<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Main Menus</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <a href="contents.html"><img src="images/xfig-title.png" alt="XFIG Users Manual" border=0></a> <HR> <H1>Main Menus</H1> The following menus are at the top of the <b>xfig</b> window. <P> <dl> <dt><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <A HREF="#file-menu">File</A>: File menu <dt><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <A HREF="#edit-menu">Edit</A>: Edit menu <dt><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <A HREF="#view-menu">View</A>: View menu <dt><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <A HREF="#snap-menu">Snap</A>: Snap menu <dt><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <A HREF="#help-menu">Help</A>: Help menu </dl> <hr> <img src="images/file-accel.png" align=right alt="[ File menu ]"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="file-menu">File menu</A></font> </H2> <DL> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <a name="new"><b>New</b></a> <DD> Delete all objects from the canvas and erase the current file name to make a new figure. The accelerator <TT>Meta-N</TT> will also perform this function. This operation may be undone by <A HREF="#undo">Undo</A>. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Open...</b> <dd> Popup panel to open a Fig file. See <A HREF="#file-panels">File Panels</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Merge...</b> <dd> Popup panel to merge one or more Fig files with the current figure. See <A HREF="#file-panels">File Panels</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Save</b> <dd> Save current figure in current filename. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Save As...</b> <dd> Popup panel to save current figure in new filename. See <A HREF="#file-panels">File Panels</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Export...</b> <dd> Popup panel to export current figure to various formats such as PostScript, GIF, etc. See <A HREF="printing.html#export">Exporting</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Print...</b> <dd> Popup panel to print current figure to PostScript printer. See <A HREF="printing.html#print">Printing</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <a name="exit"><b>Exit</b></a> <dd> Exit from <B>xfig</B>. The accelerator <TT>Meta-Q</TT> will also perform this function. <br>If the figure has been modified and not saved, a popup panel will appear to ask the user if he wants to save the figure first and then quit, quit without saving, or cancel the quit altogether. <br>If <B>xfig</B> is terminated with signals such as <I>HUP</I> or <I>INT</I> (for example, by the <TT>kill</TT> command or an internal error of <B>xfig</B>), <B>xfig</B> will try to save the figure in the <b>SAVE.fig</b> file. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Recent file list (<b>1 2 3 4</b>) <dd> Below the <b>Exit</b> menu entry is a list of recently loaded <b>Fig</b> files. The number of files in this list may be set in the <b>.xfigrc</b> file in the user's login directory, or from the <a href="global_settings.html">Global Settings</a> panel. The maximum number of file names saved is 9. </DL> <hr> <img src="images/edit-accel.png" align=right alt="[ Edit menu ]"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="edit-menu">Edit Menu</A></font> </H2> <DL> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <a name="undo"><b>Undo</b></a> <dd> Undo the last operation such as object creation, deletion or modification. The accelerator <TT>Meta-U</TT> will also perform this function. <br>Multi-level undo is not supported. If <I>Undo</I> is clicked twice, it will revert the state before the first <I>undo</I>. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <a name="paste"><b>Paste Objects</b></a> <dd> Paste the <b>Fig</b> object previously copied into the <b>xfig</b> <I>cut buffer</I> (see also <A HREF="editing.html#copy">COPY</A> and <A HREF="editing.html#delete">DELETE</A>) into the current figure. The accelerator <TT>Meta-T</TT> will also perform this function. <br> The object will appear on the canvas under or near the mouse where it may then be moved and placed by pressing mouse button 1 (`place object'). If you want to place it where it originally came from press mouse button 2 (`place at orig posn'). <br>This function can be used to copy part of another figure into the figure being edited. The <I>cut buffer</I> can be shared between <B>xfig</B>s if a user runs two or more <B>xfig</B> programs at the same time, and it is possible to copy objects between those <B>xfig</B> programs. If you want to copy an entire figure from another file, you can <A HREF="#merge">merge</A> the file using <A HREF="#file-panels">File panel</A>. <br>Normally, the "<TT>.xfig</TT>" file in user's home directory is used as the <I>cut buffer</I>. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Paste Text</b> <dd> Paste text from the <b>X11</b> cut buffer onto the canvas where a text object has been started. Note that you must already have started a text object by clicking the <a href="drawing.html#text">Text</a> mode and clicking on the canvas where you want the text pasted. The accelerators <TT>F18</TT> and <TT>F20</TT> will also perform this function. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Search/Replace...</b> <dd> Popup panel to search and/or replace strings in Fig text objects. The accelerator <TT>Meta-I</TT> will also perform this function. See <A HREF="miscellaneous.html#search-replace">Search and Replace Text</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Spell Check...</b> <dd> Popup panel to check Fig text objects for spelling errors. The accelerator <TT>Meta-K</TT> will also perform this function. See <A HREF="miscellaneous.html#spell-check">Spell Check</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Delete all</b> <dd> Delete all objects on the canvas. Can be undone with <tt>Meta-U</tt> (Undo). <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Global settings...</b> <dd> Popup panel showing global settings such as the HTML browser, spelling checker, mouse tracking in rulers, etc. The accelerator <TT>Meta-G</TT> will also perform this function. See <A HREF="global_settings.html">Global Settings</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Set units...</b> <dd> Popup the <a href="panning.html#units">unit panel</a> to change drawing/scaling units. Right-clicking on the <b>unit</b> box in the upper-right corner of <b>xfig</b> will also perform this operation. </DL> <hr> <img src="images/view-accel.png" align=right alt="[ View menu ]"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="view-menu">View Menu</A></font> </H2> <DL> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Manage Styles...</b> <dd> Popup the Style Manager. These are user-defined settings which can be named and saved. For example you may have a group of settings called "special lines" which have predefined line styles and colors from which you can choose. See <a href="#manage-styles">Manage Styles...</a> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Redraw</b> <dd> Redraw the canvas. The accelerators <TT>Meta-R</TT> and <TT>Ctrl-L</TT> will also perform this function. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <a name="port-land"><b>Portrait/Landscape</b></a> <dd> Change the orientation of the <B>xfig</B> canvas between portrait and landscape. The orientation will also be used as the default orientation when <A HREF="printing.html#export">Exporting</A> or <A HREF="printing.html#print">Printing</A> a figure. <br>The default orientation may be specified by <A HREF="options.html">command line options</A>. The orientation is automatically changed when <A HREF="#file">loading</A> a fig file to correspond to the setting in the file. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Zoom in</b> <dd> Zoom in on the canvas by a factor of two. <TT>Shift-Z</TT> will also perform this function. See also <a href="panning.html#zooming">Zooming</a>. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Zoom out</b> <dd> Zoom in on the canvas by a factor of two. A lowercase <TT>z</TT> will also perform this function. See also <a href="panning.html#zooming">Zooming</a>. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Zoom to Fit canvas</b> <dd> Zoom the figure so that it just fits in the canvas. <TT>Ctrl-Z</TT> will also perform this function. See also <a href="panning.html#zooming">Zooming</a>. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Pan to origin</b> <dd> Pan the canvas to the origin (0,0). See also <a href="panning.html#scroll">Panning the Canvas</a>. </dl> For the following, an asterisk (<b>*</b>) in the menu indicates that the setting is turned on. <dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Show page borders</b> <dd> Turn on or off the drawing of the page borders on the canvas. If on, <b>xfig</b> draws a lightblue line (default) on the canvas where the page boundaries are and the name of the page size, for the currently selected page size The accelerator <TT>Meta-B</TT> will also perform this function. (see <A HREF="printing.html#export">Exporting</A> or <A HREF="printing.html#print">Printing</A> for page sizes supported). <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Show depth manager</b> <dd> Show or hide the <a href="layers.html#depth-panel">depth manager panel</a> to the right of the side ruler. See <A HREF="layers.html">Layers (Depths)</A> for details. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Show info balloons</b> <dd> Turn on or off displaying of <a href="miscellaneous.html#balloons">information balloons</a>. These balloons popup after a small delay when the mouse is moved over a button or other areas of <b>xfig</b> with information about that item. The accelerator <TT>Meta-Y</TT> will also perform this function. <br> The popup delay may be set in the <A HREF="global_settings.html">Global Settings</A> panel. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Show line lengths</b> <dd> Turn on or off the display of line lengths as lines/circles/etc. are drawn. If on, <b>xfig</b> shows the lengths of lines as they are being drawn in red, near the lines themselves. The accelerator <TT>Meta-L</TT> will also perform this function. