Copyright: 1994 Dr John Maddock


Menu Structure

The following are available on the main menu bar:

File

Edit

View

Objects

Tools

Help

DrawMe also supports context sensitive mouse menus activated by the right mouse button.


File Menu

The following items are available from the file menu:

Item	Short cut	ButtonBar Icon

New	Ctrl + N

Open	Ctrl + O

Save	Ctrl + S

SaveAs

Print	Ctrl + P

Print Setup

Preferences

Exit	Alt + F4


File./.New

Select this menu option to quit editing the existing file and start a new file.

The short cut for this menu item is control + N.


 File./.Open

Open a new file.

Currently only native DrawMe files can be opened (*.M2D).

The short cut for this menu item is Control + O.


 File./.Save

Save the current file.

If the current file has not been named then you will be prompted for a name before saving.  Use this option to save the file in native DrawMe (*.M2D) format.  This option will be greyed out if the file has not been changed and does not need saving.

The short cut for this menu item is Control + S.


File./.SaveAs

Select this option to save the file under a new name.

As well as native DrawMe format, this option may also be used to save the file as a windows metafile (*.WMF).


 File./.Print

Select this option to print the currently open file.

The short cut for this option is Control + P.

If the drawing area is larger than the page size, then DrawMe will automatically spread the drawing over multiple pages.  This makes it possible to print out an A3 diagram on several A4 sheets for example.

There are a few points to bear in mind when using this feature:

DrawMe will automatically suppress blank sheets to the right and bottom of the drawing area.  The user should position the drawing relative to the top left hand corner of the page to ensure that the printed diagram is in the desired position.

When the drawing is spanned over more than one sheet of paper, a small section will overlap on each printed sheet, the position of the overlap is indicated by crop-marks on the page edges.

The amount of space on each page that can be used is less than its total area.  This is because almost all printers have an area around the edge of the page that they are unable to print on.  The printable area is also reduced by the overlap of adjacent pages.  This means that a diagram may print out over more pages than you would expect, for example an A3 diagram will require more than two A4 sheets to print out on, unless there is a generous margin along the right hand and bottom edges of the paper area.


File./.Print Setup

Select this option to configure your printer for use.


File./.Exit

Select this option to exit DrawMe 1.0.

The short cut for this option is Alt + F4.


File./.Preferences

Select this option to set up the application's preferences (these are stored in drawme.ini).

On selecting this option the user is presented with the preferences dialog, this sets the current drawing size, background colour, measurement units, and toolbar position:

For more information, clip on a dialog item:


Drawing Width
Enter here the default drawing width, this will affect the current file, and any new files that you create, but will have no effect on files you have already created.  There is no need for the drawing width to have any relation to the actual paper size in your printer, as DrawMe can span a drawing over several sheets of paper when necessary (see File./.Print).  Drawing width is measured in millimetres.


Drawing Height
Enter here the default drawing height, this will effect the current file, and any new files that you create, but will have no effect on files you have already created.  There is no need for the drawing height to have any relation to the actual paper size in your printer, as DrawMe can span a drawing over several sheets of paper when necessary (see File./.Print).  Drawing height is measured in millimetres.


Background Colour
Use this combo-box to select the desired background colour for the current drawing and any new drawings subsequently created.


Measurement Units
This option selects the measurement units used by DrawMe.  These are used to display the mouse coordinates on the status bar, and object dimensions in dialog boxes.  The user can select either millimetres or inches for this option.


Grid
When checked, DrawMe displays a background grid on the drawing area.  The grid uses 10mm or 0.5" squares depending upon the current measurement unit.  This option is sometimes useful for aligning objects on the page.


Toolbar Position
Use this option to select the position where the toolbars are displayed on the screen.  This can be along the top of the window, down the left hand side of the window, or as free floating toolbars.


Edit Menu

The following items are available from the Edit Menu:

Menu Item	Short Cut Key	Button Bar Icon

Properties	Control + E

Undo	Control + U

Cut	Control + X

Copy	Control + C

Paste	Control + U

Paste Link

Delete	Del

Duplicate	Control + D

Select All	Control + A

Push To Back


Edit./.Edit
Edit./.Properties

This option is only available when one or more items have been selected for editing, it enables the user to alter the position, size, style, and colour of the selected object(s) via an Properties dialog.

