This is the Color Picker. Do you see the little grey square in the corner?
That is what you use to make the Color Picker go away. Now move the
mouse cursor until it is over the center of the dark grey bar at the top of
the Color Picker. Make sure the little grey square isn’t under the cursor.
Now press down and hold the left mouse button. Move the mouse
around. See how the Color Picker is following the cursor around?
When the Color Picker is where you want it release the left mouse
button. What you just did is called dragging an object.
Dragging an item
- Move the mouse until the mouse cursor is over the
item and press and
HOLD
the
left
mouse button. Now move the mouse
cursor until the item is where you want it to be. Now release the
left
mouse button. You drag an item to move it to a new location. Some
items can only be picked up on certain sections of them. For example,
the Color Picker and Toolbox can only be picked up in the middle of the
dark grey bar on the top of them.
Notice how the Color Picker has three rectangles on the top part of it.
Do you see any where on the status bar that has the same three
rectangles? Right, There in the middle. Notice that the colors of the
rectangles are the same as they are on the Color Picker. When the
Color Picker isn’t on the screen you can look down at the Status bar and
see what the colors are set to. Remember we mentioned the small grey
square in the upper left hand corner of the Color Picker? Now, I want
you to move the mouse pointer over the grey square and press and
release the left mouse button.. Notice the Color Picker disappeared.
23
Icons
- Little pictures that represent something else. For example, the
letter T on the Toolbox represents “Text mode”, a mode where you can
24
Placing an arc
1. Click on the icon on the Toolbox that represents the type of arc you
want to draw.
2. Select the oval you want the arc to be based from. (See Oval)
3. The base oval you selected will appear in grey, with two points on it.
Between these two points is the arc that is currently selected.
4. If the arc does not cover the proper angle, click and hold the left
mouse button on one of the points and move it until the angle is
correct.
5. If the angle is correct but the arc is on the wrong section of the oval,
press and hold the CTRL key.
6. Move the point until the arc is oriented correctly.
7. Release the left mouse button and/or the CTRL key.
To exit arc placement mode
1. Click on the right mouse button or hit the ESC key.
To move an arc
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox,, to select Edit Mode.
2. Select the arc you want to move. (See Edit Mode)
3. Once you have selected your arc, move the cursor to the middle of
the editing rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button down.
5. Move the mouse until the arc is the place you want it.
6. Release the left mouse button.
To delete an arc
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode.
2. Select the arc you want to move. (See Edit Mode)
3. Hit the DELETE key.
To change the size and/or shape of an arc
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode.
2. Select the arc you want to move. (See Edit Mode)
49
Creating a button
1. Use the Button Designer to set the properties you want this button to
use. (See Chapter 6 Button Designer)
2. Select the Button Icon from the Toolbox.
3. Drag a rectangle the place you want the button to be.
4. When you release the left mouse button a dialog will appear.
5. Enter the text you want displayed on the label under Label text.
Remember, you can use many Text Varaibles on the label.
6. If you are creating a clickable button, enter the host command you
want sent when the mouse is clicked, next to Host Command.
Remember you can use Text Variables and Templates in this
Host Command.
7. If you are creating an Icon button, enter the name of the icon you
want displayed as the button.
8. Click on OK to finish.
Moving a button
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox , to select Edit Mode.
2. Select the button you want to edit. (See Edit Mode)
3. Move the cursor to the center of the Editing rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button.
5. Move the button to its new locati.
6. Release the left mouse button.
Resizing a button
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode.
2. Select the button you want to resize.
3. Move the cursor over one of the eight control points on the edge of
the editing rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button.
5. Move the cursor to the new locati.
6. Release the left mouse button.
55
Border:
Drawn in current drawing color, obeys Line Thickness
Fill:
Drawn in current fill color, obeys Fill Pattern
Placing the first segment
1. Click on the Closed Curve icon, with the features you want, on the
Toolbox.
2. Move the cursor to the place you want the first segment of the closed
curve to start and press and hold the left mouse button.
3. Move the cursor to the place you want the first segment of the closed
curve to end and release the left mouse button.
