Chapter Seven: Changing Graphic Styles

You can change the current styles (i.e., attribute settings) at any time. The program will use the new settings to draw all new objects. If you start a new file by choosing New from the File menu or by restarting EXPRESS, the Arts & Letters default styles settings will be restored.

Graphic styles can be saved from one EXPRESS session to another by saving the named styles or by saving the default file.

Graphic Styles Defaults

The four graphic styles for symbol, text, and freeform objects are:

• Line Color (the color of the object’s lines)

• Line Type (the width, pattern, and style of the object’s lines)

• Fill Color (the color of shaded areas inside the object)

• Fill Pattern (the shading pattern inside the object).

The current styles are displayed in the Style bar.

The default style settings are:

• Line Color = Black

• Line Type = Hairline (Width), Solid (Pattern), Mitered (Joins), and Butted (End Caps).

• Fill Color = Cyan

• Fill Pattern = Solid.

Using Styles

As described throughout the On-Line User’s Guide, you can:

• Mix colors and assign a name to each color

• Choose fill styles and assign a name to those styles

• Choose line styles and assign a name to those styles

• Choose text styles and assign a name to those styles

• Combine the above styles into style bundles and name them.

You can then select the names at any time from list boxes in the Color, Fill, Line, Type and Style Bundles dialog boxes. The dialog boxes are accessible through the first five buttons in the Style bar, through the appropriate menus, and through the Content menu.

To use Styles:

1. Select Style Bundles then Bundles Palette from the Styles menu or click on the Bundles button in the Style bar. The Styles Palette appears.

2. In the Styles Palette is a scrolling list of named styles. Some are used for text, some for objects.

3. To assign attributes of a named style to an object in the document, select the object, then click on the desired name in the Styles Palette. The style’s attributes will be transferred to the object.

To create style bundles from named attributes:

1. Select Style Bundles then Custom from the Styles menu or click with the Content menu button on the Styles button in the Style bar. The Custom Style Bundles dialog box appears.

2. Select the various named attributes you want to bundle. You must already have assigned names to colors, fills, lines, and type before they can be combined as a style.

3. Click on Name. The Name Style dialog box appears.

4. Enter a name for the attributes and click on Name. The name appears in the Styles list box.

To save styles to a file:

1. Choose Save As under Style Bundles in the Styles menu. The Save Styles As dialog box appears.

2. Enter a filename. The default extension is .STY. Click on OK. The styles are saved on disk.

To load styles from a file:

1. Choose Open under Style Bundles in the Styles menu. The Open Styles dialog box appears.

2. Enter the name of the style (.STY) file to be loaded, or click on the filename. To replace the current named styles and attributes, place a check mark in the As New box. To add the named styles and attributes of the Style file to the current styles and attributes, remove the check mark from the As New box.

Changing Line Color

To change the line color:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Line dialog box appears.

[cusline.bmp]

2. Click on the bottom left color button and choose the desired line color from the displayed palette.

or

In that displayed palette, you can choose the Custom button if you want to mix a unique color.

3. Click on Apply.

Changing Line Width

To change the line size:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Lines dialog box appears.

2. Type a value from 0.0 to 72.0 in the width box.

or

Click on the up and down arrows to adjust the line width up and down in one-point increments.

Note: A line width of 0.0 specifies a “hairline,” whereas a line width of 72 points specifies a line one-inch wide. (A hairline is the thinnest possible line an output device can produce, and so will vary from device to device.)

3. Click on the Scale Width With Object check box to toggle the option on and off. The option is on when a check mark is displayed in the box.

Turn Scale width with object:

• OFF to have the lines in an object remain the same width when the object is resized

• ON to have the lines in the object become proportionally thicker when you enlarge the object and thinner when you shrink the object.

4. Click on Apply.

Note: When you select an object that has wide lines, the placement of the object handles is unaffected by the thickness of the line.

{lines1.wmf}

Changing Line Pattern

To change the line pattern:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Lines dialog box appears.

2. Click on the pattern desired. (None eliminates lines altogether.)

3. Click on the Auto-adjust check box to toggle the option on and off. The option is on when a check mark is displayed in the check box.

Turn Auto-adjust:

• OFF to maintain an exact, rigid pattern (This may cause segments in the pattern to be chopped where the line changes direction and where the line ends.)

• ON to have EXPRESS automatically adjust the pattern to fit the length and shape of the line.

4. Click on Apply.

Changing Line Style

To change the line style:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Lines dialog box appears.

