# Working with Objects

This section describes the tools and techniques you need to create and edit objects in e-Picture documents. Topics include the drawing tools, the selection tools, and the procedures used for editing objects and applying filters, special effects, and composite methods.

# About e-Picture objects

In e-Picture, you create objects using use the drawing tools. Most tools create vector objects (lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors). You choose stroke and fill options for vector objects. A few tools draw bit-mapped objects. You choose only stroke options for bit-mapped objects. When selecting vector objects, you select the object itself. When selecting bit-mapped objects, you select a group of pixels. On the screen, both vector and bit-mapped objects appear as bitmapped graphics.

# Using the Tool Inspector

Before you create an object, you select the stroke and fill options in the Tool Inspector.

# Creating objects

Stroking an object creates a line that defines the object outline. Filling an object paints the area inside the stroke.

To draw an object:

1 Click a drawing tool. The Tool Inspector changes to reflect the options for that tool.

2 Click the Stroke or Fill tab.

3 Set the stroke or fill options:

- To stroke or fill with no color, see Drawing with a transparent stroke or fill.
- To stroke or fill with a solid color, see Drawing with a solid color.
- To stroke or fill with a gradient, see Drawing with a gradient.
- To stroke or fill with a pattern, see Drawing with a pattern.

4 Set the line or brush attributes:

- If drawing with a vector tool, set the line width, dash pattern, cap style, and join style. For more information, see Setting line attributes.
- If drawing with a bit-map tool, set the brush characteristics. See Setting brush attributes.

5 Move the cursor into the window and draw.

Once you complete the object, it appears in the Objects panel. To edit the object, you change the settings in the Tool Inspector or use the controls and commands in the Objects panel. See Editing objects.

# Drawing outside the canvas

You can draw objects that fall outside of the canvas (the area bounded by the anchors). These objects can then move into or out of the image during an animation.The parts of an object that fall outside the canvas are referred to as the overscan. When you turn off overscan, you see only the parts of the object that are inside the canvas. You can set overscan for each individual view. For information resizing the canvas or image, see Changing the canvas and image size.

To turn overscan on or off:

Click the Overscan box in the lower right corner of the document window.

# Drawing with a transparent stroke or fill

<<TBD - This should probably change to None >>

# Drawing with a solid color

You define stroke and fill colors by entering values or dragging the color sliders in the Tool Inspector.

To draw using a color:

1 With a draw tool selected, click the Stroke or Fill tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Choose a color model from the menu.

Color Model | Options:
--- | ---
RGB | Mix color using Red, Green, and Blue values (0-255)
HSB | Mix color using Red, Green and Blue values (0-255) Set Hue angle (0 to 360) Set Saturation (0 to 1) Set Brightness Value (0 to 1)
Wheel | Click location to select a color Drag slider to change the displayed colors
Picker | <<TBD>>
CMYK | Mix color using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black values (0-255)

Color Models

3 Drag a slider, type in values, or click a location to select the color. The color box changes to show the current color.

4 Drag the slider or type in a value to set the Alpha transparency setting.

Note: Using an alpha channel to set transparency applies only PNG files. Setting transparency using an alpha channel differs from setting GIF transparency in that alpha channels let you designate a specific level of transparency.This preciseness makes it easier to blend individual pixels into the browser background. Netscape Navigator 4.04 supports PNG files, but not PNG alpha channels. Internet Explorer 4 supports PNG alpha channels but the results can be inconsistent, especially when you're setting transparency for a gradient.

# Drawing with a gradient

e-Picture allows you to select a gradient from several preset gradients or create your own gradient.

To create your own gradient:

1 With a draw tool selected, click the Stroke or Fill tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Click the gradient box.

3 Click the triangle to display the Gradient composer.

4 Double-click the left box and select a starting color for the gradient from the Color panel.

5 Double-click the right box and select an ending color for the gradient from the Color panel.

6 Drag the top slider to set the midpoint (the point at which the colors are at 50%)

7 Click to select a gradient pattern.

To select a gradient from the catalog:

1 With a draw tool selected, click the Stroke or Fill tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Click the gradient box, then click the triangle to display the Gradient composer.

