Copyright: © 1995-1997 Xara Ltd
Citation: © 1995-1997 Xara Ltd.


---> All Topics

Task Topics

Message Topics

Movie Topics

Glossary Topics

Dialog Box Topics

Furniture Topics

Gallery Topics

Menus and  Bars Topics

Operation Topics

Overview Topics

Reference Topics

Tool Topics

Windows 3.1 Contents Topics


---> Dialog Box Topics

Add Folder

Gallery Find

Gallery Properties

Gallery Sort

Paste Special

Alignment

Bitmap Export (all of them)

Control Bars

Document Info

Export

Import

Open

Options

Create Bitmap Copy

Xara Webster Web Files Export dialog box

Web Address

Color Editor

Color Editor

Color Editor Advanced

Color Editor - CMYK

Color Editor - Grayscale

Color Editor - HSV

Color Editor - Linked Colors

Color Editor - Normal Colors

Color Editor - RGB

Color Editor - Shade Colors

Color Editor - Tint Colors


---> Furniture topics

Status Line


---> Menu and Bar Topics

Menus and Buttons

Bars (submenu of the Window menu)

Always On Top

List of Menus

File Menu

Edit Menu

Arrange Menu

Utilities Menu

Window Menu

Help Menu

Arrange Control Bar

File Control Bar

Edit Control Bar

Button Palette Control Bar

List of Default Control Bars

Gallery Control Bar

General Control Bar

Standard Control Bar

Window Control Bar

Selection Pop-up Menu

View Pop-up Menu


---> Message Topics


---> Operation Topics

1234 (recently used files list)

Xara Webster Help

About Xara Webster

Movies (Help Menu)

Tip of the Day (Help Menu)

Arrange Icons

Arrange Views

Bitmap Gallery (Utilities menu)

Color Gallery (Utilities Menu)

Clipart Gallery (Utilities Menu)

Web Address

Clear Selection

Bring to Front

Clone

Zoom Magnification

Zoom To Drawing

Zoom To Work Area

Zoom To Selection

Group

New

New View

Paste

Paste at Same Position

Paste Attributes

Previous Zoom

Copy

Cascade

Put To Back

Quality

Save

Save All

Save As

Using Help

Select All

Show Grid

Snap to Grid

Undo and Redo

Ungroup

Close

Line Width

Move Backwards

Move Forwards

Full Screen

Delete

Cut

Duplicate

Exit


---> Overview Topics

Colors Overview

Galleries Overview

Pop-up Menus Overview

Units Overview

Zero Width Lines Overview

OLE Overview

Xara Web File Overview


---> Reference Topics

Xara Webster Help - Empty page

Xara Webster Basics

List of Keyboard Shortcuts

List of Supported File Formats

List of Text Tool Key Shortcuts

The Xara Webster Workplace

Welcome to Xara Webster

About Xara Ltd.


---> Task Topics

Adding clipart to the clipart gallery

Adding titles, descriptions and keywords to documents

Adding web addresses to objects

Aligning and distributing objects

Applying an object's color to another object

Applying attributes to a selected region of text

Applying attributes to a whole text object

Applying attributes to individual text characters

Applying attributes to text

Applying attributes to the text cursor

Applying circular transparency

Applying flat transparency

Applying linear transparency

Applying transparency

Changing an object's fill color

Changing an object's line color

Changing bitmap palettes

Changing line thicknesses

Changing text font

Changing the baseline shift of text

Changing the constrain angle

Changing the duplication distance

Changing the grid spacing

Changing the spacing between lines of text

Changing the nudge size

Changing the paper size

Changing the screen quality of documents

Changing the size of text

Changing the way galleries look

Closing a gallery

Coloring objects

Configuring a web server for Xara files

Copying objects

Creating GIF files

Creating JPEG files

Creating PNG files

Creating animated GIF files

Creating bitmaps

Creating bitmaps from objects

Creating new documents

Creating realistic shadows

Creating simple text

Creating Xara Web files

Customizing the appearance of Xara Webster

Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard

Deleting objects

Deselecting all objects

Deselecting objects

Deselecting selected objects

Displaying the grid

Editing text

Enabling grid snapping

Finding clipart

Flipping objects

Getting help with Xara Webster

Grouping objects

Importing CDR files

Importing CMX files

Importing animated GIF files

Importing colors and palettes

Importing files

Importing transparent bitmap files

Increasing the available work area

Inverting a grayscale bitmap

Justifying text

Loading Files

Making text bold

Making text italic

Moving and resizing galleries

Moving between documents

Moving objects

Moving objects accurately

Moving objects backwards and forwards

Moving objects by dragging

Moving the document

Moving the transformation center

Nudging objects

Opening another view on a document

Opening documents from disc

Pasting objects from the clipboard

Putting Web files on WWW pages

Removing bitmaps from a document

Removing objects from groups

Removing transparency

Removing web addresses from objects

Reordering gallery items

Reordering gallery sections

Returning to the previous zoom

Rotating objects

Rotating objects accurately

Rotating objects by dragging

Saving bitmaps from a document

Saving documents

Scaling objects

Scaling objects accurately

Scaling objects by dragging

Searching a gallery

Selecting a single object

Selecting all objects

Selecting characters in text objects

Selecting items in a gallery

Selecting lines of text in text objects

Selecting objects

Selecting part of a text object

Selecting several objects

Selecting text

Selecting text objects

Setting document options

Setting program options

Skewing objects

Skewing objects accurately

Skewing objects by dragging

Stretching objects

Timing Xara Webster redraw

Turning Tip of the Day on and off

Typing international characters

Undoing and redoing operations

Ungrouping objects

Updating the clipart gallery

Using the Push Tool temporarily

Using the Selector Tool temporarily

Using the Zoom Tool temporarily

Using the keyboard

Viewing document information

Viewing several document at once

Zooming in and out

Zooming to the selection

Zooming to the whole drawing

Zooming to the whole work area


---> Windows 3.1 Contents Topics

How do I ...?


1,2,3,4 (File Menu)

You can use the filenames listed near the bottom of the File menu to open one of the documents recently worked on. Choose the number or name that corresponds to the document you want to open. For more information, see Opening documents from disc.


About Xara Ltd
About Xara Ltd.

Xara was set up by Computer Concepts Ltd. (UK) to develop CorelXARA and other high-technology Graphics and Internet applications. Computer Concepts has been developing mainstream application software since 1981. CC was one of the pioneer microcomputer software houses of the early eighties in the UK developing applications such as the Wordwise word processor which sold a quarter of a million copies.

With over fifteen years of development experience, more than six of which have been developing 32-bit windowing based applications for RISC based computers, this has given us an unrivaled experience of developing microcomputer application software. This experience predates the arrival of 32-bit Windows based environments by many years.

The arrival of 32-bit Windows programming environments (Windows 95 and Windows NT) meant we could exploit that experience in the wider PC and Windows market, rather than the more niche markets we occupied before.

Web Links

Xara Home Page

Xara Ltd.

Gaddesden Place, the mansion home of Xara Ltd.

Xara Ltd.

Gaddesden Place

Hemel Hempstead

Hertfordshire HP2 6EX

United Kingdom

Tel	+44 1442 350000

Fax	+44 1442 350010

Email	info@xara.com


About Xara Webster (Help Menu)

About Xara Webster on the Help menu opens a dialog box containing the following information :

Xara Webster Version Number.

Xara Webster Licensee.

Licensee

Organization.

Xara Webster Serial Number.

Host Operating System.

For more information about Xara Ltd. who developed Xara Webster, click here.


Add Folder Dialog Box

With this dialog box, you can add folders of clipart  to the Clipart Gallery. For more information, see Adding clipart to the clipart gallery.

Add

Update

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Related Topics

Updating the clipart gallery


Add Folder Dialog Box - Add Button

Add inserts the selected folder into the gallery. If it contains an index and thumbnails a section (or sections) will appear in the gallery showing the folder's contents. If the folder does not contain an index or thumbnails you will be asked if you would like to create them.


Add Folder Dialog Box - Update Button

Update renews all the index and thumbnail information for a folder where necessary. This is generally most useful where you have changed files in a folder or added new files and you want the gallery updated.


Adding clipart to the clipart gallery

For details on how to add folders of your own clipart to the Clipart Gallery, click the web link below.

Web Link

Adding Clipart to the Clipart Gallery


Adding titles, descriptions and keywords to documents

To find out how to add title, descriptions and keywords to your documents, click the web link below.

Web Link

Adding Titles, Descriptions and Keywords to Documents


Adding web addresses to objects

You can add a web address attribute to any object. When someone clicks on the object on a web page it will take them to the web address (see Putting Web files on WWW pages). For more details on web addresses, an example and a movie showing you how to use web addresses, click the web link below.

To add a web address to an object

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects). You can select more than one.

2. From the Utilities menu, choose Web Address.

3. Type in the web address (URL).

4. Click Add (or Change if the object already has a web address).

Web Links

Adding Web Addresses To Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Removing web address from objects


Aligning and distributing objects

You can easily move objects on the work area so they are aligned along an edge or their center. You can also move objects so they are distributed across the work area or between other objects.

To align or distribute objects

1. Select all the objects you want to move.

2. From the Arrange menu, choose Alignment.

3. In the dialog box, choose whether you want to move the objects within the bounding box of the selection, the work area.

4. From the Vertical Position drop-down list, choose how you want the objects to move vertically.

5. From the Horizontal Position drop-down list, choose how you want the objects to move vertically.

6. When the diagram at the top of the dialog box shows what you want, click Apply.

Tip

For more information on the options available, click the Help button in the dialog box.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Alignment dialog box


  Alignment (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+L

You can use the Alignment dialog box to align and distribute the selected objects The two drop-down lists allow you to set how the objects are moved horizontally and vertically. The diagram at the top shows how the objects will move.

The options in the 'Within' section allow you to set whether the objects move relative to the boundary of the selected objects (the bounding box) or the work area. For example, if you select "Align Left" and have the Within Work Area option set, the objects will move so their left edges all rest on the left hand side of the work area.

Horizontal Positions

No Change leaves the objects in the same horizontal position.

Align Left moves the objects so their left hand edges are aligned vertically.

Align Center moves the objects so their centers are aligned vertically.

Align Right moves the objects so their right hand edges are aligned vertically.

Distribute Left Edges moves the objects so their left edges are evenly spaced horizontally.

Distribute Centers moves the objects so their centers are evenly spaced horizontally.

Distribute Right Edges moves the objects so their right hand edges are evenly spaced horizontally.

Distribute Equi-spaced moves the objects so the spacing between them is even horizontally.

Vertical Positions

No Change leaves the objects in the same vertical position.

Align Bottom moves  the objects so their bottom edges are aligned horizontally.

Align Centrally moves the objects so their centers are aligned horizontally.

Align Top moves the objects so their top edges are aligned horizontally.

Distribute Bottom Edges moves the objects so their bottom edges are evenly spaced vertically.

Distribute Centers moves the objects so their centers are evenly spaced vertically.

Distribute Top Edges moves the objects so their top edges are evenly space vertically.

Distribute Equi-spaced moves the objects so the spacing between them is even vertically.

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Related Topics

Aligning objects


Always on Top

Always On Top is available from the Document Control Menu. If Always On Top is selected for a view, it will always remain on top of all other views. This could be used, for example, to edit one view of a document with a smaller higher Quality view set to always be on top. The edits made in the first, larger view would be reflected in the smaller view which would always be visible.


Animated GIF Export Dialog Box

With the Animated GIF dialog box you can choose how your animated GIF files are created. For information on how to create animated GIF files see Creating animated GIF files.

Bitmap Size

Color Depth

Interlacing

Transparency

Palette

Dithering

Animation Delay

Animation Restore

Animation Loop

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Related Topics

Importing animated GIF files


Animated GIF Export Dialog Box - Animation Delay

This option sets the time delay between frames in the animation. The units are hundredths of a second, so if you want a delay of a second between each frame, enter a value of 100. Remember that some browsers display the frames quite slowly and may not be able to keep up with the value you set.

If you alter this setting, it will override any individual delays you have set for frames using the Bitmap Properties dialog box in the Bitmap Gallery.


Animated GIF Export Dialog Box - Animation Loop

From these options you can select :

The number of times the animation will repeat.

or

The Loop Continuously option.


Animated GIF Export Dialog Box - Animation Restore

This sets what happens after each frame has been displayed, the Animated GIF Restore setting.

If you alter this setting, it will override any individual restore values you have set for frames using the Bitmap Properties dialog box in the Bitmap Gallery.


Annotating clipart scrolls

For details on how to add your own text to the clipart scrolls on the Xara Ltd. web site, click the web link below.

Web Link

Annotating Clipart Scrolls


Applying an object's color to another object

For details on how to take the color from one object in a drawing and apply to it to another object so they are exactly the same color, click the web link below.

Web Link

Copying Color


Applying attributes to a selected region of text

By selecting a region of text inside a text object you can apply attributes to a small section of it. For example you could change the point size of one word in a line of text.

To apply attributes to a region of text

1. Select the text region (see Selecting text).

2. Apply the required attributes. For example, drag-and-drop a color from the Color Gallery or change the font size.

Tip

If you drag-and-drop an attribute onto the selected region, it will only be applied to the selected region. Note that attributes can be applied to the selected region by dragging and dropping the attribute onto the selected region.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Applying attributes to a whole text object

If you apply an attribute to a whole text object, it affects every character. If you want to apply text-specific attributes (like font size), select the Text Tool first.

To apply attributes to a whole text object

1. Select the text object (see Selecting text).

2. Apply the required attributes. For example; double-click a color in the Color Gallery or choose the Text Tool and change the font size.

Tips

If the text cursor is visible, press Escape to remove it. You can then apply attributes to the whole text object.

You can apply attributes to a text object using drag-and-drop,. If you do this, you do not need to select the text object first. For example you can change the color of text by dragging a color from the Color Gallery onto the text object.

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Related Topics

Text Tool

Selecting objects


Applying attributes to individual text characters

You can easily apply attributes to a single character inside a text object.

To apply attributes to a single character in a text object

1. Select the text character (see Selecting text).

2. Apply the attributes. For example, choose the Text Tool and change the font size or double-click on a color in the Color Gallery.

Tip

You can also apply attributes to a single character by holding CTRL and using drag-and-drop. For example, dragging a color from the Color Gallery and dropping it on a character whilst holding down CTRL will apply the color to one character rather than the whole text object. See apply inside for more details on applying attributes inside objects.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Applying attributes to text

You can apply any attribute to a whole text object, a single character inside it or a selected region of it.

What do you want to do?

Apply attributes to a whole text object

Apply attributes to a selected region of text

Apply attributes to individual text characters

Apply attributes to the text cursor


Applying attributes to the text cursor

If attributes are applied when the text cursor is present in a text object, the attributes are applied to the text cursor and used for all the text you type in that text object. When the text cursor is moved, it takes on the attributes of the character to its left.

To apply attributes to the text cursor

1. Choose the Text Tool.

2. Insert the text cursor in the document.

3. Apply the attributes. For example, double-click on a color in the Color Gallery or choose a font size from the Infobar.

Tips

If you want to change the attributes for all text objects you create in future, select the Text Tool (ensuring the text cursor is not visible in the document) and set the attributes.

You have to type something for the change of attribute to have any effect. Moving the cursor without typing discards the change of attribute.


Applying bitmap fills

You can use any of the bitmaps in the Bitmap Gallery to fill an object. CorelXARA includes a Fill Tool for applying and manipulating bitmap fills. Although Xara Webster does not include this tool, you can do some basic manipulation of fills, e.g. if you rotate an object using the Selector Tool and press and release the ' - ' key on the number keypad during the drag, you can rotate, move, scale and skew the shape and leave the bitmap fill unchanged. For more details on how to do this, see the web links below.

To apply a bitmap fill

1. Select the object.

2. From the Utilities menu, choose Bitmap Gallery to open the gallery.

3. In the gallery click on the bitmap to be used as a fill. This selects it.

4. Click the Fill button in the gallery.

Tips

If all the text you type is appearing filled with a bitmap, deselect all objects, choose the Text Tool, open the Color Editor, ensure the Line/Fill button is pulled out and select the color you want your text to be.

You can also double-click on a bitmap in the gallery to apply it to the selected object. (CTRL-double-click closes the gallery afterwards.)

You can also drag-and-drop a bitmap from the gallery onto any object, selected or unselected.

To apply the bitmap fill to an object inside another object, hold down CTRL as you drop the bitmap (this is apply inside).

If you want to apply a bitmap fill from the Clipart Gallery, drag the bitmap into your document and then drag it from the Bitmap Gallery onto the object.

Web Links

Using Bitmaps to Fill Objects

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery

Selecting objects


Applying circular transparency

Circular transparency is one of the types of transparency you can use.

To apply circular transparency

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Ensure the transparency is set to 'Flat'.

4. Move the slider to set the transparency for the center of the circle.

5. SHIFT-drag from where you want the center of the transparency to where you want the transparency to end.

6. You can now change the transparency of the outer edge of the circle.

Tips

You can also choose Circular from the Transparency Shape drop-down list on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

While you are dragging the transparency, you can press the Tab key to swap between two methods of transparency rendering. One mode updates the transparency when you stop moving the mouse and the other updates the transparency as you drag.

After you have drawn the transparency, you can move the slider to change the transparency setting of one end. To change the setting of the other end, just press tab and move the slider again.

Web Links

Transparency

Webster Movies - Transparency

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Related Topics

Transparency Tool


Applying flat transparency

Flat transparency is one of the types of transparency you can use.

To apply flat transparency

1. Select the object.

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. If the object already has transparency applied, choose 'Flat' from the Transparency Shape drop-down list on the Transparency Tool Infobar.

4. Drag the Transparency Slider on the Infobar to select the required level of transparency.

Tips

Applying flat transparency to an object with an outline (or a line) also applies the transparency to the line. To remove the line transparency, change the object's line color. See Coloring objects for details.

Web Links

Transparency

Webster Movies - Transparency

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Related Topics

Transparency Tool

Selecting objects


Applying linear transparency

Linear transparency is one of the types of transparency you can use.

To apply linear transparency

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Ensure the transparency is set to 'Flat'.

4. Move the slider to set the start transparency.

5. Drag from where you want the transparency to start and release where you want it to end.

6. You can now change the end transparency by moving the slider.

Tips

While you are dragging the transparency, you can press the Tab key to swap between two methods of transparency rendering. One mode updates the transparency when you stop moving the mouse and the other updates the transparency as you drag.

After you have drawn the transparency, you can move the slider to change the transparency setting of one end. To change the setting of the other end, just press tab and move the slider again.

Web Links

Transparency

Webster Movies - Transparency

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Related Topics

Transparency Tool


Applying transparency

With the Transparency Tool you can make any object transparent using a wide range of types and shapes of transparency.

Applying flat transparency

Applying linear transparency

Applying circular transparency

Web Links

Transparency

Webster Movies - Transparency

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Related Topics

Transparency Tool

Removing transparency


Arrange Control Bar

Bring to Front

Put to Back

Move Forwards

Move Backwards

Group

Ungroup

Alignment

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


Arrange Icons (Window Menu)

Arrange Icons arranges the icons of all minimized documents at the bottom left-hand corner of the main Xara Webster window.


Arrange Menu

Bring To Front

Move Forwards

Move Backwards

Put To Back

Group

Ungroup

Alignment

Create Bitmap Copy


Arrange Views (Window Menu)

Arrange Views tiles all the open document views to fill the main Xara Webster window.


BMP Export Dialog Box

The BMP (Windows Bitmap) export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting BMP as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. With it you can set the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colors in the bitmap. For details of how to create a BMP file, see Creating BMP files.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

Color Depth

Area to Save

Palette

Dithering


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Area to Save

The bitmap can be created using one of three areas of the document :

The Drawing	This exports the entire drawing.

The Work Area	The entire work area.

The Selection	The area covered by the objects in the selection. Only available when objects are selected.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Bitmap Size

Enter the width and height of the bitmap here (in pixels).

Tip

This bitmap format does not store the resolution information in the file, this is why the resolution drop-down list is dimmed.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Bitmap Size and Resolution

The size of the exported bitmap can be set in two ways :

Resolution	Type the resolution into the dpi field. The Width and Height are calculated from this to ensure the aspect ratio of the area being exported is fixed.

Size	Type the required width or height into one of the fields. Note that the aspect ratio of the drawing is fixed so only one dimension can be set - the other is calculated automatically.

Tip

If you choose a resolution of 96dpi, the bitmap will be created at the same size as the objects when you use 100% magnification.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Color Depth

You can create bitmaps with the following number of bits per pixel :

32 bit	Millions of colors

24 bit	Millions of colors

8 bit	256 colors

4 bit	16 colors

1 bit	2 colors

If you export a transparent bitmap, one of the colors will be used for the transparency. This means a 2 bit transparent bitmap has only one 'spare' color.

Some bitmap formats only support some of the color settings :

Name	Supported Colors

GIF	Compuserve GIF	1 bit, 4 bit and 8 bit.

BMP	Windows Bitmap	1 bit, 4 bit, 8 bit, 24 bit and 32 bit.

PNG	1 bit, 4 bit, 8 bit, 24 bit and 32 bit.

JPG	JPEG	24-bit (effectively)

Remember that with GIF and PNG files, you can also set how many of the colors in the palette are used, so for example you can create a 4-bit (16 color) bitmap where only 9 of the colors are used. By using less colors, the resultant files will usually be smaller.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Dithering

You can select between three types of dithering with these options. Choosing none means there will be no dithering, ordered using an ordered (regular) dithering pattern and diffusion uses error-diffused dithering (a more complex dithering technique). In general, error diffusion will give the best results, but remember to only use dithering when really necessary as it prevents the file compression working so well and so makes files larger.

If you turn off dithering, you'll find the images contain perfectly flat areas of color, but where you have graduated color, you will almost certainly see 'steps' because without dithering there aren't enough colors to accurately represent your drawing. you may need to experiment to obtain the right effect.

You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimized palette.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - GIF Transparency

If transparency is enabled the bitmap will be 'transparent' in all areas not covered by a selected object. If the selection has been chosen then this will be only the visible and selected objects. This makes it easy to remove the white background from exported pictures and makes them ideal for publication on the World Wide Web.

If the Quality setting is high (i.e. anti-aliasing is turned on) the edges of the drawing will be anti-aliased with whatever is behind it (as normal). Normally the anti-aliasing will be to the paper color of white.

When transparency is enabled, the selected items are used to determine what is going to be transparent in the GIF, but all objects are rendered. This makes it simple to create bitmaps which anti-alias to the background they will eventually be on, by placing that background behind the drawing in Xara Webster. Then when the bitmap is exported ensure that the background is not selected but the drawing is and that the selection option is used.

Note that if you create a transparent GIF file, one of the palette colors is used as the transparency. This means (for example) that a 2 color GIF contains one color and transparency.

Note that GIF transparency has a different meaning to Xara Webster transparency. This process does not take into account any Xara Webster transparency applied to objects in the document.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Interlacing

If interlacing is enabled the bitmap file produced will be interlaced. Remember only PNG and GIF files can be interlaced.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - JPEG Quality

This setting is specific to JPEG output. A low setting will result in a small file with a loss in quality whereas a high value will give only slight file size reduction, but high quality. Note that a setting of 100% will still compress the file.

As an example, a setting of 75% will give good compression without causing a noticeable loss in quality for most uses.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Number of Colors in Palette

Number of Colors

With this field, you can specify how many colors in the palette of the bitmap are actually used. This means you can create, for example, an 8 bit bitmap where only 100 of the 256 palette entries are used. With some experimentation you can alter this setting to create bitmaps that are very small by reducing the number of colors until the quality is just at the level you will accept.

Add System Colors

Selecting this option adds 28 colors to the palette. These colors are the normal Windows system colors and a number of primary colors. This ensures the palette includes a spread of colors and may improve the quality of the image, particularly if it contains a wide range of colors. You may need to experiment with this option to get the best results.


Bitmap Export Dialog Box - Palette

You can use these options to choose between the browser palette and an optimized palette


Bitmap Export Dialog Boxes

Xara Webster can create bitmaps from the selected document and export them in a variety of different formats. The following list contains links to all the pages describing the dialog boxes used for exporting bitmaps. If you want to know how to create bitmaps, see Creating bitmaps.

JPEG Export dialog box

GIF Export dialog box

Animated GIF Export dialog box

PNG Export dialog box

BMP Export dialog box

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Related Topics

List of Supported File Formats


 Bitmap Gallery (Utilities Menu)

  F11

The Bitmap Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Bitmap Gallery button open the Bitmap Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Bitmap Gallery - Delete Button

The Delete button in the Bitmap Gallery deletes the bitmaps selected in the gallery, from the document. This operation cannot be undone, though Delete is generally unnecessary as unused bitmaps are automatically deleted when the document is closed or saved. You can also delete a bitmap using the pop-up menu. You cannot delete the default bitmap (the Xara Ltd logo).

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Bitmap Gallery - Fill Button

The Fill button in the Bitmap Gallery applies the bitmap selected in the gallery as a bitmap fill to the selected objects. You can also drag-and-drop the bitmap onto an object to apply it as a bitmap fill (CTRL-drag to apply inside) , double-click it to apply it to the selection (CTRL-double-clicking closes the gallery afterwards) or right-click on the bitmap in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Apply As A Fill.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Bitmap Gallery - Insert Button

The Insert button in the Bitmap Gallery inserts the currently selected bitmap into the selected document. Any bitmap in the gallery can be inserted into the selected document, even from other sections of the gallery. i.e. this button can be used to copy bitmaps between documents.

