Attributes Menu


You can change the attributes of almost any object, except a group, or a bitmap.

hit or do the item or press <f4> to get the menu. This menu will be different depending on the type and number of objects you have selected.

Current Attributes

If you have selected no objects but are in one of the drawing modes you can set the attributes to be used in the proposed drawing or text. E.g. you can set the fontname and fontsize before you write any text or put it on the page. The menu will have the current values for the current attributes filled in.

The menu will look like this :

  1. ESC : to leave the menu, and set the attributes.
  2. Outline Colour : edit or type the outline colour. It is the colour in which the outline is drawn, expressed in a precentage of black. Must be a number between zero and 100. White is zero, and 100 is black. All the rest are gray.
  3. Fill Colour : edit or type the fill colour. The fill colour is the colour (or gray shade) in which the object is filled, if it is filled. Can be different from the outline colour. Is a number between zero and 100, a percentage of black.
  4. Filled : indicates whether the object will be filled (yes) or not (no).
  5. Thickness : edit or type the thickness in which the outline will be drawn. Always expressed in points. A line which is less than a pixel thick will be drawn hairline, which is a line with a uniform thickness of one pixel. If the object has been scaled horizontally or vertically (without preservation of the ratio), the linewidth can also differ horizontally and vertically when the object is scaled without preserving the ratio.
  6. Fontname : will display the font used for the text. When indicated the list of currently loaded fonts is displayed, to select one of them.
  7. Fontsize : edit or type the fontsize. In points. The fontsize WILL be transformed along with the current transformation of the object.

Path - Combined path - Circle - Square

All these objects have the same set of attributes. If you have selected one object, you will get this menu, with the values currently set for that object filled in :

  1. ESC : to leave the menu, and set the attributes.
  2. Outline Colour : edit or type the outline colour. It is the colour in which the outline is drawn. Must be a number between zero and 100. White is zero, and 100 is black. All the rest are gray. The outline is ALWAYS drawn.
  3. Fill Colour : edit or type the fill colour. The fill colour is the colour (or gray shade) in which the object is filled, if it is filled. Can be different from the outline colour. Also is a number between zero and 100, a percentage of black.
  4. Filled : indicate whether you want the object to be filled (yes) or not (no).
  5. Thickness : edit or type the thickness in which the outline will be drawn. Always expressed in points. A line which is less than a pixel thick will be drawn hairline. This is a line with a uniform thickness of one pixel. If the object has been scaled horizontally or vertically (without preservation of the ratio), the linewidth can also differ horizontally and vertically.

If you set these attributes to edit an object or group of objects and then return to drawing mode the same attributes will be used for the next object drawn. If you wish the next object that you draw to have different attributes you should enter the drawing mode in the normal way and then re-adjust the attributes before starting to draw.

Headline Text

The menu will look like this :

  1. ESC : to leave the menu, and set the attributes that have changed.
  2. Fontname : will display the font used for the text. When indicated the list of currently loaded fonts is displayed for selection.
  3. Fontsize : edit or type the fontsize. In points. The fontsize WILL be transformed along with the current transformation of the object.
  4. Fill Colour : edit or type the fill colour. The fill colour is the colour (or gray shade) in which the object is filled, if it is filled. Can be different from the outline colour. It's a number between zero and 100, a percentage of black.
  5. Edit Text : edit the headline text itself.

If you set these attributes to edit a text item and then return to headline text mode the same attributes will be used for the next text item placed. If you wish the next headline text to have different attributes you should enter the text mode in the normal way and then re-adjust the attributes before writing the text.

