Chapter Two: Viewing the Document

View Level Options

The view level is the scale at which your document is displayed on the screen. It determines how much of your document work area is visible at one time. Objects are displayed larger or smaller on the screen depending on the view level, but the objects’ actual sizes are unchanged.

EXPRESS has four preset view levels and an interactive zoom command. The preset levels are: Actual Size, Current Page, All Pages, and Full Screen. The interactive Zoom In command lets you zoom in repeatedly on a portion of your document, or zoom the maximum amount in one step.

Changing the View Level

To Change the View Level

1. Pull down the View menu.

2. Choose the desired view level.

EXPRESS adjusts the display to the new view level.

or

If you choose Zoom In, the Zoom In cursor appears, allowing you to designate an area to zoom in to.

You can also change the view level by using the Views flyout in the Toolbox.

1. Place the pointer on the Views flyout and depress the left mouse button.

2. Choose the desired view level by sliding the pointer over the tools. When the pointer is on your choice, release the left mouse button. (Watch the Hint line to see the view level each tool produces.)

Actual Size View

At the Actual Size view level, objects on the screen are approximately the same size as they are on the printed document; a two-inch square will measure two inches on the screen.

Current Page View

The Current Page view level shows the entire current page of your document. Objects appear smaller than they do at Actual Size, but you can see more of your document. The number of pages displayed will depend on the page dimensions, margins, orientation (portrait or landscape), and document precision.

The current page is the last page where you placed an object, moved or duplicated an object, selected an object, or manipulated an object.

To make any page the current page, simply select an object on that page or, if the page is blank, place an object on that page.

All Pages View

The All Pages view level shows all pages of your document, greatly reduced in size. At this level, objects may appear indistinct and manipulating them may be difficult. Use the All Pages view to get the “big picture” of your document. The view you see on your screen will depend on selected page dimensions, margins, and orientation.

Zooming In

The Zoom In command lets you zoom in to any portion of your document to get a closer look. You can zoom in repeatedly to reveal more and more detail of an area, or you can zoom in as far as possible in one step.

The Zoom In command allows two ways to zoom:

• Zoom in to an area

• Zoom in as far as possible.

If you zoom in repeatedly using the first method, you eventually reach a point where no more zooming is possible. The second method lets you zoom in to this point immediately.

Once you have zoomed in as far as possible, the Zoom In command on the menu appears in gray and cannot be selected, nor can the Zoom-in tool from the Views flyout be selected.

Performance Note: When Zooming In on a drawing that has line weights greater than hairline, you can dramatically improve the redisplay rate by turning Show Wide Lines off in the quick display menu under View.

To zoom in on an area:

1. Choose Zoom In from the View menu or click on the Zoom In icon in the Toolbox.

The Zoom In cursor appears.

2. Place the tip of the cursor at one of the corners of the area you want to magnify.

3. Drag a box around the area you want magnified.

Note: You can use the Content menu button to move the zoom box. Keep the right button held down, hold the Content menu button, and move the box. Release the Content menu button and continue to size the box.

4. Release the mouse button.

EXPRESS magnifies the area you enclosed and fits it in the window.

Note: You can cancel a zoom by pressing Esc before you release the mouse button.

To zoom in on an area as far as possible:

1. Choose Zoom In from the View menu or select the Zoom In icon from the Views flyout.

The Zoom In cursor appears.

2. Place the tip of the cursor on the area you want to magnify and click once.

The area selected is redisplayed at the maximum magnification possible.

Note: You can cancel a zoom by pressing Esc before you release the mouse button.

Displaying the Previous View

At all times EXPRESS keeps a record of your last four views. You change the view each time you:

• Use Actual Size, Current Page, All Pages, or Zoom In to change the view

• Use the scroll bars.

You can display the four previous views at any time.

To display a previous view:

1. Choose Save/Recall from the View menu. A sub-menu appears; choose Previous View. You may also choose Previous View from the Views flyout.

The previous view is displayed.

2. Repeat step 1 up to three more times to step backward through the previous views.

Saving and Recalling Views

You can save any view and later recall that view as needed.

To save a view:

Choose Save/Recall from the View menu. A sub-menu appears; choose Save. You may also choose Save View from the Views flyout.

The current view is saved.

To recall a view:

Choose Save/Recall from the View menu. A sub-menu appears; choose Recall. You may also choose Recall View from the Views flyout.

Redisplaying the Current View

When you use the Redisplay View command, EXPRESS erases the view in your window and then displays it again. The objects are redrawn in sequence according to the stacking order.

