Copyright: Copyright © Serif Inc. 1995. All rights reserved.


Contents
 mini Office Draw Help Contents


 Welcome

Thank you for purchasing mini Office Draw, "Graphic Design Power Made Easy". We like to think you'll enjoy using it, and that you'll find it great value.

If you like mini Office Draw please recommend it to your friends - your help is always appreciated! If you want to use multiple copies please get in touch with us about our Corporate and Education Site Licences.

If you have any problems (especially with printing), start by checking out the Troubleshooting section of this help file.

See also

Contents

Graphic Design Power Made Easy

What's in mini Office Draw


Graphic Design Power Made Easy

mini Office Draw is designed to be the perfect tool for anyone, from a professional artist or designer to a drawing and graphics newcomer. Modify and recolour clipart images, create maps, logos, diagrams and complete works of art. Use QuickShapes, lines, curves and text as building blocks for more complex drawings. Total flexibility to colour, stretch, slant, rotate, mask or envelope anything, including text. For ease of use, there's two user levels - Intro and Designer - a HintLine, ToolHints and QuickHelp, all combining to make mini Office Draw the friendliest drawing package around. When your work is done, either print, export or use OLE to place your drawing directly in any Windows application.

mini Office Draw is "Graphic Design Power Made Easy".

See also

What's in mini Office Draw


What's in mini Office Draw

mini Office Draw boasts a range of professional features that rivals the likes of CorelDRAW!™ and other Windows drawing packages. Unlike its competitors, mini Office Draw also provides extensive ease of use of additions and can be easily and quickly mastered by complete beginners.

Key Features of mini Office Draw

•	Tools for drawing lines, boxes, ovals, text and Bezier curves.

•	QuickShapes which work like customizable clipart for drawing a raft of intelligent shapes - from arrows and stars through to spirals and grids.

•	Masks which let you combine objects to create complex graphic fills, using one object as a background to another.

•	Envelopes which allow you to distort objects to wrap around predefined shapes.

•	Ability to import and export a wide range of graphics formats, including Windows metafiles, allowing you to customize existing clipart and graphics images.

•	Clean curve function for "simplifying" imported images, making editing straight forward.

•	Linear and radial graduated fills giving total control over object line and fill colours.

•	Alignment tools including rulers, guides, alignment grid and snapping to create precise drawings quickly and easily.

•	Ability to convert text to curves for creating custom lettering.


mini Office Draw credits

•	ClipArt samples from Serif ArtPacks © Serif, Inc. & Paul Harris

•	TrueType font samples from Serif FontPacks © Serif, Inc.

•	Portions graphics import/export technology © Halcyon Software & AccuSoft Corp. & Access Softek, Inc. & Eastman Kodak Company.

•	CorelDRAW!™ is a TradeMark of Corel.

Many thanks to all our contacts at these companies for their help and encouragement. mini Office Draw would not have been possible if these companies had not shared our vision of low-cost Windows products.

mini Office Draw was developed in C++ using Borland development tools.

See also

Welcome


Screen layout (screenshot)
 Screen layout

Click on these pictures to get information on specific screen features.

See also

Contents

Tools


Control menu box

To exit mini Office Draw, double-click on the control menu box.


Title bar

To move the mini Office Draw window, move the
mouse cursor over the title bar and drag.


Minimize button

To temporarily minimize the mini Office Draw
window to an icon, click on the Minimize button.


Maximize button

To make the mini Office Draw window cover
your whole screen, click on the Maximize button.


Text font combo

Use this to change the font of selected text.


Text size combo

Use this to change the pointsize of selected text.


Bold and italic buttons

Use these to change text formatting.


Left, centre and right buttons

Click on these to align text.


Cut, copy and paste buttons

Use these for quick access to the Windows clipboard.


Undo button

For when you make a mistake.


Flip buttons

Turn an object into its mirror image.


Rotate button

A quick way to rotate objects by 90º.


Forward one, back one buttons

Use these to control what happens when objects overlap.


Group/ungroup button

Use this to lock objects into groups.


Combine/Break apart button

Use this to produce mask and stencil effects.


Convert to curves button

Use this to edit object's outlines with the Node tool.


Pointer tool

Use this for selecting, moving and sizing objects.


Rotate tool

Use this to rotate and shear objects to any degree.


Node tool

Use this to adjust objects control handles.


Zoom tool

Use this to zoom into areas of the window.


Line tool flyout

This button holds tools for drawing straight,
curved and freehand lines.


QuickShapes flyout

This button holds tools for drawing a variety
of shapes: boxes, ovals, arrows, stars, etc.


Text tool

Use this for creating text.


Import tool

Use this to bring in clipart.


Line weight flyout

This changes how thick outlines are.


Line colour flyout

This changes the colour of outlines.


Fill colour flyout

Use this to give solid, linear and radial
fills to mini Office Draw objects.


Envelope flyout

Envelopes produce interesting warp effects.


Ruler intersection

Drag the ruler intersection to change the
ruler's zero point.


Ruler

For measuring objects. You can
create guides by clicking on them.


Selected object highlight

This part of the ruler indicates
the size of the current selection.


Scroll Bar

Use scroll bars to see different
areas of your drawing.


Status Editor

Size, position and rotate objects by
entering exact numeric values.


Curve Editor

Use this to get fine control
over lines and curves.


Add node

Adds another node to a line or curve.


Delete node

Removes a node from a line or curve.


Close curve

Turns a line into a closed shape.


Break shape open

Turns a closed shape into an open line.


Straighten line

Makes a curved line straight


Sharpen corner

Gives the join between lines a sharp angle.


Smooth node

Gives a smooth but asymmetric join between lines.


Symmetric corner

Gives a smoothly rounded join between lines.


QuickHelp window

This gives a brief explanation of the
object under the mouse cursor.


Pasteboard area

You can assemble parts of drawings
here before placing them onto the page.


Page area

The drop shadow is the area of your
drawing that will be printed.


Line object

This line was drawn with the Freehand line tool.


QuickStar object

Use the Node tool to change the number
of points on this QuickShape.


Text object

This text has been given a linear fill.


Envelope object

This text has been warped with an envelope
to give a banner effect.


Selection area

Tells you about the currently
selected object.


Zoom Out button

Use this to see more of your page.


Current zoom

Tells you the current zoom percentage.


Zoom In button

Use this to make the view bigger.


Zoom to actual size

Shows your drawing at its proper size.


Zoom to fit page

Makes sure you can see all of your
drawing at once.


Snapping button

Switch snapping on to make
precise positioning easier.


CleanUp button

Use this to hide the toolbars, to make
the most of your screen real estate.


Status Editor button

Use this to show and hide the Status Editor.


HintLine

A display of helpful messages as you use the program.


mini Office Draw level button

Switch the advanced Designer features on and off.


Keyboard (overview)
 Keyboard

mini Office Draw allows several forms of keyboard shortcuts.

•	Special keyboard features mini Office Draw has several special features which are accessed by holding down a special key while performing an operation. For example, if you hold down the SHIFT key whilst creating or sizing a box, the box will be constrained to a square. See below for a complete list of shortcuts.

•	Object movement, sizing and selection. You can use TAB and SHIFT + TAB to select objects, and the arrow keys to move or resize the selected objects. See below for more information.

•	Character shortcuts Some more commonly used characters which are not accessible directly from your keyboard have special shortcuts for accessing them. For example if you press ALT + CONTROL + C whilst editing text, a copyright symbol is accessed.

•	Menus using the keyboard: Rather than using the mouse to click over menus, you can use ALT + CHARACTER, where character is the letter shown as underlined on the menu. For example ALT + T followed by ALT + F would select the Text/Fonts... dialog from the menus.

•	Menu shortcuts: Certain commonly used menus have quick single keystroke shortcuts. Menu entries which have a shortcut will have CTRL + CHARACTER on their right where character is the letter to be pressed simultaneously with CONTROL to perform the menu operation. For example CONTROL + S will do the File/Save operation.

See also

Contents

Special keyboard features

Object movement, sizing and selection

Character shortcuts


Special keyboard features

mini Office Draw has several special features which are accessed by holding down a special key while performing an operation.

Shift key

Control key

Escape key

Function keys

See also

Keyboard


Shift key

The SHIFT key in conjunction with other operations is used extensively in mini Office Draw.

•	Moving When you are moving an object in mini Office Draw, if the SHIFT key is pressed, the movement will be constrained to either left/right or up/down.

•	Sizing and creating When you create or size an object with the mouse, if the SHIFT key is pressed the size will be constrained. For QuickBoxes, the constraint will give a square, for QuickOvals, a circle and for straight lines, a 15 degree line.

•	Selecting objects When you use the Pointer tool to select objects, if the SHIFT key is pressed, the object you select will be added to/taken from the selection when you release the mouse button.

•	Select All If you have an object selected and you press the SHIFT key as you do the Edit/Select All operation, mini Office Draw will select all objects of the same type as the object selected rather than all the objects on the page.

•	Tools If the SHIFT key is pressed at the time you select one of the creator (QuickShape, Text, Line) tools, the tool will not automatically switch back to the Pointer or Node tool after the object is created. This is useful if you want to draw several similar QuickShapes for example.

See also

Special keyboard functions

Pointer tool


Control key

The control key modifies the following mini Office Draw operations:

•	Quick copy If you move an object whilst the CONTROL key is pressed, mini Office Draw will make and move a copy of the object, leaving the original unchanged.

•	Importing When you paste an imported picture, if the CONTROL key is pressed the picture size will be constrained to maintain the aspect ratio of the imported picture.

•	Resizing When you resize objects, if the control key is pressed the object size will be constrained to preserve the object's aspect ratio.

See also

Special keyboard functions

Pointer tool


Escape key

Pressing the ESCAPE key while in the middle of a sizing, moving or creation operation will abort the operation.

See also

Special keyboard functions

Pointer tool


Function keys

•	F1 This is a shortcut for accessing the mini Office Draw help. This is available at any time when the normal Help menu is available and is the equivalent of Help/Index.

•	F5 This swaps between the Node tool, the Pointer tool and the most recently selected creation tool.

See also

Special keyboard functions


Selecting and cursoring (keyboard)

You can use the SHIFT, TAB and ARROW keys to select, move and size objects.

•	Selecting Pressing TAB with no objects selected selects the first object in the drawing. If there is an object selected it selects the next object in sequence, so that pressing it repeatedly cycles through each object in turn. This can be useful to get to an object you cannot see to select with the mouse - if it's coloured white on a white background, for instance. Pressing SHIFT + TAB cycles through in the opposite direction.

•	Moving Pressing the arrow keys with an object selected moves the object in the direction of the arrow. The distance will be the same as the distance between marks on the rulers, which depends on the current zoom.

•	Sizing Pressing SHIFT + one of the arrow keys sizes the object. The size change will be the same as the distance between marks on the rulers, which depends on the current zoom.

See also

Keyboard


Character shortcuts

mini Office Draw allows you to access certain characters using the following shortcuts. Remember that you can also use the Windows standard of pressing ALT + 0XXX where XXX is the reference number of the character you require - see your Microsoft Windows User's Guide for more details. Remember, if you require a symbol from a special font such as WingDings, you must select that font for your text as well as keying the character.

CONTROL+ALT+8	•	Bullet
CONTROL+/	†	Dagger
CONTROL+ALT+/	‡	Double dagger
CONTROL+ALT+=		Em-rule or dash
CONTROL+ALT+C	©	Copyright symbol
CONTROL+ALT+R	®	Registered symbol
CONTROL+ALT+T	™	Trademark symbol
CONTROL+[	'	Single open quote
CONTROL+]	'	Single close quote
CONTROL+ALT+[	"	Double open quote
CONTROL+ALT+]	"	Double close quote
CONTROL+ALT+2	''	Inch mark
CONTROL+ALT+'	'	Foot mark
See also

Keyboard


Tools (overview)
 Tools

mini Office Draw provides a number of screen tools to help you lay out your drawing.

Help

Standard Windows elements

Top toolbar

Left toolbar

Curve Editor

Status Editor

Double-click and right-click

Most window elements in mini Office Draw do something when you double-click or when you click with the right mouse button with the mouse over them. Usually a dialog appears which gives you control of some aspect of the element's behaviour. For example, right-clicking on the Zoom tool button brings up the Change Zoom dialog. Right-clicking on an object displays a popup menu to do with that object.

See also

Contents

Screen layout


Help (dynamic help)
Help

mini Office Draw provides a great deal of dynamic help to make it easier to find your way around its user interface. These learning aids can all be switched on or off by using the View/Preferences/Ease of Use... dialog.

Tool Hints

ToolHints provide a one or two word description of the screen element under the mouse cursor. They appear if the mouse pauses over a button and are very useful for reminding you of the use of that button.

The HintLine

The HintLine is part of the Status Bar, at the bottom right of the main window. It provides a short description of the purpose of the screen element under the mouse cursor. Click on the HintLine to show and hide the QuickHelp window.

The QuickHelp Window

The yellow QuickHelp window provides a longer description of the screen element under the mouse cursor.

To show QuickHelp, click on the HintLine in the Status Bar. To move it to a more convenient location on the screen, drag it with the mouse. To hide it, either click on it or click on the HintLine again.

Event Tips

Event tips are helpful messages which appear when you first perform some specific operation. For example, the first time you create a QuickShape, mini Office Draw displays an Event Tip which explains about adjusting the shape with the Node tool.

Normally each Event Tip only appears once. You can reset them with the "Reset tips" button in the Views/Preferences/Ease of Use... dialog, so that they appear again.

Online help

As with most Windows applications, you can call up this online helpfile by pressing F1 at almost any time.

See also

Tools

Ease of Use Preferences

HintLine


Standard Windows elements

Some elements, such as the menu bar of the mini Office Draw window, are standard to virtually all Windows applications.

In brief, you can use the menus, title bar, maximize and minimize buttons and scroll bars as you would with any other Windows application. For an explanation of the general operation of these elements, refer to your Microsoft Windows User's Guide or run Help/Windows Tutorial from within the Program Manager window.

The rest of this section covers mini Office Draw specific details related to the standard Windows elements of the mini Office Draw screen.

Title bar

The Title bar will show you the current mini Office Draw working level and the name of the drawing being edited. For example, if you are working on a drawing called "MYWORK.DPP" and working at Designer Level, the Title bar would display, " mini Office Draw Designer - MYWORK.DPP".

If the current drawing is new and has not yet been saved to disk, the name will be shown as "UNTITLED".

You can hide the Title bar as part of the CleanUp button settings.

Menu bar

The menu bar contains the main mini Office Draw menus. These work in the usual way and can be accessed by clicking or dragging on a menu entry. See Menus topic for details of the operation of each of the menu options.

Remember, QuickHelp or the HintLine will display information about a highlighted menu option.

You can hide the menu bar as part of the CleanUp button settings.

Scroll bars

The scroll bars are used to navigate around the current page and the pasteboard. The scroll bars can be shown or hidden using View/Preferences/General... or as part of the CleanUp button settings.

See also

Tools

CleanUp

View/Preferences/General...

Menus


Page and Pasteboard Area

Most of the mini Office Draw display is taken up by a "page" area and a surrounding "pasteboard" area.

The page area is where you create your drawing and is the area that will print. The pasteboard area is where you generally keep the Curve and Status Editors, and any text, curves and shapes which are being prepared or waiting to be positioned on to the drawing you are working on.

This page and pasteboard arrangement is very convenient. In fact, it is an electronic equivalent of the system used by traditional graphic designers: they kept design tools and bits of text and graphics on a large pasteboard, and then carefully pasted final arrangements of text and graphics onto a page pinned down in the middle of the pasteboard.

The maximum page size that mini Office Draw can handle is 22" x 22". In reality, you're likely to be limited to a far smaller size due to the capabilities of your desktop printer.

Views

The page and pasteboard may be viewed at any zoom level between 5% and 1000%. Generally the page and pasteboard will not fit on screen, so you will only see a portion at any one time.

Use the scroll bars to change the view area in order to see other parts of the page or pasteboard. Alternatively, you can use AutoScroll. To AutoScroll, hold the mouse button down on the page and drag off the edge of the window. mini Office Draw will scroll the window to try to follow the mouse. AutoScroll can be switched on or off from the Views/Preferences/General... dialog.

Reduce the zoom to bring a larger portion of the page and pasteboard into view. Increase the zoom to see an area in more detail. View/Fit Page tells mini Office Draw to automatically set the zoom so the whole page area can be seen. This is the view normally chosen when an "overview" of the page is required. Use the CleanUp button to remove other screen items to give a clean, uncluttered view.