Paragraph Text

The menu will look the same as that presented when creating a paragraph : To position a paragraph text, you should first draw the frame in which the paragraph should be put. So do at the position of one of the corners of the frame, and you will get a rectangle which indicates it. All text will fall inside this frame (with the exception of words which are too wide to fit. Then a window will appear with the following options :

  1. Fontname : will display the font used for the text. When indicated the list of currently loaded fonts is displayed for selection.
  2. Fontsize : edit or type the fontsize, in points. The leading will be given the same value.
  3. Fill Colour : edit or type the fill colour. As fonts are always drawn filled, and their outline is not drawn, you can only choose the fill colour.
  4. Left : will deselect any other justification that was selected previously, and select left justification. This means that all the lines will touch the left margin, but not necessarily the right. Also called no justification or ragged right.
  5. Right : will deselect any other justification that was selected previously, and select right justification. This means that the lines will all touch the right, and not necessarily the left margin. Also called ragged left.
  6. Centre : will deselect any other justification mode previously selected, and select centre justification. All lines are positioned in the middle of the frame.
  7. Full : will deselect any other justification that was selected previously, and select full justification. The lines will be spaced out to make them touch both the left and right margins (except the last line in each paragraph).
  8. Paragraph Spacing : edit or type the paragraph spacing. In points. This is the extra space that is added when a new paragraph is entered. Normally it is zero, so no extra space is added.
  9. Leading : edit or type the leading, also in points. The leading is the distance between baselines. Normally it is equal to the fontsize. But it could be good idea to make it bigger if you are using are black font, like Aurora. Or make it smaller, with a light font, or a font with very small body (like GraphicLight). Please note that there are also other definitions of leading in typography.
  10. Indentation : edit or type the indentation, in points. This is the amount a new paragraph will be indented according to the left margin. This is an absolute figure, independent of the size of the frame, or the fontsize.
  11. Kerning : select whether you want the text to be kerned or not. Not all fonts are kerned. Kerning will make the font more ledgible as it should make the spacing more consistent.
  12. Text from File : indicate this if you want to replace the current text by another file. If this is not indicated, the text will not be replaced from file.
  13. Text from Scrap : indicate this if you want to replace the current text by the text in the scrap. If this is not indicated, the text will not be replaced from scrap.
  14. ESC : do not change the paragraph on the page.
  15. OK : change the paragraph as required. At this stage a File Select window will appear if you wanted to replace the text from file, or the text will be copied from scrap. If the scrap contains no text or is empty, an appropriate error message is given. If you wanted to load the file, select the right file, and it will be loaded. At this stage you can still press <esc> and then no paragraph will appear. If you do not want to replace the text, you should not indicate any of the Text from.. items. The paragraph will be formatted according to the requested parameters. This formatting could take a little while if the text is large and the fontsize is small, so a lot of text is visible.

The values of the current attributes will also be adjusted when you change the attributes of the current object.

Bitmap

You cannot change the attributes of a bitmap !

Group

You cannot change the attributes of a group !

Several Objects

If you have selected more than one object, you will get the same menu as to edit the current attributes, but with none of the values filled in. When you leave the menu, only those attributes which have been edited are changed. Attributes that have got a value, but are of no use to a selected object are just ignored.

The menu will look like this :

  1. ESC : to leave the menu, and set the attributes that have changed.
  2. Outline Colour : edit or type the outline colour. It is the colour in which the outline is drawn. Must be a number between zero and 100. White is zero, and 100 is black. All the rest is gray.
  3. Fill Colour : edit or type the fill colour. The fill colour is the colour (or gray shade) in which the object is filled, if it is filled. Can be different from the outline colour. Also is a number between zero and 100, a percentage of black.
  4. Filled : indicate whether you want the object to be filled (yes) or not (no).
  5. Thickness : edit or type the thickness in which the outline will be drawn. Always expressed in points. A line which is less than a pixel thick will be drawn hairline, which is a line with a uniform thickness of one pixel. If the object has been scaled horizontally or vertically (without preservation of the ratio), the linewidth can also differ horizontally and vertically.
  6. Fontname : will display the font used for the text. When indicated the list of currently loaded fonts is displayed, to select one of them.
  7. Fontsize : edit or type the fontsize. In points. The fontsize WILL be transformed along with the current transformation of the object.

The values of the current attributes will also be adjusted when you change the attributes of the current object.


PROGS, Professional & Graphical Software
last edited February 28, 1997