Serif DrawPlus X8 User Manual [nl]
Contents
1. Welcome ............................................................................... 1
Welcome to DrawPlus ............................................................................. 2
New features ............................................................................................... 3
Installation ................................................................................................... 6
2. Getting Started ................................................................... 9
Startup Assistant .................................................................................... 10
Starting with a new drawing ............................................................. 13
Opening a drawing ............................................................................... 15
Saving your work ................................................................................... 17
Setting measurement units and drawing scale ......................... 18
Viewing pages ......................................................................................... 21
Adding and deleting pages ............................................................... 22
3. Lines, Curves, and Shapes .............................................23
Selecting one or more objects .......................................................... 24
Drawing lines and shapes ................................................................... 27
Drawing B-Spline curves ..................................................................... 32
Using QuickShapes ................................................................................ 37
Flooding areas ......................................................................................... 38
Editing lines and shapes ...................................................................... 42
Converting a shape to editable curves .......................................... 48
Adding dimension lines and labels ................................................. 49
Using the Gallery .................................................................................... 52
Contents
4. Using Brushes and Text .................................................. 55
Applying brush strokes ........................................................................ 56
Pressure sensitivity ................................................................................ 58
Entering text ............................................................................................ 60
Editing text ............................................................................................... 62
Fitting text to a path ............................................................................. 63
5. Working with Objects ..................................................... 65
Copying, pasting, cutting, and deleting objects ....................... 66
Resizing objects ...................................................................................... 67
Replicating an object ............................................................................ 69
Rotating and shearing objects .......................................................... 73
Joining objects ........................................................................................ 75
Creating contours .................................................................................. 78
Grouping objects ................................................................................... 80
Aligning and distributing objects .................................................... 81
Ordering objects .................................................................................... 82
Working with layers .............................................................................. 83
Cutting up objects ................................................................................. 87
Erasing and adding to objects .......................................................... 89
6. Fills, Lines, Colours, and Transparency ..................... 91
Setting fill properties ............................................................................ 92
Setting line properties ......................................................................... 97
Sampling colours ................................................................................. 101
Working with gradient fills ............................................................... 102
Working with bitmap and plasma fills ......................................... 105
Working with vector fills ................................................................... 106
Setting opacity ...................................................................................... 107
Using transparency effects ............................................................... 110
Contents
7. Pictures ............................................................................. 113
Importing pictures ............................................................................... 114
Using Cutout Studio ........................................................................... 115
Applying PhotoLab filters ................................................................. 118
Autotracing ............................................................................................ 121
8. Effects ................................................................................ 125
Using graphic styles ............................................................................ 126
Applying 2D filter effects .................................................................. 128
Applying 3D filter effects .................................................................. 129
Adding drop shadows ........................................................................ 131
Creating blends .................................................................................... 133
Using stencils ......................................................................................... 136
9. Stopframe/ Keyframe Animation ............................. 141
Getting started with animation ...................................................... 142
Working with Stopframe animation ............................................. 143
Working with Keyframe animation ............................................... 147
Exporting animations and presentations ................................... 151
10. Print, Publish and Share .............................................. 155
Interactive Print/PDF Preview ......................................................... 156
Printing basics ....................................................................................... 159
Publishing as PDF................................................................................. 161
Exporting objects and drawings .................................................... 163
Presentations with the Rostrum Camera .................................... 168
Contents
11. Additional Information ............................................... 175
Contacting Serif .................................................................................... 176
Credits ...................................................................................................... 177
12. Index .................................................................................. 179
Welcome
2 Welcome
Welcome to DrawPlus
Welcome to DrawPlus X8—the design and illustration solution from
Serif, packed with all the features expected of award-winning design
software. From decorative page elements and logos to full-page
illustrations, scale drawings, multi-page folded publications, and
Stopframe or Keyframe animations—DrawPlus X8 does it all. With the
power of scalable vector graphics at your command, you'll see the
creative possibilities open up right before your eyes! Whether you're a
beginner or an expert, you'll find easy-to-use tools you can use right
away.
Upgrading
If you've upgraded from a previous version, this new edition of
DrawPlus includes a host of exciting new features which complement
DrawPlus's existing key features. We hope you also enjoy the additional
power and performance edge.
