User Guide: Idraw For Mac Os X V2.5.1
User Guide: Idraw For Mac Os X V2.5.1
User Guide: Idraw For Mac Os X V2.5.1
Welcome to iDraw
Vector Illustration
Getting Started
Creating a New Document
6
6
8
8
Interface Overview
10
Document Tabs
11
11
Closing Documents
11
Toolbar
12
Tool Options
13
Layers
15
Creating Layers
15
16
Duplicating Layers
16
Deleting Layers
16
Arranging Layers
16
Merging Layers
17
17
Layer Eects
17
Blending Modes
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20
20
Color Palette
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Color Panel
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Gradient Palette
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Inspector Panels
Appearance Panel
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23
2
Properties Panel
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Shapes Panel
25
Styles Panel
26
Tools
27
Move Tool
28
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Pen
34
Convert Tool
37
Brush
38
Pencil
38
Eraser
39
Text
40
Line
41
Arc
41
Rectangle Tool
42
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Ellipse Tool
42
Polygon Tool
43
Star Tool
43
Rotate
44
Scale
45
Shear
46
Zoom Tool
47
Hand Tool
47
Gradient Tool
48
Image Tool
49
Importing Images
50
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Stroke Settings
51
3
Brushes
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Fill Settings
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Text Settings
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Eects
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Geometry
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Alignment
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Path Tools
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Grid Settings
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Canvas Settings
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Preferences
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Exporting Designs
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Welcome to iDraw
iDraw is a feature-packed vector illustration application, with all the tools you need to create
everything from intricate designs to beautiful works of art. iDraw was created from the
ground-up as a native Mac OS X application, fully taking advantage of Cocoa, Core Graphics,
and many of the other powerful technologies in Mac OS X.
Vector Illustration
Unlike bitmap drawing applications, which focus on editing the individual pixels of an image,
vector designs are created using objects and paths. Vector paths - consisting of points, lines,
and curves - can be painted and filled. Multiple paths can be used together to create detailed
intricate objects, while multiple objects can then be arranged to create a larger design.
Original - 100%
One of the many benefits of vector drawing is that each drawn object remains fully editable
throughout the entire process of creating a design. Object paths are always modifiable, while
the colors and fill styles applied to a path can be changed at any time to alter the look of a
design.
This is in contrast to bitmap painting applications, in which each drawing tool directly
changes the pixels of an image. For example, modifying the color of a brush stroke in a
bitmap painting after it has been drawn is not possible without redrawing that portion of the
design.
Finished design
Getting Started
When launching iDraw for the first time, you will be presented with the Welcome Screen.
From this panel you have the option to create a new document, open an existing iDraw
document using the Open Panel, or open a recently edited iDraw document.
1. Canvas Style - Choose from a variety of canvas styles - including graph paper, notebook
paper, and blueprint - for the perfect canvas for a particular project. All canvas styles are
created using variations of the built-in grid and background color settings, making them
fully customizable. Customize your document further using the Canvas and Grid Settings
panes.
2. Presets - Quickly choose the size for the new document from a list of preset sizes. Simply
choose a preset from the list, such as Letter or A4, and the dimensions of that preset
automatically fill the width and height fields.
3. Width and Height - Enter values for the width and height of the new document.
Landscape or portrait documents can be created by varying the width and height values.
Documents can have a maximum canvas size of 16,000 x 16,000 pixels. The size of the
document can be changed later in the Canvas Settings pane.
4. Units - Select the measurement units to be used for the new document. The possible unit
types include pixels, inches, centimeters, and millimeters. The width and height field
values are specified in these units. The measurement units can also be changed later in the
Canvas Settings pane.
5. Color Mode - Select the color mode to be used in the document, RGB or CMYK.
Interface Overview
iDraw uses a primarily single-window interface, with a few accompanying inspector panels
for additional settings and features.
The toolbar on the left side of the document window provides access to the available
drawing and editing tools, while the Layers pane on the right side of the window can be
used to work with the current documents layers. Documents can be managed quickly and
easily using the Tab Bar at the top of the window.
