In the Preferences dialog box, in the General folder, you can set preferences for a number of general application and document settings. Access the Preferences dialog box by choosing Canvas X Draw | Preferences.
The Attributes manager contains options for both dashes and inks.
The following examples show what happens when inks are scaled or not scaled:
Object at 200% magnification | Object at 200% magnification |
Use these options to change color settings within Canvas X Draw. (See Color Management.)
In Display Options, you can configure most of the options for screen display. Change display options and set the default display options for new documents. You can change these same settings in the Display Options manager dialog box.
The items in the Show, Alert, and Preview groups can be individually toggled on and off by choosing Layout | Display. When a special display option is active, a checkmark appears next to the option in the menu.
Choose Layout | Display Options...
Save as default | Any settings you select in the dialog box are saved as the default setup for new documents. |
Show | The normal Canvas X Draw display shows all objects with their inks, strokes, and other attributes as they are in the document. |
Gamut Warning: This mode highlights colors that are outside the CMYK color gamut. It replaces out-of-gamut colors with a special indicator color. Bright greeen is the default indicator color. Ink Coverage: This mode shows all areas of the image that exceed a specified ink coverage. Bright greeen is the default indicator color. | |
Preview | Wireframe: Wireframe mode shows vector objects without their assigned ink or stroke attributes. When Wireframe is selected, vector objects are hollow and have 1-point black pen strokes. Text characters appear solid black. Paint objects are hollow and only their bounding box appears. With this mode, the screen display tends to speed up. Pixel Mode: The Pixel Mode setting allows users to view graphics at 72 ppi before they are rendered. When creating Web graphics, the standard resolution is 72 ppi. At the same time, all of your images will remain fully editable. Pixel Mode also prevents pixel shifting, which sometimes occurs when objects are exported to the Web. |
Caching in Canvas X Draw is a technique that can dramatically increase display speed. When an object is cached, Canvas X Draw creates a low-resolution version of the object to display on screen. This can make it much easier to work in documents that contain complex vector objects or high-resolution images, which can significantly slow down zooming and scrolling. When you are not editing cached objects, it usually won’t matter that they are displayed at lower resolution. You’ll enjoy significantly faster display without losing any capabilities. When you want to edit a cached object, Canvas X Draw loads the original; you do not need to take any special action or uncache the object. Draw with cache: Select this option to display low-resolution versions of cached objects for faster display. Cached objects are objects that have been cached with either the Cache Object command or the Auto Cache Images option. (See Cache.) When Draw with Cache is not selected, Canvas X Draw retains any low-resolution previews that it has created in memory, but displays the full paths of vector objects and displays paint objects at normal resolution. Auto cache images: Select Auto Cache Images to automatically cache paint objects whose resolution is above a threshold that you specify. If Auto Cache Images is selected, but Draw with Cache is not selected, Canvas X Draw will cache paint objects (if their resolution is above the set threshold), but will not display the low-resolution versions. Cached paint objects are displayed at low resolution for faster display. Enter the desired display resolution in the second text box. To uncache all paint objects, deselect Auto Cache Images. A message appears. Click Yes to uncache all paint objects. This is equivalent to using the Uncache Object command on each paint object individually. If you want to uncache paint objects and Auto Cache Images is already cleared, use the Uncache Object command instead. |
This command can be used to speed up the display of complex objects, which is useful when a document contains complex objects that you do not need to edit often. When you cache an object, Canvas X Draw stores a low-resolution preview in memory. The preview can be displayed quickly when you move the object or change views. You can cache any type of object for faster display.
Cache Object is also available as a checkbox in the Properties bar for quick access.
In Document Setup, you can switch the current document type, modify document size and orientation, as well as change document units and scale. You can change these same settings in the Properties bar.
Although you can switch to another document type in midstream, you should save the current document in its entirety and then change the document type.
You can establish a drawing scale by using the Document Scale command. (See Set Document Scale.)
Use the Functionality Options to setup a range of document options.
