starts 'KEY:' or 'TITLE:' in which case the item is assumed not to have a description.

If a line starts with 'TITLE:' the rest of the line is taken as the title for the drawing.

If a line starts with 'KEY:' the rest of the lines is taken as a list of keywords separated by commas or vertical bars ('|').

For example, a picture of a dog might contain the following information in the Comments section of the Document info dialog box (<ENTER> is where the user would have pressed <ENTER>):

A large great dane<ENTER>

KEY:Dog,Large,Animal,Mammal<ENTER>

TITLE:Great dane

Note

Comments will only be added to the indexes when creating or updating them, and only .XAR files will be checked for these comments.


Using transparency
 Use transparency

Applying flat transparency

Applying linear transparency

Applying circular transparency

Applying elliptical transparency

Applying conical transparency

Applying bitmap transparency

Applying fractal transparency

Editing flat transparency

Editing linear transparency

Editing circular transparency

Editing elliptical transparency

Editing conical transparency

Editing bitmap transparency

Editing fractal transparency

Removing transparency

Enabling & disabling transparency

Using transparent lines


Using transparent lines
 Use transparent lines

If you apply flat transparency to an object with an outline (or simply a line) the transparency will also affect the outline. If you remove the transparency from the object, the outline will also lose its transparency.

To apply transparency to the outline only

1. Select the object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Set the required transparency level for the line.

4. Remove the fill from the object by clicking on the No Colour button on the Colour Line.

5. Clone the object.

6. Reapply the original fill to the cloned object.

7. Remove the outline from the cloned object by right-clicking on the No Colour button on the Colour Line.

8. Choose No Transparency from the Transparency Tool Infobar to remove the transparency from the cloned object.

Note

Lines and outlines are only transparency when flat transparency has been applied to the object. The other transparency types (linear, conical etc) do not affect lines or outlines of objects.


Using units in CorelXARA
 Use units in CorelXARA

CorelXARA has a high level of support for units of measurement. Units are used widely throughout the program and it is even possible to define additional custom units as required (see Unit Options).

If you set the Page Units (in the Unit Options) to Pixels (for example) all measurements will be shown in pixels. You could also change the grid and ruler units (see Grid and Ruler Options) to use pixels.

Whenever a field is visible showing a measurement in units a value can be entered using any unit. For example it is possible to enter "2pt" or "4cm" or even "10mi" into the Font Size field on the Text Tool Infobar.

The default CorelXARA units are :

"pix"	Pixels (1/96 inch)

"mm"	Millimetres

"cm"	Centimetres

"m"	Metres

"in"	Inches

"ft"	Feet

"yd"	Yards

"pt"	Points      (1,000 mp or 1/72 inch)

"pi"	Picas       (12,000 mp 1/6 inch)

"mp"	Millipoints (1/72,000 inch)

"mi"	Miles

"km"	Kilometres

CorelXARA also supports the use of scale factors. For example CorelXARA could be used to draw a map at a scale of 25,000 to 1 with the units appearing on the Status Line and control bars in Kilometres. See Scaling Options.


Utilities Menu

Colour Gallery

Layer Gallery

Bitmap Gallery

Font Gallery

Clipart Gallery

Fill Gallery

Line Gallery

Colour Editor

Bitmap Tracer

Bitmap Effects

Options


Value
The Value colour component is used in the HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) colour model, which is an intuitive colour model most often used by artists.

Value (sometimes called Brightness) represents how dark or light the colour is. A value of 0% makes any colour completely black, while a value of 100% is as bright as the colour can be made.


Vector Format
Vector Format files describe a picture as a list of drawing instructions. This has two advantages over Bitmap formats:

1. The instructions can be scaled to work at any size.

2. The list can be edited to add, remove or alter any part of the drawing very easily.


View
A View is a window showing a document in a particular way. The different ways in which a View can show a document are:

Area of document in the view,

Zoom factor,

Quality setting,

Grid visible,

Print border visible.

