2013

ManualsBrandsMagix Xara ManualsApplicationsPage & Layout Designer

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Table Of Contents

Copyright
Introduction to MAGIX Page & Layout Designer 2013
- Welcome to MAGIX Page & Layout Designer 2013
  - Features
- Page & Layout Designer terminology
Getting Help
- Support
  - Europe
  - North America
- Document info
- About MAGIX Page & Layout Designer 2013
- Tooltips
Getting Started
- Program Layout
- Objects On The Page
- Object Based Design
  - Stacking Order
- Drawing Tools
- The Selector Tool
- Right-click menus
- Using Templates & Clipart
  - The Designs Gallery
  - Adding New Pages To Your Document
- Theme Colors
- Photos
  - The Photo Tool
  - Photo Resolution
- Text
- Page Size
- Layers
- Saving & Exporting Your Work.
Document handling
- Starting a new document
- Opening an existing document
- Selected document and title bar
- Control bars
- InfoBar
- Main toolbar
- Rulers
- The status line
- The indicators
- X/Y co-ordinates
- Normal/full screen modes
- Opening a second window
- Changing the zoom value
  - Using the Zoom Tool
  - Changing the zoom value using the mouse
  - Changing the zoom using the zoom InfoBar/control bar
- Sliding the document within the window
- Changing the page size
  - Paper size
  - Orientation
  - Outer margin
  - Bleed
  - Double page spread
- Multi-page Documents
  - Double page spreads in multi-page documents
  - The current page
  - Adding page numbers
  - Inserting pages into your document
  - Copying and pasting pages
  - New page from template
  - Duplicate a page
  - Moving pages within the document
  - Removing pages from your document
  - Navigating between pages
  - Pages with different sizes and layers
  - Page & Layer Gallery
- Saving the document
  - Save option (on the File menu)
  - Save as (on the File menu)
  - Save all (on the File menu)
- Closing the document
- Automatic Backups
  - Backup open documents
  - Backup location
  - Revisions
  - Untitled documents
  - Backup open documents on program close
  - Recovering from abnormal program closures
  - Backups on system shut down
  - Recovering backups
- On-screen grid
- Rulers
  - Displaying/hiding rulers
  - Changing the ruler zero points
- Measurement units
  - Millipoints
  - Options dialog box
  - Changing the default display units
  - Creating a new unit
  - Deleting a unit
  - Applying a scaling factor
  - Deleting a scaling factor
- View quality slider
- The constrain key
- Galleries
  - Displaying a gallery
  - Moving and docking a gallery
  - Grouping galleries
  - Using galleries
  - Selecting items
  - Re-ordering items in the gallery
  - Searching for an item name
  - Adding to a gallery
  - Deleting sections from a gallery
  - Closing a gallery
  - Moving content from previous versions of MAGIX Page & Layout Designer 2013
  - Removing a gallery from the workspace
  - Restoring the default control bars/galleries
- The Name Gallery
  - Batch Export
  - Object Selection and Name Gallery
- Naming objects
  - Adding names
  - Names applied
- Undo and Redo
  - The undo command
  - The redo command
Drawing Lines and Shapes
- Drawing a line or shape
- The Freehand & Brush Tool
  - Erasing while drawing
  - Drawing straight segments in the Freehand Tool
  - Extending a line
  - Joining two lines
  - Closing a freehand shape (to create a filled shape)
- Editing lines/shapes with the Freehand & Brush Tool
  - Sketch Mode
  - Trace mode
  - Brush styles
- The Straight Line & Arrow tool
  - Drawing & editing straight lines
  - Adding arrowheads & tails
  - Reverse path
- The Shape Editor tool
  - To draw a straight line segment
  - Mixing curved and straight lines
  - To draw a curved line segment:
- Extending the line
- Adding a new point handle
  - To the end of a line:
  - To the middle of a line:
  - To the start of a line:
- Selecting multiple point handles
- Deleting points
- Moving point handles—Shape Editor Tool
  - Using the text boxes on the InfoBar
- Smoothing a line
- Constraining the line
- Changing curves
  - Using the curve handle
  - Dragging the line segment
  - Making sharp corners
  - Making smooth curves
  - Balancing curves
- Changing a straight line to a curve (and vice versa)
- Joining lines
- Splitting a shape
- Changing the line width (thickness)
- Variable width lines
- Line Gallery
  - Change join type
  - Change line cap
- Brushes
  - Using an existing brush
  - Creating a new brush
  - Editing a brush
Selecting Objects