You can also drag-and-drop the bitmap onto a blank part of the work area to insert it or open the pop-up menu over the bitmap and choose Insert.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Bitmap Gallery - Options Button

The Options button in the Bitmap Gallery opens a menu containing the single option, Find. By selecting this option you can search the Bitmap Gallery.

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Related Topics

Searching a gallery

Bitmap Gallery


Bitmap Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Bitmap Gallery opens a pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Insert	Identical to the Insert Button.

Apply as Fill	Identical to the Fill Button.

Delete	Identical to the Delete Button.

Save	Identical to the Save Button.

Properties	Identical to the Properties Button

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Right-clicking on a bitmap in the gallery will select it, so opening the pop-up menu over a bitmap allows you to operate on it directly.


Bitmap Gallery - Properties Button

This button opens the Bitmap Properties dialog box which shows the properties of the bitmap. You can also use this dialog box to set the Delay and Restore settings for the bitmap if you are using it as a frame in an animated GIF.


Bitmap Gallery - Save Button

The Save button in the Bitmap Gallery opens the Bitmap Export dialog box so you can save the selected bitmap in any of the supported bitmap export formats (see the List of Supported File Formats). Note that you will not be able to alter the size (resolution) or color depth (number of colors) of the bitmap when you export it.

For more information on the options in the save dialog box, click the Help button.

Tip

To save a bitmap more quickly, right-click on it to open the pop-up menu (this also selects the bitmap) and choose Save.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


 Bitmap Gallery Overview

 F11

The Bitmap Gallery shows all the bitmap objects that are currently being used in each of the loaded documents. You can use it to look at the bitmaps in your drawing, insert copies, delete bitmaps and change settings before you create an animated GIF. The gallery is divided into sections, one for each document currently open.

Insert	Insert the bitmap into the selected document.

Delete	Delete the bitmap from the document.

Fill	Fill the selected objects with the selected bitmap.

Options	Bitmap Gallery options.

Save	Save the bitmap.

Properties	Alter the properties of the selected bitmap.

Many operations using the Bitmap Gallery are made easier by the Bitmap Gallery pop-up menu.

Note

If a bitmap is deleted from a document it will remain in the Bitmap Gallery until the document is closed or saved; to remove it from the gallery, select it and click the Delete button.

Web Links

Using a Bitmap to Fill Objects

Webster Movies - Bitmaps

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Related Topics

Selecting items in a gallery

Galleries Overview

Applying bitmap fills


Bitmap Properties Dialog Box

This dialog box shows the following information about the bitmap :

Name

Format

Size (K)

Dimensions (Pixels)

Colors

Transparent

GIF Animation

Delay (the time this frame is left on screen)

Restore


 Bring To Front (Arrange Menu)

  CTRL+F

Moves all the selected objects to the front of the document. For more details, see Moving objects backwards and forwards.


Cascade (Window Menu)

Cascade shows all the open document views stacked on top of each other along a diagonal line.


Changing an object's fill color

You can easily change the color of the center of objects. Remember you can only change 'flat' colors, you need CorelXARA to change the colors in graduated fills.

To change an object’s fill color

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Utilities menu, choose Color Editor.

3. Ensure the Fill/Line button is pulled out.

4. Choose the color you want or click the 'no color' button to make the line or outline invisible.

After you have chosen a color, you can click the Browser Palette button in the Color Editor to change the color to the nearest web browser color that will not be dithered when it's shown on screen by a web browser. If you do this, your objects will look far smoother in 256 color modes.

Tips

There are several other ways of changing the fill color which you may prefer to use :

Drag-and-drop a color from the Color Gallery onto any object (selected or unselected).

Select the object and double-click on a color in the Color Gallery or select the object, select the color in the Color Gallery and click the Apply button in the gallery.

To remove the fill color of an object (to make it hollow), apply 'No Color' (the hatched square in the Color Editor) to the object.

If the object is inside another object (for example, as part of a group), hold down CTRL and drag-and-drop one of the two color swatches from the Color Editor or a color from the Color Gallery. See Apply inside.

When you drag a color, the pointer shows what will happen if you drop it :

The color will be applied as a (flat) fill color.

The color will be applied as a line color.

  	The color will be used for objects you draw in future.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Color

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Related Topics

Changing an object's line color

Colors Overview

Color Gallery

Color Editor


Changing an object's line color

You can easily change the color of any line including the outline around objects. You can also use 'no color' to make a line or outline invisible.

To change an object's line color

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Utilities menu, choose Color Editor.

3. Ensure the Fill/Line button is pressed in.

4. Choose the color you want or click the 'no color' button to make the line or outline invisible.

After you have chosen a color, you can click the Browser Palette button in the Color Editor to change the color to the nearest web browser color that will not be dithered when it's shown on screen by a web browser. If you do this, your objects will look far smoother in 256 color modes.

Tips

There are several other ways of changing the line color which you may prefer to use:

Drag-and-drop a color from the Color Gallery onto the edge of any object. You do not need to select the object first.

Select the object, select the color in the Color Gallery and then CTRL-click on the Apply button in the gallery.

If the object is inside another object (for example, as part of a group), hold down CTRL and drag-and-drop from the Color Gallery. See Apply inside.

When you drag a color, the pointer shows what will happen if you drop it :

The color will be applied as a line color.

The color will be applied as a (flat) fill color.

  	The color will be used for colors you draw in future.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Color

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Related Topics

Changing an object's fill color

Colors Overview

Color Gallery


Changing bitmap palettes

To find out how to change the colors in bitmaps, for example creating black and white images from colors ones, click the web link below.

Web Links

Changing Bitmap Palettes

Creating Bitmaps from Objects

Webster Movies - Bitmaps


Changing line thicknesses

You can change the thickness of lines and outlines of shapes and text. This changes the thickness of the entire line; you cannot change the thickness of just a part of a line.

To change the line thickness

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. Do one of the following :

Select a thickness from the drop-down list on the control bars.

Type a thickness into the field on the control bars (for example "2cm" or "0.1in") and press RETURN.

Tip

If you want to make a line invisible, set its color to No color. (See Changing an object's line color.) This is better than setting the line to zero width. For the reasons why, see Zero Width Lines Overview.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics


Changing text font

Once you have created a text object, you can change the font used by all of it or part of it. If you want to create a new text object using a particular font, just place the text cursor in the document and choose the font from the Text Tool Infobar.

To change text font

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Select the font from the drop-down list on the Infobar.

Tip

The symbol on the left of the font name in the font drop-down list shows whether the font is a TrueType font or an ATM (PostScript) font.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Changing the baseline shift of text

Once you have created a text object, you can change the vertical position (baseline) of any piece of text inside the text object. If you want to create a new text object using a specific baseline shift, just place the text cursor in the document and set the baseline shift on the Text Tool Infobar.

To change the baseline shift

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click the buttons on the Line Spacing control on the right hand side of the Text Tool Infobar.

Tips

You can also set the line spacing by typing a value into the line spacing field and pressing RETURN.

You can enter values using any unit, for example you can enter '4pt' or '2cm'. If you type a value with no units, it uses the text units. For more details, see the Units Overview.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Changing the color of clipart buttons

For details on how to change the color of the clipart buttons on the Xara Ltd. web site, click the web link below.

Web Link

Changing the Color of Clipart Buttons


Changing the color of clipart dividers

Xara Webster's clipart includes some dividers to place between sections of your web pages. To find out how to change their color easily using Xara Webster's connected colors, click the web link below.

Web Link

Changing the Color of Clipart Dividers


Changing the colors in clipart

When you import clipart from the web, much of it uses connected colors. This means you can use the Color Gallery to edit all the different shades of a color in one simple operation. For example, you can load an image of a button and change the color of the whole button in a few mouse clicks without needing to change the color of all the individual parts of the drawing.

To change the colors in clipart

1. Import the clipart (see Importing web clipart).

2. From the Utilities menu, choose Color Gallery.

3. Find the section of the gallery for the drawing you have imported and make sure it's open.

4. To change one of the connected colors listed, click on it to select it and click the Edit button in the gallery.

You can now change the color and see how the whole drawing changes. For more information on clipart using connected colors, click the web link below.

Tip

You can also drag colors from the Color Gallery onto the Color Editor to change them.

Web Link

Clipart Using Connected Colors


Changing the constrain angle

When you move, rotate and skew objects or move handles, you can use the CTRL key to constrain the angle of movement.

To change the constrain angle

1. From the Utilities Menu, choose Options.

2. Click the General tab.

3. In the Angle Constraint section, choose a value from the drop-down list.

Tip

If the value you want is not listed, type the value (in degrees) into the field and press RETURN.

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Related Topics

Options


Changing the duplication distance

Duplicate creates a copy of the selected objects which is offset from the original object. The horizontal and vertical offset can be changed.

To change the duplication distance

1. From the Utilities Menu, choose Options.

2. Click the General tab.

3. Enter the horizontal distance in the X field (positive values move it to the right).

4. Enter the vertical distance in the Y field (positive values move it up).

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Related Topics

Options

Duplicate


Changing the grid spacing

Grids consist of lines of major grid points spaced a specific distance apart. Between these major grid points are a number of subdivisions. For example, you might have a grid with a spacing of 1cm, but with subdivisions of 1mm. Major grid points are marked on the work area as crosses whereas subdivisions are marked as small points.

To change the grid spacing

1. From the Utilities Menu, choose Options.

2. Click the Grid tab.

3. Enter the major spacing value.

4. Enter the number of subdivisions between the major grid points.

Tips

You can type values into the Major Spacing Field using any units, e.g. '2cm', '4in'. See the Units Overview.

If you zoom out from a document, some of the subdivisions will not be shown if they are very close together.

If you do not see the grid, you need to turn it on. See Displaying the grid.

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Related Topics

Options


Changing the nudge size

You can change the distance objects move when you nudge them.

To change the nudge distance

1. From the Utilities Menu, choose Options.

2. Click the General tab.

3. Enter a nudge distance in the Nudge Size field.

Tip

You can enter the nudge distance using any units, see the Units Overview.

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Related Topics

Options

Nudging objects


Changing the screen quality of documents

You can change the way a document appears on screen by altering the screen quality setting.

 Outline. On this setting, no solid colors shown - only outlines even for bitmaps and objects with no outline color). If the Quality slider is moved to a fraction above outline bitmaps are shown in full.

 Simple. On this setting, graduated fills are shown in flat color, anti-aliasing is not used and lines are all shown one pixel wide.

 Normal. On this setting all detail is shown, but anti-aliasing is not used.

 Anti-aliased. On this quality setting all edges are anti-aliased to reduce on-screen jaggies and graduated fills are shown with 256 steps.

To change the quality setting

Drag the quality slider on the control bars.

Tips

You can also change the Quality setting using the Quality submenu on the Window menu or by right-clicking on the document work area to open the pop-up menu.

If you want to edit in outlines but see still bitmaps, drag the quality slider so it is a tiny amount to the right of the outline setting.

The Quality setting defines how bitmaps are exported from Xara Webster as well as how they appear on the screen. See Creating bitmaps.

Web Link

Screen Display Quality

Webster Movies - The Basics


Changing the size of text

Once you have created a text object, you can change the size of all the characters in it or just some of them. If you want to create a new text object using a particular font size, place the text cursor in the document and choose the font size from the Text Tool Infobar.

To change text size

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Select the font size from the drop-down list on the Infobar.

Tips

You can also change the size of whole text objects using the Selector Tool. See Scaling objects.

You can type any value into the field on the Infobar using any of the units available, e.g. '1cm' or '100pt' (see the Units Overview). Remember to press RETURN after you have typed in the size.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Changing the spacing between lines of text

Once you have created a text object, you can change the spacing between the lines of text. If you want to create a new text object using a specific line spacing, just place the text cursor in the document and set the line spacing on the Text Tool Infobar. Line Spacing is displayed as a percentage of the character size. '100%' spaces the lines as closely as possible without lines coming into contact; "200%" is double-spaced text.

To change the line spacing of text

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click the buttons on the Line Spacing control on the right hand side of the Text Tool Infobar.

Tips

If you only select part of a line, changing the line spacing will affect the whole line.

You can also set the line spacing by typing a value into the line spacing field and pressing RETURN.

You can enter a value as a percentage of the size of the largest character in the line or an absolute value using any unit, for example you can enter '4pt' or '2cm' (see the Units Overview).

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Changing the way galleries look

You can change the way in which information is displayed in the Clipart Gallery

To change the way galleries look

1. Open the gallery from the Utilities menu.

2. Click the Options button on the gallery.

3. Choose Properties to open the Gallery Properties dialog box.

4. Choose the required display format from the drop-down list in the gallery.

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Related Topics

Galleries Overview


Changing the work area size

With Xara Webster you can produce drawings of virtually any size.

To change the work area size

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Options.

2. Click on the Work Area tab.

3. Enter the width and height of your drawing in pixels.

Tip

You can enter the width and height in any units supported by Xara Webster. For more information, see the Units Overview.

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Related Topic

Options


 Clear Selection (Edit Menu)

  ESC (Escape)

Clear Selection deselects all selected objects. This can be useful to :

See the document without any handles visible.

Reset the transformation center.

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Related Topics

Deselecting all objects


 Clipart Gallery (Utilities Menu)

  SHIFT+F10

The Clipart Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Clipart Gallery button on the control bars open the Clipart Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open. For details of the Clipart Gallery, see Clipart Gallery.


Clipart Gallery - Disc Clipart Button

The Disc Clipart button in the Clipart Gallery opens a dialog box which you can use to choose a folder to add to the gallery or update an existing folder. See Adding clipart to the clipart gallery for more details.

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Related Topics

Adding titles, descriptions and keywords to documents

Clipart Gallery


Clipart Gallery - Get Clipart

Clicking this button connects to the Xara Ltd. web site on and Internet and adds (or updates) the web clipart in the Clipart Gallery.

Tips

If you find the window that appears when you download clipart is getting in your way, just minimize it. When it opens in future, it will stay minimized so you can see the clipart being downloaded but it won't be so visible.

If this button does not function, have a look at Web Links and Web Clipart.


Clipart Gallery - Import Button

The Import button in the Clipart Gallery imports the selected image into the selected document. You can also import a clipart file by dragging it from the Clipart Gallery and dropping it on a document.

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery


Clipart Gallery - Open Button

The Open button in the Clipart Gallery opens a new document and imports the selected picture into it. You can also open a clipart file by double-clicking on it in the gallery (CTRL-double-click to close the gallery afterwards).

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery


Clipart Gallery - Options Button

Clicking the Options button in the Clipart Gallery opens a menu containing the following options :

Disc Clipart	Add a folder of your own clipart to the Clipart Gallery.

Remove Web Folders	Remove all the web folders (click the Web Clipart button to put them back) from the Clipart Gallery.

Find	Search the Clipart Gallery.

Sort	Sort the Clipart Gallery.

Icons Size	Size of the images shown in the gallery.

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery


Clipart Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Clipart Gallery opens a pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Open	Identical to the Open button.

Import	Identical to the Import button.

Remove Section	Identical to the Remove button.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Note

When you right-click in the gallery to open the pop-up menu the picture under the mouse pointer will be selected, so using the pop-up menu is a quick way to select a picture and operate on it in one go.

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery


Clipart Gallery - Remove Button

The Remove button in the Clipart Gallery removes the selected sections from the Clipart Gallery. You will be asked to confirm the operation. You can add your own clipart again or clipart from the Xara Webster CD using the Disc Clipart button. See Adding clipart to the clipart gallery. To add the web clipart, click the Get Clipart button (see Importing web clipart).

To select multiple sections, CTRL-click on each to select several or click on the first and SHIFT-click on the last to select them all.

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery


 Clipart Gallery Overview

 SHIFT+F10

With the Clipart Gallery you can browse and download clipart from the Xara web site on the Internet. You can also add folders of clipart on your hard drive to the gallery.

Open	Open a new file.

Import	Import a file into the document

Get Clipart	Add/update the web clipart listing

Remove	Remove the selected sections from the gallery.

Disc Clipart	Add your own clipart to the gallery

Options	Clipart Gallery Options

You can also access some of these items using the Clipart Gallery pop-up menu.

Display Options

Large Icons

Full Information

Small Icons

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Related Topics

Selecting items in a gallery

Finding clipart

Galleries Overview


Clipart using connected colors

For details on how to quickly change the colors in Xara Webster clipart using Xara's connected colors, click the web link below.

Web Link

Clipart Using Connected Colors


 Clone (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+K

Clone creates a copy of the selection. and places it in the document in the same place as the original. Unlike Duplicate, no offset is used. For more details, see Copying objects.

Tip

You can remember the key shortcut by thinking of Clone as 'Klone'!


 Close (File Menu)

Close on the File menu closes the selected document and all views onto it. If you attempt to close a document which has been altered but not saved Xara Webster will ask whether the document should be saved or not before closing it.

If you have multiple views open for a single document, one of the views can be closed using Close on the document control menu. Alternatively, double click on the application control button (the top-left corner of the document window).

If you are editing a drawing which is embedded in a document in another program, this menu item will read "Close and Update DocumentX" where DocumentX is the document you are editing in the other program. Selecting this item will close the document and return you to the other program.


Closing a gallery

Click on the icon in the top right-hand corner of the gallery or alternatively, when a gallery is open, its button on the control bars is pressed in - clicking the button closes the gallery.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Control Bars and Galleries

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Related Topics

Galleries Overview


 Color Editor (Utilities Menu)

The Color Editor is used to edit the color of objects and to change the colors in clipart that uses connected colors to change the color of whole pieces of clipart in one easy action. You can use the Color editor in either of two color models, HSV and RGB. For information about colors in Xara Webster, see the Colors Overview.

 CTRL+E (to open and close)

You can open the Color Editor by :

Selecting Color Editor from the Utilities menu.

Selecting the Edit button in the Color Gallery.

Selecting Color Editor from the pop-up menu when you right-click on an object.

You can use the Color Editor to Change the colors in clipart and to Color objects.

Browser Palette

When you create images for the web, many people will look at them using a 256 color screen mode. In this mode web browsers use dithering to try and simulate more colors on the screen. This can mean you get a dotted pattern effect as the browser tries to create the exact color you have chosen. However, there are 216 colors you can use which are guaranteed not to be dithered by Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer and so appear perfectly smooth on the screen. To use one of these colors, choose the color you want in the Color Editor as normal and then click this button. The color will change to the nearest of the 216 smooth colors. All 216 colors are also in the Color Gallery so you can drag and drop them straight onto your objects.

If you use transparency or import clipart that uses graduated fills or other more complex objects that generate new colors when they are shown on the screen, colors may be dithered.

No Color

With this button you can set the color of an object or its outline to 'no color' so it disappears. Click it just like you would select a color in the Color Editor normally.

Fill/Line Color

When you are changing the color of selected objects this button sets whether the color you choose changes the fill color of the selected objects or their outline. To change the outline color of the objects, make sure this button is pressed in.

Show Menu

Clicking this button opens the Color Editor Menu so you can choose the way you want to edit colors (for more information on this, click the web link below). You can also open the menu by right-clicking on the Color Editor.

Color Swatches

In the top-right corner of the color editing area are two color swatches; the lower one shows the edited color and the upper one shows the color as it was before you changed it. Either of the swatches can be drag-and-dropped onto objects to apply them. When you first open the Editor, both swatches are the same color.

Web Links

Color Editor

Copying Color

Webster Movies - Color

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Related Topics

Color Gallery

Importing colors and palettes

Copying color to another object


Color Editor Menu

The Color Editor menu, opened using the Menu button in the Color Editor or right-clicking on it, contains the following options :

HSV	Selects the HSV color model.

RGB	Selects the RGB color model.

Help	Opens the Xara Webster documentation on the Color Editor.

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Related Topics

Color Editor


 Color Gallery (Utilities Menu)

 F9

The Color Gallery item on the Utilities menu and the Color Gallery button on the control bars open the Color Gallery if it is closed and close it if it is open. The button remains pressed in if the gallery is open. For details, see Color Gallery.


Color Gallery - Apply Button

The Apply button in the Color Gallery applies the color selected in the gallery as a flat fill color to the selection. Double clicking on a color in the gallery has the same effect. CTRL+double-clicking on a color in the gallery will apply the color to the selection as a line color. For more details, see Coloring objects.

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Related Topics

Color Gallery


Color Gallery - Edit Button

The Edit button in the Color Gallery opens the Color Editor so you can change the connected color which is currently selected in the gallery. Alternatively, you can right-click on the color in the gallery to open the pop-up menu and choose Edit.

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Related Topics

Color Gallery

Color Editor


Color Gallery - Options Button

The Options button in the Color Gallery opens a menu containing the following options :

Find	Search the Color Gallery

Sort	Sort the Color Gallery

Icon Size	Alter the way the colors are displayed in the Color Gallery.

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Related Topics

Color Gallery


Color Gallery - Pop-up Menu

Right-clicking on the Color Gallery opens the pop-up menu which contains the following options :

Edit	Opens the Color Editor, see Edit above.

(Un)Fold Section	Folds up or unfolds the current section.

Previous Section	Moves to the start of the previous section.

Next Section	Moves to the start of the next section.

Note

When you right-click on a color the color is selected and the pop-up menu opens, so this is a quick and easy way to select a color and operate on it.


 Color Gallery Overview

 F9

The Color Gallery lists :

All the connected colors in clipart you have loaded (see Changing the colors in clipart for more details).

A set of Web Browser Colors which will not be dithered when shown in 256 color modes.

Any color palettes you have added (see Importing colors and palettes).

For information about colors in Xara Webster, see the Colors Overview.

Apply	Applying a color to objects

Edit	Change a color

Options	Color Gallery options

Web Browser Colors

In the Color Gallery is a library of 216 colors designed for use on the World Wide Web. You can't change the colors in this section. To use them, just drag them into the gallery section for your document or apply them to objects in your document. If you just use the Web Browser colors, your images will not be dithered when they are displayed on the screen by a web browser and so the images will appear very sharp. If you overlay transparent objects, you are creating new colors, so the image may be dithered.

If you have colored an object using the Color Editor, you can set its color to the nearest web browser color by selecting the object and clicking the Browser Palette button in the Color Editor.

Color Gallery Menu

You can right-click on the Color Gallery to open a pop-up menu.

Display Options

Full information (color swatch, name and 'Not in use')

Small Icons (color swatch and name only)

Icons Only (color swatch only)

Web Links

Importing Colors and Palettes

Webster Movies - Color

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Related Topics

Coloring objects

Changing the way galleries look

Color Editor

Reordering gallery items

Searching a gallery


Coloring objects

When you want to color an object, there is more than one way to do it. You can use the Color Editor to create a specific color, or you can choose a color from the Web Browser Colors in the Color Gallery.

What do you want to do?

Change an object's fill color

Change an object's line color

Web Link

Webster Movies - Color

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Related Topics

Copying color to another object

Color Editor

Color Gallery


Colors Overview

Xara Webster has three types of colors:

Local Colors - created using the Color Editor. Each local color is a separate color and is used in only one place. Editing a local color does not affect any other color in the drawing. For more details, see Coloring objects.

Pre-defined Colors -  selected from Web Browser Colors in the Color Gallery. These colors match the 216 colors in the Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer palettes and so are ideal for creating Internet graphics. You cannot change pre-defined colors. Loading a pre-defined color into the Color Editor and editing it creates a local color. You can import palette files (.ACO, .ACT, .CPL, & .PAL formats) into Webster to increase the range of pre-defined colors (see Importing colors and palettes).

Imported Colors -  CorelXARA lets you create a range of colors based on a single 'parent' color. Editing the parent changes all colors based on it.

Importing an image containing such colors into Webster displays the parent color in the Color Gallery.  You can then edit the parent color by selecting it in the Color Gallery and then clicking Edit in the Color Gallery. All colors based on that parent change as you edit the parent.

Most of the buttons, bullets, page dividers and scrolls supplied in the Clipart Gallery use parent colors. This makes it easy, for example, to import several buttons and change them all to a different color. For more information on recoloring clipart see Changing the color of clipart.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Color

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Related Topics

Color Gallery

Color Editor


Configuring a web server for Xara files

To find out how to place Xara .web files on web pages (in HTML) click the web link below.

Web Link

Configuring a Web Server for Xara Files


Contents
Xara Webster Help Contents

The xaraweb.cnt file in your Xara Webster directory seems to have been deleted. To bring Xara Webster's Help Contents and Index back, you will need to reinstall this file. The easiest way to do this is to reinstall Xara Webster.


Control Bar Customization

You can customize Xara Webster's control bars any way you choose. You can move the bars, resize them, turn them on and off and even create new bars. You can also add and remove buttons from the bars and choose between large and small buttons. For details on how to customize your bars, click the Web Link below.

Web Links

Control Bar Customization

Webster Movies - Control Bars and Galleries


Control Bars (Window Menu)

You can use the Control Bars dialog box to customize the control bars. For more details, see Control Bar Customization.

New

Delete

Reset

Large Buttons


Control Bars Dialog Box - Delete Button

This button deletes the selected control bar. You will be asked to confirm deletion of the control bar. Note that you cannot delete the Infobar or the Button Palette.