You can have more than one View open onto a document. For instance, you could have two Views onto different areas of the same document, two views showing the same document at different zoom factors or at different Quality settings.


 View Options

The view options for CorelXARA are accessed by selecting Options from the Utilities menu and clicking on the View 'tab'. They control a large array of options concerned with the way you use CorelXARA.

Show Progress Hourglass

When CorelXARA is performing long operations, it can display an hourglass pointer. Selecting this option will enable the display of this hourglass pointer.

Show Progress Bar

When CorelXARA is performing long operations, it can display a progress bar on the Status Line. Selecting this option will enable the display of this bar. The bar shows how far the operation has progressed.

Interactive Fill Dragging

When this option is set fill and transparency editing is 'interactive' - the fill updates as the mouse moves and the handles are only displayed when the mouse is not moving. If the option is not set fills and transparencies are edited by moving the handles alone and the changes are only visible when the mouse button is released.

This setting can be temporarily swapped by pressing TAB during fill editing.

Dithering

The dithering method used to display your document on the screen can be changed with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering. Choosing Ordered dithering uses a regular dithering pattern ( like CorelXARA 1.1). Choosing Error Diffused dithering uses a more complex dithering technique (Floyd Steinberg). In general, error diffusion will give the best results, but is slower to redraw than the others. Choosing no dithering gives the fastest redraw times.

Colour Line Size

This option allows the display of colours on the Colour Line to be altered.

When the full set of named colours no longer fits on the screen, scrollbars appear on the Colour Line.

Edit Local Colours In

This option sets the colour model used when editing local colours using the Colour Editor. It can be set to any of the available colour models or to Automatic Colour Model which will use the appropriate model.

Automatic Scroll to Selected Colour

When this option is set, the Colour Line and Colour Gallery will automatically scroll as necessary to ensure the fill colours of the currently selected object(s) are in view where possible.

If this option is not set, the Colour Line and Colour Gallery will not scroll. The colours of the selection may not always be visible on the Colour Line or in the Colour Gallery.

The following options only apply to the current document. They will not affect any other documents currently loaded.

Proportional Scrollbars

When this option is set, the scrollbars around the document window are shown proportional to the visible portion of the document rather than being of a fixed size as is usual with Windows. Scrollbars can be disabled completely using the Scrollbars option on the Window menu.

Background Redraw

When this option is set, redraw is slowed down, but the drawing can be edited while redraw takes place. For maximum redraw speed, disable this option.

Show Transparency

When this option is set, transparency is enabled. When it is not set, all transparency information in objects is ignored during redraw.


View Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a blank area of the document or an unselected handle, it contains the following :

New View

Full Screen

- - - - - - - - - -

Quality

Show Grid

Show Guides

- - - - - - - - - -

Snap To Grid

Snap to Guides

Snap To Objects

- - - - - - - - - -

Page Options


Viewing the on-line demonstrations
 View the on-line demonstrations

CorelXARA includes a large number of on-line multimedia demonstrations. To run the demos, refer to On-line Demonstrations.

Starting playing

The demonstration starts automatically as soon as you click the demonstration button.

Pausing playing

Click the Pause (bottom left-hand) button. Click again to restart.

Rewinding/Advancing the demonstration

Drag the slider at the bottom of the window.

Resizing the window

You cannot drag the edges of the window to resize. (This would distort the image in the window and give poor quality results.) Instead, click the Menu button (to the right of the Pause button) and choose from the View options.

Closing the window

If you let the demonstration run to the end and stop, the demo window will close down automatically after a few seconds.  If you rewind the demo the window will only close when you close it manually.

Full screen/Normal mode

For maximum image size you can run the demonstration in full screen mode. CTRL+click on the Pause button to enter full screen mode. Press any key to return to Normal mode.

The Demonstration menu

To display this do one of the following :

click on the Menu button (to the right of the Pause button)

 right-click anywhere on the window.

View	Lets you select from several pre-defined window sizes.

Volume	Lets you alter the volume from external speakers connected to your computer.

