Artboard 1.9 User Guide PDF

Transcription

Artboard 1.9 User Guide PDF
USERGUIDE
Artboard User Guide
1
2
3
4
5
Create & Open Drawings
1.1
Artboard's User Interface
5
1.2
Setting Up a New Drawing
6
1.3
Using Templates
9
Working with Layers
2.1
Working with Layers
12
2.2
Create, Copy, Arrange and Edit Drawing Layers
13
2.3
Rulers and Guides
16
2.4
Using the Graph Paper Layer
18
2.5
Layer Mask
20
The Drawing Tools
3.1
Select, Zoom and Pan Navigation
23
3.2
How To Draw Using Tools and Styles
26
3.3
How to Draw Shapes
30
3.4
How to Draw Paths and Curves
36
3.5
Snapping to Grids, Guides and Other Objects
40
3.6
Constraining Location, Angle and Aspect Ratio
41
Using Styles & Clip Art
4.1
The Styles & Clip Art Palette
43
4.2
The Format Bar
48
4.3
The Library Manager
50
Creating Custom Styles
5.1
Using the Style Inspector
56
5.2
Available Style Components
61
6
7
8
9
10
5.3
Making the Most of Your Apple Color Picker
74
5.4
Cascading "Shared" Styles
78
Working with Drawing Objects
6.1
Moving, Grouping, and Converting Objects
81
6.2
Copy and Duplicate Objects
83
6.3
Combining and Clipping Shapes
85
Working with Text
7.1
Using the Fonts Panel
88
7.2
Working with Text Objects
90
7.3
How to Use Text Styles
96
Working with Images
8.1
The Image Browser
99
8.2
Working with Images
101
8.3
Working with SVG
105
Save, Export, Share & Print
9.1
Saving Your Drawing
109
9.2
Exporting Your Drawings
110
9.3
Printing
114
Additional Information
10.1 Customizing the Toolbar
117
10.2 Preferences
118
10.3 Credits
121
Create & Open Drawings
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Artboard's User Interface
Artboard provides a clean user interface consisting of a drawing canvas, floating palettes, and layer list. Access
functions through the main menu located along the top of the screen. In the main window, the toolbar provides
quick access to commonly used palettes and functions. The layers list shows three default layers (Drawing Layer,
Guides and Graph Paper) when opening a new empty drawing file. Additional layers can be added by the user.
Tools are used in combination with the Format Bar, Styles Inspector, and Styles & Clip Art palette. The Styles &
Clip Art palette contains over 1700 editable clip art and styles organized into Collections and Categories.
User Interface
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Setting Up a New Drawing
Artboard offers you the flexibility to set your drawing canvas dimensions, drawing units, and more, including the
ability to save settings as your personal default for new drawings.
To Open the Drawing Setup Dialog:
1.
Open the Drawing Setup window by choosing File > Drawing Size & Units… from the main menu.
To Change Drawing Units:
1.
2.
Open the Drawing Setup dialog.
Choose your preferred drawing unit from the drop-down menu (millimeters, centimeters, inches, points).
To Edit the Drawing Canvas Size:
1.
2.
Open the Drawing Setup dialog.
Enter the width (w) and height (h) of your desired canvas size in the current drawing units.
To Subtract Printer Paper Margins:
When creating a drawing for the printed page, your drawing area may be slightly smaller than your paper size due
to paper printer margins around the edges. Optionally, Artboard will subtract your printer page margins from the
entered drawing canvas width and height. Paper margins are based on your printer settings.
1.
2.
Open the Drawing Setup dialog.
Check 'Subtract paper margins'.
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To Use Your Custom Drawing Settings as the Default:
1.
2.
3.
Open the Drawing Setup dialog.
Customize the drawing settings.
Click the 'Set As Default' button (located to the right of the canvas size settings).
To Access the System Page Setup Dialog:
For printed works, Artboard provides easy access to the Apple system Page Setup dialog. Use this menu to
change printer paper size and orientation.
1.
2.
Open the Drawing Setup dialog.
Click the 'Page Setup…' button (located under the 'Set As Default' button).
To Add (or Remove) a Color Background:
The background of the canvas can be set to be either a solid color or image.
1.
Click the 'Background:' drop-down list and do one of the following:
•
•
•
Click a preset background image fill.
Click 'Color' to open the Colors panel and choose a background color.
Click 'None' to remove a background color or image fill.
Graph Paper Settings
Grid line spacing, colors, and rulers are customizable.
1.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose File > Graph Paper Settings… to open the Graph Paper setup dialog.
Right-click the Graph Paper layer and choose Graph Paper Settings… from the contextual menu.
2.
•
•
•
3.
•
•
4.
For grid line spacing, change the following settings:
Span - the distance between graph paper primary grid lines, displayed in current drawing units.
Divisions - minor subdivisions between grid spans.
Majors - major lines encompassing several spans.
For colors, do one of the following:
Click 'Theme based on:' color-well and choose a new color for your graph paper. Semi-transparent colors are
recommended. Artboard automatically generates different shades to represent span, divisions, and majors
based on your color choice.
Click 'Or' and click the color-wells to change the color independently for span, divisions, and majors.
Semi-transparent colors are recommended.
For ruler labels, change the span line setting.
See Using the Graph Paper Layer for more information.
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Using Templates
Artboard delivers with dozens of templates for backgrounds, blank standard paper, and popular layouts. When you
first open Artboard, the Template Chooser is shown by default. Included templates are of varying paper sizes and
designs, some of which are sized for poster (tiled) printing or can be shrunk to fit to a single page upon printing.
To Display (or Hide) the Template Chooser when Launching Artboard:
1.
2.
Launch Artboard (first time) or choose File > Template > New From Template… from the main menu.
Do one of the following:
•
Check (or uncheck) 'Show this window at launch' to be presented with the template window each time you
open Artboard.
Open Artboard > Preferences… Options in the main menu and check (or uncheck) 'Show Template Chooser
when launching application.'
•
To Open a New Drawing from Template:
1.
2.
Choose File > Template > New From Template… from the main menu.
Browse the folders of included templates, or your user templates (if any), and choose a template as desired,
or "Cancel" to skip templates.
To Edit Template Files:
1.
2.
3.
Open a new file from template.
Within any given template, drawing objects are placed on different layers to keep objects organized. Click
onto a layer to make it active. Use the Select [s] tool and click an object within the active layer to select it. Add
or delete objects using the drawing tools to customize.
To edit text, use the Select [s] tool and double-click the text to edit it.
To Create Your Own Templates:
1.
2.
Create a new drawing.
Choose File > Templates… > Save Copy As Template to create your own template (a copy of the file is
stored in the Template Chooser under a folder titled 'My Templates').
To Manage 'My Templates':
To access user-created My Templates files to rename, delete, or back-up your files, they are saved to a special
folder.
In Mac OS 10.7 and later:
1.
2.
3.
Choose File > Template > New From Template… from the main menu.
Click to select a template (it will be highlighted in green when selected).
Right-click the selected user template and choose "Reveal In Finder" from the contextual menu.
Alternatively, in Finder hold the OPTION-key down while choosing Go > Library in the main menu. Find the
following folder:
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Mac OS 10.7 and earlier
~/Library/Application Support/com.mapdiva.artboard/My Templates, where ~ is your home directory
Mac OS 10.8+
~/Library/Containers/com.mapdiva.as.artboard/Data/Library/Application Support/com.mapdiva.as.artboard/My
Templates
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Working with Layers
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Working with Layers
Artboard's layers are discrete, like a stack of tracing paper (or transparent mylar). Just like drawing on paper, each
layer can hold multiple graphics in your drawing. You can use each layer as its own "page" to organize your
graphics, by separating a large design into sections of related objects.
Within each layer, drawing objects have their own stack order and objects can be moved in front of or behind each
other. Just like with a stack of tracing paper, your graphics on upper layers are shown “drawn on top” of objects in
lower layers. Create your drawing with one or more drawing layers. Use layers to stack objects in front of or behind
each other, to organize for printing or exporting, and to show, hide or isolate objects for easy editing.
About Layers:
The Layers panel lists all layers in a drawing. The layer that you are working on is highlighted for easy identification.
So it's a good idea always to check which layer is active. For instance, if you try to choose an object and nothing
happens, check whether you are in the right layer.
A Guide layer and Graph Paper layer are available in every drawing file. Click the "show" (eye) icon to show (or
hide) them.
To work with layers, you should have the Layers panel visible. Using the Layers panel in Artboard, you can select
layers, create new layers, remove layers, show and hide layers, arrange the stack order of layers, and create layer
masks.
To Show (or Hide) the Sidebar Layers:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
Click the 'Sidebar' icon in the Toolbar to show and hide the layers list.
Drag the sidebar open and closed using your cursor.
Choose View > Show (or Hide) Sidebar from the main menu.
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Create, Copy, Arrange and Edit Drawing Layers
A new drawing has a single drawing layer that can contain multiple drawing objects. The number of additional
layers you can add to a drawing is limited only by your computer's parameters. In addition to creating simple layers
in Artboard, you can create layers by duplicating currently existing layers, or by converting a selection into a new
layer.
A new layer appears either above the selected layer or within the selected group. Artboard layers are discrete,
similar to layers of transparent mylar – select one layer at a time to work with the objects contained within that layer.
To Create a New Layer:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the '+' icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Choose Layer > New Drawing Layer from the main menu.
To Select and Edit Objects within a Layer
1.
2.
Click a layer in the Layers panel. The layer is now active for editing.
Use the Select [s] tool to select objects, and other drawing tools to add and edit objects as desired.
A layer's color-well, to the right of the layer Show/Hide icon, indicates the color of the selection handles when an
object on that layer is selected. To set the color, click the color-well and choose a new color from the pop-up
palette.
To Select a Layer in the Layers panel:
1.
Click a layer in the Layers panel. The layer is now active for editing.
The active layer is highlighted and shown with a white arrow to the left of the layer name. Layers that are not
active, but contain a selected object, are indicated with a white dot to the left of the layer name.
To Name or Rename a Layer:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
When a layer is added and its name is highlighted for editing, type to add the layer name.
Double-click the layer name of the layer you'd like to rename in the Layers panel, then type the new layer
name.
Right-click a layer and choose 'Rename' from the contextual menu.
To Show or Hide a Layer:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the Show / Hide icon to the right of the layer name and lock icon (looks like an eye).
Choose Layer > Hide (or Show) from the main menu.
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To Lock or Unlock a Layer:
Do one of the following:
•
Click the Lock icon to the right of the layer name to toggle between unlocked (open lock icon) and locked
(closed lock icon).
Choose Layer > Lock (or Unlock) from the main menu.
•
To Arrange Layers:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Press and drag a layer in the Layers panel to rearrange its order in the layers list.
Click a layer and choose Layer > Arrange > Bring To Front / Bring Forward / Send To Back / Send
Backward from the main menu.
To Create a Layer Group:
1.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the 'New Layer Group' icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Choose Layer > New Layer Group from the main menu.
2. Then do one of the following:
•
•
With the Layer Group selected, create a new layer. The new layer will be contained within the layer group.
Select and drag existing layer(s) into the new layer group.
To Expand and Collapse a Layer Group:
1.
Click the triangle to the left of the layer group name.
To Select a Layer in a Group:
1.
2.
Make sure the layer group Show/Hide icon (looks like an eye) is visible.
Click the individual layer in the group.
To Duplicate a Layer:
1.
2.
Click a layer in the layers panel.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose Layer > Duplicate from the main menu.
Right-click the layer and choose 'Duplicate Layer' from the contextual menu.
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To Delete a Layer:
1.
2.
Click a layer in the layers panel (the layer must be unlocked to delete it).
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose Layer > Delete Layer… from the main menu.
Right-click the layer and choose 'Delete Layer…' from the contextual menu.
A dialog appears indicating the number of objects contained on the layer with a confirmation required to delete the
layer.
To Convert the Content of a Selection into a New Layer:
1.
2.
Make a selection of object(s) in your drawing.
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
Choose Layer > Move To > New Layer from the main menu.
Copy and Paste the selection to a new layer that has been added.
Cut and Paste the selection to a new layer that has been added.
To Move the Content of a Selection Among Layers:
1.
2.
Make a selection of object(s) in your drawing.
Do one of the following:
•
Choose Layer > Move To > … choose from the list of existing layers from the main menu. Note, the move-to
layer must be visible and unlocked to accept the objects.
Copy and Paste the selection to a different layer.
Cut and Paste the selection to a different layer.
•
•
To Enable Auto-Activate Clicked Layer:
By default, Artboard layers are discrete, similar to layers of transparent mylar – select one layer at a time to work
with the objects contained within that layer. A preference enables auto-activating a layer when ever an object
contained within that layer is clicked.
1.
2.
3.
Open Artboard > Preferences… Options pane.
Check 'Auto-activate Clicked Layer'.
With the Select [s] tool, click on an object in your drawing. As needed, the layer containing the object is
activated dynamically.
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Rulers and Guides
Layout is a key aspect to good design. Guides are used extensively during layout to keep objects properly aligned.
By default, a Guides layer is provided in every drawing file.
To Show (or Hide) Rulers:
1.
Choose View > Show (or Hide) Rulers & Format Bar from the main menu.
To Add Guide Lines:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
•
Make sure Rulers are visible around the left and top of your drawing canvas.
Press onto a ruler and drag from the ruler onto your drawing canvas, from left-to-right, or top-to-bottom. The
Guides layer is automatically activated as the guide line is placed.
Constrain guides to the (visible or hidden) Graph Paper divisions by holding the SHIFT-key while placing a
guide.
Place multiple guides as desired.
When you are finished, do one of the following:
Click back onto a drawing layer to make it active and continue drawing.
Click onto a drawing tool to automatically be switched to the previous active drawing layer and continue
drawing.
To Show (or Hide) Guides:
1.
In the Layers list, click the 'Show / Hide' icon to the right of the Guides layer name. If you have placed guides,
they will become visible (or hidden).
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Guide lines are not exported or printed.
To Move Guides Around:
1.
2.
3.
Click the Guides layer to make it active for editing.
Press onto an existing guide and drag it into desired position.
Constrain guides to the (visible or hidden) Graph Paper divisions by holding the SHIFT-key while moving a
guide.
To Snap Objects to Guides:
When 'Snap To' settings are ON, object center points and handles, and path points, will snap into place.
1.
2.
Place guides on your drawing.
Choose Graphic > Snap To Guides from the main menu.
To Delete Guides:
1.
2.
Click the Guides layer to make it active for editing.
Press onto a guide and drag it off the canvas area onto a ruler.
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Using the Graph Paper Layer
A layer called 'Graph Paper' is included in all new drawings, and is hidden by default. The graph paper layer is
customizable. Graph paper can be hidden or revealed in exported and printed works.
To Turn On Graph Paper:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click “show” (eye) icon to the right of the Graph Paper layer name to make it visible.
Choose File > Graph Paper Settings… to open the Graph Paper setup dialog and check the box to make
grid lines 'Visible'.
Right-click the Graph Paper layer and choose 'Show Graph Paper' from the contextual menu.
•
To Change Grid Line Colors, Rulers and Spacing:
Grid line spacing, colors, and rulers are customizable.
1.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose File > Graph Paper Settings… to open the Graph Paper setup dialog.
Right-click the Graph Paper layer and choose Graph Paper Settings… from the contextual menu.
2.
•
•
•
3.
•
•
4.
For grid line spacing, change the following settings:
Span - the distance between graph paper primary grid lines, displayed in current drawing units.
