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<html>
<head>
<title>Skencil User's Guide: Quick Overview
</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor=white text=black link=blue vlink=navy alink=red>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TH ALIGN="left" WIDTH="33%"><img SRC="Images/arrow-left.png" WIDTH="16" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="top" ALT="Prev"></TH>
<TH ALIGN="center" WIDTH="33%"><img SRC="Images/arrow-up.png" WIDTH="16" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="top" ALT="Up"></TH>
<TH ALIGN="right" WIDTH="33%"><img SRC="Images/arrow-right.png" WIDTH="16" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="top" ALT="Next"></TH>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="usersguide-1.html">Introduction</A></TD>
<TD ALIGN="center"><A HREF="usersguide.html">Skencil User's Guide</A></TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"><A HREF="usersguide-3.html">Concepts</A></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<HR NOSHADE>
<H1><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N1"></A>Quick Overview
</font></H1>
<P>Since the User's Manual is quite incomplete and even a bit outdated,
here is a quick guide to the main features of Skencil.</P>
<H2><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N2"></A>The Main Window</font></H2>
<P>There's not much to say about the main window, since many of its
components are fairly standard, like the <A HREF="#N3">menu and toolbar</A>.</P>
<P>The status bar at the bottom indicates the current <A HREF="#N8">mode</A>, the current magnification factor, the current
position of the mouse pointer (you can change the unit from the context
menu) and some information about the current selection.</P>
<P>The palette just above the status bar allows you to easily assign a fill
color (click the left mouse button) or a line color (middle mouse
button). It also has an experimental Drag&Drop facility: click on a
color and drag the color to the pattern window in the fill dialog or
onto a color button.</P>
<H2><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N3"></A>Toolbar/Menu
</font></H2>
<P>Here's a brief description of some menu commands. If the command is also
available as a button in the toolbar, the icon is also shown.</P>
<P>Some commands are accessible via key strokes. The key sequence is
indicated in the menu. The notation for key strokes is described in the
section on <A HREF="#N7">key strokes</A>.</P>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B>File Operations</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Open.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Open</B><DD>
<P>Load a file into Skencil. Skencil tries to determine
the file type automatically. It recognizes its own
format, XFig, Adobe Illustrator, CMX (an exchange format
defined by Corel), SVG (the upcoming web-standard for
vector graphics) and WMF files.</P>
<P>The filters for the 'foreign' formats are not complete.
The XFig filter for instance has some problems with the
ordering of objects (because of that awful `depth'
feature) and ignores arrow heads and dashing.</P>
<DT><B>Insert Document</B><DD>
<P>Insert the contents of a document as a group into the
current document.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Save.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Save</B><DD>
<P>Save the current file. If it was read from an SK-file
(Skencil's own format) it is saved under the same name
after Skencil has created a backup file. If it was not
read from a file or the file was not an SK-file, you
have to specify a filename. In addition to its own
format, Skencil can save drawings in a variety of other
file formats including Illustrator, WMF, CGM and SVG.</P>
<DT><B>Save As PostScript</B><DD>
<P>Save the current drawing into a PostScript file. The file
conforms to the EPS specification.</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Edit Commands</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<P><A NAME="N4"></A></P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/EditMode.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Edit Mode<BR>
<img SRC="Images/SelectionMode.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Selection Mode</B><DD>
<P>Switch to one of Skencil's major modes, <A HREF="#N8"><EM>edit mode</EM> and <EM>selection
mode</EM></A>.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Undo.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Undo<BR>
<img SRC="Images/Redo.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Redo</B><DD>
<P>Skencil allows you to undo every operation and maintains
a virtually unlimited undo history. If you really want
to limit the undo history, you can do so from the preferences dialog
(<b>File/Options...</b>).</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Delete.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Delete</B><DD>
<P>Delete the current object.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Duplicate.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Duplicate</B><DD>
<P>Create a duplicate of the current object just above the
current object and select it. The duplicate is slightly
offset. You can set the duplication offset in the preferences dialog.</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Effects</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/FlipHorizontal.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Flip Horizontal<BR>
<img SRC="Images/FlipVertical.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Flip Vertical</B><DD>
