Advanced Drawing Tasks

After you become familiar with the basic drawing facilities in Icon Editor, you may want to try some more advanced operations. Many of these operations require you to first select an area of the icon. This is done using the Selection tool (next to the eraser).

When an area of the icon is selected, you can:

• Cut, copy or move it

• Resize (scale) it

• Flip it (horizontally or vertically)

• Rotate it (right or left)

To Select an Area of the Icon

1. Click the Selection tool (next to the eraser).

2. Drag a box around the area you want to select.

   When an area is selected, a box flashes around the selected area.

To Cut a Region of the Icon

1. Select the area of the icon you want to cut using the Selection tool.

2. Choose Cut from the Edit menu.

   When you cut a portion of an icon, the exposed area becomes transparent (that is, filled in with the Transparent color).

   Note that after cutting a region, you can paste it back into the icon by choosing Paste from the Edit menu.

To Copy a Region of the Icon

1. Select the area of the icon you want to copy using the Selection tool.

2. Choose Copy from the Edit menu.

3. Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

4. Position the outline where you want to paste the copy, and then click.

   You may repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as you like to paste multiple copies of the region you copied.

To Move a Region of the Icon

1. Select the area of the icon you want to move using the Selection tool.

2. Choose Cut from the Edit menu.

3. Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

4. Position the outline where you want to paste the area, and then click.

   You may repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as you like to paste multiple copies of the region you cut.

To Rotate Part of the Icon

1. Select the area of the icon you want to rotate using the Selection tool.

2. Choose Rotate then Left or Rotate then Right from the Edit menu.

3. Position the outline where you want to paste the rotated area, and then click.

To Flip (Mirror) Part of the Icon

Flipping an area creates a pixel-for-pixel mirror image of the selected area.

1. Select the area of the icon you want to flip using the Selection tool.

2. Choose Flip then Vertical or Flip then Horizontal from the Edit menu.

Resizing Icons

You can resize the entire icon or a region of the icon.

To Resize the Current Icon

1. Choose Resize Icon from the Edit menu.

   Icon Editor displays a dialog box that prompts for the new size.

2. Edit the current width and height to specify the new size.

3. Click OK.

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   Note -

   If you make the icon smaller, the right and bottom edges are clipped off. If you make the icon larger, the existing image remains in the upper left of the icon.

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To Resize (Scale) a Region of the Icon

1. Select the area of the icon you want to resize using the Selection tool.

2. Choose Scale from the Edit menu.

3. Drag a box that defines the size and shape that you want the scaled image to be.

   The size of the box is shown in the upper right area. This determines how the selected portion of the image will be scaled; it does not determine where to place the results.

4. Position the outline where you want to paste the scaled copy, and then click.

Hotspots

Bitmap images (XBM format) can be used as special mouse pointer shapes. A hotspot marks a single pixel within the image that is the true point of the mouse pointer.

To Add a Hotspot

You can only have one hotspot in an icon.

1. Choose Add Hotspot from the Edit menu.

2. Click the pixel where you want the hotspot.

To Delete a Hotspot

Choose Delete Hotspot from the Edit menu.

Screen Captures

You can copy any area from any part of the screen into the Icon Editor. You can copy ("grab") a text or graphic that is displayed and load it into the Icon Editor work area.

To Capture (Grab) a Region of the Display

1. Save your current icon, if necessary.

2. Choose Grab Screen Image from the Edit menu.

3. Drag a box around the portion of the workspace you want to capture (press mouse button 1, drag, and release).

Capturing a region of the display could cause the icon to use up some of the available colors on the desktop.

Modifying the View of an Icon

You can change the view of an icon in the Icon Editor work area by changing the magnification or using a grid.

To Hide the Grid

Choose Visible Grid from the Options menu.

This will hide the grid. Choose Visible Grid from the Options menu again to display the grid. The grid is displayed by default.

To Change the Magnification of an Icon

1. Choose Magnification from the Options menu.

2. Choose the Magnification level you want from the submenu.