Gobe Productive User's Guide - Customizing Inks

- Working in the graphics environment
- Drawing tools
- Pre-defined Shapes
- Pen Attributes
- Fill Color
- Text Color
- Customizing inks
- Customizing ink sets
- Transparency
- Moving items
- Resizing & Rotating items
- Aligning Items
- Reshaping, reorienting & smoothing shapes
- Arranging, grouping & locking items
- Creating Outlines
- Views & Layers
- Styles

# Customizing Inks

Edit a Color | Edit a Pattern | Add Textures | Edit a Gradient |

You can create custom patterns, textures, and gradients. To do this, either use the tear-off palette for a tool, or double-click on the color indicator of interest (this is the box next to a tool that displays the chosen color).

| NOTE: The Gobe Productive tear-off formatting palettes allow you to create and save ink sets. An ink set is a collection of colors, patterns, textures or gradients. When you first use Gobe Productive and tear off one of the formatting tools, the floating palette displays the default color, pattern, and gradient sets (textures being a subset of patterns). If you change one of the colors, patterns or gradients in the default ink set, that change is lost when you close the Gobe Productive application. It is a good idea to create and save your custom colors, patterns and gradients in your own ink sets. The next topic, Customizing Ink Sets describes how to save, load, and use palette sets.

An example of the Fill Ink tear-off palette displaying the default ink set.

## To Edit a Color

1. From the tear-off palette make sure the ink set is displayed. Click the color button to display the currently active color ink set.
2. Double click on the color you want to change. An Edit Color dialog box is displayed.

> This dialog box may appear different depending on screen resolution on your system.

3. Select how you want to choose the color from the tab on the top left side of the dialog box. In the example above, the HLS option is shown. If you know the exact RGB composition, though, you may want to use the System dialog box, as in the image below.
4. Choose the color you wish to place on the palette. The old color (left color) and the new color (right color) are displayed on the bottom left of the Edit Color dialog box.
5. Click OK when you have selected the color you want.
6. Click Cancel to close the dialog box and continue using the existing color selection in the palette.

| NOTE: Instead of using the tear-off tool, you can double-click on any of the color indicators on the FormatBar to display the Edit Color dialog box. Then follow steps 3 through 6 above.

## To Edit a Pattern

1. From the tear-off palette make sure the pattern set is displayed. Click the pattern button to display the currently active pattern set.
2. Double click the pattern you want to change. An Edit Pattern dialog box is displayed.

> This dialog box may appear different depending on the screen resolution on your system.

3. Use the large workspace in the dialog box to create the pattern template.
   - Use the Width and Height buttons to change the size of the template.
   - Click the pencil tool button to draw in the workspace (default).
   - Click the dropper tool button to "pickup" a color from the workspace.
   - Click the magic wand button to select sections of alike colors.
   - The small box to the right of these buttons displays how the pattern will appear when applied to a larger area.
   - Use the bottom section of the dialog box to select the colors you want to use to create your pattern. See To Edit a Color for more information.
4. Click OK when you are finished editing the pattern.
5. Click Revert to close the dialog box and revert back to the existing pattern on the palette.

| NOTE: If a pattern is already selected for one of the tools on the FormatBar, and you wish to edit that pattern, then instead of using the tear-off tool, you can double-click on the pattern to display the Edit Pattern dialog box. Follow steps 3 through 5 above.

## To Add Textures

You can easily add any texture to the pattern set. Any graphic file can be dragged and dropped into the pattern set on the palette. However, in order for the texture to work properly you must have the correct graphic format handlers installed on your system. BeOS includes graphic format handlers for the TIFF, Targa, and BMP graphic formats. Other handlers for formats such as GIF, JPG, and PIC are available. Refer to the Be web site at www.be.com for more information about obtaining graphic format handlers.

1. From the tear-off palette, make sure the pattern set is displayed. Textures are part of the pattern ink set.
2. From the BeOS desktop, open the Disks folder and navigate to the location where the image file is located.
3. Since the application hides the palette when not active, you must refocus the desktop to the Gobe Productive application.
4. Drag the image file from the folder window to the pattern palette. The texture is added to the set.
5. To delete the texture from the set, select the texture and select Clear from the Edit menu on the color palette.

To place a new texture on a texture set, simply drag an image file to the palette. Notice that the Gobe Productive application is active on the desktop and not the folder windows. You must drag the image file from a background folder window to the foreground Gobe Productive palette. This is because the palette is hidden if the Gobe Productive window is in the background.

## To Edit a Gradient

1. From the tear-off palette make sure the gradient set is displayed. Click the gradient button to display the currently active gradient set.
2. Double click the gradient you want to change. An Edit gradient dialog box is displayed.

> This dialog box may appear different depending on the screen resolution in effect on your system.

3. Select the Type of gradient. A directional gradient transitions colors from in one direction. A radial gradient transitions colors in a circle around a single point.
4. Select the number of Colors you wish to use in the gradient. You can use up to four colors in a gradient. The buttons beside the Colors button allow you to select the colors to use in the gradient. Click and hold these buttons to select a color.
5. Click and drag the gradient handles in the gradient orientation circle (right side of the window). This changes the direction and orientation for the gradient. The hollow circle sets the diffusion point (where the gradient changes colors). The solid circle sets the directional angle.
   - You can also use the Angle field to set an exact directional angle. This does not affect a radial gradient.
6. Click OK when you have finished editing the gradient. You may need to re-apply the gradient to the graphic item.
7. Click Revert to close the dialog box and continue using the existing gradient selection in the palette.

| NOTE: If a gradient is already selected for one of the tools on the FormatBar, and you wish to edit it, then instead of using the tear-off tool, you can double-click on the gradient to display the Edit Gradient dialog box. Follow steps 3 through 7 above.

Copyright © 1999, Gobe Software, Inc