Moving an end point of the active segment
1. If you want to move one of the end points and you don’t want its
joined curve point to move with it, press and hold the CTRL key.
2. Move the cursor over the end point you wish to move.
3. Press and hold the left mouse button.
4. Move the end point to its new locati.
5. Release the left mouse button and release the CTRL key if pressed.
Moving a Curve Point
1. If you want the curve point to stay on the line that connects it to its
endpoint, press and hold the SHIFT key.
2. Move the cursor over the curve point you want to move.
3. Press and hold the left mouse button.
Parts of a Bezier curve
Differences between smooth and cusp.
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Border
: Drawn in current drawing color, obeys Line Thickness
Placing the first segment
1. Click on the curved polyline icon on the Toolbox.
2. Move the cursor to the place you want the first segment of the curved
polyline to start and press and hold the left mouse button.
3. Move the cursor to the place you want the first segment of the curved
polyline to end and release the left mouse button.
Selecting a segment
1. Click the left mouse button on the end point of the segment.
2. If the wrong segment is made active, click the left mouse button on
the opposite side of the chosen segment.
Moving an end point of a selected segment
1. If you want to move one of the end points and you don’t want its
joined curve point to move with it, press and hold down the
CTRL key.
2. Move the cursor over the end point you wish to move.
3. Press and hold the left mouse button.
4. Move the end point to its new locati.
Parts of a Bezier
curve
Differences between smooth and cusp joints.
62
In Edit mode, you select one or more objects you want to edit. A
boundary rectangle will be drawn around the boundaries of the selected
objects. At the corners and in the middle of each side are control points
that can be dragged to resize the rectangle. After you resize the
rectangle, all the selected objects will be resized accordingly.
Selecting an object in Edit mode
1. Click on the Edit mode icon on the Toolbox. It looks like an arrow.
2. Click the left mouse on the edge of the object.
4. If more than one item is selected, hold down the SHIFT key and click
on the edge of the object you don’t want to select with the left
mouse button. This will deselect it.
Adding an object to the current selection
1. Hold down the SHIFT key.
2. Click on the edge of the object you want to add with the left mouse
button.
3. Release the SHIFT key.
Removing an object from the current selection
1. Hold down the SHIFT key.
2. Click on the edge of the object you want to remove with the left
mouse button.
3. Release the SHIFT key.
Selecting a group of objects at once
1. Click on the Edit mode icon on the Toolbox. It looks like an arrow.
2. Drag a rectangle over the objects you wish to select. (See Section
5.11 Rectangle)
Moving objects
1. Click on the Edit mode icon on the Toolbox. It looks like an arrow.
2. Select the objects to move.
3. Move the cursor to the center of the selection rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button.
65
While you are in drawing mode. With the eye dropper, you can pick up
a color from the current scene to be used as the current drawing color.
If you are in editing mode, it will pick up other attributes as well.
Change the Drawing color with the Eye Dropper
1. Bring up the Color Picker.
2. Click the left mouse button on the left most rectangle, to select the
Drawing color.
3. Select the Eye Dropper icon from the Toolbox.
4. Move the Eye Dropper until its tip is over the color you want to pick
up.
5. Click the left mouse button.
Change the Background color with the Eye Dropper
1. Bring up the Color Picker.
2. Click the left mouse button on the middle rectangle, to select the
Background color.
3. Select the Eye Dropper icon from the Toolbox.
4. Move the Eye Dropper until its tip is over the color you want to pick
up.
5. Click the left mouse button.
Change the Fill Color with the Eye Dropper
1. Bring up the Color Picker.
2. Click the left mouse button on the rectangle on the right, to select Fill
color.
3. Select the Eye Dropper icon from the Toolbox.
4. Move the Eye Dropper until its tip is over the color you want to pick
up.
5. Click the left mouse button.
To copy attributes from one object to another object(s) with the
Eye Dropper
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode.
67
Line:
Drawn in current drawing color, obeys both line pattern and line
width.
Placing a line
1. Click on the line icon on the Toolbox.
2. If you want to force the line to be vertical or horizontal, press and
hold down the SHIFT key.
