PrevUpNext usersguide-1.htmlIntroduction usersguide.htmlSkencil User's Guide usersguide-3.htmlConcepts Quick Overview
Since the User's Manual is quite incomplete and even a bit outdated,
here is a quick guide to the main features of Skencil.
The Main Window
There's not much to say about the main window, since many of its
components are fairly standard, like the 
#N3menu and toolbar .
The status bar at the bottom indicates the current #N8mode , the current magnification factor, the current
position of the mouse pointer (you can change the unit from the context
menu) and some information about the current selection.
The palette just above the status bar allows you to easily assign a fill
color (click the left mouse button) or a line color (middle mouse
button). It also has an experimental Drag&Drop facility: click on a
color and drag the color to the pattern window in the fill dialog or
onto a color button.
Toolbar/Menu
Here's a brief description of some menu commands. If the command is also
available as a button in the toolbar, the icon is also shown.
Some commands are accessible via key strokes. The key sequence is
indicated in the menu. The notation for key strokes is described in the
section on 
#N7key strokes .
File Operations OpenLoad a file into Skencil. Skencil tries to determine
the file type automatically. It recognizes its own
format, XFig, Adobe Illustrator, CMX (an exchange format
defined by Corel), SVG (the upcoming web-standard for
vector graphics) and WMF files.
The filters for the 'foreign' formats are not complete.
The XFig filter for instance has some problems with the
ordering of objects (because of that awful `depth'
feature) and ignores arrow heads and dashing.
Insert DocumentInsert the contents of a document as a group into the
current document.
 SaveSave the current file. If it was read from an SK-file
(Skencil's own format) it is saved under the same name
after Skencil has created a backup file. If it was not
read from a file or the file was not an SK-file, you
have to specify a filename.  In addition to its own
format, Skencil can save drawings in a variety of other
file formats including Illustrator, WMF, CGM and SVG.
Save As PostScriptSave the current drawing into a PostScript file. The file
conforms to the EPS specification.
Edit Commands 
 Edit Mode		
 Selection ModeSwitch to one of Skencil's major modes, #N8edit mode and selection
mode
.
 Undo		
 RedoSkencil allows you to undo every operation and maintains
a virtually unlimited undo history. If you really want
to limit the undo history, you can do so from the preferences dialog
(
File/Options...).
 DeleteDelete the current object.
 DuplicateCreate a duplicate of the current object just above the
current object and select it. The duplicate is slightly
offset. You can set the duplication offset in the preferences dialog.
Effects Flip Horizontal		
 Flip VerticalFlip the current object(s) horizontally (vertically)
Remove TransformationSome objects have an intrinsic geometry, like text
objects, where the geometry is defined by the font and
the font size, and bitmap images or EPS files. Any
transformations (rotations, reflections, ...) later
applied are stored in the object. 
Remove
Transformation
 reverts these objects to their natural
size and orientation.
Rearranging the Stacking Order Move To TopMove the current object to the top of its layer.
 Move To BottomMove the current object to the bottom of its layer.
 Move One UpSwap the current object and the next higher one.
 Move One DownSwap the current object and the next lower one.
Grouping Objects GroupReplace the currently selected objects with a group
containing these objects and select it.
Grouped objects are usually manipulated as a whole, but
if needed, you can 
#N10select individual objects with the mouse or keyboard.
 UngroupReplace the currently selected group with the objects it
contains and select them.
While Group creates only normal groups, this command can
ungroup other 
#N13special
groups
 such as blend
groups or mask
groups as well.
Viewing Commands ZoomAfter invoking the zoom command you can either
Zoom into a region.
Click and drag 
<Button1> to indicate a
rectangular area in the main window. This area
will be magnified such that it just fits into
the window.
Double the magnification 
Just click (and don't drag) 
<Button1> on a point
in the main window. This point will be centered
and the magnification factor doubled.
The maximum zoom factor is 1600%.
Arranging ObjectsConvert To CurveConvert the current object to a bézier object.
This works for béziers :-), rectangles, ellipses
and text. (To convert text to béziers, Skencil
must have access to the appropriate type1 font file
(either .pfa or pfb)).
		
		Snap To Grid
Turns the grid on (or off, if it's on). If gridding is
on, objects will snap to grid points when they are
edited.
This command doesn't affect the visibility of the grid.
The visibility is controlled via the layer dialog. The grid is a special
layer which is usually called "Grid".
Snap To ObjectsIf snapping to objects is active, dragged objects snap
to the nearest special point of any other visible
object. Special points are the nodes of a bézier curve or
the corners of a rectangle.
Snap To Guide LinesIf snapping to guide lines is active, dragged objects
snap to the nearest guide line or other objects on the
guide layer.
This command doesn't affect the visibility of the guide
lines. The visibility can be controlled from the layer dialog. The guide layer is
usually called "Guide Lines".
Creating Objects  RectangleCreate a Rectangle by pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the mouse. One corner of the newly created
rectangle is where the button was pressed, the other
where it was released. Holding 
<Ctrl> while dragging
creates a square, holding 
<Shift> creates a rectangle
or square centered on the starting point.
In #N8edit mode , you can drag
the corners of a rectangle to create rounded corners.
 EllipseCreate an Ellipse by pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the mouse. Holding 
<Ctrl> while dragging
creates a circle, holding 
<Shift> creates a ellipse
or circle centered on the starting point.