Speed	Usually demonstrations are run at normal speed. You may want to slow down a demonstration to view the actions more carefully.

Copy	Copies the current demonstration to the clipboard as an AVI movie clip.

Config	Lets advanced users set the default options.

Command	For advanced users only.

Windows 3.1 and 3.11 users

CorelXARA multimedia demonstrations require Microsoft Video for Windows to be installed.  This is supplied with CorelXARA.  Windows NT and Windows 95 users do not need Microsoft Video for Windows.


Visual Selector
CorelXARA refers to Visual Selectors as colour models. Colour models are selected using the Colour Gallery.


Warning - about to lose Undo information

Cause

You have changed the maximum size of the undo information buffer.  This will discard existing Undo information.

Recommended action

To discard the existing Undo information click the Resize button.

To make the Undo information buffer larger and hence preserve the existing Undo information, click Don't Resize and enter a higher value.


Welcome to CorelXARA
What's New - Click Here to see what's new in Version 1.2 !

Welcome to CorelXARA 1.2

CorelXARA is an advanced graphic illustration package for Windows computers. You will find producing illustrations quick and easy. You just choose the drawing tools you want from an on-screen toolbar and draw. Relevant information about the current tool is also displayed on-screen. You can customise the bars to show as many or as few functions as you wish.

Every change you make is recorded by CorelXARA. So, if you make a mistake or change your mind, you can step backwards undoing previous operations. You can experiment knowing you can always return to an earlier stage. Using CorelXARA could not be easier.

CorelXARA also provides many advanced features such as graduated fills, transparency, multi-stage blends, enveloping and perspective.

To watch a demonstration movie of CorelXARA in action, click this button :

CorelXARA Terminology

The CorelXARA Workplace

Mouse Use

Keyboard Use

Program designed and developed by Xara Ltd. For more information about the Xara company and its products click here. Alternatively, visit our World Wide Web pages at http://www.xara.com/

© 1995-1996 COREL CORPORATION and XARA LTD.

CorelXARA On-line documentation - Version 1.2 (issue 1)

The contents of this on-line documentation and the associated CorelXARA software are the property of COREL CORPORATION and XARA LTD. and are copyrighted. Any reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. For additional copies of the software, please contact COREL CORPORATION.

CorelDRAW are trademarks of Corel Corporation. Corel is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation.

Xara is a trademark of Xara Ltd.

Portions of the imaging technology of this product are copyright AccuSoft Corporation. These portions are primarily concerned with import and export.

Redistributable portions of Microsoft MSVC and MFC are copyright of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Excel and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Freehand is a registered trademark of Macromedia Inc..

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Adobe, Adobe Type Manager, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator 88, Adobe Illustrator 3.0, PostScript and Encapsulated PostScript are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc.

CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe Incorporated.

WordPerfect is a registered trademark of Novell Corporation.

Apple, Macintosh and TrueType are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

LEAD and LEADVIEW are registered trademarks of LEAD Technologies Inc.

Quark and Xpress are trademarks of Quark Inc.

Acorn is a trademark of Acorn Computers Ltd.

Some fonts copyright © Laserfonts Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

Some fonts copyright © Bitstream, Inc. All rights reserved.

Some fonts supplied by URW® Software & Type GmbH.

Kodak Photo-CD is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company.


What printer have you got?

What printer are you using?

   HP LaserJet (or compatible)

   Some other printer


What's New?

CorelXARA version 1.2 extends bitmap handling options. These new options are especially useful for creating graphics intended for publishing on the World Wide Web (WWW). Also included are some additional functions requested by users.

Improved Palette Import Facilities

Extra Flexibility of Colour Editing

Measurement using Pixels

World Wide Web Browser Palette Support

Higher Quality Bitmap Export

Improved GIF Import

Extended GIF Export Options

Animated GIF Import and Export

Improved Screen Display Quality

Convert to Bitmap menu option

Improved Palette Import Facilities

Colour palettes are files containing a series of colour definitions. Importing a colour palette is a quick way of adding colours into a document and so easily extending the range of pre-defined colours.