Divisions - minor subdivisions between grid spans.
Majors - major lines encompassing several spans.
For colors, do one of the following:
Click 'Theme based on:' color-well and choose a new color for your graph paper. Semi-transparent colors are
recommended. Automatically generated shades represent span, divisions, and majors based on your color
choice.
Click 'Or' and click the color-wells to change the color independently for span, divisions, and majors.
Semi-transparent colors are recommended.
For ruler labels, change the span line setting.
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To Enable (or Disable) Isometric Grid:
The familiar Cartesian grid for graph paper is used by default. Optionally, display an isometric grid to assist with
drawing in perspective.
1.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose File > Graph Paper Settings… to open the Graph Paper setup dialog.
Right-click the Graph Paper layer and choose Graph Paper Settings… from the contextual menu.
2. Choose 'Type: Isometric' from the drop-down menu.
3. Change grid line settings and colors as desired.
To Enable Snap to Graph Paper:
When 'Snap To Graph Paper' is enabled from the main menu, object handles, centroids, and points snap to the
intersections of grid lines regardless of whether the Graph Paper layer is visible or hidden.
1.
2.
Turn on (show) the Graph Paper layer.
Choose Graphic > Snap To > Graph Paper from the main menu.
To Enable (or Disable) Automatic Snapping when Graph Paper Layer is Visible:
By default, automatic snapping is enabled when the Graph Paper layer is visible. Objects snap to the intersection
of grid lines when Graph Paper layer is visible, and do not snap when the layer is hidden.
1.
2.
Open the (App) > Preferences… Editing menu.
Check (or uncheck) the 'Snap to graph paper when graph paper is visible' option.
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Layer Mask
Masking objects on a layer is a purely visual, non-destructive way to hide parts of the current layer's content.
To Enable Layer Masking:
1.
2.
Open (App) > Preferences… Editing in the main menu.
Check "Enable Layer Mask Commands". Mask commands will be made available in Layers > Mask in the
main menu.
To Add a Shape to a Layer Mask:
1.
Select a layer in the Layers panel that contains the objects you want to mask.
2.
Draw one or more shape objects on the layer to be used as the mask (image 1).
3.
With the masking object(s) selected, choose Layer > Mask > Add To Layer Mask.
4. The masked area is initially displayed with a semi-transparent checked-pattern, hiding the drawing objects
underneath. The original masking object(s) is not automatically removed from the drawing (image 2) – move or
delete the masking object(s) as desired.
5. When you are satisfied with the layout of the mask, choose Layer > Mask > Hide Layer Mask to visually
remove the checkered mask area.
HINT: A Layer Mask is a visual effect applied only to the objects on a single layer. In this example (image 3), a
Layer Mask is applied to the "background" layer of buildings, while the figure is on a separate drawing layer on top
that is not masked.
To Clear a Mask from a Layer:
1.
2.
Select the layer with the mask you want to remove in the Layers panel.
Choose Layer > Mask > Clear Mask.
To Add Additional Shapes to the Layer Mask:
1.
2.
3.
Select the layer with the mask you want to add to in the Layers panel.
Draw another shape to add to the existing mask area.
With the masking object(s) selected, choose Layer > Mask > Add To Layer Mask.
To Subtract Areas From an Existing Layer Mask:
1.
2.
3.
Select the layer with the mask you want to subtract from in the Layers panel.
Draw a shape(s) to subtract from the existing mask area (it should overlap the existing mask area).
With the masking object(s) selected, choose Layer > Mask > Subtract from Layer Mask.
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Note on Using Text and Paths in Layer Mask:
Convert text before adding to layer mask by selecting the text and choosing Graphic > Convert To Path or
Graphic > Convert To Shape.
Outline paths before adding to layer mask by selecting the path(s)and choosing Edit > Path > Outline.
•
•
To Disable (or Enable) a Layer Mask:
1.
2.
Select the layer with the mask you want to disable (or enable) in the Layers panel.
Choose Layer > Mask > Disable (or Enable) Layer Mask.
To Hide (or Show) the Layer Mask's Checkered Mask Area:
1.
2.
Select the layer with the mask you want to hide (or show) in the Layers panel.
Choose Layer > Mask > Hide (or Show) Layer Mask.
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The Drawing Tools
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Select, Zoom and Pan Navigation
Unlike other more complicated software, use the single direct Select [s] tool to select objects, move, rotate, move
path points, change shapes, and more. Keep your focus where it belongs – on your drawing.
With multiple ways to navigate, zooming in and out, and panning around your drawing is a smooth experience.
To Select Objects:
1.
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
Click on the Select tool in the Tools palette.
When another drawing tool is active, click the [S] keyboard shortcut.
When another tool is active, click the Esc-key to end editing (as needed) and again to return to the Select tool.
2. Click onto an object to edit.
To Move Objects:
1.
With the Select [s] tool, press onto an object and drag to move it.
HINT: To nudge objects, select the object(s) and use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move incrementally in any
direction.
To Zoom In to Your Drawing:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Click the magnifying glass Zoom In tool and press-and-drag onto your drawing over the area you want to
enlarge.
Click once with the Zoom tool to enlarge the drawing a click at a time.
Use your trackpad pinch-to-zoom gesture to zoom the main view.
Use the trackpad two-finger double-tap gesture to 'Zoom To Selection if there is a selection, or 'Zoom To Fit
Window' if there isn't.
Double-click the Pan tool to ‘Fit-to window'.
Double-click the Zoom In / Out tools to zoom to 100%.
Hold the Option-key while using a scroll-wheel mouse to zoom in and out of your drawing at the current mouse
position. (Choose (app) > Preferences > Options and check 'Invert scroll-wheel zoom direction' as desired.)
Use the Shift-CMND- + keyboard shortcut.
HINT: Shadows are automatically disabled at very high zoom levels (over 800%) for enhanced performance. This
setting can be changed in (app) > Preferences > Performance in the main menu.
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To Zoom Out of Your Drawing:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Click the magnifying glass Zoom Out tool and click to reduce the zoom the drawing a click at a time.
Use your trackpad pinch-outward gesture to zoom out the main view.
Double-click the Pan tool to ‘Fit-to window'.
Double-click the Zoom In / Out tools to zoom to 100%.
Hold the Option-key while using a scroll-wheel mouse to zoom in and out of your drawing at the current mouse
position. (Choose (app) > Preferences… Options and check 'Invert scroll-wheel zoom direction' as desired.)
Use the Shift-CMND- – keyboard shortcut.
To Move / Pan Around Your Drawing:
While zoomed in, do one of the following:
•
•
Use the track pad or scroll mouse.
Click the Pan [h] tool (hand) to press and drag the drawing into position.
To enable quick-pan scrolling while zoomed into a drawing while any tool is active, hold the Spacebar to
temporarily activate the Pan tool and drag to reposition your drawing canvas. Releasing the Spacebar reverts
automatically to the active tool.
To Zoom to a Pre-Set Magnification:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose View > Zoom To 100% from the main menu.
Click the View pop-up menu at the bottom left of the drawing window and choose a magnification level.
It’s often useful to “fit to window” so that you can see your entire drawing at once.
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To Zoom To the Currently Selected Object:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose View > Zoom To Selection in the Main Menu.
Use the trackpad two-finger double-tap gesture to 'Zoom To Selection'.
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How To Draw Using Tools and Styles
In Artboard, drawing objects go hand-in-hand with the styles that fill and outline them. In fact, the formula for
drawing in Artboard is 'Drawing Tool + Style = Draw'. Here is an overview of that relationship. Other sections of this
guide provide more depth and step-by-step instructions for using these features.
Overview of the Tools Palette:
SELECTION TOOLS - Select, zoom, pan and navigate with the Selection tools.
GRAPHICS TOOLS - Use the robust graphics tools to draw unlimited shapes, lines and smooth paths. Cut, or split,
paths with the Path Cutter tool using a cutting gesture. Insert text boxes or add curved text along paths. Fine-tune
your drawing objects by adding or deleting points on paths. Use the Stamp tool to place Artboard clip art from the
Styles & Clip Art palette. Use the Style Dropper to pick up and place styles among objects. See Drawing Shapes
and Drawing Paths & Curves for more information about all the graphics tools.
PREVIEW - The Preview displays the style or clip art that is active for use with the graphics tools.
HINT: Drawing tools work with both fill and line styles. For example, the Irregular Polygon can create filled areas
when applying fill styles and linear objects when applying line styles.
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To Open the Tools Palette:
Do one of the following:
Click the Tools icon on the toolbar.
Choose Window > Tools from the main menu.
•
•
To Open the Styles and Clip Art Palette:
Do one of the following:
Click the Styles & Clip Art icon on the toolbar,.
Choose Window > Styles & Clip Art from the main menu.
•
•
To Draw Using Existing Styles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Open the Styles & Clip Art palette.
Choose a drawing tool from the Tools palette.
Choose a stroke or fill style from the Styles & Clip Art palette (note, clip art will be visible but not selectable).
Start drawing.
Continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
To change styles, click once onto a different style in the Styles & Clip Art palette and continue drawing. See The
Styles & Clip Art Palette for more information about drawing with extensive built-in styles.
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To Draw Using Styles Created in the Format Bar:
1.
2.
Choose a drawing tool from the Tools palette.
Do one of the following:
•
Start drawing. In the Format Bar, edit the style properties as desired, and continue drawing (subsequent
objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
Click the 'Reset' button in the Format Bar to reset to the default style, edit the style properties as desired, and
continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
•
See The Format Bar for more information about creating simple styles.
Artboard goes way beyond simple fill and stroke… See Using the Style Inspector for detailed information about
creating expert stacked styles and editing library styles.
To Apply a Different Style to an Existing Object:
With the object selected, do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
Double-click a stroke or fill style from the Styles & Clip Art palette.
In the Format Bar, edit the style properties as desired.
Click the 'Reset' button in the Format Bar to reset to the default style, edit the style as desired.
Edit the advanced styles in the Style Inspector… See Using the Style Inspector for detailed information about
creating expert stacked styles.
To Copy a Style From an Existing Object to Another:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the Style Dropper [d] tool.
With the cursor (it will look like an empty style dropper), click an object that you want to pick up its style.
With the cursor (it will look like a full style dropper), click an object(s) that you want to receive the style.
To pick up a different style while the Style Dropper tool is still active, press the OPTION/Alt key while clicking
an object.
Alternatively, do the following:
1. Right-click the object with the style to be picked up and choose 'Copy Style…' from the contextual menu,
right-click an object to receive the style and choose 'Paste Style…' from the contextual menu.
HINT: The dropper can pick up styles from objects inside a group.
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To "Quick Pick-up" Another Object's Style while Drawing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose a drawing tool.
Hold the CMND-key to activate the Style Dropper without switching tools.
With the cursor (it will look like an empty style dropper), click an object with the style to be picked up.
Release the CMND-key and continue drawing.
To Copy a Style from One Object to Multiple Objects:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Right-click the object with the style to be picked up and choose 'Copy Style…' from the contextual menu,
choose the Select [s] tool and select the objects to receive the style, choose Edit > Style > Paste Style…
from the main menu
Choose the Select [s] tool and click to select an object with the style to be copied, choose Edit > Style >
Copy Style… from the main menu, select the objects to receive the style, choose Edit > Style > Paste
Style… from the main menu
About Sticky Tools:
By default, tools are "sticky" – the tool will remain active until you choose a different tool (active tool will appear
highlighted orange).
Depending on the task at hand, having the tools revert immediately back to the Select [s] tool after each use may
be preferred. Double-click on any tool to release them from the sticky state (active tool will appear blue or graphite
depending on your system 'appearance' setting). In the non-sticky state, click a tool to "turn it on" and use it once.
Afterward, you’ll revert back to the direct Select [s] tool.
To make non-sticky tools sticky again, double-click on any tool.
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How to Draw Shapes
Drawing shapes is simple and direct. Object handles and control knobs are visible and editable when using the
single, direct Select [s] tool. Ovals, rectangles, arcs, wedges, stars, regular polygons and round rectangles are
directly adjustable with special object handles – we call these Smart Shapes. No more switching tools or digging
through menus to find the rotate command. Keep your attention where it should be – on your drawing canvas.
To Draw Rectangles, Ovals, Circles and Squares:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
RECTANGLE – Choose the Rectangle [r] tool, press and drag the cursor to begin drawing the shape, release
the cursor to end the shape.
SQUARE – Choose the Rectangle [r] tool, hold the SHIFT-key when drawing to maintain the aspect ratio,
press and drag the cursor to begin drawing the shape, release the cursor to end the shape.
OVAL– Choose the Oval [o] tool, press and drag the cursor to begin drawing the shape, release the cursor to
end the shape.
CIRCLE – Choose the Oval [o] tool, hold the SHIFT-key when drawing to maintain the aspect ratio, press and
drag the cursor to begin drawing the shape, release the cursor to end the shape.
To Draw Open and Closed Paths:
Do one of the following:
•
•
AN OPEN PATH – Choose the Irregular Polygon [p] or Bezier Path [b] tool, click onto the drawing canvas to
add the first point; continue clicking to add additional points connected by path segments; double-click to end
the path or press the ESC-key to end the path.
A CLOSED-LOOP PATH / IRREGULAR POLYGON – Choose the Irregular Polygon [p] or Bezier Path [b]
tool, click onto the drawing canvas to add the first point; continue clicking to add additional points connected
by path segments; click onto the first drawn point to automatically end drawing the path; the coincident points
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will act as a single point.
To OPEN A CLOSED LOOP PATH – Choose the Select [s] tool, hold the CMND-key and drag the last point
drawn away from the first point.
•
To Formally Close (or Open) Paths that Loop:
By default, the first and last placed points on a loop are treated as a single point when they are coincident (or
overlapping). However, the path is not formally closed (with a straight line segment between first and last points).
To change this behavior so paths are formally closed when you end a path by clicking on its first placed path:
1.
2.
Open the (app) > Preferences… Editing in the main menu.
Check (or uncheck) "Automatically close paths when drawing".
To open formally closed paths, do one of the following:
•
•
With the path selected, right-click and choose 'Open' from the contextual menu.
With the path selected, choose Edit > Paths (+Option-key) > Open from the main menu.
To Draw Arcs, Wedges, Stars, Regular Polygons, and Round Rectangles:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
ARCS – Choose the Arc [a] tool, click to place the center, move the cursor outward and click to define the
radius, then move the cursor to define the arc and click to end the shape. Handles on Arcs directly control the
object's rotation, radius, and arc angle.
WEDGES – Choose the Wedge [w] tool, press to place the center, drag the cursor outward to define the
radius, and release the cursor to end the shape. Handles on Wedges directly control the object's rotation,
radius, and arc angle.
REGULAR POLYGON / STAR – Choose the Regular Polygon [g] tool, press to place the center, drag the
cursor outward to define the radius, and release the cursor to end the shape. Handles on Regular
Polygons/Stars directly control the object's rotation, radius, radial ratio, tip, and valley settings. Use the
Geometry pane to change the number of sides (from 3 to 16). Additionally, to instantly create perfect
triangles, hexagons, octagons and more, uncheck the "Star" setting in the Geometry pane and adjust the
number of sides for a regular polygon.
ROUND RECTANGLES – Choose the Round Rectangle tool, press and drag the cursor to begin drawing the
shape, release the cursor to end the shape. Handles on Round Rectangles directly control the object's
rotation and corner radius.
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HINT: When your convert any of these special objects to a regular shape or path, they loose their "Smart" status
and become regular shapes without dynamic editing handles.
