Figure 9.1: The page buddy floating window

The page buddy provides the following general drawing tools:

• a selection tool, for selecting objects;
• an arrow tool, for drawing arrows and lines;
• a box tool, for drawing rectangular boxes;
• a text tool, for adding text annotations; and
• a formula tool, for adding formula annotations.

• a view tool, for adding views; and
• a printing tool, for selecting, configuring, and using a printer.

• The page buddy floating window appears only when a page window is foremost. It is otherwise hidden, but returns when a view window is activated.
• Each tool is accessed by clicking on a button in the page buddy floating window. Controls and options for the selected tool are presented in an associated, but separate, draw tool floating window.
• The selection tool does not have any options. Therefore, it does not bring up the draw tool floating window until an object is selected.
• Following are some general instructions:
  • Selecting an option’s checkbox activates the option; clicking on a checkbox or its name toggles between its selected and unselected states;
  • Clicking on a pop-up menu opens the pop-up menu, so the desired option can be selected from it.
  • The colour mode is the initial mode since its options are useful for optimizing the clarity and readability of graph views.

General Draw Tools

Graph Tools

Figure 9.2: The Graph Draw Tool Floating Window

The elements, from top to bottom in the graph draw tool floating window, are explained as follows:

View pop-up menu

The view pop-up menu is for selecting a view to the clipboard, for subsequent pasting to the page.

Enforce Minimum Size checkbox

The Enforce Minimum Size checkbox is for toggling between imposing or not imposing a 25% limit for a pasted graph views’s minumum size. If the option is not selected, pasted views can be shrunk arbitrarily small.

Print Tools

Figure 9.3: Printer controls in a draw tool floating window

The elements, from top left across to bottom right in the print draw tool floating window, are explained as follows:

Page Setup button

The Page Setup button is for accessing the operating system’s standard page setup window. Options for the printer, paper size, source and orientation, graphic resolution, and number of copies to be printed can then be selected.

Print button

The Print button is for accessing the operating system standard print control window. The print control window is for sending the current print page to a printer, while it also supports the same options as offered in the page setup window.

Show Printer Page checkbox

The Show Printer Page checkbox is for toggling the display of the limits that the print head can reach on the physical paper.

Page size and printer resolution

The page size displays the print page dimensions in inches; the resolution displays the resolution in dots-per-inch, “dpi”.

Reset Guides button

The Reset Guides button is for changing all margins back to the default setting. Default margins are set to a minimum, and the guides would overlap with the printer page.

Show Guides checkbox

The Show Guides checkbox is for toggling the outlining, with dotted line, of the page area on which page contents are to be printed.

Pop-up menus for Left, Right, Top and Bottom Guides

The guide pop-up menus are for changing the respective print margins.

Hint: Margins can also be set by clicking at the respective guide box on the page, then dragging it to the desired position.

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