Two guides ship with Macromedia xRes S.E. in Adobe Acrobat‚Ñ¢ format : the xRes "User's Guide" and "Getting Started."
The "User's Guide" explains how to use the application, and includes comprehensive explanations of objects, channels, file formats, masking, channels, brushes, gradient fills, tools, and menu commands. The User's Guide is organized by category and includes a glossary of important terms.
"Getting Started" features a series of lessons that provide a brief look at various aspects of Macromedia xRes. The lessons are all independent of each other--you don't have to complete one lesson to proceed to another. However, it's recommended that you complete the lessons in order, since terminology explained in earlier chapters is used in later chapters. After completing "Getting Started," you should have a solid grasp of the core concepts of Macromedia xRes and be ready to create your own images based on the techniques you learned.
TIPS & TRICKS
The tips and tricks in this section will help you use Macromedia xRes S.E. more effectively. The section "For Photoshop‚Ñ¢ Users" is specially designed for the Photoshop user who is making the transition to Macromedia xRes.
Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
ARTISTIC EFFECTS
Instant Exotic Background
To make an instant design to use as a background for an image, double-click on the Gradient tool, accessing the Gradient Tool Options. Select any one of the preset gradients using the preset menu in the top left corner. Select the Satin or Folds shape using the Shape menu in the bottom left corner. Click and drag the image, then release the mouse; the document is filled with an instant, very exotic texture. Experiment with clicking and dragging in different directions to create an array of different gradient effects.
Spray Brushes
Create paintings that look like they were created with a spray can--easily. You can create spray effects with any brush--airbrushes, calligraphy, charcoals, crayons, etc. You could not produce this effect in real life, but using xRes allows you to create surrealistic brushes. Simply access the Brush Tool Options for the brush in question, and access the Random Sensitivity dialog from the Brush Tool Options submenu. Check the Scatter checkbox, and adjust the Random slider between 50 (a little spray) to 100 (lots of spray). When you use this brush, you will create an instant spray can effect--maybe even one with calligraphy shaped dabs of paint.
Watercolor Effects
The primary characteristic of watercolors is their ability to bleed into the canvas; it's easy to simulate this effect with xRes. First, select any brush. Next, access the Brush Tool Options. Choose Artistic for the brush style by selecting Artistic in the Style drop-down menu. Next, increase the Bleed slider to any value above 50; using this method, you can make any brush "bleed."
COMPOSITING EFFECTS
Embossing
You can create a spiffy embossing effect as follows: Use the Emboss filter on any object in a document (Effects > Stylize > Emboss). Then change the blending mode of the object to either Minimum or Multiply.
Distorted Text
When you resize text objects with the resize tool, the text always resizes proportionately. To create distorted text effects, use the Modify > Resize > Active Object menu command, and make sure that Fixed Aspect Ratio is not checked.
Applying Filters to Multiple Objects
You can apply filters (such as plug-in filters) to multiple floating objects. Just activate all of the objects you wish to apply the filter to by clicking on one object, pressing shift, and clicking on any additional objects you want to activate. When you apply filters, they will apply to all activated objects.
GENERAL QUICK TIPS
Tools Palette Keyboard Shortcuts
Remembering the Tools Palette keyboard accelerators can save you time. Tools Palette shortcuts are new to this version of xRes. The most used tools are a cinch to remember: A for Arrow, B for Brush, E for Eraser, M to toggle through Marquee Tools, W for Wand, P for Pen, and Z for Zoom.
Moving Objects
For precise object positioning, use the arrow keys on the keyboard. The arrow keys will move the object up, down, or sideways 1 pixel; pressing shift while using these keys will move objects up, down, or sideways 10 pixels. Tip: To move the object diagonally, press two arrow keys at the same time--for instance, the up arrow key and the right arrow key when pressed together move the object diagonally to the upper right by one pixel.
UTILIZING SWAP DISK SPACE
Macromedia xRes does not require a lot of memory to run, but it is swap-disk intensive. Fortunately there are several tips you can use to ensure you do not run out of swap disk space.
Follow these tips to best utilize the swap disk space you have available:
Examine Swap Disk with Info Inspector
You can examine the amount of swap disk space you have available at any time by accessing the Info Inspector (Window>Inspectors>Info), and checking the number next to Free Disk. This number displays the amount of available free disk space, in megabytes.
Resetting Undo Levels
If the amount of free swap disk is getting low, you can increase it by resetting your undo levels to a lower number. Access File>Preferences>Memory, and enter fewer levels of undo. For instance, if you were working with 5 levels of undo, try setting undo the undo levels to 3; if you were working with 3 levels of undo, try setting the undo levels to 1, etc.
Saving and Re-opening
Try saving and re-opening the current file to obtain more swap disk space. xRes is forced to save current changes to the document, freeing up disk space.
Closing Other Applications
Close other applications besides xRes to free up swap disk space. That way, Macromedia xRes can use utilize all of the available space.