To sum up, the view can be controlled in several ways:

•	Using the View menu options.

•	Using the Zoom area on the Status Bar.

•	Using the Zoom tool on the left toolbar.

•	Using the Scroll bars.

•	Using AutoScroll.

Popup Menus

If you click with the right-mouse button on the page or pasteboard area, mini Office Draw brings up a short popup menu which will be specific to the object you clicked on, or to the page itself. Popup menus are often more convenient than the main menu bar, because they appear directly where you are working. They're especially useful when you have the menu bar turned off with the CleanUp button.

See the Menus section for more discussion of menu commands.

See also

Tools

Curve Editor

Status Editor

CleanUp

Views/Preferences/General...

Menus


Layout tools (overview)

mini Office Draw includes comprehensive layout tools for aiding the page design and make-up process. These tools provide help in achieving consistent sizing and positioning of objects as well as acting as visual guidelines.

The tools are covered in four areas:

•	Rulers mimic the T-Square used by the paste-up artist.

•	Guides are displayed as coloured lines, but do not appear on your prints.

•	Snapping helps ensure objects conform to the page geometry where required.

•	Layout grid helps you align and measure objects by eye.

See also

Tools


Rulers

The mini Office Draw rulers mimic the T-square used by the paste-up artist. They have several purposes:

•	To act as a measuring tool

•	To define a snap grid

•	To define a layout grid

•	To create guides for aligning and snapping

The following section covers the technical details of rulers.

Ruler units

You can change the basic measurement unit used by the rulers by using View/Preferences/General...

The rulers have labeled graduation marks consistent with the ruler measurement units. The actual interval size of the ruler marks depends upon the current view. mini Office Draw selects sensible increments for the ruler marks. To handle work where you want finer control or smaller snapping increments, you should increase the view zoom.

Changing the ruler origin

By default, rulers measure from the top left corner of the page, but you can change this by dragging on the ruler intersection.

Double-click on the ruler intersection and the rulers will set the "origin" to the top left hand corner of the currently selected object. Double-clicking a second time on the intersection will reset the origin back to top left corner of the page.

Rulers as a measuring tool

The most obvious role for Rulers is as a measuring tool. As you move the mouse pointer, ruler markers track the current position of the mouse on the horizontal and vertical rulers.

When an object on the page or pasteboard is selected, a highlight appears in each ruler, corresponding to the size of the selected object.

Ruler layout grid

The rulers define a visible layout grid, which matches the ruler marks displayed. The larger the view zoom, the finer the layout grid. See the Layout grid topic for further details.

The display of the grid can be switched on or off using View/Show Grid. This grid does not effect snapping and is purely for use as a visual guide.

Ruler snap grid

The rulers define an invisible snap grid, matching the ruler marks displayed. The larger the view zoom, the finer the ruler snap grid. See the Snapping topic for further details.

Creating ruler guides

mini Office Draw allows you to setup horizontal and vertical ruler guides to assist page makeup. Ruler guides are created by clicking or dragging on the rulers over the page area. See the Guides topic below for further details.

See also

Layout tools

View/Preferences/General...

Layout grid

Snapping

Guides


Guides

Guides are displayed as coloured lines, but they do not appear on your print outs or exported drawings. They are useful as a visual reference and as snapping guides to aid alignment of objects. There are two types of guides, ruler guides and page margin guides.

Creating guides

To set up page margin guides, select File/Page Setup...

To create ruler guides, move the mouse over one of the rulers and click, or click and drag.

Moving and deleting guides

To move ruler guides, select the Pointer tool and then drag the guide. You do not select guides before moving as you do with objects. Instead, check that mini Office Draw displays the guide movement cursor and then drag.

If mini Office Draw does not display the guide movement cursor, it may be because the mouse is over a selected object.

To delete ruler guides simply drag them off the window altogether. To delete page margin guides, set the margins to zero in File/Page Setup...

See also

Layout tools

File/Page Setup...

Pointer tool


Snapping (overview)
Snapping

Typically when creating a drawing, you will first define your page structure, consisting of the basic page geometry and ruler guides to mark positions of key elements. This basic structure indicates where objects are to be placed.

mini Office Draw helps ensure that objects conform to the page geometry by providing snapping. When snapping is on, an object being moved, sized or created, jumps to the nearest snap position.

Using snapping

Use View/Snapping or the Snap on/off shortcut button of the Status Bar to switch snapping on or off.

When snapping is on, an object being moved, sized or created, snaps using the currently displayed layout tools which form a snapping grid. The snapping grid can be made up of:

•	Ruler increments.

•	Ruler guides.

•	Page margins.

To snap to page margins only, for example, use the View menu to turn off the display of guides and rulers.

In order for objects to snap to guides, the objects must be close to the guide. The rule is that if an object is moved to within two ruler increments of a guide, it will snap to it.

Snapping occurs as an object is dragged, not when the object is released and will occur when:

•	Moving an object The handle nearest the mouse pointer will snap as the object is moved.

•	Sizing an object The handle being dragged to alter the size of the object will snap as the handle is moved.

•	Creating an object Both the start point and the end points of the drag will snap.

See also

Layout tools

View menu

Snapping button

Pointer tool


Layout grid

The visible layout grid helps you position objects by eye, for when you don't want to snap. The visible grid lines follow the major lines of the snapping grid, which in turn depends on the ruler graduations. The larger the view zoom, the finer the layout grid.

The display of the grid can be switched on or off using View/Show Grid. This grid does not effect snapping and is purely for use as a visual guide.

See also

Layout tools

View/Show Grid


Status Bar (overview)
Status Bar

The Status Bar provides a powerful array of shortcuts and functions.

Selection area

Zoom area

Snapping button

CleanUp button

Status Editor button

HintLine

mini Office Draw Level button

See also

Tools

Screen layout


Selection area (status bar)
Selection area

This shows the number of objects in the current selection or, if only one object is selected, the name of the selected object and its depth. The lower the depth number, the closer to the top the object is. An object with a lower depth will obscure an object with a higher depth number, when the two objects overlap. You can change an object's depth by using the options in the Arrange menu or the shortcut buttons on the top toolbar.

Double-clicking on the Selection area is a shortcut for Edit/Select All. If you hold the SHIFT key down while you double click, mini Office Draw will select all objects with the same type as the currently selected object and ignore the others.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout

Arrange menu

Layering objects (overview)

Edit/Select All


Zoom area (status bar)
Zoom area

The centre of the Zoom area displays the current view zoom percentage. Clicking on this area brings up the Custom Zoom dialog, through which you can enter any value up to 1000% for the current zoom.

On the left of the zoom area is the Zoom Out button. Click on the Zoom Out button to reduce the current zoom to approximately two thirds of its current value.

To the right of current zoom value display, is the Zoom In button. Click on the Zoom In button to increase the current zoom by approximately half.

To the right of the Zoom Up button are two shortcuts for the most often used zooms: Views/Actual Size and Views/Fit Page.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout

View menu

Page and pasteboard area


Snapping button (status bar)
Snapping button

The Snapping button, in the centre of the Status Bar, toggles snapping between on and off. It is a shortcut for View/Snapping.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout

View/Snapping

Snapping (overview)


CleanUp button (status bar)
CleanUp button

The CleanUp button, also in the centre of the Status Bar, toggles between normal view and your preferred CleanUp view. The CleanUp view aims to make best use of your screen real estate by hiding unwanted screen elements. For example, you can hide the Menu bar or the toolbars or both. The screen space saved gives you more room to display your picture.

Click on the button to switch between normal and CleanUp views. Double-click to set the screen elements to be hidden by CleanUp view.

If you use CleanUp view with the menu bar hidden, remember that many menu commands are accessible by clicking with the right mouse button. If you hide the scroll bars, remember that you can use AutoScroll.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout


Status Editor button (status bar)
Status Editor button

The Status Editor button displays the Status Editor "floating" dialog, which you can use to set the size, position and rotation of the currently selected object by entering numerical values. This allows exact values to be entered in 0.01 inch and 0.1 degree increments.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout

Status Editor


HintLine (status bar)
HintLine

The right side of the Status Bar provides several functions:

•	HintLine The HintLine displays helpful information about the screen element under the cursor. Watch as you move the mouse cursor over the menu bar, rulers, Status Bar and Toolbars. Clicking on the HintLine switches QuickHelp on and off.

•	Object and cursor position When the cursor is over the page and pasteboard area, the HintLine is used to display information about the cursor position and about the size and position of any selected object.

•	QuickShape handle information When the mouse cursor is over a QuickShape handle, the HintLine area displays information about the handle.

•	Progress bar mini Office Draw displays a progress bar when performing time consuming operations such as importing.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout

Dynamic help


Mini Office Draw Level button (status bar)
mini Office Draw Level button

The mini Office Draw Level button allows you to switch between the two working levels of mini Office Draw. The two working levels of mini Office Draw are Intro and Designer.

See also

Status bar

Screen layout

Dynamic help


Top toolbar (overview)
Top toolbar

The top toolbar provides a variety of mouse driven shortcut buttons to make working with objects easier. It can be hidden as part of the CleanUp button settings.

Text font combo

Text size combo

Bold and italic buttons

Left, centre and right buttons

Cut, copy and paste buttons

Undo button

Flip buttons

Rotate button

Forward one, back one buttons

Group/ungroup button

Combine/Break apart button

Convert to curves button

See also

Tools

Screen layout

CleanUp button


Text font combo (top toolbar)
Text font combo

This drop-down combobox provides a quick way to change the font of selected text objects. It lists the available fonts, and displays the font name of the currently selected text object.

mini Office Draw can use TrueType fonts and Adobe Type Manager fonts (if you have ATM V1.1 or higher). Other fonts will not be used by mini Office Draw.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Text/Fonts command

Text (overview)


Text size combo (top toolbar)
Text size combo

This drop-down combobox provides a quick way to change the size of selected text objects. The size of the text is specified in points (72 points = 1 inch). You can type the size directly into the combobox.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Text/Fonts command

Text (overview)


Bold and italic buttons (top toolbar)
Bold and italic buttons

These two buttons set the Bold and Italic styles on and off for selected text objects. They are shortcuts for the Text/Bold and Text/Italic menu commands.

Double-click or right-click on them to get the Text/Fonts... dialog, which controls all text attributes.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Text menu

Text (overview)


Left, centre and right buttons (top toolbar)
Left, centre and right buttons

These three buttons are shortcuts for the Text/Left, Text/Centre and Text/Right alignment commands.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Text menu

Text (overview)


Cut, copy and paste buttons (top toolbar)
Cut, copy and paste buttons

These three buttons are shortcuts for the Edit/Cut, Edit/Copy and Edit/Paste clipboard commands.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Edit menu

Edit/Paste Special...


Undo button (top toolbar)
Undo button

This button is a shortcut for the Edit/Undo command.

Double-click or right-click on it to change the maximum number of undo levels. Undo works by making a copy of the object before you change it, so the more undo levels you have the more memory it takes up. Usually this doesn't matter, but if you are short of memory you can reduce the number of undo levels. Alternatively, you can increase the undo levels if memory is plentiful.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Undo command

Object basics


Flip buttons (top toolbar)
Flip buttons

These two buttons are shortcuts for the Effects/Flip Horizontal and Effects/Flip Vertical commands. They turn the current selection into its mirror image. For example, Flip Horizontal would make a "b" look like a "d". Flip Vertical would make a "b" look like a "p".

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Effects menu

Flip commands


Rotate button (top toolbar)
Rotate button

This button is a shortcut for the Effects/Rotate/90º command. It rotates the currently selected objects through a right-angle. You can also rotate objects by using the Status Editor, the Rotate tool and the menus.

Double-click on the Rotate button to rotate through any angle.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Status Editor

Rotate tool

Effects/Rotate


Forward one, back one buttons (top toolbar)
Forward one, back one buttons

These two buttons are shortcuts for the Arrange/Forward One and Arrange/Back One commands. They control which objects are drawn on top of which other objects for overlapping objects. mini Office Draw shows the depth of the selected object in the Selection Area of the Status Bar. Objects with low depth values are drawn after objects with higher depth values.

Forward One moves the selected object forward one layer. Double-clicking on this button is a shortcut for Arrange/Bring to Front; it makes the object cover all other objects in the drawing. Back One moves the object back one layer. Double-clicking on this button is a shortcut for Arrange/Send to Back; all other objects will cover the selected one.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Arrange menu

Selection area


Group/ungroup button (top toolbar)
Group/ungroup button

This button is a shortcut for the Arrange/Group and Arrange/Ungroup commands. If the current selection is not a group it acts as Arrange/Group, if the current selection is a group it acts as Arrange/Ungroup.

Use Group if you want to lock the selected objects together so that they select, move and resize as a unit.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Arrange/Group

Groups (overview)


Combine/Break apart button (top toolbar)
Combine/Break apart button

This button is a shortcut for the Arrange/Combine and Arrange/Break Apart commands. If the current selection is not a combination it acts as Arrange/Combine, if the current selection is a combination it acts as Arrange/Break Apart.

Combine joins objects together so that they have a single outline and interior. This means that "holes" appear where they overlap, where other objects can show through from underneath.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Arrange/Combine

Combinations (overview)


Convert to curves button (top toolbar)
Convert to curves button

This button is a shortcut for the Effects/Convert to Curves commands.

Once an object has been converted into curves, its outlines can be edited with the Node tool.

See also

Top toolbar

Screen layout

Effects/Convert to Curves

Effects/Clean Curves

Node tool

Lines and closed shapes


Left toolbar (overview)
Left toolbar

The left toolbar provides a variety of mouse driven tools for creating, selecting and directly manipulating text, lines and shapes.

Using the left toolbar

Using flyouts

Pointer tool

Rotate tool

Node tool

Rotate tool

Line flyout

QuickShapes flyout

Text tool

Import tool

Line weight flyout

Line colour flyout

Fill colour flyout

Envelope flyout

See also

Tools

Screen layout


Using the left toolbar

The left toolbar provides a variety of mouse driven tools for creating, selecting and directly manipulating text, lines and shapes.

To select a tool, ready for use, click on the button representing the tool you require. Look at QuickHelp, the HintLine or use ToolHints to help you to recognize the tools. Some of the tool buttons have flyouts which provide a palettes of tools that appear if you click and hold the mouse button down.

When you select a tool, its button remains down. When you move the mouse cursor over the page or pasteboard area the cursor display will change to remind you of the currently selected tool; mini Office Draw will respond to click, double-click, and drag, as appropriate for the currently selected tool.

The object creation tools will automatically be deselected, and the Pointer or Node tool reselected, after the object has been created on the page or pasteboard. To create multiple objects without needing to reselect the tool, hold the SHIFT key down when select the tool.

The F5 key will swap between the Node tool, the Pointer tool and the most recently selected creation tool.

The left toolbar can be hidden as part of the CleanUp button settings.

See also

Left toolbar

Using flyouts

Screen layout


Using flyouts

Several of the buttons on the left toolbar contain flyouts - palettes of tools or colours that appear only when the tool is clicked. You can tell which buttons have flyouts by looking for the little chevrons in the bottom right corner of the buttons.

The button's appearance reflects which of the tools in the flyout was last selected.

There are four ways to select a different tool from a flyout:

•	Click on the flyout button and drag the mouse out over the required tool. The flyout will appear when you first drag the mouse off the right-hand side, and disappear when you release it.

•	Click on the flyout button and hold the mouse button down for a moment. The flyout will appear after a brief pause. You can then release the mouse and the flyout will remain visible, allowing you to select a tool with a second click.

•	If the flyout button is already down when you click on it, the flyout will appear immediately.

•	The flyouts for colour and line weight appear as soon as you click on them.

If a flyout appears when you don't want it to, you can remove it by clicking on another tool.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout


Pointer tool (overview)
Pointer tool

The Pointer tool has four functions:

Selecting objects

Moving and copying objects

Sizing objects

Creating and moving ruler guides

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Objects (overview)


Pointer tool: selecting objects
Pointer tool and selecting objects

If you want to work on objects, you must first select them.

Selected objects are shown by a small hollow handle. The whole selection is indicated by eight small black handles called selection handles. The selection handles allow you to size the objects.

Selecting a single object

You can select a single object by clicking on it with the Pointer tool. If the object has a fill, then you can click anywhere on it. If the object has no fill (i.e. only an outline) then you must click on the object's outline to select it.

Where objects overlap, you can select the underneath object by clicking repeatedly. mini Office Draw selects a different overlapping object with each click.

Multiple selections

You can select several objects at once. This is known as a multiple selection. Most commands will affect all of the objects in the selection.

