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web:page_editor
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The Page Editor
To edit web galleries, click on “Web” in the Main Tool bar. This opens the most recent opened web gallery.
At the right of the window you see the “Edit” and “Describe” bar, just like in the Image Archive. In Page Editor mode, modifications in these panes only take effect on selected objects on the currently opened page. This way you can change the descriptors or image tool settings for your needs on this web gallery.
Background
Open the Page menu via the Menu Bar to access the Background options, right-click on the background portion of a page to access the context menu and choose Background. Either choose a solid color or drag an image to the Background panel to create a plain image or tiled background.
With the option “Tile Background Image” you can choose between regular tiling, horizonal or vertical tiling or whether you just prefer a single image as your background.
The background settings cannot be completely deleted. Every page must at least have a background color. When you drag the copy button from the Background page to the recycle bin, the preferences of the corresponding layouts from the page editor are carried over. In layout editor, a solid-white background without an image is placed. (Not sure this works/I understand).
Solid Color vs. Tiled Background
A solid color background, such as white or dark grey, is frequently the aesthetically most pleasing choice. It also makes it easy for StudioLine to share images where appropriate.
Irregular textures with little contrast also make a nice background. They should not show any visible margins when tiled nor interfere with the readability of text.
Busy images, strong contrasts, or geometric patterns may be very distracting. They also introduce a number of issues when graphics with transparent areas appear on a page.
Transparency and Tiled Background
When transparent images are placed on a page, some of the tiled background will show through. However, during rendering, a cut-out of the tiled background is incorporated into the graphics file used by the browser. If for instance, a page is given a centered orientation, the objects move in relation to the background, when the size of the internet browser is altered. Background images with geometric or other regular patterns (such as text or logos) may yield less suitable results.
Positioning of Background Relative to an Object
Following are some examples of effects, dimensions, and backgrounds relative to a single object.
Here is a simple 'at' (@) character, created by using the text tool and choosing a font color. The blue markers indicate the character’s height and width. Because a button effect and a drop shadow were added, during the creation of the HTML data the text is converted to an image. The @ character and shadow do not fill the entire solid rectangular area. In some areas, the white background color is visible. Notice also that because of the drop shadow, the dimensions of the resulting image file are now larger than the original height and width indicated by the blue markers. Now, as in this example, when the background is used with a visible pattern, the background becomes visible within the image as well. During the creation of the HTML dada, StudioLine unites the respective background pattern with the graphic data, that is prepared for the browser use. As this image is moved for use in other locations on the page, the grid pattern may not align. Thus it is illustrated that a regular, geometric pattern (such as squares) can be a poor choice for backgrounds. An exception is when a pages' content is composed by alignment with the upper lefthand corner.
If, however, regular pattern backgrounds are your preferred design choice, then you should:
- use only non-graphical text,
- use rectangular images without shadows or soft edges, or
- use the Backdrop image tool to place images and text over solid color rectangles, or
- place images and text on top of a non-transparent rectangular image.
Guidelines
In Page Editor and Layout mode, you can access, adjust settings, and name guidelines through Guides under the View tab. In this window you have the opportunity to apply color and set the transparency factor. Once you have created the parameters for a set of guides, you just need to press the save button. Another window will pop open that allows you to name the set of guides for use in the future. All the guide settings you have saved are in the left-hand pane.
Guides enable you to perfectly align various objects along a line. Guides are not design elements; they will not appear in the output. To create a new guide, click the mouse on the horizontal or vertical ruler and drag it to the workspace.
You can move your guides at any time by clicking and dragging them. To remove a guide, simply drag it back to its ruler. Arrange multiple guides on the place to create a general layout pattern for your page. To space guides evenly or to keep pixel-perfect distances, move the mouse pointer over a guide. The current position of the guide and its distance to either neighbor will display.
By default, guides act “magnetic.” Objects that you bring near a guide will automatically snap to the guide's exact position. To change the behavior of guidelines and related settings, right-click on the page background and choose “Guides” from the context menu.
In the panel “Guides” you can control the “magnetic” property of guides as well as their position and appearance. With the “Save Settings” button, you can add a pattern of guidelines to the list of stored settings for future reuse on a similar page.
If you have too many guides and you don’t want to close them one by one, or if they are starting to become a distraction, you can use the “Clear Guides” button to remove all guides instantly.
web/page_editor.1378140910.txt.gz · Last modified: 2013/09/02 12:55 by henning_stummer
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