Customizing dashes Dashes are composed of alternating solid and blank segments. Using the Dash manager, you can customize the length of up to 13 seg- ments to create new, complex dash sequences. You can design dashes interactively using the edit window. To pre- cisely set the length of each dash segment, you can also specify an exact length. The ruler in the Dash manager displays inches; how- ever, you can enter dash lengths in inches, points, millimeters, or picas; see “Units preferences” on page 15.236 for details. Dashes in the Strokes palette always appear as 1-point wide, black and white segments. However, when you apply these dashes to an object’s pen, the black segments adopt the color and size of the pen, and the white segments become transparent. To create a custom dash sequence:  With the Strokes palette floating, select the Dash tab and open the Dash manager, if needed. Use the edit window and Length text box to design the sequence, as described next. Dash stroke Dash manager Use these controls to create custom dashes. A   Click to move the edit win- dow view left or right. B   To change the length of a segment, drag a segment edi- tor. You can type a number in the Length box. When you se- lect or drag a segment, it high- lights. C   To zoom in, click the right button. To zoom out, click the left button. You can change magnification in steps from 100% to 1000%. D   To add a segment, drag to the left from the segment edi- tor. The segment editor re- mains at the right of the window until you create the maximum 13 segments. E   The segment’s number (its order in the sequence) and its color. “Black” indicates it will appear in the color of the pen ink, and “White” indicates it will be transparent. F    Displays a sample of the current settings. Proportional. Tells Canvas to scale the length of the seg- ments to match the pen width of the object. The length of segments in the Dash manager are based on a 1-point line. Therefore, if the pen width is 6 points and Proportional is selected, Canvas multiplies the lengths by six. F B D A A C C E
Canvas 8 Help: Strokes: outline effects (19 of 22)                                                  Page #351