- The Selector Tool
  - The InfoBar
  - Alt + S
- Selecting objects
- Double-click shortcuts to tools
Object Handling
- Moving objects
- Removing objects from the document
  - Cutting objects
  - Deleting objects
- Duplicating and cloning
  - Duplicating
  - Cloning
- Moving objects forward and backwards
- Rotating objects
- Scaling (resizing) objects
- Flipping objects
- Snapping
- Guide Objects and Guidelines
- Grouping and ungrouping objects
- Editing inside groups
  - Editing group contents
- Other types of groups
- Soft Groups
- Alignment
- Copying Styles: Paste Attributes
- ClipView
- Repeating Objects
Shape Handling
- Closing a shape
  - Closing a freehand shape
- Joining shapes
  - Breaking joined shapes
- Combining shapes
- Creating regular polygons (the Quickshape Tool)
  - Polygons with rounded corners
  - Editing a polygon
- Creating stars (polygons with indented sides)
  - Removing stellation
- Editing stars
- Creating rectangles and squares
  - Creating a square
  - Creating and Editing rounded corner rectangles
- Creating circles and ellipses
- Making shapes editable
Distorting Objects
- Stretching and squashing objects
- Skewing objects
- The Mold Tool
- Feathering
Page & Layer Gallery
- The Page & Layer Gallery
- Pages
- Layers
- Layer Operations
  - Layer Properties
- Special Layers
- Hiding Layers and Objects
- Locking Layers and Objects
- Solo Mode
- Show All & Unlock All
- Moving Objects Between Layers
Color Handling
- The color line
- Applying fill & line colors by drag & drop
- Editing an object’s color
- The Color Editor in detail
- Specifying colors in the Color Editor
- The color models
- Colors on the screen and on the printer
- Local colors and Theme colors
- Theme color schemes
- Creating your own color schemes
- Creating new named colors
- Editing named colors
- Normal colors, Tints, Shades and Linked colors
- Creating a Tint, Shade or Linked color
  - Editing the parent color
- The Color Gallery
- PANTONE® Colors
Text Handling
- The Text Tool
- The Font Menu
  - Instant font menu navigation
  - Bold, Italic & Synthesized fonts
- Simple text
- Text in a column
  - Changing the width of the column
  - Changing the angle of the column
- Text areas
  - Connecting text areas—text flow
  - Resizing text areas
  - Word count
- Text along a curve
  - Adjusting the left and right margin of text on a curve
  - Swapping sides of the line
- Editing text
  - Selecting the whole text object
  - Swap case
  - Smart Quotes
  - Entering special characters
  - Entering dummy text ('Lorem Ipsum')
- Spell checker
  - Language selection
  - User dictionary
- Find & Replace
- Synchronising text across multiple text objects
- Tabs, Margins and Indents
  - Rulers
  - Margins and indents
  - Tabs
  - Custom tabs
  - Custom tab types
  - How to creating hanging indents
- Repelling text objects
  - Making an object repel
- Anchored Graphics
  - Moving Anchored Objects
  - Viewing the anchor point
  - Removing an anchor
- Embedding Graphics
- Applying text attributes
  - Changing the font size
  - Condensing and expanding characters (aspect ratio)
  - Bold & Italic
  - Text Underlining
  - Justification or text alignment
  - Subscript & superscript
  - Bulleted Lists
  - Numbered lists
  - Graphical Bulleted and Numbered Lists
  - Line spacing
  - Tracking
  - Kerning
  - Baseline shift
  - Paragraph Spacing
  - Advanced text properties
- Text Styles
  - Text Styles InfoBar
  - Paragraph Style and Character Style
  - Updating Text Styles
  - Styles based on other styles
  - Creating new Styles
  - Removing Styles
  - Style Properties
- Indents and Outdents
- Copying text appearances
  - Applying attributes to whole text stories
- Copying/Pasting formatted text (RTF)
- Seeing fonts in use
- Changing text into editable shapes
- The Fonts Gallery
  - Applying a font from the Fonts Gallery
  - Installing or uninstalling a font
- Fonts and PDF
- Document Font embedding
- Adding Hyperlinks
Fills
- The Fill Tool
  - Creating a graduated color fill
  - Fill Tool InfoBar
- Changing the colors in a fill
- Moving the start or end handle of the fill
- Bitmap fills
- Fractal fills
- Multi-stage color graduations
- The Fill Gallery
Transparency
- Applying flat transparency
- Applying graduated transparency
- Multi-stage graduated transparency
- Transparency types
- Enhance
  - Applying Enhance transparency
- Profile
- Bitmaps
- Handle/resolution
- Applying transparency to several objects
  - Mixing individual and group transparencies