See:	Line Properties Dialog

Rectangle Properties Dialog

Ellipse Properties Dialog

Polygon Properties Dialog

Poly Line Properties Dialog

Bezier Curve Properties Dialog

Text Properties Dialog

Arrow Properties Dialog

Group Properties Dialog

Selection Properties Dialog

OLE Object Properties Dialog

The short cut for this option is Control + E.


Edit./.Undo

Select this option to undo the last action, DrawMe 1.0 currently supports one level of undo only.

The short cut for this option is Control + U.


Edit./.Cut

This option cuts the currently selected object(s) to the clipboard, it is greyed if no objects are currently selected.  As well as its native clipboard format, DrawMe places metafile and bitmap representations of the selection on the clipboard for use by other applications.

The short cut for this option is Control + X.


 Edit./.Copy

This option copies the currently selected object(s) to the clipboard, it is greyed if no objects are currently selected.  As well as its native clipboard format, DrawMe places metafile and bitmap representations of the selection on the clipboard for use by other applications.

The short cut for this option is Control + C.


 Edit./.Paste

If there is an object on the clipboard that DrawMe can access, then it is pasted into the drawing area and becomes the currently selected object.  DrawMe 1.0 only supports its own clipboard format directly, objects from other applications can still be accessed via the "magic" of OLE: either if they support OLE directly, or if they place a bitmap or metafile representation of their data on the clipboard.

The short cut for this option is Control + V.


Edit./.Paste Link

This option is only available if an OLE server has placed an OLE object on the clipboard.  Selecting this option pastes a link to the original file from which the clipboard data originates.  This means that the data is not stored within the DrawMe file (as it would be for an embedded object) but instead a link to original file is stored.  The object can be activated as normal, it can also be edited by the application that created it directly, and the changes are still reflected in the DrawMe file.

See also:	Objects Menu, Objects./.Links.


Edit./.Delete

Selecting this option deletes the currently selected object(s), they can be recovered afterwards (if you make a mistake!) by using Undo.

The short cut for this option is the Delete key.


Edit./.Duplicate

Selecting this option creates an exact duplicate of the selected object(s), the duplicate is automatically selected ready for editing.

The short cut for this option is Control + D.


Edit./.Select All

Selecting this option selects all the objects in the current file ready for editing.

The short cut for this menu item is Control + A.


Edit./.Push To Back

Selecting this option pushes the currently selected object(s) to the back.  This means that any other objects in the same position on the page will be drawn on top of those pushed to the back.


View Menu

The following items are available from the View Menu:

Menu Item	Short cut Key	Button Bar Icon

400%

200%

100%

50%

33%

Zoom In	Control + + (The "Plus" key)

Zoom Out	Control + - (The"Minus" key)

View Clipboard..


 View./.400%

Selecting this option sets the current view scale to 400% of actual size.


 View./.200%

Selecting this option sets the current view scale to 200% of actual size.


 View./.100%

Selecting this option sets the current view scale to 100% of actual size.

DrawMe does not change the scale according to the current video mode as do some applications, instead setting the view scale to 100% means just that - actual size no matter what video mode your PC uses.  As a consequence of this DrawMe drawings that are cut and pasted into other applications may display slightly larger on the screen than expected, they will of course, still print at the correct size.

If you have problems with DrawMe not displaying drawings at actual size then check that your Video BIOS and display driver are correctly set up for your monitor size and type.


 View./.50%

Selecting this option sets the current view scale to 50% of actual size.


 View./.33%

Selecting this option sets the current view scale to 33% of actual size.


View./.Zoom In

Selecting this option increases the current view scaling to the next zoom level, e.g. from 100% to 200%.

The short cut for this menu item is Control + + ( That's the Control key along with either of the "+" keys ).


View./.Zoom Out

Selecting this option decreases the current view scaling to the next zoom level, e.g. from 200% to 100%.

The short cut for this menu item is Control + - ( That's the Control key along with either of the "-" keys ).


View./.View Clipboard
View./.View Clipboard...

Selecting this option activates the clipboard viewer ( part of the Windows 3.1 operating system ) so that you can see what objects are currently on the clipboard.

View Clipboard Now


Objects Menu

The following items are available from the objects menu:

Insert Object

Insert File

Links

Objects

Activate

Edit


Objects./.Insert Object
Objects./.Insert Object...

Select this option to insert a new OLE object into the current document.  The user is presented with a standard Insert Object dialog from which an OLE server may be selected from a list of all the servers installed on the system.  Choosing OK or double clicking on the selected server creates the new object and opens the server for editing.