Tools
Document Tabs
Layers
Canvas
Color Wells
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Document Tabs
Rather than require you to constantly swap between many scattered windows - one for each
open document - iDraw uses an elegant tab-based interface for switching between open
documents. Document tabs are shown in the Tab Bar (directly below the windows title bar).
Each open document
is represented by a
tab, with the current
document shown as a
lighter-colored
selected tab.
Document Tabs
Current Document
Close Tab/
Document
Closing Documents
You can close any open document by
clicking on the close button in its tab.
To close the currently active document,
you can choose File > Close Document
[ -W ] from the menu bar.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Close Document
Close Window
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Toolbar
The toolbar on the left side of the document window allows you to choose between the
various drawing and editing tools available in iDraw. Using the dierent tools you can:
Position and resize objects using the Move tool.
Edit paths, anchor points, and curves using the Path
Selection and Convert Anchors tools.
Selected Tool
Tools
Tip:
Quickly switch between the dierent
tools by using their keyboard shortcuts.
Hover over each tool with the mouse to
view a tooltip showing its name and
keyboard shortcut.
Fill Color
Stroke Color
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Tool Options
Many of the tools in iDraw have customizable settings that allow you to adjust their behavior.
The settings for the currently selected tool appear in the Tool Options Bar above the Canvas
area.
The tool options for the Polygon Tool
Selected Tool
Cursor Location/
Selected Origin
Selected Width
and Height
Selected Tool's
Settings
Selected Tool
The name of the currently selected tool appears on the left side of the Tool Options Bar.
Selection Properties
The Selection Properties are shown to the right of tools name. When no objects are selected,
this indicator simply displays the X and Y position of the mouse on the Canvas. When one or
more objects are selected, this displays location and size of the bounding box surrounding
the current selection.
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Canvas
The Canvas is the visible area that
defines a design. It is where
illustrations are created; where
objects are drawn and edited.
The grey patterned area surrounding
the canvas is non-printable scratch
space. Objects can overlap into this
area, or they can be placed here
while a design is being edited,
however anything outside of the
canvas will not be visible when
printing or exporting the design.
Canvas Size
The size of the canvas can be
changed at any time from the
Canvas Settings pane. The
measurement units used for
dimensions can be set to pixels,
inches, millimeters, or centimeters.
Background
The background of the canvas can be set to be either a solid
color, gradient, or image (using the Canvas Settings pane).
Keyboard Shortcuts
Show/Hide Rulers
Show/Hide Grid
Toggle Snap to Grid
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Layers
Layers oer the ability to manage and organize complex designs easily, by separating a large
design into sections of related objects.
Each layer is like a sheet of transparent paper drawn on top of the layers below it. Layers are
drawn as a stack, with the layer at the bottom of the list drawn first and each following layer
drawn on top of the previous one.
Layers also oer the ability to
create unique eects through the
use of their opacity and blending
mode settings. These settings
determine how a layer will blend
with the layers below it.
The Layers list on the right side
of the document window can be
used to create, rename, arrange,
delete, and select layers.
Creating Layers
To create a new layer, click on the
Add Layer button (
). A new
empty layer will be created above
the currently selected layer.
Show/Hide
Layer
Lock/Unlock
Layer
Selected
Layer
Blending/Opacity
of Slected Layer
Delete Layer
Layer Actions Menu
Add Layer
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Duplicating Layers
At times it can be useful to create an exact duplicate of an existing layer, including copies of
the objects within that layer. To duplicate a layer, choose Duplicate Layer from the layers
action menu (
), or Arrange > Duplicate Layer from the menu bar.
Deleting Layers
To delete the currently selected layer, click on the Delete
Layer button (
). This will remove the layer and all of its
objects.
Arranging Layers
You can change the order of a layer by dragging it to a new
position in the Layers list. Click and drag the layer youd like to
move, and drop it in a new position. While dragging, a blue
indicator line will show the destination of the dragged layer.