The original version of CorelXARA imported CorelDRAW (.cpl & .pal) palette files.

CorelXARA 1.2 can also import:

Windows palettes (.pal files). These are produced by a variety of programs.

Adobe Colour Tables (.act files). These are used by Photoshop in paletted images. Saved using Colour table on the Mode menu in Photoshop (select Indexed colour on the Mode menu first).

Adobe Colour Swatches (.aco files). These are used by Photoshop to store collections of colours for external use. Colours can be defined in RGB, CMYK or HSV - the other formats define RGB colours.

Paint Shop Pro Palettes (.pal files). These are created using Save Palette on the Colours menu in Paint Shop Pro.

To import a palette, drag-and-drop the file icon onto the Colour Line. This imports the colours into the current document. Colours in palette files are unnamed so CorelXARA allocates names based on colour composition. For example, "R100%G50%B0%" is an RGB colour comprising 100% red, 50% green and 0% blue. (If you have selected Decimal as the way to specify RGB colours, the colour name would be "R255G127.5B0". For details on specifying RGB colours in decimal, see Unit Options.)

See Importing colours and palettes

Extra Flexibility of Colour Editing

Many users like to specify RGB (Red-Green-Blue) colours as 0-255 rather than 0-100%. You can now do this with CorelXARA.. The default is 0-100%.

See Unit Options for details of the new colour units.

Measurement using Pixels

For graphics that will be displayed on a computer screen (such as WWW graphics), it’s often easiest to enter and display measurements in screen pixels (96pixels=1 inch). CorelXARA 1.2 lets you do this using a new measurement unit of pixels (abbreviation 'pix'). You can always enter dimensions in pixels by typing pix after the dimension (120pix).

See Units in CorelXARA

World Wide Web Browser Palette Support

Supplied with CorelXARA 1.2 is a new template document (WWW.xar) and a palette file (WWW.PAL) that include colours identical to those used by both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Netscape and Explorer display these colours without dithering which gives the best results on screen. (Intermediate colours in blends and fills will not match palette colours and so will be dithered.) The template document also includes other features useful for creating WWW graphics such as a grid spacing in pixels. Using WWW.xar makes it easier to create top-quality graphics for use on the WWW.

See Creating World Wide Web bitmaps

Higher Quality Bitmap Export

Two new options are provided when you export bitmaps: Dithering (none, ordered dithering or error diffused dithering) and Palette (standard or optimised). These options provide you with a range of options for improving the appearance of exported bitmaps.

When exporting GIF images for the WWW, our general recommendations are to use Diffusion dithering and an Optimised palette. If the web pages are likely to be viewed in a 256-colour mode only, you may get better results with Diffusion dithering and a Standard palette. Note that if you want to create the smallest files possible, you may want to turn off dithering.

See Bitmap Export.

Improved GIF Import

In Version 1.1 of CorelXARA, transparent GIFs were imported as normal and the mask added using CorelXARA transparency. CorelXARA 1.2 uses its own masking system, so you can now apply transparency to imported transparent GIF files.

See Importing transparent GIF files.

Extended GIF Export Options

The original version of CorelXARA could export GIFs as 16-colour (4-bit) without GIF transparency or 256-colour (8-bit) with transparency. CorelXARA 1.2 can also export GIFs as 2-colour (1-bit) with optional transparency and 16-colour (4-bit) with optional transparency. The greater the number of colours used, the larger the file size. This is important when creating graphics for the WWW as small files take less time to download.

Transparency in a GIF bitmap means you can see through parts of the image to the background. If you export just a selection, then only the selected objects appear - all other areas are transparent. Note that GIF supports only a simple on-off transparency mask and not the more advanced graduated transparency that CorelXARA offers. Therefore semi-transparent objects are not possible in GIF files. GIF transparency is really suitable only for masking around the outside of objects.