In #N8edit mode , you can drag
the handle of an ellipse to create arcs.
 Bézier CurveCreate a Bézier curve. This requires at least two
click-drag-release cycles. The first cycle defines the
start point of the curve and its tangent. The next
cycles define the rest of the points and tangents in the
same fashion. Click 
<Button2> or press Space to
finish.
 PolygonCreate a polygon. The first click-drag-release cycle
defines the first line segment. The next cycles define
the rest of the segments. Click 
<Button2> or press
Space to finish. The object created is actually a
Bézier curve consisting only of straight lines.
 TextCreate a text object by clicking where you want the text
to be and type. If you click and drag you create rotated
text.
 Bitmap/EPS imagesThis command opens a dialog box to let you specify the
image file. After selecting the file, place the image on
the page by clicking at the desired position. A dashed
rectangle indicates the size and position.
Skencil can load any image the Python Imaging Library
(PIL) can read. EPS files are not read by the PIL, they
are imported and printed unmodified. Skencil uses
Ghostscript to render a preview image, so an EPS file
looks like an ordinary bitmap image on the screen.
Mouse and keyboard
Notation of key strokes
The notation of key strokes used in this manual and in the menus is very
similar to the one used in GNU-Emacs:
Notation Meaning Space	space Right, Left, Up, Down The cursor keys Prev, Next, Home, End <Shift> <Ctrl> <Meta> The modifier keys Shift Control and Meta (which may be the Alt key) <Button1> The left mouse button <Button2> The middle mouse button <Button3> The left mouse button  C-d  <Ctrl> and lowercase "d", similarly S- for <Shift> and M- for <Meta> 
Unless otherwise noted, "Clicking" means a click with the left mouse button.
Modes
Most of the time, Skencil is on one of two major modes: Selection
Mode
 or Edit Mode. You can switch between these modes with
Space or the #N4toolbar . 
In selection mode, you can select objects and #N11move and transform  them as a whole with the mouse.
Most commands operate on the currently selected objects (see also 
#N6Mouse And keyboard ). In edit mode, you can edit
individual aspects of an object, like the nodes of a bézier curve or the
text of a text object.
Sometimes, Skencil is in a temporary minor mode, for instance when
selecting a region for zooming, or when 
#N5creating
an object
.
Selecting Objects
To select...
...a single object:Click on it. It will become the new currently selected object.
...multiple objects:Click S-<Button1> on an object to add it to the selected
objects.
Click C-<Button1> on an object to deselect it.
You can also select multiple objects by rubberbanding. Click and
drag 
<Button1>, all objects in the dashed rectangle will be
selected. Again, holding 
<Shift> or <Ctrl> add or deselect
the indicated objects.
...an object in a group: 
Select the group.Click C-S-<Button1> on the sub-object.
You can also use the cursor keys to navigate through the object hierarchy:
M-Right Select the next (higher) object M-Left Select the previous (next lower) object M-Down Select the first child (sub-object) of the current object M-Up Select the parent of the current object (if the current object is a sub-object) 
Manipulating Objects
If you're in selection mode and you've just selected an object, Skencil
indicates this with 8 rectangular 
handles around the object:
Clicking on a handle and dragging it will resize the object. Just
clicking on the object and dragging the object, moves the object.
Holding 
<Ctrl> while dragging constrains the resize and move
operations.
A single click (and no drag) on the object switches to transformation
mode:
Another single click switches back to the resize mode.
Object Types
Special Effects
Skencil currently has three special effects groups:
Blend Groups
To create a blend group:
select the two objects you want to blend
open the blend panel (Effects/Blend...)
set the number of steps
and press the Apply-button
If you later edit one of the control objects, the blend group will be
updated automatically.
For optimal results, the objects should have a similar structure: bézier
curves with the same number of nodes, groups with the same number of sub
objects, etc.
To create a blend group with more than two control objects, select the
start or end object of an existing blend group and the new control
object and press apply in the blend panel.
It's a little awkward to change the number of steps in an interpolation
with the blend panel if the blend group has more than two control
objects (and therefore more than one interpolation). In that case, you
have to select the interpolation itself by holding 
<Ctrl> and
<Shift> while clicking on it.
Mask Groups
A mask group is a special group where one object defines a clip mask for
the rest of the group. If this object is e.g. an ellipse, all that is
drawn of the other objects are the parts that overlap the ellipse.
To create a mask group
Select the mask.
Invoke Arrange/Move To TopAdd the other objects to the selection.
Create the mask group via the menu Effects/Create
Mask Group
Note: The topmost of the selected objects will become the mask,
regardless of the order in which you select them. (In versions prior to
0.5.3 it was the lowest object)
If you want to edit the mask you can select it via the context menu
(
<Button3>).
The mask has to be a rectangle, an ellipse, a bézier curve or an image.
Text on a Curve
In Skencil, you can align text along a curve:
  Text on a path can have either rotated letters (left) or skewed letters (right). 
To create this
Select a text object and a curve (a bézier curve, an
ellipse or a rectangle)
Choose Effects/Create Path Text from the menu.
To edit either the text object or the curve individually, select it via
the context menu if the whole group is selected.
This way, you can hide the curves by assigning empty fill and line
patterns.
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