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Merging Layers
The contents of two layers can be merged into one single layer. To merge two layers, select
the layer on top and choose Merge Down from the layers action menu (
), or choose
Arrange > Merge Layer Down from the menu bar. You can also access the layers action
menu by right-clicking on a layer.
Layer Eects
The Opacity and Blending Mode
settings of a layer aect how it will
blend with the layers underneath it.
You can change these settings for
the currently selected layer using
the controls at the bottom of the
Layers list.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Create New Layer
Duplicate Layer
Merge Layer Down
Delete Layer
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Blending Modes
Examples showing the result of applying each available Blending Mode setting.
Normal
Darken
Multiply
Color Burn
Lighten
Screen
Color Dodge
Overlay
Soft Light
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Hard Light
Dierence
Exclusion
Hue
Saturation
Color
Luminosity
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Stroke
Fill
Stroke Color
Fill Color
The Stroke and Fill color wells in the toolbar can be used to set the current stroke and fill
colors. Drawing tools will use these colors when creating new objects.
When objects are selected, the stroke and fill color wells update to the colors used by those
objects. Changing the stroke or fill colors while objects are selected will change the objects
colors.
To disable the drawing of an objects stroke or fill, you can set the color to none (
).
Color Palette
The Color Palette can be used to quickly choose a color, as well as save and reuse frequently
used colors.
Aside from the Stroke and Fill color wells, color wells
appear throughout iDraws interface which can be
used to set the color for a specific setting, from grid
line colors to the documents background color.
Clicking on a color well will bring up the floating color
palette.
Colors can be added to the color palette by clicking
on the add button (
) at the bottom of the
palette. You can use the Color Panel to choose new
colors that can be added. To remove a color simply
right-click on it and choose Remove Color.
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Color Panel
To choose a custom color not available in the Color Palette, the Color Picker can be used. To
show the Color Picker open the drop-down menu and simply select it.
The Color Panel can select colors using a variety
of dierent color picker interfaces, from a Color
Wheel to RGB, CMYK, HSB, and Grayscale sliders.
The Alpha slider at the bottom of the panel can be used to
make colors semi-transparent.
The color setting being modified is shown as the title of the
Color Panel.
Eyedropper Tool
The Eyedropper Tool can be used to select a color by
picking the color of any pixel on the screen. To activate the
Eyedropper Tool, click on its icon in the Color Panel (
). The cursor will become an
Eyedropper that shows a magnified area of the pixels underneath it. Clicking on any pixel on
the screen will choose that color.
Gradient Palette
Unlike strokes, fills can be set to gradients as well
as colors. The palette for the Fill color well has
options for choosing either a color or a gradient.
Switch between color and gradient fills using the
control at the top of the palette.
Gradients can be added to the gradient palette by
clicking on the add button (
) at the bottom of the
palette. Create new gradients using the gradient editor
in the Fill Settings pane in the Appearance Panel. To
remove a gradient simply right-click on it and choose
Remove Gradient.
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Inspector Panels
In addition to the main document window, iDraw also oers four floating inspector panels
with additional features. Each panel has a distinct role, from changing various object settings
to saving and reusing styles and object libraries.
Show / hide each Inspector Panel
using the toolbar buttons, or using
the Window menu.
Appearance Panel
Properties Panel
Shape Libraries
Layers Panel
Styles Panel
Arranging Windows
To automatically snap and arrange the
inspector panels on the right side of the
main screen choose Window > Arrange
Inspectors from the menu bar.
To automatically resize and position the
document window alongside the
inspector panels on the main screen,
choose Window > Arrange Windows.
Appearance Panel
The Appearance panel includes several panes of settings for modifying the appearance of
objects.
Stroke
Brush
Fill
Label
Text
Eects
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Properties Panel
The Properties panel includes several panes of settings that allow you to position, align, and
modify objects. The last two sections contain settings for customizing the grid and canvas.
Geometry
Alignment
Path Tools
Grid
Canvas
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Shapes Panel
The Shapes panel manages libraries of reusable shapes.
