Appendix A
Quick Start

Given our adherence to the NeXTstep user interface guidelines, the experienced user will have little trouble learning to use Diagram! with only a brief introduction. 

Only the major features and differences of Diagram! are described below. This is in no way exhaustiveÐto learn all the features of Diagram!, please see the rest of this manual.

Basics

When you start up the program for the first time, three windows will appear:

·	A document window.

·	The default palette.

·	The Inspector panel.

The document window is the window in which you will be creating your diagram.

The default palette can be thought of as a part bin, from which symbols are picked up, dragged over to a document, and set down.

The Inspector panel displays the attributes of the currently selected object, such as line width, drop shadow, and arrowheads.

To place a palette object in your document, press a mouse button when the cursor is over the object, drag it over to the document, and release the button.

Objects

In Diagram!'s default drawing mode, objects in a diagram must be selected (by clicking them) before they can be moved. This mode of operation can be changed in the Preferences panel. Objects on palettes are edited differently (see below).

To edit text in a symbol, double-click it and use the NeXTstep standard editing and formatting actions. Text can be formatted with all RTF attributes, except rulers. 

Inspectors

To change the graphical or behavioral characteristics of an object in a document, click the object and modify its attributes in the Inspector panel.

The pop-up list at the top of the Inspector panel allows you to choose which inspector is available when more than one inspector applies to the current selection.

You can add voice annotation to objects with the Sound inspector.

Lines

In Diagram!'s default mode, dragging an unselected object will begin a line. This can be disabled in the Preferences panel. To move an object, you must first select it with a click.

To draw a line between two objects, drag from the first object toward the secondÐthe cursor will change to a cross and a line will be connected to it which can be ªdroppedº into the second object. Releasing and clicking before you reach the second object will ªdrop a point,º allowing you to create multi-segment lines

To abort drawing a line, push the Delete key. While drawing a multi-segment line, you can also ªtake backº the last point by pressing the Escape key. Lines can be drawn to empty areas too, by double-clicking in the canvas.

To add a label to a line or edit an already present line label, double-click the line: the label will be selected. A label can be edited or deleted, but its position on a line cannot be changed.

Points

Points appear as small squares. They can be dragged and placed in a document just like any other object.

Points can also be dragged onto a line to add a bend point, breaking a single segment in two.

A point can be removed from a line by selecting the line with a click, then selecting the point with another click, then pushing Delete.

Points can be inspected with the Inspector panel, and changed to be end points (to which arrowheads point) or bend points (through which a line will travel).

Custom Palettes

To create a new palette, choose New Palette from the Window menu. You can use nearly all the normal Diagram! commands and actions in a palette. To select an object in a palette, hold down the Command key and click the object.

To place a new object on a palette, cut or copy it from Diagram! or any other graphics program, and paste it onto the palette. You can also drag objects from one palette to another. Finally, you can drag TIFF or EPS files from the Workspace Manager into a palette.

Links

You can create a link between a symbol or image object in your diagram and any file, such as a text file, spreadsheet, or another Diagram! file.

To create a link, drag the file icon from the Workspace Manager over the object you want linked and release the mouse button.

You can open a link by double-clicking the link marker or by Alternate-double-clicking the object.

Undo and Undelete

In Diagram!, Undo and Undelete are separate commands. 

Undo reverses graphical changes to objects, such as resizing and movement, but will not undo a deletion. Unlike most other programs, Undo is applied to the currently selected objects only.

Undelete reverses the most recent delete action. Undelete remembers to recreate lines where possible.