Registering
Don’t forget to register your new copy, using the Registration Wizard
on the Help menu. That way, we can keep you informed of new
developments and future upgrades!
Welcome 3
New features
DrawPlus X8 (in 32 and 64-bit versions) introduces increased ease of
use, a host of new and improved features and tools—including one for
animating presentations, as well as photo and effect improvements, and
also enhanced importing and exporting options.
• High DPI support
Windows display scaling is supported with automatic selection of
suitably sized, sharp-looking buttons, controls and menus, so for
very high-resolution displays, displays at a distance, or for those
with impaired vision, DrawPlus X8 will look better than ever.
• Presentations with Rostrum Camera (see p. 168)
Show off your presentation, slideshow, or storyboard slide-byslide in an innovative and creative way using cool Rostrum
Camera panning, supporting slide transitions and progressive or
layer-by-layer reveals. Create from preset page layouts or base each
slide on drawn objects equally. Finally, export easily to Flash or
video using a range of presets.
Creative
• B-Spline curves (see p. 32)
As an alternative to drawing Bézier curves with the Pen Tool, try
the B-Spline Tool. Using a polygon framework, curve creation is
made simpler without the complexity of node and control handle
manipulation. Convert from B-spline curves to Bézier curves if
needed.
• Contours for cool tiered effects (see p. 78)
Shapes and text take on a stylish look with a multi-contour effect.
Copies of the original object are placed in front or behind the
original object; they incrementally scale and show with
decreasing/increasing greyscale levels. Contours can be
4 Welcome
customized to control the number of contour steps and be placed
inside the object rather than outside.
• New and improved filter effects (see p. 128)
Add a new Trail effect, add ripple effects to reflections, apply a
cutoff setting for feathering, a directional/gradient feather, and an
outline and contoured line texture for variable-intensity drop
shadows.
• Replicate (see p. 70)
The new Replicate Tool creates copies of selected objects directly
on the page in repeating columns and rows, with controllable interobject spacing. At any time, return to the replicated objects to add
more or fewer objects.
• Flooding areas (see p. 38)
The Flood Tool is perfect for creating and colouring areas between
intersecting curves in your design as opposed to colouring an
object's line or fill. With this level of selective colouring, otherwise
restricted to objects, areas created by overlapping drawn curves or
by QuickShapes converted to curves can be coloured freely. These
coloured areas become closed shapes in their own right.
• Vector pattern fills (see p. 106)
The Swatch tab provides a new Vector pattern fill category which
hosts an impressive selection of brick, tile, dot, screen, line and
hatched patterns that output as vectors. Each fill can be customized
with respect to scaling, spacing, rotation and recolouring. You can
even create custom fills from drawn shapes or imported Serif
Metafiles.
Ease of Use
• Feed-based Startup Assistant (see p. 10)
The new-look starting point for new drawings provides a wealth of
constantly updating cross-product news and DrawPlus-specific
learning resources (video tutorials, written tutorials, help, and
Tips & Tricks). The assistant keeps track of unread articles so you
won't miss a thing! An Open option also gives you access to all
your existing publications, based on document history.
• Restore Last Session (see p. 16)
On DrawPlus restart, optionally enable this feature to
automatically reopen previously opened drawings (view settings
and current page display are preserved too!) and start from where
you finished your last session.
• Smart sizing and rotating (see p. 68)
Multiple objects can be scaled or rotated proportionally with a
transformed selected object in your selection; individual objects
always retain their relative position on the page—great for charts
and plans! Shearing operations are also supported.
Welcome 5
Pictures
• New photo editing tools and effects (see p. 118)
Vibrance, Split Tone, Tilt Shift, and Clarity are new PhotoLab
filters that add fantastic effects to enhance pictures. Now control
vignette positioning and sizing. Blend effects smoothly across an
area using gradient masks, and remove unwanted blemishes,
clutter or imperfections with a clone brush.
6 Welcome
• New scanning power (see DrawPlus Help)
As manufacturers have been very slow to introduce 64-bit scanning
software, DrawPlus has been updated to support 32-bit and any
newer 64-bit drivers, for both WIA and TWAIN driver types. Also
scan and place multiple images in one operation if your scanner
allows, without lifting the lid each time to swap pictures.