3 Click the bottom triangle to display the Gradient catalog.

4 Double-click the thumbnail to the right of a gradient to display it in the Gradient composer.

## Changing the gradient parameters

The gradient parameters control the offset and angle of the gradient. The offset indicates the percentage of the gradient displaying the beginning color.

To change the gradient offset or angle:

1 Click the triangle in the Gradient composer to display the Gradient parameters.

2 Drag the slider or type in values to change the gradient offset (0 to 99.9%).

3 Drag the slider or type in a value to change the angle (0 to 360 degrees).

## Editing gradients

You can add a color at any point in the gradient to create a gradient with multiple blends between colors. When you add a new color box, a new midpoint is added. The midpoint is automatically set to be halfway between the two color boxes that define that gradient segment.

To add a new color and midpoint to a gradient:

1 Right-click anywhere on, above, or below the gradient bar except on a color box or midpoint.

2 Choose Operation and then choose an option from the menu:

- Split here adds a color box and creates a midpoint at the location you click.
- Split at midpoint adds a color box and a midpoint so that the gradient segments are split at the midpoints.
- Flip exchanges the colors in the two color boxes at either end of the midpoint.
- Split Uniform creates multiple splits equally spaced between the two colors. Choose the number of splits (2,3, 4, or 5) from the menu.
- Replicates adds <<??>> Choose the number of replications (2,3,4, or 5) from the menu.

3 Double-click the new color box to change its color or drag to change the midpoint.

To set the blending mode for a gradient:

1 Right-click anywhere on, above, or below the gradient bar except on a color box or midpoint.

2 Choose Blending types and then choose an option from the submenu:

- Linear <<TBD>>
- Curved <<TBD>>
- Sinuosidal <<TBD>>
- Spherical (increasing) <<TBD>>
- Spherical (decreasing) <<TBD>>

To center a color box or midpoint:

1 Right-click immediately to the right of the color box or midpoint you want to change.

2 Choose Recenter.

To delete a color box or midpoint:

1 Right-click immediately to the right of the color box or midpoint you want to remove.

2 Choose Delete.

To lock a color box or midpoint:

1 Right-click on the color box or midpoint you want to lock.

2 Choose Position and then choose Lock or Unlock.

Note: When you right-click on a locked color box or midpoint, the options you choose apply only the locked box or midpoint.

To set the mode for a color box or midpoint:

1 Right-click on the color box or midpoint you want to set.

2 Choose Color Mode and then choose an option from the menu:

- Mono produces a smooth color gradient with the midpoint at the 50/50 location.
- Dual produces a gradient that changes from the beginning to the ending color at the midpoint.

# Drawing with a pattern

e-Picture allows you to use any picture or pattern as the stroke or fill for a vector object.

1. With a vector tool selected, click the Stroke or Fill tab in the Tool Inspector.
2. Click the pattern button (next to the gradient button).
3. Drag an image or pattern file into the Preview box.

# Setting line attributes

Line attributes are available whenever you're using a drawing tool. These attributes control the line width, whether a line is solid or dashed, the dash pattern, the line cap style (the appearance of endpoints) and the line join style (the appearance of corners).

To set the line width:

1 With a tool selected, click the Stroke tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Drag the Width slider or type in values. Line widths can range from 0 to 50 pixels.

To set the dash pattern, do one of the following:

1 With a tool selected, click the Stroke tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Choose a dash pattern from the Dash menu:

- Choose None to draw a solid line.
- Choose a numbered option to draw a dashed line.

To set the cap style:

1 With a tool selected, click the Stroke tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Choose an option from the left Caps menu to set the style for the beginning point.

3 Choose an option from the right Caps menu to set the style for the ending point.

Caps style | Description (and example)
--- | ---
Round |
Butt |
Square |
Arrow 1 |
Arrow 2 |
Arrow 3 |
Circle |
Diamond |
Nail |

Caps styles

To set the join style:

1 With a tool selected, click the Stroke tab in the Tool Inspector.

2 Choose an option from the Join menu to set the corner style.

Join style | Description (and example)
--- | ---
None | No style for corners.
Miter | Joins line with pointed corners.
Round | Joins lines with semicircular corners
Bevel |
Butt |
Square |
Free |

Join styles

# Setting brush attributes

When you're using a bit-mapped tool, you can set the brush options for the stroke. These options include brush width, ratio, pressure, and hardness.

