; The following are productivity enhancing tips for Designer 7.
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You can easily colorize or convert grouped objects to grayscale using Designer's new smart colorization feature.
Setting the visual properties of objects has never been easier with Designer's integrated Object Format dialog box. It even rolls up!
Compression in Designer's file format, DSF, has been improved resulting in dramatically smaller files.
While drawing with the Curved Line, B-Spline, or Bezier Curve tools, hold down the <CTRL> key while dragging to mix straight line segments with your curved segments.
If you are preparing content for the Web, use Designer's new audit wizard to help minimize file size and download time.
Double-click the left mouse button on an empty area of the current drawing to toggle between the Select Tool and the most recently used drawing tool.
The Hint window provides useful, contextual help for browsed items or controls and also provides procedural tips while you are using a tool.
Editing objects has never been easier. The Change menu always displays appropriate ways to edit the current selection.
Double-click the left mouse button on any selected object to switch to that object's best edit/reshape tool.
You can access a multitude of new boolean operations, including Fragment, Intersect, Join, Punch, Trim, and Slice, via the Change/Modify command.
Click the right mouse button in the drawing to invoke the context-sensitive menu for the selected object.
The Tip of the Day is accessible from both the Designer start-up dialog box and the Help/Tip of the Day command.
Designer now supports Callout (or leader) lines via the Dimension/Callout ribbon.
Click and drag a bounding box with the Select Tool to select multiple objects.
Hold down the <Alt> key while you drag a bounding box to select all objects that are partially enclosed within the bounding box.
Hold down the <Alt> key while you click the left mouse button over overlapping objects to select hidden objects.
The Micrografx Chili-Cookoff held annually at the Fall Comdex is the single-largest fundraising event for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The Hint window and the Color Palette can be docked to the top or sides of the Designer window.
While drawing a shape, you can hold down the right mouse button to simultaneously move the object you are drawing.
Designer's automatic recovery feature will automatically attempt to recover lost files in case of a system crash during a Designer session.
While using the Select Tool, click the left mouse button once over the selected object(s) to toggle between the Select Tool and the Rotate/Skew Tool.
While drawing a shape, hold down the <Shift> and/or <Ctrl> keys to invoke different constraint options, such as constrain to an angle or draw from center.
Use Designer's new Reference Point feature to help you draw and modify objects from a common point. Choose Reference Point on the Tools menu to show the toolbar.
Quickly place a new Reference Point at the current cursor position by pressing the plus sign on the numeric keypad.
Enable and set Reference Point constraints using the '3' through '6' keys on the keyboard. Keys '7' through '0' toggle those same Reference Point constraints.
Easily create multi-sided symmetrical shapes using the new Megagon and Curvegon drawing tools on the Polygon ribbon.
Use drag and drop to add and remove images and objects from the galleries in the Object Format dialog box.
Editing options for the selected object(s) can be accessed using the Edit Tool in the toolbox.
2D shapes can be extruded for a different perspective using the new Change/Extrude command.
Hold down the <Ctrl> key while dragging a selection to create duplicates of the selected objects.
Click the Line or Interior Fill buttons on the status bar to quickly invoke the Object Format dialog box.
Scaled drawings can be easily configured using the new Scale Drawing Wizard accessed via the File/Scale Setup command.
Grouped objects, such as most Micrografx clip art objects, can be easily edited by double-clicking the left mouse button on a selected group object. In this group edit mode, you can modify the objects without disturbing the group.
Click on the Designer icon in the Help/About dialog box to see a list of the Micrografx associates who spent countless hours and many sleepless nights to bring you Micrografx Designer 7.
Visit our World Wide Web site at WWW.MICROGRAFX.COM! Check out the latest products and even more tips and tricks for all Micrografx products.
Click on the view area of the double-line status bar to quickly zoom in, out, or to the page.
You can change the amount of information displayed on the status bar by resizing it from the top.
Click and drag out of the horizontal or vertical ruler to create a guide. Click the right mouse button on the rulers and choose Guides Manager to position guides numerically.
Easily add effects to your drawings by using one the new predefined warps found on the Warp ribbon.
With the Text pointer, click once to start freeform text or click and drag a bounding box for container text.
Create your own personalized toolbars via the Tools/Customize command.
Rearrange your workspace by dragging toolbars to different spots within the window. You can dock, float, and even resize most toolbars!
Unlimited undo/redo is available via the Edit menu. You can specify the undo limit (to conserve memory usage) via the Options dialog box.
You can quickly select all objects by pressing the <F2> key. Press <Ctrl>+<F2> to deselect all objects. Press <Shift>+<F2> to deselect all selected objects and to select all previously unselected objects.
While editing the position of a text along a curve object, press the <Tab> key to toggle between the various preset positions.
Click on the question mark button on the title bar of each Designer dialog box to enter context-sensitive help.
Create and apply multiple color gradients to the interiors or lines of objects using the Object Format dialog box. Yes, we even support more than two colors in a gradient!
Designer 7 is a full OLE 2.0 container and server, meaning better integration with other Windows 95 products. Designer even supports the Office 95 Binder.
Export your Designer drawings to your favorite file format (other than .DSF) using the File/Export command.
Create a screen saver out of your favorite multiple-page Designer drawing by compiling a slideshow presentation, renaming it from .exe to .scr, and copying it to your Windows directory.
Import drawings from other drawing or illustration packages using the File/Import command.
With the Text Tool selected, <Shift>+click on any existing text object to invoke the text speed editor. This feature allows you to more quickly edit heavily formatted or warped text.
Designer ships with several pre-configured toolbars. Choose among these or create your own by clicking the right mouse button on any existing toolbar.
When using the Color Mixer dialog box, you can "zero in" on a color by copying a cell from the mixing palette (with a right mouse click), then pasting the color to a corner (with a right mouse click).