Control Bars Dialog Box - Large Buttons

The icons used for the buttons on the control bars and galleries can be set to small icons or larger icons. The bottom part of the dialog box describes what sizes the icons on control bars at the top, left, right and bottom of the window are set to as well as the size of icons in floating control bars. The setting for the size of buttons on floating bars is also applied to gallery buttons. For more details, see Control bar customization.


Control Bars Dialog Box - New Button

This button opens a dialog box which will prompt for the name of a new control bar. Entering a new name and clicking the OK button will create a new control bar with the given name. The new control bar will be opened, floating.


Control Bars Dialog Box - Reset Button

This button resets the control bars to their 'factory' settings. It will remove all the buttons and bars you have added and replace any you have removed.


 Copy (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+C or CTRL+INSERT

Copies the selection to the clipboard. Once the objects are on the clipboard they can be pasted back into the document any number of times, pasted into other documents and into other programs. For more information, see Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard.

Tips

You can copy an object to the clipboard quickly by right-clicking on it to open the pop-up menu and choosing Copy.

Cut is the same as Copy, but moves the objects to the clipboard removing them from the document.

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Related Topics

Pasting objects from the clipboard


Copying objects

There are several ways of creating a copy of an object. Which method you use depends on what you want to do with the copy.

Copy to the clipboard then paste back. This lets you easily copy objects between documents. The object remains on the clipboard and you can paste it several times if required.

Create a duplicate (a copy slightly offset from the original). This is a quick way to create a copy in the same document. You can change the duplicate offset. See Changing the duplication distance.

Create a clone (a copy exactly on top of the original).

To copy an object using Copy and Paste

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Edit menu, choose Copy (CTRL+C).

3. If required, change document.

4. From the Edit menu, choose Paste (CTRL+V). This pastes a copy into the center of the window.

To copy an object using Duplicate

1. Select the object.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Duplicate (CTRL+D).

To copy an object using Clone

1. Select the object.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Clone (CTRL+K).

To copy an object using the mouse

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Drag to move, rotate, skew or scale the object.

3. Right-click where you want to leave a copy (or press '+' on the number keypad). For more details, click the web links below.

Web Links

Rotating Objects

Skewing Objects

Scaling Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics

Tips

Instead of using CTRL+V you can press CTRL+SHIFT+V to paste the copy into the same position as the original. This is useful when moving objects between documents.

You cannot clone or duplicate objects selected using select inside. This includes selected regions within text objects.

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Related Topics

Moving objects

Deleting objects


Create Bitmap Copy (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+C

Create Bitmap Copy creates a bitmap version of the selected objects. When you select it, it opens the Create Bitmap Copy dialog box where you can set the options for the bitmap. Click the Create button to create the bitmap. By using the Transparent Background option you can create non-rectangular bitmaps. For more information on creating bitmaps from objects, see Creating bitmaps from objects.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

Color Depth

Palette

Dithering

Background

Number of Colors in Palette

Web Link

Creating Bitmaps from Objects


Create Bitmap Copy - Background

If you set the Transparent option, any areas of the bitmap not covered by objects will be see-through. This will generally mean your bitmap is not rectangular. Only objects with no fill color will appear see-through, objects with transparency applied will not be see-through in the bitmap.

Tip

You can apply transparency to any bitmap, even if it does not have a background.

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Related Topics

Create Bitmap Copy


Create Bitmap Copy - Bitmap Size and Resolution

These two fields set the resolution (size) of the created bitmap. If you choose 96dpi, the bitmap will be the same resolution as it appears on screen if you look at it at 100% magnification. Either choose a resolution from the drop-down list or type a width or height into the fields.

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Related Topics

Create Bitmap Copy


Create Bitmap Copy - Color Depth

When you create a bitmap copy of objects, you can choose the number of colors in the bitmap :

Bits	Colors

24	Millions of colors

8	256 colors

4	16 colors

1	2 colors

If you create a transparent bitmap, one of the colors will be used for the transparency. This means a 2 bit transparent bitmap has only one 'spare' color.

Remember that when you create a bitmap, you can set how many of the colors in the palette are used, so for example you can create a 4-bit (16 color) bitmap where only 9 of the colors are used. By using less colors, the resultant files will usually be smaller. this is most useful when you are creating bitmaps to use as frames in an animated GIF (see Creating animated GIF files).

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Related Topics

Create Bitmap Copy


Create Bitmap Copy - Dithering

When you create a bitmap from objects, you can select between three types of dithering. Choosing None means there will be no dithering, Ordered using an ordered (regular) dithering pattern and Diffusion uses error-diffused dithering (a more complex dithering technique). In general, error diffusion will give the best quality bitmaps. You cannot use ordered dithering if you are using an optimized palette.

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Related Topics

Create Bitmap Copy


Create Bitmap Copy - Number of Colors in Palette

Number of Colors

With this field, you can specify how many colors in the palette of the bitmap are actually used. This means you can create, for example, an 8 bit bitmap where only 100 of the 256 palette entries are used. With some experimentation you can alter this setting to create bitmaps that are very small by reducing the number of colors until the quality is just at the level you will accept.

Add System Colors

Selecting this option adds 28 colors to the palette. These colors are the normal Windows system colors and a number of primary colors. This ensures the palette includes a spread of colors and may improve the quality of the image, particularly if it contains a wide range of colors. You may need to experiment with this option to get the best results.


Create Bitmap Copy - Palette

These options set whether the bitmap has the standard document palette or an optimized palette.

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Related Topics

Create Bitmap Copy


Creating BMP files

BMP (Windows bitmap) format files can be used by many programs on the PC. Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current Xara Webster Quality (see Changing the screen quality of documents) setting is used. For example with Quality set to a low value, the bitmap is exported as outlines.

To create a BMP file

1. From the File menu, choose Export.

2. In the Export dialog box, choose Windows Bitmap (BMP) from the drop-down list.

3. Enter the filename and location then click Save. This opens the BMP Export dialog box.

4. Set the options in the dialog box and click Export. For more information on these options, click the Help button in the dialog box.

Tips

To export a bitmap the same size as it is on the screen (at 100% magnification) choose 96dpi in the BMP Export dialog box.

If you want to export a small area of a document, select the objects in that area and choose the "Selection" option in the Area to Save section of the BMP Export dialog box.

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Related Topics

Creating bitmaps


Creating GIF files

You can create GIF format bitmap files using a wide variety of options including interlacing and transparency (masking). Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current Xara Webster Quality (see Changing the screen quality of documents) setting is used for the bitmap. For example if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only. For information in addition to this page including how to get your bitmaps blending perfectly onto web page backgrounds, click the web link below.

This covers creating a single GIF bitmap. For information on animated GIFs, see Creating animated GIF files.

To create a GIF file

1. From the File menu, choose Export.

2. In the Export dialog box, choose GIF from the drop-down list.

3. Enter the filename and location and click Save. This will open the GIF Export dialog box.

4. Set the options in the dialog box and click Export. For more information on the options, click the Help button in the dialog box or click the web link below.

Tips

To export a bitmap the same size as it is on the screen (at 100% magnification) choose 96dpi in the GIF Export dialog box.

To make the bitmap see-through where there are no objects in your document, select the Transparent option in the GIF Export dialog box.

If you want to export a small area of a document, select the objects in that area and choose the "Selection" option in the Area to Save section of the GIF Export dialog box.

Web Links

Creating GIF Files

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Related Topics

Creating bitmaps


Creating JPEG files

You can create JPEG format bitmap files using a wide variety of options. JPEG files are stored using compression which works best with photographic-type images. You may want to experiment with the JPEG quality setting to find a level that creates the files you want.

Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current Xara Webster Quality (see Changing the screen quality of documents) setting is used. For example if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only (do not confuse this Quality setting with the JPEG Quality).

To create a JPEG file

1. From the File menu, choose Export.

2. In the Export dialog box, choose JPEG from the drop-down list.

3. Enter the filename and location and click Save. This will open the JPEG Export dialog box.

4. Set the options in the dialog box and click Export. For more information on the options, click the Help button in the dialog box.

Tips

To export a bitmap the same size as it is on the screen (at 100% magnification) choose 96dpi in the JPEG Export dialog box.

If you set the JPEG quality slider to a low value the picture will not look as good but the file will be smaller.

If you want to export a small area of a document, select the objects in that area and choose the "Selection" option in the Area to Save section of the JPEG Export dialog box.

Web Link

Creating JPEG Files

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Related Topics

Creating bitmaps


Creating PNG files

You can create PNG format bitmap files using a wide variety of options including interlacing and transparency (masking). Note that when exporting a bitmap, the current Xara Webster Quality (see Changing the screen quality of documents) setting is used for the bitmap. For example if the Quality is set to a very low level the bitmap exported will be in outline only.

To create a PNG file

1. From the File menu, choose Export.

2. In the Export dialog box, choose PNG from the drop-down list.

3. Enter the filename and location and click Save. This will open the PNG Export dialog box.

4. Set the options in the dialog box and click Export. For more information on the options, click the Help button in the dialog box.

Tips

To export a bitmap the same size as it is on the screen (at 100% magnification) choose 96dpi in the PNG Export dialog box.

To make the bitmap see-through where there are no objects in your document, select the Transparent option in the PNG Export dialog box.

If you want to export a small area of a document, select the objects in that area and choose the "Selection" option in the Area to Save section of the PNG Export dialog box.


Creating Xara Web files

Using Xara Webster, you can easily create images that look great on web pages. You can either put the image on the page as a .web file so people with the Xara plugin can zoom in and out of the image just like you can in Webster itself or you can create a bitmap of the drawing (see Creating bitmaps) which anyone can see even if they don't have the Xara plugin.

To create a Xara Web file

1. From the File menu, choose Save.

2. Enter the location and name for the file and click Save.

3. In the Xara Web dialog box, set the options. Click the Help button for more information on what they mean.

For more details on creating .web files or on the format itself, click one of the Web links below.

Web Links

Creating Xara Web Files

Xara Web Format


Creating a bitmap button

For step by step details on how to create a bitmap button using Xara Webster, click the web link below.

Web Link

Creating a Button Bitmap


Creating animated GIF files

To create an animated GIF file you draw each frame and create a bitmap from the drawing. When you have created all the bitmaps, you can change their order in the Bitmap Gallery and then export the animated GIF file. For information on creating GIFs for the Internet, see the web links below.

To create an animated GIF

1. Draw what you want to appear in the first frame.

2. Select the objects in the drawing.

3. From the Arrange menu, choose Create Bitmap Copy. For more information, see Creating bitmaps from objects. Remember to keep all the frames exactly the same size.

4. Change the drawing to how you want it in the next frame.

5. Use Create Bitmap Copy again to create the next frame.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have built up the sequence of frames in the Bitmap Gallery.

7. Drag the frames in the Bitmap Gallery to place them in the right order. The first bitmap will appear as the first frame.

8. Set the delay for each frame by right-clicking on each bitmap in the gallery and selecting Properties. you can also set the restore setting in this way.

9. In the Bitmap Gallery, select all the bitmaps you want in the animation. The easiest way to do this is to click on the first and SHIFT-click on the last.

10. In the Gallery, click the Save button.

11. When you have entered the filename and destination, click Save. This will open the Animated GIF Export dialog box

12. The dialog box contains all the normal GIF export options and also special options for the animation. In the dialog box, set the options and alter the width and height if you want (all the frames will be stretched to fit)

13. Click Export to create the file.

Web Links

Creating Animated GIF Files

Creating GIF Files

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Creating bitmaps

You can create bitmaps in a wide variety of different formats. For more information on each of them, click below.

Creating JPEG files

Creating GIF files

Creating animated GIF files.

Creating PNG files

Creating BMP files

Tip

If you want to create a bitmap of some objects in a document and use the bitmap in the document, see Creating bitmaps from objects.


Creating bitmaps from objects

You can create a bitmaps from objects in your document. The bitmaps can be virtually any size, use any number of colors and can even use a mask (include see-through areas).

To create a bitmap from objects

1. Select the objects.

2. From the Arrange Menu, choose Create Bitmap Copy.

3. In the dialog box, set the size you want the bitmap, set the number of colors and choose the dithering and palette (standard or optimized).

4. If you select the Transparency (mask) option in the dialog box, the bitmap will be see-through where there are no objects. For example, if you create a transparent bitmap of a circle, the bitmap will be circular, not rectangular.

Tips

To create a bitmap copy quickly, right-click on one of the selected objects to open the pop-up menu and choose Create Bitmap Copy.

If you hold down SHIFT when you click the Create button in the dialog box, the bitmap will be created on top of the selected objects. Note that this may mean it looks like nothing has changed after the bitmap has been created.

Bitmaps can look like they are of a lower quality than normal if they are not shown at a high enough magnification.

Web Link

Creating Bitmaps from Objects

Webster Movies - Bitmaps


Creating different width clipart scrolls

Xara Webster's clipart includes some scrolls. For details on how to create scrolls of different sizes, click the web link below.

Web Link

Creating Different Width Clipart Scrolls


Creating embossed text

To find out how to draw embossed text, click the web link below.

Web Link

Creating Embossed Text


Creating new documents

This opens a blank document ready for you to start a new drawing.

To create a new document:

From the File menu, choose New.


Creating realistic shadows

To find out how to create realistic shadows with Xara Webster, click the web link below.

Web Link

Creating Realistic Shadows


Creating simple text

Simple text objects are the best way to do headings, labels and other small areas of text. You can set the attributes of the text before you type the text (by applying them to the text cursor) or afterwards.

To create a simple text object

1. Choose the Text Tool.

2. Position the pointer where you want to start the text and click - a red text cursor appears.

3. Set any attributes you want the text to have. For example, color, font, font size.

4. Type the required text, pressing RETURN to create new lines if necessary.

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Related Topics

Text Tool

Applying attributes to text

List of Text Tool Key Shortcuts

Typing international characters


Creating smooth edged bitmaps

If you want to know how to create the smoothest edged bitmaps you have ever, click the web link below.

Web Link

Creating Smooth Edged Bitmaps


Customizing the appearance of Xara Webster

You can customize the appearance of your Windows desktop and the programs you use in a variety of ways. You can change the size and color of ToolTips, caption buttons (the buttons on the title bar), the active title bar, inactive title bar, menu items, gallery title bars, selected menu items, scrollbars and the Status Line. These settings apply to all the programs you use that support this feature.

Web Link

Customizing Windows


 Cut (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+X or SHIFT+DELETE

Cuts the currently selected objects to the clipboard. The selected objects are removed from the document. Note that you can get the objects back in the same place (or use CTRL-SHIFT-V to paste the objects back in the same place). Once the objects are on the clipboard they can be pasted back into the document any number of times, pasted into other documents or into other applications. Copy is the same as Cut, but copies the objects to the clipboard leaving the selection in the document

Tip

To cut an object to the clipboard quickly, right-click on the object to open the pop-up menu and choose Cut.

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Related Topics

Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard


Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard

You can use the clipboard to move objects within a Xara Webster document and between documents. You can also use it to move and copy objects into documents in other programs.

To cut and copy objects to the clipboard

1. Select the objects you want to put on the clipboard. (See Selecting objects).

2. From the Edit menu, choose either Cut (CTRL+X) or Copy (CTRL+C).

You can now click in another document and press CTRL+V to paste the objects. For example you could click in a Microsoft Word document and place the selected objects in it.

Tips

You can also Cut or Copy by right-clicking on the objects and then choosing Cut or Copy from the pop-up menu.

Cut removes the  objects from the document and places them on the clipboard. Copy leaves the original objects in your document.

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Related Topics

Pasting objects from the clipboard


Definition: Alignment
Alignment is the horizontal and vertical relationship of several objects to each other. For example, objects can be aligned so that their top-most edges all line up and they are distributed evenly horizontally. For details on how to change the alignment and distribution of objects, see Aligning and distributing objects.


Definition: Animated GIF Restore
The Animated GIF Restore setting sets what happens between each frame in an animated GIF :

Nothing means no action is taken. Many World Wide Web browsers take this as meaning the same as the Leave As Is option.

Leave As Is displays the frames one on top of another - this leaves many frames visible in a stack if some are transparent. Some browsers clear the animation before it loops again, some do not.

Background restores the area covered by the graphic to the background color of the GIF (most usually white).

Restore Previous restores the area covered by the frame to what it was before the frame was displayed. This is interpreted by some browsers to mean that the frame should be cleared to the background before each frame is displayed and by others to mean that the frame should be shown on top of the previous frame.

As browsers interpret these values in different ways, you may need to experiment to achieve the desired result.


Definition: Animated GIF files
Xara Webster can export animated GIF files which contain several separate images rather than just one. Programs which support this type of file show each image one after the other with a set time delay between each. This means you can create animations using Xara Webster. Most World Wide Web browsers (Netscape Navigator Version 2 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3) support animated GIFs, so using Xara Webster it is very easy to create animations for your World Wide Web pages. Remember, as Xara Webster displays images at a very high quality and has a wide range of dithering and palette options, your animations will look great! For more details, see Creating animated GIF files.


Definition: Anti-aliasing
Anti-aliasing improves the quality of on-screen images by inserting extra pixels of calculated colors around the edges of objects on screen. This has the effect of smoothing the edges and of appearing to improve the resolution of the display. Anti-aliasing only occurs when the Xara Webster Quality setting is at its highest level. For more details, see Changing the screen quality of documents.


Definition: Apply Inside
Apply Inside allows you to apply attributes to objects that are contained inside other objects. To apply inside you must hold down CTRL when you drop the attribute onto the object. For example to apply a color to an object in a group (not the whole group) CTRL-drag the color from the Color Gallery onto the object. For more details, see the web link on Selecting objects.


Definition: Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio of an object is the ratio between its width and the height. For example, if an object has an aspect ratio of 100%, its width and height are the same. If an object has an aspect ratio of 50%, it is twice as high as it is wide. See Scaling objects.


Definition: Attribute
Attributes are  the properties of objects in your drawings. For example, color, web addresses and line thickness are attributes.


Definition: Bitmap
A Bitmap is a picture composed, of small 'dots' called pixels. Bitmaps are exported from programs such as Microsoft Paintbrush and Photoshop or taken from a scanner. Xara Webster can import and export many common bitmap formats.


Definition: Bitmap Fill
With Bitmap Fills you can fill text and shapes with bitmaps. The bitmap can be tiled (repeated) to fill objects. For more information, see the Applying bitmap fills.


Definition: Blend
Blends are objects you may find in some of the clipart (you need CorelXARA to create them). They are created by showing intermediate steps between two or more objects. For example, you could blend from a square to a circle. Blends are often used to draw repeating patterns and highlights and are amazingly flexible. You may find that some of the files you load into Xara Webster contain blends, with the full CorelXARA package you can create a wide variety of different effects with them. With Xara Webster, you can use select inside to select the objects at each end of the blend and move them around.


Definition: Bounding Box
The Bounding Box of an object or selected set of objects is an imaginary box enclosing them all.


Definition: Browser Palette
The Browser Palette is the palette used by web browser to show images on the screen in 256 color modes. If you create bitmaps using this palette, they will not be dithered by the browser when it displays them. If you only use web browser colors (using the Browser Palette button in the Color Editor or the colors in the Web Browser section of the Color Gallery) and export a bitmap using the browser palette, all flat areas of color will be displayed in 256 color modes without being dithered.


Definition: Circular Transparency
Circular Transparency graduates from one transparency to another in a radial fashion. For more information, see Applying circular transparency.


Definition: Clipboard
The Clipboard is a temporary store and is used like a physical clipboard. You can cut or copy part or all of your drawing onto the clipboard. You can then transfer the clipboard contents to another part of the document or even a completely different document or application. The clipboard can only hold one item or set of items at a time. Placing something on it overwrites any existing contents. Objects remain on the clipboard until deleted or overwritten by Xara Webster or another application. The contents of the clipboard are lost when Windows is exited.


Definition: Color Model
Color Models define the way in which a color is defined. In Xara Webster you can define colors using these color models :

RGB (Red-Green-Blue). Most often used by video cards to define colors.

HSV (Hue-Saturation-Value). The "artists" method of defining colors. Hue is the pure pigment of the color, Saturation is the amount of white mixed into the color and Value is the amount of Black mixed into the color. Hue is measured in degrees representing the angle around a color wheel that sweeps from Red through Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Magenta and back to Red again.


Definition: Compound Object
Compound Objects are objects in a document which contains other objects. The following are the compound object types :

Group	Contains one or more objects of any type

Text Object	Contains one or more Text Lines

Text Line	Contains one or more characters


Definition: Contone
Contone is short for "continuous tone". The term Contone is most commonly used in relation to bitmaps. A bitmap is a contone bitmap when all of the colors used in it are varying mixtures of two colors. For instance, a grayscale bitmap is a contone bitmap because all the colors in it are a mixture of black and white. You can change the two colors of contone bitmap fills by selecting the fill handles and changing their color in the usual ways. You can give a bitmap an old-fashioned sepia look by setting one contone color to dark brown and the other to a yellow-creamy color. For more details, see Changing bitmap palettes.


Definition: Control Bar
Control Bars are placed around the edges of the Xara Webster windows to make commonly used operations (in the form of buttons, sliders and edit boxes) more accessible. New Control Bars can be created and the size of the buttons on different bars altered. Control Bars can be free floating or docked (fixed) to the sides, top or bottom of the Xara Webster window. For more details, see Control Bar Customization.


Definition: Default Bitmap
The Default Bitmap is always present in Xara Webster documents in the Bitmap Gallery. This default bitmap is the Xara Ltd. logo in grayscale and can be used like any other bitmap but cannot be deleted.


Definition: Dithering
Dithering is a technique where patterns are applied to areas of color in a bitmap in order to simulate a wider color range. It works very well in pictures which contain a large number of colors as it creates the illusion of more colors. Xara Webster uses dithering when it displays images on the screen and also when you create bitmaps. However, if you use dithering when you create a bitmap, it will not compress as well and will probably create a larger file.


Definition: Docked
A Docked control bar is one which is attached to one of the edges of the Xara Webster window and moves with the window. A docked control bar can be dragged away from the edge of the window so it becomes a floating control bar. for more details, see Control Bar Customization.


Definition: Document
You can think of a Document as a conventional sheet of paper. Like a sheet of paper, you can create images and write text (and erase them later). You can save the document for later use by storing it on disc. Unlike conventional paper, the computer provides you with many extra options. You can move objects around on the document just by grabbing them and sliding them around, even over other objects. You can copy objects and reuse them, either in the same document or in a different document. Xara Webster documents are displayed as a work area with a wide margin around all four sides shown in gray on screen. You can import or create objects on the work area margin before moving them onto the work area, or move objects onto the margin for temporary storage.


Definition: File Format
File Format is the way in which information is arranged in a file. Different programs arrange the information in different ways depending on their requirements. This means that files from one program cannot be read by another or, if it can be read, not all the information can be displayed correctly. Xara's Webster's native file format is called Xara Web format (.web). Xara Web files can describe all of the advanced graphics produced by Xara Webster. No other file format can fully describe the same graphics and, if drawings are saved in other formats, either some parts of the drawing are lost or changed or they are  no longer editable when the file is reloaded into Xara Webster.

There are two major groups of graphic file formats; Bitmap (a rectangle of colored dots) and Vector (a list of drawing instructions). Xara Webster can import and export many types of both Bitmap and Vector file formats. See the Xara Web Files Overview for more information on the .web format.


Definition: Flat Transparency
Flat Transparency is a fixed level of transparency applied uniformly over a whole object. For more details, see Applying transparency.


Definition: Flip
Flipping an object is as if it was reflected in a mirror. This process is sometimes called 'mirroring' or 'reflecting'. See Flipping objects for more information.


Definition: Floating
A control bar is a Floating Control Bar when it has been dragged and dropped away from the edges of the Xara Webster window. A floating control bar has a thick edges so it can be resized, a title bar and a close button. A floating control bar moves independently of the Xara Webster window. For more details, see Control Bar Customization.


Definition: Folder
A Folder is a directory on a disc containing files. You can add folders of files to some of the galleries. When you add a folder of files to a gallery Xara Webster creates an index for the files and creates a small 'thumbnail' image of each of the files in the folder. When you open the Gallery, you will see small versions of all the files in the folder you added. Xara (.xar and .web) files do not need separate thumbnail pictures as they are built into the files themselves. Though, remember you can create .web files without thumbnail previews.


Definition: Font
A Font is a collection of characters which are all designed in a particular style. Also known as a "typeface". Many different types of fonts are available; often the difference between them is very slight. A font often has several variants, the commonest being Bold and Italic


Definition: GIF
Compuserve GIF files are bitmap files compressed using lossless compression. GIF files can contain up to 256 colors. They are widely used for pictures on World Wide Web pages. Xara Webster supports both interlacing and transparency (import and export) in GIF files. For more information, see Creating GIF files. You can also create animated GIF files with Xara Webster.


Definition: Gallery
Galleries are scrolling windows containing lists of items. Xara Webster has three galleries; one for bitmaps in the current document, one for clipart and one for colors. For more information, see Galleries Overview.


Definition: Grayscale Bitmap
A grayscale bitmap is a bitmap with a palette consisting entirely of grays. Grayscale images are often called "black and white" images. For more details on creating grayscale bitmaps, see Changing bitmap palettes.


Definition: Grid
A Grid is a set of regularly spaced points to which objects and points can be snapped. By setting an appropriate grid spacing and turning grid snapping on, it is very easy to create drawings of very precise dimensions. The grid can be shown or hidden whether or not grid snapping is turned on. At small zoom levels, grid points may become very close to each other. If they were all displayed, the screen would be covered by points and it would be difficult to see the drawing. To prevent this, Xara Webster leaves out some points if necessary. You can still snap to these invisible points. For more information, see Displaying the grid.