You can create your own libraries, save shapes, and reuse
them throughout multiple projects.
iDraw includes a few built-in example libraries to help
you get you started. The included shapes can be used to
add symbols or annotations to an existing design, create
floor plan layouts, and even design iPhone app mockups.
Using Shapes
Saved shapes can be organized into libraries of related objects. To switch between libraries,
simply select one from the popup menu. The shapes for
the selected library appear in the pane below.
To add a shape to a design simply drag it from the list
onto the canvas.
Saving a Shape
To save a shape to a custom shape library, simply select an object
the canvas and click on the add button (
) at the bottom of
the Shapes Panel.
Styles Panel
The Styles panel can be used to save and reuse the
appearance settings of an object. Styles can be applied
to any type of object, including lines, shapes, and text
objects.
Applying a Style
To apply a style to an object in your document, first
select the target object. Next, click on the desired style in
the Styles pane. The appearance of the selected object
will change to match the picked style.
Saving a Style
To save the appearance settings of a particular object as a style, first select the object. Click
on the add button at the bottom of the Styles panel (
). A new style item will appear in
the Styles pane matching the appearance settings of the selected object.
Styles can be saved for line
objects with ends and labels,
shape objects with strokes
and fills, or text objects with
font and alignments settings.
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Tools
Move Tool (V)
Select, move, and resize objects
Pen (P)
Create paths with lines and curves
Brush (B)
Draw brush strokes
Eraser (E)
Erase portions of objects or paths
Line (L)
Create straight line segments
Rectangle (M)
Create rectangles
Ellipse (O)
Create circles and ellipses
Star (J)
Create stars with varying points
Scale (S)
Scale objects
Hand (H)
Move the visible area of the canvas
Pencil (N)
Draw freeform paths
Text (T)
Add text objects
Arc (K)
Create elliptical arcs
Polygon (Shift-O)
Create polygon shapes
Rotate (R)
Rotate objects
Shear (Shift-S)
Slant objects
Fill (X)
Shows the selected fill, the color or gradient used to fill areas enclosed by paths
Move Tool
The Move tool is used to select and move objects or groups. Besides being the
primary tool for selecting entire objects, it can also be used to quickly resize and
rotate a selection of objects.
Select an object by simply clicking on it. Multiple objects can be selected by
holding down the SHIFT key while clicking on them.
Tip:
Press and hold the OPTION key to select
only objects that are inside the selection
rectangle.
Moving Objects
Objects can be moved by clicking on them and dragging to a new position. To
constrain movement to a single direction, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging
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Selection Info
When one or more objects are selected with the Move tool, the Tool Options bar will
display information about the current selection, including the position, size, and types
of objects selected.
Objects in selection
Tip:
Holding down the SHIFT key while resizing
will maintain the proportions of the objects.
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Moving the mouse pointer slightly outside of a bounding box handle will change the
cursor to a curve with arrows at each end. Clicking and dragging in this mode will
rotate the selected objects.
Tip:
Holding down the SHIFT key while rotating
will constrain the rotation to 15 increments.
Nudging Objects
Selected objects can be nudged slightly in any direction by using
the arrows keys on the keyboard.
Editing Fills
The Move tool can also be used to activate the Gradient Tool or Image Tool, when
editing objects with those types of fills. To edit an objects fill, simply click once to select
the object and then click a second time to activate the Gradient or Image tool. When
finished, click elsewhere on the canvas to return to the Move tool.
Gradient Tool
Image Tool
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Objects in iDraw are composed of vector paths. Paths themselves are made up of anchor
points connecting straight lines and curved segments. Anchor points are shown on a path
as empty squares, while selected anchor points are shown as filled squares.
Click on an anchor point to select it, and then drag to move it.
Direction handles that appear on either side of a selected anchor point control the
curvature of the path at that location. Moving a direction handle will modify the shape of
the curve at that anchor point.
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Direction handles are shown as a filled circle with a line extending to the anchor point. Click
and drag on a direction handle to modify a curve.
Multiple points on a path can be selected and edited at the same time. To select multiple
points, either click and drag on the canvas to create a selection rectangle or hold down the
SHIFT key while clicking on each point.
