| JF-DRAW
- Basic Use Manual -
JF-Draw - Cross Platform, JAVA Vector Drawing Application |
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How to use JF-Draw to create and edit digital graphics and artwork. |
Double-click
on the "jfdraw.jar" icon to open JF-Draw. When JF-Draw
opens choose "File" then "New" to open a new,
blank document. You will see an artboard and a grid as well as
all of your basic menus and tools.
The interface is very self explanitory and user friendly. Anyone
with experience in graphic design will figure it out quickly.
Here are a few quick guides to perform basic tasks in JF-Draw. |
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Using FONTS in JF Draw - part 1 |
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1.)
Click on the text Icon (Draw Text) in the tool menu or select
"Shape" then "Text"
from the menu at the top.
2.) Move tour mouse to the point on the artboard where you want
your text to appear and drag a box onto the page to contain your
text. (The size and shape of this text box can be modified later,
as many times as you want.)
3.) A small window will pop up and promt you to enter the desired
text. Enter your text and click "Confirm". Your text
will appear on the page in the default font and size.
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Using FONTS in JF Draw - part 2 |
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4.) To change
the font, style or size of your new text, click on your new text
to select it and then select "Draw"
Then " Font Format" from the top menu.
5.) A small window will pop up that will allow you to choose a
font, a style and the size of your new text as well as the color.
Choose your desired settings and click "Confirm". The
new properties will take effect and you will see the changes on
the artboard.
6.) After you have finished choosing the properties for your text
you may need to expand or shrink your original text box to fit
the text the way you want. To do this simply click on any of the
yellow selection boxes at the corners of your
selected text box and drag it into the desired shape.
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Using FONTS in JF Draw - part 3 |
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7.) In JF-Draw
text and all other shapes start off with a default outline setting.
If you want to remove the outline from your text box select "Draw"
then "Line Format" and set the line
width to "0" pixels or "None".
TIP 1- It is best to create each title, line or body of text seperately
so that each one can be easily modified and moved independently.
You can continue to change the properties of each bit of text
as many time as you want by simply selecting it and repeating
any of the steps above.
TIP 2 - Double click on any bit of text to get the original text
window and edit or change the text itself.
TIP 3 - To create a drop-shadow or 3-D effect with fonts create
a bit of text and format it the way you want it. Then copy and
paste the text to the same layer, it will appear in front of the
original text. Click on the original text to select it and change
the fonts color to black or any other color. Then just line the
two pieces of text up how you want them and select "Draw"
then "Group Shapes" to keep them together. |
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Importing and working with IMAGES in JF-Draw |
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1.) Selct
"Shape" then "Image"
from the menu at the top. Move your mouse down to the desired
area of the artboard and drag a box large enough to contain the
desired image. (Image will scale in proportion or out of proportion
to fit the box exactly)
2.) After you drag the box a small window will pop up prompting
you to browse your hard disk and select an image to import.
Click "Open" to import the image and the image will
appear in the box.
3.) To resize the image simply click on any of the yellow selection
boxes at the corners of the image and drag to the desired shape.
To move the image simply click on the image itself and drag it
to the desired location.
4.) You can copy and paste the image (or any object) using the
"Copy" and "Paste"
options found under the "Edit" menu
at the top. Paste or import multiple images to the same layer
or use multiple layers as you see fit. |
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Working with LAYERS in JF-Draw |
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1.) Click
on the Layers Icon (Layers Setup) from the toolbar or select "View"
then "Layers Setup" from the menu at
the top.
2.) A Small window will pop up allowing you to insert a new layer,
make layers visible and invisible, remove layers and other functions.
Choose "New Layer", give the layer a name and click
"Confirm". Your new layer will be inserted at the top
and you will now be working on the new, empty layer.
3.) Grouping multiple objects together allows you to move and
scale the objects in one step, as a group. By pasting this group
of objects to a layer of its own will allow you to make the whole
group visible or invisible in the layers menu.
TIP 1 - Working with only one layer you can bring objects to the
front or send them to the back by selecting "Draw"
the "Bring to Front" or "Send
To Back". Grouped objects will be brought to the
front or sent to the back as one.
Tip 2 - When working with multiple layers only the top layer is
editable. All underlying layers are locked. If you want to make
changes to those layers you must move the desired layer to the
front, make your changes, then move it back to its original position.
allthough this only takes a couple clicks, it is still best to
finish each layer as you move along. |
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Drawing SHAPES & using OUTLINES & FILLS |
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1.) Choose
a shape from the toolbar or select "Shape"
from the menu at the top and choose a type of shape to create.
2.) Drag out your desired shape and, if it is correct, leave it
selected. The shape will appear with a defualt, 1 pixel, black
outline and no fill.
3.) To fill the shape with a color or gradient select "Draw"
then "Fill Format" or "Line
Format" from the menu at the top.
4.) A small window will pop up that will allow you to choose a
color, create a gradient, choose a line style and color and to
set a new default for new shapes. Choose your settings and click
"Confirm"
5.) You can continue to edit the outline, fill, size and shape
of your object as many times as you want, move it around just
by clicking and dragging, cut, copy paste, and group it with other
objects how ever you desire. Scale the object by clicking on any
of the yellow selection boxes at the objects corners and dragging
to the desired shape.
7.) In JF-Draw text and all other shapes start off with a default
outline setting. If you want to remove the outline from your SHAPE
or text box select "Draw" then "Line
Format" from the menu at the top, and set the line
width to "0" pixels or "None". |
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Creating a full multimedia graphic. |
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Using
JF-Draw you can create not only full color graphics, logos and
images as seen in the simple sample on the left but also highly
acurate and detailed technical drawings such as blueprints and
schematics.
When you
are satisfied with you work you can use the "Save",
"Save As", or "Export" command to save your
work in a variety of vector and bitmap formats such as JPG,
PNG and more. |
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