You can create a multiple selection by dragging out a  rectangle known as a marquee select, with the Pointer tool. All objects completely enclosed by the marquee select will be included in the multiple selection.

Another way is to add objects to a selection, one at a time, by holding down SHIFT while clicking on the objects to be selected.

You can also create a multiple selection containing all objects in the drawing by using Edit/Select All or by double-clicking on the Selection area of the Status Bar.

Deselecting objects

To remove a single object from a multiple selection, hold the SHIFT key down and click on the object to be removed.

To unselect all objects, click on a blank area of the page or pasteboard.

Groups

Multiple selections are temporary. If you select some other object the selection is "lost" and the new object selected. You can group objects together permanently by using Arrange/Group or the Group shortcut button in the top toolbar.

See also

Pointer tool (general)

Selecting and cursoring (keyboard)


Pointer tool: moving objects
Pointer Tool and moving and copying objects

To move selected objects, drag the mouse over one of the objects (avoiding the selection handles).

While moving a selection mini Office Draw displays a four-headed arrow cursor, and an outline of the selection. If you pause, before moving the mouse, a full representation of the objects will be displayed as they are moved.

Constraining a move operation

When you move a selection, you can constrain the movement to be vertical or horizontal by holding down the SHIFT key while moving.

Copying objects

Copying is done in the same way as moving, except that you hold down the CONTROL key when you start the drag. You can release the key any time after you start dragging.

See also

Pointer tool (general)

Special keyboard features


Pointer tool: sizing objects
Pointer tool and sizing objects

To size a selection, move the mouse cursor over one of the selection handles and drag.

The top and bottom handles allow the selection to be stretched in the vertical direction, the left and right handles allow the selection to be stretched in the horizontal direction and the corner handles allows the selection to resized.

Constraining a size operation

Hold down the SHIFT key while dragging the corner handles to constrain the selection to be "regular" in a way dependent on the object. For example an oval would be constrained to a circle.

Hold down the CONTROL key while dragging the handles to constrain the selection to maintain its current aspect ratio.

See also

Pointer tool (general)

Special keyboard features


Rotate tool (overview)
Rotate tool

The Rotate tool is used in two ways:

•	To rotate objects.

•	To shear objects

The objects must be selected before you can rotate or shear them. You can select and move objects with the Rotate tool in the same way as the Pointer tool. The Rotate tool indicates the current selection by displaying rotate handles on the corners of the selection, and shear handles at the top, bottom and sides of the selection. The mouse cursor will change to a rotate or shear icon if you are over any of the handles.

By default mini Office Draw rotates the selection around its centre, which is marked by a cross-hair handle.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Rotate dialog

Pointer tool


Rotate tool: rotating a selection
Rotate tool and rotating a selection

To rotate a selection, click on one of the corner handles and drag the handle in the direction you wish to rotate. A solid rectangle represents the selection you are rotating. The angle of rotation is shown in the HintLine.

Holding down the SHIFT key while dragging will constrain the angle to 15 degree increments. When the selection is rotated to its correct position, release the mouse button.

You can also rotate objects by using the Status Editor, the Effects/Transform... command or the Rotate dialog.

Unrotating a selection

Double-click with the Rotate tool to unrotate a rotated object. Double-click a second time to restore the previous rotation.

Changing the centre of rotation

To rotate around a point other than the centre of the selection, click on the centre cross-hair handle and drag the handle to a new position.

See also

Rotate tool (general)

Status Editor,

Effects/Transform...

Rotate dialog


Rotate tool: shearing a selection
Rotate tool and shearing a selection

To shear a selection, click on one of the shear handles and drag the handle in the direction you wish to shear. A solid outline represents the selection you are shearing, and the HintLine will show the shear percentage.

When the selection is sheared to its new shape, release the mouse button.

See also

Rotate tool (general)


Rotation dialog

The rotation dialog lets you rotate the selection by entering a numeric value. You can get to the dialog by double-clicking on the Rotate tool button in the left toolbar, or on the Rotate 90º button in the top toolbar.

You can also rotate objects by using the Rotate tool or the Status Editor.

See also

Rotate tool

Rotate button

Status Editor


Node tool (overview)
Node tool

With the Node tool you can manipulate the shape of objects by dragging on the object's control nodes.

Node tool with lines and closed shapes

Node tool with QuickShapes

Node tool with text

Node tool with envelopes

The Node tool can also select and move objects, in the same way as the Pointer tool. Objects must be selected before the Node tool can manipulate them. The currently selected object is shown displaying control nodes.

Only single objects can be manipulated with the Node tool.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Effects/Convert to Curves


Node tool: lines and closed shapes
Node tool with lines and closed shapes

A line object in mini Office Draw is made up of line segments that meet at corner nodes. The line segments can be straight or curved, and the corner nodes can be smooth or sharp. Curved line segments have attractor nodes which influence their shape. If the line forms a complete shape outline, it is known as a closed shape.

When a line is selected with the Node tool, the Curve Editor appears. You use the Curve Editor to change the type of line segments and corner nodes, and to close or open shapes.

The Node tool is used on lines in three ways:

•	To select corner nodes

•	To reshape the line

•	To close lines to create closed shapes.

•	To select points where the Curve Editor can add new corner nodes.

Selecting corner nodes

When a line or closed shape is selected with the Node tool, the Node tool draws node handles at every corner node. You select a corner node by clicking on it with the Node tool. The selected node is drawn slightly larger and is given a red centre to identify it. You can reshape the object by dragging the node handles.

If the selected node is a smooth corner node, the Node tool will draw handles for the attractor nodes. Attractor handles control the shape of the curved line segment. They are drawn as smaller hollow handles attached to the corner nodes by a blue line. Drag the attractor handles to alter the shape of a curved line segment.

Reshaping the line or closed shape

You reshape lines by dragging corner and attractor node handles. Corner node handles move their corner directly; they're very straightforward. Attractor node handles exert a more subtle influence over the curve. They act as magnets, pulling their line segment into shape. This is easier to do than to explain, so try it and see.

If you hold the SHIFT key down while you drag, the handle is constrained to only move in the horizontal or vertical direction.

Creating closed shapes

You can create a closed shape by dragging one end node over the other. The mouse cursor changes when the two nodes are dragged near enough together, to reflect that dropping in that position will make a closed shape.

Adding new corner nodes

To add a new corner node, click on the line where you want the corner to be. You will notice a red marker appear on the line at that point.. Then click on the Add Node to Curve button in the Curve Editor.

See also

Node tool

Curve Editor

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Node tool: QuickShapes
Node tool with QuickShapes

When a QuickShape is selected with the Node tool, handles appear which control the QuickShape's exact appearance. Different QuickShapes have different handles, according to their nature. For example, the QuickArrow shapes can adjust the appearance of their arrow-heads. To see what the handles for a particular QuickShape do, move the Node tool over the handle and look at the HintLine.

To alter the appearance of a QuickShape, click and drag on its handles. Each QuickShape will change in a different way. For example, dragging the handles on a QuickPolygon will change the number of sides to make a triangle, pentagon, hexagon or other polygon. Dragging the handles on a QuickBox alters the box corners to make them more or less rounded. Dragging the handles of a QuickOval will alter the oval into a "pie" shape.

See also

Node tool

QuickShapes (overview)


Node tool: text
Node tool with text

When a text object is selected with the Node tool, two handles appear which allow the leading (line spacing) and tracking (letter spacing) to be visually altered by dragging on the handles. To alter the text leading, drag the bottom left handle. You will need at least two lines of text to see any effect. If you want to set the leading to an exact percentage, use the Text/Leading menu command.

To alter the text tracking, drag the bottom right handle. If you want to set the tracking to an exact percentage, use the Text/Tracking menu command.

If you want greater control over the shape of the characters for the text, try converting it into curves. As curves, you can position every character individually and even edit the character shapes, exactly as if you had drawn the character shapes by hand using the Line tools. See Effects/Convert to Curves or the Convert to Curves shortcut button in the top toolbar for more information.

Double-clicking on text with the Node tool allows the text to be edited in the Text Edit window.

See also

Node tool

Text (overview)

Text edit window


Node tool with envelopes

You can use the Node tool to edit an enveloped object outline and thus alter the warp effect. It is very similar to editing curved lines. The envelope outline has corner nodes and attractor nodes which are selected and dragged in the same way. The only difference is that you cannot add or delete corner nodes to an envelope. Envelopes always have exactly eight line segments, two on each side.

See also

Node tool

Envelopes (overview)


Zoom tool (overview)
Zoom tool

The zoom tool allows you to change the magnification of your current view. You can use it in five different ways:

•	Click on the screen. This has the same effect as clicking on the Zoom In button in the Status Bar, except that it also scrolls the view so that the position at which you clicked is now in the centre of the screen.

•	Click on the screen while holding down the shift key. This has the same effect as clicking on the Zoom Out button in the status bar.

•	Drag to fill the screen with the dragged area. A small drag gives a large magnification, a large drag gives a small magnification.

•	Drag while holding down the SHIFT key to fill the dragged area with the current screen, hence decreasing the magnification.

•	Double click with the Zoom tool to toggle the magnification between the fit-page view and the last view used.

The range of magnification available is 5% to 1000%.

You can also change zooms without selecting the tool, by using the Zoom area of the Status Bar and the commands in the View menu.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

View menu

Zoom area (status bar)

Edit zoom dialog


Edit zoom dialog

This dialog allows you to set the Zoom to any percentage, by entering a numeric value. 100% means full size. Larger zooms mean your drawing appears bigger, smaller mean you can see more of it at once. You can get to this dialog by double-clicking on the Zoom tool button, single-clicking on the Zoom area of the Status bar, or by using the Custom Zoom command.

See also

Zoom tool

Zoom area (status bar)

View menu


Line tool flyout (overview)
Line tool flyout

The Line tool flyout contains three tools for drawing lines and closed shapes.

Freehand line tool

Straight line tool

Curved line tool

A line in mini Office Draw is made of a number of line segments joined together by corner nodes. If the line forms a complete outline, then it is known as a closed shape. Once you've drawn a line or closed shape, you can reshape it by dragging the corner nodes with the Node tool.

A closed shape has an interior which can be filled with colour; open lines just have line weight and line colour. You can create a closed shape by drawing a line which has its end point over its start point, or by using the Curve Editor (see later in this chapter).

You can extend existing lines by first selecting them (with the Pointer or Node tool), then drawing a line which start at one of the existing line's end points. The end points will show as square handles and the cursor will change as the mouse moves over them, to show that the existing line will be added to.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Freehand line tool (overview)
Freehand line tool

Use the Freehand line tool to sketch lines in a freeform way. Select the tool, move the mouse over the page area and drag to draw. The curve will follow your mouse movements. When you release the mouse button the Freehand line tool will automatically smooth out the line and insert a minimal number of corner nodes.

If you want to extend an existing line, start your drag at an end point of an existing line.

If snapping is switched on, the Freehand line tool produces horizontal, vertical and diagonal straight line segments as opposed to a mixture of curved and straight line segments.

See also

Line flyout

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Node tool

Effects/Convert to Curves


Straight line tool (overview)
Straight line tool

Use the Straight Line tool to create straight line segments. Select the tool and drag on the page. A straight line between the points where the drag started and ended is created. If you want to extend an existing line, start your drag at one of the existing line's end points.

Hold the SHIFT key down while dragging to constrain the angle of the created line to 15 degree increments. This is an easy way to make exactly vertical or horizontal lines.

See also

Line flyout

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Node tool

Special keyboard features


Curved line tool (overview)
Curved line tool

Use the Curved line tool to draw a mixture of large, sweeping curves and straight line segments. This tool is unlike the others, in that the drawing happens between mouse clicks rather than when the mouse is being dragged.

To start drawing, click on the page where you want the line to start. If you want to extend an existing line, start the line at an existing line's end point. Now every following mouse click will add another line segment. If you want the segment to be curved, hold the mouse down while you click and drag out an attractor node. Attractor nodes act as magnets, pulling the curve into shape. If you want the segment to be straight, just click without dragging.

See also

Line flyout

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Node tool


QuickShape flyout

QuickShapes are pre-designed objects, provided by mini Office Draw to save you time. The QuickShape flyout contains a wide variety of commonly used shapes, including boxes, ovals, arrows, polygons and stars. QuickShapes have some intelligence and can be reshaped by the Node tool.

To create a QuickShape, select a shape from the flyout and than drag over the page. The QuickShape fills the area you drag. When you release the mouse button, the QuickShape tool reverts to the Node tool, ready for the shape to be altered by dragging on its handles.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

QuickShapes (overview)

Node tool


Text tool (overview)
Text tool

Select the Text tool to create or edit text. Click on the page to create text at the current default pointsize or drag out an area to create text which will be automatically sized to the area dragged. The text font, style, line colour, line weight and fill colour will all be set to the defaults at the time when the text is created.

To edit existing text, double click on it with the Node or Pointer tool. This will bring up the Text Edit Window with the text ready for editing.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Text Edit Window


Text Edit window

The Text Edit window appears when you create new text with the Text tool, double-click on existing text with the Node or Pointer tools, or select the Text/Edit Text... command. It provides a simple editor for changing the text.

Click in the Text Edit window and type your text. You can use all the normal Windows editing keys, including cut and paste from the clipboard. Remember that mini Office Draw does not word wrap text; if you want multiple lines of text in a text object, use the RETURN key to start new lines where desired in the Text Edit window. When you've finished click on the OK button or press ALT+RETURN. You can abandon the text entry or editing by clicking on the Cancel button or pressing ESC.

Clipboard

Here is a reminder of the standard Windows keys for cutting and pasting text from the clipboard. There are two alternatives for each operation.

shift+del	control+x	Cut to clipboard
control+ins	control+c	Copy to clipboard
shift+ins	control+v	Paste from clipboard
Bullets and special characters

A number of special characters are available via mnemonic keyboard shortcuts as shown in the table below. You must make sure the font in use has the required character - use the character map utility in the Program Manager Accessories group if you need to check the contents of a font. Due to windows font limitations some of the special characters will display as little bars in the text entry window but the page display will be correct.

CONTROL+ALT+8	•	Bullet
CONTROL+/	†	Dagger
CONTROL+ALT+/	‡	Double dagger
CONTROL+ALT+=		Em-rule or dash
CONTROL+ALT+C	©	Copyright symbol
CONTROL+ALT+R	®	Registered symbol
CONTROL+ALT+T	™	Trademark symbol
CONTROL+[	'	Single open quote
CONTROL+]	'	Single close quote
CONTROL+ALT+[	"	Double open quote
CONTROL+ALT+]	"	Double close quote
CONTROL+ALT+2	''	Inch mark
CONTROL+ALT+'	'	Foot mark
Typing RETURN in the text entry window starts a new line of text.

See also

Text

Text menu


Import tool (overview)
Import tool

Use the Import tool to import other pictures into your drawing:

•	Click to import pictures. This is a shortcut for File/Import/Other....

Either way, after choosing the desired picture, press OK. The dialog will disappears and the mouse pointer changes to the picture paste cursor. Click to drop the picture at its natural size or drag to set the size. If you hold down the SHIFT key while dragging, then the area will be constrained to the aspect ratio of the imported picture.

The imported picture is placed on the page as a permanent group. To alter the component objects which make up the picture, you must first ungroup it.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

File/Import/Other...

Groups


Line weight button
Line weight flyout

Use this flyout button to set the weight (or thickness) of outlines for the current selection. The first entry in the flyout palette switch outlines off, the second selects "hairline" which is the thinnest line your printer can draw, and the others set various different line weights.

If the weight you require isn't in the flyout, double-click or right-click, on the Line Weight button. This brings up a dialog which allows you to set any line weight. The new weight will be stored in the last entry of the flyout.

The Line weight button is a shortcut for the Effects/Line weight command.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Effects/Line weight

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Line colour button
Line colour flyout

Use this flyout button to set the colour of lines in the current selection. The flyout contains a palette of around forty commonly used colours.

If you need a colour which isn't in the palette, double-click or right-click, on the Line Colour button to bring up the colour dialog. This is a shortcut for Effects/Edit Line Colour... The new colour will be added to the flyout palette so that you can use it again in future.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Effects/Edit Line Colour...

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Fill colour flyout

Use this flyout button to control the fill colour of text, QuickShapes and closed curves. The first entry in the flyout palette switches the fill off, so that you just see the object outline. The other palette entries are a mixture of solid fills, linear fills and radial fills.