To Reposition, Resize and Draw Out From Center:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
REPOSITION / MOVE - Choose the Select [s] tool, press and drag the object, release. Alternatively, use the
Geometry panel to adjust the location x/y position
RESIZE - Choose the Select [s] tool, press and drag any of the object handles, release. Alternatively, use
the Geometry panel to adjust size.
DRAW OUT FROM CENTER - Choose a shape tool (such as Oval [o] or Rectangle [r]), hold the
Alt/Option-key while drawing shape, release.
DRAW OUT FROM CENTER AND CONSTRAIN ASPECT RATIO - Choose a shape tool (such as Oval [o] or
Rectangle [r]), hold the Shift-Alt/Option-key while drawing shape, release.
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To Rotate Objects:
Choose the Select [s] tool and do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
ROTATE - Select the object, press and drag the shape's purple rotation handle, release. Alternatively, use
the Geometry panel to adjust angle.
CONSTRAIN ROTATION ANGLE TO 15-DEGREE INCREMENTS - Select the object, hold the SHIFT-key and
drag the shape's purple rotation handle, release.
REPOSITION OBJECT CENTER POINT - Select the object, press and drag the center blue crosshair target,
release.
ROTATE SEVERAL OBJECTS AROUND A COMMON PONIT - Group the objects, reposition the center target
for the group as desired, and rotate.
HINT: To quickly return a rotated object to no rotation, double-click its rotation knob.
Use the Geometry Panel to Precisely Adjust an Object's Size and Position:
While objects may be resized and repositioned directly, the can also be precisely adjusted using numeric input in
the Geometry panel. (located in the lower left sidebar).
Do one of the following:
•
•
EDIT NUMERIC INPUT - Highlight or double-click the existing number and type in a new number, then click
back onto your drawing canvas to remove the focus from the Geometry panel.
LOCK (OR UNLOCK) ASPECT RATIO - When changing object width and height in the Geometry panel, click
the lock icon open (or closed).
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HINT: The numeric input menu is context sensitive to the current selected object and the object type is displayed.
Additional special object settings, such as star tips and valleys will be revealed when available. To hide the
Geometry panel, click the Geometry panel icon in the bottom of the window.
To Quickly Switch Between Shape and Edit Mode:
Drawing objects can be quickly converted between shape mode, in which the object has a bounding box, and edit
mode, in which the shape is comprised of a path and its points.
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
Choose the Select [s] tool and double-click a shape or path object.
Choose Graphic > Convert To in the main menu.
Right-click the object and choose a convert-to option in the contextual menu.
Arcs, wedges, regular polygons/stars, and round rectangles are converted to regular shape objects in this process;
double-click again to convert to path.
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To Change the Size of Object Handles:
Choose (app) > Preferences… Options and change 'Handles:' to large or small.
To Show (or Hide) the Tooltip Feedback Window:
Choose (app) > Preferences… Editing and check (or uncheck) 'Display dimensions when dragging objects'.
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How to Draw Paths and Curves
Bezier paths and freehand paths contain curve handles at points along the path. Drawing with the Freehand Path
tool is much like drawing with a pen, whereas Bezier paths give you absolute control.
Bezier curves offer some of the greatest flexibility when drawing. However, it may be the least familiar tool to some
users. A hands-on exercise is available in File > New From Template > Exercises & Demos to help you quickly
master the Bezier Path tool.
To Draw a Bezier Path:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the Bezier Path [b] tool.
Press to place the starting point and drag to begin spreading the curve handles. release the cursor to place
the curve handles (when placed, curve handles are symmetrical in length and direction).
Repeat to continue drawing the path.
Use the ESC-key or double-click to end the path.
To Draw a Freehand Path:
1.
2.
3.
Choose the Freehand Path [f] tool.
Press and move the cursor to begin drawing.
Release the cursor to end the path.
Points and curve handles are added automatically as the line is drawn, enabling later adjustment as desired.
Freehand path curve handles may be asymmetrical in length as the path is drawn.
To make the smoothest paths with the Freehand Path, make sure the Graphic > Snap To… settings are all
disabled (unchecked). If a path drawn with the Freehand Path tool appears choppy or 'stair stepped', it is likely that
snapping to Graph Paper, Guides, or Other Objects is on. Relative smoothness settings for the Freehand Path tool
are available in the (app) > Preferences… Editing.
To Draw a Straight Line:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the straight Line [l] tool.
Click to place the first point.
Optionally, press the Shift-key to draw a perfectly horizontal or vertical line, or constrain the line angle to
15-degree increments.
Click to place the last point and end the line.
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To Place a Point without a Curve (Bezier Path):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the Bezier Path [b] tool.
Click once to place a point with its curve handles collapsed (for example, a corner).
Repeat to continue drawing the path, dragging to spread handles or clicking for points with collapsed handles.
Use the ESC-key or double-click to end the path.
To Remove the Last Placed Point on a Path While Drawing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the Bezier Path [b] or Irregular Polygon [p] tool.
Begin drawing the path.
Click the Delete-key to step backwards each placed point while drawing the path.
Use the ESC-key or double-click to end the path.
To Draw a Closed-Loop Path:
1.
2.
3.
Choose the Irregular Polygon [p], Bezier Path [b] or Freehand Path [f] tool.
Place at least 3 points to begin drawing the path.
Click onto the first drawn point to automatically end drawing the path; the coincident points will act as a single
point.
HINT: If you prefer to have paths formally closed (with a straight line segment between first and last points), you
can enable this behavior in the (app) > Preferences… > Editing in the main menu; to open formally closed paths,
right-click and choose "Open" from the contextual menu or Edit > Paths (+Option-key) > Open from the main
menu.
HINT: If you prefer coincident first and last placed points to not act as a single point, you can disable this behavior
in the Preferences.
To Add Points to a Path:
1.
2.
Choose the Add Point on Path [=] tool.
Click onto the path where the point is to be added.
HINT: As needed, double-click a shape to convert it to edit path mode to show points.
To Delete Points from a Path:
1.
2.
With the path selected, choose the Delete Point on Path [-] tool.
Click on the point(s) that is to be removed
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To Edit Paths After They are Drawn:
Curves are easily adjusted after placement by dragging the curve handles, shown in blue. When adjusting curve
handles, the length of the left and right ends of the handle are adjusted independently. Modifier keys provide
control over curve handle adjustments.
SHORTCUTS AND MODIFIER KEYS:
To modify a path after it has been drawn, choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, then:
•
Move a point along a path – press and drag the point with the cursor.
•
Drag a handle away from its point, or to adjust curve handles independently of each other, including
length and direction – hold the CMND-key while adjusting the curve handles
•
Keep the length of the curve handles symmetrical to each other when making adjustments – hold the
ALT/OPTION-key while adjusting the curve handles
•
Temporarily toggle snapping to grid or guides while adjusting curve handles – hold the CTRL-key after
clicking on the handle
•
Constrain curve handles' angle to 15-degree increments – hold the SHIFT-key while adjusting a curve
handle
•
"Nudge" one or more points or curve handles – select the points and move with the keyboard arrow-keys
(nudge will move in increments based on your drawing units and graph paper settings)
•
Open a closed path, hold the CMND-key and drag the end point away from the start point; alternatively,
right-click the path and choose "Open Path" from the contextual menu; or use the Cut Path [u] tool
•
Don't forget, you can also use the Add Point on Path [+], Delete Point on Path [-], and Cut Path [u] tools :)
To Expand Curve Handles on a Path:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, while holding the CMND-key, press and drag the each curve
handle outward from the point with collapsed handles.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, while holding the Option-CMND keys, press and drag the both
curve handles symmetrically away from the point with collapsed handles.
With the path to be edited selected, right-click the path and choose 'Select All Handles', then right-click again
and choose 'Expand Handles' from the contextual menu.
With the path to be edited selected, choose Edit > Path > Select All Handles, then Edit > Path > Expand
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Handles from the main menu.
HINT: Any object, once converted to a path, can have its curve handles expanded.
To Collapse Curve Handles on a Path:
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, click to select a single handle to be collapsed, then right-click
the path and choose 'Collapse Handles' from the contextual menu.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, click to select a single handle to be collapsed, then Edit >
Path > Collapse Handles from the main menu.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, hold the Shift-key and click to select multiple handles to be
collapsed, then right-click the path and choose 'Collapse Handles' from the contextual menu.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the path, hold the Shift-key and click to select multiple handles to be
collapsed, then Edit > Path > Collapse Handles from the main menu.
With the path to be edited selected, right-click the path and choose 'Select All Handles', then right-click again
and choose 'Collapse Handles' from the contextual menu.
With the path to be edited selected, choose Edit > Path > Select All Handles, then Edit > Path > Collapse
Handles from the main menu.
To Cut and Join Paths:
Do one of the following:
•
•
To cut a path into two sections, use the Cut Path [u] tool and click onto the path at the location of the cut, or
use a cutting motion with the tool.
To join two paths into one path, move the endpoints close together then choose the Edit > Paths > Join
(CMND-J keyboard shortcut) from the main menu.
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Snapping to Grids, Guides and Other Objects
The snap-to settings create hot spots to which points, center points, and object handles will snap when active.
To Snap to the Graph Paper Grid:
Snap to graph paper creates an invisible set of evenly spaced hot spots which make object points, center points,
and handles move in even increments. Grid spacing is based on the graph paper settings. See Using the Graph
Paper Layer for more information about its setup.
1. Show (click the 'eye' icon in the Layers list) the Graph Paper layer. By default, objects will snap to grid when
graph paper is visible, and not snap when graph paper is hidden. This setting can be changed in the application
Preferences dialog.
Or do one of the following:
•
•
Choose Graphic > Snap To > Graph Paper from the main menu. Objects will snap to grid, whether the graph
paper layer is visible or not.
Choose (app) > Preferences… Editing and check 'Snap to graph paper when graph paper is visible'. Objects
will snap to grid when graph paper is visible, and not snap when graph paper is hidden.
HINT: To avoid the Freehand Path tool producing choppy or "stair stepped" lines, make sure 'Snap To' settings are
turned off.
To Snap To Guides:
Snap to guides creates hot spots along layout guide lines, to which points, center points, and handles will snap.
Guide must be placed before objects will snap. See Rulers & Guides for more information about adding guide lines.
•
Choose Graphic > Snap To > Guides from the main menu. Objects will snap to guide lines, whether guides
layer is visible or not.
To Snap to Other Objects:
Snap to other objects creates hot spots at object points, center points, and handles. Other objects' points, center
points, and handles will snap to these hotspots as their handles are dragged.
•
Choose Graphic > Snap To > Other Objects from the main menu.
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Constraining Location, Angle and Aspect Ratio
When drawing any object, it may be desirable to constrain it in various ways to keep lines perpendicular or at set
angles to the page. The relative horizontal and vertical size of an object is called its "aspect ratio". It's easy to
constrain an object's location, angle and aspect ratio using modfier keys.
To Constrain an Object's Rotation Angle:
1.
2.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select an object.
Press the SHIFT-key while draging the object's purple Rotation handle to rotate. This constrains the object
angle to 15-degree increments.
To Constrain the Angle of a Line:
1.
2.
Choose the Irregular Polygon or Line [l] tool.
Press the SHIFT-key while drawing. This constrains the line angle to 15-degree increments.
To Constrain an Object's Aspect Ratio While Drawing Circles and Squares:
1.
2.
Choose the Rectangle [r] tool, Oval [o] tool, or Round Rectangle tool.
While drawing the shape, press the SHIFT-key to constrain its aspect ratio, resulting in a perfect square, circle
or rounded square.
HINT: The SHIFT-key can be used in combination with the CMND-key to constrain the aspect ratio and draw out
from center.
To Constrain an Object's Aspect Ratio While Resizing:
Do one of the following:
Choose the Select [s] tool and select an object, press the SHIFT-key to constrain its aspect ratio, and drag
the object handles to resize an object or group,
With the object selected, click the "lock" icon in the Geometry panel to lock the width / height aspect ratio,
then enter the object width or height in the Geometry panel.
•
•
To Constrain the Angle of a Linear Gradient, Shadow, and Other Style Effects:
While editing any style component with an angle style property, press the SHIFT-key to constrain its angle to
15-degree increments.
To Hold a Shape's Centerpoint in Place While Resizing:
1.
2.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select the shape (or group) to resize.
Hold the Option-key, then press and drag the object (or group) handles to resize.
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Using Styles & Clip Art
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The Styles & Clip Art Palette
Artboard ships with an outstanding Library of over 1700 uniques styles and editable vector clip art! Plus, any styles
and graphics you create can be added to the user's Library. These are accessible to you from the Styles & Clip Art
palette while you draw.
While styles and clip art are both present in the Styles & Clip Art palette, the palette is smart about the type of tool
you have active. Choose your tool, then choose a style to apply to that tool while it is active. Items that can be
used with the active tool are enabled and highlighted, disabled items are subtly grayed-out. For example, when
you draw a shape the stroke and fill styles are enabled. Clip art are enabled when the Clip Art Stamp tool is being
used. All styles and clip art are enabled while the Select tool is active.
To Open the Styles & Clip Art Palette:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the Styles & Clip Art palette icon on the toolbar,.
Choose Window > Styles & Clip Art palette from the main menu.
Recognizing How Items Look in the Palette:
Artboard delivers with hundreds of styles and clip art items combined together in the Artboard Collection. Items are
organized into categories accessible from the Library drop-down menu. You can tell an item's type by its
appearance in the palette:
•
•
•
Path styles are shown with a curved stroke
Fill styles are shown in a square
Clip art look just like their graphic
Hover your cursor over any item and its name and type (style or clip art) will appear in the tooltip.
HINT: clip art may need ungrouped to edit after you place them in your drawing.
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To Draw with Existing Styles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Open the Styles & Clip Art palette.
Choose a drawing tool from the Tools palette.
Choose a stroke or fill style from the Styles & Clip Art palette (note, clip art will be visible but not selectable).
Start drawing.
Continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
To change styles, click once onto a different style in the Styles & Clip Art palette and continue drawing.
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To Browse Collections and Categories:
1.
2.
3.
From the Styles & Clip Art palette toolbar, choose the Library icon for a drop-down list of collections and
categories.
Use the forward and back buttons to navigate through previously visited categories.
Search for styles and clip art from the search bar.
HINT: Search results are returned for the currently selected category. If you want to search the entire Collection,
make sure "Artboard Collection" is chosen from the drop-down menu.
To Apply a Different Library Style to an Existing Object:
Do one of the following:
•
•
With the object selected, double-click a stroke or fill style from the Styles & Clip Art palette.
Press the cursor onto a style from Styles & Clip Art palette and drag it onto and existing object, release.
HINT: An alert pops up to confirm you intended the change. This alert can be turned off and reset in the Artboard
> Preferences… menu.
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To Add Clip Art to Your Drawing:
Do one of the following:
Choose the Select [s] tool from the Tools palette then drag-and-drop clip art from the Styles & Clip Art palette
directly onto your drawing canvas (note, you can also drag clip art directly from the Library Manager).
Choose the Stamp [y] tool, choose a clip art from the palette then click one or more times onto the drawing
canvas to place the clip (note, while the Clip Art Stamp tool is active, all clip art is enabled in the palette).
•
•
To Edit Clip Art:
All clip art in the Mapdiva built-in collection, with the exception of country flags, are fully editable vector objects.
Many clip art are made up of groups of objects which need ungrouped one or more times to edit them.
1.
2.
3.
Add clip art to your drawing.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select to edit the clip art.