Note: The Path Selection tool can also be used to select multiple paths at once. However, to edit
the anchor points of a path, only a single path (or compound path) should be selected.
Modifying Curves
Moving a direction handle with the Path
Selection tool will adjust the curvature of the
path segment at a specific point. Anchor
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points with two direction handles, one at each side, are smooth points. Moving the direction
handle on one side of these points will automatically move the opposite direction handle to
maintain the smoothness of the curve at that point.
To create a sharper angle at an anchor point, you can move a direction handle while holding
down the OPTION key:
Alternatively, you can click and drag a smooth anchor point with the OPTION key held down
to create a sharp curve at that point:
Pen
The Pen tool can be used to draw any kind of shape, using a combination of
straight lines and curves. Because of its versatility, it is the most important of
iDraws drawing tools to learn and become proficient using.
The Pen tool can be used to create straight line segments, by simply clicking on
the canvas.
To finish editing a path, simply click on the first point in the path to close it. Alternatively,
pressing the ESC key will end editing the current path without closing it. After closing the
current path, or ending editing by pressing the ESC key, the Pen tool can be used to create a
new path.
To create curved segments, click and drag to create anchor points with direction handles.
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Tip:
Finish editing the current path without
closing it by pressing the ESC key.
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An existing path, selected with the Clicking one of the paths endpoints
Path Selection tool
with the Pen tool to begin editing
The Pen tool can also be used to add or remove points from
any path. The Pen mode control in the Tool Options bar
can be used to change the Pen tool from the default path
creation mode, to the Add Points or Delete Points modes.
First select the path to edit using the Move or Path Selection
tools.
Create Paths
Add Points
Cut Paths
Delete Points
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Convert Tool
The Convert Tool can convert path points to either smooth
points (anchor points with direction handles) or corners (anchor
points without direction handles).
Original path
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Dragging direction handles with the Convert Tool to create a sharp angle at the anchor point
Brush
The Brush tool can be used to create calligraphic brush strokes.
Calligraphic brushes create brush strokes which appear as if they were
drawn using a calligraphic pen or paintbrush.
Click and drag to
draw a brush stroke.
Brushes can be customized
using the Brush Settings pane
in the Appearance Panel.
Brush strokes created with the Brush tool.
Pencil
The Pencil tool can be used to draw freeform paths. It can be a great tool for
creating a quick sketch of a design, since it can create paths quickly without
needing to draw a segment at time as with the Pen tool.
Click and drag to draw
a path.
As with the Brush tool, the Pencil
tool has a smoothing setting
which can be used to control the
amount of smoothing applied to
drawn paths.
Adjust the line width and the
amount of smoothing using the
settings in the Tool Options bar.
Sketch created by tracing an image with the Pencil tool
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Eraser
The Eraser tool can be used to erase portions of paths, or even entire shapes. As
you click and drag with the eraser, a dark semi-transparent brush stroke will be
drawn to show the areas to be erased.
Text
The Text tool can be used to add text objects to a design, or edit previously
created text objects.
Create a new text field by clicking and
dragging on the canvas. You can
begin typing immediately to set the
text after creating the text field.
Text!
Mask
Text object with a stroke and image fill
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Line
The Line tool can be used to create line segments. Besides creating plain lines, it
can also be used to create lines which are styled with arrows and dimension
lines.
Select the desired type of line from the Tool Options bar.
To create a line, simply click and drag on the canvas.
Plain line
Dimension Line
Arrowed line
The line endings for created lines can be customized using the
Stroke Settings pane. When creating lines with the Arrowed Line
mode, the previously selected line endings will be used.
For dimensions lines, the position and style of the dimension
labels can be customized using the Label Settings pane.
Create intricate drawings, such as floor plans or architectural
designs, using lines, arrowed lines and dimension lines.
Arc
The Arc tool can be used to create arc segments.
Click and drag on the canvas to create a new arc. The
arc tool creates perfect circular arcs, however you can
edit the start and end points of an arcs path with the
Path Selection tool.