If you need a fill which isn't in the flyout, for example a custom radial fill, double-click or right-click on the Fill Colour button. This brings up the Edit Fill dialog. The new colour will be added to the flyout palette so that you can use it again in future.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Edit fill dialog

Effects/Edit Fill Colour


Edit fill dialog

This dialog is a combination of the Effects/Edit Fill Colour dialogs. It has some Fill type radio buttons which affect the other controls of the dialog.

With the Linear and Radial fills, you can choose up to three colours and mini Office Draw will blend between them.

Fill type

These radio buttons select between four different kinds of fill:

•	No fill This option switches off fills, making objects transparent apart from their outlines.

•	Solid fill A solid fill fills objects with a single, plain colour.

•	Linear fill A linear fill gradually blends between two or three plain colours, using a pattern of straight lines.

•	Radial fill. A radial fill gradually blends between two or three plain colours, using a pattern of concentric circles.

Colour

Selects a colour from the palette. Double-clicking on a colour automatically selects "Edit" for that colour.

For Linear or Radial fills, this control affects the Start, Middle or End colour according to which of the Colour Markers is selected. For Solid fills, it is simply the colour of the fill.

New.../Edit...

Clicking on" New..." or "Edit..." brings up a further dialog in which a colour in the palette is edited.

In this second dialog, the first text field sets the name of the colour. The next three scroll bars and edit boxes control the mixture of Red, Green and Blue that make up the colour. The values range from 0 to 255 - 0, 0, 0 is solid black, 255, 255, 255 is pure white. Beneath the scroll bars is a sample box which is filled with the current colour. The screen representations of colours may vary depending on your Windows screen driver.

Delete

Deletes the selected colour from the list.

Tint

Tints the colour. The default is 100%, which produces the full colour from the palette. The lower the tint, the less intense the colour.

For Linear or Radial fills, this control tints the Start, Middle or End colour according to which of the Colour Marks is selected. For Solid fills, it tints the entire fill.

Sample

This rectangle is filled with the current fill, to show how it looks.

Colour Markers

If the fill type is Linear or Radial, the "Start", "Middle" and "End" markers (triangles next to the graduation fill sample) allow the start, middle and end colours to be set. To set any of the colours, select the colour marker by clicking on it, then select a colour.

The middle marker shows its current position as a percentage between the start and end markers. You can change its position by dragging on it with the mouse. To get two colour graduated fills, drag the middle marker down to cover either the start or end marker.

Angle

If the fill type is Linear, this controls the angle of the lines used to draw the fill in the object. The default value is 90 degrees which gives horizontal Linear fills. You can get sloping lines by entering some other angle.

Vertical and Horizontal

If the fill type is Radial, these control the centre of the radial fill in the object. By default, both are set to 0% placing the centre of the radial fill in the centre of the object. Setting both to 100% would give a pattern radiating out from the object's bottom right corner.

Bands

This control sets how many colour graduations there are from the start to end colour. Large values give smoother blends, but they are slower to draw and they take up more memory in exported files. The default value is forty, which is a good compromise for a fairly smooth blend.

For speed, mini Office Draw can use fewer bands when drawing to the screen. This is controlled from the "Fast Viewing/#Fill Bands" option in the View/Preferences/General... dialog.

See also

Fill colour flyout

Effects/Edit Fill Colour

View/Preferences/General...


Envelope flyout

This flyout button applies an envelope to the current selection. An envelope is a shape with an editable outline made up of curves. Envelopes are used as boundaries into which objects are stretched or squeezed. This can produce interesting effects. For example, you can use envelopes to bend text into a heart or just about any other shape.

To apply an envelope, first select the object or objects you want to be enveloped. Then click on the Envelope button and select an envelope from the flyout. The first palette entry removes an existing envelope from the selected object, a shortcut for Effects/Remove Envelope. The second palette entry is a "store" of the most recently selected "user" modified envelope. The third creates a plain envelope, which is used as a base for creating new envelopes. The rest of the palette is filled with predefined envelopes of various shapes.

You can edit any of the envelopes with the Node tool. mini Office Draw selects the Node tool automatically when an envelope is applied.

See also

Left toolbar

Screen layout

Envelopes (overview)

Node tool


Curve Editor (overview)
Curve Editor

The Curve Editor is a floating dialog which appears when you have a line, closed shape or envelope selected with the Node tool.

It has a variety of uses.

Adding and deleting corner nodes

Closing and breaking open closed shapes

Changing line segments and corner types

The Curve Editor works in combination with the Node tool. Select the corner node or point on the line or closed shape which is to be affected by the Curve Editor and then use the buttons on the Curve Editor. If all the Curve Editor's buttons are greyed out, you need to select a part of the line or shape to work on.

You can move the Curve Editor to a more convenient place on the screen by dragging on its title bar. You can hide it altogether by clicking on its Close button, to the left of its title.

See also

Tools

Screen layout

Node tool

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Envelopes (overview)


Adding and deleting corner nodes

The more corner nodes there are on a line or closed shape, the more control over its shape you have.

Adding corner nodes

To add a corner node, click with the Node tool at the point where you want the new node to appear and select the Add Node button. The new node will be created and selected, complete with attractor nodes if they are necessary. You can now use the Node tool to reposition the nodes, and reshape the line or closed shape, by dragging on the new handles.

You cannot add or delete corner nodes to an envelope, envelopes have a fixed number of line segments.

Deleting corner nodes

Deleting corner nodes makes the line or closed shape simpler. Click on the corner node you want to delete with the Node tool, so that it is selected, then use the Delete Node button of the Curve Editor. The node will be deleted, along with any associated attractor nodes, and the line or closed shape will jump to its new shape.

You cannot add or delete corner nodes to an envelope, envelopes have a fixed number of line segments.

See also

Curve Editor

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Envelopes (overview)


Closing and breaking open closed shapes

Closed shapes have an interior which can be filled. Lines only have a line colour and line weight.

You can create a closed shape by using one of the line tools to connect the start and end points of an existing line. The Close Curve button on the Curve Editor automatically draws this line for you.

Before breaking open a closed curve, you must select the corner node where you want the break to be. Then select the Break Curve button. The closed shape will become a line, and the selected node will be split into two nodes, one at each end of the line.

If you use Break Curve on a line, the line will be broken into two lines. You can join broken lines together again by using Arrange/Join Curves.

You cannot break open envelopes, envelopes are always closed shapes.

See also

Curve Editor

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Arrange/Join Curves


Changing line segment and corner types

Line segments can be straight or curved. If they are curved, they can join other line segments at corners which are either sharp, smooth or symmetric. Symmetric means that the line has the same slope and shape on both sides of the corner node. Smooth means that the slope of the line is the same on both sides of the corner node, but the shape can be different. Sharp means that the lines either side of the node are completely independent so that the corner can be quite pointed.

Making line segments straight or curved

To make a line segment straight, select the corner node anti-clockwise of it and then use the Straighten Line button. Straight line segments always join in sharp corners. To make a line segment curved instead, select one of the three corner node types:- Sharp Corner, Smooth Corner or Symmetric Corner.

Making corners sharp or smooth

To make the join between two line segments sharp and pointed, select the corner node and use the Sharp Corner button. To make the join smooth but asymmetric, use the Smooth Corner button. To make it smooth and symmetric, use the Symmetric Corner button.

See also

Curve Editor

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Status Editor (overview)
Status Editor

The Status Editor is a floating dialog which you can use to size, move and rotate objects numerically.

It appears when you click on the Status Editor button in the middle of the Status Bar. You can move it to a more convenient place on the screen by dragging on its title bar. You can hide it altogether by clicking on its Close button, to the left of its title.

The Status Editor has five controls: "X Position", "Y Position", "Width", "Height" and "Rotation". To use it, select the object or group you want to change, click on the appropriate control and enter the new value. Or click on the arrows to "nudge" the selection a small distance. If you hold the mouse button down on the arrows, the selection will move continuously until you release it.

See also

Tools

Screen layout

Objects (overview)

Status Editor button


Menus and commands (overview)
 Menus and Commands

This topic indexes the mini Office Draw menus.

File, Edit, View, Arrange, Text, Effects, Help.

This Help describes all of the commands, including those only available in mini Office Draw Designer Level. You can change levels using the mini Office Draw Level button.

Popup menus

You can get short menus specific to a particular object by clicking with the right mouse button on the object. All the commands in these menus are also available from the main menu bar. Popup menus are convenient because they appear directly where you are working.

See also

Contents

Screen layout

mini Office Draw Level button


File

Commands for opening, saving
and printing drawings...

New

Open...

Revert

Save

Save As...

Autosave

Save Defaults

Import Picture

Import CorelDRAW!...

Import Other...

Export as Picture...

Page Setup...

Print...

Print Setup...

Exit


File menu

The File menu lists the commands for opening, saving, and printing drawings; importing picture files, and other associated file-based functions.

New

Open...

Revert

Save

Save As...

Autosave

Save Defaults

Import Picture

Import CorelDRAW!...

Import Other...

Export as Picture...

Page Setup...

Print...

Print Setup...

Exit

See also

Menus and commands


New (file menu)
File/New command (Ctrl+N)

Displays the StartUp assistant which allows you to begin a new piece of work.

If the drawing you are currently working on hasn't been saved since the last change was made to it, mini Office Draw will ask you if you want to save the current drawing before continuing.

If the StartUp assistant has been switched off, by checking the "Don't show Assistant again" box, selecting File/New will go directly to a blank page, ready to start a new drawing from scratch. You can switch the assistant back on again from the View/Preferences/Ease of Use... dialog.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)


Open... (file menu)
File/Open... command (Ctrl+O)

Displays a standard Windows filing dialog which allows you to open an existing mini Office Draw drawing.

mini Office Draw lists the drawings (*.DPP) in the current directory.

When you select a drawing, mini Office Draw previews it. You can import a drawing without having to wait for the preview by double clicking on the drawing name, or by unchecking the "Preview" box.

If the drawing you are working on hasn't been saved since the last change was made to it, mini Office Draw will ask you if you want to save the current drawing before continuing.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)


Revert (file menu)
File/Revert command

Undoes (or abandons) all changes you've made to the current drawing since it was last saved.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)

Edit/Undo


Save (file menu)
File/Save command (Ctrl+S)

Saves the current drawing.

If the drawing name is "Untitled", mini Office Draw displays the Save As... dialog, allowing you to specify the file name for the picture.

If mini Office Draw is editing an embedded OLE object, this command will be renamed to Update [document], where [Document] is the name of the file containing the drawing.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)


Save As... (file menu)
File/Save As... command

Displays a dialog allowing the current drawing to be saved in the selected directory with the name specified. Change the drawing name, directory and drive to specify where you want to save your drawing. There is no need to specify a file extension. mini Office Draw will fill in the filename extension automatically.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)


Autosave (file menu)
File/Autosave command

If Autosave is switched on, mini Office Draw will save a "hidden" backup of your picture at timed intervals automatically. If your work is unexpectedly interrupted before you save your document, through a power failure for example, then you will have the opportunity to restore the last "autosaved" copy of your document the next time that mini Office Draw is started.

This menu option allows you to set the time interval between each autosave, in minutes, or to switch autosave off.

The autosave setting can be saved permanently from the View/Preferences/General... dialog.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)

Edit/Undo

View/Preferences/General...


Save Defaults (file menu)
File/Save Defaults command

This option saves various document defaults, such as the font face and size used for newly created text, and the default line width and colour.

User interface settings - such as whether rulers are visible - are not affected. Use the View/Preferences dialogs to save these.

See also

File menu

View/Preferences


Import Picture (file menu)
File/Import Picture command

Displays a sub-menu listing picture sources. The sources available are:

CorelDRAW!...

Other...

See also

File menu

ClipArt (overview)

Import tool (overview)


Import CorelDRAW!... (file menu)
File/Import Picture/CorelDRAW!... command

Displays a dialog that gives convenient access to CorelDRAW! picture files.

mini Office Draw lists the available CorelDRAW! pictures in the current directory and when a picture is highlighted, a preview will be displayed. You can import a picture without having to wait for the preview by double clicking on the picture name, or by unchecking the "Preview" box.

After highlighting the desired picture, press OK, the dialog disappears and the mouse pointer changes to the picture paste cursor. Click to drop the picture at a default size or drag to set the size. If you hold down the CONTROL key while dragging, then the area will be constrained to the aspect ratio of the imported picture.

See also

File menu

ClipArt (overview)

Import tool (overview)


Import Other... (file menu)
File/Import Picture/Other... command

Allows pictures of many formats to be imported into your drawing.

Select the type of picture you wish to import using the "List Files of Type" box. A list of available pictures is displayed and when a picture is highlighted, a preview will be displayed. You can import a picture without having to wait for the preview by double clicking on the picture name.

After highlighting the desired picture, press OK, the dialog disappears and the mouse pointer changes to the picture paste cursor. Click to drop the picture at a default size or drag to set the size. If you hold down the CONTROL key while dragging, then the area will be constrained to the aspect ratio of the imported picture.

Double-clicking on the Import button in the left toolbar is a shortcut for this command.

See also

File menu

ClipArt (overview)

Import tool (overview)


Export as Picture... (file menu)
File/Export as Picture... command

Exports all the objects on the pasteboard and page, or alternatively just the currently selected objects, as a picture in the specified picture file format. This function is very useful for generating logos and pictures which are to be placed in to publications created in another application such as a word-processor.

Select the picture type you wish to create from the "List files of type" box, then select the drive, directory, and file name for the picture.

See also

File menu

ClipArt (overview)


Page Setup... (file menu)
File/Page Setup... command

Displays a dialog for modifying the page dimensions and margins. The Page Setup settings can be saved as defaults for new drawings by selecting File/Save Defaults.

Dimensions

Select one of the standard page sizes from the "Page Size" list box or define your own page size by selecting "Custom" and entering values into the "Width" and "Height" entry boxes. Select "Wide" for landscape orientation or "Tall" for portrait orientation.

Margins

Set the page margins as required by entering values in the "Left", "Right", "Top" and "Bottom" entry boxes.

See also

File menu

Drawings (overview)

Page and pasteboard area


Print... (file menu)
File/Print... command (Ctrl+P)

Displays a dialog box providing options for printing the current drawing.

In general, you will simply want to select the number of copies and press OK. The drawing will be printed in colour on a colour printer or in shades of grey on a black and white printer.

Before printing check that your printer page size is set to the correct size. If you wish to select a different printer then use the Setup... button to access the standard Windows Print Setup dialog.

Scaling percentage

Allows a "custom" scaling percentage to be specified. The default for this is 100% or normal size. To scale your work to be printed at a larger size, specify a larger value and to scale down, specify a smaller value.

Scale to fit

When "Scale to fit" is selected, artwork is automatically reduced in size, if necessary, to fit neatly on the printed page.

Print to File

Specifies that the printing data is sent to a disk file rather than to the selected printer connection. This is normally used when generating "PostScript print files" which are to be sent to a commercial bureau in order to get high resolution output.

Tile: overlap

With this option, mini Office Draw splits large or enlarged drawings into several page-sized pieces and prints each on a separate sheet of paper. You can then lay the sheets side by side to form the complete drawing. Use this for printing at larger sizes than the maximum paper size of your printer, for example when creating banners or posters.

In order to simplify arrangement of the tiles and to allow for printer margins, you can specify an overlap. The default value of 0.5 inches is generally sufficient.

See also

File menu

File/Print Setup...

Print to file dialog


Print to file dialog
File/Print to file dialog

This is a standard Windows filing dialog which appears if you check the Print to File box of the Print dialog. Use it to choose the name of the file you want mini Office Draw to print to.

See also

File/Print...


Print Setup... (file menu)
File/Print Setup... command

Displays the standard Windows Print Setup dialog.

Typically, Print Setup is used to select which printer to print to. If more than one is installed, the paper size for the printer and the orientation of the printer's page.

See your Microsoft Windows User's Guide for a detailed discussion of the Print Setup dialog.

See also

File menu

File/Print...


Exit (file menu)
File/Exit command

This command exits mini Office Draw.

Selecting this command is the same as selecting Control menu/Close or double-clicking on the window close icon.

If the current drawing has not been saved, you will be given the option of saving your changes before exiting.

If mini Office Draw is editing an embedded OLE object, this command will be renamed to Exit to [Document], where [Document] is the name of the file containing the drawing.

See also

File menu


Edit

Commands for cutting and
pasting objects on the page.

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste Special...

Clear

Select All


Edit menu

Commands for cutting and pasting objects on the page.

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste Special...

Clear

Select All

See also

Menus and commands


Undo (edit menu)
Edit/Undo command (Ctrl+Z)

Undoes the most recent change to the current drawing.