<P>Flip the current object(s) horizontally (vertically)</P>
<DT><B>Remove Transformation</B><DD>
<P>Some objects have an intrinsic geometry, like text
objects, where the geometry is defined by the font and
the font size, and bitmap images or EPS files. Any
transformations (rotations, reflections, ...) later
applied are stored in the object. <b>Remove
Transformation</b> reverts these objects to their natural
size and orientation.</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Rearranging the Stacking Order</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/MoveToTop.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Move To Top</B><DD>
<P>Move the current object to the top of its layer.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/MoveToBottom.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Move To Bottom</B><DD>
<P>Move the current object to the bottom of its layer.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/MoveOneUp.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Move One Up</B><DD>
<P>Swap the current object and the next higher one.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/MoveOneDown.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Move One Down</B><DD>
<P>Swap the current object and the next lower one.</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Grouping Objects</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Group.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Group</B><DD>
<P>Replace the currently selected objects with a group
containing these objects and select it.</P>
<P>Grouped objects are usually manipulated as a whole, but
if needed, you can <A HREF="#N10">select individual objects</A>
with the mouse or keyboard.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Ungroup.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Ungroup</B><DD>
<P>Replace the currently selected group with the objects it
contains and select them.</P>
<P>While Group creates only normal groups, this command can
ungroup other <A HREF="#N13">special
groups</A> such as blend
groups or mask
groups as well.</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Viewing Commands</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Zoom.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Zoom</B><DD>
<P>After invoking the zoom command you can either
<UL>
<LI>Zoom into a region.
Click and drag <b><Button1></b> to indicate a
rectangular area in the main window. This area
will be magnified such that it just fits into
the window.
</LI>
<LI>Double the magnification
Just click (and don't drag) <b><Button1></b> on a point
in the main window. This point will be centered
and the magnification factor doubled.</LI>
</UL>
The maximum zoom factor is 1600%.</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Arranging Objects</B><DD>
<P>
<DL>
<DT><B>Convert To Curve</B><DD>
<P>Convert the current object to a bézier object.
This works for béziers :-), rectangles, ellipses
and text. (To convert text to béziers, Skencil
must have access to the appropriate type1 font file
(either .pfa or pfb)).</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/GridOn.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24">
Snap To Grid</B><DD>
<P>Turns the grid on (or off, if it's on). If gridding is
on, objects will snap to grid points when they are
edited.</P>
<P>This command doesn't affect the visibility of the grid.
The visibility is controlled via the layer dialog. The grid is a special
layer which is usually called "Grid".</P>
<DT><B>Snap To Objects</B><DD>
<P>If snapping to objects is active, dragged objects snap
to the nearest special point of any other visible
object. Special points are the nodes of a bézier curve or
the corners of a rectangle.</P>
<DT><B>Snap To Guide Lines</B><DD>
<P>If snapping to guide lines is active, dragged objects
snap to the nearest guide line or other objects on the
guide layer.</P>
<P>This command doesn't affect the visibility of the guide
lines. The visibility can be controlled from the layer dialog. The guide layer is
usually called "Guide Lines".</P>
</DL>
</P>
<DT><B>Creating Objects</B><DD>
<P><A NAME="N5"></A>
<DL>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/CreateRect.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Rectangle</B><DD>
<P>Create a Rectangle by pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the mouse. One corner of the newly created
rectangle is where the button was pressed, the other
where it was released. Holding <b><Ctrl></b> while dragging
creates a square, holding <b><Shift></b> creates a rectangle
or square centered on the starting point.</P>
<P>In <A HREF="#N8"><EM>edit mode</EM></A>, you can drag
the corners of a rectangle to create rounded corners.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/CreateEllipse.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Ellipse</B><DD>
<P>Create an Ellipse by pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the mouse. Holding <b><Ctrl></b> while dragging
creates a circle, holding <b><Shift></b> creates a ellipse
or circle centered on the starting point.</P>
<P>In <A HREF="#N8"><EM>edit mode</EM></A>, you can drag
the handle of an ellipse to create arcs.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/CreateCurve.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Bézier Curve</B><DD>
<P>Create a Bézier curve. This requires at least two
click-drag-release cycles. The first cycle defines the
start point of the curve and its tangent. The next
cycles define the rest of the points and tangents in the