3. Move the cursor to the place you want the line to start.
4. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
5. Move the cursor to the place you want the line to end.
6. Release the left mouse button and the SHIFT key if pressed.
To exit line placement mode
1. Hit the right mouse button or hit ESC.
To move a line
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode. (See Edit
Mode)
2. Select the line you want to move.
3. Once you have selected your line, move the cursor to the middle of
the editing rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button down.
5. Move the mouse until the editing rectangle is the place you want the
line to be.
6. Release the left mouse button.
To delete a line
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode. (See Edit
Mode)
2. Select the line you want to delete.
3. Hit the DELETE key.
To change the size of a line
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode. (See Edit
Mode)
69
With this tool you can create transparent areas that when the user clicks
on them will send information back to the Host.
Create a mouse field
1. Select the Mouse Field icon on the Toolbox.
2. Drag a rectangle that covers the area the place you want your mouse
field to be.
3. When you release the left mouse button, a dialog will appear.
4. Enter the text you want to be sent when this mouse field is selected
the place it says Host Command. You can include Text
Variables and Templates here. (See Text Variables) (See
Templates)
5. Click on Ok.
To have the graphics under the mouse area invert when it is
selected
1. Make sure Invert has an X on it, when the dialog pops up.
To have RIPterm do a Reset when a mouse area is selected.
1. Make sure Reset has an X next to it, when the dialog pops up. This
is very useful if the next screen to be displayed is not a RIP file.
To have the mouse area triggered if the Enter key is pressed
1. Make sure Default is selected.
To have the mouse area triggered if the ESC key is pressed
1. Make sure Abort is selected, when you create your mouse field.
To have the mouse area triggered if any key is pressed
1. Make sure that Any Key has an X by it when you create your mouse
field.
To have the mouse area triggered if specific key is pressed and
you know the ASCII code of the key
71
Border:
Drawn in current drawing color, obeys line thickness.
Center:
Drawn in current fill color, obeys fill pattern.
Placing the oval
1. Click on the icon on the Toolbox that represents the style of oval you
want to draw.
2. Think of the size and location of the rectangle that would just hold the
oval you want to draw.
3. Move the cursor to the upper left hand corner of that rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button.
5. Move the cursor until you have the desired oval.
6. Release the left mouse button.
Placing an oval centered from the initial point
1. Click on the icon on the Toolbox that represents the style of oval you
want to draw.
2. Press and hold the CTRL key.
3. Move the cursor to the point you want the oval to be centered.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button.
5. Move the mouse until you have the desired oval.
6. Release the left mouse button and the CTRL key.
Placing a Circle
1. Click on the oval icon on the Toolbox that has the attributes you
want.
2. Press and hold the SHIFT key.
3. Think of the size and position of a square that could hold the circle
you want to draw.
3. Move the cursor to the upper left hand corner of that rectangle.
4. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
5. Move the cursor until you have the desired circle.
6. Release the left mouse button and the SHIFT key.
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Size of point obeys Line thickness.
To set the size of a point
1. Hit the F4 function key. (See Editor, Line Pattern)
2. Select the desired line thickness.
3. Click on OK.
To place a point
1. Click on the point icon on the Toolbox.
2. If you want use pixels instead of points, press and hold down the
CTRL key.
3. If you want to freehand draw, press and hold down the SHIFT key.
4. Move the cursor to the place you want your point to be.
5. Click the left mouse button.
To freehand draw with points
1. Click on the point icon on the Toolbox.
2. Press and hold down the SHIFT key.
3. Move the cursor to the place you want to start freehand drawing.
4. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
5. Move the mouse to place the points.
6. When you are done freehand drawing, release the left mouse button
and the SHIFT key.
To place a pixel
1. Click on the point icon on the Toolbox.
2. Press and hold down the CTRL key.
3. Move the cursor to the location you want to put a pixel.
4. Click the left mouse button.
To freehand draw with pixels
1. Click on the point icon on the Toolbox.
2. Press and hold the CTRL key.
3. Press and hold the SHIFT key.
4. Move the cursor to the place you want to start freehand drawing.
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Border:
Drawn in current drawing color, obeys line thickness.
