<chapter label="9" id="usage-customization">
  <title>Customization</title>
  <sect1 id="prefs">
    <title>Preferences Dialog</title>
    <para>
      <application>Dia</application> allows you to set a number of 
      customization options that modify how the program works.
      These options are set by selecting the 
      <menuchoice>
        <guimenu>File</guimenu>
        <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem>
      </menuchoice> 
      from the <interface>Toolbox Menu Bar</interface>.  
      This opens the <interface>Preferences</interface> dialog. This 
      dialog has tab panes grouping related preferences like: User Interface, 
      Diagram Defaults, View Defaults and Grid Lines. 
    </para>  
    <para>
      After you have made all the changes you want, click on
      <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to apply the changes and close the
      <interface>Preferences</interface> dialog. To cancel the changes and return
      to previous values, click the <guibutton>Close</guibutton> button. You may
      preview the effect of your changes using the Apply
      button.
    </para>
    <sect2 id="user-interface">
      <title>User Interface</title>
      <para>
        <figure>
          <title><interface>User Interface</interface></title>
          <screenshot>
            <screeninfo><interface>User Interface</interface> dialog box</screeninfo>
            <graphic format="PNG" fileref="graphics/file-preferences-ui"
                srccredit="Hans Breuer" />
          </screenshot>
        </figure>
      </para>
      <para>
        The User Interface tab pane allows you to change the way
        <application>Dia</application> works. 
        The configurable properties in the User Interface tab are explained below.
      </para>
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Reset tools after create causes the Modify tool to be selected 
            automatically each time an object has been added to the diagram. This
            allows you to add an object and then use the Modify tool to select objects
            without having to go back to the Toolbox.
          </para>
          <para>
            If the Reset tools button is not checked, 
            then the current object tool will "stick" until another tool is chosen. This 
            is useful if you want to draw many shapes using the same tool repeatedly. 
            However, in this case, you will need to manually select the Modify tool
            in order to select objects.
          </para> 
          <tip>
            <para>
              As an alternative to unchecking this box,  
              you can press the Space key after inserting an object to reselect
              the last object. See <link linkend="adding-objects">Adding Objects</link>
              for more information.
            </para>
          </tip>  
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Compress saved files provides the option to have Dia XML files 
            compressed into much smaller files using gzip or to leave the Dia XML 
            files as plain text so that they can be more easily edited using other
            software.  
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Number of undo levels customizes how many steps that the undo tool
            remembers.  The higher the number, the more steps you can undo to fix an
            error. However, more undo levels requires more computer memory.
            Setting the undo level to zero allows the program an unlimited 
            number of undo levels, subject to the available computer memory.

          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Reverse dragging selects intersecting objects allows you to create 
            selections by area that only need to cover part of the object you 
            want to select. Normally when you select objects by area, 
            you need to create a selection around the whole of the 
            object you want to select in order to select it. Also, normally dragging
            from the top-left to the bottom-right is the same as "reverse dragging" --
            dragging from the bottom-right to the top-left. 
          </para>
          <para>
            If this option is checked, dragging from the bottom-right
            to the top-left allows you to select objects that only partially fall
            into the selection rectangle. Dragging from the top-left to bottom-right
            still works the same -- objects are only selected if the whole object
            is inside the selection rectangle. 
          </para>
          <para>  
            This option gives you two different ways to select by area, depending on
            which way you drag the mouse.
          </para>

        </listitem>
        <!-- The description of Recent Documents is deliberately vague so that it 
   will still make some sense if a submenu for Recent items is added. -->
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Recent Documents list size allows you to set how many items will be shown 
            in the Recent Documents section of the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.  
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            When Use menu bar is checked, the pull-down menus appear at the  
            top of each Diagram, and the object context menus are accessed
            by right-clicking on a selected object. If this box is unchecked, 
            these menus do not 
            display at the top of the diagram. Instead, these menus are 
            selected by right-clicking on the canvas, and the object context
            menus are selected by middle-clicking (on a three-button mouse) on
            a selected object.
          </para>
          <note>
            <para>
              If you do not have a three-button mouse, you will need to have this 
              box checked. Otherwise, you will not be able to access the object
              context menus.
            </para>
          </note>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Keep tool box on top of diagram windows ensures that the Toolbox window 
            is always in front of all the diagram windows which makes it easier to 
            keep track of and have quick access to the tool at all times.  
          </para>
        </listitem> 