same fashion. Click <b><Button2></b> or press <b>Space</b> to
finish.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/CreatePoly.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Polygon</B><DD>
<P>Create a polygon. The first click-drag-release cycle
defines the first line segment. The next cycles define
the rest of the segments. Click <b><Button2></b> or press
<b>Space</b> to finish. The object created is actually a
Bézier curve consisting only of straight lines.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Text.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Text</B><DD>
<P>Create a text object by clicking where you want the text
to be and type. If you click and drag you create rotated
text.</P>
<DT><B><img SRC="Images/Image.png" WIDTH="24" HEIGHT="24"> Bitmap/EPS images</B><DD>
<P>This command opens a dialog box to let you specify the
image file. After selecting the file, place the image on
the page by clicking at the desired position. A dashed
rectangle indicates the size and position.</P>
<P>Skencil can load any image the Python Imaging Library
(PIL) can read. EPS files are not read by the PIL, they
are imported and printed unmodified. Skencil uses
Ghostscript to render a preview image, so an EPS file
looks like an ordinary bitmap image on the screen.</P>
</DL>
</P>
</DL>
</P>
<H2><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N6"></A>Mouse and keyboard
</font></H2>
<H3><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N7"></A>Notation of key strokes
</font></H3>
<P>The notation of key strokes used in this manual and in the menus is very
similar to the one used in GNU-Emacs:</P>
<P>
<TABLE BORDER="2">
<TR>
<TH>Notation </TH>
<TH ALIGN="left">Meaning </TH>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b>Space</b> </TD>
<TD>space </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b>Right</b>, <b>Left</b>, <b>Up</b>, <b>Down</b> </TD>
<TD ROWSPAN="2">The cursor keys </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b>Prev</b>, <b>Next</b>, <b>Home</b>, <b>End</b> </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b><Shift></b> <b><Ctrl></b> <b><Meta></b> </TD>
<TD>The modifier keys Shift Control and Meta (which may be the Alt key) </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b><Button1></b></TD>
<TD>The left mouse button </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b><Button2></b></TD>
<TD>The middle mouse button </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b><Button3></b></TD>
<TD>The left mouse button </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD> <b>C-d</b> </TD>
<TD> <b><Ctrl></b> and lowercase "d", similarly <b>S-</b> for <b><Shift></b> and <b>M-</b> for <b><Meta></b> </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</P>
<P>Unless otherwise noted, "Clicking" means a click with the left mouse button.</P>
<H3><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N8"></A>Modes
</font></H3>
<P>Most of the time, Skencil is on one of two major modes: <EM>Selection
Mode</EM> or <EM>Edit Mode</EM>. You can switch between these modes with
<b>Space</b> or the <A HREF="#N4">toolbar</A>. </P>
<P>In selection mode, you can select objects and <A HREF="#N11">move and transform</A> them as a whole with the mouse.
Most commands operate on the currently selected objects (see also <A HREF="#N6">Mouse And keyboard</A>). In edit mode, you can edit
individual aspects of an object, like the nodes of a bézier curve or the
text of a text object.</P>
<P>Sometimes, Skencil is in a temporary minor mode, for instance when
selecting a region for zooming, or when <A HREF="#N5">creating
an object</A>.</P>
<H3><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N9"></A>Selecting Objects</font></H3>
<P>To select...
<DL>
<DT><B>...a single object:</B><DD>
<P>Click on it. It will become the new currently selected object.</P>
<DT><B>...multiple objects:</B><DD>
<P>Click <b>S-<b><Button1></b></b> on an object to add it to the selected
objects.</P>
<P>Click <b>C-<b><Button1></b></b> on an object to deselect it.</P>
<P>You can also select multiple objects by rubberbanding. Click and
drag <b><Button1></b>, all objects in the dashed rectangle will be
selected. Again, holding <b><Shift></b> or <b><Ctrl></b> add or deselect
the indicated objects.</P>
<DT><B>...an object in a group:</B><DD>
<P><A NAME="N10"></A></P>
<P>
<OL>
<LI>Select the group.</LI>
<LI>Click <b>C-S-<b><Button1></b></b> on the sub-object.</LI>
</OL>
</P>
</DL>
</P>
<P>You can also use the cursor keys to navigate through the object hierarchy:</P>
<P>
<TABLE>
<TR>
<TD><b>M-Right</b> </TD>
<TD>Select the next (higher) object </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b>M-Left</b> </TD>
<TD>Select the previous (next lower) object </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b>M-Down</b> </TD>
<TD>Select the first child (sub-object) of the current object </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><b>M-Up</b> </TD>
<TD>Select the parent of the current object (if the current object is a sub-object) </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</P>
<H3><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N11"></A>Manipulating Objects
</font></H3>
<P>If you're in selection mode and you've just selected an object, Skencil
indicates this with 8 rectangular <EM>handles</EM> around the object:</P>
<P>
<CENTER>
<img SRC="Images/selsize.png" WIDTH="270" HEIGHT="120">
</CENTER>
</P>
<P>Clicking on a handle and dragging it will resize the object. Just
clicking on the object and dragging the object, moves the object.