Fill:
Drawin in current fill color, obeys current fill pattern.
To place the initial segment of the polygon
1. Click on the appropriate polygon icon on the Toolbox.
2. Move the mouse cursor to the place you want the first segment to
start.
3. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
4. Move the cursor to the place you want the first segment to end.
5. Release the left mouse button.
Moving an end point of the currently selected segment
1. Move the cursor over the end point you wish to move.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button.
3. Move the end point to its new locati.
4. Release the left mouse button.
Adding a segment
1. Select the segment you want the new segment to be next to.
3. Move the cursor to the place you want the new segment to end.
4. Click and release the left mouse button.
Selecting a segment
1. Click the left mouse button on the end point of the segment you want
to select.
2. If the wrong segment is selected, click the left mouse button on the
opposite side of the chosen segment.
Deleting a segment
1. Select the segment you want to delete.
2. Hit the F2 function key.
3. Click on Remove on the dialog that appears.
81
Border:
Drawn in current drawing color, obeys both line thickness and
line pattern.
To place the initial segment of the polyline
1. Click on the polyline icon on the Toolbox.
2. Move the mouse cursor to the place you want the first segment to
start.
3. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
4. Move the cursor to the place you want the first segment to end.
5. Release the left mouse button.
Moving an end point of the active segment
1. Move the cursor over the end point you wish to move.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button.
3. Move the end point to the place you want it.
4. Release the left mouse button.
Adding a segment
1. Select the segment you want to be next to the new segment.
3. Move the cursor to the place you want the new segment to end.
4. Click and release the left mouse button.
Selecting a segment
1. Click the left mouse button on the end point of the segment.
2. If the wrong segment is selected, click the left mouse button on the
opposite side of the chosen segment.
Deleting a segment
1. Select the segment you wish to delete.
2. Hit the F2 function key.
3. Click Remove on the dialog that appears.
To exit polyline placement mode
1. Click on the right mouse button or hit ESC.
84
Border:
Drawn in current Drawing color, obeys both line thickness and
line pattern.
Fill:
Drawn in current Fill color, obeys current fill pattern.
To place a rectangle
1. Click on the appropriate rectangle icon on the Toolbox.
2. Drag a rectangle on the screen. (see below)
To drag a rectangle
1. If you want the rectangle to be a square, press and hold down the
SHIFT key.
2. If you want the rectangle to be centered on the initial point, press and
hold the CTRL key.
3. If you are not holding down the CTRL key, move the mouse cursor to
the place you want the upper left hand corner of the rectangle to
be.
4. If you are holding down the CTRL key, move the mouse cursor to the
place you want the center of the rectangle to be.
5. Press and hold the left mouse button.
6. Move the cursor until you have the desired rectangle.
7. Release the left mouse button, and the SHIFT and CTRL if they were
pressed.
To exit rectangle placement mode
1. Click the right mouse button or hit ESC.
To move a rectangle
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode. (See Edit
Mode)
2. Select the rectangle you want to move.
3. Move the cursor into the center of the editing rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button down.
5. Move the mouse until the editing rectangle is at the new location of
the rectangle.
6. Release the left mouse button.
87
Border:
Drawn in current drawing color, obeys both line thickness and
line pattern.
Fill:
Drawn in current fill color, obeys current fill pattern.
Control points of a round rectangle
To place a round rectangle
1. Click on the appropriate round rectangle icon on the Toolbox.
2. Drag a rectangle on the screen. (See Rectangle)
3. Move the mouse cursor over one of the four control points.
4. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
5. Move the cursor until you get the desired round corners.
6. Release the left mouse button.
To exit round rectangle placement mode
1. Click the right mouse button or hit ESC.
To move a rounded rectangle
1. Select the Arrow icon on the Toolbox, to select Edit Mode. (See Edit
Mode)
2. Select the rounded rectangle you want to move.
3. Once you have selected your rounded rectangle, move the cursor to
the middle of the editing rectangle.