To set the brush size:

1 Select the brush tool from the toolbox.

2 Drag the Size slider or type in values in the Tool Inspector. The brush can vary from 1 to 100 pixels.

To set the brush ratio:

1 Select the brush tool from the toolbox.

2 Drag the Ratio slider or type in values in the Tool Inspector. The ratio can vary from 0.1 to 1.0 .

To set the brush pressure:

1 Select the brush tool from the toolbox.

2 Drag the Pressure slider or type in values in the Tool Inspector. The pressure can vary from 0 to 1.

To set the brush hardness:

1 Select the brush tool from the toolbox.

2 Drag the Hardness slider or type in values in the Tool Inspector. The hardness can vary from 0 to 1.

To set the brush angle:

1 Select the brush tool from the toolbox.

2 Click a brush icon at the bottom of the Tool Inspector. <<??>>

# Selecting objects

You use the arrow tool to select or deselect objects and the marquee tool or magic wand to select areas in the image. To edit an object, you select it in the Objects panel.

To select an object:

Click the arrow tool and then click the object in the window. To select multiple objects, Shift-click.

To select an object for editing:

Double-click the object in the Objects panel. The object name is highlighted and the Tool Inspector appears in edit mode. To select multiple objects, Shift-click.

To select all the objects in a layer:

Choose Selection> Select All Objects > Current Layer.

To select all the objects in the document:

Choose Selection> Select All Objects > All Layers.

To select all objects that are not selected:

Choose Selection> Inverse Object Selection.

To select grouped objects:

Click on any object in the group.

To deselect all selected objects:

Click anywhere outside of a selected object or choose Selection> Deselect Objects.

# Selecting areas

You select areas by dragging around an area using the marquee or lasso tools or by selecting an area based on color.

To select a rectangular area:

Click the marquee tool and drag around the area.

To select an irregularly-shaped area:

Click the lasso tool and drag around the area.

To select an all adjacent areas of the same color:

Click the magic wand tool then click the color in the document you want selected. All adjacent pixels of that color are selected.

To gradually add to selections based on color, do one of the following:

- Choose Selection> Grow. This command adds adjacent pixels within the tolerance set for the magic wand.
- Choose Selection> Similar. This command adds non-adjacent pixels within the tolerance set for the magic wand.

To select areas of color throughout the image:

1 Choose Selection> Color Range.

2 <<Color Range dialog box TBD>>

To select all the pixels:

Choose Selection> Select All Area.

To select all areas that are not selected:

Choose Selection> Inverse Selection.

To deselect area selections:

Do one of the following:

- Choose Selection > Deselect Area.
- If you're using the marquee, lasso tool, or magic wand tool, click anywhere outside of the selected area.

To feather a selection:

1 Choose Selection> Feather.

2 <<Feather dialog box TBD>>

# Loading and saving selections

<<TBD>>

# Editing objects

Depending on what you are editing, there are several different ways to change an object's characteristics:

- To move, rotate, or resize an object, you manipulate it in the document window.
- To edit an object's drawing properties, you double-click the object in the Objects panel and then use the tools and settings in the Tool Inspector.
- To duplicate or delete an object, change its opacity, or apply effects and filters, you use the options and commands in the Objects panel.

# Moving, rotating, and resizing objects

You change the location, rotations, and size of objects in the document window.

To move an object:

Click the arrow tool in the toolbox and drag.

To rotate an object:

1 Click the arrow tool and select the object.

2 Click anywhere on the selection border except on a box. The arrows turns into the rotate cursor.

3 Drag to rotate.

To resize an object:

1 Click the arrow tool and select the object.

2 Click on a box in the selection border. The arrows turns into a double-headed arrow.

3 Drag to increase or decrease the size.

Note: To resize keeping the same proportions, Shift-click on a box.