Top: Default arc object
Below: Arcs with arrows and
dimension styles applied
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Rectangle Tool
The Rectangle tool can be used to draw
rectangles or squares. Click and drag to create a
rectangle.
Press the SHIFT key while dragging to create
squares.
Ellipse Tool
The Ellipse tool can be used to draw ellipses or
circles. Click and drag to create an ellipse.
Press the SHIFT key while dragging to create
circles.
42
Polygon Tool
The Polygon tool can be used to draw polygons with various
numbers of sides, including triangles, hexagons, octagons, etc.
Star Tool
The Star tool can be used to draw star shapes.
You can adjust the number of points, and the
length of each edge, using the settings in the Tool
Options bar.
Stars can have a varying number of points, and longer or shorter edges
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Rotate
The Rotate tool can be used to rotate objects around a reference point.
To rotate one or more objects, first select the objects to be rotated and choose
the Rotate tool. With the Rotate tool active, click and drag anywhere on the
canvas to rotate the objects clockwise or counterclockwise.
By default, the reference point will be located in the center of the selected shapes. To use a
dierent location for the reference point, simply click (without dragging) to set it at that
location.
Selected object
Objects can be rotated numerically using the Tool Options bar. Set a rotation angle in the
field and click Rotate to apply the rotation. Clicking Copy will duplicate the objects first
and then apply the rotation to the copied objects.
Applying a rotation
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Scale
The Scale tool can be used to resize objects relative to a reference
point.
To scale one or more objects, first select the objects to be scaled and choose
the Scale tool. With the Scale tool active, click and drag anywhere on the canvas
to resize the objects.
By default, the reference point will be located in the center of the selected shapes. To use a
dierent location for the reference point, simply click (without dragging) to set it at that
location.
Original objects
Objects can be scaled numerically using the Tool Options bar. Set the percent to scale in the
width and height fields and click Scale to apply the scaling. Clicking Copy will duplicate
the objects first and then apply the scale transform to the copied objects.
Shear
The Shear tool can be used to slant objects relative to a
reference point, to give the appearance of a perspective.
To shear one or more objects, first select the objects to be
transformed and choose the Shear tool. With the Shear tool active,
click and drag anywhere on the canvas to shear the objects.
By default, the reference point will be located in the center of the selected shapes. To use a
dierent location for the reference point, simply click (without dragging) to set it at that
location.
Selected objects
Objects can be sheared numerically using the Tool Options bar. Set the angle of shear in the
width and height fields and click Shear to apply the transform. Clicking Copy will
duplicate the objects first and then apply the shear transform to the copied objects.
46
Zoom Tool
The Zoom tool can be used to zoom in or zoom out the view of the canvas.
Simply click on the canvas with the zoom tool selected to zoom in. Hold the
OPTION key down while clicking to zoom out.
The popup button on the bottom left of the canvas can also be used to change
the zoom level (
).
100%
300% Zoom
800% Zoom
Hand Tool
The Hand tool can be used to move the visible area of the canvas by clicking
and dragging. Unlike scrolling with the scroll bars, the Hand tool can be used
to reveal areas beyond the borders of the canvas.
Tip:
Use the hand tool to
pan beyond the borders
of the canvas.
Moving of the canvas with the Hand tool
47
Gradient Tool
The Gradient tool can be used to position the start and end points of a gradient
fill relative to a shapes bounds, changing the angle and spread of the gradient.
With the Move tool active, click once to select an object which has a gradient fill.
Click a second time on the object to edit its gradient fill.
x2
Linear gradient
Radial gradient
48
Image Tool
The Image tool can be used to scale and position an image fill inside of a shapes
bounds, eectively cropping the image.
With the Move tool active, click once to select an object which has an image fill.
Click a second time on the object to edit the image.
x2
A draggable resize handle will appear on the bottom right corner of the selected shape,
and Image Tool will display as the selected tool in the Tool Options bar.
The image can be scaled, and positioned within the shapes bounds by dragging. To reset the
images size and position to the defaults, click Reset in the Tool Options bar. When finished,
click anywhere on the canvas to end editing and revert to the Move tool.