Definition: Group
Group objects are compound objects which contain other objects (even groups). The group object is a single object and can be treated like any other, for example applying attributes to it, rotating it, etc. Note that if you want to change one object in the group you do not have to ungroup it, you can use select inside to select it from within the group. For more details, see Grouping objects.


Definition: HSV
Many people find HSV the easiest color model to use. The HSV color model uses Hue, Saturation and Value components to define colors. Hue is the pure pigment (defined as an angle round the color circle) of the color. Saturation is the amount of white added to the color. The smaller the Saturation value, the greater the amount of added white. Value is the amount of black added to the color which can be viewed as the brightness of the color. So the Saturation and Value produce all the shades of the basic Hue value.


Definition: Infobar
The Tool Infobar is a context sensitive control bar. It displays different information and controls dependent on the currently selected Tool. For example, when the Text Tool has been chosen the Infobar contains only text related controls. The different functions available on the Infobar are described in the descriptions of the individual tools - see Tools.


Definition: Interlacing
Interlacing is an option when you create GIF and PNG bitmap files. When an interlaced file is loaded into an application which supports interlacing, the picture will first appear as a low resolution image and the resolution increase as more of the file is loaded. This technique is used commonly on the World Wide Web to improve the appearance of bitmaps as they are downloaded. It will almost look like the picture is coming into focus. If you do not use interlacing, the picture will only be displayed when the whole image has been downloaded.


Definition: JPEG
The JPEG format allows bitmaps to be stored in compressed form. Unlike most other compression techniques, the amount of compression is user selectable. JPEG works by discarding redundant information (it is 'lossy') although generally there is no noticeable reduction of image quality. Xara Webster can import and export JPEG bitmaps. For more information, see Creating JPEG files.


Definition: Keyword
All the Xara Webster clipart has Keywords associated with it. Keywords are associated words which help you to find documents more easily. As an example a document containing a picture of a puppy might contain the keywords "animal" and "dog". For information on adding keywords to your own files, see Adding titles, descriptions and keywords to documents.


Definition: Line
A Line can be straight, curved or contain a mixture of both straight and curved segments. A line must have a start and an end; thus it cannot be filled. You can apply a thickness, color and transparency to a line. When the two ends of a line are joined the line can be filled and is referred to as a shape.


Definition: Linear Transparency
A Linear Transparency is a smooth, linear graduation between two transparencies. You can alter the direction of the transparency, the level of the transparency at either end and the type of transparency. For more details, see Applying transparency.


Definition: Mould
A mould is an object which contains a set of objects which have been moulded. For example CorelXARA includes a circular mould so you can take a set of objects and mould them into a circle. Although you cannot mould objects with Xara Webster, you can import moulded objects in drawings that have been created with CorelXARA.


Definition: Object
Objects in Xara Webster are the building blocks used to create drawings. Object is a general term used to describe the contents of the document. Objects can be contained within other objects. For example, groups contain other objects. Text is also a type of container object as each text object contains a line of text which itself contains a set of characters. You can create other types of object (e.g. blends and moulds) using the full CorelXARA package. You can also load these types of object into Xara Webster.


Definition: Optimized Palette
A bitmap with an optimized palette is one where the colors in the bitmap have been chosen carefully to make the bitmap look as good as possible. Optimized palette bitmaps with 256 colors will usually look as good as the 24 bit equivalent (one with millions of colors) when you display them in a screen mode with millions of colors. If you display an optimized palette 256 color bitmap in a 256 color screen mode it will look as good as one with a browser palette, but will look far better in screen modes with more colors.

If you use an optimized palette, you can choose the number of colors in the palette that are used. e.g. you could create an 8 bit bitmap where only 100 of the 256 colors in the palette are used. With some experimentation, you will often find this reducing the number of colors reduces the size of the bitmap file.


Definition: Quality
Document view Quality is the way in which documents are drawn on the screen. The Quality can range from the drawing being rendered in simple outline, to being edited in full color, anti-aliased mode. This is useful for altering the speed at which a document is redrawn as a lower quality setting will result in faster redraw times, but a higher setting will give far better results. Sometimes it is useful to set the Quality to its lowest level for selecting some objects which would be obscured by other objects on higher settings. The quality setting is also used when you create bitmaps.


Definition: RGB
RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the natural model of computers. Colors would usually be defined using this model if they are to remain 'on-screen' - for example if the Xara Webster were being used to create bitmaps for use on the World Wide Web.


Definition: Redo
Redo allows you to redo an editing operation which has been Undone.


Definition: Redraw
Redraw is the process of Xara Webster building up the on-screen image from the information stored about the drawing.


Definition: Rotate/Skew Mode
Selection handles operate in two modes; Scale mode and Rotate/Skew Mode. The former allows the selection to be scaled, the latter allows it to be rotated and skewed.


Definition: Scale
Scaling resizes or stretches something. You can scale any object using the Selector Tool. For more details, see Scaling objects.


Definition: Scale Mode
Selection Handles operate in two modes; Scale Mode and Rotate/Skew mode. The former allows the selection to be scaled; the latter allows it to be rotated and skewed.


Definition: Select Inside
Select Inside can be used to select an object inside a compound object. This can be done in the Selector tool by CTRL-clicking or by ALT-CTRL-clicking on the object. Objects are said to be "inside" a group when they are members of the group. Normally, clicking on the object would select the group but a CTRL-click selects the object that you clicked on inside the group. Select inside also works inside blends (selects the end objects) and text (selects individual characters). When any selected object is inside another one, the status line shows for example: "2 shapes selected ("inside")". Select-inside is just like select member, except it goes straight to the innermost object.  It is a quick way to select the object you actually click on, irrespective of whether it is part of a group, blend, or mould. Some operations are unavailable when any selected object is inside another one. For more details, see the web link on Selecting objects.


Definition: Select Member
Select Member

To select an object which is a member of a group. (This is a special form of Select inside.) This can be done in the Selector Tool by ALT-CTRL-clicking on the object. Objects are said to be "inside" when they are members of a group. Normally, clicking on the object selects the group but ALT-CTRL-click selects the object inside the group containing the clicked object. That object may itself be a group and then further ALT-CTRL-clicks can be used to select members of that group, etc. When the last selected object was not a group, it cannot have any members and so the next ALT-CTRL-click will select the outermost group again. Select member also works inside blends, moulds and text. When any selected object is inside another one the status line shows, for example "2 shapes selected ("inside") " Some operations are unavailable when any selected object is inside another one.  For more details, see the web link on Selecting objects.


Definition: Select Under
Select Under  allows you to select an object which is underneath another object. This can be done in the Selector Tool by ALT-clicking on the top object. Select under is most useful when one object is completely covered by another one. Clicking on the top object selects the top object; ALT-clicking on the top object selects the object underneath.

If there are several objects covering each other, repeatedly using ALT-click selects the next object underneath the one that was last selected. When the last selected object is the one at the back, the next ALT-click will start at the top again and select the top object.  For more details, see the web link on Selecting objects.


Definition: Selection
The Selection is all the currently selected objects. The selection is most often manipulated using the Selector Tool. For details on how to select objects, see Selecting objects.


Definition: Selection Handle
Selection Handles are displayed when the Selector Tool is the current tool. They are displayed around the boundary of the selection and allow the selection as a whole to be scaled, rotated, skewed and stretched. They operate in two modes: Scale mode and Skew/Rotate mode.


Definition: Shape
A Shape is a solid (or closed) object. The difference between a line and a shape is that a shape has no start or end. Because a shape is a closed object it can be filled with a color. A thickness can be applied to the outline of the shape. Xara Webster sometimes uses 'Shape' as shorthand for 'Line or Shape'. In PostScript terminology, a shape is a "closed path". Shapes can have two main attributes applied; a fill and a line color. The line color is the color used for the outline of the shape and the fill in the color of the object itself.


Definition: Skew
Skewing is often called shearing and involves sliding the top (or side) of something to stretch it, without moving the opposite side. For more details, see Skewing objects.


Definition: Text Cursor
The Text Cursor is displayed when the Text Tool is selected. The cursor shows you where characters will appear if you start typing or where editing will take place if the cursor is inside an existing text object. To move the cursor click the mouse where you want the cursor. No cursor is displayed if there is a selected text region. You can apply attributes to the text cursor which will be used when you type. For more details, see Creating text.


Definition: Text Object
A Text Object is one or more lines of text which can be moved and copied like any other object. The Text Tool allows you to edit the contents of text objects by typing new characters, changing the font, font size, etc. You can apply all the normal attributes to text objects, such as thick line widths, color and transparency. If you use Select Member on a text object you first select the whole object, then a line of text in it, then a single text character in the line. For more details, see Creating text.


Definition: Tool
A Tool in Xara Webster is much like a tool in normal life. It is used for a specific job. Xara Webster is divided into well-defined tools each of which has a specific purpose. When you choose a Tool, the Infobar changes to give you a set of options specific to that Tool leaving more editing area available. For more information on the Xara Webster Tools, see The Tools.


Definition: Toolbar
The Toolbar is a special control bar containing buttons for all the Tools available in Xara Webster. For more details, see The Tools.


Definition: Transformation Center
The transformation center is the point/axis around which objects are skewed, flipped and rotated using the Selector Tool. The transformation center is only visible when the Selector Tool is in Rotate/Skew mode. For more information, see Moving the transformation center.


Definition: Transparency
You can change the transparency of any object in a document. There several transparency 'shapes' including circular and linear. Most of the transparency types are 'graduated transparencies', this means the level of transparency changes across the object. The level of transparency is measured in percentages. By combining transparency types and shapes with different fill colors and types you can create a wide range of effects and shading. Note that documents using transparent objects take longer to redraw on-screen and to print. For more information, see Applying transparency.


Definition: Undo
Xara Webster allows you to Undo your most recent changes to a document. Undo allows you to get rid of changes which you've applied mistakenly to your document, which went wrong or which you simply don't like the look of. Undo is a very powerful tool when combined with Redo because it gives you the freedom to experiment with a drawing, secure in the knowledge that you can always undo any changes or if you eventually decide you do actually like the changes, to redo them again.


Definition: Vector Format
Vector Format files describe a picture as a list of drawing instructions. This has two advantages over Bitmap formats:

1. The instructions can be scaled to work at any size.

2. The list can be edited to add, remove or alter any part of the drawing very easily.


Definition: View
A View is a window showing a document in a particular way. The different ways in which a View can show a document are:

Area of document in the view,

Zoom factor,

Quality setting,

Grid visible,

You can have more than one View open onto a document. For instance, you could have two Views onto different areas of the same document, two views showing the same document at different zoom factors or at different Quality settings.


Definition: Web Address
A Web Address specifies a page on the Internet. http://www.xara.com/ is the Web Address for the Internet home of Xara Ltd. Web addresses are also called URL's, Shortcuts and Hotlinks. For more information, see Adding web addresses to objects.


Definition: Work Area
The Work Area is the area onto which drawings are placed. The white is the actual work area with the gray area around the outside a 'pasteboard' for rough drawings or unwanted objects.


Definition: Xara Web Format
Xara Web Format is a new graphics format. Web (.web) files are very similar to CorelXARA .xar files but they do not contain as much information. This makes them far smaller and ideal for publication on the World Wide Web using the Xara plug-in for Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Xara Web files can be edited just like .xar files so you don't need to create bitmaps copies of all your graphics to put them on the Internet. As Xara Web files are vector files you can zoom into a Web file at over 25,000% without loss of quality. Web files also look far better when printed than bitmaps and it's easy to create complex looking images that are very fast to download. For more details, see the Xara Web File Overview.


Definition: Zoom
The Zoom level of a View lets you see a document in close up or at a distance. You can think of the zoom level being like a magnifying glass whose strength you can vary. When you look at your document with a zoom level of anything other than 100%, you are looking at it through a magnifying glass. But note that changing the Zoom level only changes your view onto the document - it does not change the size of the document or anything in it.


Definitions
Click a button to move to a section

- A -

Alignment

Animated GIF File

Anti-Aliasing

Apply Inside

Aspect Ratio

Attribute

- B -

Bar

Bitmap

Bounding Box

Browser Palette

- C -

Circular Transparency

Clipboard

Color Model

Compound Object

Contone

Control Bar

- D -

Default Bitmap

Dithering

Docked

Document

- E -

- F -

File Format

Flat Transparency

Flip

Floating

Folder

Font

- G -

Gallery

GIF

Grayscale Bitmap

Grid

Group

- H -

HSV

- I -

Infobar

Interlacing (GIF)

- J -

JPEG

- K -

Keyword

- L -

Line

Linear Transparency

- M -

- N -

- O -

Object

Optimized Palette

- P -

- Q -

Quality

- R -

Redo

Redraw

RGB

Rotate/Skew Mode

- S -

Scale

Scale Mode

Select Inside

Select Member

Select Under

Selection

Selection Handle

Shape

Skew

- T -

Text Cursor

Text Object

Tool

Toolbar

Transformation Center

Transparency

- U -

Undo

- V -

Vector Format

View

- W -

Web Address

Work Area

- X -

Xara Web Format

- Z -

Zoom


 Delete (Edit Menu)

 DEL (Delete)

Delete removes the selection from the document. Unlike Cut, Delete does not copy the selection to the clipboard, the clipboard is not affected in any way by Delete. A Delete operation can be reversed using Undo.

Tip

To delete an object quickly, right-click on it to open the pop-up menu and choose Delete.

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Related Topics

Deleting objects


Deleting objects

You can delete any type of object to remove them from a drawing.

To delete objects

1. Select the objects (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Edit menu, choose Delete.

Tips

You can also select the objects then press the Delete key on the keyboard.

If you might want the object in the future, you can move it onto the gray pasteboard at the side of the white work area. Objects on the pasteboard are still saved.

Deleting objects does not put them on the clipboard. If you want to remove an object and leave it on the clipboard, use Cut.

You can recover deleted objects using undo. See Undoing and redoing operations.

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Related Topics

Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard


Deselecting all objects

Sometimes you may need to deselect every object in your drawing.

To deselect all objects

From the Edit menu, choose Clear Selection.

Tips

You can also press ESC (Escape).

You can also choose the Selector Tool and click on a blank part of the work area..

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Related Topics

Clear Selection


Deselecting objects

When you have selected objects and you no longer need them selected, you can deselect them all or deselect them one by one.

What do you want to do?

Deselect selected objects

Deselect all objects

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Related Topics

Selecting objects

Selector Tool

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


Deselecting selected objects

If you have selected an object or several objects you can easily deselect one or more of the objects.

To deselect selected objects

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. SHIFT-click on each selected object to swap it from being selected to not being selected.

  SHIFT-Click to swap the object under the mouse pointer between selected and not selected

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Related Topics

Selector Tool


Displaying the grid

The grid is useful for aligning objects especially as you can make grid points magnetic.

To display the grid

From the Window menu, choose Show Grid.

Tips

You can also right-click on the work area to open the pop-up menu and choose Show Grid.

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Related Topics

Enabling grid snapping


 Document Info (File Menu)

Document Info on the File Menu opens the Document Information dialog box which displays information about the current document. It also contains a comments field which you can use to add a title, description and keywords to the document.

Location. The folder where the file is located.

File Name. The name given to the document.

Created. The time and date when the document was created.

Last Saved. The time and date when the document was last saved.

Memory Used. The total memory used by the document.

Undo Size. The amount of memory used by undo information. See Undo.

Undo Steps. The number of undo steps stored.

Number of Bitmaps. The total number of bitmap in the current document.

Bitmap Size. The amount of memory used by bitmaps in the current document.

Number of Fractals. The total number of fractal fills and fractal transparencies in the document. Xara Webster can import these, but you need the full CorelXARA package to create them.

Fractal Size. The amount of memory used by fractals

Number of Objects. The total number of objects in the document.

Number of Selected Objects. The total number of objects in the Selection.

Document Fonts. This drop-down list contains a full list of all the fonts contained in the document. If the document uses a font not currently installed on your PC, an asterisk ( * ) will appear next to the font name.

Comments. The comments field allows details about the file to be added to the document. It can also be used for adding keywords and a title to a file which is then displayed in the Clipart Gallery. Note that the first line of this field is stored as the description of the file and will be displayed in the Clipart Gallery if the file is added to it.

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Related Topics

Viewing document information

Adding titles, descriptions and keywords to documents


Drawing Xara Webster clipart with CorelXARA

To find out the best way to create clipart for Xara Webster using CorelXARA, click the web link below.

Web Link

Drawing Xara Webster Clipart with CorelXARA


 Duplicate (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+D

Duplicate creates a copy of the selection a certain distance from the original. After the copy has been created, it is selected and the original deselected.

Tips

To duplicate an object quickly, right-click on it to open the pop-up menu and choose Duplicate

For information on how to change the distance, see Changing the duplication distance.

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Related Topics

Copying objects


Edit Control Bar

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste in Same Position

Delete

Select All

Clear Selection

Duplicate

Clone

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


Edit Menu

Undo

Redo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Select All

Clear Selection

Duplicate

Clone


Editing text

There are two editing modes used with the Text Tool. You can either change the text using the text cursor or by changing a selected region of text

To edit text with the text cursor

1. Choose the Text Tool.

2. Click in the text object to insert the text cursor.

3. Edit the text as required (see List of Text Tool Key Shortcuts).

To edit text selections

When a region of text has been selected (see Selecting text) you can :

Apply attributes to the selected region - see Applying attributes to text

Replace the selected region by typing new text.

To scale and stretch text

You can use either the Text Tool (see Changing the size of text) or the Selector Tool (see Scaling objects or Stretching objects).

Tip

Whenever the text cursor is moved it takes on the attributes of the character to its left.

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Related Topics

Text Tool

Creating text.

Typing international characters


Enabling grid snapping

With grid snapping enabled, you can snap objects to the on-screen grid.

To enable grid snapping

From the Window menu, choose Snap to Grid.

Tip

You can also enable grid snapping by pressing '.' on the numeric keypad.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Displaying the grid


Exit (File Menu)

Choosing Exit from the File menu will close the program. If you have changed any documents, Xara Webster will ask you if you want to save them to disc before the program closes. You can also exit Xara Webster by doing one of the following:

Open the application control menu, (press ALT+SPACEBAR) and choose Close.

Double-click the Application Control-menu box.

If you are editing a drawing which is embedded in a document in another program, this menu item reads "Exit and Return to DocumentX" where DocumentX is the document in the other program. Selecting this item will return you to the other program after updating the drawing in the document.


 Export (File Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+E

Select Export from the File menu to export your document in any of a wide variety of file formats (see  the List of Supported File Formats for a complete list).

With Windows 95 and Windows NT 4, if you click on a .xar or .web file, you will see a preview of it in the dialog box (if the file contains a preview).

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Related Topics

Exporting part of a document


Exporting part of a document

You can easily export a selection of objects from a document.

To export part of a drawing

1. Select the objects you want to export (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Edit menu, choose Copy to copy the objects to the clipboard.

3. From the File menu, choose New to create a new, blank document.

4. Press CTRL+SHIFT+V to paste the objects back in the same position in the new document.

5. Export the new document as normal.


File Control Bar

Close

Save As

Import

Export

Document Info

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


File Menu

Open

Close

New

Save

Save As

Import

Export

Document Info

1,2,3,4 (recently loaded files list)

Exit


Finding clipart

To find clipart, use the Clipart Gallery. You can find pictures using the file name of the picture, the title of the picture or using keywords (words related to the picture). For more details, see Searching a gallery.


Flipping objects

Objects can be flipped around the vertical and horizontal lines passing through the transformation center.

To flip objects

1. Select the object(s) to be flipped (See Selecting objects).

2. Do one of the following :

Press the Horizontal flip button on the Selector Tool Infobar.

Press the Vertical flip button on the Selector Tool Infobar.

Tip

The transformation center is only visible when selection handles are in Rotate/Skew mode. The flip will normally occur around the center of the selection unless you have moved the transformation center.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Selector Tool


GIF Export Dialog Box

The (Compuserve) GIF export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting GIF as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colors in the bitmap. In addition Xara Webster also allows GIF files to contain simple transparency and interlacing - two facilities of GIF files used extensively on the World Wide Web. For details of how to create a GIF file, see Creating GIF files.

Bitmap Size

Color Depth

Area to Save

Interlacing

Transparent

Palette

Dithering

Number of Colors

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Related Topics

Creating Animated GIF files


Galleries Overview

Xara Webster has a set of Galleries for manipulating items you use as you create your documents. Some list items in your documents and some list items on disc. All the Galleries support drag-and-drop and are often a quick and easy way to use the program. For more information on any of the galleries, click on the gallery name below.

Color Gallery

Bitmap Gallery

Clipart Gallery

The galleries have many common features; the title bar allows you to position the gallery on the screen. You can resize any gallery using the window border in the normal way. The close button closes the gallery completely. When you want to reopen a gallery use the appropriate button on the control bar or a keyboard shortcut.

All galleries have a row of buttons under the title bar for working on selected items in the gallery and for setting gallery options. Note that you can make the buttons at the top of the galleries large or small using the Control Bars dialog box .

The main display area of all galleries is scrollable and contains one or more sections. Each section is shown by a gray "section bar" with a folder icon in it and the name of the section written in white. Sections can be folded so that only the section bar is showing or unfolded to see all the items within them. To fold or unfold a section double-click on its gray section bar or click on the folder icon.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Control Bars and Galleries

Using Galleries

Selecting items in a gallery

Moving and resizing galleries

Reordering gallery items

Reordering gallery sections

Searching a gallery

Changing the way galleries look

Closing a gallery

Adding clipart to the clipart gallery

Updating the clipart gallery


Gallery Control Bar

The Gallery Control Bar contains seven buttons which are used to open and close the seven Xara Webster galleries.

Color Gallery

Bitmap Gallery

Clipart Gallery

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


Gallery Find Dialog Box

With this dialog box, you can search a gallery. To open this dialog box, click the Options button in the gallery and choose Find from the menu.

Find items including the text

Search Names and Keywords and Search full information

Find first

Find next

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Related Topics

Searching a gallery


Gallery Find Dialog Box - Find First Button

Click this button to start the search. If the gallery does not contain any items that match the search text, a message box will be displayed.


Gallery Find Dialog Box - Find Next Button

Click this button to continue a search that has just found an item (or which starts at the currently selected item). If the gallery does not contain any more items that match the search text, a message box will be displayed.


Gallery Find Dialog Box - Search Type

Click one of these radio-buttons to either restrict the search to the names (and file names) and keywords of gallery items, or search all information available for each item. This table shows which information is searched for the two searching options.

Names and Keywords	All Information

Color Gallery	color name	definition (for example RGB(255,255,255) )

Bitmap Gallery	file name & title	file name & title

Clipart Gallery	title, keywords & file name	title, keywords, file name, file size & full description (if present)


Gallery Find Dialog Box - Text

Into this field, type the text you want to search for. For example, "dog" in the Clipart Gallery or "100%" in the Color Gallery.


Gallery Icon Size Dialog Box
Gallery Icons Size Dialog Box

You can use the Gallery Icon Size dialog box to alter the way items are displayed in each of the Galleries. Open the dialog box by clicking the Options button in a gallery and choosing Icon Size from the menu.

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Related Topics

Searching a gallery

Reordering gallery items

Galleries Overview


Gallery Sort Dialog Box

With the Gallery Sort dialog box you can sort the contents of the galleries. To open the dialog box, open the relevant gallery, click Options and choose Sort from the menu.

Primary and Secondary Keys

Apply sort to all the gallery sections

Only apply the sort to sections containing selected items

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Related Topics

Reordering gallery items

Galleries Overview


Gallery Sort Dialog Box - Apply to All Gallery Sections

Select this option to apply the sort to all the items within all folders contained in the gallery.


Gallery Sort Dialog Box - Only Apply to Some Sections

Click this radio-button to apply the sort to only those sections which have an item selected within them. See Selecting items in a gallery.


Gallery Sort Dialog Box - Primary and Secondary Keys

You can choose a sorting-order for items within the gallery from these two drop-down lists.  Items can be sorted by name (alphabetically), by their size in memory, by their size on disk, by the file type, or by the length of their name (depending on the gallery).  If the Reversed check box is checked then the items are sorted in the reverse order.

For example, you may have a gallery of bitmaps that you would like sorted according to the type of bitmap, e.g. .BMP or .JPG, and within each category of bitmap, alphabetical order. To sort the items this way choose Sort By File Type from the Primary Key list and Sort by name from the Secondary key.


General Control Bar

Color Editor

Work Area Options

Web Address

Options

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


 General Options

To open the General Options, choose Options from the Utilities menu and click on the General tab.

Angle Constraint

You can use the CTRL key to constrain objects and handles when you move them You can change the constraint angle, see Changing the constrain angle for more information.

Nudge Size

When you move (nudge) objects using the cursor keys, they move by a set amount. You can change this value, see Changing the nudge size.

Duplication Distance

When you use Duplicate (on the Edit Menu) the copy is placed on the wok area at a different position from the original. The horizontal and vertical distances the copy moves can be changed. See Changing the duplication distance for more details.

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Related Topics

Options


Getting help with Xara Webster

If you need some help using Xara Webster, here are some sources of information that may be of use...

Online Help. Choose Help Topics from the Help menu to open Xara Webster help (containing hundreds of pages information). See How do I...? for more details on how to use it.