Undo is greyed out when not available. You can undo several changes one after the other, up to the limit set by the "Undo Levels" entry in the Views/Preferences/General... dialog.

The top toolbar has a shortcut button for accessing Undo.

See also

Edit menu

Undo button

File/Revert


Cut (edit menu)
Edit/Cut command (Ctrl+X)

Removes the selected object or group of objects and places a copy on to the Windows clipboard. From there you can paste them back into mini Office Draw or into another Windows application. Any application that understands OLE or the Windows metafile format will accept objects cut from mini Office Draw. See the Using mini Office Draw chapter for more details about OLE.

The top toolbar has a shortcut button for this command.

See also

Edit menu

Edit/Paste Special...

Cut, copy and paste buttons

Edit/Undo


Copy (edit menu)
Edit/Copy command (Ctrl+C)

Copies the selected object, or group of objects, to the Windows clipboard. As with Edit/Cut, once they're on the clipboard you can paste them back into mini Office Draw or into another Windows application. Any application that understands OLE or the Windows metafile format will accept objects copied from mini Office Draw. See the Using mini Office Draw chapter for more details about OLE.

The top toolbar has a shortcut button for this command.

See also

Edit menu

Edit/Paste Special...

Cut, copy and paste buttons


Paste (edit menu)
Edit/Paste command (Ctrl+V)

Pastes a copy of the contents of the Windows clipboard on to the current drawing.

The Windows clipboard can contain different formats of the same object (e.g. Picture, Bitmap...). mini Office Draw will pick the one it thinks is best. If you want to paste a particular format, use Edit/Paste Special...

The top toolbar has a shortcut button for this command.

See also

Edit menu

Edit/Paste Special...

Cut, copy and paste buttons


Paste Special... (edit menu)
Edit/Paste Special... command

Paste special... allows you to choose which format will be pasted from the Windows clipboard.

mini Office Draw displays a dialog that lists all the formats currently available on the clipboard (e.g. Metafile, Bitmap...). Select the format you require and press OK to paste.

mini Office Draw understands the following formats:

•	mini Office Draw Object This is the format mini Office Draw itself supplies when you use Edit/Copy. It's the format Edit/Paste prefers, if it's available, and is the best for cutting and pasting within mini Office Draw

•	Picture, also known as Metafile This is the format most Windows applications use for transferring scaleable pictures. If you copy a mini Office Draw object and then paste it in as a metafile, you will find that QuickShapes and other objects get converted into curves.

•	Text Pasting text from the clipboard produces a mini Office Draw text object.

•	DIB Bitmap Pasting this will produce a mini Office Draw bitmap object. mini Office Draw has only minimal support for bitmaps so this is usually the least preferable format to choose, but sometimes it is the only one available.

•	Bitmap Pasting this will produce a mini Office Draw bitmap object. mini Office Draw has only minimal support for bitmaps so this is usually the least preferable format to choose, but sometimes it is the only one available.

See also

Edit menu

Edit/Cut

Edit/Copy

Edit/Paste

Edit/Clear

Cut, copy and paste buttons


Clear (edit menu)
Edit/Clear command (Del)

Clears or deletes the selected object or group of objects. The objects are not copied to the Windows clipboard. If you make a mistake and accidentally delete an object, use Edit/Undo.

See also

Edit menu

Edit/Paste Special...

Edit/Undo

Cut, copy and paste buttons


Select All (edit menu)
Edit/Select All command (Ctrl+A)

Selects all the objects on the current drawing.

If you have an object selected and you press SHIFT as you select Select All, all objects of the same type on the current page and pasteboard will be selected. This can be useful if, for example, you want to select all your graphic lines as a group and change their line weight.

Different QuickShapes count as different object types for the purposes of this command. Thus if you have a QuickBox selected, SHIFT+Select All will select all the QuickBoxes but not QuickOvals or QuickStars.

Double-clicking on the Selection area in Status Bar is a short-cut for this command.

See also

Edit menu

Selection area


View

Commands for controlling
layout tools.

Show Rulers

Show Guides

Show Grid

Fit Page

Actual Size

Zoom In

Zoom Out

Custom Zoom

Snapping

Preferences

General...

Ease of Use...


View menu

This menu controls various aspects of the mini Office Draw user interface.

Show Rulers

Show Guides

Show Grid

Fit Page

Actual Size

Zoom In

Zoom Out

Custom Zoom

Snapping

Preferences

General...

Ease of Use...

See also

Menus and commands


Show Rulers (view menu)
View/Show Rulers command

Shows or hides the rulers. When rulers are hidden snapping to rulers is also switched off. Rulers can also be hidden by the CleanUp button.

See also

View menu

Rulers

Layout tools (overview)

CleanUp button


Show Guides (view menu)
View/Show Guides command

Shows or hides ruler guides. You can create guides by clicking on the rulers. When guides are hidden, snapping to them is switched off. Guides can also be shown and hidden by the CleanUp button.

See also

View menu

Layout tools (overview)

Guides

Snapping (overview)

CleanUp button


Show Grid (view menu)
View/Show Grid command

Shows or hides the layout grid. The layout grid is a visual aid to help you size and position objects by eye. The grid can also be shown and hidden by the CleanUp button.

See also

View menu

Layout grid

Layout tools (overview)

CleanUp button


Fit Page (view menu)
View/Fit Page command

Automatically sets the zoom percentage and re-centres the page display so that the current page is fully visible. The Fit Page button in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this menu option.

See also

View menu

Zoom area

Page and pasteboard area


Actual Size (view menu)
View/Actual Size command

Sets the zoom percentage to 100%. The 1:1 button in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this menu option.

See also

View menu

Zoom area

Page and pasteboard area


Zoom In (view menu)
View/Zoom In command

Increases the zoom percentage, so that your picture looks bigger. The Zoom In button in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this menu option.

See also

View menu

Zoom area

Page and pasteboard area


Zoom Out (view menu)
View/Zoom Out command

Decreases the zoom percentage, so that you can see more of your drawing. The Zoom Out button in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this menu option.

See also

View menu

Zoom area

Page and pasteboard area


Custom Zoom... (view menu)
View/Custom Zoom... command

This dialog allows you to set the zoom to any percentage you like. Clicking on the Zoom window in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this menu option.

See also

View menu

Zoom area

Page and pasteboard area

Edit zoom dialog


Snapping (view menu)
View/Snapping command

If checked, snapping is currently switched on. Select this to toggle the current snapping status between on and off. Clicking on the Snapping button in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this menu option.

See also

View menu

Snapping (overview)

Snapping button


Preferences (view menu)
View/Preferences command

These two options bring up dialogs which configure various aspects of the user interface.

General...

Ease of Use...

See also

View menu


Preferences/General... (view menu)
View/Preferences/General... command

This dialog configures various user interface features.

Fast Viewing/Envelopes

Normally mini Office Draw redraws Envelopes whenever you change their outline with the Node tool. If you have applied the envelope to a complex selection, this redrawing can be quite slow. Check this option to tell mini Office Draw not to redraw the envelope until you have finished editing it.

Fast Viewing/Fills

When this option is checked, mini Office Draw draws radial and linear fills to an offscreen bitmap before copying the bitmap to the screen. This is sometimes faster than drawing to the screen directly. Try changing this option if mini Office Draw seems slow to draw radial and linear fills. See also the "#Fill Bands" entry below.

Fast Viewing/#Fill Bands

This option limits the number of bands mini Office Draw uses for linear and radial fills when it is drawing them to the screen. Smaller numbers make for a quicker display, but looks less smooth and realistic. mini Office Draw never uses more bands than are set in the Edit Fill dialog for the fill colour in use. Set #Fill Bands to 100 if you always want to use the fills own setting.

The option does not affect how fills are drawn to the printer or in exported files, it only serves to speed up the screen display while you are working.

Recovery/Undo Levels

This option limits the number of commands you can undo using Edit/Undo. Setting a large number gives you more protection from mistakes, but it also takes up more memory.

Double-clicking on the Undo button in the top toolbar is a shortcut for this option.

Recovery/Autosave

If Autosave is switched on, mini Office Draw will save a "hidden" backup of your drawing at timed intervals automatically. If your work is unexpectedly interrupted before you save your drawing, through a power failure for example, then you will have the opportunity to restore the last "autosaved" copy of your drawing the next time that mini Office Draw is started.

The entry box allows you to set the time interval between each autosave, in minutes, or to switch autosave off. It is the same as File/Autosave.

Positioning/Snapping

This option switches snapping on and off. Snapping makes it easier to place and size objects precisely, by making them "jump" to page guides, ruler guides and the ruler snap grid. See the Snapping topic for more information.

The Snapping button in the Status Bar is a shortcut for this option.

Positioning/AutoScroll

If AutoScroll is switched on, when you drag an object off the edge of the mini Office Draw window mini Office Draw will scroll the window to bring it back into view. This makes it easier to move objects large distances when zoomed in. It also provides a way of scrolling if you have the scrollbars switched off.

Some people find AutoScroll irritating; it happens even if your drag was accidental. If you don't like AutoScroll, use this option to switch it off.

Positioning/Ruler Units

This option controls the units used by the rulers.

These units are also the default units used for entering dialog box values such as page dimensions and margins, and the displays in the HintLine. You can use different units in dialogs by entering the value required followed by the correct abbreviation for the unit type:

"I"	inches
"cm"	centimeters
"mm"	millimeters
"p"	points
"pp"	picas
"d"	didots
"cd"	ciceros
For example, "5p" will always mean 5 points whatever the ruler units setting.

Display

These options enable you to show or hide various screen elements. Hiding screen elements gives you a less cluttered display and more screen real estate, but of course you won't be able to use the hidden tools.

Screen elements can also be shown and hidden by using the CleanUp button.

Save

This button saves the General Preferences settings so that they will be the default when you next start mini Office Draw.

See also

View menu

View/Preferences/Ease of Use...

File/Save Defaults


Preferences/Ease of Use... (view menu)
View/Preferences/Ease of Use... command

This dialog configures various ease of use features.

Help

These options control various help features.

•	Check the "QuickHelp" box to switch on the display of the QuickHelp window.

•	Check the "ToolHints" box to switch on the display of ToolHints.

•	Check the "Yellow Help" box if you want the QuickHelp and ToolHints to be displayed in a more noticeable yellow as opposed to grey.

•	Check the "StartUp Assistant" if you want extra help when starting new drawings.

mini Office Draw Level

These radio buttons switch mini Office Draw between Intro and Designer level.

•	Intro level simplifies the screen and removes the more complicated mini Office Draw features, to make it easier for newcomers to get started.

•	Designer level enables the full power of mini Office Draw to be accessed.

The mini Office Draw Level button on the Status Bar is a shortcut for these options.

Event Tips

These options control Event Tips.

Event tips are helpful messages which appear when you first perform some specific operation. For example, the first time you create a QuickShape, mini Office Draw displays an Event Tip which explains about adjusting the shape with the Node tool.

The Reset tips button resets all Event Tips. Normally each Event Tip only appears once. Clicking on this button resets them so that they start popping up again even if they've already been triggered before.

Save

This button saves the Ease of Use Preference settings so that they will be the default when you next start mini Office Draw.

See also

View menu

View/Preferences/General...

File/Save Defaults

Help


Arrange

Commands for aligning, layering and
combining objects in various ways.

Align Items...

Bring to Front

Send to Back

Forward One

Back One

Group

Ungroup

Combine

Break Apart

Join Curves


Arrange menu

The Arrange menu contains commands for aligning, layering and combining objects in various ways.

Align Items...

Bring to Front

Send to Back

Forward One

Back One

Group

Ungroup

Combine

Break Apart

Join Curves

See also

Menus and commands


Align Items... (arrange menu)
Arrange/Align Items... command

Allows you to align all the objects within a selection relative to each other. If only one object is selected, it is aligned with the page boundary. If no objects are currently selected then this option is not available.

mini Office Draw displays a dialog box providing alignment options. Select the type of alignment you want, horizontal and vertical alignment can be done together, and then press OK.

For example, if you choose "Left", then each object in the group will have its left edge aligned with the left edge of the leftmost object.

Finally, you can also select "Centre" for either axis. For example, if you choose centre for both, then all the objects will be centreed on the central point of the selection or page.

See also

Arrange menu

Aligning objects (overview)


Bring to Front (arrange menu)
Arrange/Bring to Front command (Ctrl+F)

Changes the layering of the selected object so it is in front of, or on top of all other objects on the current page or pasteboard. It will cover any objects underneath it.

A short cut is to double-click on the Forward One button on the top toolbar. You can see the depth value of an object by looking at the Selection Area in the Status Bar.

See also

Arrange menu

Layering objects (overview)

Forward one, back one buttons


Send to Back (arrange menu)
Arrange/Send to Back command (Ctrl+B)

Changes the layering of the selected object so that it is at the back of, or underneath all other objects on the current page or pasteboard. It will be covered by any objects on top of it.

A short cut is to double-click on the Back One button on the top toolbar. You can see the depth value of an object by looking at the Selection Area in the Status Bar

See also

Arrange menu

Layering objects (overview)

Forward one, back one buttons


Forward One (arrange menu)
Arrange/Forward One command

Brings the current selection forward one layer, so that it is closer to being on top of all other objects.

There is a convenient Forward One shortcut button on the top toolbar. You can see the depth value of an object by looking at the Selection Area in the Status Bar

See also

Arrange menu

Layering objects (overview)

Forward one, back one buttons


Back One (arrange menu)
Arrange/Back One command

Sends the current selection back one layer, so that it is closer to being behind all other objects.

There is a convenient Back One shortcut button on the top toolbar. You can see the depth value of an object by looking at the Selection Area in the Status Bar

See also

Arrange menu

Layering objects (overview)

Forward one, back one buttons


Group (arrange menu)
Arrange/Group command

Locks the current selection of objects together into a group, so that they select, move and scale as a unit. This helps you organise your drawing. You can assemble two or three simple objects together, group them, then treat the group as a single object to be placed in turn.

Groups are permanent; objects remain grouped until you ungroup them. If you try to select just one of the component objects, you'll find you have selected the whole group.

Individual objects, group objects and combined objects can all be grouped. You need to have several objects in a multiple selection for Group to have any effect. However, if you have just one object selected, and it is a Combination, than the objects will be Broken Apart first, and then Grouped automatically.

There is a convenient Group shortcut button on the top toolbar.

See also

Arrange menu

Groups (overview)

Group/ungroup button

Arrange/Combine


Ungroup (arrange menu)
Arrange/Ungroup command

This reverses the action of Arrange/Group. It turns a group back into its component objects. This option is only enabled while a group is selected.

Ungrouping does not deselect the objects; you will be left with a multiple selection. Click on the pasteboard area, away from any objects, to deselect them.

The Group shortcut button on the top toolbar is down while a group is selected; clicking it again has the effect of Ungroup

See also

Arrange menu

Groups (overview)

Group/ungroup button

Arrange/Combine


Combine (arrange menu)
Arrange/Combine command

Combines the outlines of objects from the current selection. If two or more objects are selected, Combine produces a more complex shape with a single interior and "holes" where they overlap. This is useful for creating "mask" or "stencil" effects. If only one object is selected, Combine creates a rectangle just bigger than the object and combines the pair. If no objects are selected, Combine has no effect.

Only text, closed shape and QuickShape objects can be Combined. Lines and bitmaps are ignored by the Combine option. Permanent groups also cannot be combined, but if the selection consists of only a single permanent group, mini Office Draw will ungroup it automatically and Combine the resulting collection of objects.

There is a convenient Combine shortcut button on the top toolbar.

See also

Arrange menu

Combinations (overview)

Combine/Break apart button

Arrange/Group


Combine envelope dialog

Use this dialog to choose whether to convert the enveloped shape into curves before combining it, and whether to simplify the curves.

mini Office Draw cannot Combine envelopes directly. First it must Convert them into curves. mini Office Draw draws your attention to this conversion because selecting Arrange/Break Apart will not reverse the effect of the Combine (although Edit/Undo will). If you don't wish to convert the shape into curves, click on the Cancel button.

Converting an envelope into curves sometimes makes very complex shapes. It will help mini Office Draw if the shapes are simplified, or cleaned. However, cleaning curves sometimes introduces noticeable changes to the shape because the cleaned curves only approximate the uncleaned. This dialog lets you choose whether to clean or not. We recommend you select Clean curve first and check the result by eye. If it looks wrong, use Edit/Undo and then try it again, this time selecting Do not clean curves.