Holding <b><Ctrl></b> while dragging constrains the resize and move
operations.</P>
<P>A single click (and no drag) on the object switches to transformation
mode:</P>
<P>
<CENTER>
<img SRC="Images/seltrafo.png" WIDTH="270" HEIGHT="120">
</CENTER>
</P>
<P>Another single click switches back to the resize mode.</P>
<H2><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N12"></A>Object Types</font></H2>
<H3><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N13"></A>Special Effects
</font></H3>
<P>Skencil currently has three special effects groups:</P>
<H4><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N14"></A>Blend Groups</font></H4>
<P>To create a blend group:
<OL>
<LI>select the two objects you want to blend
</LI>
<LI>open the blend panel (<b>Effects/Blend...</b>)
</LI>
<LI>set the number of steps
</LI>
<LI>and press the Apply-button</LI>
</OL>
</P>
<P>If you later edit one of the control objects, the blend group will be
updated automatically.</P>
<P>For optimal results, the objects should have a similar structure: bézier
curves with the same number of nodes, groups with the same number of sub
objects, etc.</P>
<P>To create a blend group with more than two control objects, select the
start or end object of an existing blend group and the new control
object and press apply in the blend panel.</P>
<P>It's a little awkward to change the number of steps in an interpolation
with the blend panel if the blend group has more than two control
objects (and therefore more than one interpolation). In that case, you
have to select the interpolation itself by holding <b><Ctrl></b> and
<b><Shift></b> while clicking on it.</P>
<H4><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N15"></A>Mask Groups</font></H4>
<P>A mask group is a special group where one object defines a clip mask for
the rest of the group. If this object is e.g. an ellipse, all that is
drawn of the other objects are the parts that overlap the ellipse.</P>
<P>To create a mask group
<OL>
<LI>Select the mask.
</LI>
<LI>Invoke <b>Arrange/Move To Top</b>
</LI>
<LI>Add the other objects to the selection.
</LI>
<LI>Create the mask group via the menu <b>Effects/Create
Mask Group</b></LI>
</OL>
</P>
<P>Note: The <EM>topmost</EM> of the selected objects will become the mask,
regardless of the order in which you select them. (In versions prior to
0.5.3 it was the lowest object)</P>
<P>If you want to edit the mask you can select it via the context menu
(<b><Button3></b>).</P>
<P>The mask has to be a rectangle, an ellipse, a bézier curve or an image.</P>
<H4><FONT face="Helvetica,Arial"><A NAME="N16"></A>Text on a Curve</font></H4>
<P>In Skencil, you can align text along a curve:
<CENTER>
<TABLE>
<TR>
<TD><img SRC="Images/textpathrot.png" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="150"> </TD>
<TD><img SRC="Images/textpathskew.png" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="150"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="2">Text on a path can have either rotated letters (left) or skewed letters (right). </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</CENTER>
</P>
<P>To create this
<OL>
<LI>Select a text object and a curve (a bézier curve, an
ellipse or a rectangle)
</LI>
<LI>Choose <b>Effects/Create Path Text</b> from the menu.</LI>
</OL>
</P>
<P>To edit either the text object or the curve individually, select it via
the context menu if the whole group is selected.</P>
<P>This way, you can hide the curves by assigning empty fill and line
patterns.</P>
<HR NOSHADE>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD ALIGN="left"><A HREF="usersguide-1.html">Introduction</TD>
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