See Bitmap Export - Compuserve GIF.

Animated GIF Import and Export

CorelXARA 1.2 allows you to convert groups of objects to bitmaps. You can then use the Bitmap Gallery to export these bitmaps as frames in an animated GIF file. This makes CorelXARA an ideal tool for generating animations for publication on the World Wide Web. You can also import animated GIF files and edit them.

See Bitmap Export - Animated GIF

Improved Screen Display Quality

CorelXARA provides options for altering the dithering used on the screen. This is most useful in 256 colour screen modes because it gives the illusion of many more colours on the screen. It has no advantage for deep-colour screen modes (more than 256 colours). The disadvantage is that dithering slows down screen redraw times. (It takes longer to display objects on the screen.)

Options provided by CorelXARA are:

•	No dithering. This is gives the fastest screen redraw times but poorest display quality. No dither is only really useful to see how exported 8-bit bitmaps will look with no dither.

•	Ordered. This is the normal setting. It gives good results and is as fast as No dithering

•	Error diffused gives the best results but, because more processing is required, slowest redraw. The actual redraw time depends on the hardware in your computer. We recommend this option unless the redraw time is too slow.

See the new settings in the View Options.

Create Bitmap Copy Menu Option

This new item on the Arrange menu will create a bitmap from the selected objects. When you select the menu item, the Create Bitmap dialogue box appears giving you the option to specify the size and number of colours of the bitmap, the type of dithering used and whether the bitmap is transparent.

See Create Bitmap Copy

Other Changes

To avoid conflicts with some foreign language keyboards, the following key shortcuts have changed :

CTRL+SHIFT+A	Paste attributes (was CTRL+ALT+V)

CTRL+SHIFT+D	Move object to layer behind (D for Down) (was CTRL+ALT+B)

CTRL+SHIFT+U	Move object to layer in front (U for Up) (was CTRL+ALT+F)

CTRL+SHIFT+Z	Zoom to selection (was CTRL+SHIFT+D)

Some changes have been made which affect the way objects with thick lines snap to the grid and to other objects. The original version of CorelXARA snapped to the outside of lines. CorelXARA 1.2 snaps to the centre of lines.


What's wrong with the printout?

   Some objects are missing from the printout.

   There are horizontal white lines across some objects.

   Some objects have stepped or jagged edges.

   The printout doesn't fit on the paper the way it's shown on screen.

   Objects which should be the same colour are darker in some places than others.

   Objects which aren't shown on screen are on the printout.

   None of these.


What's wrong?

   The Print dialog box won't open.

   Nothing is printed - not even blank paper appears.

   Printing partly works but stops before the page is complete.

   A complete page is printed but it looks different on paper than it does on screen.

   Printing is very slow.

   Coloured text is not appearing on the paper


Where to go next

You have found a problem which is not covered by this troubleshooter.

   Contact our Technical Support service.

   Close this troubleshooter.


Window Control Bar

Zoom to Page

Zoom to Drawing

Zoom to Selection

New View

Full Screen Mode

Show Grid

Snap To Grid

Print Borders

Show Rulers

Snap to Guides

Show Guides

 	High Quality

 	Normal Quality

 	Simple Quality

 	Outline Quality

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See also

Default Control Bars


Window Menu

New View

Arrange Views

Cascade

Arrange Icons

Control Bars

Bars

Full Screen

Quality

Show Grid

Show Guides

Show Print Borders

Snap To Grid

Snap to Guides

Snap To Objects


Wrong version of Win32s

Cause

CorelXARA has detected that you are using an old version of Win32s, the Win32 extender for Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups. Win32s allows 32 bit applications to run under Windows 3.1. Without the correct version installed, CorelXARA is unable to run.

Recommended action

Reinstall Win32s.


Yellow
The Yellow colour component is used in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key) colour model, which is commonly used by printers. By mixing various quantities of these four inks, a large range of colours can be generated.


Your Initialisation file is out of date

Cause

The initialisation file, CORELXRA.INI, was created by an older version of CorelXARA.