Using Two Swap Disks
Macromedia xRes allows you to use swap disk space on up to 2 swap disks--that means you can have up to 4 gigs of swap disk space--an amount ample for even the most serious image-editor! To use space on 2 swap disks, you should tell xRes which disks to use. You can do this by accessing File>Preferences>Memory, setting a Primary and Secondary swap disk, then relaunching the program for the changes to take effect.
Important Note: If you do not relaunch the application, any swap disk changes you make will not take effect.
FOR PHOTOSHOP‚Ñ¢ USERS
Image editing professionals used to working in Photoshop‚Ñ¢ should find this section especially useful.
Objects vs. Layers
The object metaphor in xRes is very similar to the layers metaphor in Photoshop. Both objects and layers are separate components of the document that may be independently moved, edited, and merged. The Objects Window in xRes is roughly comparable to the Layers Palette in Photoshop. An active object in xRes is the same as a selected layer in Photoshop.
Following are some important distinctions between objects in xRes and layers in Photoshop:
-- Floating Selections: In xRes, floating a selection instantly creates an object. In Photoshop, you must choose the Make Layer command from the Layers palette after floating a selection to make that floating selection a layer.
-- Selecting objects/layers: In Photoshop, to select a layer, you must first select that layer on the Layers palette. In xRes, you have two options you can use to select your layers, controlled by the Arrow Options, accessed by double-clicking on the Arrow Tool. If the "Activates Objects" checkbox is checked, then you can select objects by clicking on them in the document, as well as by selecting them in the Objects window. If "Activates Objects" is not checked, then you can only select objects by clicking on that object's icon in the Object's window--this option is identical to the Photoshop method.
-- Using selections: In Photoshop, selections are document-wide. That is, you can make a selection across multiple objects. In xRes, selections are constrained to one object. This selections-constrained-to-objects model also extends to channels--the Channels Palette in Photoshop displays the channels for the entire document; the Channels window in xRes displays the channels for the topmost active object.
-- Object/Layer size: In Photoshop, the size of layers is constrained to the size of the document. If you paint on the bottom edge of a layer, then move that layer down and paint on the very top of the layer, you have lost the paint on the bottom. In xRes, an object can be any size--you can paint on any edge of the object and move the object in any direction without losing the work you have done.
-- Undos: In Photoshop, applying the Undo command undoes the last operation performed to the document. In xRes, the Undo command undoes operations to active objects only.
--Text objects: In Photoshop, when you access the text tool and then enter text in the text dialog, you are given a selection that you may reposition before setting in place; this text is then static. In xRes, when you access the text tool and enter text in the text dialog, you are given a floating text object that can be freely moved around the document and repositioned.
Filters & Color-Correction Commands
Macromedia xRes and Photoshop contain many of the same filters and Color-Correction commands; these commands are found under different menus in the different applications:
-- The Invert command, located under the Image>Map menu in Photoshop, are located in the Modify>Color menu in xRes.
-- The Threshold command, located under Image>Map in Photoshop, can be found under Effects>Other in xRes.
-- The Posterize command, located via Image>Map menu in Photoshop, is under Effects>Stylize in xRes.
-- The Levels, Brightness/Contrast, and Hue/Saturation commands, via Image>Adjust in Photoshop, are under Modify>Color in xRes.
-- Many of the filters under the Filter menu in Photoshop, such as Sharpen, Blur, Distort, and Noise, are found under the Effects menu in xRes.
Other Menu Command Differences
Many menu commands in Photoshop reside in different places in xRes:
-- To change the color mode of the document in Photoshop, you should access Edit>Mode. In xRes, you should access Modify>Color Mode.
-- The resize document command is located via Image>Image Size in Photoshop; in xRes, the resize document command via Modify>Resize>Document.
-- Accessing floating palettes in Photoshop is achieved by accessing the Window>Palettes command; in xRes, accessing floating panels is achieved with the Window menu; for some panels you will access the Window>Palettes or Window>Inspectors submenus.
Dual Mode Program
Unlike Photoshop, xRes is a dual mode program with two work modes--xRes and Direct. When you create a file or open an existing file, you make the decision to open that file in either Direct mode (generally used for documents under 10-20 MB) or xRes mode (generally used for documents over 10-20 MB, or documents with several objects). These guidelines are only approximate; in some instances, it may be advantageous to work in xRes mode before the file is 10 MB. In our beta testers work with the program, they found that it was often necessary to work in xRes mode with 5 MB files, especially if they were working with a multiple-object document.
To convert to the xRes work mode, specially optimized for larger files, access Modify>Work Mode>Direct. You will be prompted to save your objects as LRG files. Organize these objects well--it's a good idea to store them all in the same folder--and label the folder with the name of the document. It is vitally important to save these LRG files--don't delete them, or xRes won't be able to re-create the document from the MMI file. The MMI file format is used to save multi-object files, and points to the associated LRG files.