# Editing with the Tool Inspector

Once an object is doubled-clicked in the Objects panel, the arrow tool is selected in the toolbox and the Tool Inspector changes to display the Filters and Composite tabs, the object name, and an Apply button.

To edit an object:

1 Double-click the object in the Objects panel or select an object and choose Properties from the Objects panel menu.

2 Click a tab to select the properties you want to change:

- Click Stroke or Fill to change the stroke or fill characteristics. For more information, see Drawing with a transparent stroke, Drawing with a solid color, Drawing with a gradient, or Drawing with a pattern.
- Click Filters to apply a filter to the object. See Applying filters to objects for more information.
- Click Composite to set the merge methods. See Applying composite methods to objects for more information.

3 To see changes as you select options, click Live Updates.

4 Click Apply.

# Using the Objects panel

The Objects panel lists the objects in the current layer, starting with the topmost object. Use the scroll bars or resize the panel to see additional objects.

You use this panel to change an object's position and opacity, to hide, show or lock an object, or to apply transformations, effects and filters using the commands in the Objects panel menu. You select an object to make it active. When an object is active, a paintbrush icon appears next to theobject in the Objects panel, indicating that this is the object being modifying.

To display the Objects panel:

Choose Window> Objects.

## Displaying information about an object

The Info section of the Objects panel lets you display the coordinates, width and height of the selected object.

To display the location, dimensions, and composite method for an object:

Click the Info triangle at the bottom of the Objects panel.

## Changing an object's opacity

Each object on a layer can have its own opacity. The opacity you set for the layer combines with the individual object opacity to determine how the object appears. For example, if you set an object's opacity to 50% and set the layer opacity to 50%, the objects appears at 25% opacity.

To change the opacity of an object:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 Type a value in the Opacity box or click the triangle and drag the slider.

## Hiding and showing objects

You can choose to hide or show any object. You might want to hide objects while you're editing other objects on a layer or to make an object invisible for part of an animation.

To hide or show objects:

Click the far left column in the Objects panel. The eye icon disappears indicating that the object is hidden. Click again to redisplay the object.

## Locking and unlocking objects

The Lock command lets you isolate part of a document so that it is not affected by changes that you make. This can be useful, for example, when you're working on objects that overlap. Any changes to make to a layer, however, effects all objects, even if they are locked.

To lock or unlock objects:

Click the second column to the left of the object name in the Objects panel to lock the object. A locked icon appears in the column. Click the column again to unlock the object.

## Duplicating, deleting, and copying objects

To duplicate an object:

Select the object in the Objects panel and choose Duplicate from the Objects panel menu.

To delete an object:

Select the object in the Objects panel and drag it to the panel's trash or choose Delete from the Objects panel menu.

To copy an object:

Select the object in the Objects panel and then choose Edit> Copy.

To paste the object:

Do one of the following:

- Choose Edit> Paste to place the copied object in the center of the canvas (multiple copies are slightly offset from each other).
- Choose Paste in Place to place a copy on top of the original.

## Rearranging objects

You can change the position of an object in a layer using the arrows in the Objects panel. For example, you might want to move text in front of or behind an object, or you may want to have a moving object in front of all the other objects in a layer. The object at the top of the Objects panel is in front of all the objects under it.

To rearrange objects :

1 Select the object in the Objects panel

2 Click a triangle to move the object to the top (front) , up on level, down one level, or to the bottom (back) of all the objects.

## Transforming and flipping objects

<<TBD>>

## Applying filters to objects

e-Picture lets you select from a wide variety of filters. You can apply filters to individual objects, entire layers, or selected areas.

To apply a filter to an object:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 In the Objects panel menu, choose Apply Filter and then choose a filter from the submenu.