See also

Arrange menu

Combinations (overview)

Effects/Convert to Curves

Edit/Undo


Break Apart (arrange menu)
Arrange/Break Apart command

This reverses the action of Arrange/Combine. It turns a combination back into its component objects. This option is only enabled while a combination is selected.

Break Apart does not deselect the objects; you will be left with a multiple selection. Click on the pasteboard area, away from any objects, to deselect them.

The Combine shortcut button on the top toolbar shows as depressed while a combination is selected; clicking it again has the effect of Break Apart.

See also

Arrange menu

Combinations (overview)

Combine/Break apart button

Arrange/Group


Join Curves (arrange menu)
Arrange/Join Curves command

This is a special version of the Combine command for joining two lines end points together. It is only available when you have two lines selected.

To join two lines, select them both then use this command. It will connect the end control node of one line with the start control of the next by inserting a straight line segment.

To break a line and create two separate lines, select one of the lines corner nodes with the Node tool and use the Break Curve button in the Curve Editor.

See also

Arrange menu

Node tool

Curve Editor

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Text

Commands for altering the
properties of text objects.

Normal

Bold

Italic

Align Left

Align Centre

Align Right

Enlarge Font

Reduce Font

Width

Leading

Tracking

Fonts...

Edit Text...


Text menu

The Text menu lists commands for altering the properties of text objects.

Normal

Bold

Italic

Align Left

Align Centre

Align Right

Enlarge Font

Reduce Font

Width

Leading

Tracking

Fonts...

Edit Text...

If no text object is selected the commands affect the default properties, which are the properties text objects have when they are first created.

See also

Menus and commands


Normal (text menu)
Text/Normal command

Switches off Bold and Italic text styles, making the text look normal.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Fonts... (text menu)


Bold (text menu)
Text/Bold command

Switches on or off the Bold text style. There is a convenient Bold button on the top toolbar.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Fonts... (text menu)

Bold and Italic buttons


Italic (text menu)
Text/Italic command

Switches on or off the Italic text style. There is a convenient Italic button on the top toolbar.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Fonts... (text menu)

Bold and Italic buttons


Align Left, Align Centre, Align Right commands
Text/Align Left, Text/Align Centre, Text/Align Right commands

These three options control whether text is left or right justified, or centreed. You need to have a text object with several lines of text to see any effect.

•	Left A paragraph of left aligned text will have all lines flush with the left edge of the text object, with a ragged appearance on the right side.

•	Centre A paragraph of centre aligned text will have a ragged appearance on both the left and right sides of the text.

•	Right A paragraph of right aligned text will have all lines flush with the right edge of the text object, with a ragged appearance on the left side.

There are shortcuts for these buttons on the top toolbar.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Left, centre and right buttons


Enlarge Font (text menu)
Text/Enlarge Font command

Makes the text bigger. You can select a specific size by using the Text Size combobox on the top toolbar.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Fonts... (text menu)

Text size combo


Reduce Font (text menu)
Text/Reduce Font command

Makes the text smaller. You can select a specific size by using the Text Size combobox on the top toolbar.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Fonts... (text menu)

Text size combo


Width (text menu)
Text/Width command

Sets the width of text characters as a proportion of their height. The flyout menu has a list of common values. The default is 100% which gives normal text. The Text/Width/Custom... command accesses the Spacing dialog, which lets you set a specific width.

You can also change text width by resizing the text object with the Pointer tool.

See also

Text menu

Spacing dialog

Text (overview)

Pointer tool


Spacing dialog

This dialog allows you to set arbitrary values for character width, leading and tracking.

Leading

Leading controls the distance between the baseline of one line of text and the baseline of the next line of text, sometimes referred to as line spacing. If the "Absolute" box is not checked, the leading value is specified as a percentage of the text size. This is the normal method, meaning that the relative amount of space between lines does not change when the text size is changed.

If the "Absolute" box is checked, the leading value is specified in points. This is used less often and means that the distance from one line of text to the next will be the same even if the text size is increased or decreased.

Tracking

Controls the gap between characters, also known as letter spacing. The tracking value is a percentage of the text size

Width

Sets the width of text characters as a proportion of their height. The default is 100% which gives normal text.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)


Leading (text menu)
Text/Leading command

Controls the distance between the baseline of one line of text and the baseline of the next line of text, sometimes referred to as line spacing. The flyout menu has a list of common leading values. The default is 120% which gives a small gap between lines. To obtain double spaced lines a value of 200% is used.

The Text/Leading/Custom... command accesses the Spacing dialog, which lets you set a specific leading. You can also change leading by dragging the text handles with the Node tool.

See also

Text menu

Spacing dialog

Text (overview)

Node tool


Tracking (text menu)
Text/Tracking command

Alters the gap between characters, also known as letter spacing. The flyout menu has a list of common tracking values. The default is Normal. Tracking is often used to squeeze an extra word onto a line or make headlines more distinctive.

The Text/Tracking/Custom... command accesses the Spacing dialog which lets you set a specific tracking value as a percentage of the text size. You can also change tracking by dragging the text handles with the Node tool.

See also

Text menu

Spacing dialog

Text (overview)

Node tool


Fonts... (text menu)
Text/Fonts... command

This is a standard Windows dialog for changing the font, style and size of your text. A shortcut is to double-click or right-click on the text formatting buttons in the top toolbar.

See also

Text menu

Text (overview)

Bold and italic buttons


Edit Text... (text menu)
Text/Edit Text... command

This brings up the Text Edit window, which allows you to edit your text. The menu option is disabled if no text is selected.

A shortcut for this command is to double-click on the text with the Node or Pointer tool.

See also

Text menu

Text edit window

Text (overview)


Effects

Commands for manipulating
objects as graphics.

Flip Horizontal

Flip Vertical

Rotate

Replicate

Transform

Convert to Curves

Clean Curves

Apply Envelope

Remove Envelope

Line Weight

Edit Line Colour

Edit Fill Colour

None

Solid

Linear

Radial


Effects menu

The Effects menu lists commands for manipulating objects as graphics.

Flip Horizontal

Flip Vertical

Rotate

Replicate

Transform

Convert to Curves

Clean Curves

Apply Envelope

Remove Envelope

Line Weight

Edit Line Colour

Edit Fill Colour

None

Solid

Linear

Radial

See also

Menus and commands


Flip (effects menu)
Effects/Flip Horizontal and Effects/Flip Vertical commands

These two commands turn the current selection into its mirror image.

For example:

•	Flip Horizontal makes a "b" look like a "p".

•	Flip Vertical makes a "b" look like a "d".

The top toolbar contains convenient shortcut buttons for the flip commands.

See also

Effects menu

Move, resize, rotate, shear and flip objects (overview)


Rotate (effects menu)
Effects/Rotate command

Rotates the current selection through some angle. The flyout menu contains a list of common angles. You can rotate through any angle by using the Status Editor, or by using the Rotate tool.

Rotate makes the QuickShapes much more useful. For example, mini Office Draw has an Up-arrow but no left, right or down arrows. You can make these by drawing an Up-arrow and then rotating it.

The top toolbar contains a shortcut button which rotates through 90 degrees.

See also

Effects menu

Status Editor

Rotate tool

Rotate button


Replicate... (effects menu)
Effects/Replicate... command

This dialog fills a grid with identical copies of the selected objects. "Rows" and "Columns" sets the size of the grid, so that entering "3" and "4" will produce 12 copies in total. The "Spacing" fields determine the gap between rows and columns.

Replicate is especially useful if you are producing artwork for labels, and you are using printer forms that have several sticky labels on each sheet. You can draw the label once, than replicate it to match the printer forms.

You can also use Replicate to make regular grids and arrays. For example, try drawing a long thing box 0.1" tall and 3" wide, replicating it to 20 rows with a Spacing of 0.1" to make a grid, and than Combining it with other objects like text to make your own custom text patterns.

See also

Effects menu

Cut, copy, paste, delete objects (overview)


Transform... (effects menu)
Effects/Transform... command

This dialog makes many copies of the selected objects, each copy slightly different to its neighbor. You can produce many interesting effects with Transform. This is a good one to play with. You might try using Arrange/Align Items... to position the new objects.

Rotation

Sets the rotation angle applied to each successive copy. The default is 0º, meaning no rotation.

Scale

Sets the relative size of each copy. For example, entering 50% makes each copy half the size of the one before. The default is 100%, meaning all copies are the same size.

Apply to copies

When this is checked, the "Copies" and "Offset" fields are enabled; Transform makes new objects and leaves the currently selected object unchanged. When this is unchecked, Transform applies directly to the currently selected object and does not create any new copies.

Copies

Sets the number of copies of the current selection to create.

X and Y Offset

Sets the distance between successive copies. The default offset is 0, meaning the new objects are placed exactly on top of the old.

See also

Effects menu


Convert to Curves (effects menu)
Effects/Convert to Curves command

Converts an object into a collection of line objects, so that it can be edited with Node tool and Curve Editor. The object will no longer have its old type. For example, text when converted to curves is no longer text; you can't change its font. There is a convenient Convert to Curves button on the top toolbar.

Some objects, especially Enveloped ones, will benefit from being cleaned with Clean Curves after they've been converted.

See also

Effects menu

Convert to curves button

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Node tool with lines and closed shapes

Effects/Clean Curves


Clean Curves (effects menu)
Effects/Clean Curves command

This command is most useful when editing imported pictures, or objects which have had Convert to Curves applied to them. These often have curves which are made up of masses of tiny straight line segments. Clean Curves replaces the line segments with a single smooth curve. This makes it much easier to edit with the Node tool.

The cleaned curve gives a good but not 100% accurate reproduction of the original shape.

See also

Effects menu

Effects/Convert to Curves

Node tool

Lines and closed shapes (overview)


Apply Envelope (effects menu)
Effects/Apply Envelope command

Adds a plain envelope to the current selection The Node tool is selected automatically, so that you can use it to edit the envelope shape.

mini Office Draw has many predefined envelopes. Click on the Envelope flyout button in the left toolbar to use one of them.

See also

Effects menu

Envelopes

Envelope flyout

Node tool with envelopes

Effects/Remove Envelope


Remove Envelope (effects menu)
Effects/Remove Envelope command

Removes the selected envelope. The first entry in the Envelope flyout is a shortcut for this command.

See also

Effects menu

Envelopes

Envelope flyout

Effects/Apply Envelope


Line Weight (effects menu)
Effects/Line Weight command

Changes the weight or thickness of object outlines, or switches them off altogether. There is a flyout menu of common line weights. Effects/Line Weight/Custom... leads to a dialog which lets you enter any weight.

There is a shortcut button for changing Line Weights on the left toolbar. Double-click, or right-click, on the button to get the Custom Weight dialog.

See also

Effects menu

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Line weight button


Edit Line Colour... (effects menu)
Effects/Edit Line Colour... command

This dialog controls the colour of object outlines. There is a palette of named colours, each of which can be applied with a percentage tint or shade.

Colour

Selects a colour from the palette. Double-clicking on a colour automatically selects "Edit" for that colour.

Delete

Deletes the selected colour.

Tint

Sets the tint. The default is 100%, which produces the full colour from the palette. The lower the tint, the less intense the colour.

Sample

This rectangle is filled with the current colour, to show how it looks.

New.../Edit...

Clicking on" New..." or "Edit..." brings up a further dialog in which a colour in the palette is edited.

The first text field sets the name of the colour. The next three scroll bars and edit boxes control the mixture of Red, Green and Blue that make up the colour. The values range from 0 to 255 - 0, 0, 0 is solid black, 255, 255, 255 is pure white.

Beneath the scroll bars is a sample box which is filled with the current colour. The screen representations of colours may vary depending on your Windows screen driver.

There is a shortcut button on the left toolbar for choosing line colours from a flyout palette. Double-click on the button to get the Line Colour dialog. You can also use right-click on the flyout palette.

See also

Effects menu

Line colour button


Edit Fill Colour
Effects/Edit Fill Colour

Displays a sub-menu listing fill types. The fill types available are:

•	None

•	Solid

•	Linear

•	Radial

See also

Effects menu


Fill Colour/None (effects menu)
Effects/Fill Colour/None command

This command switches off fills, making the selected objects transparent, apart from their outlines.

The first button in Fill Colour flyout is a shortcut for this option.

See also

Effects menu

Fill colour flyout


Fill Colour/Solid... (effects menu)
Effects/Fill Colour/Solid... command

This dialog sets a solid fill, which just fills objects in the current selection with a single, plain colour. The controls are similar to the Line Colour... dialog.

There is a shortcut button on the left toolbar for choosing fill colours from a flyout palette. Double-click on the button to get a general Fill Colour dialog. You can also use right-click on the flyout palette.

See also

Effects menu

Fill colour flyout

Effects/Edit Line Colour...


Fill Colour/Linear... (effects menu)
Effects/Fill Colour/Linear... command

This dialog sets a linear fill, one which gradually blends between two or three solid colours.

The "Colour", "New", "Edit", "Delete" and "Tint" controls are similar to the controls of the Line Colour... dialog, except that they apply only to the colour currently being set in the fill, not to all three colours used by the fill. The "Sample" box shows the complete fill.

Colour Markers

The "Start", "Middle" and "End" markers (triangles next to the graduation fill sample) allow the start, middle and end colours to be set. To set any of the colours, select the colour marker by clicking on it, then select a colour.

The middle marker shows its current position as a percentage between the start and end markers. You can change its position by dragging on it with the mouse. To get two colour graduated fills, drag the middle marker down to cover either the start or end marker.

Angle

This controls the angle of the lines used to draw the fill in the object. The default value is 90 degrees which gives horizontal Linear fills. You can get sloping lines by entering some other angle.

Bands

This control sets how many colour graduations are used to move from the start to the end colour. Large values give smoother blends, but they are slower to draw and they take up more memory in exported files. The default value is forty, which is a good compromise for a fairly smooth blend.

There is a shortcut button on the left toolbar for choosing fill colours from a flyout palette. Double-click on the button to get a general Fill Colour dialog. You can also use right-click on the flyout palette.

See also

Effects menu

Fill colour flyout

Effects/Edit Line Colour...


Fill Colour/Radial... (effects menu)
Effects/Fill Colour/Radial... command

This dialog sets a radial fill, one which uses a pattern of circles to blend between colours.

The "Colour", "New", "Edit", "Delete" and "Tint" controls are similar to the controls of the Line Colour... dialog, except that they apply only to the colour currently being set in the fill, not to all three colours used by the fill. The "Sample" box shows the complete fill.

Colour Markers

The "Start", "Middle" and "End" markers (triangles next to the graduation fill sample) allow the start, middle and end colours to be set. To set any of the colours, select the colour marker by clicking on it, then select a colour.

The middle marker shows its current position as a percentage between the start and end markers. You can change its position by dragging on it with the mouse. To get two colour graduated fills, drag the middle marker down to cover either the start or end marker.

Vertical and Horizontal

These control the centre of the radial fill in the object. By default, both are set to 0% placing the centre of the radial fill in the centre of the object. Setting both to 100% would give a pattern radiating out from the object's bottom right corner.

Bands

This control sets how many colour graduations there are from the start to end colour. Large values give smoother blends, but they are slower to draw and they take up more memory in exported files. The default value is forty, which is a good compromise for a fairly smooth blend.

For speed, mini Office Draw can use fewer bands when drawing to the screen. This is controlled from the "Fast Viewing/#Fill Bands" option in the View/Preferences/General... dialog.

See also

Effects menu

Fill colour flyout

Effects/Edit Line Colour...


Help

Access the various help and
learning aids of mini Office Draw.

Contents

Search for Help on

Index

mini Office Draw Credits

About mini Office Draw


Help menu

The help menus give access to the various help and learning aids of mini Office Draw.

Contents

Search for Help on

Index

mini Office Draw Credits

About mini Office Draw

The mini Office Draw on-line help uses the standard Windows help system. The help text contains reference information in an easy to use form. The material is indexed and can be searched using the search function.

See also

Menus and commands


Contents (help menu)
Help/Contents command (F1)

Use this to access the help entries, working from the main subject titles. It is equivalent to selecting Contents from the toolbar at the top of this Help window.

See also

Help menu

Contents


Search for Help on... (help menu)
Help/Search for Help on... command

Use this to quickly access the search function of the Windows help system. It is equivalent to selecting Search from the toolbar at the top of this Help window.

See also

Help menu

Search


Index command
Help/Index command

Use this to quickly access the areas of the help system via an easy to use index. It is equivalent to selecting Index from the toolbar at the top of this Help window.

See also

Help menu

Index


mini Office Draw Credits (help menu)
Help/mini Office Draw Credits command

Leads to a Help screen giving credits for mini Office Draw technology.