As needed (if the clip art is a group) ungroup the objects by doing one of the following:
•
•
Choose Graphic > Ungroup from the main menu (repeat as needed).
Right-click and choose Ungroup from the context menu.
HINT: Some clip art may have groups within groups. Text may be edited within a group without ungrouping. Styles
may by picked up with the Style Dropper tool without ungrouping.
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To Add Your Own Clip Art to the Library Manager:
Clip art are a great way to reuse elements of your drawings in other works. Any graphic you draw can be saved as
your own clip art in Artboard. If your graphic is made up of two or more objects, those objects must be grouped if it
is to be saved as a single clip art.
1.
2.
3.
Create your graphic(s) and group the objects as necessary.
Select one or more separate graphics (each separate graphic or group will be added as an individual clip art).
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose Graphic > Add Clip Art to Library from the main menu.
If available, click the Add Clip Art icon from the toolbar (note, the Add Clip Art icon can be added to the
toolbar by customizing the toolbar).
Use the CMND-Y keyboard shortcut.
•
The clip art is automatically added to the Library Manager and is available immediately under "My Library" from the
Styles & Clip Art Palette.
For more information about organizing your own clip art and styles, see The Library Manager.
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The Format Bar
The Format Bar sits above the horizontal ruler and is designed to provide quick access to create and edit simple fill
and stroke styles. It provides access to these stroke style components: color, stroke width, dashes, end-caps and
corner joints; and fill style components: color and shadow.
NOTE: Complex styles, such as such as those containing arrows, hatches, patterns, or gradients, are created and
edited using the Style Inspector.
Using the Format Bar
1.
Choose View > Show (or Hide) Rulers & Format Bar from the main menu.
To Draw Using Styles Created in the Format Bar:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose a drawing tool from the Tools palette.
Start drawing.
In the Format Bar, edit the style properties as desired.
Continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
Go way beyond simple fill and stroke… see Using the Style Inspector for detailed information about creating expert
stacked styles and editing library styles.
To Change Styles in the Format Bar:
Do one of the following:
•
While drawing, edit the style properties as desired, and continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same
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•
style properties until they are changed).
Click the 'Reset' button in the Format Bar to reset to the default style, edit the style properties as desired, and
continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
To Format a Simple Style:
With an object selected, do one or more of the following:
•
•
•
•
Click the checkmarks in the Format Bar to turn stroke and fill on or off as desired.
Press and hold the color-wells to display the color array, or click once on the color-well to open the Colors
panel.
Set line width with the drop-down line width list or the slider.
Continue drawing with the style you have defined.
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The Library Manager
The Library Manager operates behind the scenes. It's where all styles and clip art are organized into collections
and categories.
The Library Manager uses an interface which is very similar to other applications such as Finder and iTunes(TM),
and this familiarity should make it quick and easy to learn and use. Similar to the Styles & Clip Art palette, items can
be dragged directly from the Library Manager to your drawing canvas.
The Library Manager's left sidebar lists the collections and categories, and its main window displays items an icon
view or list view. The Library Manager view is customizable.
To Open the Library Manager:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose Window > Library Manager from the main menu.
Add the Library Manager to the toolbar by customizing the toolbar.
Available Libraries:
The Library Manager contains two libraries – the Mapdiva Library and the user's 'My Library'. Each library may
contain one or more collections.
•
The Mapdiva Library contains a Built-In Collection with hundreds of fun styles and clip art ready for making
your next masterpiece. Items in this library cannot be modified, though they can be reorganized into various
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categories and subcategories, and also copied (cloned) to My Library for further customization.
'My Library' is the location of user created collections. Organize your styles and clip art into categories as
desired.
•
To Save Custom Styles to My Library:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open the Style Inspector.
Create a new style.
Name the style and provide an optional description.
Click the "Add to User Collection…" button. The saved items are managed in the Library Manager under "My
Library" and can be renamed, categorized, locked/unlocked, and more.
To Save Custom Clip Art to My Library:
1.
2.
3.
Draw a graphic.
Group as necessary.
Save your clip art by choosing Graphic > Save Clip Art To Library in the main menu. The saved items are
managed in the Library Manager under "My Library" and can be renamed, categorized, locked for editing, and
more.
To Make Items Editable or Not Editable:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Right-click the item and choose 'Editable' (or 'Not Editable') from the contextual menu.
From within the List view, click the icon to the right of the item name to toggle between 'Editable' or 'Not
Editable'.
Within the Icon view, double-click a style to open it in the Style Inspector. Change the Editable status from
within the Style Inspector.
•
To Rename User Styles and Clip Art:
1.
2.
3.
Double-click the name of the item in the Library Manager.
Type to rename it.
To add a description, select the style or clip art and click the "i" information button on the Library Manager
toolbar.
NOTE: Items in the built-in Mapdiva Library cannot be renamed.
To Move or Copy Items:
1.
2.
Drag-and-drop to move items between collections and categories.
To copy an item from one collection to another, hold the Option-key while dragging the item.
NOTE: Dragging from the Mapdiva Library to your own collection will copy the item rather than move it.
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To Delete Items:
To permanently remove an item from the User Library,
1.
2.
Select the item(s) and right-click.
Choose "Delete…" from the contextual menu (items must be 'Editable' to be deleted).
NOTE: Items in the built-in Mapdiva Library cannot be deleted.
To Manage Categories:
Categories keep your styles and clip art organized and easy to find. You can freely add categories to organize the
collections, and categories can be divided into subcategories.
Adding a New Category
To add a new category, click the '+' button or choose "New Category" in the Action Menu (looks like a gear). A new
"untitled category" is added to the active collection (or, if you have selected a category, a new subcategory (child)
of the selected category is added). Type a name for the category. A category can be renamed at any time by
double-clicking its name and typing a new one. Category names must be unique within a collection.
Deleting Categories
To delete a category, select the category and click the '-' button or choose "Delete Category…". Deleting a
category does not delete the styles and clip art it contains – items remain available in the "All Items" category
unless intentionally deleted – but they may be harder to find later. This operation cannot be undone.
Adding Items to Categories
Individual styles and clip art can belong to one or more category. Items are organized into categories using
drag-and-drop. Simply select the "All Items" category to show the content of the library, then drag items (shift-click
to select multiple items) to the desired category in the left-hand list. To nest and unnest categories, just
drag-and-drop the category where you want it.
Removing Items from Categories
To remove items from a category, select the items, right-click and choose "Remove From Category" from the
contextual menu. Alternatively, select the category and drag items out of the window to some empty space.
Removing an item from a category does not delete it from its collection – it will remain available in the "All Items"
category unless intentionally deleted. Items can't be removed from or directly added to any of the automatically
managed categories, such as "All Items."
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To Use Smart Categories:
In addition to normal categories, a special type of category exists called a "Smart Category." Smart Categories are
shown having a purple-colored icon.
Smart Categories work by filtering the entire collection based on a set of criteria you establish. As such, their
content is dynamic and will change automatically as items are added, removed and edited. Smart Categories are
similar to Smart Folders and Smart Playlists feature in applications such as Finder and iTunes(TM).
Adding a New Smart Category
To create a Smart Category, select the collection to add it to and choose New Smart Category… from the Action
Menu. The criteria editor is opened ready to edit the category. You can build up the desired filter by combining
different criteria as you wish; click '+' to add a new criteria to the query, '-' to remove a criteria. You can also limit the
content to a fixed number of results if you wish. Click 'Save' to establish the Smart Category which will immediately
display the content matching the query. Double-click the name or right-click and choose "Rename" from the
contextual menu to change a Smart Category's name.
Editing Smart Categories
Smart Categories are not directly editable in that you can't drag items into or out of them, but you can edit the filter
criteria. To edit the filter criteria, select the category and choose "Edit Smart Category…" from the Action Menu.
The criteria editor is opened ready to edit the category.
Deleting Smart Categories
To delete a Smart Category, select the category and click the '-' button or choose "Delete Category…". Deleting a
category does not delete the styles and clipart it contains – items remain available in the "All Items" category
unless intentionally deleted. This operation cannot be undone.
To Get More Information on Styles and Clip Art:
1.
Click the "Get Info" icon in the Library Manager Toolbar.
A drawer slides out and displays information about the selected style or clip art. This information includes the name,
description, and other item metadata. Use the information panel to edit the name and description of your User
Library items.
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To Import a Collection:
If you receive a collection from another user (or from Mapdiva), do one of the following:
•
In Finder, unzip the file (as needed), then in the Library Manager choose "Import Collection…" from the Action
Menu (looks like a gear). The collection will be imported into My Library and displayed.
In Finder, unzip the file (as needed), then double-click the collection file. The Artboard Library Manager will
launch and collection will be automatically imported into My Library.
•
To Export a Collection:
Export from My Library to create a zip file on disk of the entire collection, allowing you to backup and share it with
other users.
1.
2.
Select the desired collection to export.
Choose "Export Collection…" from the Library Manager – Action Menu (looks like a gear).
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Creating Custom Styles
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Using the Style Inspector
One of the most powerful aspects of Artboard is its ability to go way beyond simple stroke and fill styles. The Style
Inspector is used to create and edit expert "stacked" styles, comprised of various style components, such as
gradients, arrows, and pattern fills.
The Style Inspector is also used to save custom styles to the user's Library collection.
Play with the Style Inspector's many style components to build "stacked" styles and you'll be an expert in no time
flat. See Available Style Components for more information.
To Open the Style Inspector:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the Style Inspector icon in the toolbar.
Choose Window > Style Inspector from the main menu.
To Reset the Style to the Default:
1.
2.
3.
Click the 'Reset' button in the Style Inspector to reset to the default style (grey fill, black stroke).
Edit the style properties as desired.
Continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
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To Copy a Style using 'Clone':
'Clone' makes a copy of an existing style so you can make changes to it and continue drawing without affecting the
original. This makes it easy to adjust some properties, such as a stroke’s width or color, while retaining other style
component settings as desired.
1. With the Style Inspector open, make an existing style the active style (it should show in the Style Inspector
'Preview') by doing one of the following:
•
•
•
Select an object with the style to be cloned.
Select a style in the Styles & Clip Art palette.
Select a style in the Library Manager.
2. Click the 'Clone' button in the Style Inspector to copy to the style.
3. Edit the style properties as desired.
4. Continue drawing (subsequent objects have the same style properties until they are changed).
HINT: Styles in the built-in Mapdiva collection cannot be over-written – to enable editing styles in the built-in
collection, use "Clone" to make a copy of the original.
To Work with Non-Saved (Ad Hoc) Styles:
Styles you create while you draw are called "ad hoc" styles unless they are added to your user library. Unless you
want to save a style for future re-use, there is no need to rename or add these styles to your Library collection.
Simply create styles as desired and continue drawing.
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To Enable Editing a Library Style:
Saved styles are “master styles” and when saved they are, by default, set as not editable to prevent unintended
changes.
1.
2.
3.
With the style active, check "Editable" in the Style Inspector.
If presented with a confirmation message, click 'Make Editable'.
After editing, we recommend unchecking the box 'Editable' to prevent further unintended changes.
HINT: Styles in the built-in Mapdiva collection cannot be over-written – to enable editing styles in the built-in
collection, use "Clone" to make a copy of the original.
To Build a Style Using the Style Inspector:
Styles are "built" by combining various style components.
1.
2.
3.
Select or draw an object to receive the new style.
With the object selected, press the '+' button to add a style component from the drop-down list.
Adjust the properties of the style component as desired. Multiple components may be added. See Available
Style Components for more information about style component settings.
For example, to build this cased line with a center dash, three strokes of varying widths are defined and stacked.
Here we combine a black solid line, a narrower magenta solid line, and a green dashed line. The black stroke is
defined first, then the magenta, then the green line. The list shows the order that components are drawn, so the
last (bottom) item in the list is drawn last, which will appear 'on top' of components already drawn. Drag to rearrange
the stacking order of style components.
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To Remove a Style Component:
1.
2.
With the style active, click onto the style component name in the style component list.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the '-' button to remove the style component.
Right-click the style component name and choose 'Delete Component' from the contextual menu.
To Enable (or Disable) a Style Component without Removing It:
1.
2.
With the style active, click onto the style component name in the style component list.
Check (or uncheck) the 'Enable' box to show (or hide) the style component without removing it.
HINT: To edit a style component it must be enabled (check box). Disabled components can neither be edited, nor
show up when the style is used to draw an object. If desired, individual components of a style can be uniquely
named by double-clicking in the master list of the Style Inspector.
To Copy/Paste Style Components:
Each style component carries its own adjustable properties. You can copy and paste a component (and its
associated property settings) to the same or other styles.
1.
2.
3.
With the style active, click onto the style component name in the style component list.
Right-click the style component and choose 'Copy Component' from the contextual menu.
Do one of the following:
•
Right-click again in the style component list area and choose 'Paste Component' from the contextual menu.
Adjust style properties as desired.
Make a new or different style active, right-click in the style component list area and choose 'Paste Component'
from the contextual menu. Adjust style properties as desired.
•
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To Save a New Library Style:
Optionally, use the Style Inspector to name your styles and add them to "My Collection…" for future use.
1.
2.
3.
4.
When you’re satisfied with your new style, click back onto the "Style" heading in the component list to return
to the front dialog.
Click onto the ad-hoc name, highlight it and type a new style name.
Optionally, click the text 'Optional description' and type a description for your new style.
Click the 'Add to User's Collection…' button. The Library Manager is launched and the style is added to My
Library > My Collection.
New styles are immediately available in the Styles & Clip Art Palette where you can use them for drawing.
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Available Style Components
From the Style Inspector, a wide assortment of components are available to create awesome custom styles.
What you can achieve with custom styles is nearly limitless. For example, with the Roughened Stroke, you can
easily mimic pencil lines or markers. The Tagged Stroke offers an amazing flexibility for easily creating hatched
strokes. Add repeatable patterns along strokes, such as adding flowers along a path. Create tile fills for textures.
Stack multiple style components together. Artboard's Style Inspector helps you build and save your creations
– enabling more creativity and greater productivity.
To Add a Stroke and Edit Its Properties:
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Stroke' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for strokes:
•
COLOR – Press and hold the color-well to display the color array, or click once on the color-well to open the
Colors panel.
WIDTH – Set line width with the slider, highlight the text and type the line width, or use the up/down arrows to
adjust the line width.
SOLID LINE or DASH – Choose 'Solid Line' or a dash pattern from the drop-down list, or choose 'Other…' to
define a custom dash pattern in the dialog that is presented.
LINE-CAP and CORNER-JOIN – Click the icons to choose butted, rounded or square line caps (the
appearance at the end of the stroke); and mitered, round, or beveled corners.
CLIPPING – Choose from 'None' for no clipping, 'Inside' to clip the visual stroke to the inside of the path
centerline, or 'Outside' to clip the visual stroke to the outside of the path centerline.
OFFSET – Use the slider to offset the visible stroke to the left or right of the path centerline.
SHADOW – Check the box to enable the stroke shadow. Press and drag the knob to adjust the shadow
angle. Move the sliders to adjust the shadow distance and blur. Press and hold the color-wells to display the
color array, or click once on the color-well to open the Colors panel and change the shadow color.
•
•
•
•
•
•
HINT: Select the color well and choose from millions of colors using the Colors panel. From the Colors panel,
transparency can also be set using the Opacity Slider. See Making the Most of Your Apple Color Picker for more
information.
HINT: Heavy use of shadows can affect drawing speed. For good performance, a preference hides shadows when
viewing the document above 800% zoom. This preference can be changed and/or disabled in the Artboard >
Preferences … Performance dialog.