4. Press and hold the left mouse button down.
90
Placing text
1. Use the Font Selector to pick the font, and font attributes you want to
use. (See Font Selector)
2. Click on the Text icon on the Toolbox, it has a large T on it.
3. Move the I-bar cursor to the place you want the text to be.
4. Click and release the left mouse button.
5. Type in the text you want to be displayed.
6. If you need to edit the text you typed, see Editing Text during initial
text placement.
7. If you need to move the text around, see Moving Text during initial
text placement.
6. Hit the ENTER key.
Changing text during initial text placement
1. Use the right and left arrow keys to move to the place you want to
change the text.
2. Use the BACKSPACE and DELETE keys to remove unwanted text.
3. Type in the correct text.
or
1. Move the I-Bar cursor over the position you want to change in the
text.
2. Click and release the left mouse button.
3. Use the BACKSPACE and DELETE keys to remove unwanted text.
3. Type in the correct text.
Moving text during initial text placement
1. Move the I-Bar cursor over the center of the text line.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button.
3. Move the outline rectangle the place you want the text to be.
4. Release the left mouse button.
Exiting out of text placement mode
1. Hit the ESC key.
99
Type
- This lets you set the type of button. Choices are:
Plain
- A normal button.
Icon
- A button that uses an icon
Clip
- A button that uses an image stored in the clipboard.
Fixed Size
- These two
combo boxes
let you set a fixed size to all your
buttons in pixels.
109
Predefined patterns
- You can select a preset fill pattern by clicking on
it.
Custom
- This button displays your current custom fill pattern. Clicking
on this button selects your own custom fill pattern.
Edit Window
- This is a 8 x 8 group of squares that you can set to your
own fill pattern. You can change a square from white to black and vice
versa by clicking on it.
Real Display
- This is what your pattern looks like when used as a fill
pattern.
Reverse X
- Exchanges columns 1 & 8, 2 & 7, 3 & 6, and 4 & 5.
Reverse Y
- Exchanges rows 1 & 8, 2 & 7, 3 & 6, and 4 &5.
112
OK
- RIPaint will enable the changes you have made and return to edit
mode.
Cancel
- RIPaint will ignore the changes you made and return to edit
mode.
Help
- Brings up a help screen for this dialog.
114
Horizontal Grid
X-Grid
- When selected RIPaint enables horizontal Grid snap.
Start Position
- The location of the first horizontal stop.
End Position
- The location of the last horizontal stop.
Width
- The number of pixels between each horizontal stop
Inset
- If greater than 0, the space between stops is alternated
between width and inset.
Vertical Grid
Y-Grid
- When selected RIPaint enables vertical Grid snap.
Start Position
- The location of the first Grid snap stop.
End Position
- The location of the last grid snap stop.
Width
- The number of pixels between each vertical stop
Inset
- If greater than 0, the space between the stops is
alternated between width and inset.
Invisible grid
- Selecting this toggles whether the grid snap is drawn
visually on the screen or not. If this is selected, an X appears in the box
117
The big box on the upper left side
- This is where you icon is
displayed. You can change pixels here by clicking on them. The pixels
are colored based on your current drawing color and brush style. The
two scroll bars on the side allow you to view and change any location in
your image. By moving the squares you can move to any part of your
icon. With the help of two buttons below you can zoom in and out of
your icon. This allows you to look at your icon in full size and then zoom
out to see it pixel by pixel to edit. Any area that is not part of your icon
is displayed as a diamond shaped pattern.
119
Solid, Dotted, Center and Dashed
- These are preset line patterns
simply click in rectangle to the right to chose one.
Custom
- This sets the line pattern to the one you have custom made.
Below there is a row of 16 boxes. You can click on them and
toggle them from black to white. The arrow buttons rotate your
pattern left and right. Between the two arrows is a button that
will change all the white boxes in to black boxes and vice versa.
Button with white and grey squares
- If this is selected, any black
boxes in your line pattern will be transparent.
Button with white and black squares
- If this is selected, any black
boxes in your line pattern will be drawn in the current
background color.
1, 2, 3, 5
- These are the preset line thicknesses. Click on the rectangle
to the right of your choice to select one.
Size
- This allows you to set any line thickness you want.
122