      </itemizedlist>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="diagram-defaults">
      <title>Diagram Defaults</title>
      <figure>
        <title>Diagram Defaults</title>
        <screenshot>
          <screeninfo>Diagram Defaults</screeninfo>
          <graphic format="PNG" fileref="graphics/file-preferences-diagram" 
              srccredit="Hans Breuer" />
        </screenshot>
      </figure>  
      <para>
        The Diagram Defaults tab allows you to set default properties for all new
        diagrams. These are explained below.
      </para>
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Portrait indicates that the diagram is in portrait orientation on the page.
            If this is unchecked, then landscape orientation is assumed.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Paper type allows you to select from a list of paper sizes (e.g., A4, Letter, 
            etc.).
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Background color allows you to set a default background color for all new
            diagrams. See <link linkend="colors">Colors</link> for more information 
            on setting colors.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            New Window: Width allows you to set default width (in pixels) of 
            the window  when a new diagram is created.
            You can either enter a number manually or
            use the increment / decrement buttons.
          </para>
        </listitem>   
        <listitem>
          <para>
            New Window: Height allows you to set default height (in pixels).
          </para>
        </listitem>   
        <listitem>
          <para>
            New Window: Magnify allows you to set the default zoom value (in
            percent) for a new diagram. You can either enter a number manually or
            use the increment / decrement buttons.
          </para>
        </listitem>   
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Connection Points: Visible determines whether connection points will be
            visible by default on new diagrams. When working with a diagram, 
            this can be toggled on or off using the 
            <menuchoice>
              <guimenu>View</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Show Connection Points</guimenuitem>
            </menuchoice> on the Diagram menu bar.
          </para>
        </listitem>   
      </itemizedlist>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="view-defaults">
      <title>View Defaults</title>
      <figure>
        <title>View Defaults</title>
        <screenshot>
          <screeninfo>View Defaults</screeninfo>
          <graphic format="PNG" fileref="graphics/file-preferences-view" 
              srccredit="Hans Breuer" />
        </screenshot>
      </figure>  
      <para>
        This tab allows you to set default properties for the Page break lines.
      </para>
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Page Breaks: Visible controls whether page break lines will be visible.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Color allows you to select the default color of the page break lines. 
            This can be changed for a single diagram using the Colors tab on the
            <menuchoice>
              <guimenu>
                Diagram
              </guimenu>
              <guimenuitem>
                Properties
              </guimenuitem>
            </menuchoice> menu choice from the Diagram menu bar.
          </para>
        </listitem> 

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Solid lines determines whether the page break lines appear as solid
            lines or as dashed lines.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
      </itemizedlist>



    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="preferences-favorites">
      <title>File export favorites</title>
      <para>
        When exporting files there are often multiple filters capable to save to one format. 
        This preference allows to choose the one used, when not explicit selected in the file 
        export dialog, i.e. <menuchoice><guimenuitem>By extension</guimenuitem></menuchoice> gets used.
      </para>
      <figure>
        <title>File export favorites</title>
        <screenshot>
          <screeninfo>File export favorites</screeninfo>
          <graphic format="PNG" fileref="graphics/file-preferences-favorites" srccredit="Hans Breuer" />
        </screenshot>
      </figure>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="preferences-gridlines">
      <title>Grid Lines</title>

      <figure>
        <title>Grid Lines</title>
        <screenshot>
          <screeninfo>Grid Lines</screeninfo>
          <graphic format="PNG" fileref="graphics/preferences-gridlines" srccredit="Hans Breuer" />
        </screenshot>
      </figure>  
      <para>
        This tab allows you to set default properties for Grid Lines. These may
        be changed for an individual diagram by selecting the 
        <menuchoice>
          <guimenu>Diagram</guimenu>
          <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>
        </menuchoice> from the Diagram menu bar and then selecting
        the Grid tab.  These options are explained below.
      </para>
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Visible determines whether, by default, grid lines will be visible on new diagrams.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Snap to determines whether, by default, new diagrams will have snap-to-grid
            enabled. Snap-to-grid forces object edges to move to the nearest grid line 
            intersection.  
            This makes it easier to align objects, as separate objects
            snap to the same line. This feature can be toggled on or off using the
            snap-to-grid button on the bottom of the Toolbox. 
            See <link linkend="gridlines">Canvas / Grid Lines</link> for more information. 
            This can also be toggled using the
            <menuchoice>
              <guimenu>View</guimenu>
              <guimenuitem>Snap To Grid</guimenuitem>
            </menuchoice> option on the Diagram menu bar. 
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Dynamic grid resizing determines whether the grid size changes as the 
            diagram is zoomed in or out. If this box is checked, then the grid lines
            display as the same size no matter how the diagram zoom is changed. 
            In this case, the X Size and Y Size values have no effect. 
          </para>
          <para>
            If this box is unchecked, then the grid size is set in absolute terms according to
            the X Size and Y Size values (in centimeters). In this case, the appearance 
            of the grid will change as the zoom changes, so the grid lines will 
            move closer when you zoom out and will spread out as you zoom in. 
          </para>
        </listitem>    
        <listitem>
          <para>
            X Size determines the distance, in centimeters, between grid lines
            along the horizontal axis. This only
            takes effect if Dynamic grid resizing is unchecked.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Y Size determines the distance, in centimeters, between grid lines
            along the vertical axis. This only
            takes effect if Dynamic grid resizing is unchecked.
          </para>
        </listitem> 

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Color sets the display color of the grid lines.   
          </para>
        </listitem> 

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Lines per major line determines the spacing of major (i.e., solid) 
            grid lines. For example, a value of 5 means that every 5th grid line
            is solid.   
          </para>
        </listitem>   
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Hex grid allows you to have a grid of hexagons instead of a rectangular
            grid.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
        <listitem>
          <para>
            Hex size determines the size of the hexagons, in centimeters, in the 
            hex grid. This option only applies if Hex grid is checked.
          </para>
        </listitem> 
      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

  </sect1>
</chapter>