This file contains information about the following new Canvas 3.0 external tools: The Fractal Line, Name Stamp, Spiral, Time Stamp, and Undo Killer tools. To use these tools, place them in your Canvas Tools folder when Canvas is not running. The next time you launch Canvas, the tools will load with the application and you can use them.
1. The Fractal Line tool
The Fractal Line tool creates fractal lines. To use this tool, first select the Fractal Line tool icon (a fractal line) from the Object Tools palette. The pointer will change to a crosshair. Place the pointer in your document where you want the fractal line to begin and drag to draw it. Release the mouse button when you are finished. Canvas considers the new object a polygon and treats it accordingly.
The Fractal Line Manager is a dialog box which lets you set the wiggle and density of your fractal lines. To open this dialog box, double-click the Fractal Line tool icon in the Object Tools palette or choose Fractal Line from the Managers submenu in the Edit menu. Type the desired Wiggle and Density in the corresponding text boxes.
You can set a Wiggle value between 1 and 40 and a Density value between 1 and 6. A high Wiggle value results in a line with greater deviations from the center. A low Wiggle value results in a line which stays closer to its center. A low Density value results in a more angular line. A high Density line has more points, resulting in a more fluid line.
When you are finished, click OK to save your settings or Cancel to disregard them.
2. The Name Stamp tool
The Name Stamp tool lets you stamp the document's name in your document. To use this tool, select the Name Stamp tool icon (the “NAME” icon) from the Object Tools palette and click to place the document's name in the desired location. The Name Stamp tool uses the default font, text size, and text styles to create its objects. You can also change the font, text size, and text styles of selected Name Stamp objects.
The Name Stamp object is dynamic. If you change the name of the document, the name in the Name Stamp object changes accordingly when the next screen redraw occurs. You can force a screen redraw by typing Command-K or choosing the Refresh option from the Display submenu in the Layout menu.
3. The Spiral tool
The Spiral tool creates spiral-shaped Bézier curves. To use this tool, first select the Spiral tool icon (a spiral) from the Object Tools palette. The pointer will change to a crosshair. Place the pointer in your document where you want the spiral to begin and drag to draw it. Release the mouse button when you are finished.
The Spiral Manager is a dialog box which lets you set the number of spirals in your Spiral tool objects. To open this dialog box, double-click the Spiral tool icon in the Object Tools palette or choose Spirals from the Managers submenu in the Edit menu. Type the number of spirals wanted in the corresponding text box. When you are finished, click OK to save your settings or Cancel to disregard them. The next time you use the Spiral tool you will create a spiral with the number of spirals you specified.
4. The Time Stamp tool
The Time Stamp tool lets you stamp the current date and time setting of your computer into your document. To use this tool, select the Time Stamp tool icon (a small clock) from the Object Tools palette and click to place the current date and time in the desired location. The Time Stamp tool uses the default font, text size, and text styles to create its objects. You can also change the font, text size, and text styles of selected Time Stamp objects.
Time Stamp objects are dynamic and update whenever a screen redraw occurs. You can force a screen redraw by typing Command-K or choosing the Refresh option from the Display submenu in the Layout menu.
5. The Undo Killer tool
The Undo Killer tool places the Undo menu in your Canvas menu bar. The Undo menu lets you turn Canvas’s Undo feature on and off. Turning off Undo makes Canvas run faster and saves memory, especially when you are performing a complex command on a large number of objects, since Canvas does not have to store undo information for your actions.
To turn off Undo, choose Undo Off from the Undo menu. The Undo command will then be dimmed for subsequent actions you perform. To turn Undo on, choose Undo On from the Undo menu. The Undo command will then be enabled for your subsequent actions.
If you turn off Undo, make sure you save your document before you perform any actions that you might need to undo. You can then choose the Revert command to return to the last saved version of your document if you make a mistake.