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Importing Images
iDraw can import images formatted in many of the most
popular file formats, including PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, and
more. PSD and PDF files can also be added as images and
used as part of a design, or imported as fully layered
documents (using File > Open...).
To import an image into an existing document, simply
drag the file from the Finder directly onto the canvas, or
paste it in from another application. The image will be
added as an object into the current layer.
You can choose File > Place Image... [ -Option-I ] to
add an image into a new layer in the current document.
Alternatively, using File > Open... will create a new iDraw document with the chosen image.
Images can also be used as a fill for any path object. Using this technique, an image can be
masked to various shapes. You can set an image fill for an object using the Fill Settings pane.
50
Stroke Settings
The Stroke settings pane is used to adjust a
paths stroke color, width, and style. Changes
are applied to the currently selected objects.
1. Stroke Color - Set the color of the stroke.
2. Line Weight - Adjust the strokes thickness
using the line weight slider, or input field.
3. Line Style - Choose from a variety of line
endings and preset line dash styles using
the line style popups.
4. Caps & Joins - Set the style of path
endpoints (caps), and the path corners
(joins). The Miter Limit field controls the
maximum possible length of miter joins,
with larger values allowing for longer join
lengths.
Butt Cap
Rounded Cap
Projecting Cap
Miter Join
Rounded Join
Beveled Join
2 pt
3 pt
3 pt
Brushes
The Brushes pane allows you to choose the
brush stroke to use when drawing with the
Brush tool, or apply a calligraphic brush to
any path objects stroke.
1. Saved Brushes - Select one of the saved
brushes by simply clicking on it. If
objects are selected, the chosen brush
will be applied to those objects strokes.
2. Add Customized Brush - Click the add
button to add a customized brush to the
Saved Brushes list. To remove a brush
from the list, right-click on it and choose
Remove Brush from the context menu.
3. Brush Preview - Small preview of the currently chosen brush.
4. Brush Editor - You can use the Brush Editor to edit and customize
brushes. Edit a brush manually by dragging the blue circular handles to
change its angle and roundness, or edit the brush numerically by
inputting values into the brush parameter fields.
Roundness
This setting determines the roundness of the brush.
Higher values create a rounder brush, while lower values
create a flatter brush.
20%
70%
Angle
The brush angle refers to the angle of rotation of the
brush. 0 will create a horizontal brush, 90 will create a
vertical brush.
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90
Diameter
The elliptical diameter of the brush. The thickness of a
stroke will be determined by the strokes line weight and
the brush diameter.
5pt
Brush angles
10pt
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Fill Settings
Each path object can be filled with a color,
gradient, or image. The Fill settings pane
allows you to choose and customize the
fill style of selected objects.
The Fill settings pane can also be used to
create and edit gradients. Although the
Gradient Palette allows you to select from
pre-made gradients, you can create new
gradients to use from this pane.
Original gradient
Reversed gradient
Scale to Fit
Stretch to Fit
C. Change or Remove - Select Change Image... to choose a dierent image using the
Open Panel, or select Remove Image to remove the image fill.
D. Image Scale & Opacity - Scale an image within the parent shapes bounds. Alternatively,
you can use the Image Tool to scale and position an image within a shape. Using the
opacity slider or field, you can adjust the transparency of the image.
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Labels and
Dimensioning
Dimension labels are useful for creating
designs such as floor plans, diagrams, or other
technical illustrations. Use labels to measure
the area of a room or label a series of objects.
1. Label - Add a label to any line or path
object. A label can be set to display a
dimension value (of the parent objects
length, width, height, or area), or any text.
Choosing None will remove any previously
set label.
Dimension values are displayed based on the current canvas settings for units and scale.
Choosing Text allows you to set a custom label by typing the desired text into a text field. A
few special variables can be used to create custom text labels that include dimension values.
For example, if you wish to show both the width and height of a rectangle in one label, use
the string: %width% x %height%.