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To Add an Arrowed or Dimension Line Stroke:
1.
2.
3.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Arrowed Stroke' from the drop-down menu.
Color, line width, dash, and shadow properties are set in the same way as a standard stroke.
The following additional properties can be edited for Arrowed stroke:
•
ARROW HEAD (END) STYLE – The Arrowed Stroke is highly flexible in that you can set arrow head style on
one or both ends. Choose a beginning and/or end style from the drop-down lists.
ARROW SIZE / SHAPE – Set the arrowhead size by dragging the knob (small square) In the arrow preview
area.
DIMENSION LINE LABEL – Choose the dimension setting, including the location along the line, tolerance,
and the dimension unit (linear, diameter, radius, or angle). Edit the font appearance by clicking the "A" button.
Dimensions will be displayed in the current drawing units.
•
•
To Add a Rough Stroke:
1.
2.
3.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Roughened Stroke' from the drop-down menu.
Color, line width, dash, and shadow properties are set in the same way as a standard stroke.
The following additional properties can be edited for Roughened stroke:
•
ROUGHNESS – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent
roughness of the stroke.
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To Add a Tagged Stroke:
The Tagged Stroke offers an amazing flexibility for easily creating strokes with "tags" or hatches.
1.
2.
3.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Tagged Stroke' from the drop-down menu.
Color, line width, dash, and shadow properties are set in the same way as a standard stroke.
The following additional properties can be edited for Tagged stroke:
•
•
SHOW MAIN STROKE – Check to show the main stroke, uncheck to hide the main stroke and show tags only.
TAG KIND – Press the 'Kind' drop-down list to choose the appearance of the tag, such as lines, squares,
triangles, semi-circles, circles and "v"s.
TAG WIDTH – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the width of the
tags.
TAG LENGTH – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the length of
the tags.
TAG SPACING – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the spacing
of the tags along the path.
TAG PHASE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent of
the path shown before the tags start.
TAG ANGLE – Press and drag the knob to adjust the tag's angle.
ALTERNATING TAGS – When checked, alternating tags are placed to opposite sides of the stroke.
TAG TAPER – Check the boxes to taper the tags off as they reach the left or right side of the path. Choose
the type of taper to be applied. Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to
adjust the percent distance of the taper to ends of the path.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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To Add a Tapered Stroke:
Artboard's Tapered Stroke supplies an easy way to build styles for elegant paths.
1.
2.
3.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Tapered Stroke' from the drop-down menu.
Color, line width, dash, and shadow properties are set in the same way as a standard stroke.
The following additional properties can be edited for Tapered stroke:
•
TAPER – Check the boxes to taper the tags off as they reach the left and/or right side of the path. Choose
the type of taper to be applied. Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to
adjust the percent distance of the taper to ends of the path.
To Add a Zig-Zag Stroke:
1.
2.
3.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Zig-Zag Stroke' from the drop-down menu.
Color, line width, dash, and shadow properties are set in the same way as a standard stroke.
The following additional properties can be edited for Zig-Zag stroke:
•
AMP – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the amplitude (distance
from centerline) of the zig-zag wave effect.
WAVE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the wavelength
(distance between waves) of the zig-zag wave effect.
SPREAD – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the curvature of
the peaks of the wave.
•
•
To Add a Path Decorator:
Add objects, symbols, or images repeatedly along a path using Path Decorator. For example, draw a circle on the
drawing canvas and copy it. Paste it into the image well under Path Decorator. The circle is now added at regular
intervals along the path.
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Path Decorator' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for Path Decorator:
•
IMAGE – Copy a small graphic from your drawing and click 'Paste Image', or click 'Image File…' to launch
Finder and select an image. Vector graphics (such as those copied/pasted from your drawing) are converted
to PDF images and are not editable when part of a style component.
TANGENT TO PATH – When checked, each image will be aligned to the paths curvature. When uncheck
each image will be aligned to the page.
SCALE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent scale
factor of the image.
SPACING – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the distance
between each image.
LEAD-IN – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the distance from
the start of the path before images are applied.
END RAMP – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the proportion of
•
•
•
•
•
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path length where images are gradually scaled up to their final size.
OFFSET – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the lateral
displacement of images from the path centerline.
ALTERNATING OFFSET – When checked, alternating images are placed to opposite sides and with
180-degree rotation.
CLIPPING – Choose from the drop-down list to clip images to the inside or outside of the path.
•
•
•
HINT: For good performance (drawing speed), the image should be small, not too complex, and not too closely
spaced.
To Add a Color Fill:
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Color Fill' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for Color Fill:
•
COLOR – Press and hold the color-well to display the color array, or click once on the color-well to open the
Colors panel.
IMAGE – Copy a small graphic from your drawing and click 'Paste Image', or click 'Image File…' to launch
Finder and select an image. Vector graphics (such as those copied/pasted from your drawing) are converted
to PDF images and are not editable when part of a style component. Useful for tiled images whose properties
do not need adjusted.
SHADOW – Check the box to enable the stroke shadow. Press and drag the knob to adjust the shadow
angle. Move the sliders to adjust the shadow distance and blur. Press and hold the color-wells to display the
color array, or click once on the color-well to open the Colors panel and change the shadow color.
•
•
HINT: Select the color well and choose from millions of colors using the Colors panel. From the Colors panel,
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transparency can also be set using the Opacity Slider. See Making the Most of Your Apple Color Picker for more
information.
HINT: Heavy use of shadows can affect drawing speed. For good performance, a preference hides shadows when
viewing the document above 800% zoom. This preference can be changed and/or disabled in the Artboard >
Preferences … Performance dialog.
To Add a Gradient Fill:
Use Gradient Fill for stylish linear and radial gradients. The gradient well gives you the "big" picture as you build the
style. Gradients can have 2 or more color-stops for awesome effects.
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Gradient Fill' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for Gradient Fill:
•
COLOR SLIDER – The color slider is the place to control color selection and placement. To set gradient
colors, select the color stops at each end of the gradient bar. Choose colors form the Colors panel. Add and
remove color stops using the “+” and “-” on the left side of the gradient bar, or drag color stops off of the slider
bar to remove them. Drag color stops to reposition along the gradient bar.
LINEAR GRADIENT – Choose for a linear gradient.
**LINEAR GRADIENT ANGLE – In the gradient-well, rotate the knob on the Iris control to set the angle of the
gradient. Hold the SHIFT-key to constrain the angle of the gradient to 15-degree increments.
RADIAL GRADIENT – Choose for a gradient radiating outward from a point.
**RADIAL GRADIENT POSITION AND RADIUS – In the gradient-well, drag Iris-control rings to adjust the
center point of a radial gradient. Drag ring tabs to set gradient radius and adjust the color blend between two
•
•
•
•
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circles of color.
ANGLE RELATIVE TO OBJECT – Checked makes the gradient angle to be set relative to the object.
Unchecked makes the gradient angle to be set relative to the page.
•
To Add a Zig-Zag Fill:
1.
2.
3.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Zig-Zag Fill' from the drop-down menu.
Color, and shadow properties are set in the same way as a color fill.
The following additional properties can be edited for Zig-Zag fill:
•
AMP – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the amplitude (distance
from edge) of the zig-zag wave effect.
WAVE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the wavelength
(distance between waves) of the zig-zag wave effect.
SPREAD – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the curvature of
the peaks of the wave.
•
•
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To Add a Pattern Fill:
Using the Pattern Fill, objects, symbols, or images are regularly repeated within the fill area.
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Pattern Fill' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for Pattern Fill:
•
IMAGE – Copy a small graphic from your drawing and click 'Paste Image', or click 'Image File…' to launch
Finder and select an image. Vector graphics (such as those copied/pasted from your drawing) are converted
to PDF images and are not editable when part of a style component. Useful for tiled images whose properties
do not need adjusted.
SCALE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent scale
factor of the image.
SPACING – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the distance
between each image.
ALT OFFSET – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the proportion
of additional offset applied to alternating rows.
ANGLE – Press and drag the knob to adjust the overall pattern angle around the center point.
RAND SPACING – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to apply a
randomness factor to the motif's position.
RAND SCALE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to apply a randomness
factor to the motif's scale.
RAND ANGLE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to apply a randomness
factor to the motif's angle.
ANGLE RELATIVE TO OBJECT – When checked, the pattern's overall angle is relative to the object. When
unchecked, the pattern's overall angle is relative to the page.
IMAGE ANGLE IS RELATIVE TO PATTERN ANGLE – When checked, individual motif's image angle is
relative to the overall pattern angle.
SUPPRESS CLIPPED IMAGES – When checked, images that would be clipped by the object's path are not
drawn.
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HINT: For good performance (drawing speed), the image should be small, not too complex, and not too closely
spaced.
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About Suppressing Clipped Images:
HINT: When a new object is drawn using a pattern fill style, the image objects in the pattern may appear clipped at
the edges of the shape. You can use "Suppress clipped images" to hide images at the edge of a shape if they
would otherwise appear as clipped.
To Add a Hatch Fill and Dot Screen:
Hatch fill is used to create patterns of lines or dots. This component offers control over line width, spacing, lead-in,
color, and angle. Lines can be dashed, and roughness and wobble can even be added to create a wavy pattern.
Add two or more Hatch Fill components with differing angles to create checkered and grid patterns.
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Hatch Fill' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for Hatch Fill:
•
LINE WIDTH – Set line width with the slider, highlight the text and type the line width, or use the up/down
arrows to adjust the line width.
SPACING – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the distance
between each line.
LEAD-IN – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the lead-in, or
phase, of the hatch.
ANGLE – Press and drag the knob to adjust the hatch line angle.
ANGLE RELATIVE TO OBJECT – When checked, the hatch's overall angle is relative to the object. When
unchecked, the hatch's overall angle is relative to the page.
SOLID LINE or DASH – Choose 'Solid Line' or a dash pattern from the drop-down list, or choose 'Other…' to
define a custom dash pattern in the dialog that is presented.
COLOR – Press and hold the color-well to display the color array, or click once on the color-well to open the
Colors panel.
ROUGHNESS – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent
roughness of the lines.
WOBBLE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent
"wobbliness" or random offset of each line.
DOT DENSITY – To generate a dot pattern, highlight the text and type the percent dot density, or use the
up/down arrows to adjust the dot density. After setting a dot density, changing “Line width” with a dot pattern
adjusts the dot diameter. Changes to other properties then apply to the dot pattern.
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To Add an Image Adornment:
Although they look similar, an Image Adornment is different from adding a regular image object to your drawing. An
Image Adornment is an actual component of the style, which can be applied like any style to any shape. Whereas
a regular image object (for example, added from the Image Browser) is a single object.
1.
2.
Press the '+' button and choose 'Image Adornment' from the drop-down menu.
The following properties can be edited for Image Adornment:
•
IMAGE – Copy a small graphic from your drawing and click 'Paste Image', or click 'Image File…' to launch
Finder and select an image. Vector graphics (such as those copied/pasted from your drawing) are converted
to PDF images and are not editable when part of a style component. Useful for tiled images whose properties
do not need adjusted.
FIT OBJECT – When selected, the image is scaled to fit the object (image may be stretched).
FIT MAINTAINING ASPECT RATIO – When selected, the image is scaled to fit the object while maintaining
the aspect ratio (image width or height may be artificially cropped).
SCALE – When selected, the image is scaled according to a user-defined scale factor. Use the slider,
highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent scale factor of the image.
OPACITY – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the percent
opacity of the image adornment.
ANGLE – Press and drag the knob to adjust the overall pattern angle around the center point.
CLIP TO PATH – When checked, the image is clipped to the object's path.
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HINT: Dropping an image from the Image Browser or Finder onto any shape with a fill automatically adds the image
as an Image adornment. Use the Style Inspector to adjust the Image Adornment settings.
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To Add an Effects Group:
An 'Effects Group' applies certain effects, such as blurs and blooms, to other style components within your style. To
apply an effects group:
1.
2.
Press the '+' button, and from the drop-down menu 'Groups' section, choose 'Core Image Filter' or 'Transform'.
Do one of the following:
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With the Effects Group (either 'Core Image Filter' or 'Transform') selected in the style components list, press
the '+' button and choose any style component from the drop-down menu. The style component will be added
nested within the group.
Click onto other style components in the style components list and drag them into (or under) the Effect Group.
They will appear as nested within the group.
To remove a style component from an Effects Group, drag the component out of the group.
•
•
To Add a Core Image Filter Effects Group:
Core Image Filters are advanced style component that apply filters to other style components. A wide assortment of
image filters are available. This example shows an orange stroke moved into the Core Image Filter Group.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Add the 'Core Image Filter' effects group and arrange the desired style components nested within the group
(see above).
Click onto the effects group name in the Style Component list to reveal the available filters.
From the drop-down list, select a filter effect to apply to the group.
Once a filter effect is selected, a set of filter-specific properties is presented that may be adjusted by the user.
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HINT: Filters are well suited to work with images such as an Image Adornment style component, while a limited
number of filters work well with strokes and fills, such as Gaussian Blur.
To Add a Transform Effects Group:
'Transform' enables interesting 3-d visual effects. Based on user input, transform adds copies of the style
component in a stacked fashion under the original object.
1.
2.
3.
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Add the 'Transform' effects group and arrange the desired style components nested within the group (see
above).
Click onto the effects group name in the Style Component list to reveal the available properties.
The following properties can be edited for Transform:
NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL COPIES – Highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to set the
number of copies to be added to the stack.
X OFFSET – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the X offset and
slide the stack in a distance and direction from the center of the object at the angle designated.
Y OFFSET – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the Y offset and
slide the stack in a distance and direction from the center of the object at the angle designated
X SCALE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the adjust the X
scale (size) of the copies.
Y SCALE – Use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the adjust the Y
scale (size) of the copies.
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RELATIVE ANGLE – When checked, the transform is calculated relative to the object's angle.
ROTATE – Press and drag the knob to adjust the rotation angle of each copy.
REVERSE – When checked, that transform effects are applied in reverse order.
BLEND – When checked, each copy's color is a blend between the original color and the blend color here
(use the color-well to set color).
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Making the Most of Your Apple Color Picker
Perhaps no time in history has it been easier to access such a rich array of colors and palettes. The Colors panel
provides multiple ways to specify, select, and save colors for your drawing. The following sections describe each of
these methods.
To Open the Colors Panel:
Do one of the following:
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•
Click the Colors icon in the toolbar.
Choose Window > Colors from the main menu.
HINT: he Colors panel is also used when changing colors in the Fonts panel and Style Inspector.
To Drag-and-Drop Colors:
You can apply the colors you choose in the Colors panel to simple object styles on the page.
Drag and drop color from the colorwell directly onto the object. Dropped colors will “bucket-fill” objects to replace a
color that was previously applied. It will change the color of outlines on objects with stroke styles but no fill. It will
change the top stroke color on lines with cased line styles or other multi-stroke effects. Drag and drop color can
also be used on text.
In all cases, when a color is quick-dropped onto a object, the style of that object is replaced with a new ad-hoc
style. This avoids unintentional changes to master styles in the Library.
To Use the Color Wheel:
Across the top of the Color window are a series of icons. The first icon opens a Color Wheel that allows you to pick
the hue and saturation from the wheel, the value from a slider on the side, and adjust the opacity/transparency
from a slider on the bottom.
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To Pick Up Existing Colors from Your Drawing with the Magnifying Glass:
The Color Picker Magnifying Glass is a great color tool for accurately picking colors from an existing drawing. Use
the magnifying glass to pick colors off of existing symbols and styles, photographs, art images, inspiration maps, or
other color palettes you have found.