See also

Help menu

mini Office Draw credits


About mini Office Draw... (help menu)
Help/About mini Office Draw... command

Displays the mini Office Draw version number and copyright message.

See also

Help menu

What's in mini Office Draw


Objects (overview)
 Objects

This section discusses the different kinds of objects that make up a drawing in mini Office Draw, and how to use them.

Files

Drawing files

ClipArt

Objects

Object basics

Lines and closed shapes

QuickShapes

Text

Bitmaps

Groups

Combinations

Envelopes

See also

Contents


Drawings (overview)

A mini Office Draw drawing file contains all the details for a single drawing. Most of the work you do with mini Office Draw will be to modify the contents of a drawing file.

Working with drawing files

The file commands are located in the File menu. New calls up the StartUp Assistant to create a new drawing and Open... loads an existing drawing.

The changes you make to drawings are temporary. The Save option saves them permanently to disk; use Revert  if you want to go back to the last version saved - if you've made a mistake you can't Undo, for instance. mini Office Draw also has an Autosave feature, which quietly updates a hidden copy of your drawing as you work on it. mini Office Draw uses Autosave to recover your work after power cuts or major crashes.

Drawing contents

Drawing files contain:

•	Page setup - the page size and margins.

•	Page Guides - non-printing lines to help align objects.

•	Drawing objects - lines, closed shapes, text, QuickShapes

They don't contain user interface settings (which are set from the View menu) or default object styles.

See also

Objects

File menu


ClipArt (overview)

ClipArt is a general name for predesigned pictures and artwork.

Artwork comes in a variety of formats, produced by a variety of different programs. mini Office Draw can import and export in all of the most common ClipArt formats. This means you should be able to incorporate pictures from almost any source into your drawings.

You can also use mini Office Draw to create artwork for other programs. For example, you could create a logo for use with a word processor.

See also

Objects

File menu

Edit menu


Object basics (overview)
Object basics

The different kinds of object in mini Office Draw all have a lot in common. This section covers operations that work in a similar manner on all objects.

Creating and selecting objects

Cutting, copying, pasting, deleting objects

Moving, resizing, rotating, shearing and flipping objects

Modifying object properties

Aligning objects

Layering objects

Changing your mind

As you perform any of the above actions, you can change your mind during the operation, or after it has been completed. If you've finished the change, use Edit/Undo which will undo the last operation. If you've started the operation, you can abandon it by hitting the esc key. You can abandon all the changes you've made since last saving the drawing by using File/Revert.

See also

Objects


Create and select objects (overview)

To create an object, select one of the creation tools from the left toolbar (perhaps using a flyout palette) and drag on the page or pasteboard area.

The last object that you create becomes the currently selected object, and is "live" for any changes you want to make to it. If you want to change how another object looks, you must first select it.

To select an object

Click on an object with the Pointer tool. It's not enough to click within the object's rectangular bounding box. You have to click on the "drawn" part of the object, its outline or its filled interior. If objects overlap, keep the mouse pointer still and click repeatedly to select each overlapping object in turn.

Or press TAB or SHIFT+TAB. Pressing these keys repeatedly cycles through every object in the drawing, so that you can even get to objects you can't see.

To select several objects at once

Drag the Pointer tool to form a solid box around the objects. This method is known as a marquee select. Don't start the drag over another object or mini Office Draw will move the object rather than do the marquee select.

Or SHIFT+CLICK with the Pointer tool, to add and remove objects from the current selection.

To select all objects in the drawing

Use Edit/Select All, or double-click on the Selection area of the Status Bar.

To select all objects of a particular type, first select one object of that type and then hold the SHIFT key down as you perform Select All.

Using other tools

The Rotate and Node tools can also be used to select objects in the same way as the Pointer tool.

See also

Objects

Pointer tool

Selecting and cursoring (keyboard)

Shift key


Cut, copy, paste, delete objects (overview)

Select the objects to which the operation is to be applied and then:

To cut

(That is, delete the object from the page and copy to the Windows clipboard), select Edit/Cut or press CONTROL+X, or use the shortcut button in the top toolbar.

To copy

(That is, leave the object unaltered on the page and copy to the Windows clipboard), select Edit/Copy or press CONTROL+C, or use the shortcut button in the top toolbar. If you just want another copy of the selection without using the clipboard, hold the CONTROL key down while moving the selection with the Pointer tool.

To make many copies, use Effects/Replicate...

To paste

(That is, place a copy of the contents of the Windows clipboard on to the page), select Edit/Paste or press CONTROL+V, or use the shortcut button in the top toolbar.. To select the type of object to be pasted from the clipboard select Edit/Paste Special...

To delete

Select Edit/Clear or press the DELETE key.

See also

Objects

Edit menu

Cut, copy and paste buttons

Move, resize, rotate, shear and flip objects (overview)

Control key


Move, resize, rotate, shear and flip objects (overview)

To move

Drag with the Pointer tool or use the Status Editor to enter numeric values. After you've started moving the object or group with the Pointer tool, you can press the SHIFT key to constrain the movement to be horizontal or vertical only.

You can also move the selected object by using the arrow keys. The arrow key move the object by one ruler marker increment in the direction of the arrow key pressed.

To size

Drag with the Pointer tool on a handle or use the Status Editor to enter numeric values. After you've started resizing the object with the Pointer tool, you can press the CONTROL key to preserve the aspect ratio of the object being sized, or press the SHIFT key to constrain the size to a regular shape, such as constraining a rectangular box to a square shape.

You can also size objects by using the arrow keys and holding the SHIFT key down. The arrow key resize the object by one ruler marker increment in the direction of the arrow key pressed.

To rotate

Drag with the Rotate tool on a corner handle or use the Status Editor (numeric). After you've started rotating the object with the Rotate tool, you can press the SHIFT key to get 15 degree steps. You can also rotate by using Effects/Rotate or clicking on the Rotate 90 shortcut in the top toolbar. Double-clicking with the Rotate tool undoes the rotation, double-clicking a second time restores the previous rotation.

To shear

Drag with the Rotate tool on an edge handle to shear or slant an object.

To flip

Use Effects/Flip Horizontal or Effects/Flip Vertical, or the Flip shortcut buttons in the top toolbar. Alternatively, you can flip and resize by using the Pointer tool to drag any side of an object towards and past its opposite side.

The mouse cursor

Watch the mouse cursor when performing the above operations. You'll notice that the cursor changes as it moves close to a handle to indicate the possible operation. If the cursor doesn't change, you'll know that the operation is not allowed.

You can also move, resize and rotate selections by using the Effects/Transform... dialog.

See also

Objects

Pointer tool

Rotate tool

Status Editor

Selecting and cursoring (keyboard)

Effects/Transform...


Modify object properties (overview)
Modifying object properties (overview)

Before you can change how an object looks you must first make sure it is selected.

To modify text properties

The text properties are things like font name and style. Select from the Text menu or use the top toolbar. You can also right-click on the buttons in the top toolbar to access some dialogs normally accessed from the menus.

To modify graphic properties

The graphic properties are things like colour and fill. Select from the Effects menu, or use the flyout buttons in the left toolbar. You can right-click on the buttons in the left toolbar to access dialogs allowing different settings to be accessed.

Popup menus

You can also right-click with the Pointer tool on any object to pop-up an appropriate dialog or function.

See also

Objects

Text menu

Effects menu


Aligning objects (overview)

To align an object to guides or rulers

Ensure that snapping is on and make sure that rulers or guides are displayed. Then move or resize the object.

To align an object with the page

Use the Arrange/Align Items... options with the object selected.

To align one object to another object

Select the objects to be aligned relative to each other and use the Arrange/Align Items... options from the menus or right-click on the selection to access the same dialog.

See also

Objects


Layering objects (overview)

If you create overlapping objects, you'll notice that the most recently created object obscures the earlier ones, and is considered to be "in front" of the others. Which objects are in front of others depends on their relative layering depth. The depth for an object is shown in the Selection Area when the object is selected. The object with depth=1 will hide objects with larger depth if they should overlap.

You can change the layering order of the objects by using the layering options. Look at the Selection Area of the Status Bar to see how the depth changes.

To bring a selected object to the front (on top)

Use Arrange/Bring to Front or double-click on the button shortcut in the top toolbar.

To send a selected object to the back (underneath)

Use Arrange/Send to Back or double-click on the button shortcut in the top toolbar.

To bring a selected object forward by one layer

Use Arrange/Forward One or click on the button shortcut in the top toolbar.

To send a selected object back by one layer

Use Arrange/Back One or click on the button shortcut in the top toolbar.

Colour

The extent to which one object obscures another overlapping object is also affected by the colour of that object. You can apply a wide range of colours to lines and fills, all of which are opaque, except Clear, which is transparent and allows the object underneath to show through.

Combine

Finally, you can use Arrange/Combine on multiple object selection to create "holes" where the objects within the selection overlap. The "holes" are transparent.

See also

Objects

Arrange menu

Forward one, back one buttons

Selection area


Lines and closed shapes (overview)

Line objects and closed shapes in mini Office Draw are made up of line segments that meet at corner nodes. The line segments are created using the three tools available from the Line flyout. Each line segment can be straight or curved, and the corner nodes can be smooth or sharp. Smooth corner nodes have a curved line segment on one or both sides where as sharp corner nodes have straight line segments on both sides.

A line has line colour and line weight properties. When a line has been drawn which forms a complete enclosed outline, the object is known as a "closed shape". The closed shape has line colour, line weight and fill colour properties.

When a line or closed shape is selected with the Node tool, the Node tool draws node handles at every corner node. You select a corner node by clicking on it with the Node tool. The selected node is drawn slightly larger and is given a red centre to identify it. You can reshape the object by dragging the node handles.

If the selected node is a smooth corner node, the Node tool will draw handles for the attractor nodes. Attractor handles control the shape of the curved line segment. They are drawn as smaller hollow handles attached to the corner nodes by a blue line. Drag the attractor handles to alter the shape of a curved line segment.

Creating lines and closed shapes

You create lines and closed shapes in one of the following ways:

•	By drawing with the Freehand line tool.

•	By drawing with the Straight line tool.

•	By drawing with the Curved line tool.

•	By using the Effects/Convert to Curves command.

The Freehand line tool is for sketching curves in a freeform way. The line follows your mouse movements as you drag on the page. The Straight tool makes straight lines which can be constrained to be horizontal or vertical by using the SHIFT key. The Curved line tool is used to create curved line segments.

However they are created, all the lines behave in a similar manner. For example, you can create some text with the Text tool, click on the Convert to Curves button in the top toolbar, select the Node tool and edit the curves that make up the letters as if you had drawn the letter shapes by hand using the line tools.

Changing lines and closed shapes

Once a line or closed shape has been created you can do the following:

•	Reshape it by dragging its nodes using the Node tools.

•	Extend it by drawing more line segments. Use one of the line tools, and start the drag on one of the existing line's end control nodes.

•	Close the line to create a closed shape that has an interior which is filled. Join its end points together by adding a line segment which joins the start and end control nodes or use the Curve Editor.

•	Break open a closed shape to convert it back in to a line so as more line segments can be added using the line tools. This is done by using the Curve Editor.

•	Change straight line segments into curved line segments and vice versa by using the Curve Editor.

•	Change the type of corner nodes from sharp and pointed to smooth and vice versa by using the Curve Editor.

See also

Objects

Line flyout

Effects/Convert to Curves

Curve Editor

Node tool with lines and closed shapes


QuickShapes (overview)

QuickShapes are pre-designed objects, provided by mini Office Draw to save you time. The QuickShape flyout contains a wide variety of commonly used shapes, including boxes, ovals, arrows, polygons and starbursts. Some of the shapes are quite complex - for example the QuickSpiral would be very difficult to draw by hand.

All the shapes can be positioned, scaled, rotated and filled. What's more, you can adjust their designs by using the Node tool. For example, dragging the handles on a QuickPolygon will change the number of sides to make a triangle, pentagon, hexagon or other polygon. Dragging the handles on a QuickBox alters the box corners to make them more or less rounded. Dragging the handles of a QuickOval will alter the oval into a "pie" shape. Each shape changes in a logical way to allow its exact appearance to be altered. The ability to alter the appearance of QuickShape objects makes them more flexible and convenient than clipart pictures of similar designs.

Creating QuickShapes

All the QuickShapes are created by using the QuickShape flyout in the left toolbar.

To create a QuickShape, select a shape from the flyout and than drag over the page. The QuickShape fills the area you drag. When you release the mouse button, the QuickShape tool reverts to the Node tool.

Using QuickShapes

To adjust the appearance of a QuickShape, select it with the Node tool. The Node tool will draw handles on the shape. Different QuickShapes have different handles - you can find out what each handle does for a particular shape by moving the Node tool over the handle and reading the HintLine.

To alter the appearance of a QuickShape, click and drag on its handles.

You can also use Effects/Convert to curves. You will then be able to edit its outline directly, as if you'd drawn the shape youself with the Line tools.

See also

Objects

QuickShape flyout

Node tool with QuickShapes


Text (overview)

Text objects in mini Office Draw have the usual text attributes you would expect to find in any text application. Font, font style and pointsize and other attributes can be altered. The great thing about mini Office Draw is that text also behaves like other graphic objects. Text can be stretched, rotated, sheared, enveloped and combined with other objects. Text also has line colour, line weight and fill colour properties. Text really can be treated in a similar manner to any other graphic object such as a QuickShape.

Creating text

Select the Text tool to create or edit text. Click on the page to create text at the current default pointsize or drag out an area to create text which will be automatically sized to the area dragged. The text font, style, line colour, line weight and fill colour will all be set to the defaults at the time when the text is created.

Using text

To edit text, click over the existing text object with the Node or Pointer tool. The Text Edit window appears with the text ready for editing. Remember that mini Office Draw does not word wrap text: if you want multiple lines of text in a text object, use the RETURN key to start new lines where desired in the Text Edit window.

To change text attributes, use the Text menu or the shortcut buttons in the top toolbar. You can also change the pointsize and width of text by dragging the handles of the text object with the Pointer tool. The leading (line spacing) and tracking (letter spacing) can be visually altered by dragging on the handles shown when the text object is selected with the Node tool.

If you want greater control over the shape of the characters for the text, try Convert to curves. As curves, you can position every character individually and even edit the character shapes, exactly as if you had drawn the character shapes by hand using the Line tools.

See also

Objects

Text tool

Text menu

Pointer tool

Node tool with text

Text Edit window

Effects/Convert to Curves


Bitmaps (overview)

mini Office Draw provides only the ability to position and size bitmaps. mini Office Draw does not create bitmap objects; they are only created as a result of importing or pasting from the clipboard.

They are used when it is necessary to use a bitmap created in another application, as part of a drawing or illustration being created in mini Office Draw.

See also

Objects

Import tool

Edit/Paste Special...


Groups (overview)

Permanent groups are a way of permanently "locking" objects together, so that they behave as if they were a single object. This is very useful, since most drawings are made up from elements, where each element is made up of several individual objects. Once an element has been created, it would be normal to convert the objects which make up that element into a group. This allows the element to be treated as a whole. The objects within a group maintain their position and size relative to each other whenever the group is moved or sized.

Group objects behave in a similar manner to other objects. Property changes applied to a group such as changing line or fill colour, will alter all the objects that make up the group. The exceptions are:

•	Group objects cannot be Combined with other objects.

•	Group objects cannot be edited using the Node tool.

Text within a group object cannot be edited or converted to curves.

Creating groups

To create a group you must first select the objects you want grouped with a multiple selection. Then use Arrange/Group, or the Group shortcut button in the top toolbar.

The Group shortcut button is down when a group object is selected. You can ungroup the objects by clicking on it a second time, or by using Arrange/Ungroup. The component objects will be left in a multiple selection. To alter one of them, click the pointer tool on a blank area of the page to remove the multiple selection, and then select the desired component object in the normal manner.

A group is automatically created when a picture is imported. This means that you can treat the imported picture as a single element. To select the components which make up the picture, the group must be ungrouped.

Using groups

You can use Groups to make your own picture elements which behave like standard objects. For example, you can make a pipe U-bend out of two QuickCorner sections. First create a QuickCorner, then copy it by holding the CONTROL key down while you drag, then flip the copy and move it back to touch the original to make the U-bend. Then select both objects and use the Group button. You now have a U-Bend that selects and scales like a single object.

See also

Objects

Arrange/Group

Group/ungroup button

Combinations (overview)


Combinations (overview)

A Combination is a special composite object made from several component objects. The combination object has an interior which has "holes" where the component objects overlapped one another. Combinations are useful for creating "mask" or "stencil" effects.