Installation
Installing DrawPlus follows different procedures depending on whether
you are installing from disc or via download.
You can install your new version alongside previous versions and
use them independently.
32 or 64-bit DrawPlus X8 installs to respective 32 or 64-bit
computers.
Installation procedure (from disc)
• Insert your purchased disc into your disc drive.
• If AutoPlay is enabled on the drive, this automatically starts the
Setup Wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions for install.
-or-
• If AutoPlay is not enabled (or doesn't start the install
automatically), navigate to your program disc and double-click
autorun.exe.
Welcome 7
Installation procedure (from download)
• From serif.com, when logged into your Serif account, follow the
on-screen instructions to download.
System Requirements
Minimum:
• Windows-based PC* with mouse or equivalent input device
• Operating systems:
Windows® 8 (32 or 64 bit)
Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bit)
Windows® Vista (32 or 64 bit)
Windows® XP SP3 (32 bit)
• PC Memory:
512MB RAM (Windows® XP)
1GB RAM (Windows® Vista and 32-bit Windows 7® and 8)
2GB RAM (For 64-bit Windows® 7 and 8)
• Hard Drive Space:
665MB free hard disk space for physical media install (and a DVD
drive)
1GB free hard disk space for download install (additional space
required during installation)
• Screen Resolution:
1024 x 768 monitor resolution (at 100% scaling)
1280 x 960 monitor resolution (at 125% scaling)
1536 x 1152 monitor resolution (at 150% scaling)
2048 x 1536 monitor resolution (at 200% scaling)
8 Welcome
• Other:
Internet account and connection for accessing online resources.
* Main processor must support SSE2 instructions. To enjoy the full
benefit of brushes and their textures, you must be using a computer
whose processor supports SSE (most modern computers do). On brush
selection, an on-screen message will indicate if your computer is nonSSE.
Additional disk resources and memory are required when editing large
or complex documents.
Recommended:
As above but:
• Dual-processor PC technology
Optional:
• Windows-compatible printer
• TWAIN-compatible scanner and/or digital camera
• Pressure-sensitive pen tablet
Getting Started
10 Getting Started
Startup Assistant
Once DrawPlus has been installed, you're ready to start.
• For Windows Vista/7: Setup adds a Serif DrawPlus X8 item to the
All Programs submenu of the Windows Start menu. Use the
Windows Start button to pop up the Start menu, click on All
Programs and then click Serif DrawPlus X8.
• For Windows 8: The Setup routine during install adds a Serif
DrawPlus X8 entry to the desktop and also to the Start screen.
Double-click the DrawPlus icon from the desktop, or click the
DrawPlus tile on the Start screen.
On program launch, the Startup Assistant is displayed which offers
different routes into DrawPlus:
The options are described as follows:
The default home page provides access to
Provide document history, such as files you
Online videos and written tutorials, help, tips
Create a New Drawing from scratch using a
Serif promotions and tutorial articles to get
you started with DrawPlus.
View the DrawPlus Overview or click Go to
see the Quick Start video.
have recently worked on including Restore
the Last Session which
drawing you created.
Browse your computer to access DrawPlus
files and picture files or create a design from
an existing PDF file.
& tricks, and more via an updating learn feed
that can be filtered by article Type.
The Product Help and your electronic
DrawPlus X8 user guide are also provided.
Getting Started 11
opens the most recent
simple setup.
Create a New Keyframe Animation.
Create a New Stopframe Animation.
Create a Custom drawing.
12 Getting Started
Create an instant drawing from a predesigned sample.
For cross-product news, company news,
articles, and product announcements, using
Serif's news feed.
Use the keyword Search box to filter specific
file names, learn articles, samples, news or
articles.
Any time you access the Startup Assistant, the Learn or News buttons
indicate the number of new articles to be viewed (if available). This
number will decrease as you read each article in the Learn or News pane.
When new articles arrive, these will be indicated the next time you open
the Startup Assistant.
Any new unread article arriving in the Learn or News pane will
display a "new" indicator in its thumbnail.
Once you've clicked on a new article the "new" indicator
changes to a "read" indicator.
To access the Startup Assistant when DrawPlus is already running,
choose Startup Assistant from the File menu.
Getting Started 13
Starting with a new drawing
The first time you launch DrawPlus, you'll see the Startup Assistant,
with a menu of choices.
The New Drawing option offers an easy way to create your new
drawing and lets you choose the initial setup for the particular type
of document you'll be producing.
DrawPlus offers a wide range of preset document types from several
categories:
Category Document types
Portrait or landscape in all the commonly
Regular
Folded
Publications
encountered page sizes.
Greeting cards, menus, and tri- or Z-fold
booklets.
Presentations
Large
Publications
Slide presentations with Rostrum Camera.
Banners, posters
14 Getting Started
Labels, business cards, tags
Small
Publications
ISO and ANSI layouts
Technical
Drawing
To start a new drawing from scratch using the Startup
Assistant:
1. Start DrawPlus (or choose File>Startup Assistant if it’s already
running).
2. Select New Drawing from the Startup Assistant.
3. Review document categories in the right-hand pane (and sub-
categories if applicable). Categories contain preset document types
(see above) or if you select Regular, you can choose from standard
document sizes presented in Portrait or Landscape sub-categories.
4. Select a document type thumbnail from a category in the right-hand
pane.
Getting Started 15
The new document opens.
To start a new drawing during your DrawPlus session:
• Click
New Blank Drawing on the Standard toolbar.
You can always adjust the page settings later via File>Page Setup.
To start with a new keyframe or stopframe animation, see Getting
started with animation on p. 142.
Opening a drawing
You can open an existing DrawPlus drawing from the Startup
Assistant, Standard toolbar or the File menu.
To open an existing document from the Startup
Assistant:
1. From the Startup Assistant, click Open. Recently opened files are
shown, such as today, last 7 days and Last 30 days.
2. Select a file to open it.
16 Getting Started
To open an existing document via toolbar or menu:
1. Click
2. In the Open dialog, navigate to, then select the file name and click
the Open button.
Open on the Standard toolbar, or select File>Open.
You can also open a range of file types including images, PDF
documents, and Adobe Illustrator files.
Once a drawing is opened in its own document window, the window
(and drawing) can be made currently active from a Document tab
(below) or via the Window menu.
Restore last session
Instead of launching the Startup Assistant, DrawPlus can restore your
last session. This option opens the file you most recently saved. You can
do this on an ad hoc basis when you open DrawPlus, or choose to always
restore the last session by default.
To restore your last session:
1. From the Startup Assistant, click Open.
2. Select Restore Last Session. The file opens.
To always restore the last session:
Getting Started 17
1. From the drawing's context toolbar, select
2. From the Options>General menu option, select Restore Last
Session on the On start up drop-down list.
3. Click OK.
Options.
When using this feature, remember to close the DrawPlus program
at the end of your session (as opposed to closing individual
drawings). To do this, click at the very top-right of your
program.
For other options to customize DrawPlus, see Setting program
options in DrawPlus Help.
Saving your work
DrawPlus saves its documents as .dpp (Drawing), .dpx (Template) or
.dpa (Animation) files (for Stopframe and Keyframe animation modes).
To save your work:
• Click
- or To save the document under its current name, choose Save from
the File menu.
- or To save under a different name, choose Save As from the File
menu.
Save on the Standard toolbar.
18 Getting Started
Setting measurement units and drawing scale
For precision drawing, you need techniques that allow you to position
and draw accurately without effort, that will also be of use at any scaled
size. Such techniques make use of rulers and guides for actual-size or
scaled drawings.
Rulers
The rulers that surround the page allow you to measure the exact
position of an object.
Ruler units used by DrawPlus determine the units displayed on the
rulers and the reported units shown when positioning and scaling
objects (either around the object or on the Hintline). You can change
the ruler units without altering the document's dimensions. Unit
settings are saved with your DrawPlus drawing; as a result loading
different drawings, templates, etc. may change your working
measurement units.
To change the measurement unit:
• Right-click on a ruler and select an alternative measurement unit.
Getting Started 19
Ruler Units are equivalent to Page Units unless you're working on a
scale drawing. For example, one ruler centimetre equals one
centimetre on the printed page.
Creating guides
If you want to position objects repeatedly on the same horizontal or
vertical boundary then guides can be used. DrawPlus lets you set up
horizontal and vertical guides—non-printing, red lines you can use to
align one object with another.