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Show vertex numbers</b> <dd> Turn on or off labelling of vertices of Fig objects. If on, <b>xfig</b> will label each vertex of objects on the canvas with their drawing order. This is only useful for diagnostic purposes. </DL> <hr> <img src="images/snap-accel.png" align=right alt="[ Snap menu ]"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="snap-menu">Snap Menu</A></font> </H2> The Snap operations are used to snap the next point clicked by the user to some location on a selected object. For example, after invoking the Endpoint snap mode, the next point clicked by the user will be used to identify the nearest object and then, if that object has some feature that can be reasonably interpreted as an "endpoint" the input point will be translated to that endpoint. If the selected object has more than one endpoint, the one closest the initial point will be used. <p> Snaps can be used either in drawing mode, as described above, or in edit mode. You could, for example, move an ellipse such that one of its foci coincides wiith the midpoint of a polyline segment: <ol> <li>Select "Move" <li>Select "Focus" from the Snap pulldown. <li>Select the ellipse at some point on it near the focus. <li>Select "Midpoint" from the Snap pulldown. <li>Select the polyline segment. </ol> <p> The following is a list of the available snap modes. <DL> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Hold</b> <dd> Usually, the selected snap operation is automatically deselected immediiately after the the next point is clicked. This button suppresses that behaviour, keeping the selected snap operation in effect until it is manually released with the Release button, q.v. The Hold capability allows, e.g., the connection of a series of polyline vertices by another polyline. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Release</b> <dd> Releases a locked snap mode being retained by the Hold button, or cancels a snap operation after it's been selected. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Endpoint</b> <dd>Endpoint snap mode snaps the input point to some feature of the selected object that may be interpreted as an endpoint. The feature selected depends on the type of object selected: <p> <dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Polylines (including boxes and polygons): <dd>Snaps to the nearest vertex. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Ellipses (not including circles): <dd>Snaps to the nearest endpoint.of any of the semi-axes. (This is not relevant to circles.) <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Text <dd>Snaps to the nearest vertex of the bounding box. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Arcs <dd>Snaps to the nearest of the three arc definition points. </dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Midpoint</b> <dd>Midpoint snap mode snaps the input point to some feature of the selected object that may be interpreted as a midpoint. The feature selected depends on the type of object selected: <p> <dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Polylines (including boxes and polygons): <dd>Snaps to the midpoint of the nearest polyline segment. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Ellipses (including circles): <dd>Snaps to the centerpoint. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Text <dd>Snaps to the midpoint of the nearest side of the bounding box. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Arcs <dd>Snaps to the arc centerpoint. </dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Nearest</b> <dd>While a polyline is being drawn, this operation simply snaps to the nearest point on the nearest object. This works for target polyline, circle/ellipse, text (the bounding box), and arc objects. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Focus</b> <dd>Focus snap mode snaps the input point to some feature of the selected object that may be interpreted as a focus. The feature selected depends on the type of object selected: <p> <dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Polylines (including boxes and polygons): <dd>Snaps to the unweighted centroid of the vertices. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Ellipses (including circles): <dd>Snaps to the nearest ellipse focus, or to the centerpoint of circles. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Text <dd>Snaps to the centroid of the bounding box. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> Arcs <dd>Snaps to the arc centerpoint. </dl> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Diameter</b> <dd>While a polyline is being drawn, this operation snaps to a point such that the midpoint of the segment specified by that point and the "current" point is at the centerpoint of the selected object. This works for all objects except splines. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Normal</b> <dd>While a polyline is being drawn, this operation snaps to a point on the selected object such that the segment from the "current" point to the object is perpendicular to the object. If there are multiple possible normal points (like to the near and far sides of a circle), the snap is to the one closest to where the user clicked. This works for target polyline, circle/ellipse, text (the bounding box), and arc objects. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Tangent</b> <dd>While a polyline is being drawn, this operation snaps to a point on the selected object such that the segment from the "current" point to the object is tangent to the object. If there are multiple possible tangent points (like to the sides of a circle), the snap is to the one closest to where the user clicked. This works for target circle/ellipse and arc objects. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Intersection</b> <dd>Lets the user select a second object and snaps to the nearest intersection of the two objects. Works between all combinations of circles, ellipses, polylines, and arcs except (yet) the case of two ellipses at different angles </dl> <hr> <img src="images/help-accel.png" align=right alt="[ Help menu ]"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="help-menu">Help Menu</A></font> </H2> <DL> <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Xfig Reference (HTML)...</b> <dd> This starts up your web browser (resource <TT>Fig.browser</TT>, default <i>netscape</i>) to view the main <b>xfig</b> reference manual. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Xfig Reference (PDF)...</b> <dd> These start up your PDF viewer (resource <TT>Fig.pdfviewer</TT>, to view the PDF version of the reference manual. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>How-To Guide (PDF)...</b> <dd> This starts up your PDF viewer (resource <TT>Fig.pdfviewer</TT>, default <i>acroread</i>) to view the <b>xfig</b> tutorial, written by Peter Hiscocks. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Man pages (PDF)...</b> <dd> This starts up your PDF viewer (resource <TT>Fig.pdfviewer</TT>, default <i>acroread</i>) to view the <b>xfig</b> man pages. <DT><img src="images/blueballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>About Xfig...</b> <dd> This pops up a window with the version and copyright information about <b>xfig</b>. <p><img src="images/xfighelp.png" align=bottom alt="[ About Xfig ]"> </dl> <img src="images/blueramp.png" width=550 alt="-------------------------"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="file-panels">File Panels</A></font></H2> The file panels provide the facility to Load, SaveAs, or Merge Fig files. Use <A HREF="printing.html#export">Exporting</A> if you want to output figure with a format other than a <b>Fig</b> file, and use <A HREF="drawing.html#picture">IMPORTING PICTURE OBJECTS</A> if you want to insert image files into the figure. <dl compact> <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <dd> Choosing <I>Open...</I> from the <a href="#file-menu"><i>File</i> menu</a> will pop up up the <b>Open Figure</b> panel. The accelerator <TT>Meta-O</TT> will also perform this function. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <dd> Choosing <I>Merge...</I> from the <a href="#file-menu"><i>File</i> menu</a> will pop up up the <b>Merge Figure</b> panel. The accelerator <TT>Meta-M</TT> will also perform this function. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <dd> Choosing <I>Save As...</I> from the <a href="#file-menu"><i>File</i> menu</a> will pop up up the <b>SaveAs</b> panel. The accelerator <TT>Meta-A</TT> will also perform this function. </dl> The panels look almost the same except for the bottom row of buttons, which reflect the operations like "Open", "Merge" and "Save": <BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="images/file-panel.png" ALT="[File Panel]" > </BLOCKQUOTE> <DL> <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>File Status</I> <DD> This shows whether the current figure has been modified or not. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I># of Objects</I> <DD> This shows the number of Fig objects in the drawing. A compound object with several objects inside is considered one object. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Figure Offset</I> <DD> Specify amounts of offset the figure should be shifted when loaded or merged. The figure will be shifted to right or down by the amounts specified here. It is also possible to shift figure to left or up by specifying negative values here. Unit of the amounts may be <I>Inches</I>, <I>Centimeters</I>, or <I>Fig Units (1/1200 inch in version 3.x)</I>. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <a name="current-file"><I>Current File</I></a> <DD> The name of the current file is displayed here. This is updated if a different filename is entered in the <i>Filename</i> field, and that file is either loaded or saved. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Filename</I> <DD> Specify the name of file to be loaded or saved. If this field is empty, the file indicated at <I>Current File</I> will be accessed. <br> The file name in the <I>Filename</I> field may be changed by clicking a file name in <I>Fig Files</I> list, or by typing the file name on the keyboard . If <I>Return</I> is typed after the file name is entered, the file will be opened for the <I>Open</I> panel, or saved for the <I>SaveAs</I> panel, or merged for the <I>Merge</I> panel. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Fig Files</I> <DD> The files in the current directory matching the pattern specified by <I>Filename Mask</I> are displayed here, and users may select a file name from the list. <br> Clicking a file name in this list with mouse button 1 will copy the file name to <I>Filename</I> field. Double-clicking a file name in this list with mouse button 1 will open the file for the <I>Open</I> panel, or or save the file for the <I>SaveAs</I> panel, or merge the file for the <I>Merge</I> panel. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Filename Mask</I> <DD> Only the files which match this pattern will be listed in the <I>Fig Files</I> list. The pattern is similar to the one which is used in the UNIX shell, so it is possible to use meta-characters like "<TT>*</TT>" or "<TT>?</TT>". In addition, multiple patterns separated by a space are allowed. <br> Typing <I>Return</I> in this field will cause a rescan of the current directory as if the <I>Rescan</I> button was clicked. The initial value of this string is "<TT>*.fig *.fig.gz *.fig.[Zz]</TT>" , which will show all <b>Fig</b> files including compressed files and backups, but it may be changed by the <TT>Fig*file_panel*mask*string</TT> resource if necessary. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Current Dir</I> <DD> This shows the current directory, and files in the directory will be displayed in the <I>Fig files</I> list. <br> The directory name in the <I>Current Dir</I> field may be changed by clicking a directory name in <I>Directories</I> list, or by typing the directory name on the keyboard. If <I>Return</I> is typed after the directory name is entered, the directory will scanned as if the <I>Rescan</I> button was clicked and the contents of <I>Fig Files</I> list will be updated. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Directories</I> <DD> List of directories in the current directory is displayed here, and clicking any item in this list with mouse button 1 will cause a move to the directory. Normally, <I>hidden directories</I> are not displayed here, but that may be toggled with the <I>Show Hidden</I> button. <br> "<TT>..</TT>" indicates the parent directory. Moving to the parent directory may also be performed by clicking mouse button 3 on the <I>File Alternatives</I> list or the <I>Directories</I> list. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Home</I> <DD> Clicking this button will move to the home directory of the user. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Show Hidden</I> <DD> This button controls whether <I>hidden directories</I> (directories whose name starts with "<TT>.</TT>") are displayed or not. Clicking this button will toggle the state. By default, hidden directories are not displayed. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Rescan</I> <DD> Clicking this button will scan the files in the current directory and update the <I>Fig Files</I> list with those files whose names match the <I>Filename Mask</I>. The accelerator <TT>Meta-R</TT> will also perform this function. <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Cancel</I> <DD> Clicking this button will close the File panel. The accelerator <TT>Meta-C</TT> or the <TT>Escape</TT> key will also perform this function. </dl> <font color = "blue"> Only one of the following three buttons will appear, depending on the operation (Open, Merge, or Save): </font> <dl> <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Open</I> <DD> Clicking this button will open the file specified by the <I>Filename</I> field. <br> Before opening the file, the figure on the canvas is cleared. If the figure on the canvas has been modified and not saved, a popup panel will appear and the user will be asked to save the current figure, discard it and open the new file or cancel the open of the new file altogether. <br> The figure will be shifted by the amounts specified by <I>Figure Offset</I>. <br> <B>xfig</B> can also read files compressed by <B>compress</B> or <B><A HREF="installation.html#gzip">gzip</A></B> (files which have suffix <TT>.Z</TT>, <TT>.z</TT>, or <TT>.gz</TT>). Before opening a compressed file, the file will be uncompressed by <B>uncompress</B> or <B><A HREF="installation.html#gzip">gunzip</A></B>. <br> A newer version of <B>xfig</B> can always open <I>Fig</I> files created by older version of <B>xfig</B>, but the reverse is not true. When opening files of older format, <B>xfig</B> will notify the user in a popup message panel and will convert the file to the current version. There is no way to save a <b>Fig</b> file in an older version format. <br> <a name="new-xfig-process">In addition to the <b>Open</b> button</a>, a button labeled <b>New xfig...</b> allows the user to start another copy of <b>xfig</b> running on any file selected. This is a completely separate Unix process, but the two programs may communicate through the cut/paste feature. <p> <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <A NAME="merge"><I>Merge</I></A> <DD> Clicking this button will read the figure from the file specified by the <I>Filename</I> field and merge it with the figure on the canvas. <br> As in <I>Open</I>, the figure will be shifted at the amounts specified by <I>Figure Offset</I>. <p> <DT><img src="images/redball.png" align=bottom alt="-"> <I>Save</I> <DD> Clicking this button will save the figure to the file specified in the <I>Filename</I> field if any, or the file name in <I>Current File</I> otherwise. <br> When trying to save to an existing file other than <I>Current File</I>, a popup panel will appear and the user will be asked if he wants to save over that file. <br> Also, <I>Current File</I> is updated to reflect the new file name. <br> Before saving the file, the original file (if any) will be automatically renamed to the same name but with the suffix "<TT>.bak</TT>" to leave it as a backup file. </DL> <img src="images/blueramp.png" width=550 alt="-------------------------"> <H2><font color="blue"><A NAME="manage-styles">Manage Styles...</A></font></H2> <img src="images/manage-styles.png" align=right alt="[Manage Styles]"> <p> The style manager lets you save and load groups of <a href="attributes.html">attributes</a> (e.g. line color, thickness, font size etc.) by name. For example you may want a thick, dashed, red line style often, so using the style manager you could choose those attributes and save and recall them in a style called "thickred". <p> When adding styles, only the attributes which are <a href="editing.html#update-control">selected for UPDATE</a> will be saved. <p> Also, you may have "families" of styles. For example a family called "lines" may have a collection of named styles for lines (e.g. color, thickness etc.) and a family called "fonts" may have a collection of named styles for fonts (e.g. font, size, color, etc.) <p> To use styles, when you popup the style manager (View/Manage Styles... or <tt>Control-Y</tt>), <b>xfig</b> automatically goes into update mode. For styles already defined, choose the style family in the upper list and the style in that family from the lower list. The update buttons will automatically be turned on for those attributes affected by the style and off for those not affected. At this point, if you click on objects on the canvas they will be updated with those attributes. Creating new objects will use those attribtes and the others shown in the attribute panel. <p> To create a new family, enter the name in the <b>Choice</b> entry under <b>Family</b> and press the <b>Add</b> button. <p> Now select the attributes that you want to be affected by your style (e.g. line color, thickness etc.) by turning on or off the red buttons in the upper-right corner of the attribute buttons (see <a href="editing.html#update">Update</a>), and setting the value of the attribute. Finally, enter the name of the style you want to create in the <b>Choice</b> entry under <b>Style</b> and press the <b>Add</b> button. <p> There is a limit of 16 families and 30 styles in each. <dl> <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Family</b> <dd>Choose style family from this list. A style family may have one or more styles (described below). <dl> <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Choice</b> <dd>This shows the current family selection, or the user may enter a family name here and press enter to load it. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Add</b> <dd>After entering a name in the <b>Choice</b> field above, press this button to add it to the list of style families. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Delete</b> <dd>Delete the selected style family. </dl> <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Style</b> <dd>This shows the styles available in the above-chosen family. Click on a style entry to select it. <dl> <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Choice</b> <dd>This shows the current style selection, or the user may enter a style name here and press enter to load it. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Add</b> <dd>After entering a name in the <b>Choice</b> field above, press this button to add it to the list of styles. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Delete</b> <dd>Delete the selected style. </dl> <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Save settings</b> <dd>Save all the families and styles currently defined. To change an existing named style, first select it and delete it, then enter the name again, make the changes to the attribute panel and press "Save settings". <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Reload settings</b> <dd>Reload the families and their styles, discarding any changes to the current listts. <DT><img src="images/redballdot.png" alt="-"> <b>Close</b> <dd>Close the Style Manager panel. </dl> <HR> [ <a href="contents.html">Contents</a> | <a href="introduction.html">Introduction</a> | <a href="authors.html">Credits</a> ] </BODY> </HTML>
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