1.
2.
Choose the magnifying glass and move your cursor anywhere on your screen. It magnifies the pixels below it.
Click anywhere on your screen to pick the color of any pixel.
To Save Colors in the Swatch Drawer:
You can save up to 300 temporary swatches at one time (open the Colors panel and the drawer to the maximum
size to see all 300 swatches.)
1.
2.
3.
Open the Swatch drawer at the bottom of the Colors panel by dragging on the bottom drawer knob.
Save colors you are working on by dragging them to the swatches.
Delete swatches by dragging a white swatch over them.
To Use Color Sliders:
The second icon opens the Sliders portion of the picker, where sliders control all the normal color picking schemes:
Gray Scale, RGB, CYMK, and HSB. Numeric values representing color can also be entered.
HINT: CMYK colors are typically recommended when you are creating a graphic for print publication and want
precise control over the printed colors. All colors used throughout are calibrated and subject to a color-controlled
and calibrated workflow if you use one.
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To Use Color Palettes:
The third icon opens the Color Palettes portion of the Color window. When considering a new color scheme or
creating a new series of styles and symbols, Color Palettes is a great place to start. Color lists are presented from a
drop-down palette menu. There are a few default color palette lists, including Web Safe Colors.
The strength of the Color Palettes is that you can make your own. Use the Magnifying Glass to select just the right
colors. This is an excellent way to put a consistent set of colors at your fingertips. Additionally, color palettes
created here can be shared with others and are available in all other applications that use the Colors panel (your
List and Image Palettes are stored in the ~user > Library > Colors folder).
To create your own color list, choose New from the action menu. A new unnamed list will be opened, containing
only the color currently in the large color well at the top of the window. Rename the list using the action menu.
Using any of the color selection methods described below, drag-and-drop colors from the color well or a mini-well in
the bottom Swatch drawer into the list window. Alternatively, select a color and click “+” below the list window to add
it to the list. Repeat selecting colors using any method, adding colors to the list.
Double-click on list items to give each of the colors a meaningful name. You can easily find colors by typing part of
the name into the Search field below the List window.
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To Use the Image Palette:
The fourth icon opens the Image Palettes. The Spectrum Palette is loaded by default, but you aren't limited to it.
You can open any picture you have, and use it as a palette, by choosing New From File or New From Clipboard
from the Palette menu below the picture. You can also drag-and-drop images directly from the Image Browser into
the image-well.
Once you have one, you can pick any color from within it, just by clicking. Or you can drag and watch the colors
change. A tiny white square will show you exactly where you are. Drag-and-drop colors from the large color well to
the bottom Swatch drawer for later use.
To Use Crayon Colors:
The Crayon picker lets you quickly select from 48 basic colors. The Crayon colors are used for basic fills and strokes
in the Styles & Clip Art palette.
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Cascading "Shared" Styles
Advanced users can “share” styles that cascade across objects. Artboard is smart about sharing styles. When you
draw several objects using a shared style, they share the properties of that style. If you edit a shared style, the
changes are applied across all instances of the style – in other words you will see the changes on all objects where
the style has been used. In this way, changes to styles across multiple objects can be made very quickly and
efficiently.
If you've used Artboard version 1.6 or prior and have existing styles that you want to continue to be shared,
activate this setting in the Artboard Preferences pane.
To Enable (or Disable) Cascading "Shared" Styles:
1.
2.
Check (or uncheck) 'Enable Style Sharing' in the Artboard > Preferences… Editing pane.
Each time you create a new style, check the 'Shared' box to make the style sharable.
HINT: If you want new styles that you create to be sharable by default, make sure "Styles are sharable by default"
is also checked in the Preferences menu.
About Shared Styles:
Shared styles cascade across objects. Choose a shared style and draw three objects in a row – they share the
same style; adjust the style and the change automatically cascade across all three objects. You can break the style
link between successive objects by clicking “Reset” to create a new style, or "Clone" to create a new style based on
the one currently in use.
The Format Bar provides quick access to simple fill and stroke style editing. Advanced “expert” styles, such as
arrowed paths and gradient fills, are created and edited using Artboard’s powerful Style Inspector. Remember,
shared styles cascade across drawing objects– if you edit a style without clicking "Reset" or "Clone" the changes
will apply across all objects where the style has been used.
HINT: Styles in the built-in Mapdiva collection cannot be over-written – to edit styles in the built-in collection, use
"Clone" to make a copy of the original.
HINT: Editing a shared library style can have unforeseen consequences, including if the style is in use in other
documents.
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How To Use 'Reset' and 'Clone':
Do one of the following:
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To create a new style from scratch, click the 'Reset' button. The style is reset to Artboard's simple default style
with a black stroke and gray fill. To customize the style, check or uncheck the "Stroke" and "Fill" style
components and adjust the colors and settings as desired. Continue drawing.
To create a style from an existing style, use an existing style and click the 'Clone' button. Clone will make a
copy of the style you are currently using so you can make changes to it and continue drawing. Use clone, for
example, when you want to change the stroke width but keep all other settings the same. Complex styles
should be edited in the Style Inspector.
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Working with Drawing Objects
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Moving, Grouping, and Converting Objects
Before you can move, modify or perform other operations on shapes, you must select them. A selected shape has
handles that let you move and manipulate the shape. Use Artboard's single direct select tool to select and move
objects, and a variety of handy keyboard shortcuts and commands to modify them.
To Move, Resize and Rotate Objects:
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REPOSITION – Move objects by selecting with the Select [s] tool and dragging, or use the Geometry panel to
adjust the object's x.y location.
RESIZE (SCALE) – Shapes by dragging any of the object handles with the Select [s] tool, or use the
Geometry panel to adjust size.
ROTATE – Drag an object's purple rotation handle with the Select [s] key to rotate around their center point,
or use the Geometry panel to set the rotation angle.
REPOSITION AN OBJECT'S CENTER POINT – Drag the center blue crosshair target with the Select [s] tool to
move the point of object rotation.
To Change the Stack Order of Objects – Moving Forward and Back:
Within each layer, objects have a stack order as they are drawn. Newer objects are drawn on top of existing
objects. This is independent of layers, which control the display order of all objects among individual layers.
Do one of the following:
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Use the Graphic > Bring To Front, Bring Forward, Send To Back, Send Backward commands from the
main menu to change the stack order of objects.
Right-click on a graphic for quick access to the contextual menu stack order commands.
These functions are also available as toolbar icons via the Customize toolbar menu.
HINT: Occasionally, an object with a larger bounding box may be stacked "in front" of another object. Because of
the overlap, the top object may either hide the lower object or make it difficult to select because the top object
bounding box is in the way. Select the top object and use the Tab-key to cycle through a series of overlapping
objects to select them.
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To Group Objects:
Do one of the following:
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Choose Graphic > Group from the main menu to group two or more objects.
Use the CMND-G keyboard shortcut.
Click the Group icon in the toolbar.
Note that when objects are grouped, they are moved to the top of the stack order. If a style is applied to a group,
all objects within the group will receive the new style. Text within a group can be double-clicked for convenient
editing without ungrouping.
HINT: When you place clip art onto your drawing canvas the clip art are composed of regular drawing objects,
though they may need ungrouped to edit.
To Ungroup Objects:
Do one of the following:
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Choose Graphic > Ungroup from the main menu.
Use the SHIFT-CMND-G keyboard shortcut.
Click the Ungroup icon in the toolbar.
To Convert Objects From Shape Mode to Edit Path Mode:
Do one of the following:
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Double-click a path or shape to quickly switch between shape mode and edit path mode. For example, a path
object can be converted to a shape object and vice-versa.
Choose Graphic > Convert To Path (or Shape) from the main menu.
Right-click and choose the 'Convert To…' command from the object's contextual menu.
HINT: Special shapes, such as stars and round rectangles, will be converted into paths then back to normal
shapes through this process (they cannot be converted back into special shapes).
HINT: Text objects are conveniently converted to Path, Shape, or Shape Group using the 'convert to' commands.
Text-box text can also be converted to Text On Path. Converting text to a Shape Group enables several glyphs to
be converted into a group of individual shapes. Ungroup the shape group to render each glyph as an individual
shape which can be independently styled and manipulated.
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Copy and Duplicate Objects
Any object can be copied to the system clipboard and pasted back into the drawing, or to other applications such
as Apple Pages(TM) or Keynote(TM).
To Copy and Paste or Duplicate Objects:
1. To copy, do one of the following:
Select the object(s) and choose Edit > Copy from the main menu.
Use the CMND-C keyboard shortcut.
With the Select [s] tool active, hold the Option-key then press and drag an object to make a quick copy.
Choose Edit > Duplicate Objects > Once or CMND-D keyboard shortcut to quickly make single copies of the
selected object(s).
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2. To paste, do one of the following:
Choose Edit > Paste from the main menu.
Use the CMND-V keyboard shortcut.
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HINT: Within the active layer, pasted objects will be placed with a predefined offset from the original object. When
the pasted object is moved, subsequent pastes will respect the new offset of the moved object. When object(s) are
pasted into a new layer they will first respect the original position, while subsequent pastes will be offset.
To Copy and Paste an Object In Place (With No Offset):
Do one of the following:
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Hold the Option-key and a single click an object to paste it in place.
Copy the object(s) then hold the Option-key while choosing Edit > Paste In Place in the main menu (or use
the Option-CMND-V keyboard shortcut).
Choose Edit > Duplicate Objects > Linear Duplicate… from the main menu and set the X,Y offset to 0,0 to
make multiple copies pasted in place.
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To Make Copies in a Circle Around a Point Using Polar Duplicate:
2.
Choose Edit > Duplicate Objects > Polar Duplicate… from the main menu to make multiple copies of an
object centered around a point.
Do one of the following:
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Type the X/Y coordinates of the center point.
Use the "Target" button to interactively set the center point by clicking the drawing with the mouse.
1.
3. Check the option to fit copies into a circle automatically. Alternatively, use the manual settings to designate the
number of copies and angular increments.
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To Use Linear Duplicate
1.
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3.
Choose Edit > Duplicate Objects > Linear Duplicate… from the main menu.
Type in the desired number of copies.
Enter the desired X,Y offset (using the current drawing units).
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Combining and Clipping Shapes
To clip a shape with part of another shape, combine shapes into a single object, and more.
To Intersect Two Shapes:
The Intersect command clips the bottom shape to the intersecting area of the top shape, resulting in a new shape.
1.
2.
Select two shapes to be intersected.
Do one of the following:
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Choose Graphic > Combine > Intersect from the main menu.
Click the Intersect icon on the toolbar.
Use the Shift-Command-I keyboard shortcut.
Note that the new shape will adopt the style of the (lower) object being intersected.
To Combine Shapes with Union:
Union unites two or more shapes into a single shape object.
1.
2.
Select the shapes to be combined.
Do one of the following:
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Choose Graphic > Combine > Union from the main menu.
Click the Union icon on the toolbar.
Use the Shift-Command-U keyboard shortcut.
Note that the new shape will adopt the style of the top object in the selection.
To Subtract Shapes With Difference:
Use Difference to subtract a portion of one shape (the top shape) from another (bottom) shape.
1.
Select the two overlapping shapes to be subtracted from each other.
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Do one of the following:
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Choose Graphic > Combine > Difference from the main menu.
Click the Difference icon on the toolbar.
Use the Shift-Command-D keyboard shortcut.
Note that the remaining shape maintains its original style.
To Append Shapes Together:
Combining like objects into single shapes can make your drawing more efficient. The Append command combines
multiple shapes into a single shape object, with overlapping areas excluded from the new shape. Objects do not
need to overlap to be appended together. Append is also appropriate for open paths, whereas the others work
only with closed paths. Using Union, Intersection or Difference with an open path produces undefined results
(though Undo works to correct any unexpected outcomes).
1.
2.
Select two or more shapes to be appended.
Do one of the following:
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•
•
Choose Graphic > Combine > Append from the main menu.
Click the Append icon on the toolbar.
Use the Shift-Command-M keyboard shortcut.
Note that the new shape will adopt the style of the top object in the selection.
To Break Shapes Apart:
Objects that have been appended together can be broken apart into their separate components.
1.
Choose Graphic > Combine > Break Apart from the main menu.
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Working with Text
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Using the Fonts Panel
Text is styled directly through the Fonts panel and Text commands in the main menu. With one or more text objects
selected, open the Fonts panel. As desired, choose the font and associated style elements, such as size, color,
and shadow. Alternatively, colors can be dropped on text objects directly from the Colors panel.
To Open the Fonts Panel:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose the Fonts icon in the toolbar.
Choose Text > Show Fonts from the main menu.
To Use the Fonts Panel:
1.
2.
Choose one or more text object.
Use the Fonts panel to choose typefaces, font sizes, and other font formatting, including text shadows and
strikethrough.
Here is a summary of the text effects buttons, from left to right across the top:
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Text Underline pop-up menu to choose an underline style (such as single or double).
Text Strikethrough pop-up menu to choose a strikethrough style (such as single or double).
Text Color pop-up menu to apply a color to text.
Text Shadow button to apply a shadow to selected text.
Shadow Opacity, Shadow Blur, Shadow Off set, and Shadow Angle controls affect the appearance of the
shadow.
In addition, Artboard adds Text Outline and Text Mask controls at the bottom of the Fonts panel.
HINT: If you don’t see the text effect buttons, choose Show Effects from the Action pop-up menu in the lower-left
corner of the Fonts panel.
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To Set Outlined and Masked Text in the Fonts Panel:
Use the Fonts palette to add advanced styling, including text outline and text mask. Text outline and masking are
particularly useful for making text stand out on top of dark, colored, or complex backgrounds.
1.
2.
Make text active for editing.
Do one of the following:
•
To outline text, use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the outline
thckness as a percentage of font size. Click the color well to change the outline color.
To mask text, use the slider, highlight the text and type, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the mask
(knockout) size as a percentage of font size. Click the color well to change the mask color.
•
HINT: Masking can be any color as well as semi-transparent, and the size of the mask is fully adjustable.
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Working with Text Objects
Several text formatting options are available through the main menu. Choose Text > to choose from styles,
alignment, case, kerning, and more. The Fonts panel offers font selection and custom effects, including outline,
shadow, and mask. Align, tighten and loosen kerning, change case and baseline are available menu options and
keyboard shortcuts. Font effects and options can be applied to blocks of text, individual words, and and even
individual glyphs. For full creative control, including applying styles and distortion, you can convert text to shapes,
shape groups, and paths.
To Add and Edit Text:
1.
2.
Choose the Text [t] tool.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click on your drawing canvas to place the text box.
Press and drag to place a custom size text box.
3. Begin typing.
4. To end typing, do one of the following:
•
•
•
Click on the drawing canvas to place another text box.
Click the Esc-key to end typing and return to the Select tool.
Choose the Select tool or another drawing tool.
HINT: If you prefer to have the Return-key end editing, disable (uncheck) 'Return-key inserts a new line when
editing text boxes' in the Artboard > Preferences… Editing pane; while disabled, use SHIFT-Return-key to insert a
new line in multi-line text.
To Edit Existing Text:
1.
2.
Double-click existing text with the Select [s] tool to make the text active for editing.
Do one of the following:
•
•
Start typing to replace the selected text.
Click to place the cursor within the selected text to insert new text.
3. Click outside of the text box, or the Esc-key, to end editing.
To Expand the Text Box When Some Content is Hidden:
When text extends beyond the confines of the text box an indicator “+” is shown in the lower right-hand corner of
the text box prompting you to enlarge it.