Opens documents so the full layout area can be seen in the center of the window. When this option is off, documents open in Home View (100% magnification with the upper-left corner of the page in the upper-left corner of the window). | |
AutoSnap palettes | |
Select this checkbox if you want Canvas X Draw to automatically save a document after a certain period of time. The time periods are designated in minutes. | |
Saves a copy of the current document each time you save changes to the document. The backup copy has the extension “.bak,” and Canvas X Draw saves to this same file each time. | |
Displays information, tips and shortcuts in small boxes that appear when you point at an item, such as a tool, button, or object. For example, if you move the pointer over the Copy button in the Tool Bar, Canvas X Draw displays the command name and shortcut. Canvas X Draw also displays user comments when you point to an object that has comments, and displays information when you point to an ink in the Inks palette. For color inks, Canvas X Draw displays color system information. For example, if you point to a CMYK ink, the color values such as “5c 2m 92y 0k” appear in a pop-up box. For other inks, Canvas X Draw displays the ink name. | |
When you lock an object or group of objects, you can select and copy locked object(s) by clicking on the object or group of objects. Copied objects will not be locked. | |
When you scale an object by dragging its selection handles, if the object has a solid pen stroke, Canvas X Draw will scale the pen weight proportionately with the object. | |
Lets you select objects on all visible layers in a document, rather than just the active layer. If this option is off, you can still select objects on other visible layers by pressing Tab and clicking the objects. | |
When this option is on, you can drag a selected object from behind another object. If this option is off, you can drag only the front object, because dragging deselects a back object. | |
Lets you place objects in Freeform mode by clicking already-selected objects. Otherwise, you must use the Effects | Freeform command to put an object in Freeform mode. | |
Prevents Canvas X Draw from redrawing open Canvas X Draw documents when you are working in another application. This option lets other applications run faster when Canvas X Draw is in the background. | |
Prompt for clipboard export | When you copy something in Canvas X Draw, and then exit or quit, Canvas X Draw will prompt you on whether or not you want to copy this content to the clipboard or delete it. |
Enter a number in the Min box to set the minimum number of actions that Canvas X Draw can reverse. The default is three. Enter a number in the Max box to specify the maximum number of actions that Canvas X Draw reverse. The default is 10. | |
Preview View capture delay | Specify the amount of time that must elapse before the view change is recorded. |
Default Save As file format | Select a format for Canvas X Draw to default to when Save As is selected. You still have the option of changing the file format in the Save As dialog on an individual basis. |
Default code page for non-unicode file formats | When the Enable auto detect code page for CVX files checkbox is enabled, non-unicode text (like in .CVX files) will be converted to unicode by analyzing the file. Should this be unsuccessful, Canvas X Draw will use the code page displayed in the drop-down menu. If this code page is incorrect, you can choose the correct code page from the drop-down menu. You may need to re-open your file to see results. As this setting acts as a global preference, it is advised to select the code page you work with the most. |
Enable auto detect codepage for CVX files | This option detects and enables the correct display of text in legacy .CVX files by analyzing the file. In the event that the correct code page cannot be found, Canvas X Draw will default to the code page selected in the Default code page for non-unicode file formats drop-down menu above. |
The Painting manager lets you set preferences for displaying and editing paint objects and images.
Use the Screen Rendering options to setup the way images are rendered.
When you drag or resize an object, it will follow the pointer and also appear in its original position until you release the mouse button. Selecting this option means that when you drag an object, an outline of the object (without pen ink, fill ink, or stroke) will follow the pointer. | |
Allow Drag in Path Edit Mode | Allow dragging in Path Edit mode. |
Tells Canvas X Draw how far (in pixels) from the original to put object copies when you choose Edit | Duplicate or Edit | Paste. | |
You can specify the number of pixels that objects move when you use a combination of modifier and arrow keys. For example, with the default settings, Command+Right Arrow moves a selected object 50 pixels to the right, and Option+Right Arrow moves it 10 pixels to the right. | |
Selection Handle Size | Select a size for selection handles. |
Keeps objects that you move using the arrow keys in view by scrolling the document window. | |
Show each bounding box when over 1000 objects are selected | Displays each individual bounding box in a selection containing over 1000 objects. By default, this quantity of selected objects will appear as one large selection. |
Specify a name and initials for object comments, which you can insert using the Comments command. (See Attaching Comments to Objects and Using Markup Tools.)
Name | Type a name in the text box. When you attach a comment to an object, Canvas X Draw associates the name you enter with the comment. By default, Canvas X Draw uses the name entered when Canvas X Draw was installed. |
Initials | Type initials in the text box. When you attach comments to an object, Canvas X Draw associates these initials with the comment. |