2013

252
www.xara.com
The JPEG image format is usually the best choice for photo images, because it
maintains high quality with smaller file sizes. So when you import non-JPEG photo
files, MAGIX Page & Layout Designer 2013 will examine the image to see if it would
be more appropriate as a JPEG. If so, a prompt is shown giving you the option to
convert it to JPEG on import. This reduces the size of your document files and reduces
memory usage when editing.
When pasting in images from the clipboard, the same analysis is done and the image
is imported as JPEG if that’s appropriate. This is done silently with no prompts. This is
particularly useful when copying and pasting in images from web browsers because
although the images are often JPEGs in the web page, some browsers don’t
communicate this to the clipboard.
Replacing photos
If you drag and drop a photo file (from Windows Explorer or from the Bitmap Gallery)
onto an existing photo it will replace that photo, but keep the same container or frame
size. This makes it very easy to replace photos on templates. You can use the Fill Tool
to adjust the size, position and angle of the photo inside its outline. This is not true for
photo documents (on page 273), where dropping a photo on the page will always
import it as a new phot
o document.
When replacing a photo or bitmap this way, it is sized to best fit in the existing picture
outline.If you hold "Shift" when replacing a photo, the new one will inherit the same
scale and rotation as the old photo, instead of being ‘best fitted’. This is useful where
you've manually adjusted the scale or rotation of a fill and then want to replace the
image with another which has the same aspect ratio.
When you drop a new photo onto a Photo Group (on page 249), the entire Photo
Group is repla
ced, leaving you with a photo object showing the new image.
Using photos as fills
You can also use any bitmap as a fill style for any drawn shape. Simply drag the file
over the shape (which can be from your file system, or from the Bitmap or Fill
galleries), and hold the "Shift" key down before you drop. This will replace the existing
color fill with a bitmap, fitted to the object. Again you can use the
FILL TOOL to adjust
the size, angle and position.
Initial Photo size
When you import a photo into a document, by default if it’s bigger than 500 pixels
wide the photo is automatically scaled down to 500 pixels. This is because it’s rarely
useful to drop a huge digital camera photo into a drawing document and have it
displayed at its full size, so it’s scaled down to a more manageable size. You can
change this behavior on the
VIEW tab of the UTILITIES->OPTIONS dialog: