Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
N
Make groups be transparent as a whole
By default,
object transparency is set on an object-to-object basis.
However, if you need to create a group of shapes that
all have the same amount of transparency, checking this
option overrides object transparency and treats grouped
objects as having a single transparency value.
Importing layers
N
When you drag a Xara file from
the Designs gallery or from a drive window into a new
document, you have the choice of bringing in new visual
data all to the same layer—Import Layers Into The
Active Layer (which can create a messy composition if
the file has a lot of objects on different layers) or Import
Layers Into New Layers (creating somewhat less of an
object management chore)—or to import the file with
its layers in their original structure (Maintain Imported
Layers Names). You might be best served by choosing
Maintain Imported Layers Names.
Marquee object selection
N
Your choice here is most
relevant to how you have worked in another drawing
application. If you're new to vector drawing, choosing
Select Items Touched By Rectangle is a quick way to
select objects. However, if you want to be explicit with
mouse motions and marquee selecting (diagonally drag
while you hold the mouse button to “lasso” a page area
to select objects), select Only Items Inside Rectangle
offers precision control.
Xtreme also supports “scribble selection,“ and this works regardless of your Options settings.
To quickly select anything your cursor touches, hold
ALT
and then drag your cursor back and
forth over shapes as though you're scribbling something.
N
Document editing
The Document Is Intended To Be
A Website and Show Windows Compatible Text Lengths
options relate to the Website creation capabilities of
Xara, thoroughly documented in Chapter 11. Briefly,
the Website option treats links on HTML pages as links
to
groups
of objects and not, for example, to only the
text on a button in a group of objects. If you're only
designing for print, this option is not relevant to your
work. The Windows-Compatible Text-Length option
is also for Web documents and not for print. Very few
Web browsers display text point size or line length as