2. The Style section of the dialog box lets you choose either an end cap/corner join style or a calligraphic style for lines.

To choose an end cap and corner style, select End/Join, then click on Define. The End and Join Styles dialog box appears.

Click on the desired end cap and join to choose them. If you choose Miter joins, you can have a combination of mitered and beveled joins by entering an angle in the “Bevel at less than” field.

All joins that intersect at an angle:

• Equal to or greater than the one specified will be mitered.

• Less than the one specified will be beveled.

This option can be used to control miter spikes that occur when you have two wide lines meeting at a sharp angle.

{lines2.wmf}

To choose a calligraphic style, select Calligraphic, then click on Define. The Calligraphic Pen dialog box appears.

Use this dialog box to specify the shape and orientation of lines and curves.

3. Click on Apply.

The following illustration shows the results of choosing various line styles.

{lines1.wmf}

Naming Line Styles

Once you’ve set up a width, pattern, and style for a line, you can assign a name to those styles. For example, you might set a width of two points, a dot-dash pattern, a round end cap, and beveled corner joins. You can name this group of styles and then select the styles by simply choosing the name. A variety of line styles have been predefined for your convenience.

To name a set of line styles:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Lines dialog box appears.

2. Enter the name you want to assign to the current line styles and click on Name.

The name is added in the list box at the lower right of the Custom Lines dialog box and in the Line Styles dialog box.

To assign named line styles to an object:

1. Select the object.

2. Choose Line, then Lines Palette from the Styles menu, or click on the Line Styles button in the style bar. The Lines Palette dialog box appears.

3. Click on the style name desired. The line style of the selected object is changed.

To rename named line styles:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Lines dialog box appears.

2. Click on the style name you want to rename.

3. Click on Name. The Name Styles dialog box appears.

4. Enter a new name and click on Rename. The new name replaces the old name in the list box.

To delete named line styles:

1. Choose Line, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Line Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Line Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Lines dialog box appears.

2. Click on the style name you want to delete.

3. Click on Name. The Name Styles dialog box appears.

4. Click on Delete. The name is deleted from the list box.

Changing Fill Color

To change the fill color:

1. Choose Color, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Color Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Color Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

The Custom Color dialog box appears.

2. The Fill and Line check boxes let you specify whether the selected color will apply to an object’s interior or lines, or to both.

3. Choose the desired color from the list and click on Apply.

or

Choose Model from the Custom Color dialog box.

You can mix colors using the Hues, RGB, and CMYK color models. By mixing percentages of the colors of the basic components of any model, you can create over 16 million colors.

A sample of the current color is displayed in a screen color preview section in the middle of the dialog box. Clear the Show Object check box if you are mixing your own color. Use the slider buttons or arrows to mix percentages of color. The Sample box shows the resulting color.

Click on the Name button and assign a name to the new color.

4. Click on Apply.

Changing Fill Pattern

To change the fill pattern:

1. Choose Fill, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Fill Style button then the Custom button in the Style bar.

or

Click on the Fill Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

or

Press the Tab key on your keyboard.

The Fill Styles dialog box appears.

2. Select the desired Fill Option (None, Raster, Vector, Gradient, or Solid) and click on Apply.

Fill Options

In the Custom Fill dialog box is a list of predefined fill styles you can use to fill the interior of objects. Access it by using the Content Menu button to click on the Fill style button. Pressing the Tab key when no other operation is in progress will also display the Custom Fill dialog box.

None %fillnone creates a transparent object, so that any object or pattern underneath will show through.

Solid %filsolid creates a solid fill in the chosen color.

Raster %filrastr displays a selection field. Type in the number of the pattern desired, or click on the up and down arrows to scroll through available patterns. (Patterns are displayed in the Clip-Art Handbook.)

Note: When Creating a document that will be output to a plotter or other vector device, use vector patterns.

Vector displays a selection field. Type in the number of the pattern desired, or click on the up and down arrows to scroll through available patterns. Use the vector shading patterns or solid colors for plotter output.

Gradient chooses the current Gradient fill. To create a new Gradient fill, click on Define. The Gradient Fill dialog box appears.

Use the default settings to create a Gradient fill

or

Specify the beginning and ending colors for the gradient, the type of gradient (linear, radial, linear-wave, or radial-wave), the “repetition” (the number of times the gradation is repeated in the object or the number of times the gradation is repeated per inch), and the angle of the gradient.

To create a Gradient fill:

1. Click on the Beg[inning] Colors button. A color palette appears. Choose from the displayed colors, or choose Custom to mix a color to serve as the beginning color in the gradation.