Guides can be created (and positioned) either by dragging from a ruler
or via the Guides Manager (right-click any ruler). Both methods let you
add guides to the current page, or, if creating a folded document, guides
across a page spread.
To show/hide guides:
• To show or hide guides, check or uncheck Layout Tools>Guides
from the View menu.
20 Getting Started
Drawing scale
You can create scale drawings (such as a home/garden design or model
diagram) by setting a ratio other than 1:1 between page units and ruler
units. For example, you might wish to set one page centimetre
equivalent to 0.5 metre, a good scaling ratio for designing gardens of a
typical size.
Use Dimension tools (see p. 49) in conjunction with scale drawings
for on-the-page measurements, which automatically update as you
move objects.
To change the drawing scale:
1. Choose
with the Pointer Tool selected). Choose
2. Check the Scale Drawing box.
3. Use the input boxes to set the drawing scale as a proportion between
the Page Distance (in page units that define the document's actual
printing dimensions) and the Ruler Distance (in on-screen ruler
units that represent the "real world" objects you're depicting).
Drawing Scale Options from the context toolbar (shown
Getting Started 21
The Hintline toolbar at the bottom
Viewing pages
Once you've got a page in view, you can use the scrollbars at the right
and bottom of the main window to move the page and pasteboard with
respect to the main window. As you drag objects to the edge of the
screen the scroll bars adjust automatically as the object is kept in view.
of the screen displays the current
page number and provides a
number of controls to let you
navigate around your pages.
As an alternative, the Pages tab shows your pages as thumbnails, which
when selected, will display that page in your workspace.
To navigate pages:
• Click Previous page, Next page, First page or
Last page on the Hintline toolbar.
To go to a specific page:
1. Display the Pages tab (docked at the bottom of your DrawPlus
workspace) by clicking the
2. Click on a thumbnail to jump directly to that page.
button.
22 Getting Started
Zooming
The Hintline toolbar also allows the user to view and/or edit the page at
different levels of detail. You can use the Zoom Tool, Pan Tool,
Current Zoom, Zoom Out/In (with slider), and Fit Page options.
If you're using a wheel mouse, you can scroll the wheel forward or back
to move up or down the page. Try combining the Ctrl key and scrolling
up or down for immediate in/out zoom control.
Adding and deleting pages
DrawPlus lets you add a page after the last page in your drawing. You
can also add one or more pages before or after a currently selected page;
you can also copy objects from a chosen page.
To add a new page:
• From the last page of the current drawing, click the
Page button on the Hintline toolbar.
To delete one or more pages:
• On Page Manager's Delete Page tab, specify the number of
pages to delete and the page after which pages should be
deleted.
The document format (as determined in File>Page Setup) will
determine whether or not you can add or delete pages. For
example, Folded documents have a fixed number of pages.
Next
Lines, Curves,
and Shapes
24 Lines, Curves and Shapes
Pointer Tool
C
objects. You can select and rotate an object around a centre of
rotation.
Node Tool
Click to use the
move or copy objects.
Selecting one or more objects
Before you can change any object, you need to select it using one of
several tools available from the top of the Drawing toolbar.
lick the Pointer Tool to select, move, copy, resize, or rotate
Node Tool to manipulate the shape of objects, or
To select an object:
• Click on the object using one of the tools shown above. For the
Pointer Tool, small "handles" appear around the object
indicating selection.
For the Node Tool, editable nodes are displayed for lines—
sliding handles are additionally shown for adjustment of
QuickShapes and text. If objects overlap, use the Alt key while
clicking repeatedly until the desired item is selected.
Lines, Curves and Shapes 25
If an object won't select, it may be on another layer. Try clicking
Edit All Layers on the Layers tab to allow selections to be made on
any layer.
Selecting multiple objects
It is also possible to select more than one object, making a multiple
selection that you can manipulate as if it were one object, or turn into a
grouped object (p. 80).
To select more than one object (multiple selection):
1. Choose the Pointer Tool.
2. Click in a blank area of the page and drag a "marquee" box around
the objects you want to select.
Release the mouse button. All of the objects within the marquee box
are selected and one selection box, with handles, appears around the
objects. To deselect, click in a blank area of the page.
- or -
3. Click on the first object for selection.
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