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1998-08-08
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DrawShape
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by Darren Salt <ds@youmustbejoking.demon.co.uk>
Version 1.06 (15 Jun 1995)
Takes path objects from Draw and moulds them to fit between two other paths.
How to use
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When DrawShape is loaded, it puts two icons on the iconbar. Both appear as
raised slabs.
The left-hand slab has on it two cyan lines, one above the other. This is
the mould icon.
The right-hand slab has on it a pair of compasses. This is the image icon.
It initially appears greyed out because DrawShape has no mould to use.
1. Select the two paths you wish to use as the template.
2. Export them to DrawShape (use 'Save selected'), dropping them on the
mould icon.
3. Select the paths (or path groups) you wish to mould.
4. Export them to DrawShape (save selected), dropping them on the image
icon. Or export the whole file if you want to process the whole file.
5. DrawImage will process the file, and exports the resulting file to Draw.
This can now be combined with the original drawing.
The two paths describe the upper and lower bounds of the moulded image.
Whichever is used as the lower bound must be 'in front of' the other path.
It is important that the paths used in the mould:
- are individual path objects;
- do not contain moves; and
- are not grouped together.
If the paths are rejected by DrawShape, you will be told why, and the
previous mould (if there was one) will be retained.
There is a maximum line segment length. This is currently defined the length
of the bounding box diagonal divided by the number of line/curve segments in
the upper part of the mould then by the number in the lower part. It is
limited to the range 0.1pt to 7.2pt (0.1in).
The main menu contains:
- Info
- Fast
This controls whether the screen is blanked while moulding. When on,
this option reduces the time taken by around 12%.
- Shortcut
This controls which of two line length calculation methods is used - the
slower one is much more accurate, but the faster method appears to have
little effect on the output quality. Using the faster method reduces
the time taken by around 45%.
With both options on, the time taken is around 49% of the time that
would otherwise be taken.
- Clear
This causes DrawShape to forget about the current mould definition.
- Quit
For details of the moulding process used, see Michael Attenborough's article
"Round the Bend" (AU December 1992).