  - Group transparency on blends
Bevels
- The Bevel Tool
- Applying a bevel
- Modifying a bevel
- Removing a bevel
Shadows
- The Shadow Tool
- Applying a shadow
- Changing the shadow color or fill effect
- Converting shadows to shapes
- Removing a shadow
- Copying shadows onto other objects
Contours
- The Contour Tool
- Contouring objects
- Converting contours to shapes
- Removing a contour
Blends
- Blends
- Using the Blend Tool
- Removing blends
  - Removing a standard blend
  - Removing blend from a curve
Photo Handling
- Introduction
- Photo Objects
- Photo Groups
- Importing Photos
  - Optimization on import
  - Replacing photos
  - Using photos as fills
  - Initial Photo size
- Photo resolution
- Zero-memory Copies
- The Bitmap Gallery
  - Filling shapes with a bitmap
  - Setting a Bitmap Transparency
  - Deleting images from the Gallery
  - Setting the page background to a bitmap
  - Save
  - Bitmap Properties
- Embedded JPEG files
  - Extracting the original JPEG
- Blending & Merging photos
- Photo display quality
- Saving & Exporting Photos
  - Example: To resize a photo and save as a new JPEG
- Photo Edit Attributes
- Editing the outline of Photos
- Cropping photos
- Screenshots
  - Using Windows to capture screenshots
  - Screen capture utility
- Coloring photos
- Integration with external Photo Editors
- Resize, rotate and position a photo within its frame
- Horizon Straighten
- Viewing a scaled photo at its full size
- Making a photo its full size
- Optimizing Photos and Bitmaps
- Converting objects or drawings to bitmaps
- Photo Documents
- Editing Photo Files
The Photo Tools
- Using the Photo Tools
- Common photo functions
- Enhance Tool
- Clip Tool
3D Extrude Tool
- Extruding a shape
- Extrude Tool InfoBar
- Copying 3D extrude attributes
Printing
- Show print borders
- Selecting and setting up a printer
  - Properties button
  - Network button
- The print dialog box
- Print Options: Output tab
- Print Options: Print Layout tab
Imagesetting
- Spot colors
- On screen printer plate previews
  - Simulating print colors on screen
- Imagesetting dialog
  - Output Printer’s Marks
  - Print films
- Separations dialog
  - PostScript options
  - Print Color Separations
- Overprinting
  - Object level overprinting
  - Ink-level overprinting
- Printing on all plates
- Printing & color separating: technical details
Importing and Exporting
- General notes on exporting and importing
  - Recommended formats
  - Other notes
- Import and Export Supported File Formats
  - Import formats
  - Export formats
- Importing files
- Exporting files
- PDF Export
- JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP export dialog overview
- Other bitmaps Export dialog box
Working with Templates
- Replacing photos
- Adjusting a photo in its frame
- Editing photos
- Changing text
- Changing colors
  - Editing theme colors individually
  - Page background color
- Adding Pages
Customizing Page & Layout Designer
- Changing the blank template document
- Options in the Utilities menu
- General tab
- Grid and Ruler tab
- Internet tab
- Mouse tab
  - Mouse button function
  - Magnetic Snap Radii
- Page Size tab
- Backups Tab
- Photo Editing
  - Photo Editing
- Tune-ups tab
- Units tab
- View tab
- Control bars
Menus and Keyboard Shortcuts
- Introduction
- File menu
- Edit menu
- Arrange menu
- Utilities menu
- Share Menu
- Window menu
- Help menu
- Key shortcuts
- Integrated key shortcut utility
Index

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www.xara.com

Feathering

Sometimes you want to blur the edges of an object so it blends, or fades, into a

background object. This is called "feathering". An example is merging two bitmaps

together when you want to avoid a sharp edge between them.

The feather control is on the right side of the top bar.

To feather an object:

1. Select the object or objects you want to feather.

2. Either enter a numeric size for the feather into the text box

Click the arrow to show the pop-up slider. As you drag the slider the objects

are feathered.

Feathering blends or blurs the edges of objects.

If you have multiple objects selected, the feather appears around each object. If you

group the objects, the feather appears around the outside of the group.

You can also change the feathering profile. Normally a linear

transition across the feather produces the best effect, but you

may want to change this.

Select the

PROFILE button to display the PROFILE dialog and adjust the sliders.