Status Line. Try reading the text on the Status Line at the bottom of the main Xara Webster window. It always describes what actions are currently possible and what they will do, even during drags and so is ideal for learning to use the Xara Webster tools. It also gives details of what buttons and controls do as you move the pointer over them. See Status Line for more details.

ToolTips If you hold the mouse pointer over a button or control for a short while and a small message  appears telling you what it does.

Menus. If you want to know what a menu item does, highlight it and press F1.

Dialog Boxes. If you want to know what a dialog box does or how to use it, click the Help button.

Internet. You can access Xara's web site using the items on the Xara On The Web submenu on the Help menu and you'll also and links to the site throughout Xara Webster's help.

Technical Support. Registered users of Xara Webster can get free Technical Support.


 Grid Options

To open the Grid Options, choose Options from the Utilities menu and click on the Grid tab. They control the way the grid appears.

Grid Spacing

Major Spacing defines the distance between the major grid divisions. The units used for the grid is defined by the units you use for the Major Spacing. For example entering a major grid spacing of "2cm" will set the grid units to centimeters. For more details, see Changing the grid spacing.

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Related Topics

Options


 Group (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+G

Combines all the selected objects into a single group object.

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Related Topics

Grouping objects

Ungrouping objects


Grouping objects

Grouping objects together lets you select and move them as a single object. This is useful, for example, when you create a shadow effect. Grouping the object and its shadow means you cannot separate them by accidentally moving either.

To group objects

1. Select the objects (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Arrange menu, choose Group.

Tips

If you want to change an object inside a group, you do not need to ungroup it.  For more details, see the web link on Selecting objects.

You can still apply attributes to individual objects within a group. Just hold down CTRL as you drag-and-drop the attribute. See Apply inside.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Ungrouping objects

Removing objects from groups


Help Menu

Xara Webster Help

Use Help Pages and Movies from CD

Xara On The Web

Tip of the Day

About Xara Webster


How do I ...?

Xara Webster's help contains hundreds of pages of information. If you need a hand using the program or want to know how to do something, try searching the help. Not only are there pages describing what all the parts of the program do, there are overviews, pages explaining terms, step-by-step procedures to help you get your work done and lots of links to World Wide Web pages giving you even more information (click the web link below). We have also created a set of Xara Webster Movies for you to download and watch off the Internet.

To open the help at any time, just press F1.

To find information in help

1. Click the Index button at the top of this window.

2. Type in a word at the top of the dialog box.

3. The list will move to show the word you typed.

Now just double-click on the index entry that interests you. If the index entry refers to more than one page, a small window appears so you can choose which page you want to go to.

Web Link

Xara Webster Web Help

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Related Topics

Getting help with Xara Webster


 Import (File Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+I

You can import a large number of different types of file into your documents. For a full list, see the List of Supported File Formats. For details on how to import file, see Importing files.

With Windows 95 and Windows NT 4, if you click on a .xar or .web file, you will see a preview of it in the dialog box (if the file contains a preview).


Importing CDR files

You can import CDR files from versions 3, 4, and 5 of CorelDRAW. If you are using CorelDRAW 6 or later use CMX to transfer your files - see Importing CMX files. If a CDR file contains a CMX file the CMX file will be loaded (to include a CMX file in a CDR file, select the "Include Presentation Data" in the Save dialog box).

As CDR is not Xara Webster's native file format, some objects may not appear how you expect them to. Note that if the file contains a CMX file, the  CMX importer will be used so the following does not apply.

Fills. All fill types apart from full color pattern fills are supported. However, custom fills are imported as fills from the start color to the end color. Square fills are approximated to radial fills. Full color pattern fills which are just a bitmap (no paths or other objects) are imported as bitmap fills.

Text. Text is imported with the font name, font size, bold, italic, underline, super/subscript and line spacing attributes. Only the alignment and baseline shift options from the fit path to text roll-up are imported. Text on a path can only be imported if the path it is fitted to still exists in the file. If you delete a path in CorelDRAW after fitting text to it, the text will be imported into Xara Webster as normal text in the position it was before this operation.

Special Effects. Mix, Color limit and ColorAdd Lenses are supported. Other types of Lenses are not supported. Some PowerClips may be imported incorrectly. All other effects are supported.

Envelopes. Envelopes are approximated. You will be warned about this after the file has been imported if there were any envelopes in the file.

Extrusions. Some extrusions cannot be imported correctly.

Lines. If lines are imported which have arrowheads, the object will appear as a group containing two objects, a line and a shape (the arrowhead).

If Problems Occur. If any of these limitations cause problems, try saving the .CDR file from CorelDRAW as EPS and import that instead. If a file is found to load incorrectly, please send the file to Corel with full details so we can fix the problem.


Importing CMX files

You can import Corel CMX version 5 and 6 files. As CMX is not Xara Webster's native file format, the file may contain some objects that do not have direct equivalents. Below is a list of objects that may not import as you expect them to.

Fills. Multiple color (custom) graduated fills are imported with just the end colors. Postscript and Vector (full color) pattern fills are not supported. Any objects imported with them will not be filled.

Bitmaps. Cropped bitmaps will appear as rectangles with a bitmap fill.

Text. Underlined text is not supported. Individually rotated letter will not appear rotated.

Clipping. The outlines of PowerClip and Place Inside containers are approximated.

Lenses. You can only import Transparency, Color Add and Color Limit lenses.

Outlines. If you have an object with a behind fill, CorelXARA will import the shape without the behind fill.

Tiling. Some tiling options such as offset-tiling will not import correctly.

If Problems Occur. If any of these limitations cause problems, try saving the .CMX file from CorelDRAW as EPS and import that instead.

If you have persistent problems importing a CMX file, email it to Xara - websterbug@xara.com

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Related Topics

Importing CDR files


Importing animated GIF files

If you import or open an animated GIF file, each frame is imported as a bitmap with all the bitmaps placed on the work area on top of each other. Note that the frames will appear in the Bitmap Gallery in the animation sequence (the first bitmap is the highest in the gallery).

Tip

You can easily alter an animated GIF by loading it into Xara Webster, altering one or more frames, creating bitmaps for the new frames (see Creating bitmaps from objects), replacing the old bitmap with the new one (in the Bitmap Gallery) and exporting the new animated GIF file. For more details, see Creating animated GIF files.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Importing colors and palettes

To find out how to import palettes of color into the Color Gallery, click the web link below.

Web Link

Importing Colors and Palettes

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Related Topics

Color Gallery


Importing files

You can incorporate (import) an existing drawing into a document. Note the difference between Opening (which opens the drawing in a separate window) and Importing (which loads the drawing into the existing window).

To import a file

1. From the File menu, choose Import.

2. Browse to the directory containing the document file.

3. To display only particular file formats, choose from the Files of type list. (If in doubt, choose All Files.)

4. Double-click on the file.

Tips

For a list of types of file Xara Webster can load, see the List of Supported File Formats.

Usually the importer  automatically determines the type of file format and imports it correctly. In a few cases, this may not work and the file is imported incorrectly. If this happens, Undo the import and select the specific file type from the Files of type list. Then re-import the file.

You can also use the Clipart Gallery to import drawings from the Internet.

You can use drag-and-drop to import a file into a document just by dropping it onto the work area.

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Related Topics

Import

Clipart Gallery

Importing transparent bitmap files

Importing CDR files

Importing colors and palettes

Opening documents from disc


Importing transparent bitmap files

Compuserve GIF files and PNG files support 'masks' which are a very basic form of transparency. When a bitmap file with a mask is placed on a background (for example in a World Wide Web page) some areas of the background show through the bitmap. This method is often used to remove the background from pictures so the bitmap doesn't appear rectangular. Importing a masked bitmap files retains the transparent mask and you can see through parts of the bitmap when it is in Xara Webster.

Note that GIF/PNG Transparency (masking) and Xara Webster Transparency are different. Bitmap Transparency means you can see through the background of the bitmap. Xara Webster Transparency means you can see through objects and is variable from fully transparent to fully opaque. In the example, both imported bitmaps are completely see-through in places, but the one on the right also has transparency applied to it using the Transparency Tool.

To import a transparent bitmap file

You can import these in the same way as other files. See Importing files.

Tips

You can apply Xara Webster transparency to any bitmap, including masked bitmaps.

You can create transparent GIF files and PNG files with Xara Webster. (See Creating GIF Files or Creating PNG files).


Importing web clipart

With Xara Webster you can download clipart off the Internet using the Clipart Gallery just as easily as if it was on your hard drive.

To get a list of web clipart

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Clipart Gallery.

2. Click the Web Clipart button in the gallery.

3. Xara Webster will connect to the Xara Ltd. web site and add folders of clipart to the gallery.

As you open these folders, Webster will download small versions of the files for you to look at. As you scroll down the folder in the gallery, it will download more.

To download a piece of clipart

1. Scroll to the piece of clipart you want to download.

2. Double-click the image to load it or drag it onto Xara Webster to merge it with an open document.

Tip

If you installed Xara Webster from CD, the CD contains much of the clipart from the Internet site and will already be listed in the Clipart Gallery.

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Related Topics

Changing the colors in clipart


Increasing the available work area

To help you gain as much screen area as possible, this page lists changes you can make to Xara Webster so you can see as much of your document on the screen as possible. For instance, you can move the control bars around and remove any buttons you do not use.

To increase the work area you can...

Maximize the main document window so it fills the screen. To do this, double-click on the title bar or select Maximize from the application control menu.

Remove any buttons from the bars that you do not use (see Control Bar Customization).

Move the control bars so they make more efficient use of the area around the edge of your document (see Control Bar Customization).

Change the size of the buttons on the control bars (the toolbar has large buttons by default). See Control Bar Customization.

Tip

You can use Zoom To Work Area and Zoom to Drawing to fill the screen with your drawing. See Zooming to the work area or Zooming to the whole drawing.


Inverting a grayscale bitmap

Web Links

Changing Bitmap Palettes


JPEG Export Dialog Box

The JPEG export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting JPEG as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. It allows the setting of the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the 'quality' of the final bitmap. For details of how to create a JPEG file, see Creating JPEG files.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

Area to Save

JPEG Quality

Progressive

Use Original JPEG


JPEG Export Dialog Box - Progressive

If you select this option, the JPEG will be a 'progressive JPEG'. This is similar to an interlaced GIF and means that when the JPEG is displayed by a web browser that understands progressive JPEG files, it will slowly come into focus as it is downloaded. If the browser doesn't support progressive JPEG files, the JPEG will only be displayed once the whole file has been downloaded, just as if the JPEG wasn't progressive. Netscape 3 supports progressive JPEG files.


JPEG Export Dialog Box - Use Original JPEG

This option is only available if you have opened the JPEG Export dialog box by clicking the Save button in the Bitmap Gallery. If you select a JPEG in the Bitmap Gallery and click Save, you can select this option to save the JPEG file out again with it being re-encoded. This means the JPEG you save is an exact copy of the original file and has not been through the JPEG process a second time. You will notice that when you select this option, you cannot change the Quality setting.


Justifying text

After creating a text object, you can justify it so each line is aligned on the left, on the right or in the center. If you want to create a new justified text object, just place the text cursor in the document and click one of the justification buttons on the Text Tool Infobar before typing.

To change the justification

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click one of the justification buttons on the Infobar.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Line Width

The line width control sets the width (thickness) of lines (and the outlines of other types of objects). If you change the value with objects selected, their line widths will change. If you change the value with no objects selected, the value you used will be set as a current attribute and used for all lines you draw in future. You can choose a value from the drop-down list or you can type a value and press RETURN.

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Related Topics

Zero Width Lines Overview

Units Overview

Changing line thickness


List of Default Control Bars

Xara Webster contains several default control bars in addition to the Toolbar and the tool-specific Infobar. The Button Palette contains all the buttons available in Xara Webster. You can copy buttons from the Button Palette to existing or new control bars. To find out what the buttons on a bar do, click one of the links below :

Standard Control Bar

File Control Bar

Edit Control Bar

Arrange Control Bar

Window Control Bar

Gallery Control Bar

General Control Bar

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Related Topics

Control Bar Customization


 List of Keyboard Shortcuts

This page contains a list of the key shortcuts available in Xara Webster. If you want any more information on what a shortcut does, click on the underlined text next to it.

The Tools

Selector Tool	F2 or ALT+S (or the Space Bar if you are not using the Text tool).

Transparency Tool	F6

Text Tool	F8

Push Tool	SHIFT+F8 or ALT+X

Zoom Tool	SHIFT+F7 or ALT+Z

The Galleries

Clipart Gallery	SHIFT+F10

Color Gallery	F9

Bitmap Gallery	F11

Zooming

Previous Zoom	CTRL+R

Zoom To Selection	CTRL+SHIFT+Z

Zoom To Work Area	CTRL+SHIFT+P

Manipulating Documents

New document	CTRL+N

Open document	CTRL+O

Save document	CTRL+S

Import	CTRL+SHIFT+I

Export	CTRL+SHIFT+E

Time a document redraw	CTRL+SHIFT+T

Show Grid	#

Snap to grid	'.' on the Number Keypad

Undo	CTRL+Z or '<' or ','

Redo	CTRL+Y or '>' or '.'

Manipulating Objects

Select all	CTRL+A

Put object to back	CTRL+B

Copy object to clipboard	CTRL+C

Duplicate object with offset	CTRL+D

Bring object to front	CTRL+F

Clone object	CTRL+K

Paste object from clipboard	CTRL+V

Cut selection to clipboard	CTRL+X

Move object backwards	CTRL+SHIFT+B

Paste object in original position	CTRL+SHIFT+V

Move object forwards	CTRL+SHIFT+F

Open the Alignment dialog box	CTRL+SHIFT+L

Web Address	CTRL+SHIFT+W

Delete the selection 	DELETE

Clear selection	ESC

Move the selected objects	Cursor keys with the Selector Tool

Move the selected handles	Cursors keys in tools other than the Selector.

Other

Color Editor	CTRL+E (opens and closes)

Options dialog box	CTRL+SHIFT+O

Xara Webster Help	F1

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Related Topics

List of Text Tool Key Shortcuts


List of Menus

Xara Webster provides the following menus on the menu bar :

File

Edit

Arrange

Utilities

Window

Help

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Related Topics

Pop-up Menus Overview


List of Supported File Formats

Import

It important that you use the three letter file extensions listed below when you load files into Xara Webster.

.XAR	Xara Webster

.WEB	Xara Web Format

.AI	Illustrator EPS (88, 3, 4 & 5)

.EPS	Illustrator EPS (88, 3, 4 & 5)

.CPL	CorelDRAW Palette

.PAL	CorelDRAW Palette

.PAL	Microsoft Palette

.PAL	PaintShop Pro Palette

.ACT	Adobe Color Table

.ACO	Adobe Color Swatch

.BMP	Windows Bitmap (uncompressed)

.GIF	CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format (see Importing transparent bitmap files)

.JPG	JPEG

.PBM	UNIX monochrome

.PGM	UNIX grayscale

.PNG	PNG (see Importing transparent bitmap files)

.PPM	UNIX color (up to 24 bit)

.EPS	CorelDRAW! 3, 4 & 5 EPS

.EPS	FreeHand 3.0 EPS

.EPS	ArtWorks EPS

.AFF	Acorn Draw

.CDR	CorelDRAW (3,4 & 5) (see Importing CDR files)

.CDT	CorelDRAW Template

.CMX	Corel CMX 5 & 6 (see Importing CMX files)

.DRW	Acorn Draw

.WMF	Windows Meta File

For information on how to import palettes, see Importing colors and palettes.

Export

.GIF	CompuServe GIF (see Creating GIF files)

.GIF	Animated GIF files (see Creating animated GIF files)

.JPG	JPEG (see Creating JPEG files)

.PNG	PNG (see Creating PNG files)

.XAR	CorelXARA 1.5 and later

.WEB	Xara Web Format (see Creating Xara Web files)


List of Text Tool key shortcuts

Cursor keys	Move the text cursor one character at a time up, down, left or right.

Home	Move the text cursor to the start of the line.

End	Move the text cursor to the end of the line.

CTRL+right-cursor	Move the text cursor right one word.

CTRL+left-cursor	Move the text cursor left one word.

CTRL+HOME	Move the text cursor to the start of the first line in a text object.

CTRL+END	Move the text cursor to the end of the last line in a text object.

CTRL+A	Selects all characters in a text object.

CTRL+B	Apply the Bold attribute (see Bold).

CTRL+I	Apply the Italic attribute (see Italic).

CTRL+C	Copy the selected region of text to the clipboard.

CTRL+L	Selects all characters in the line containing the text cursor.

CTRL+V	Paste text at the text cursor position (If the clipboard contains text)

CTRL+W	Swap the case of the character to the right of the text cursor.

RETURN	Start a new line of text.

DELETE	Delete the character to the right of the text cursor. If the cursor is on the end of a text line, join this line to the line below.

BACKSPACE 	Delete the character to the left of the text cursor. If the cursor is at the start of a text line, join this line to the line above.

SHIFT+cursor keys	Select all text between the cursor position and the beginning of the line.

SHIFT+END	Select all text between the cursor position and the end of the line.

For details of how to enter special characters with the Text Tool, see Typing international characters.


Loading files

Note the difference between Loading (which opens the drawing in a separate window) and Importing (which loads the drawing into the existing window).

To load a file

1. Click the Open button on the control bars.

2. Choose the location and file name of the file (see Open for details).

Tips

You can also load a file by dragging it from the Explorer (or File Manager) onto Xara Webster. Drop it onto the control bars or anywhere away from the document because if you drop it onto a document it will be imported into that document.

If you have loaded the file recently its name will be on the bottom of the File menu. Click to load it.

If the file is on the Xara Webster CD you can use the Clipart Gallery to load it. You can add your own files to the Clipart Gallery.

For a list of types of file Xara Webster can load, see List of Supported File Formats.

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Related Topics

Importing files


Making drawings lighter and darker

To find out how to lighten and darken your drawings, click the web link below.

Web Link

Making Drawings Lighter and Darker


Making text bold

Once you have created a text object, you can make all the characters in it bold, or just some of them. If you want to create a new text object in bold, just place the text cursor in the document and click the Bold button on the Text Tool Infobar.

To make text bold

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click the Bold button on the Infobar.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Making text italic

Once you have created a text object, you can make all the characters in it italic or just some of them. If you want to create a new text object in italic, just place the text cursor in the document and click the Italic button on the Text Tool Infobar.

To make text italic

1. Select the text you want to change (see Selecting text).

2. Choose the Text Tool.

3. Click the Italic button on the Infobar.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Menus and Buttons

Xara Webster has a standard Windows menu bar containing all the options additional to the Tools. Additionally Xara Webster has a wide range of default control bars available which provide buttons to access these options more easily.

List of Menus

List of Default Control Bars

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Related Topics

Control Bar Customization


Message: A bars settings file is invalid or corrupt

Cause

Xara Webster creates a file in your Windows directory to save the configuration of the control bars and Galleries.

XARAWBN.INI	Bars settings.

This error indicates that this files is corrupted or missing.

What Can I Do?

No action is necessary as clicking on OK recreates the corrupt or missing file using the default settings. This loses any customized control bar and gallery settings.


Message: Bitmap is being used within a document

Cause

You have attempted to delete a bitmap in the Bitmap Gallery that is currently being used within a loaded document.

What Can I Do?

Choose Delete to delete the bitmap from the gallery.  The bitmap is replaced in the document by the default bitmap.

Choose Cancel to keep the bitmap in the gallery.


Message: Bitmap too large

Cause

The bitmap you are trying to create is too large for Xara Webster. You can only export bitmaps up to 4,000 by 4,000 pixels.

What can I do?

This limit is fixed in Xara Webster. You can create even larger bitmaps using CorelXARA.


Message: Cannot close file

Cause

If the file is on a floppy disc, the disc may have been removed from the drive.

If the file is on a hard disc, the disc structure may be corrupt.

What Can I Do?

If the file is on a floppy disc, check the disc is correctly inserted in the drive.

If the file is on a hard disc, run your disc diagnostic utilities to check for a corrupted disc structure.


Message: Cannot create file

Cause

Xara Webster tried to create a file but did not succeed. This may be because:

The disc is full.

The drive is read-only (For example, a CD-ROM drive).

A file of that name already exists and is read-only.

You do not have write permission for the directory.

What Can I Do?

Check that the disc is not full - if it is, then choose another disc or delete some unwanted files from it.

Choose another name for the file, or another disc or directory.

Ask your system administrator to change your access permissions.


Message: Cannot read or write your initialization file

Cause

The initialization file, XARAWEB.INI, has been moved, deleted, or corrupted.

What Can I Do?

XARAWEB.INI should be in your Windows directory.  If it has been moved to another directory,  close Xara Webster and copy XARAWEB.INI into the Windows directory. Then rerun Xara Webster.

If XARAWEB.INI has not been moved, then it may be corrupted.  Close Xara Webster and delete the XARAWEB.INI file. Then rerun Xara Webster.  This creates a new initialization file with default settings.


Message: CorelDRAW version 6 files are not supported

Cause

You cannot load CorelDRAW 6 CDR files into Xara Webster.

What Can I Do?

Re-save the file from CorelDRAW in CMX 6 format (or CDR 5 or CMX 5).

Note that a CorelDRAW 6 file will load into Xara Webster if it contains a CMX file. To include a CMX file in a CDR file, select the "Include Presentation Data" in the Save dialog box in CorelDRAW.


Message: Could not locate the specified web page

Cause

This error occurs when Xara Webster cannot open a web page. This could be because it cannot find the weblink utility (installed along with Xara Webster) that opens web pages in your web browser or it could be because weblink cannot find your web browser.

Recommended Action

Reinstall Xara Webster

If this does not fix the problem, reinstall your web browser.


Message: Creating a new index

Cause

This message is displayed after attempting to create a new index for a folder.

What Can I Do?

Unless otherwise stated, the index and thumbnails will be placed in the XaraInfo subdirectory in the selected folder. This will require disc-space, and it is left up to you to delete this sub-directory if you require the space back. If this is OK, click Create, otherwise click Cancel.


Message: Creating remote indexes

Cause

This message is displayed when the selected folder is read-only, but does not have an index.

What Can I Do?

If you are creating an index and thumbnails and the specified location is OK, click Create. If you do not want to create an index there, click Cancel. Note that you can change the location which Xara Webster attempts to use for the remote indexes via the 'XARAWEB.INI' file which can be found in your Windows\System directory. Exit Xara Webster, load the 'XARAWEB.INI' file into a text editor, such as Notepad, and add a directory path to the line that starts "RemoteIndexLocation=". (For example if your remote indexes were being written to your Xara Webster directory, you'd have the following line in your ini file: "RemoteIndexLocation=C:\XaraWeb".) Save the edited ini file, and rerun Xara Webster.


Message: Document file is invalid

Cause

The file you tried to open or import is corrupt or has the wrong format.

What Can I Do?

Recreate the document file from a backup or from the original creating program.

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Related Topics

List of Supported File Formats


Message: Document is unsaved

Cause

You have tried to close a document, or exit Xara Webster when a document has changes that have not been saved to disc.

What Can I Do?

Click the Save button if you want to save your work.

Click the Don't Save button to discard the changes you have made to the document.

Click the Cancel button to cancel the close. This lets you continue running Xara Webster.


Message: Drawing is too large for CMX export

Cause

The drawing you are exporting is more than 40 inches across. You can only save drawings in CMX 5 format if they are smaller than 40 inches across.

What Can I Do?

You do not need to do anything. Xara Webster has automatically scaled your drawing so it fits.

If you do not want the drawing scaled, use another format like CMX 6 which does not have a limit on page size.


Message: Export entire work area?

Cause

If you try to export a document as a bitmap when there are no objects in the document, the bitmap is likely to be very large.

What Can I Do?

If you want to create the bitmap, click Export.

If you do not want to create the bitmap, click Don't Export.


Message: Failed to find the CD

Cause

This message is displayed when the 'Find CD' button is clicked in the Add folder dialog box, and the CD cannot be found.

What Can I Do?

Insert the CD, and click 'Find CD' again.


Message: Failed to locate gallery index

Cause

This message is displayed by Xara Webster not being able to find the index for a section in the gallery (for example if the directory it was contained in has been deleted or if you removed the CD).

What Can I Do?

Click Skip to ignore the error. The relevant gallery section will remain in the gallery, but you cannot open it or search it until the index is available.

Click Retry to force Xara Webster to look for the index again. This is particularly useful if you have put the CD in the drive.

Clicking Quiet will ignore all errors found and will leave all the sections in the gallery even if the index cannot be found.


Message: Failed to make transparency mask for GIF

Cause

The GIF file that was being imported or opened has been loaded correctly but it specifies that it requires transparency. When the transparency mask was being created, a problem was encountered and the process halted. Therefore, the GIF file will be displayed without the transparency mask. The reason for the failure is likely to be lack of memory.

What Can I Do?

Free up some memory by closing documents or quitting other applications and try loading the GIF file again.


Message: File already exists

Cause

You have tried to save or export to a file that already exists.

What Can I Do?

Click the Replace button to overwrite the existing file.

Click the Cancel button to abort the save or export. You can then repeat the operation using a different file name.


Message: File is read-only

Cause

Xara Webster attempted to write to:

a file that is read-only,

a read-only drive, such as a CD-ROM drive.

What Can I Do?