2. Click on the End button. A color palette appears. Choose from the displayed colors, or choose Custom to mix a color to serve as the beginning color in the gradation.

3. Choose the transition desired from the Transition list. The available transitions are:

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The Wave transitions bunch more transitional colors at each end of the gradient, with fewer colors in between.

4. Click on Define to specify your own gradient fill styles. If you use the Linear or Linear-wave transitions, you can specify an angle for the gradation. To specify the angle numerically, enter the desired angle in the Angle box. To adjust the angle using the mouse, drag the endpoint of the cross-shaped cursor in the upper left of the display.

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5. Specify a repetition for the gradation by entering the number of repetitions desired in the Repetition. Choose object or inch from the Repetition per list.

Note: The repetition measure can be changed by selecting a different unit of measure in the View Options dialog box

6. Specify a Beginning Color for the gradation. To specify the gradation’s point of origin numerically, enter X and Y percentages in the Begin boxes. The Angle window specifies the direction of the gradation across the object. To adjust the origin with the mouse, drag the cursor in the display to the location desired.

“Spread” indicates how deep the first color will go before becoming the second color. At 100%, the gradient blends from the first color to the second, along an imaginary line from the center of the gradient adjustment across to the farthest point of the object. At 50%, the transition is complete halfway along this imaginary line.

Note: When creating a document that will be output to a plotter or other vector device, do not use Raster patterns.

Naming a Fill Pattern

You can assign names to often-used patterns, and then quickly select the name from the list box instead of scrolling through the pattern numbers.

To name a pattern:

1. Choose Fill, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Fill Style button in the Style menu then on Custom.

or

Click on the Fill Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

or

Press the Tab key on your keyboard.

The Fill Styles dialog box appears.

Select the pattern you want to name.

2. Click on Name. The Name Styles dialog box appears.

3. Enter a name for the pattern and click on Name. The name is added to the list in the Fill Styles dialog box.

To assign named fill styles to an object:

1. Select the object.

2. Choose Fill, then Fills Palette from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Fill Style button in the Style bar.

3. Click on the style name desired.

4. Click on OK.

To rename named fill styles:

1. Choose Fill, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Fill Style button then the Custom button in the Style bar.

or

Click on the Fill Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

or

Press the Tab key on your keyboard.

The Fill Styles dialog box appears.

2. Click on the style name you want to rename.

3. Click on Name. The Name Styles dialog box appears.

4. Enter a new name and click on Rename. The new name replaces the old name in the list box.

To delete named fill styles:

1. Choose Fill, then Custom from the Styles menu.

or

Click on the Fill Style button in the Style bar then on Custom.

or

Click on the Fill Style button with the Content Menu mouse button.

or

Press the Tab key on your keyboard.

The Fill Styles dialog box appears.

2. Click on the style name you want to delete.

3. Click on Name. The Name Styles dialog box appears.

4. Click on Delete. The name is deleted from the list box.

Save and Recall Styles

To change an object’s styles to match those of any other object already in the document, choose the Save and Recall commands in the Styles menu. These commands save text styles as well as graphic.

To save and recall styles:

1. Select the object with the styles to be copied (line color, line type, fill color, and fill pattern).

2. Choose Save from the Styles menu

or

Press Ctrl+R.

EXPRESS sets the current styles to those of the selected object, and updates the styles section of the toolbox.

3. Select the objects to be assigned the current styles.

4. Choose Recall from the Styles menu.

or

Press R while holding down the Shift key on your keyboard.

The selected objects are redrawn using the current styles.

5. Note that color, fill, line, and type are all saved by default. If you want only some of these styles, place a check mark in the Styles... Save/Recall menu beside the ones you want saved.

Undo Style Changes

You can undo style changes made to objects.

To undo style changes, pull down the Edit menu and choose Undo Style or press Ctrl+Z.

Eyedropper

The Eyedropper style button allows the saving of specific style elements from one object in EXPRESS in order to apply them to other objects. The Eyedropper remembers the last saved style until you close EXPRESS.

First hold down the Content Menu button on the Eyedropper and drag the cursor to those elements of an object that you want to save.

To save these style elements from an object intended as a model, select the object and click on the Eyedropper with the left mouse button (alternately, press Ctrl+R or use the Save command in the Eyedropper menu). To apply the styles, select another object and give a click of the Eyedropper with the Content menu button (alternately, press Shift+R or use the Recall command in the Eyedropper).