HINT: Text in a box will not be visible if the font size is larger than the text box. Use the sizing handles on the text
box to make it bigger, or right-click the text box and choose 'Fit To Text' from the contextual menu.
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To Add Text On a Path:
Artboard makes curved text beautifully. A bit of practice is all it takes to give your curved text an expert look. Text
On Path uses curves with the same controls as the Path tool.
3.
4.
5.
Choose the Text Path [e] tool.
Press and drag to place the starting point for your text on a path, release the cursor and continue placing
points along the curve.
Double click (or hit ESC-key) to end the path.
Begin typing.
To end typing, do one of the following:
•
•
Click on the drawing canvas to place another text path.
Click the Esc-key to end typing and return to the Select tool.
1.
2.
6. With the Select [s] tool, adjust the curve handles as desired.
HINT: It is a good practice to keep your text curves simple. With only two points you can create smooth c-shaped
and s-shaped curves simply by adjusting the points themselves (the orange dots) and the curve handles (the blue
squares). The longer the curve handles, the steeper your curve. Experiment by moving the curve handles around
and altering the shape of the curve.
To Edit Text on a Path:
2.
3.
Double-click the text with the Select [s] tool to edit (make sure you click onto a letter when double-clicking to
recognize the selection).
When selected, the text to be edited will float above the path and be highlighted.
Do one of the following:
•
Start typing to replace the selected text.
1.
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•
Click to place the cursor within the selected text to insert new text.
4. Open the Font panel to change the font and appearance of text.
To Change Text Alignment Along the Path:
Text On Path has "Justified" alignment by default, giving it a stretched appearance across the entire length of the
path.
•
Choose Text > Align > Left / Right / Justified / Center to change text along a path to your desired alignment.
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Flipping Upside-down Text:
Like normal paths, Text On Path has a direction from its start point to its end point. Text On Path follows the
direction of the path – typically reading from left to right.
1.
2.
To draw text upside-down, start the path from right to left.
To flip text that is upside-down, choose Edit > Path > Reverse from the main menu.
To Fit Text to a Shape (for example a circle)
In addition to drawing a Bezier curve with the Text Path tool, you can fit text to any shape.
2.
3.
Use the Text Path [e] tool to place your text on your drawing canvas (don't worry about the shape of the
path).
Begin typing.
To end typing, do one of the following:
•
•
Click the Esc-key to end typing and return to the Select tool.
Choose another drawing tool.
1.
4. Next, draw your shape.
5. While the shape is sected, copy it to the clipboard.
6. Select the text and choose Edit > Paste Text Clipping Path from the main menu. The text will now follow the
path of the object.
HINT: To wrap text only partially around a circle, use the Arc tool to draw an arc to the desired length and paste it
onto your text using the above method.
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To Use Spreading (or Tracking) on Text:
Text can be spread out across and area (called “tracking”).
1.
2.
Select the text.
Do one of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Hold the Option-Command keys and repeatedly pressing the right Arrow (end) key to spread text.
Choose Text > Kern > Loosen from the main menu. Repeat as necessary to get a wide spread.
Hold the Option-Command keys and repeatedly pressing the left Arrow (end) key to tighten tracking.
Choose Text > Kern > Tighten from the main menu. Repeat as necessary to tighten the spread.
Choose Text > Kern > Use Default from the main menu to reset to the original tracking.
HINT: Tracking command may also used to add (or tighten) space between selected letters, rather than the entire
text box or path.
To Make Text Bigger, Smaller, Bold, Italic, and Underline:
Modify text properties in the Fonts panel, or by choosing various Text > options in the main menu. Use the
convenient keyboard shortcuts to quickly modify text properties.
Need multi-styled text? Text boxes can use multiple fonts, sizes, colors, and more in a single text box.
1.
2.
3.
Make text active for editing.
Press and drag to highlight individual text or words for editing.
Open the Font panel to change the font and appearance of text.
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To Make Shape Objects from Text and True Type Fonts:
Text and True Type Fonts (TTF) can be converted into individual editable shape objects. These new shape objects
can be further styled, grouped, and saved as clip art as desired.
1.
2.
3.
Place text in the drawing area using the Text Box tool. Choose the font you want to use, or choose Edit >
Special Characters from the main menu to open the Special Characters window.
After typing, select the text box and choose Graphic > Convert To > Shape or Graphic > Convert To >
Shape Group from the main menu (or right click and choose 'Convert To…' from the contextual menu). When
converted to shape, the entire block of text is one shape. When converted to shape group, you can Ungroup
to obtain each glyph as a separate object.
To further explode and modify multi-layered objects, choose Graphic > Combine > Break Apart from the
main menu and modify the shape or re-color individual components.
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How to Use Text Styles
Artboard 1.9 introduces Text Styles. Documents created and/or saved in Artboard 1.9 may use the Fonts panel to
create ad-hoc and saved text styles.
To Create a Style for a Text Object:
1.
2.
3.
Choose the Text [t] or Text Path [e] tool.
Place your text.
With the text selected, use the Fonts panel to edit the style properties.
To Reset the Text Style to the Default:
With the Text [t] or Text Path [e] tool active, or with a text object selected, do one of the following:
•
•
Click the 'Reset' button in the Format Bar to reset to the default style (Helvetica Regular 14pt).
Click the 'Reset' button in the Style Inspector to reset to the default style (Helvetica Regular 14pt).
To Add Text Using Existing Text Styles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Open the Styles & Clip Art palette.
Choose the Text [t] or Text Path [e] tool from the Tools palette.
Choose a text style from the Styles & Clip Art palette.
Add your text.
Continue adding text objects as desired (subsequent text objects have the same style properties until they
are changed).
Click the Esc-key to end editing and return to the Select tool, or choose the Select [s] tool from the main
menu.
To change text styles, click once onto a different text style in the Styles & Clip Art palette and continue.
To Apply a Different Text Style to Existing Text:
With the text object selected, do one of the following:
•
•
•
Double-click a text style from the Styles & Clip Art palette.
In the Fonts Panel, edit the style properties as desired.
Click the 'Reset' button in the Format Bar (or Style Inspector) to reset to the default text style, edit the text
style as desired.
To "Quick Pick-up" Another Text Object's Style while Placing Text:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose the Text [t] tool.
Hold the CMND-key to activate the Style Dropper without switching tools.
With the cursor (it will look like an empty style dropper), click a text object with the text style to be picked up.
Release the CMND-key and continue.
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To Copy a Text Style From a Existing Text to Another:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
Choose the Style Dropper [d] tool.
With the cursor (it will look like an empty style dropper), click a text object that you want to pick up its style.
With the cursor (it will look like a full style dropper), click a text object(s) that you want to receive the style.
To pick up a different text style while the Style Dropper tool is still active, press the OPTION/Alt key while
clicking a text object.
Alternatively, do the following:
With the text object selected, right-click and choose 'Copy Style…' from the contextual menu, right-click a text
object to receive the style and choose 'Paste Style…' from the contextual menu.
To Copy a Text Style from One Text Object to Multiple Text Objects:
Do one of the following:
•
Right-click the text object with the style to be picked up and choose 'Copy Style…' from the contextual menu,
choose the Select [s] tool and select the text objects to receive the style, choose Edit > Style > Paste
Style… from the main menu.
Choose the Select [s] tool and select a text object with the style to be copied, choose Edit > Style > Copy
Style… from the main menu, select the text objects to receive the style, choose Edit > Style > Paste Style…
from the main menu.
•
To Save a Text Style to the Library:
Optionally, use the Style Inspector to name your text style and add it to "My Collection…" for future use.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Open the Style Inspector.
Add text and use the Fonts panel to define its style properties.
In the Style Inspector, with the text object still selected, click onto the ad-hoc style name, highlight it and type
a new text style name.
Optionally, click the text 'Optional description' and type a description for your new style.
Click the 'Add to User's Collection…' button. The Library Manager is launched and the text style is added to
My Library > My Collection.
New styles are immediately available in the Styles & Clip Art Palette where you can use them when placing text.
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Working with Images
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The Image Browser
The Image Browser provides quick access to your iPhoto, Pictures folder, and Smart folders, and you can attach
other folders as desired. Import PNG, JPG, non-editable PDF, and TIFF images as well as vector SVG files into
your Artboard drawings. Imported SVG are fully editable vector graphics.
Images can be masked, cropped, scaled, enhanced, and more! See Working With Images for details.
To Open the Image Browser:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Click the Image Browser icon in the toolbar.
Choose File > Image Browser from the menu.
To Import Images from the Image Browser:
1.
2.
3.
Drag images from the Image Browser directly to your drawing canvas. If an image is larger than the drawing
canvas size, it will be scaled to fit the canvas (though can be rescaled in the Geometry panel).
Select a root folder or iPhoto folder to browse images.
To add folders, click the "+" button and navigate the the folder to browse, or to remove a folder from the list,
select it and click the '-' button.
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To Import SVG from the Image Browser:
1.
2.
Similar to images, simply drag editable vector SVG 1.1 files from the Image Browser to your drawing canvas.
Ungroup as needed to edit.
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Working with Images
To Adjust Image Size and Rotation:
Do one of the following:
Using the Select [s] tool, drag the sizing handles located around the outside edges of the image bounding
box. Hold the Shift-key while dragging to constrain the aspect ratio.
Drag the direct rotate handle located to the right of the center point. Note the center point (light blue
cross-hair) can be moved to reposition the rotation centroid. Hold the SHIFT-key while rotating to constrain the
rotation angle to 15-degree increments.
With the image selected, enter numeric dimensions for object width, height, and/or rotation in the Geometry
pane.
•
•
•
To Mask (Crop) Images:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Using the Select [s] tool, double-click the image to make it active for editing. The bounding box is highlighted
with a dashed line.
Move any of the image's bounding box handles to adjust the bounding box.
Press and drag the image to reposition it within its bounding box.
Drag the slider up or down to resize (scale) the image within its bounding box.
Click off of the image to finish editing.
HINT: Image Mask (crop) is non-destructive. To return to the original image bounding box, right-click the image and
choose "Fit To Image" from the contextual menu.
HINT: To permanently crop and resample the image to fit the new bounding box, right-click and choose "Crop and
Resample" from the contextual menu.
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To Clip an Image Using a Shape:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Place the image in your drawing.
Draw any shape to be the clipping shape – from a simple shape to a complex outline of the area you want to
clip.
Overlap the shape over the image.
Select both the image and shape and do one of the following:
•
•
•
Choose Graphic > Combine > Intersect from the main menu.
Click the Intersect icon on the toolbar.
Use the Shift-Command-I keyboard shortcut.
HINT: Clipping an image with a shape is non-destructive. To return to the original image bounding box, right-clicking
the image and choose "Remove Image clipping path" from the contextual menu.
HINT: To permanently crop and resample a clipped image , right click and choose "Crop and resample image" from
the contextual menu.
To Adjust Image and Effects:
1.
2.
With the Select [s] tool, double-click an image. The image will become active for editing.
In the Image Edit panel, adjust its properties, such as exposure and saturation, or choose from a variety of
image preset effects.
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3.
Click off of the image to finish editing.
HINT: Image adjustments and effects are permanent within your saved drawing.
To Add a Border to an Image:
Any line style can be added to an image to create a nice framed border effect.
1.
2.
Select an image.
In the Styles & Clip Art palette, double-click a line style to apply it to your image.
For example, we've applied the "Frame - Earth Tone Matted" from the "Frame Styles" category. Note that fill styles
will completely fill over the image and should not be used. Alternatively, choose a clip art border that has been
designed as a frame, such as "Day at the Beach," and place it over the image resizing as necessary.
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To Take a Picture Using the FaceTime Camera:
1.
2.
3.
Choose File > Take Picture… from the main menu to open the Picture Taker window.
Click the camera 'Take picture' button and smile! Adjust the picture scale and position as desired.
Click 'Done' when you're ready to place the photo into your drawing.
HINT: The Recent Pictures drop-down displays recently taken pictures and you can choose from pictures locally
stored on your computer.
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Working with SVG
Importing SVG 1.1 files results in a fully-editable vector graphic that can be ungrouped and edited in any way you
wish. Objects can be saved as clip art and/or symbols.
To Open SVG Files:
In addition to Artboard's native file format, SVG 1.1 files are now supported. SVG files are converted into Artboard
native files upon opening and can be saved as such.
So one of the following:
Choose File > Open from the main menu and select and SVG file to open.
In Finder, right-click an SVG file and choose Open With > Artboard.app from the contextual menu.
•
•
To Import SVG Files:
1.
2.
Similar to images, simply drag editable vector SVG 1.1 files from the Image Browser to your drawing canvas.
Ungroup as needed to edit.
Important Notes About SVG Import:
It is important to understand how the SVG 1.1 standard is implemented, since in some cases results may differ from
another product.
Mapdiva's concept of graphic styles is rich and deep - substantially moreso than the classic "stroke and fill" concept
of Postscript, which SVG largely mimics. Thus when importing SVG, we need to build graphic styles that match as
closely as possible this simpler concept. By and large there isn't much difficulty, but in some cases results will differ,
because of a mismatch between the two approaches. This is most evident with gradient fills and pattern fills.
Usually, these will work as expected and the visual result will be what you expect, but as we don't strictly support
the concept of SVG's "global" (user space) gradients, for example, when we encounter such a style, we do our
best to translate it to something meaningful that gives similar visual results.
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The SVG 1.1 standard is implemented, and ignores any and all non-standard comments that other applications
frequently use to "help out" when parsing SVG. This can be another source of discrepancy between interpretation
of an SVG file, and another application's. This is particularly problematic with files created by Inkscape, a popular
open source application, since that heavily salts its SVG files with comments only it understands, and are not part
of the SVG standard. The resulting files may fail to open entirely as expected, though in practice we find we do get
good results most of the time.
Mac OS X includes an SVG parser as part of WebKit and QuickLook uses this to preview SVG graphics in the
Finder and elsewhere. We don't rely on this parser, but implement our own in order to convert SVG objects to
equivalent vector objects and styles, not simply to render the graphics as an image. In some cases, the QuickLook
parser fails to render an image at all, yet the file will import just fine. At other times, the small differences in
rendering mentioned above may be evident.
The Image Browser uses own parser to render the thumbnail previews for SVG files, so what you see in the Image
Browser is what you get when you import the file. Our parser is not just rendering the graphics however, it is
converting them to objects, then creating the image. This makes it slower than a pure SVG renderer such as
QuickLook. The Image Browser therefore creates each thumbnail image asynchronously using a background
thread, and as each conversion is completed it "pops" into view. Subsequently the image is cached on disk and will
be displayed quickly. Therefore expect a folder full of SVG graphics added to the Image Browser to take a while to
process the thumbnails at first. We also recommend keeping the number of files in a folder down to something
reasonable (a few hundred, say) to avoid the thumbnail generation going on for extended periods which could
interfere with your workflow.
Sometimes an SVG file may fail to import. This can be for many reasons, such as bad data in the SVG,
unsupported elements, missing external resources, or simply because the import takes too long due to the file
being very complex. In the Image Browser, you'll see such failed imports as a file icon like this:
About SVG Import Errors:
Such failed imports are reattempted next time the Image Browser is shown. When dragging and dropping an SVG
into your drawing, a failed import will cause the drag to "spring back". When opening a file using Open…, an error
message is shown.