Use Redisplay View to find an object’s position in the stacking order, and to rid the screen of unwanted “artifacts” that may be left over from previous object manipulations.

To redisplay the current view:

Choose Redisplay View from the View menu, or click on the Accel-O-Draw button with the Content menu button.

EXPRESS redraws the current view.

Full Screen

Full Screen eliminates Windows elements (such as the Title Bar and Menu Bar) so that you can capture or photograph the screen without any of the Windows elements displayed.

To view the full screen, choose Full Screen from the View menu. To exit Full Screen, press Ctrl + 7.

EXPRESS elements (the grid, Toolbox, borders, and status bar) can be displayed or hidden by so designating in the Options dialog box accessed from the View Menu.

Quick Display

The Quick Display command in the View menu gives you several options for speeding up the display of complex documents that contain many detailed objects and/or many lines of text. The quick display options affect the screen display only; documents using quick display will print normally.

When you select the Quick Display command, a sub-menu lists the various quick display options. Choosing an option toggles it on or off. When an option is on, a check mark appears next to it in the menu.

Outlines Only is a “master switch” that globally affects the display of objects in a document. Symbol, text, and freeform objects are displayed in “wire frame,” with no interior and no wide lines. Imported bitmaps are displayed as rectangles, with the filename of each image inside the corresponding rectangle. (You can use this feature to find the names of bitmap images.)

If you do not want to affect the entire display, you can choose from the other options in the sub-menu.

Gradients turns the display of gradient fills on and off. With the display on, you can choose to have gradient fills displayed “faster” (with fewer gradations) or “better” (with more gradations).

Show Fills turns the display of interior fills on and off.

Show Wide Lines turns the display of wide lines on and off. When Show Wide Lines is off, objects are displayed with hairlines (0.0 width). By turning Wide Lines off, you will dramatically improve the redisplay rate when working on a drawing using Zoom In.

Show Colors as Gray turns the display of colors to gray scale and back. (This option is useful in previewing color images that will be printed in black and white.)

Show Bitmaps turns the display of imported bitmaps on and off. When Show Bitmaps is off, bitmaps are displayed as rectangles containing the file name of the bitmap. (You can use this feature to find the names of bitmap images.)

Object Cache stores TIFF images (excluding 24-bit TIFFs), Warp objects, and text on a path in memory as they are created and edited. Whenever the screen is redrawn, these objects are redrawn at optimum speed from the cache. The Clear option under Object Cache removes all objects from the cache. If your system has little or no extra memory you may want to turn Object Cache off.

Moving Around the Document

There are three ways to move from one area of a document to another:

• Use the scroll bars

• Zoom in to the area of your choice

• Use the keyboard.

Scrolling

You can move to any area of a document using the scroll bars located along the bottom and right sides of the work area. As you scroll, the white scroll box in each scroll bar moves to show your approximate location. You can scroll in three ways, depending on how far you want to move.

To scroll one-tenth of the screen in either direction:

1. Point on the arrow located at either end of a scroll bar.

2. Click the mouse to scroll once in the direction of the arrow.

3. Hold the mouse button to scroll repeatedly in the direction of the arrow.

To scroll one screen in either direction:

1. Point on the shaded area of the scroll bar.

2. Click the mouse. The scroll box moves toward the place you pointed on, and the window scrolls approximately one page in that direction.

3. Hold the mouse button to scroll repeatedly.

To scroll to a specific area:

Drag the scroll box to the corresponding part of the scroll bar.

Zooming In to a New Page

You can move to any location by zooming in from the All Pages view.

Choose All Pages from the View menu and then follow the steps under “Zooming In” earlier in this chapter. Draw the zoom box on the page to which you want to move.

Using the Keyboard

You can also move to any area of the document using the keyboard arrow keys. Press Ctrl plus one of the up/down/left/right arrow keys to move in that direction (identical to clicking on the scroll bar arrows).

The PgUp and PgDn keys also allow you to scroll up and down through your document (identical to clicking on the scroll bar shaded areas).

Changing the Grid and Rulers

You can turn the grid and rulers on or off and change the units of measure and the grid increments.

To turn the grid on or off, change its increments, and the units of measure:

1. Choose Options from the View menu.

A dialog box appears.

2. Choose your preferences and click on OK.

EXPRESS redisplays the Drawing Area using the new settings.

To turn the rulers on or off:

1. Choose Work Areas from the View menu.

A sub-menu appears.

2. Click on Rulers to toggle them on or off.

EXPRESS redisplays the Drawing Area using the new settings.