Cool Stuff You Should Know

Host Application Sensitivity
FreeHand and Illustrator, while similar in function and in general features, have certain mannerisms that are decidedly different. KPT Vector Effects automatically identifies the host application (i.e., FreeHand or Illustrator) and responds accordingly in the following ways:

Undo/Redo
Both FreeHand and Illustrator use the standard Command-Z for Undo, but FreeHand uses Command-Y for Redo, while Illustrator uses Command-Shift-Z. While in any of the Vector Effects extensions, you can use the Redo keyboard shortcut for whichever application you are in. (You can also always use the Vector Effects shortcut for Redo, Command-R.) 

Selected/Unselected Points
Additionally, Illustrator and FreeHand display selected and unselected points in exactly opposite ways. KPT Vector Effects senses which program you are in and displays selected and unselected points in the same fashion as the host application.  That is, in FreeHand your selected points are displayed as filled squares, while in Illustrator, they are displayed as hollow squares.

Tool Commands
The host application’s Magnify, Demagnify, and Hand tool-related keyboard shortcuts are also available in KPT Vector Effects. This means that when you are in any extension you can use the Command-Spacebar for the Magnify tool, Command-Option-Spacebar for the Demagnify tool, and Spacebar for the Hand tool. You can also use KPT Vector Effects’ simplified shortcuts of Command for the Magnify tool and Command-Option for the Demagnify tool.

Units of Measure
Whether you have your host application’s preferences set for Inches, Picas, Millimeters or Points, Vector Effects’ precision extensions, Point Editor and Resize & Reposition, will display values in the unit of measure you have chosen.

You may also enter values in these extensions in any unit of measurement and Vector Effects will translate to the host application’s units of measurement on the fly.

Viewing Modes
Whether or not you are in the Keyline mode in FreeHand, or whether you are in Preview or Artwork mode in Illustrator, KPT Vector Effects always displays your artwork based on the extension’s own settings.

Precise Numeric Input
The ability to input precise values for any effect component is of paramount importance to digital illustrators. We have therefore provided as many ways as possible to access and control numeric values for all extension settings.

Accessing the Numbers
The easiest way to get to numeric input fields is with the traditional tabbing method. The first time you hit the Tab key you will activate the numeric input box for the first control in the extension UI. Successive tabs will move you in sequence from one control to the next. Shift-tabbing moves you through the controls in reverse order. If any given control is not available for the current operation, it will be omitted from the Tabbing sequence. To exit any tab field or sequence, press the Enter or Return key.
If you are pointing to a control button when you hit the Tab key (that is, if your cursor is over a control and you see the blue “prelite” underline), you will automatically activate the numeric input box for that control button. 

Command-clicking will also call the numeric entry field for a given control, allowing you to type in a value for control slider settings or CMYK color values. For sliders, a set of up and down arrows also appear, which can be used to make incremental adjustments to a slider’s value. These two features can be used in conjunction, first typing in a “guesstimate” value, and then using the up and down arrows for fine tuning.

Entering the Numbers
Once you have the entry field visible, you simply type in the desired value (you may of course highlight and replace any characters in the active field). Where up/down arrows are available, you may either click on them or use the up or down arrow keys on your keyboard to make incremental changes.
Holding down the Shift key while clicking on the up or down arrows or while using the up or down arrow keys on the keyboard will increase the unit of measure by a factor of five.

Though the values, when set by the sliders, are often rounded to the nearest integer, you may type in any floating point value you like (i.e., any value with one or more places to the right of the decimal point).
When using the control sliders to specify extension settings, you are constrained to a recommended range for that setting (i.e., 0 to 20, or 0% to 100%). This is for your own “safety,” as extreme settings can cause unnecessary artwork complexity and undesirable delays in previewing or rendering. However, you may always manually enter any value you want, even those outside any given slider’s range (including negative values).