Tip:
Use the following variables in
custom text labels to show
dimension values:
%length%
%width%
%height%
%area%
Using variables in a custom text label
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3. Style - Change the appearance of the label by setting the text and background colors,
as well as the borders margin and corner roundness.
The margin setting adjusts the
size of the box bordering the
text, adding space between the
text and edges. The corners
setting determines the
roundness of the text box.
You can change a labels text font and
size using the Text Settings pane.
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Text Settings
The Text Settings pane can be used to set
the font, style and size attributes of text
objects and labels.
The alignment of text can within a text
objects bounds can be set, and text
objects can also be converted to editable
vector paths.
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Eects
The Eects pane can be used to change an
objects opacity, or apply a shadow eect.
1
100%
70%
30%
X: 5 pt
Y: 0 pt
Blur: 5 pt
X: 0 pt
Y: 5 pt
Blur: 5 pt
X: 5 pt
Y: 5 pt
Blur: 0 pt
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Geometry
The Geometry pane can be used to
numerically change the position, size,
rotation, and shear of the selected objects.
1. Position - The position, in X and Y, of the
selections bounding box.
2. Size and Aspect Ratio - The width
and height of the selections
bounding box. To lock the aspect
ratio while entering values, click on
the aspect ratio lock icon ( ).
3. Shear - Apply horizontal and
vertical shears to the selection.
4. Rotation - Rotate the selection
using the rotation angle field.
Alignment
Align, arrange, and group the selected
objects.
1. Arrange - Bring the selected objects to the
front, bring them forward, or send them
backwards behind other objects.
2. Group / Ungroup - Group multiple
objects to manipulate them together
as a single object.
3. Align - Align the selected objects
positions relative to each other.
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Path Tools
The Path Tools pane provides access to
several tools that allow you to modify the
paths of selected objects.
Combine Paths
Create new paths by combining the shapes
of multiple closed paths in dierent ways
using Boolean operations. Union, subtract,
intersect, exclude, or divide two or more
paths to create new and unique shapes.
Original Shapes
Join Paths
Intersect
Union
Subtract
Exclude
Divide
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Closed path
Outline Stroke
Use the Outline Stroke
command to convert the
styled stroke of an object
into an editable filled path.
If the target object also has
a fill, the result will be a
group containing both the
previous fill and the
converted stroke object.
Compound Paths
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Grid Settings
The canvas grid is fully customizable, with
adjustable settings for spacing, gridline colors,
subdivisions, margins, and more. Each of the
preset Canvas Styles available in iDraw is
created using variations of the grid and canvas
background settings.
1. Show Grid - Enabling the grid can assist in
positioning and aligning objects on the
canvas. Use this checkbox to enable or disable
the visibility of the grid.
2. Snap to Grid - Enable this setting to
snap objects and points to the nearest
grid position when moving them.
Margin Oset
disabled
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Canvas Settings
You can customize the canvas size, scale, and
background using the Canvas Settings pane.
1. Canvas Size - Enter values to change the
width and height of the canvas. The canvas
can be set to either portrait or landscape by
varying the width and height values.
Documents can have a maximum canvas size
of 16,000 x 16,000 pixels. Using the units
popup, select the measurement units to be
used for rulers and dimension values. The
possible unit types
include pixels, inches,
centimeters, and
millimeters.
Units
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Preferences
The Preferences panel can be used to adjust a
few settings to customize your workflow. To
access the panel choose iDraw > Preferences...
[ -, ].
Selection Color
The color used for
drawing selected points, paths,
and the bounding box around selected objects
can be changed using this setting. To reset the
color back to the default blue selection color
simply click the Reset button.
Pixel-aligned 1 pt stroke
Non-pixel-aligned stroke
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Exporting Designs
Once finished with a design, you can export it as an image or vector-based file. When ready
to export, choose File > Export... [ -Option-E ] to bring up the Export panel.
Image Export
Export a design as a PNG, GIF, JPEG, or TIFF file.
Vector Export
Export a design as an SVG or PDF file. These vector-based files can be imported and edited in
other vector illustration applications.
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