Objects./.Insert File
Objects./.Insert File...

Select this option to insert the contents of a file into the current document.  The user is initially presented with a File Open dialog, use this to select the file to be inserted into the current document.

If the file selected is a native DrawMe file then the contents of that file are inserted into the current document.  If the file selected is not a native DrawMe file, then the user is presented with an Insert File dialog, the user must use this to select an OLE server for the file to be inserted, and the desired action for the server to take.  The default options are to create an embedded object using the the nornal file association for the selected file to determine the server used.

This dialog allows the user a certain degree of flexibility when inserting the contents of a file, for example a bitmap could be inserted using Windows Paintbrush, Paintshop Pro, or some other application as server depending upon the task at hand.  Inserted files can be inserted as either objects or links to the original file, and choosing Packager as the server allows the insertion of a packaged object (useful for sound clips or annotations).

These options are also available when the user drags a file from file manager and drops it onto the DrawMe window.


Select Server
From this list the user must select an appropriate server for the file to be inserted.


Create Embedded
Select this option to create an embedded object from the selected file.


Create Template
Select this option to create an embedded object from the selected file and open the server to edit the file for initial editing.


Create Link
Select this option to create a link to the selected file, if the source file changes, then so will the object within the DrawMe file.


Objects./.Links
Objects./.Links...

Select this option to edit the properties of file linked to the current document.

Click on an item for more information:


Select Link
Use this list to select the linked object the user wishes to change or update.


Auto Link
Select this option to ensure that the linked object is updated automatically when the source file changes.


Manual Link
Select this option when the linked object is to updated only when required, an automatic link to the source document will not be created.


Update Link
Select this option to update the linked object now.


Cancel Link
Select this button to convert the linked object to a static picture.  Note that this conversion can not be reversed.


Activate Link
Select this button to activate the selected object.


Edit Link
Select this button to edit the selected object.


Object./.Activate

Select this option to activate the selected OLE object, for example a sound clip will be played, or a packaged file will be opened.


Object./.Edit
Objects./.Edit

Select this option to edit the selected OLE object, for example a sound clip will be opened into Sound Recorder, or a package will be launched into the Object Packager.


Help Menu

There are three items available on the help menu:

Index:	Go to the main help index for DrawMe.

Introduction:	Get general help on DrawMe.

About:	Displays information about this version of DrawMe.


OK
Selecting this option closes the dialog box and accepts all the values entered in the dialog.


Cancel
Selecting this button closes the dialog without accepting any changes.


Help Button
Choose this button to obtain help on the dialog.


Line Style
Click on this drop down dialog to display a list of line styles, the line style can be either solid or one of a range of dashes and dots.  Note that for any line style other than solid, the line width will be one pixel, rather than the value selected in the line width combo box.


Line Width
Click on this drop down dialog to display the range of possible line widths, the values are in half point sizes from 0.5pt to 4.5pt.  Note that this combo box has no effect unless the selected line style is `solid'.


Line Colour
Click on this drop down combo box to display a list of possible line colours.  The user will need to scroll down the list to view all the possible colours.


Fill Colour
Click on this drop down combo box to display a list of possible fill colours.  The user will need to scroll down the list to view all the possible colours.  Note that this combo box has no effect if the fill style is set to "-None-".


Fill Pattern
Click on this drop down combo box to display a list of possible fill styles.  The user will need to scroll down the list to view all the possible fill patterns.  Selecting "-None-" will mean that the object will not be filled and any objects beneath it will show through.  Selecting "-Plain-" will fill the object with a plain colour.  Fill patterns are made up of a combination of the current Line Colour and Fill Colour.


Absolute Coordinates
This check box determines whether the coordinates displayed in the open dialog box are absolute (relative to the top left hand corner of the page), or relative to the current offset position.  The default is to display absolute coordinates.


Edit Rotation
Enter the desired degree of rotation of the object here.  The value must be entered in degrees, positive values indicate a clockwise rotation and negative values indicate an anticlockwise value.


Edit Shear
Enter a value here to shear the selected object.  The value entered must be in degrees, valid entries are between +90 and -90 degrees.  A positive value will shear the top of the object to the right, and a negative value will shear the top of the object to the left.


Fill Shape
Check this option to fill the selected object with a solid colour.  Use the `Fill Colour' drop down combo box to select which colour is used to fill the object.  If this option is not selected then the object is unfilled, and objects beneath it will show through.