Viewing the Numbers
There will be times when it will be useful to see the relationships of all numeric settings simultaneously. To display the values for all extension settings simultaneously, use the key combination Option-Tab. Each active control element will display the current setting. If you quickly press and release Option-Tab, the numbers will remain displayed until the next keyboard or mouse event, allowing you to make note of the current settings, take screen shots, etc. If you hold the keys down for longer than about a second or more, the numeric displays will go away when you release the keys.

Controlling the Numbers
The sliders’ default behavior is scaled to enhance speed, enabling quick changes. If you require more precision, holding down the Shift key while dragging a control slider will ensure that you have access to each increment within the slider’s range, reducing the ratio of slider movement to numeric value. Should you need the greatest of slider speed, holding down the Control key while dragging will increase the movement to value ratio and disable the interactive preview window for smooth, quick action. The preview window will update as soon as you release the mouse button. 

Other Cool Features
In addition to host sensitivity and precise numeric input, KPTVector Effects sports these other cool features.

Interactive Previewing
By default, changes to your effect settings are reflected in the Preview window as wireframe outlines while you are making changes, and are then updated in the Preview window.

In some cases it may be desirable to see your changes updated on the fly, as you are making them. This can be achieved by keeping Caps Lock on. With Caps Lock on, changes to any extension setting are reflected in the Preview window in realtime (or near realtime, depending on the speed of your processor and the complexity of the artwork and the effect being applied). While cool to watch, interactive previewing may not always be a good idea. If you are working on complex art, or performing a complex operation, this can be very slow and have the net result of reducing slider precision (because the screen updates may not match the current slider position). Experiment to find what works best for you in various situations.

You can work directly in many of the KPT Vector Effects preview windows, bypassing control sliders altogether. Where this is possible, your cursor will change to either a crosshair (with arrowheads) or an inverted arrow pointer as it enters the Preview window, indicating that you can work in the preview area to make changes to your artwork. You may also see points on previewed artwork (in Point Editor, for example), indicating that you may select and alter those points; or you may see objects introduced by KPT Vector Effects (as in Vector Distort or Flare); if these objects have handles on them, you may resize and reposition them directly in the preview area.

Overriding Preferences
Keep in mind that the spacebar can be used to temporarily toggle on or off any of the settings specified in the bottom half of the Preferences dialog box (Black Background, Graphical Presets, and Numeric Displays). To toggle Black Background at Launch, the Spacebar must be held down while the extension is selected from the menu. To toggle Graphical Presets or Numeric Display, hold down the Spacebar while pressing on the Presets menu or any control slider button.

Multiple Undo/Redo
KPT Vector Effects supports multiple levels of Undo and Redo within any session, so you may step backwards or forwards through your changes at any time. Undo is always Command-Z, while Redo uses Command-R, or the keyboard shortcut supported by the host application.

Keyboard Zoom and Pan
If you prefer, you can use the keyboard to control all zooming and panning operations while in any of the KPTVector Effect extensions.  The keyboard controls are intuitive and responsive (not to mention, fun to use).

Zooming in or out is accomplished by holding down the Command key while pressing or tapping the plus (+)key to zoom in, or the minus (-) key to zoom out.

Panning is accomplished by holding down the Command key while pressing or tapping any of the four arrow keys to move left, right, up, or down.

Turbo zooming and panning can be accomplished by holding down both the Shift and Command keys while pressing or tapping the plus, minus, or arrow keys.

The Preview window can be reset to its default state (no zooming or panning) by using the Command-M key combination when working in FreeHand, or the Command-W key combination in Illustrator.

Importing and Exporting Presets
Presets for KPTVector Effects can be easily imported and exported using our Preset Manager, which can be accessed by either selecting the Preset Manager command at the bottom of the Presets menu (in text mode), or by Command-clicking on the Presets menu.

Once you have the Preset Manager open, you can select individual presets by clicking on them.  Multiple presets can be selected by shift-clicking to select adjacent presets, or command-clicking to select non-adjacent presets.

Any preset can be previewed by double-clicking on its name.

Once you have your desired presets selected, they can be exported to a Presets file by using the Export button, which will present you with a standard Save dialog box; or deleted by clicking on the delete button.

Presets can be imported by clicking on the Import button, then selecting the desired Presets file.