Recommended action

Clicking Default recreates your initialisation file so that it contains the standard settings. You lose the previous settings, such as the window position and the list of recently used files, as well as the settings set in the Options.

If you want to keep your existing settings, then click Current.  Any settings which apply to the new version of CorelXARA are merged into your existing initialisation file.


Zero width lines

If you require a zero width line, do not use the line width controls (Line Gallery or the Line Width field on the control bar) to accomplish this. Instead set the line colour to 'no colour' with a right hand mouse click on the 'no colour' square on the Colour Line with the object selected.

Zero width lines are printed with a width of one device pixel. So, for example on a laser printer they will only just be visible, but on an image setter (which has a much higher resolution) will be too thin to see. They are device dependent and should not be used.

CorelXARA converts zero width lines in imported files to 0.25 point.

_______________

See also

Colouring objects


Zoom

This drop-down list allows you to choose a a pre-defined zoom, or type in a user defined zoom value. It also contains options for zooming to the page, drawing and selection and returning to the previous zoom.

25,601%

16,000%

8,000%

4,000%

2,000%

1,000%

500%

200%

100%

75%

50%

25%

10%

Page

Drawing

Selection

Previous

The Zoom drop-down list is available on the control bars and the Zoom Tool and Push Tool Infobars.


  Zoom Tool

The Zoom Tool allows you to alter the magnification of the current document view. It only affects the view on screen - the document itself does not change.

ALT+Z or SHIFT+F7

Zoom Tool Infobar Controls

Previous Zoom

Zoom to Drawing

Zoom to Selection

Zoom to Page

Zoom

Zoom Tool Operations

Zooming

On-line Demonstration

_______________

See also

Push Tool

Using the Zoom Tool temporarily


 Zoom to Drawing

Zoom to Drawing is also available from the Zoom drop-down list on the control bars and on the Push Tool and Zoom Tool Infobars. It zooms the current view to bring the whole of the drawing into view. Invisible layers are ignored.


 Zoom to Page

 CTRL+SHIFT+P

Zoom to Page is also available from the Zoom drop-down list on the control bars and on the Push Tool and Zoom Tool Infobars. It zooms the current view to bring the whole page (or pages if a double page spread) into view.


 Zoom to Selection

 CTRL+SHIFT+Z

Zoom to Selection is also available from the Zoom drop-down list on the control bars and on the Push Tool and Zoom Tool Infobars. It zooms the current view to bring all the selected objects into view.


Zoom_1
The Zoom level of a View lets you see a document in close up or at a distance. You can think of the zoom level being like a magnifying glass whose strength you can vary. When you look at your document with a zoom level of anything other than 100%, you are looking at it through a magnifying glass. But note that changing the Zoom level only changes your view onto the document - it does not change the size of the document or anything in it.


Zooming
 Zoom

To return to the previous zoom

Do one of the following :

Choose Previous from the Zoom control on the control bars.

Click the Previous Zoom button on the control bars

To view the whole drawing

Do one of the following :

Choose Drawing from the Zoom control on the control bars.

Click the Zoom to Drawing button on the control bars.

To view all selected objects

Do one of the following :

Choose Selection from the Zoom control on the control bars.

Click the Zoom to Selection button on the control bars

To view the entire page

Do one of the following :

Choose Page from the Zoom control on the control bars.

Click the Zoom to Page button on the control bars.

To set the magnification

Choose the magnification from the Zoom control on the control bars.

To zoom in and out

1. Choose the Zoom Tool.

2. Do one of the following :

Click to zoom in on the document.

SHIFT-click to zoom out from the document.

The Status Line displays the zoom that will occur.

To view a specific area of a document

1. Choose the Zoom Tool.

2. Drag a rectangle around the area.

On-line Demonstration


em
Em's are used to measure tracking and kerning.

One 'em' is the width of the character 'M' in the current font and font size. Hence, it is a relative measurement - changing the font or size, changes the absolute value.