Use the Windows Explorer (or File Manager) to check if the file is read-only.  If it is, then the file's read-only status can be changed. (Although there may be a reason why the file is read-only - if in doubt, then contact your system administrator.) Alternatively, choose another file name or another disc drive.


Message: File not found

Cause

The document file name you typed in does not exist.

What Can I Do?

Check that the name, drive and directory path are correct.

Check that the file exists.


Message: File-sharing violation

Cause

Another process (or possibly, in the case of a file on a network, another user) has already claimed the file.

What Can I Do?

Often if you wait a few seconds for the other user to finish, you can write to the file yourself. If this fails, contact your system administrator.


Message: General failure to read or write a file

Cause

There may be a number of reasons why it is not possible to read or write the file.

If the file is on a floppy disc, the disc may have been removed from the drive.

If the file is on a hard disc, the disc structure may be corrupt.

What Can I Do?

If the file is on a floppy disc, check the disc is correctly inserted in the drive.

If the file is on a hard disc, run your disc diagnostic utilities to check for a corrupted disc structure.


Message: Internal error

Cause

A logical error in Xara Webster has been detected.

What Can I Do?

Please note the circumstances that led up to this message being displayed, and report the problem to Xara Ltd. You can email us with this address : websterbug@xara.com

If you click the Continue button you will usually be able to save your work and restart the program. It is highly recommended that you save the file to a different file name. It is possible the file created will be corrupt due to the internal error and saving the document to the same file name will delete the old version and possibly remove any chance of data recovery.

After saving the file, exit Xara Webster and restart.


Message: Invalid file name

Cause

You have entered an incorrect name for a file. Often this is because the file name contains characters that are not permitted in file names.

What Can I Do?

Different versions of Windows have different rules concerning what is valid in a file name.  Generally file names conforming to the MS-DOS convention will work on all versions of Windows.

MS-DOS file names consist of:

Up to 8 characters,

Followed by a period (.),

Followed by up to 3 characters (the extension).

Spaces, control characters, or punctuation marks are not permitted.

Windows NT and Windows 95 relax these rules, allowing file names up to 256 characters long that may contain spaces.  If your file name does contain spaces, you should surround it with double quotation marks, for example "this file name has spaces.xar"


Message: No library index file available

Cause

Index file not found for this folder.

What Can I Do?

Choose the correct directory path where the index file can be found, or click the Create button to make a new index file for the folder.


Message: Overrun/truncated file.

Cause

Xara Webster has tried to read a file that is incomplete. This usually means that it has been corrupted, possibly by canceling an earlier export.

What Can I Do?

Run your system's disc diagnostics - it may be possible to recover the rest of the file.


Message: Problems creating a new index

Cause

This message is displayed if creating a new index file ran into problems. Possible problems include running out of disc-space, or writing to a floppy disc which has just been taken out of the drive.

What Can I Do?

Ensure the disc is accessible and contains sufficient free space.


Message: Problems creating a thumbnail

Cause

This message is displayed when a problem occurs generating thumbnails for a file. This is likely to be because the type of files is not supported by Xara Webster. It is also possible the file is corrupt or has the wrong file extension.

What Can I Do?

Click OK to ignore this file, or Quiet to ignore all files with this problem. Stop will cause the index generation to cease.


Message: Program installation incomplete or corrupted.

Cause

Some of the components of Xara Webster were not installed, have been moved, or have been deleted. It is possible Xara Webster will not function correctly.

What Can I Do?

Replace the missing component or reinstall Xara Webster.


Message: Removing gallery sections

Cause

This message is displayed by one of the following :

Clicking Remove in the Clipart Gallery to delete a section from the gallery.

Xara Webster not being able to find the index for a section in the gallery (for example if the directory it was contained in has been deleted).

What Can I Do?

If you are trying to remove sections from the gallery, click Remove to delete them (Cancel to leave them).

If Xara Webster cannot find an index for a section, clicking remove will remove the affected sections (Cancel will leave them).


Message: Retain the clipboard contents after closing Xara Webster?

Cause

Some document objects have been placed on the Windows clipboard. On exit from Xara Webster, these objects may either be converted into a form suitable to be left on the clipboard, or can be discarded. Converting the objects may take some time and memory if there are a large number of objects.

What Can I Do?

Click the Keep button to keep the image of the objects in the clipboard after Xara Webster has closed. You can then paste them into another application.

Click the Discard button to discard the contents of the clipboard.


Message: Some fonts have been substituted

Cause

A document has been opened or imported which contains fonts you do not have installed on your system.

What Can I Do?

Open the Document Info dialog box and use the drop-down list of fonts to look for fonts listed with a ' * ' next to them, these are the fonts that have been substituted. You must install each of these fonts.

If you do not have the fonts used, you can apply a different font to the text objects (see Applying attributes to text) or leave them as they are.


Message: Some parts of the document could not be imported

Cause

Parts of an imported file cannot be converted to Xara Webster document format, for example an Adobe Illustrator complex graduated fill.

What Can I Do?

If you are familiar with the look of the original document, you can probably reconstruct the missing parts using the tools provided in Xara Webster.  You can then save the document as a Xara Webster document file.


Message: Spread too large

Cause

The values that have been entered into the work area width, height and margins fields in the Work Area Options to modify the current work area size mean that the height and/or width of the pasteboard is beyond what Xara Webster will cope with, which is about 275cm or about 9ft. The pasteboard is the gray area encompassing the work area and the margins around the outside.

The height of the pasteboard is always the total of the work area height and twice the size of the margin, as there is a margin above and below the work area.

What Can I Do?

Reduce the size of the width, height and margin fields so that the pasteboard size becomes less than the maximum.


Message: Text to search for is invalid

Cause

You have not entered any text to search for.

What Can I Do?

Repenter the text you wish to search for.


Message: The appropriate type of object is not selected

Cause

In Xara Webster, operations are often performed on objects that are selected.  You have tried to perform an operation when no object is selected, or the wrong kind of object is selected.

What Can I Do?

Select the object you wish to perform the operation on, then try the operation again.

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Related Topics

Selecting objects


Message: This document contains overlapping transparent objects

Cause

The document you are exporting contains transparent objects on top of one another. Exporting transparent objects to a CMX file when there are more than three transparent objects in a stack is likely to cause problems for other programs.

What Can I Do?

To limit the transparency to the lower three objects and export the other objects solid, click Limit.

To continue exporting and include all the transparent objects, click Continue. This may cause problems when you import the file into other programs.


Message: Unable to find any files to add to index

Cause

This message is displayed after attempting to generate an index for a directory with no recognized files that can be used in the relevant gallery.

What Can I Do?

Check the path is correct. Files are currently chosen by their extensions, if these are incorrect this may explain the problem.


Message: Unable to find folder

Cause

Cannot find the required folder / directory for the gallery.

What Can I Do?

If the folder is on the CD, and the CD is not in the CD drive, insert the CD and click Retry. If this is not possible, or the folder has been deleted, click Add to locate a new folder. Cancel will open a, possibly empty, gallery.


Message: Unable to find index

Cause

This message is displayed when an index is unavailable.

What Can I Do?

If the index is on the CD, and the CD is not currently in the CD drive, insert the CD and click Retry. If this is not possible, or the folder has been deleted, click Continue and the relevant folder will be removed from the gallery. Clicking Quiet will remove all the affected folders with no further warnings.


Message: Unable to update index

Cause

This message is displayed when you try and update a read-only index.

What Can I Do?

If the index is on a CD, it is not possible to update it - the entire folder must first be copied to a writable drive.

If the index is on a read-only network mount, copy the folder to a different drive or contact your system administrator.


Message: Web address is too long

Cause

The web address you have entered is too long. It must be less than 255 characters.

What Can I Do?

Use a shorter form of the address or an alternative address.


Message: Xara Font Not Found

Cause

This message is displayed if the XARAFONT.FON font has been de-installed. This font is required by Xara Webster to run.

What Can I Do?

Windows 95 and Windows NT 4 - Run the Windows Control Panel application to reinstall this font.  Double-click the 'Fonts' icon in Control Panel to display the fonts installed on your computer.  Choose the File/Install New Font... menu option to display a dialog box that will allow you to enter the directory path to the font.  When Xara Webster is installed, the font is copied to the Fonts subdirectory of your Windows directory.  If the font has been deleted from there, a backup copy of it can be found in the Xara Webster directory, where the Xara Webster program is located.

Windows 3.1x - Run the Windows Control Panel application to reinstall this font.  Double-click the 'Fonts' icon in Control Panel to display a dialog box that allows you to install or de-install fonts.  Click the Add button to display a dialog box box that will allow you to enter the directory path to the font.  When Xara Webster is installed, the font is copied to the System subdirectory of your Windows directory.  If the font has been deleted from there, a backup copy of it can be found in the Xara Webster directory, where the Xara Webster program is located.

Alternatively, reinstalling Xara Webster will solve the problem.


Message: You cannot edit library colors

Cause

PANTONE® colors cannot be edited.

What Can I Do?

To see the CMYK definitions of PANTONE® colors, change the Color Gallery to display colors in "Full information" mode. See Changing the way galleries look.

To edit a PANTONE® color - click Copy. This will place a copy of the color into your document, and allow you to edit the copy. Note that editing a PANTONE® color definition will render its appearance incompatible with the original PANTONE® Color, and so your printing bureau may not be able to correctly match the color.


Message: Your Initialization file is out of date

Cause

The initialization file, XARAWEB.INI, was created by an older version of Xara Webster.

What Can I Do?

Clicking Default recreates your initialization file so that it contains the standard settings. You lose the previous settings, such as the window position and the list of recently used files, as well as the settings set in the Options.

If you want to keep your existing settings, then click Current.  Any settings which apply to the new version of Xara Webster are merged into your existing initialization file.


Message: About to lose Undo information

Cause

You have changed the maximum size of the undo information buffer.  This will discard existing Undo information.

What Can I Do?

To discard the existing Undo information click the Resize button.

To make the Undo information buffer larger and hence preserve the existing Undo information, click Don't Resize and enter a higher value.


 Move Backwards (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+B

Moves every object in the selection backwards in the stack of objects in the drawing.

_______________

Related Topics

Moving objects backwards and forwards


 Move Forwards (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+F

Moves every object in the selection forwards in the stack of objects.

_______________

Related Topics

Moving objects backwards and forwards


Movies

We have created a set of movies for you to download off the Internet and watch which show you how to use Xara Webster. To go to the Movies, click the Web Link below.

Web Link

Xara Webster Movies


Movies (Help Menu)

This option displays the Movies page of Xara Webster help.


Moving and resizing galleries

You can move the galleries so that they do not obscure the part of the drawing you are working on. You can also resize them to see more or fewer entries.

To move a gallery

Do one of the following :

Drag the title bar of the gallery.

Drag the background of the gallery behind the buttons.

To resize a gallery

Drag the outer edge of the gallery as you would with any other resizeable window.


Moving between documents

You can have several Xara Webster documents loaded in memory at the same time. You can then view any of them in the window and swap between them.

To move between documents

At the bottom of the Window menu is a list of currently loaded documents. From this list select the name of document you want to view.

Tips

You can also cycle through the currently loaded documents by pressing CTRL+Tab.

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Related Topics

Viewing several document at once


Moving objects

Objects can be moved using the mouse, accurately using the Infobar or in small steps using the keyboard.

What do you want to do?

Move objects by dragging

Move objects accurately


Moving objects accurately

You often want to move objects around your document. Usually you can just drag them to the required position but sometimes you want to position them more accurately.

To move an object accurately

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. Do one of the following

Enter values in the Position Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Use the Position field arrow buttons on the Infobar to alter the values.

Tips

You can move objects using the cursor keys, see Nudging objects.

This moves the object within the document. To move between documents see Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard.


Moving objects backwards and forwards

Often you find to want to move objects in front of or behind other objects.

To move objects backwards or forwards

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

2. From the Arrange menu, choose

Bring to Front or Put to Back to move the object to the front or back.

Move Forwards or Move Backwards to step the object towards the front or back.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics


Moving objects by dragging

You often want to move objects around your document. Dragging is the easiest way to move them.

To move objects by dragging

1. Choose the Selector Tool (see Selecting objects).

2. Drag the object to the new position. If the object is part of the selection, the entire selection will move.

Moving objects using grid locking

When an object is moved with grid locking enabled the leading edge(s) of the bounding box of the selection will lock onto the nearest grid points. The normal operation of this feature is the same as with CorelDRAW. It is possible to force the object to remain at the same relative position on the grid as it is moved. To do this hold down ALT during the drag.

Tips

To constrain the move angle, hold the CTRL key down during the drag. Press CTRL after the mouse click  (otherwise the action will become a Select Inside operation).

To leave copies of the object as you move it, drag as normal, but click the right mouse button where you want each copy (or press ' +' on the number keypad).

To move the object but not any fill applied to it, press and release ' - ' on the number keypad during the drag. This is very useful if you want to move an object with a bitmap fill and you do not want the bitmap to move.

If you want to move the selected objects and for some reason you cannot drag them (for example  if they are obscured by other objects), ensure the objects are selected, move the pointer anywhere on the work area, press ALT+CTRL and drag. You can then release CTRL+ALT and move the objects as if you had dragged them normally.

If you want to move objects to a precise position, see Moving objects accurately.

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Related Topics

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


Moving the document

You can easily slide your drawing around the screen so you can see different parts of it.

To move the document

1. Choose the Push Tool.

2. Move the pointer over the work area and drag to slide the drawing around in the window.

Tip

You can also move the drawing using the scrollbars.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

_______________

Related Topic

Push Tool

Using the Push Tool temporarily


Moving the transformation center

When you rotate an object or skew an object (using the Infobar) the rotation or skew depends on the position of the transformation center. For example, if you want to rotate an object around its top left corner, you can move the transformation center to the top left corner of the object.

To move the transformation center

1. Ensure you are using the Selector Tool.

2. Change the selection handles to rotate/skew mode (see Switching selection handle mode).

3. Drag the transformation center to a new position. If you hold down CTRL whilst dragging the center, it will be constrained to the nine points shown on the Transformation Center Grid on the Selector Tool Infobar.

Tip

To move the transformation center quickly, just click on a square on the Transformation Center Grid on the Infobar to move the transformation center to a specific position on the selection.

Web Links

Rotating Objects

Skewing Objects

Scaling Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Rotating objects

Skewing objects


 New (File Menu)

 CTRL+N

New creates a new, blank document.


 New View (Window Menu)

New View opens another view on the current document. Changes in one view are reflected in all others. The Quality setting (see  Changing the screen quality of documents) can be different for different views.

New View is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

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Related Topics

Opening another view on a document


Nudging objects

You can move selected objects small distances by using the cursor keys (see Changing the nudge size).

To nudge an object

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Select the object (see Selecting objects).

3. Use the cursor keys to move the object.

Tips

To move ten times the nudge size, hold down SHIFT.

To move five times the nudge distance, hold down CTRL.

To move a fifth of the nudge distance hold down CTRL and SHIFT.

You nudge by individual screen pixels instead by holding down ALT or by ten pixels by holding down ALT+SHIFT.


OLE Overview

OLE provides a convenient way of incorporating Xara Webster drawings into suitable, OLE-compliant applications such as Microsoft Word. Another advantage of OLE is when you want to edit an embedded drawing. All you need do is double-click on the drawing in the Microsoft Word window. This loads the drawing into Xara Webster ready for you to edit it. When you finish, Xara Webster copies the drawing back to Microsoft Word keeping any custom values such as scaling. You can embed Xara Webster drawings into any OLE-compliant application.

To embed a drawing into an application

This describes how to embed a drawing into Microsoft Word; other applications will be similar.

In Xara Webster, select the objects you want to embed and drag them to Microsoft Word.

In Xara Webster copy part or all of the drawing to the clipboard. Then embed it into Microsoft Word using Paste Special on Word's Edit menu.

Create the drawing in the usual way and save it to disc. You can then insert it into Microsoft Word by choosing Object on Word's Insert menu. Select the Create from File tab and select the name of the file.

Create a new drawing from within Microsoft Word. Choose Object on Word's Insert menu. Select the Create New tab. Click Xara Webster Document. This opens a new Xara Webster window ready for you to create your drawing. When you finish the drawing, choose Exit and Return to Word on Xara Webster's File menu. This inserts the drawing into the Word document.

Tip

When you embed a Xara Webster document or Xara Webster objects in another program, the objects will look best when displayed at 100%. For example, if you embed some objects in a Microsoft Word document and then change the magnification in Word to 200%, the document will not look quite as good.

To edit an embedded Xara Webster drawing

Just double-click on the drawing in the application. This loads the drawing into Xara Webster ready for editing. When you finish editing, choose either Close and Return to (application) or Exit and Return to (application) on Xara Webster’s File menu.

Xara Webster menus and OLE

The File menu changes slightly when you are viewing an embedded drawing:

Save becomes Update. (The embedded drawing is automatically updated every 10-20 seconds. Update lets you update sooner if desired.)

Save as becomes Save Copy As. You can use this option to save a copy of the document.

Exit becomes Exit And Return To (Application). Choosing this updates the embedded document in the application and closes Xara Webster.

Close is either dimmed (if the embedded document is the only document) or becomes Close And Return To (Application). Choosing this updates the embedded document in the application; Xara Webster remains loaded in memory.


Object Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over an object, it contains the following options:

Cut

Copy

Paste

- - - - - - - - - -

Delete

Duplicate

Clone

- - - - - - - - - -

Create Bitmap Copy

- - - - - - - - - -

Web Address

Color Editor

Note

If you open the pop-up menu over a text object, the menu also has a 'Text Tool' item at the top which you can use as a quick way to get to the Text Tool.

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Related Topics

Pop-up Menus Overview


  Open (File Menu)

 CTRL+O

Opens an existing document or file in a supported format in a new window. Xara Webster can open a wide variety of file formats, for a full list, see the List of Supported File Formats. For information on how to open files, see Opening documents from disc.

If you click  .web file (or a .xar file), you will see a preview of it in the dialog box (if the file contains a preview).


Opening another view on a document

You can open more than one view on a document. This is useful so you can see different areas of the document in different views at the same time. You may also find it useful as you can have different settings for each view. For example you can set the Quality setting differently for each.

To open another document view

1. Click on the document.

2. From the Window menu, choose New View.


Opening documents from disc

When you want to edit a previous saved document, you must load it from disc.

To open a document from disc

1. From the File menu, choose Open.

2. Browse to the directory containing the document file.

3. To display only particular file formats, choose from the Files of type list. (If in doubt, choose All Files.)

4. Double-click on the file.

Tips

To open a document you have recently opened, choose the file name from the list at the bottom of the File menu.

You can also drag-and-drop the file onto Xara Webster from the Explorer (or File Manager) or double-click on it.

If you want to load a file into an existing document, use Import.

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Related Topics

Open

List of Supported file formats

Importing files


 Options (Utilities Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+O

Options on the Utilities menu brings up the Options dialog box from where the Xara Webster options are set. There are two types of option :

Program options

Options for the current document

When options apply only to the current document, the section of the Options dialog box will show the document name (for example 'Work Area options for map.web'). The program options are saved when you finish using Xara Webster whereas the document options are saved with the document.

The options are divided into the following sections :

General Options

Grid Options

Work Area Options


PNG Export Dialog Box

The PNG export bitmap dialog box is opened by selecting PNG as the exported file format from the Export dialog box. With it, you can set the size/resolution of the exported bitmap, the area to be exported and the number of colors in the bitmap. In addition Xara Webster also allows PNG files to contain simple transparency and interlacing. For details of how to create a PNG file, see Creating PNG files.

Bitmap Size and Resolution

Color Depth

Area to Save

Interlacing

Transparent

Palette

Dithering

Number of Colors in Palette


PNG Export Dialog Box - PNG Transparency

If transparency is enabled the bitmap will be 'transparent' in all areas not covered by a selected object. If the selection has been chosen then this will be only the visible and selected objects. This makes it easy to remove the white background from exported pictures and makes them ideal for publication on the World Wide Web.

If you create a transparent PNG file, one of the palette colors is used as the transparency. This means (for example) that a 2 color PNG file contains one color and transparency.

Note that PNG transparency has a different meaning to Xara Webster transparency. This process does not take into account any Xara Webster transparency applied to objects in the document.


 Paste (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+V

Paste copies objects from the clipboard into the center of the current view. The objects may originally have come from the same document, they may have come from another document loaded in Xara Webster or they may even have come from another document in another application. If the clipboard contains text, paste will place the text at the text cursor or overwrite the selected region (as appropriate).

Tips

You can paste an object into a document quickly by right clicking on the document to open the pop-up menu and selecting Paste.

The Paste menu item displays a brief description of what will be pasted, for example "Paste bitmap".

You can also use the key shortcut SHIFT+Insert to paste objects from the clipboard.

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Related Topics

Pasting objects from the clipboard


Paste Special Dialog Box

If when you Paste with data on the clipboard from another application and there is more than one format that the data could be transferred as, the Paste Special dialog box will appear giving you a chance to choose the specific format that you require Xara Webster to import. The highlighted format (always the top item in the list) is the one which is considered the "best" format to paste.

Choose the format which you prefer to paste, and then click the Paste button.

Alternatively, you may click Cancel to cancel the paste operation entirely.

Note

Once you have pasted into Xara Webster, the pasted data is remembered in order to make subsequent pastes faster (as importing some clipboard data formats can take some time). This means the Paste Special dialog box will not appear again until you copy new data to the clipboard from another application.

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Related Topics

Pasting objects from the clipboard


  Paste at Same Position

 CTRL+SHIFT+V

Paste at Same Position is identical to the normal Paste, but it pastes the clipboard contents into the same X-Y position on the work area as they were cut or copied from. This is useful for moving items between documents. (This applies only to objects cut or copied from Xara Webster.)

Pasting from Other Applications

Occasionally, when pasting into Xara Webster from another application, the data you are pasting can be transferred in several different formats. For example, text copied from Microsoft Word can be pasted as "unformatted text", or as a "Windows metafile picture". If this is the case, the Paste menu items will read Paste... and selecting it will open the Paste Special dialog box so you can choose how you want to transfer the data.

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Related Topics

Pasting objects from the clipboard


Pasting objects from the clipboard

You can put the contents of the clipboard into a Xara Webster document.

To paste objects from the clipboard

From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

The objects will be placed in the center of the Xara Webster window.

Tips

If you want to paste the objects in the same place you cut or copied them from, press CTRL+SHIFT+V (Paste at same position).

You can use copy, cut and paste to move objects between documents and programs.

Sometimes when you paste the contents of the clipboard into a Xara Webster document, it could be inserted using several different formats. If this is the case the Paste Special dialog box will appear so you can choose a format.

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Related Topics

Cutting and copying objects to the clipboard


Pop-up Menus Overview

Many commonly used Xara Webster functions can be found on the pop-up menu which appears when you right-click on a document. Pop-up menus are also available in other areas of Xara Webster, for example in the Galleries.

View Pop-up Menu

When you right-click where there are no objects (for example on the work area or the margin) the pop-up menu allows you to set up the document and the view onto it.

View Pop-up Menu

Object Pop-up Menu

When you right-click on an object the pop-up menu offers options for that object. Note that right-clicking on an unselected object will select it before showing the pop-up menu.

Object Pop-up Menu


 Previous Zoom

 CTRL+R

Previous Zoom takes you back to the last zoom magnification. It is a very useful way to switch between two magnifications.

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Related Topics

Returning to the previous zoom


Push Tool Overview
  Push Tool

The Push Tool lets you use the mouse to move a document within the window. The Infobar contains controls for zooming on the document.

 ALT+X or SHIFT+F8

Push Tool Infobar Controls

Zoom Magnification

Previous Zoom

Zoom To Drawing

Zoom To Selection

Zoom To Work Area

Push Tool Operations

Moving the document

Returning to the previous zoom

Zooming in and out

Zooming to the selection

Zooming to the whole drawing

Zooming to the work area

_______________

Related Topics

Using the Push Tool temporarily


 Put To Back (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+B

Moves every object in the selection to the back of the drawing.

_______________

Related Topics

Moving objects backwards and forwards


Putting Web files on WWW pages

Full information on how to embed Xara files in HTML for publication on the World Wide Web is included on the Xara web site.

Web Links

Xara Web Files and HTML

Creating Xara Web Files

Xara Web Format


Quality (Window Menu)

The Quality submenu on the Window Menu, the Quality slider on the control bars and the Quality buttons on the control bars allow you to alter the Quality setting (the way Xara Webster redraws documents). Low settings show the document in simple 'outline' mode and high settings give a full color, anti-aliased view. There are also buttons available (they not on the default control bars - see Control Bar Customization) for each of the four main settings.

The Quality setting is also used when bitmaps are exported from Xara Webster. i.e. if the Quality setting is low, any bitmaps exported will show the document in outline.

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Related Topics

Changing the quality setting


Removing bitmaps from a document

Unused bitmaps are automatically removed when you close the document. You can also manually remove a bitmap if you are running low on memory.

To remove a bitmap from a document

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Bitmap Gallery.

2. Select the bitmap you want to delete.

3. Click the Delete button in the gallery.

Tip

Deleting a bitmap from a document using Delete on the Edit menu will not remove it from the document completely. It will remain in the Bitmap gallery until you delete it or save the document.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Removing objects from groups

If you have several objects in a group, you can remove one of them without ungrouping them all.

To remove an object from a group

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. CTRL-click on the object in the group you want to remove.

3. From the Edit menu, choose Delete (or Cut if you want to move the object to the clipboard).

Tip

When you CTRL-click on an object, it is selected even if it is inside another object. This is called select inside.