Combined objects behave in a similar manner to group objects except that a combined object changes the line colour, line weight and fill colour to be the same for all objects in the combination. When the combination is "broken" apart, the line colour, line weight and fill colour of the component objects are restored.

Creating combinations

To combine some objects, first create a multiple selection containing the objects to be combined, then use Arrange/Combine or the Combine shortcut button on the top toolbar. If only one object, rather than a multiple selection , is selected, Combine automatically creates a rectangle just bigger than the selected object and uses this as a second object for the combination.

Only text, QuickShapes, closed shapes and envelopes can be combined. Lines that are not closed, bitmaps and groups are ignored by the Combine option. If the selection consists of only a single group, it will be ungrouped automatically and the resulting collection of objects will be combined.

Using combinations

You can get some interesting effects by combining objects. For example, create two QuickSpirals, flip one of them and make them overlap each other. Select both with a multiple selection, and then click on Combine. This produces a complex mandela pattern

Another idea is to create a text object, for example the word MAZE, then click on the Combine shortcut button. This makes a rectangle with a "MAZE" shaped hole. You can put other objects behind the combined object and they will show through. For example, you could use a spiral or the mandela pattern to give the appearance of spiral-filled text.

See also

Objects

Arrange/Combine

Combine/Break apart button


Envelopes (overview)

An envelope is a shape with an editable outline made up of curves. Envelopes are used as boundaries into which objects are stretched or squeezed. This can produce interesting effects. For example, you can use envelopes to bend text into a heart or just about any other shape.

Applying envelopes

To apply an envelope, first select the object or objects you want to be enveloped. Then click on the Envelope button and select an envelope from the flyout. The first palette entry removes an existing envelope from the selected object, a shortcut for Effects/Remove Envelope. The second palette entry is a "store" of the most recently selected user-modified envelope. The third creates a plain envelope, which is used as a base for creating new envelopes. The rest of the palette is filled with predefined envelopes of various shapes.

mini Office Draw selects the Node tool automatically when an envelope is applied.

Using envelopes

You can use the Node tool to edit the envelope outline and thus alter the warp effect. It is very similar to editing curved lines. The envelope outline has corner nodes and attractor nodes which are selected and dragged in the same way. The only difference is that you cannot add or delete corner nodes to an envelope. Envelopes always have exactly eight line segments, two on each side.

You can edit any of the predefined envelopes once they have been applied.

Copying envelopes

If you want to use an envelope which you have edited, on a second object, you make use of the most recently user modified envelope which is stored in the second button of the Envelope flyout.

First remove any envelope from the second object using Effects/Remove Envelope, or by clicking on the first button in the Envelope flyout. Then select the object which has the envelope you wish to use a second time. Finally select the second object and click on the second button in the Envelope flyout. This will apply the envelope stored to the second object.

See also

Objects

Envelope flyout

Effects/Remove Envelope

Node tool with envelopes


Printing (overview)
 Printing

Depending on your equipment and requirements, printing is usually a very simple step, consisting of establishing a correct Print Setup... then selecting File/Print...

See also

Contents

File/Print...

File/Print Setup...


Support and troubleshooting (overview)
 Support and troubleshooting

Why is troubleshooting necessary?

mini Office Draw and the Install program are extensively tested before release. Fundamental problems (such as Install failing, or frequent "crashes" in an application) are generally the result of hardware or software incompatibilities on a specific system. These incompatibilities are usually the result of inappropriate setup of a system, not the use of a specific product. The proliferation of third-party products which run alongside Windows makes setup a complex issue.

This application requires Windows 3.1 or higher, and require a correctly configured PC setup, especially for display and printing. As a result, they may be less tolerant than many other applications: do not be misled if the system is OK running other applications.

If you do have a problem

Some of the most common problems are easy for you to solve yourself. Try reading through the following topics:

•	Common printing problems

•	Non-printer problems

•	Other problems

•	System setup troubleshooting

You should also read the file DPREADME.WRI, which you will find in the PROGRAM subdirectory of the mini Office Draw installation. This file covers late breaking news, which may include problems discovered too late to be discussed here.

Getting support

If you can't fix it yourself, don't worry - we're here to help. For support and advice please call:

UK: 01625 850871 or Fax: 01625 879962

Web: www.europress.co.uk

We'll do our best to sort it out.

See also

Contents


Common printing problems

Printing problems can be caused by a number of things such as using an incorrect or out of date printer driver, or having the wrong options set for your printer. Some of the more common faults are listed here with suggestions for fixing the problem.

Problem

The Printer and Print Setup... options in the File menu of mini Office Draw are 'greyed out'.

You may have omitted to select a printer in your Windows setup. If you have not selected a printer then select your printer now in the Windows Control Panel and Set As the Default Printer

Alternatively, see the Windows printer driver problems topic.

Problem

An error such as 'General Protection fault...' or 'An internal error...' is displayed while printing from mini Office Draw.

See the Windows printer driver problems topic.

Problem

The printed output produced by mini Office Draw is unreadable or bears no resemblance to the document on screen.

See the Windows printer driver problems topic.

Problem

I can't see how to produce process colour separations using mini Office Draw.

mini Office Draw does not support process colours. If you need to colour separate a mini Office Draw drawing, try pasting it into mini Office Publisher and printing from there.

Problem

When I print documents which have a rotated picture overlapping other objects, a white square background overprints the other objects.

Due to the limitations of most Windows printer drivers, it is not possible to mask an irregular shaped object. This means that the object is "contained" in a square shape. There is therefore no solution to this problem.

See also

Support and troubleshooting

Windows printer driver problems


Windows printer driver problems

Printing problems are generally caused by using an incorrect or out of date Windows printer driver. It is important that you use the Windows printer driver designed specifically for your printer. As a rule you should not use drivers setup to emulate another printer, and not choose a driver that seems to work with your printer (e.g. do not select an EPSON dot-matrix printer driver to use with your STAR printer).

Checking your printer driver version

If you have upgraded from Microsoft Windows V3.0 to V3.1 you must check that you are now using the Windows V3.1 driver for your printer. It is normally quite easy to check this by looking at the About option under Control Panel/Printers and then Setup. The printer driver should say that it is for Windows V3.1.

We recommend that you always use the driver supplied with your Windows system rather than using the driver provided by the manufacturer of the printer.

Changing your printer driver

If you cannot find your printer listed in the Control Panel/Printers list of printers then you should look on Windows Disk 7 for your printer driver.

To locate a printer driver on Windows Disk 7:

•	Select Add in the Printers section of Control Panel

•	Select 'Install unlisted or updated Printer' and press Install

•	Insert Windows Disk 7 and press Enter to view the list of available printers.

See also

Common printing problems


Non-printer problems

The following are common problems that have nothing to do with printing.

Problem

When trying to "Export" from mini Office Draw as an Encapsulated PostScript file, the message "Cannot find PSCRIPT.DRV" is displayed.

mini Office Draw requires the Windows PostScript printer driver when it creates an EPS file. Regardless of whether you have a PostScript printer, you still need to install an appropriate driver into Windows. In the Control Panel under Printers, install a PostScript printer driver such as the "Agfa 9000 Series PS"

Problem

I can't get Effects/Convert to Curves to run text along a curve.

mini Office Draw does not provide any automatic way to run text along a curve. The Convert to Curves command converts objects into curves, so that you can edit them with the Node tool.

Problem

mini Office Draw won't import my picture.

If you can, try to import by copying the picture onto the clipboard and using Edit/Paste Special... If that doesn't work, check that you can see the picture on the clipboard using the Clipboard Viewer from Program Manager's Main group.

Problem

Autosave is greyed out.

Are you running several copies of mini Office Draw at once? Autosave is only available for the first instance of mini Office Draw that you start.

Problem

mini Office Draw gives General Protection Faults, Potentially Serious Internal Errors and generally misbehaves.

See the Other problems topic.

See also

Support and troubleshooting

Other problems


Other problems

If you reply YES to any of the following questions, then you may need to look at your system configuration in more detail.

•	Is your basic DOS setup different to that recommended for Windows?

•	Are you using a non-standard disk cache utility as a replacement for Smartdrv supplied with Windows?

•	Are you using a "shell" that replaces Program Manager (such as Norton Desktop)?

•	Are you using a third-party memory manager (such as QEMM386)?

•	Are you using a third-party display driver for your screen (i.e. NOT a standard Windows driver)?

•	Are you using third-party drivers for additional hardware (printer, network, mouse, scanner)?

If any of the above apply, you should see System Setup Troubleshooting for guidelines on the general approach to finding the cause of a problem.

See also

Support and troubleshooting

System Setup Troubleshooting


System Setup Troubleshooting

The Microsoft Windows operating environment is a complicated matter and problems can occur if your PC is not setup correctly or is using old or non-standard device drivers etc.

If you understand terms such as config.sys and autoexec.bat then you may be able to resolve system setup problems by following the guidelines below. If you don't understand these terms then you should contact Microsoft technical support if you think your problem is related to Windows.

Troubleshooting

In brief, the idea is to simplify your PC's setup, see if the problem is no longer present, and then incrementally restore your PC's original setup, testing to see which component makes the problem re-occur. Please follow our recommendations carefully and always work from a "system" floppy disk, rather than modifying the system files on your hard disk.

For the purposes of this section it is assumed that you are using Windows 3.1 and MS DOS 3.1 or higher, installed in their default directories. If your system is different to this then you'll need to make appropriate corrections/adjustments to the recommendations and suggestions.

Change to a standard display driver

Are you using one of the standard VGA display drivers, as supplied with your original Windows disks? Use the "Windows Setup" icon in the main program group to check. If you are using a third party VGA driver, switch to using one of the standard drivers now.

Remove special hardware

Do you have any "special" hardware installed in your PC such as network cards, scanner cards or other interfaces? If so then remove whatever you can, check with the suppliers that any which you leave do not require any special settings to work correctly with Windows and that there are no conflicts between any of the interface cards. For the purposes of fault diagnosis we recommend you remove all that you can without rendering your PC inoperative.

Boot from a clean floppy disk

Create a clean "system" floppy disk with a CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT as shown below:

AUTOEXEC.BAT:

C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE a- b-

PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS

SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

PROMPT $P$G

CONFIG.SYS:

FILES=50

BUFFERS=20

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS

Re-boot your PC using this system floppy disk.

Has the problem gone away?

After following the above steps, check to see if you get the problem you did earlier. If the problem is no longer present then you should gradually change back your PC's setup, checking at each stage to see what makes the problem appear again. This is time consuming, but is the simplest way to find what component of your system is causing the problem.

See also

Support and troubleshooting


 Instructions for using help

This Windows Help file describes mini Office Draw in detail; it contains a lot of information. To make getting at the information easier we've provided several ways to navigate through it. You can:

•	Visit every topic in turn by clicking on the Browse arrow buttons above.

•	Search for keywords by clicking on the Search button above.

•	Look up topics using the Index button above. Every topic is in the Index.

•	Keep Help visible by choosing Always on Top from Help's Help menu. This is especially useful if you want to refer to Help while using the PagePlus window maximized.

•	Get more information on using Help by pressing F1 or click on How to Use Help from the Help menu.

At the bottom of every topic you will find a section called See Also, which consists of double-underlined links. Clicking on a link will takes you to another, related topic.

See also

Contents


Index

-A-

About mini Office Draw... (help menu)

Actual Size (view menu)

Adding and deleting corner nodes

Align Items... (arrange menu)

Align Left, Align Centre, Align Right commands

Aligning objects (overview)

Apply Envelope (effects menu)

Arrange menu

Autosave (file menu)

-B-

Back One (arrange menu)

Bitmaps (overview)

Bold (text menu)

Bold and italic buttons (top toolbar)

Break Apart (arrange menu)

Bring to Front (arrange menu)

-C-

Changing line segment and corner types

Character shortcuts

Clean Curves (effects menu)

CleanUp button (status bar)

Clear (edit menu)

ClipArt (overview)

Closing and breaking open closed shapes

Combinations (overview)

Combine (arrange menu)

Combine envelope dialog

Combine/Break apart button (top toolbar)

Common printing problems

Contents (help menu)

Contents

Control key

Convert to Curves (effects menu)

Convert to curves button (top toolbar)

Copy (edit menu)

Create and select objects (overview)

Curve Editor (overview)

Curved line tool (overview)

Custom Zoom... (view menu)

Cut (edit menu)

Cut, copy and paste buttons (top toolbar)

Cut, copy, paste, delete objects (overview)

-D-

Graphic Design Power Made Easy

Drawings (overview)

-E-

Edit Fill Colour

Edit fill dialog

Edit Line Colour... (effects menu)

Edit menu

Edit Text... (text menu)

Edit zoom dialog

Effects menu

Enlarge Font (text menu)

Envelope flyout

Envelopes (overview)

Escape key

Exit (file menu)

Export as Picture... (file menu)

-F-

File menu

Fill colour flyout

Fill Colour/Linear... (effects menu)

Fill Colour/None (effects menu)

Fill Colour/Radial... (effects menu)

Fill Colour/Solid... (effects menu)

Fit Page (view menu)

Flip (effects menu)

Flip buttons (top toolbar)

Fonts... (text menu)

Forward One (arrange menu)

Forward one, back one buttons (top toolbar)

Freehand line tool (overview)

Function keys

-G-

Group (arrange menu)

Group/ungroup button (top toolbar)

Groups (overview)

Guides

-H-

Help (dynamic help)

Help menu

HintLine (status bar)

-I-

Import Corel DRAW!... (file menu)

Import Other... (file menu)

Import Picture (file menu)

Import tool (overview)

Index command

Index

Instructions for using help

Italic (text menu)

J

Join Curves (arrange menu)

-K-

Keyboard (overview)

-L-

Layering objects (overview)

Layout grid

Layout tools (overview)

Leading (text menu)

Left toolbar (overview)

Left, centre and right buttons (top toolbar)

Line colour button

Line tool flyout (overview)

Line Weight (effects menu)

Line weight button

Lines and closed shapes (overview)

-M-

Menus and commands (overview)

mini Office Draw Credits (help menu)

mini Office Draw Level button (status bar)

Modify object properties (overview)

Move, resize, rotate, shear and flip objects (overview)

-N-

New (file menu)

Node tool (overview)

Node tool with envelopes

Node tool with lines and closed shapes

Node tool with QuickShapes

Node tool with text

Non-printer problems

Normal (text menu)

-O-

Object basics (overview)

Objects (overview)

Open... (file menu)

Other problems

-P-

Page and pasteboard area

Page Setup... (file menu)

Paste (edit menu)

Paste Special... (edit menu)

Pointer tool (overview)

Pointer tool: moving objects

Pointer tool: selecting objects

Pointer tool: sizing objects

Preferences (view menu)

Preferences/Ease of Use... (view menu)

Preferences/General... (view menu)

Print to file dialog

Print... (file menu)

Print Setup... (file menu)

Printing (overview)

-Q-

QuickShape flyout

QuickShapes (overview)

-R-

Reduce Font (text menu)

Remove Envelope (effects menu)

Replicate... (effects menu)

Revert (file menu)

Rotate (effects menu)

Rotate button (top toolbar)

Rotate tool (overview)

Rotate tool: rotating a selection

Rotate tool: shearing a selection

Rotation dialog

Rulers

-S-

Save (file menu)

Save As... (file menu)

Save Defaults (file menu)

Screen layout (screenshot)

Search for Help on... (help menu)

Select All (edit menu)

Selecting and cursoring (keyboard)

Selection area (status bar)

Send to Back (arrange menu)

Shift key

Show Grid (view menu)

Show Guides (view menu)

Show Rulers (view menu)

Snapping (overview)

Snapping (view menu)

Snapping button (status bar)

Spacing dialog

Special keyboard features

Standard Windows elements

Status Bar (overview)

Status Editor (overview)

Status Editor button (status bar)

Straight line tool (overview)

Support and troubleshooting (overview)

System setup troubleshooting

-T-

Text (overview)

Text edit window

Text font combo (top toolbar)

Text menu

Text size combo (top toolbar)

Text tool (overview)

Tools (overview)

Top toolbar (overview)

Tracking (text menu)

Transform... (effects menu)

-U-

Undo (edit menu)

Undo button (top toolbar)

Ungroup (arrange menu)

Using flyouts

Using the left toolbar

-V-

View menu

-W-

Welcome

What's in mini Office Draw

Width (text menu)

Windows printer driver problems

-Z-

Zoom area (status bar)

Zoom In (view menu)

Zoom Out (view menu)

Zoom tool (overview)