Category | Filter Name | Description and option
--- | --- | ---
Artistic | Oilify |
Blur | Blur Blur More |
Color | Balance Brightness Contrast Levels Color Limit |
Merge | Invert Maximum Minimum |
Noise | Add Noise |
Pixelate | Crystalize |
Sharpen | Sharpen |
Stylize | Edge Detection Solarize |

Filters

To edit a filter applied to an object:

1 Double-click the object in the Objects panel.

2 In the Tool Inspector, click Filters.

3 Select the filter you want to edit.

4 Change the filter options and then click Apply.

To rearange the order of filters applied to an object:

1 Double-click the object in the Objects panel.

2 In the Tool Inspector, click Filters.

3 Select the filter you want to move and click an arrow to move it up, down, to the top, or to the bottom of the applied filters

4 Click Apply.

To remove a filter from an object:

1 Double-click the object in the Objects panel.

2 In the Tool Inspector, click Filters.

3 Select the filter you want to remove and drag it to the trash can to the left of the filter list.

To apply a filter to an area:

1 Select the area.

2 Choose Selection> Apply Filter then choose a filter category and effect from the submenus.

## Applying special effects to objects

In addition to filters, you can also add special effects to individual objects. These effects change the appearance of the outside edge of the object.

To apply a special effect to an object:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 In the Objects panel menu, choose Effects and then choose an effect from the submenu.

Effect Name | Description and options
--- | ---
Outer Shadow |
Outer Glow |
Inner Shadow |
Inner Glow |
Emboss and Bevel |

Effects

## Applying composite methods to objects

The composite method determines how the pixels in the object combine with overlapping objects in the same layer.

To apply a composite method to an object:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 Do one of the following:

- In the Objects panel menu, choose Composite Method and then choose an option from the submenu.
- In the Tool Inspector, click the Composite tab and choose a composite method from the menu, then click Apply.

  Composite Method | Description
  --- | ---
  Normal |
  Copy |
  Erase |
  Add |
  Subtract |
  Blend |
  Filter | <<Add cross-ref to filter table>>

  Composite methods

To apply a composite method using a filter:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 Do one of the following:

- In the Objects panel menu, choose Composite Method> Filter and then choose a filter from the submenu.
- In the Tool Inspector, click the Composite tab and choose a composite method from the menu, then click the Filter menu and choose a filter.

3 Click Apply.

To change the composite method opacity:

1 Double-click the object in the Objects panel.

2 In the Tool Inspector, click the Composite tab.

3 Drag the opacity slider, and then click Apply.

## Grouping and ungrouping objects

When you combine several objects into a group, they are treated as a single object. This lets you edit, move, or transform multiple objects without affecting their individual positions or attributes. For example, you might group text with another object so you can treat it as a single unit in an animation.

To group and ungroup objects:

Shift-click to select the objects you want to group and then choose Object > Group or Object > Ungroup.

## Aligning objects

The Align command lets you align selected objects along an axis or so that they are centered either vertically and horizontally. You can also choose to enlarge or pack objects.

To align objects:

1 With the arrow tool selected, Shift-click to select the objects you want to align.

2 Do one of the following:

- Choose Object> Alignment and choose an option from the submenu
- Choose Window> Alignment to display the Alignment panel and click to select an alignment.

# Flattening and merging objects

There will be times when you will want to combine overlapping objects, for example, you might want to apply filters to objects or <<??>>. Merging an object reduces it to a bit-map, but the object retains its individual properties, for example, it can still be selected and moved. Flattening an object also turns the object into a bit-map but its individual properties are lost. It can no longer be edited as an individual object.

You can also merge and flatten individual layers and entire images. For more information see, Flattening and merging layers.

Warning: Do not flatten objects until you are sure you are finished editing them.

To merge objects:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 Choose Object> Merge and choose an option from the submenu.

- Visible merges all objects that are visible.
- Up merges the object with the object immediately above it in the Objects panel
- Down merges the object with the object immediately below it in the Objects panel.
- To Top merges the object with all the objects above it in the Objects panel.
- To Bottom merges the object with the all the objects below it in the Objects panel.

To flatten objects:

1 Select the object in the Objects panel.

2 Choose Object> Flatten and choose an option from the submenu.

- Current <<??>>
- Visible flattens all objects that are visible.
- Up <<??>>
- Down <<??>>
- To Top <<??>>
- To Bottom <<??>>