Web Link

Selecting Objects

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Related Topics

Selector Tool


Removing transparency

If you have made an object transparent using the Transparency Tool, you can make it solid again by removing the transparency.

To remove the transparency from an object

1. Select the transparent object (see Selecting objects).

2. Choose the Transparency Tool.

3. Choose 'No Transparency' from the Transparency Shape Field on the Infobar.

Web Links

Transparency

Webster Movies - Transparency

_______________

Related Topics

Applying transparency

Transparency Tool


Removing web addresses from objects

If you have added a web address to an object, you can easily remove it.

To remove a web address from an object

1. Select the object (see Selecting objects). You can select more than one.

2. From the Utilities menu, choose Web Address.

3. Click the Remove button.

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Related Topics

Adding web addresses to objects


Reordering gallery items

Items in galleries can often be reordered simply by dragging the items within the gallery. The gallery contents can also be sorted from the Gallery Sort dialog box accessible from the Options button in the gallery.

Tips

You can also reorder sections within the galleries. See Reordering gallery sections.

You can sort the Color Gallery and the Clipart Gallery.


Reordering gallery sections

You may prefer to have the sections of the Clipart, Bitmap and Color Galleries in a different order.

To reorder a gallery section

Drag the title of the section in the gallery to its new position. The mouse pointer will show where the section will be positioned.

Tips

You can also reorder items within each section. See Reordering gallery items.


Returning to the previous zoom

Often you want to zoom into a particular part of a document and then return to the previous zoom value. Alternatively you might zoom out to view the entire drawing then return to the previous zoom value.

To return to the previous zoom

Click the Previous zoom button on the control bars

Tips

You can toggle between the two zoom values to zoom in and out onto your document.

You can also choose Previous from the Zoom drop-down menu on the control bars. (See Zoom Magnification.)

Previous Zoom is also available on the Zoom Tool and Push Tool Infobars.

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Related Topics

Zooming in and out

Zoom Tool

Previous Zoom


Rotating objects

Objects can be rotated about their center or about a movable transformation center (see Moving the transformation center) :

What do you want to do?

Rotate objects by dragging

Rotate objects accurately

Web Links

Rotating Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics


Rotating objects accurately

This method of rotating objects lets you specify a precise angular rotation.

To rotate objects accurately

1. Select the objects (see Selecting objects).

2. Enter the required rotation in the Rotation Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Tip

You can also use the arrow buttons on the Rotation Field on the Infobar to rotate the selection in small increments.

The objects will rotate around the transformation center.

Web Link

Rotating Objects


Rotating objects by dragging

This is an easy way of rotating objects as you can see the results as you drag.

To rotate objects by dragging

1. Select the object or objects.

2. Ensure the selection handles are in rotate/skew mode (see Switching selection handle mode).

3. Do one of the following

Drag the corner selection handles to rotate the selection around the transformation center.

SHIFT-drag the corner selection handles to rotate the selection about its center.

Tips

CTRL-drag to constrain the angle of rotation. See Changing the constrain angle.

To leave copies of the object as you rotate it, drag as normal, but click the right mouse button where you want each copy (or press ' +' on the number keypad).

To rotate the object but not any fill applied to it, press and release NumPad '-' during the drag. This is useful if you want to rotate an object with a bitmap fill and not rotate the bitmap.

Web Link

Rotating Objects

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Related Topics

Selecting objects

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


 Save (File Menu)

 CTRL+S

Save saves the current document to disc as a Xara .web file. The current document is saved to the same file that it was opened from or saved to. If the document is a new document that has not yet been saved, the Save As dialog box will appear asking what file name you would like to use and where you want to save the file. for more information on creating Xara web files, click the web link below.

Web Link

Creating Xara Web Files

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Related Topics

Saving documents


 Save As (File Menu)

The Save As dialog box allows you to save the current document as a Xara .web file to a named file. The new file can simply be another file in the same folder or you can change the drive and folder so the document is saved in a completely different place. If you want to save the document in a format other than .web, use Export on the File menu.

You can set some options when you save a .web file. Click the Options button to see them (click the Help button in the Options dialog box for more information).

If you click on a .web file (or a .xar file), you will see a preview of it in the dialog box (if the file contains a preview).

If you are editing a drawing which is embedded in a document in another program, this menu item will read Save Copy As. Selecting it allows you to save a copy of the drawing to disc without affecting the way it is embedded in the document in the other program.

Web Link

Creating Xara Web Files

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Related Topics

Saving documents


Save Options Dialog Box

Xara Web format is a compact but editable vector graphics format. For more information about web files, see the Xara Web Files Overview. For information on creating Xara Web files, see Creating Xara Web files.

When you export a Web file, you have several options which allow you to remove information from the Web file to make it even smaller.

Convert text to outlines

Convert blends to outlines

Remove preview bitmap

JPEG Quality Slider

Area to View


Save Options Dialog Box - Area to View

The area to view sets the outline of the area to be shown when the .web file is displayed. For example, if you choose Selection, when you display the Xara Web file on a web page, the selected objects will fill the whole web file area.


Save Options Dialog Box - Convert Blends to Outlines

If you select this option, any blends in your drawing will be converted to simple outlines.

At the time of writing (February 1997), Version 2 of Xara Ltd's Netscape and Internet Explorer plug-in renderer is on beta release. The current beta cannot display blends and so Webster includes this option to allow you to create graphics that can be displayed. The release version of the plug-in will display blends.


Save Options Dialog Box - Convert text to outlines

The person viewing your .web file may not have the same fonts as you. Selecting this option converts all text in fonts other than Times, Arial and Courier (which all computers should have) to simple editable shapes. This makes the file larger but means that the viewing program will display the text correctly. Note that converting text to outlines means you cannot load the .web file and use the Text Tool to edit converted text.


Save Options Dialog Box - JPEG Quality Slider

When you save a document all the 1 bit and 4 bit bitmaps in the document are automatically compressed using lossless compression and all 8 bit and 24 bit bitmaps are compressed using JPEG compression. JPEG is a more efficient way of compressing bitmaps of this type but it does discard some information in the process. This is generally not noticeable, especially when using high JPEG Quality settings.

When you save a document, all the 8-bit and 24-bit bitmaps in the document which have not already been converted to JPEG bitmaps will be converted before they are placed in the file. The JPEG Quality slider controls the amount of compression. Low values give the greatest compression but the most information loss. If you set the value to the highest, the bitmaps will not compress so well, but will be very high quality. The slider will be dimmed if there are no bitmaps in the document that can be compressed using JPEG compression.

Important: Once you have exported a Web file, you cannot reload it and export it again at a different JPEG Quality setting as all the suitable bitmaps will have been converted to JPEG bitmaps already. When you re-export a file like this all the JPEG bitmaps stay the same. Bitmaps are never recompressed using JPEG compression as this will cause the image to become distorted. So until you have the JPEG quality setting at the level you want, remember to keep the document loaded.

Tip

If you want to change the JPEG Quality for an individual bitmap, export it from Xara Webster as a JPEG file from the Bitmap Gallery. In the JPEG Export dialog box, deselect the Use Original JPEG option and vary the JPEG Quality until you get the file size you want at the quality level you want. You can then re-import the bitmap and export the Web file.


Save Options Dialog Box - Remove Preview Bitmap

Xara Webster .web files include a preview bitmap which adds about 5KB to the size of the file. The advantage of including a preview bitmap is that, for example, the Clipart Gallery and Open dialog box can show a thumbnail of the document. If you want very small files, select this option.


Saving bitmaps from a document

You can save out any bitmap that is in a document.

To save a bitmap from a document

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Bitmap Gallery.

2. Select the bitmap you want to save.

3. Click the Save button.

Tips

You cannot make any changes to the color or size of the bitmap.

This covers exporting an existing bitmap. You can also export any part of your document as a bitmap. See Creating bitmaps.

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Related Topics

Bitmap Gallery


Saving documents

Documents are saved by writing them to disc. The first time you save a document, you must give it a name and say which directory to save it in. For subsequent saves Xara Webster remembers the document name and directory.

To save a document

1. Make sure the document you wish to save is the current document. If it is not, click on it.

2. From the File menu, choose Save.

If you have not saved the document before, the Save As dialog box appears. You can then name the document and specify which directory to save it in.

Tips

To save a document using a different name, choose Save As from the File menu. This lets you create backups of your documents.

To save all the open documents, choose Save All from the File menu.

To save the document in a different file format, use Export on the File menu.


Scaling objects

Objects can be scaled either by dragging with the mouse or more accurately using the controls on the Selector Tool Infobar :

What do you want to do?

Scale objects by dragging

Scale objects accurately

Web Links

Scaling Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics


Scaling objects accurately

This method of scaling objects gives you precise size control.

To scale objects accurately

1. Select the object(s) to be scaled (see Selecting objects).

2. Enter the required scaling (%) in the Scaling Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Tips

To lock or unlock the aspect ratio of the selection select the Lock Aspect Ratio button on the Infobar.

You can also enter values in the Dimensions Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

You can also use the arrow buttons on the Scaling Field on the Infobar to change the scaling in small increments.

Web Link

Scaling Objects


Scaling objects by dragging

This is an easy way of scaling objects as you can see the results as you drag.

To scale objects by dragging

1. Select the objects to be scaled (see Selecting objects).

2. Ensure selection handles are in Scale Mode (see Switching selection handle mode).

3. Do one of the following

Drag a corner selection handle to scale away from the opposite corner.

SHIFT-drag a corner selection handle to scale around the center.

Drag a side selection handle to stretch in one direction.

SHIFT-drag a side selection handle to stretch in both directions.

Tips

If you select the Lock Aspect Ratio button on the Infobar, the aspect ratio of the selected object is locked when you scale using the corner handles.

To leave copies of the object as you scale it, drag as normal, but click the right mouse button where you want each copy (or press ' +' on the number keypad).

To scale the object but not any fill applied to it, press and release ' - ' on the number keypad during the drag. This is useful if you want to scale an object with a bitmap fill and not scale the bitmap.

Web Link

Scaling Objects

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Related Topics

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


Searching a gallery

The Clipart Gallery contain hundreds a large number of pictures. You can easily search all of them for items of interest.

To search a gallery

1. Click the Options button in the gallery.

2. Choose Find from the menu to open the Gallery Find dialog box.

3. Type in the text to search for.

4. Choose whether you wish to search just the names and keywords.

5. Click the Find First button to find the first match.

Click the Find Next button to continue searching.

Tips

For more information on the search options, click the Help button in the dialog box.

You can also search the Bitmap Gallery.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Control Bars and Galleries

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery

Galleries Overview


See ...

You have chosen a "see..." item from the index.

If you see an item in the index that reads "see...", the information is listed under another heading. Use the scrollbars to move to the item it suggests. For example, if the index reads "control bars, see bars" move up the index until you find "bars".

To go back to the index, click the Index button at the top of this window.


See also ...

You have chosen a "see also ..." item from the index.

If you see an item in the index that reads "see also...", there is more information listed under another heading. Use the scrollbars to move to the item it suggests. For example, if the index reads "elliptical fills, (see also) fills" down up the index until you find "fills".

To go back to the index, click the Index button at the top of this window.


 Select All (Edit Menu)

 CTRL+A

Select All selects (see selection) every object in the current document.

Note

The CTRL+A key shortcut functions differently when the Text Tool has been chosen.

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Related Topics

Selecting objects


Selecting a single object

Selecting an object is usually the first step in changing one or more of its attributes.

To select a single object

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Click on the object.

  Click to select the object under the mouse pointer

Tip

Often you don't need to select an object. For example, you can change its color by drag-and-dropping the color from the Color Gallery.

Web Links

Selecting Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Selector Tool

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


Selecting all objects

This is a quick way to select all the objects in your document. See Selecting objects for details of how to select individual objects.

To select all objects

From the Edit menu, choose Select All.


Selecting characters in text objects

This lets you select one character from a line of text.

To select a character in text objects

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Click on the text object to select it.

3. Do one of the following :

CTRL-click on the character ,

ALT+CTRL-click on the character twice. The first click selects the line, the second click selects the character.

Tips

You can also select a character by selecting a region of the text object with only one character in it. See Selecting part of a text object.

When a text character is selected, the Text Tool Infobar shows the attributes applied to it.

A selected region of text remains selected even after a tool other than the Text Tool has been chosen. This makes it simple to apply fills and transparency to selected text regions.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text


Selecting items in a gallery

With Galleries you can perform operations on their contents (for example deleting bitmaps). Before these operations can be applied, the items in the gallery must be selected. Selected items are highlighted.

Selecting a Single Item

Click on the item

Selecting Several Items

1. Click on the first item

2. CTRL-click on each subsequent item

Selecting a Block of Items

1. Click on the first item in the block

2. SHIFT-click on the last item in the block. This selects all items between the first and last.

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Related Topics

Galleries Overview


Selecting lines of text in text objects

This lets you select a single line of text in a text object.

To select a line of text

1. Choose the Text Tool.

2. Place the pointer over the line of text.

3. Triple-click.

Tips

When a region of text is selected, the Text Tool Infobar shows the attributes applied to the region.

A selected region of text remains selected even after a tool other than the Text Tool has been chosen. This makes it simple to apply fills and transparency to selected text regions.

You can also use the Selector Tool. Click on the text object to select it, then ALT+CTRL-click on the line to select it inside.

In the Text Tool click in the text object. Then press CTRL+L to select all characters in the current line. See the List of Text Tool keyboard shortcuts for a complete list.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Text Tool Overview


Selecting objects

When you want to change an object, you will normally have to select it. Objects are selected and deselected using the Selector Tool. When an object is selected selection handles are displayed on and around the selection. For information on more advanced ways to select objects, click the Web Link below.

What do you want to do?

Select a single object

Select several objects

Deselect objects

Web Links

Selecting Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Using the Selector Tool temporarily

Selector Tool


Selecting part of a text object

By using different options you can select either the whole text object or just a part of it, even down to a single character.

To select part of a text object

1. Choose the Text Tool

2. Do one of the following :

To select characters, click and drag over them.

To select a word, double click on it.

To select all the characters on a line, CTRL-click on it.

To extend a select region, SHIFT-click either side of it.

Move the text cursor to one end of the required region. Hold down SHIFT and use the cursor keys to select the required region.

Press CTRL+L to select all characters in the line containing the text cursor.

Press CTRL+A to select all characters in the text object.

Click in the text to insert the cursor at the start of the region and SHIFT-click at the end of the required region.

Tips

When a region of text is selected, the Text Tool Infobar shows the attributes applied to the region.

A selected region of text remains selected even after a tool other than the Text Tool has been chosen. This makes it simple to apply fills and transparency to selected text regions.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text


Selecting several objects

Xara Webster lets you select multiple objects. You can then, for example, move them all in one operation.

To select several text objects

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Do one of the following :

Drag from an empty part of the work area to form a rectangle that envelopes all the required objects. When you release the mouse button all the objects entirely contained within the rectangle will be selected.

Click on the first object you wish to select and SHIFT-click on each subsequent object to swap it from not being selected to being selected.

Tip

SHIFT-clicking swap the object under the mouse pointer between selected and not selected.

Web Links

Selecting Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topics

Selecting all objects

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


Selecting text

What do you want to do ?

Select a whole text object

Select a line of text in text object

Select characters in a text object

Select part of a text object

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text


Selecting text objects

This selects the entire text object.

To select a text object

Depending on which tool is currently selected, do one of the following:

In the Selector Tool, click on the text object.

In the Text Tool, click in the text object and press Escape.

Tips

When text is selected, the Text Tool Infobar shows the attributes applied to the region.

In the Text Tool you can also drag from the start of the text object to the end.

Web Link

Webster Movies - Text

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Related Topics

Selector Tool

Text Tool


 Selector Tool - Dimensions Field

The Dimensions Field on the Selector Tool Infobar shows the dimensions of the selection. Its values alter dynamically if you scale or stretch the selection.

You can also resize the selection by :

Typing into the fields and pressing RETURN,

Clicking the arrow buttons.

If you select the Lock Aspect Ratio button, the ratio between the Width and Height is fixed.

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Related Topics

Selector Tool

Stretching objects

Scaling objects

Units Overview


 Selector Tool - Flip Buttons

The Flip buttons on the Selector Tool Infobar flip the selection either vertically or horizontally. Both horizontal and vertical flips reflect the selection about the transformation center. This will usually pass through the center of the object unless it has been moved.

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Related Topics

Flipping Objects


 Selector Tool - Lock Aspect Ratio Button

The Lock Aspect Ratio button on the Selector Tool Infobar locks the aspect ratio of the selected objects when you scale them using the corner selection handles. When the button is pressed in, the ratio is locked. When the button is pulled out, the height and width of the selection can be altered independently.

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Related Topics

Scaling objects

Stretching objects


 Selector Tool - Position Field

The Position Field on the Selector Tool Infobar shows the coordinates of the bottom left corner of the bounding box of the selection relative to the bottom left corner of the work area. It updates dynamically as you drag the selection.

You can also move the selection by :

Typing into the fields and pressing RETURN,

Clicking the arrow buttons.

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Related Topics

Moving objects

Units Overview


 Selector Tool - Rotate/Skew Mode Button

The Rotate/Skew Mode Button on the Selector Tool Infobar sets the mode of the selection handles around the selection. When the button is pressed in, the selection handles are in Rotate/Skew mode and when the button is pulled out selection handles are in scale mode. Clicking on a selected object with the Selector Tool chosen will swap the selection mode between Rotate/Skew mode and Scale mode - this is usually easier than using the Rotate/Skew mode button. For more details, see Switching selection handle mode.

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Related Topics

Selector Tool

Rotating objects

Scaling objects

Stretching objects

Skewing objects


 Selector Tool - Rotation Field

The Rotation Field on the Selector Tool Infobar lets you rotate the selection. To rotate the selection :

Type a value in degrees into the field and press RETURN.

Click the arrow buttons.

Positive angles rotate the selection anti clockwise; negative angles clockwise. The rotation is centered around the transformation center. This will usually be in the center of the selection unless it has been moved.

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Related Topics

Rotating objects


 Selector Tool - Scaling Field

The Scaling Field on the Selector Tool Infobar is used to scale the selection. Entering a value into the field and pressing RETURN scales the currently selected objects.

The Lock Aspect Ratio button to the right of the Scaling Field locks the aspect ratio of the selected objects. What this means is changing one of the scaling vales will change the other by an equal amount so the objects are the same shape. This lets you scale objects without distorting them. To scale just the width or height of the selection, turn aspect ratio off.

The scaling is centered around the transformation center. This will usually be in the center of the selection unless it has been moved.

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Related Topics

Scaling objects

Stretching objects


 Selector Tool - Skew Field

The Skew Field on the Selector Tool Infobar is used to skew the selection. To skew the selection :

Type a skew angle and press RETURN.

Click the arrow buttons to skew the selection.

Positive values skew the selection above the transformation center to the right. Negative values skew the selection above the transformation center to the right. The skew takes place along a horizontal line through the transformation center. This will usually mean a horizontal line through the center of the selection unless you have moved the transformation center.

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Related Topics

Skewing Objects


 Selector Tool - Transformation Center Grid

You can use the Transformation Center Grid on the Selector Tool Infobar to move the transformation center. Clicking on one of the nine buttons moves the transformation center to the equivalent position on the selection. For example, pressing the central button moves the transformation center to the center of the selection. For more details, see Moving the transformation center.

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Related Topics

Selector Tool

Rotating objects

Skewing objects

Flipping objects


Selector Tool Overview
 Selector Tool

The Selector Tool is the primary tool in Xara Webster. It is used for selecting, rotating, moving, skewing, stretching, flipping and scaling objects as well as other editing.

The Selector Tool displays selection handles which you can use to easily rotate, scale and skew the objects you have selected.

 F2 or SPACEBAR or ALT+S

Selector Tool Infobar Controls

Rotate/Skew Mode or Scale Mode

Transformation Center Grid

Position

Dimensions

Scaling

Lock Aspect Ratio

Rotation

Skew

Flip

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

Selector Tool Operations

Switching selection handle mode

Selecting objects

Moving objects

Rotating objects

Scaling objects

Flipping objects

Stretching objects

Skewing objects

Using the Selector Tool temporarily

Moving the transformation center


Setting document options

This lets you change the options for documents loaded in Xara Webster.

To set document options

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Options. See Options for details on the settings available.

2. Change the options as required.

3. Save the document.

Tip

Some of the options in the Options dialog box refer to a specific document and some are general options which apply to the program. The ones that apply to the document have the document name written above them.


Setting program options

Program options affect how Xara Webster works.

To set program options

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Options. See Options for details on the settings available.

2. Change the options as required.

Tip

Some of the options in the Options dialog box refer to a specific document and some are general options which apply to the program. The ones that apply to a specific document have the document name written above them.


 Show Grid (Window Menu)

  #

Show Grid sets whether or not the grid is displayed. A tick next to the option denotes that the grid is shown. For more details, see Displaying the grid.

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Related Topics

Enabling grid snapping


Skewing objects

Objects can be skewed along their edges, along a line parallel to their edges passing through the center of the selected objects or along a line parallel to their edges passing through the transformation center, either using the mouse or, accurately, using the Infobar.

What do you want to do ?

Skew objects by dragging

Skew objects accurately

Web Links

Skewing Objects

Webster Movies - The Basics


Skewing objects accurately

This method of skewing objects gives you precise control.

To skew objects accurately

1. Choose the Selector Tool.

2. Select the objects to be skewed.

3. Move the transformation center onto the required horizontal skew axis.

4. Do one of the following :

Enter a skew angle (in degrees) in the Skew Field on the Infobar and press RETURN.

Use the Skew field arrow buttons on the Infobar.

Web Link

Skewing Objects

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Related Topics

Moving the transformation center


Skewing objects by dragging

1. Select the objects to be skewed (see Selecting objects).

2. Ensure the selection handles are in Rotate/Skew mode (see Switching selection handle mode).

3. Do one of the following :

Drag the side selection handles to skew the object with opposite side used as a base line.

SHIFT-drag the side selection handles to skew the selection about its center.

Tips

The skew angle (see General Options) can be constrained by pressing CTRL during the drag.

To leave copies of the object as you skew it, drag as normal, but click the right mouse button where you want each copy (or press '+' on the number keypad).

To skew the object but not any fill applied to it, press NumPad ' - ' during the drag. This is useful if you want to skew an object with a bitmap fill without skewing the bitmap.

Web Link

Skewing Objects

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Related Topics

Using the Selector Tool temporarily


 Snap to Grid (Window Menu)

 Number Keypad  '.'

Snap to Grid sets whether or not objects drawn will automatically lock onto the grid in the document.

If the option is selected, items will lock onto the grid. Snap to Grid is also available from the View Pop-up Menu.

Tip

The key shortcut only works if NumLock is enabled on your keyboard.

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Related Topics

Enabling grid snapping

Displaying the grid


Standard Control Bar

New

Open

Save

Delete

Undo

Redo

Zoom Magnification

Previous Zoom

Zoom To Drawing

Line Width

Color Editor

Quality

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


Status Line Overview

The Status Line shows you what objects you have selected and described what you can do next. If you perform a longer operation, the Status Line will show you its progress. You can change the size of the Status Line using Control Panel (see Customizing the appearance of Xara Webster). The Status Line is an ideal companion to learning how to use Xara Webster.

Mouse Position

The Status Line also shows the current position of the mouse pointer in the document relative to the bottom left-hand corner of the work area. The position is displayed in pixels.


Stretching objects

You can stretch objects by either scaling or skewing them.

What do you want to do?

Scale objects

Skew objects


Switching selection handle mode

Selection handles allow basic manipulation of the selected objects. They operate in two modes, Scale Mode and Rotate/Skew Mode. The former allows the selection to be scaled and stretched and the latter allows it to be rotated and skewed.

To swap selection handle mode

Click the Rotate/Skew Mode Button button on the Selector Tool Infobar.

or

Click on one of the objects in the selection.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics


Technical Support

Registered owners of Xara Webster can get free technical support from Xara Ltd. For more details, click the web link below.

Web Links

Technical Support


 Text Tool - Bold Button

When this button on the Text Tool Infobar is depressed, the Bold attribute is applied to the text. For more information, see Making text bold.

 CTRL+B

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Text Tool is the current tool.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Center Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text. When it is depressed, the text is centrally aligned around the point where you started typing. For more information, see Justifying text.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Font Field

This field on the Text Tool Infobar shows the current text font (typeface). Choose from the drop-down list to change the font. For information on changing the text font, see Changing text font.

On the left-hand side of the font is an indicator which shows the format of the font :

Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Type 1

TrueType

If a font is listed with a ' * ' displayed next to it, this means the font required for the current document cannot be found. This may be due to it not being installed on your system or the font file being corrupt. It may be possible to solve this problem by reinstalling the font. For a full list of fonts used in a document, see Document Info.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Font Size Field

This field on the Text Tool Infobar shows the current point size of text. For information on changing the size of text, see Changing the size of text. You can type values into this field in any unit, e.g. "2cm".

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Related Topics

Units Overview

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Italic Button

When this button on the Text Tool Infobar is depressed, the Italic  (slanted) attribute is applied to the text. For more information, see Making text italic.

 CTRL+I

Note

The keyboard shortcut only works when the Text Tool is the current tool.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Left Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text. When it is depressed, the text is justified so that its left-hand edge is aligned with the point where you started typing. For more information, see Justifying text.