Imports that timeout may sometimes succeed if tried again. Usually a timed-out import indicates a graphic that
would be too complex to give reasonable performance subsequently. There are several possible reasons for this:
•
•
•
•
A very large number of paths
Paths having extremely large numbers of points
Heavy use of blur filters
Heavy use of shadows.
When creating SVG graphics, it is very easy to assume that objects can be duplicated and reused at will.
Unfortunately that is often not the case. We have seen many cases of SVG artwork where objects have been
repeatedly duplicated and yet effectively contribute nothing to the finished graphic. If such hidden objects have
blur filters applied, or shadows, then a huge performance penalty is being incurred for no good reason.
Frequently, paths can be combined into a single object and have a shadow or blur applied just once in order to
maximise performance. Giving performance some thought when creating graphics can make life much easier later.
An occasional source of difference between our applications and another SVG application is with text rendering.
SVG does not embed the fonts it refers to, so if an SVG file references a font that is not available on your system,
we will substitute Helvetica of the same size. Other SVG parsers sometimes just give up or skip the text when this
font problem is encountered. While we try to plough on, obviously the results may not be what you expected. I you
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want to use a fancy font in a graphic, it is good practice, once you're done editing the text, to convert it to a path
so that this font problem won't be an issue. Note that this does not apply to PDF export, since PDF does embed
the fonts it references.
When we import SVG text elements, we convert them to a graphic, for best visual fidelity. That means the text can't
be edited as text, though the graphical paths can be.
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Save, Export, Share & Print
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Saving Your Drawing
Artboard is optimized for Mac OS 10.9 Mavericks, including auto-saving and versions. Auto-save will periodically
save your work for you (these features require at least OS 10.7+ "Lion").
Additionally, a user's file may be saved as a template.
To Save Your Drawing:
Do one of the following:
•
•
Choose File > Save… to manually save your file.
With the release of OS 10.8 "Mountain Lion", Apple has returned the "Save As" file dialog (yippie!). Hold
down the Option-key and choose File > Save As… from the main menu.
HINT: If you prefer not to use Autosave and Versions you can disable it under Artboard > Preferences > Options.
To Duplicate Your Drawing:
Choose File > Duplicate to create a new file that is a copy of the current file.
To Save a Drawing as a Template:
Choose File > Templates > Save Copy As Template… from the main menu.
HINT: Next time you open File > Templates > New From Template you will see your saved template files.
HINT: If you need to access your template files to rename or back-up the files, they are saved to a special folder:
•
In Mac OS 10.6 – located at ~/Library/Application Support/com.mapdiva.artboard/My Templates, where ~ is
your home directory.
•
In Mac OS 10.7 and greater, you can right-click a user template within the Template Window and choose
"Reveal In Finder".
•
In OS 10.8+ these files are moved to the Artboard Sandbox located at
~/Library/Containers/com.mapdiva.as.artboard/Data/Library/Application Support/com.mapdiva.as.artboard/My
Templates
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Exporting Your Drawings
Your drawing files can be exported to PDF, TIFF, JPEG and PNG file formats. PDF is a vector file format created by
Adobe Systems and is the native file format for Adobe Illustrator(TM) – except with a different file extension (AI).
Drawings exported as PDF are saved as vector files and can be opened and edited by other vector editing
software, such as Adobe Illustrator (TM).
Export your entire drawing, or limit the export to the objects you have selected in your drawing by choosing
"Selection only."
File format-specific options are available, as well as the option to include the graph paper grid in your export.
To Export Raster and Vector File Formats:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose File > Export… from the main menu.
Type a name for the exported file and select a document location for it to be saved.
As needed, click the "Expand' triangle button to view the full export dialog.
As desired, edit the following settings:
•
•
•
FORMAT – Choose the export file format from the drop-down menu.
RESOLUTION – Choose the export resolution from the drop-down menu.
SCALE – Optionally, change the scale of the export by typing a new percent scale. For example, to double
the size of the exported drawing, change the scaling factor to 200%. This effectively allows any desired
resolution or image size to be exported from your vector drawings.
GRAPH PAPER – Optionally, check the box to include the graph paper layer (otherwise it will not export, even
if it is visible in your drawing).
TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND – For supported file types (TIFF and PNG), optionally check the box to make
the background of the drawing transparent in the exported image (unless the drawing has a background fill).
PDF automatically preserves background transparencies.
•
•
5. Click the 'Export' button.
HINT: Your export settings will be remembered each time you export.
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To Export Selected Objects Only:
When you have one or more objects selected in your drawing, the "Selection Only" option is available from the
export menu. When checked, only the selected objects are exported using the designated file format and settings.
HINT: Selected objects must be within the same layer.
Exporting for Print and Web:
For best results, consider your purpose and what format you will need during drawing setup. On any given project,
determining from the beginning what file format is required is a best practice - particularly if you have publication
standards that must be met! In the most general terms, static web graphics require a 72 dpi resolution and will
typically use JPEG or PNG formats. Printing for publication typically requires 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution.
The file formats TIFF, JPEG, and PNG output raster-based graphics files. In general, JPEG and PNG files are
useful for making a web images or graphics not intended for printing. For drawings that are primarily represented
with vector graphics, PNG will typically give crisper results. 'PNG' stands for Portable Network Graphics format, a
format for storing bitmapped (raster) images. Interlaced PNG files, though slightly larger file size than
non-interlaced, can improve display times on slow (modem) Internet connections – perhaps less of an issue than in
the old days. 'JPEG' stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group; it's great for photographs but not really intended
for representing vector graphics, thus is recommended when an image (such as a photograph) is the background
of your drawing. 'TIFF' stands for Tagged Image File Format and is widely supported by image-manipulation
applications, by publishing, and page layout applications. TIFF alpha transparency is a supported export option.
Apple's Preview(TM) application is an excellent tool for viewing and adjusting exported graphics (and is a free
application included with the OS). Several functions are available, such as clipping images, adjusting size, and
matching image color profiles. A note about viewing exported graphics in Preview: The default preferences for
images is to scale them to fit the document window. To view images at their actual size, set the Preview >
Preferences > Images to actual size and to respect the image and screen DPI for scale.
To Export to PDF:
'PDF' stands for Portable Document Format and is the only export format that produces editable vector-based
graphics. Drawings exported to PDF format retain their vector properties and are therefore scalable without loss in
resolution. If your drawing will be enlarged or reduced for publication, PDF is our recommended export format. PDF
is also a good choice for creating a zoomable image, and for example to view with Adobe Reader(TM) or Apple
Preview(TM).
Exported PDF graphics naturally preserve their background transparency. Like other graphic formats, PDFs can be
placed as graphics into other software programs, such as Microsoft Word(TM) and Apple Pages(TM), and will
respect image wrapping settings. PDF graphics may also be placed into your drawings. For example, use the
Image Browser to place a PDF graphic created in one drawing file, into another drawing file. Because it is
vector-based, the graphic will scale without loss of resolution in your new document (though PDF files cannot be
edited).
HINT: When copying a graphic to open or paste into other software, the image-PDF file format is the system default.
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To Use Exported PDF Files with Other Vector Editing Programs:
Exported vector PDF files can be edited in other vector drawing software that are enabled to edit PDF, such as
Adobe Illustrator(TM). This example shows a drawing that was exported as a PDF file. When opened in Adobe
Illustrator, each object is an editable vector graphic, represented here on individual layers.
Note, PDF is a file format created by Adobe Systems and is the native file format for Adobe Illustrator(TM) – except
with a different file extension (AI). As needed, you can change the file extension from .pdf to .ai without affecting
the file contents.
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To Share Your Drawing:
Click the Share icon in the toolbar to share a JPEG version of your drawing with others via Email, Message,
AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
HINT: Accounts must be configured to enable sharing. File sharing must be enabled via Apple > System
Preferences > Sharing…
HINT: In Mail, you can change the size to small, medium or large.
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Printing
A flexible print dialog offers single page and “poster-tiled” printing.
To Print:
1.
2.
Choose File > Print to open the print dialog.
Click Show Details to reveal the print options, including “Fit to Single Page,” “Graph Paper,” and “Crop Marks.”
HINT: Your drawing canvas can be larger than your actual printer paper size – if it is larger you can either
“poster-tile” print your drawing over multiple sheets (default), or “Fit to Single Page” when printing. To make sure
your printer is set with the proper paper size and page orientation, choose File > Page Setup… before printing.
Posters! To Tile a Poster Over Multiple Printed Pages:
Printed drawings come in all shapes and sizes, but you are limited by the size of paper in your printer. Drawings
can be larger or smaller than the physical paper size that you have in your printer. If the drawing is larger, your
drawing is automatically tiled over multiple printed sheets enabling you to print large posters, or 'shrink to fit' on a
single page. If you're feeling crafty, tiled sheets can be pieced together manually after printing. Choose "Crop
Marks" from the print options to show the seams between printed sheets.
For best results, consider your purpose and what size you want during drawing setup.
To Change Printer Page Size and Orientation Settings:
Choose File > Page Setup… from the main menu to define your printer paper size and page orientation.
To Shrink to Fit to a Single Page for Printing:
When tiling a large drawing isn't desired, you can change settings so a drawing will shrink to fit on a single page.
Printing options include a simple checkbox for scaling the entire drawing to a single page.
1.
Choose File > Print… from the main menu.
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2.
Check 'Fit to Single Page' in the application print options.
When fitting to a single page, all objects including text will be shrunk to fit.
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Additional Information
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Customizing the Toolbar
The toolbar gives you one-click access to many of the actions you’ll use when working with drawings.
As you work and get to know which actions you perform most often, you can add, remove, and rearrange toolbar
buttons to suit your working style. To see a description of what a button does, hold the pointer over the button.
To Show (or Hide) the Toolbar:
Choose View > Show (or Hide) Toolbar from the main menu.
To Customize the Toolbar:
2.
Choose View > Customize Toolbar, or right-click the toolbar and choose "Customize" from the contextual
menu. The Customize Toolbar sheet appears.
Make any of the following changes to the toolbar as desired:
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Add an item to the toolbar, drag its icon to the toolbar.
Remove an item from the toolbar, drag it out of the toolbar.
Restore the default set of toolbar buttons, drag the default set to the toolbar.
Make the toolbar icons smaller, select Use Small Size.
Show only icons or only text, choose an item from the Show pop-up menu.
Rearrange items in the toolbar, drag them to position.
1.
3.
Click Done.
Alternative Ways to Customize Toolbar:
Do one of the following:
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Remove an item from the toolbar by pressing the Command key while dragging the item out of the toolbar.
Move an item by pressing the Command key while dragging the item around in the toolbar.
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Preferences
To Open Preferences:
Choose Artboard > Preferences… in the main menu.
The menu is tabbed for Editing, Performance, Options and Switches preferences.
To Change Editing Preferences:
1.
2.
Click the Editing tab.
Change one or more of the following settings:
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Automatically close paths – When drawing Irregular Polygons, Bezier Paths and Freehand Paths the paths
will automatically "formally" close when you finish a path at its starting point. Uncheck this setting if you prefer
paths not automatically close (default – unchecked).
End points of closed-loop paths treated as a single point – Paths whose end points are coincident are
treated as a single point when moving them or their control handles (default – checked).
Return-key inserts a new line when editing text boxes – Default behavior is the Return-key goes to new
line when editing text boxes. Click outside of text box ends text editing (default – checked). If unchecked,
Return-key will end editing; use the key combination CMND-Shift to go to next line.
Allow inline images in text boxes – Images can be dropped into text boxes from the Image Browser,
becoming in-line with other text (default – unchecked).
Display feedback window when dragging objects – Displays page coordinates or object dimensions as
object is dragged or resized (default – checked).
Snap to Graph Paper when Graph Paper is visible – When Graph Paper layer is visible, the snap to graph
paper setting will be active; when Graph Paper layer is hidden, the snap setting will be deactivated (default –
unchecked).
Enable Style Sharing – When checked, multiple objects can share the same style. When the style is edited,
the change applies across all objects in which the style is applied. Use "Reset" or "Clone" to create new styles
when this setting is active. (default – unchecked).
Styles are sharable by default – Makes shared style the default setting when creating new styles (default
– unchecked).
Freehand smoothness – Sets the smoothness of the Freehand Path tool to fine, smooth, or very smooth
(smoothness is related to number of points) (default - Smooth).
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To Change Options Preferences:
1.
2.
Click the Options tab.
Change one or more of the following settings:
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Show template chooser when launching application – Template chooser opens automatically on
application launch (default – checked).
Handles – Curve handles and rotation knobs can be displayed a normal or large size. Large size makes
selecting object handles easier when zoomed out and on large format screens (default - Large).
Option – scrollwheel zooms drawing – Allows magnification of the view to be changed using Option-key +
scrollwheel (default – checked). Check to invert scrollwheel zoom direction changes sense of scrollwheel
zooming.
Auto-activate clicked layer – When checked, clicking objects automatically activates the layer they belong to.
Each tool remember last style used with it – When switching between tools, the style will change to the last
style used with the tool (default – unchecked).
Style Dropper remembers last style used – Style dropper remembers last style it picked up (default –
unchecked).
Enable Autosaving and Versions – Enables Autosave and Versions support for Mac OS X "Lion" and
higher. If unchecked, the classic document saving methodology is used (default – checked).
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To Change Performance Preferences:
1.
2.
Click the Performance tab.
Change one or more of the following settings:
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Faster, lower quality drawing when zooming and scrolling – Enables automatic use of low-quality
rendering during operations that require rapid redrawing, such as zooming and scrolling, to speed
performance (default – unchecked).
Anti-aliasing – Turning off anti-aliasing preference improves performance while editing large files (default –
checked).
Shadows – Turning off shadows at very high zoom improves performance while editing large files; note, the
zoom scale can be set by the user (above 800%; default – checked).
Ignore Gaussian Blur filters when importing SVG – Related to the software in which an SVG file was
created, occasionally Gaussian Blur filters may not be efficiently imported. Turn off filters when working with
such SVG files (default – unchecked).
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To Change Advanced Preferences:
1.
2.
Click the Advanced tab.
Change one or more of the following settings:
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Reset All Alerts… does what you'd expect.
Empty Image Browser Cache…
Record up to __ undoable operations – Sets the number of undo operations available when using the Undo
command (the default is 24).
To Reset Preferences:
1.
2.
Hold the Option-key down and choose Artboard > Reset Preferences… from the main menu.
When presented with the confirmation dialog, click 'Reset Preferences'.
HINT: This restores everything to its original state as if the application were a new installation. It cannot be undone,
and should only be done if absolutely necessary.
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Credits
Styles and Clip Art
This product includes artwork sourced from the U.S. National Park Service: TrueType Font Symbols (last updated
July 2007) http://www.nps.gov/hfc/carto/map-symbols.htm
This product includes color specifications and designs developed by Cynthia Brewer http://colorbrewer.org/
Graphics and Web
Application graphics designed by Michael Norman Olson, design+
Website powered by WordPress; web development by run skip, llc and busick design
All application graphics and vector retina icons created using Artboard® by Mapdiva, LLC
Trademarks and Copyright
Artboard® is copyright Mapdiva, LLC
Ortelius® is copyright Mapdiva, LLC
Apple, iWork, and Mac OS(TM) are copyright of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries
Adobe Reader(TM) and Illustrator(TM) are trademark Adobe Systems Incorporated
Word(TM) is copyright the Microsoft Corporation
This product contains the Generic Polygon Clipper (GPC) software library licensed from The University
of Manchester Advanced Interfaces Group
This product contains code developed in cooperation with Fortunate Bear, LLC
iMedia Browser Framework Copyright (c) 2005-2010 by Karelia Software et al
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