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Related Topics

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Line Spacing and Tracking

Line Spacing

This control on the Text Tool Infobar changes the spacing between lines in text objects. It always affects entire lines of text, so if you change the line spacing of a selected section of a text object, it will affect all the lines the selection covers. For more information, see Changing the spacing between lines of text

Baseline Shift

Changing the baseline shift of part of a text object text moves it vertically. See Changing the baseline shift of text for more information. You can type values into this field in any unit, e.g. "2cm".

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Related Topics

Units Overview

Text Tool


 Text Tool - Right Justification Button

This button on the Text Tool Infobar sets the justification of text. When it is depressed, the text is justified to the right of the point where you started typing. For more information, see Justifying text.

_______________

Related Topics

Text Tool


Text Tool Overview
  Text Tool

With the Text Tool you can create text objects consisting of one or many lines of text and alter existing text objects. With the Text Tool selected, the Infobar shows the text attributes of the selected objects.

 F8

If there is a selected region of text, any change to a text attribute applies to that region.

Otherwise, the change applies at the text cursor. Start typing and the text appears with the changed attribute.

If there is a selected region of text, the Infobar shows the attributes that apply to the region. If multiple values for one attribute have been applied, the field is blank, for example if the selected region includes both 10pt and 12pt text, the Font Size field is blank. When the cursor is visible, the Infobar shows the attributes that will apply when you type a character.

Text Tool Infobar Controls

Font

Font Size

Bold

Italic

Left Justification

Center Justification

Right Justification

Line Spacing and Baseline Shift

Text Tool Operations

Creating text.

Editing text

Selecting text

Applying attributes to text

Typing international characters

Changing text font

Changing the size of text

Making text bold

Making text italic

Justifying text

Changing the spacing between lines of text

Changing the baseline shift of text

List of Text Tool key shortcuts


Timing Xara Webster redraw

To find out how to time how long Xara Webster takes to redraw a document, click the web link below.

Web Link

Timing Redraw


Tip of the Day (Help Menu)

Choosing Tip of the Day from the Help menu opens the Tip of the Day dialog box containing a tip on how to use Xara Webster.

Tell Me More

Clicking this button will take you from the Tip of the Day dialog box to a page in the Xara Webster help which explains the tip in more detail.

Next Tip

Clicking this button takes you to another tip.

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Related Topics

Turning Tip of the Day on and off


Tools

Tools are the main method of drawing objects and editing your documents. When you choose a tool, it customizes the Infobar to show information and controls relevant to that tool. For example, when you choose the Text Tool, the Infobar only shows text controls.

The currently chosen tool defines which actions can be performed on the document. The following are the buttons used to choose Tools; they are displayed on the Toolbar.

Selector Tool

Transparency Tool

Text Tool

Push Tool

Zoom Tool

To remove a Tool button from the Toolbar, ALT-drag it and drop it away from the control bars. If you like you can copy or move Tool buttons to other control bars. For more details, see Control Bar Customization.


Transparency Tool - Transparency Fill Type Field
 Transparency Tool - Transparency Shape Field

Transparency Shape field is always present on the Transparency Tool Infobar. It sets the transparency shape of the currently selected objects.

The options available are :

No Transparency

Flat Transparency

Linear transparency

Circular transparency

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Related Topics

Transparency Tool


 Transparency Tool - Transparency Level Slider

You can alter the transparency level by dragging the slider. As you move the slider, the transparency level changes interactively.

Tip

These controls are only displayed on the Transparency Tool Infobar for some types of transparency.


Transparency Tool Overview
  Transparency Tool

With the Transparency Tool you can give objects levels of transparency using flat, linear or circular transparency.

 F6

Transparency Tool Infobar Controls

Transparency Shape

Transparency Level

Transparency Tool Operations

Applying transparency

Removing transparency

Web Link

Transparency

Notes

Using transparent objects in drawings will result in slower redraw.


Turning Tip of the Day on and off

When you start Xara Webster the Tip of the Day dialog box appears showing a tip on how to use the program. If you do not want to see Tip of the Day every time you start Xara Webster, you can turn it off.

To turn Tip of the Day off

When the Tip of the Day dialog box appears, deselect the "Show tips on startup" option.

To turn Tip of the Day on

1. From the Help menu, choose Tip of the Day.

2. Select the "Show tips on startup" option.


Typing international characters

To find out how to type international and accented characters with Xara Webster, click the web link below.

Web Link

Typing International Characters

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Related Topics

Text Tool


Undo and Redo (Edit Menu)

Undo

 CTRL+Z or '<'

Any changes you make to a Xara Webster document can be undone. The recorded undo information is not saved with the document and so, if you save a document and later reload it you will no longer be able to undo changes you made before the Save.

Redo

 CTRL+Y or '>'

At any time when you have Undone some changes you can choose to redo them again. This is very useful because it gives you the ability to change your mind about an edit as many times as you like.

Undo and Redo always show a brief description of what will be undone or redone. For example "Undo Delete".

Note

The < and > key shortcuts do not work when the Text Tool has been chosen.


Undoing and redoing operations

As you make changes to your drawing you can undo them to return to an earlier stage. You can also redo changes which you have undone.

To undo and redo operations

1. Select the document where you want to undo or redo operations.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Undo or Redo.

Tip

However far you go back through undo steps, as soon as you edit the document yourself you will no longer be able to redo any of those steps.


 Ungroup (Arrange Menu)

 CTRL+U

Ungroup separates all selected groups into their constituent objects.

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Related Topics

Ungrouping objects

Grouping objects


Ungrouping objects

This separates objects currently joined as a group. for details on how to select an object inside a group, click the web link below.

To ungroup objects

1. Select the group.

2. From the Arrange menu, choose Ungroup.

Web Link

Selecting Objects

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Related Topics

Grouping objects

Removing objects from groups


Units Overview

Xara Webster has a high level of support for units of measurement. Units are used widely throughout the program. Whenever a field is visible showing a measurement in units, you can type in a value using any unit of the supported units. For example, you can type "10pix", "2pt" or "4cm" into the Font Size field on the Text Tool Infobar. The default Xara Webster units are :

"pix"	Pixels (1/96 inch). Page measurements are always shown in pixels in Xara Webster.

"mm"	Millimeters

"cm"	Centimeters

"m"	Metres

"in"	Inches

"ft"	Feet

"yd"	Yards

"pt"	Points      (1,000 mp or 1/72 inch)

"pi"	Picas       (12,000 mp 1/6 inch)

"mp"	Millipoints (1/72,000 inch)

"mi"	Miles

"km"	Kilometers

With the full CorelXARA package, you can create your own custom units in addition to these.


Updating the Clipart Gallery

You can update the web clipart in the Clipart Gallery and also the web clipart (to see if any new clipart has been added to the Xara Ltd. web site).

To update your own clipart

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Clipart Gallery.

2. Click on the heading of the section you want to update. You can CTRL-click on additional sections.

3. Click the Add button.

4. Click the Update button.

Updating the web clipart

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Clipart Gallery.

2. Click the Web Clipart button.

Any new clipart that has been added to the Xara Ltd. web site will be added to the gallery. You can tell which ones have been added because the folder contains the word 'New".

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Related Topics

Clipart Gallery

Adding clipart to the clipart gallery


Use Help From CD (Help Menu)
Use HelpPages and Movies From CD (Help Menu)

Throughout Xara Webster's help are Web Links which you can click to open Xara Webster help pages on the Internet. If you have installed Xara Webster from a CD, you can select this option so Xara Webster does not connect to the Internet, but takes the help web pages and movies from the Xara Webster CD. Remember to put the Xara Webster CD in your CD drive before you click any Web Links.

If you select this option, both the Movies and Webster Help Pages items on the Xara On the Web submenu (on the Help menu) will work without connecting to the Internet.

Note

This option is not present unless you have installed Xara Webster from a CD.


Using the Background Textures

The web clipart for Xara Webster includes some bitmaps you can use as textured backgrounds for your web pages. to find out how to use them, click the web link below.

Web Link

Using the Background Textures


Using the Push Tool temporarily

The Push Tool can be used temporarily - alleviating the need to manually choose the previous tool afterwards.

To use the Push Tool temporarily

1. Press and hold down ALT+X to swap to the Push Tool.

2. Use the Push Tool as required. See Moving the document.

3. Release ALT+X to return to the previous tool.

or

1. Press and release ALT+X to swap to the Push Tool.

2. Use the Push Tool as required.

3. Press and release ALT+X again to return to the previous tool.

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Related Topics

Push Tool


Using the Selector Tool temporarily

The Selector Tool can be used temporarily - alleviating the need to manually choose the previous tool afterwards.

To use the Selector Tool temporarily

1. Press and hold down ALT+S to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Release ALT+S to return to the previous tool.

or

1. Press and release ALT+S to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Press and release ALT+S again to return to the previous tool.

or (except from the Text Tool)

1. Press and hold down the Space Bar to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Release the Space Bar to return to the previous tool.

or (except from the Text Tool)

1. Press and release the Space Bar to swap to the Selector Tool.

2. Use the Selector Tool as required.

3. Press and release the Space Bar again to return to the previous tool.

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Related Topics

Selector Tool


Using the Zoom Tool temporarily

The Zoom Tool can be used temporarily - alleviating the need to manually choose the previous tool afterwards.

To use the Zoom Tool temporarily

1. Press and hold down ALT+Z to swap to the Zoom Tool.

2. Use the Zoom Tool as required.

3. Release ALT+Z to return to the previous tool.

or

1. Press and release ALT+Z to swap to the Zoom Tool.

2. Use the Zoom Tool as required.

3. Press and release ALT+Z again to return to the previous tool.

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Related Topics

Zoom Tool


Using the keyboard

In these help pages, keys are shown in upper case. For example CTRL is the Control key.

Combinations of keys are shown like this: CTRL+A. This means :

1. Press and hold down the CTRL (Control) key.

2. Press and release the A key.

3. Release the CTRL key.

The Constrain Key

The CTRL (Control) key has a special function in Xara Webster. It constrains the action of the current operation in some way. For example, normally you can rotate an object through any angle. Hold down CTRL and the rotation is constrained to preset angles (defined in General Options). Similarly constraining the creation of an ellipse creates a circle.

The ALT keys

Most keyboards have two ALT keys. The right-hand ALT key is interpreted by Windows as CTRL+ALT. Xara Webster cannot alter this behavior. As a result Xara Webster operations involving the ALT key only function using the left-hand ALT key.

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Related Topics

List of Keyboard Shortcuts


Utilities Menu

Color Gallery

Bitmap Gallery

Clipart Gallery

Color Editor

Web Address

Options


View Pop-up Menu

If the pop-up menu is opened with the mouse pointer over a blank area of the document or an unselected handle, it contains the following :

New View

- - - - - - - - - -

Quality

Show Grid

- - - - - - - - - -

Snap to Grid

- - - - - - - - - -

Work Area Options

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Related Topics

Pop-up Menus Overview


Viewing document information

You can view a dialog box that gives you a variety of information about the current document.

To view the document information

1. Ensure the document is the current document. If it is not, click on it.

2. From the File menu, choose Document Info.

Tips

This dialog box lists all the fonts used in the document. An * by the name of a font means it is not installed on your computer.

You can type into the Comments field. Comments are saved with the document and are an easy way of including notes with a document

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Related Topics

Document Info


Viewing several document at once

Do one of the following :

From the Window menu, choose Arrange Views. This will place all the document views so you can see them all at once.

From the Window menu, choose Cascade. This will place all the document views in a diagonal line so you can see all their title bars.

Drag the title bars of the document views and resize them so you can see the ares you need to.

Tip

If you have a document open, but don't need to see it, minimize it to an icon. If you use Arrange Views now, the minimized document will stay at the bottom of the screen.


  Web Address (Utilities Menu)

 CTRL+SHIFT+W

With this dialog box you can add web addresses to objects in documents so when the document is displayed on a web page, clicking on objects takes you to other pages. For more information, see Adding web addresses to objects.

Add / Change

Remove

Note

You can also open the Web Address dialog box by right-clicking on an object to open the pop-up menu and choosing Web Address.

Web Link

Adding Web Addresses To Objects

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Related Topics

Xara Web Files Overview


Web Address Dialog Box - Add Button
Web Address Dialog Box - Add/Change Button

Clicking the Add button sets the web address of the selected objects to the address shown in the dialog box. If the object already has a web address assigned to it, this button is labeled Change.


Web Address Dialog Box - Remove Button

Clicking the Remove button removes the web address from all the selected objects.


Web Links and Web Clipart

Xara Webster is an Internet connected program. The help contains web links that take you from the help onto the Xara Ltd web site and with Xara Webster's Clipart Gallery you can download clipart from our web site.

If you have installed Xara Webster from a CD, you can select the Use Help Pages and Movies From CD option (on the Help menu) so Xara Webster opens the help web pages and movies from the CD instead of connecting to the Internet. Some links will always go to our web site and not be taken off the CD, like the Xara Ltd home Page. Note that the pages on the Internet are always more up-to-date than those on the CD.

Internet Connections

When you click a web link or the Get Clipart button in the Clipart Gallery, your machine will try to connect to the Internet. If your browser starts up and says it cannot find the Xara web site or Xara Webster just ays "Looking for host..." when you click the Get Clipart button, you will need to connect to the Internet manually and, once connected, click the button or link again. This problem occurs because your machine is not set up to connect to the Internet transparently when it needs to. If you normally have to connect to the Internet manually before you browse the web, you will need to manually connect before using any of the Internet connected parts of Xara Webster (web link in the help and web clipart).

You can set your machine up to connect automatically when you access ther Internet. You Internet service provider will be able to tell you how to do this.

Default Browser

When you click a web link or select a web item off the Help menu, the web browser that opens is your default browser. If you want web pages to open in a different browser, you will need to change your default browser.

-- Internet Explorer: Select Options from the View Menu. Open the Programs tab ad select the "Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser" option. If you now restart Internet Explorer, it will ask you if you want to set it as your default browser.

-- Netscape Navigator: To set this as your default browser, you will need to re-install it.


Welcome to Xara Webster

Xara Webster is a shareware tool for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4 designed to help you create high quality Internet graphics. Typically you'll do this by taking clipart that we provide in the Clipart Gallery, dragging it onto the page, then manipulating it in whatever way you want (such as changing its color, size, adding your own text, etc.), and finally outputting the image as an anti-aliased GIF or JPEG bitmap.

Of course Webster can do much more than that. You can create animated GIFs, by saving your image as a bitmap into the Bitmap Gallery, adjusting the image slightly, saving the next frame into the gallery. In this way, you can build up a series of animation frames. Finally you can select all the frames and output the whole sequence as an animated GIF.

Xara Webster includes an advanced color reduction system. Judging by the number of poor quality images on the Web, this area, like anti-aliasing, is one of the least understood areas of Web graphics. To this end you can use Xara Webster to create GIF images (from any source - a loaded bitmap, or a Webster clipart item) that are color reduced, but palette optimized, anti-aliased and dithered, so you have full control over that delicate balance of quality versus size.

Finally Xara Webster supports the new open .web compact vector format for Web graphics. It can read and write .web files, and includes a web browser plug-in for enabling these files to be viewed in any web browser. For more details, see the Xara Web Files Overview.

If you ever need any help using Xara Webster, try the Getting help page.

Web Links

Movies

Xara Webster Home Page

Xara Home Page

Click here to email us your suggestions for Xara Webster

Program designed and developed by Xara Ltd. For more information about the Xara company and its products click here. Alternatively, visit our World Wide Web pages at http://www.xara.com/

Shareware

Xara Webster is a shareware product. Please read these conditions before using the software or graphic images. If you use the software or graphics you agree to become bound by these conditions. If you do not wish to do so, do not use the software or graphics.

This licence grants you the right to use the Xara Webster software and graphic images, subject to the restrictions listed below and the disclaimer relating to warranties, support and damages.

1) Disclaimer:

This software is provided on an "as is" basis, without any other warranties, or conditions, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantable quality, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or those arising by law, statute, usage of trade or course of dealing. The entire risk as to the results and performance of the Product is assumed by you. Neither we nor our dealers or suppliers shall have any liability to you or any other person or entity for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages whatsoever, including but not limited to loss of revenue or profit, lost or damaged data or other commercial or economic loss, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages or they are foreseeable; or for claims by a third party. You may have other rights which vary from state to state.

2) Restrictions:

This licence gives you the right to use this software but all rights not specifically mentioned in this agreement, including ownership rights, intellectual property rights, trademarks and copyright, are reserved by Xara Ltd. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise reduce the software to a human perceivable form. You may not modify, rent or resell for profit the software, or create derivative works based upon the software.

3) Graphics:

Xara Webster users are free to use, modify and publish the images from the free galleries on the Xara Webster web site and the Xara Webster CD, on web sites where the image is embedded for viewing purposes or in printed material, subject to the following conditions:  They cannot be redistributed in any form, whether commercial, shareware or freeware, specifically but not exclusively they cannot be included in clip-art collections, whether on web sites or distributed on electronic media such as CDs or discs.

© 1997  XARA LTD.

Any reproduction of the CD version of the Xara Webster software is prohibited. The unregistered downloadable version of the Xara Webster software, and the CD/downloadable versions of the XaraCube screensaver, the plug-ins and the movies can be reproduced and redistributed or additional copies can be downloaded from Xara Webster Home Page. Use of the graphic images is governed by the conditions set out below. For any further information please contact Xara Ltd.

Xara Webster On-line documentation - Version 1.0 (issue 1)

Xara is a trademark of Xara Ltd

Redistributable portions of Microsoft MSVC and MFC are copyright of Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Excel and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Freehand is a registered trademark of Macromedia Inc.

Adobe, Adobe Type Manager, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator 88, Adobe Illustrator 3.0, PostScript and Encapsulated PostScript are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc.

CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe Incorporated.

WordPerfect is a registered trademark of Novell Corporation.

TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Acorn is a trademark of Acorn Computers Ltd.

CorelDRAW are trademarks of Corel Corporation. Corel is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation.

Corel is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation.

All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


Window Control Bar

Zoom To Work Area

Zoom To Drawing

Zoom To Selection

New View

Show Grid

Snap to Grid

 	Anti-aliased Quality

 	Normal Quality

 	Simple Quality

 	Outline Quality

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Related Topics

List of the Default Control Bars


Window Menu

New View

Arrange Views

Cascade

Arrange Icons

Control Bars

Quality

Show Grid

Snap to Grid


 Work Area Options

To open the Work Area Options, choose Options from the Utilities menu and click on the Work Area tab. You can also access them by right-clicking on the work area in your drawing to open the pop-up menu and choosing Work Area Options.

Work Area

The work area size sets the area on screen you can use to create your drawing. Just type in how many pixels you want your drawing to be horizontally and vertically. For more details, see Changing the work area size.

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Related Topics

Options


Xara On The Web (Help Menu)

The items on this submenu take you to pages on the Xara Ltd. web site.

The Movies and Webster Help Pages items will work from the Xara Webster CD if you select the "Use Help Pages and Movies from CD" option on the Help menu.

Web Link

Xara Home Page


Xara Web Files Overview

The Xara Web format is a vector graphics format designed specifically for the Internet. Xara Web Files (.web) are very small and because they are vector files, they can be displayed at any resolution without any loss of quality. If you put a Xara Web file on a web page, you can zoom in on it to over 25,000% magnification, just like you can with Xara Webster. As Xara drawings are made up from objects, you can easily assign a web address to an object so when you click on the object on a web page, it will take you to another page.

For more details on the Xara Web format and how to create web files using Xara Webster, click one of the links below.

Web Links

Xara Web Format

Creating Xara Web Files

Xara Web Files and HTML

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Related Topics

Adding web addresses to objects


Xara Webster Help (Help Menu)

 F1

Choose Xara Webster Help from the Help Menu or press F1 to open Xara Webster Help.


Xara Webster help - empty page

If you have reached this page, there is a fault with the help system in Xara Webster. Please make a note of what you did to reach this help page and report this as a fault in Xara Webster to Xara Ltd. You can email us using this address : websterbug@xara.com.


Zero Width Lines Overview

If you need a zero width line, you will usually find it is better to remove it by giving it a color of 'no color' rather than explicitly setting the line width to zero.

To set the color of a line or outline to 'no color'

1. Select the object.

2. From the Utilities menu choose Color Editor.

3. Ensure the Fill/Line button is pressed in so you can edit the line color.

4. Click the No Color button in the Color Editor.

Zero width lines are printed with a width of one device pixel. So, for example on a laser printer they will only just be visible, but on an image setter (which has a much higher resolution) the line will be too thin to see. When you import a file containing zero width lines, Xara Webster converts them to 0.25 point (this does not happen if you open or import a Xara Webster file).

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Related Topics

Change an object's line color


Zoom Magnification

This drop-down list allows you to choose a a pre-defined zoom, or type in a user defined zoom value. It also contains options for zooming to the work area, drawing and selection and returning to the previous zoom. It is available on the control bars and the Zoom Tool and Push Tool Infobars.

25,601%

16,000%

8,000%

4,000%

2,000%

1,000%

500%

200%

100%

75%

50%

25%

10%

Work Area

Drawing

Selected

Previous

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Related Topics

Zoom Tool

Push Tool


 Zoom To Drawing

Zoom To Drawing changes the zoom magnification so your drawing fills the window. See Zooming to the whole drawing for more details.


 Zoom To Selection

 CTRL+SHIFT+Z

Zoom To Selection changes the zoom magnification so the selected objects fill the window. See Zooming to the selection for more details.


 Zoom To Work Area

 CTRL+SHIFT+P

Zoom To Work Area changes the zoom magnification so the entire work area is visible in the window. For more information, see Zooming to the whole work area.


Zoom Tool Overview
  Zoom Tool

The Zoom Tool allows you to alter the magnification of the current document view. It only affects the view on screen - the document itself does not change.

 ALT+Z or SHIFT+F7

Zoom Tool Infobar Controls

Zoom Magnification

Zoom To Work Area

Previous Zoom

Zoom To Drawing

Zoom To Selection

Zoom Tool Operations

Returning to the previous zoom

Zooming in and out

Zooming to the selection

Zooming to the whole drawing

Zooming to the whole work area

Using the Zoom Tool temporarily


Zooming in and out

You often want to view part of a document in greater detail or view the entire document to see how the complete drawing looks. To achieve this, you can zoom in and out of the document. If you want to zoom in on your whole drawing, see Zooming to the whole drawing. If you want to zoom in on the selected objects, see Zooming to the selection.

To zoom in or out

1. Choose the Zoom Tool.

2. Do one of the following :

To zoom in, click on the document (see less of the document but in greater detail).

To zoom out, SHIFT-click on the document (see more of the document in less detail).

To view a specific area, drag across the area.

Tips

Zooming just changes your view onto the document. It does not change the actual size of objects in the document.

The text on the Status Line shows the zoom in and out values. This tells you the effect of a click or SHIFT-click.

You can also choose a zoom value from the Zoom drop-down list on the control bars. (See Zoom Magnification.)

You can easily go back to the last zoom magnification by using Previous Zoom. See Returning to the previous zoom.

If you press ALT+Z to select the Zoom Tool, you can press ALT+Z again to return to the previous tool. See Using the Zoom Tool temporarily.

Web Link

Webster Movies - The Basics

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Related Topic

Zoom Tool


Zooming to the selection

It is often useful to zoom in on your document so the selected objects fill the document view.

To zoom to the selection

1. Choose the Zoom Tool.

2. Click the Zoom to Selection button on the Infobar.

Tips

To quickly zoom to the selection, press CTRL+SHIFT+Z

You can also choose Selected from the Zoom drop-down menu on the control bars. (See Zoom Magnification)

The Zoom to Selection button is also on the Push Tool Infobar.

You can return to the previous zoom value by clicking the Previous zoom button on the control bars. See Returning to the previous zoom.

If you press ALT+Z to select the Zoom Tool, you can press ALT+Z again to return to the previous tool. See Using the Zoom Tool temporarily.

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Related Topics

Zooming in and out

Zoom Tool


Zooming to the whole drawing

It is often useful to scale your view (zoom) so the complete drawing fills the document view.

To zoom to the drawing

Click the Zoom to Drawing button on the control bars.

Tips

This button is also on the Push Tool and Zoom Tool Infobars.

You can also choose Drawing from the Zoom drop-down menu on the control bars. (See Zoom Magnification)

You can return to the previous zoom value by clicking the Previous zoom button on the control bars. See Returning to the previous zoom.

If you press ALT+Z to select the Zoom Tool, you can press ALT+Z again to return to the previous tool. See Using the Zoom Tool temporarily.

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Related Topics

Zooming in and out

Zoom Tool

Push Tool


Zooming to the whole work area

It is sometimes useful to change the zoom magnification so you can see the entire work area in the document view.

To zoom to the work area

1. Choose the Zoom Tool.

2. Click the Zoom to Work Area button on the Infobar.

Tips

The Zoom to Work Area button is also on the Push Tool Infobar.

You can also choose Work Area from the Zoom drop-down list on the control bars. (See Zoom Magnification)

To quickly zoom to the work area, press CTRL+SHIFT+P.

You can return to the previous zoom value by clicking the Previous zoom button on the control bars. See Returning to the previous zoom.

If you press ALT+Z to select the Zoom Tool, you can press ALT+Z again to return to the previous tool. See Using the Zoom Tool temporarily.

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Related Topics

Zooming in and out

Zoom Tool

Push Tool