A couple of notes on X4

I'm using the X4 trial.  Lots of nice new look kiinda stuff, but not overburdened with new functionality.  Just my observation.  But here's a couple of issues...

 Since I installed, Windows Explorer in Vista no l onger shows me thumbnails of jpg images.  I get the X4 PhotoPaint file icon.  Other image types don't seem to have been affected.  How can I get my thumbnails back?

 And why, at this version, can we not enter color values in hex when manually choosing values in the color dialog?

 And is there a tool that will let you choose a color from another application?  Lately I'm doing a lot of web stuff and it's be great to select a tool in the Draw or Paint interface that lets me choose a color from, say, the page in the web browser...

Well there you have it.  A somewhat unrealted collection of brain droppings.

Thanks.

J

<
application? Lately I'm doing a lot of web stuff and it's be great to
select a tool in the Draw or Paint interface that lets me choose a color
from, say, the page in the web browser...>>

This has been possible for several versions with the Eyedropper. I want to
say it first appeared in Draw 11 or 12.


--
Foster D. Coburn III
CorelDRAW Unleashed
http://www.coreldrawunleashed.com
Books, Boot Camps, Conferences and Magazines

"And why, at this version, can we not enter color values in hex when manually choosing values in the color dialog? "

 

I don't do anything but web stuff anymore and this is a PIA.

rlrcstr:

And why, at this version, can we not enter color values in hex when manually choosing values in the color dialog?

 

Thanks for replying... 

If it's possible, Foster, it's not very well advertised.  How do you do it?  If I select the eye dropper, it disappears if I move off the Corel window... (not unexpectedly...)

Is this only in Draw?  I'm lookiing for this in PhotoPaint...  Very handy feature for web graphics.

And while I'm complaining....  Why aren't the interfaces for draw and photoshop synchronized yet?  A keypress in MS Word will almost always do the same function in, say, Excel.  I can center objects with each other in draw with C, E.  Why not in Paint?  It's a pain when switching back and forth between them...

J

There are too many things that are different between the two applications to sync up I would guess. The comparison to Word & Excel is not a good comparison at all, photoshop and illustrator would be a better analogy and I dont think they are all that synced up either. If you can sync up every hotkey you need to use in both applications let me know, then I will let you know how that does not work for me personally.

 

It wasn't anything personal...  

 The comparison was just to another "suite" of applications.  And I'm not sure I agree with you.  There are many actions that are similar.  They are both, after all, image manipulation tools.  One raster, one vector, sure, but that doesn't mean I don't want to center objects on each other.  Similar actions should stick to similar key strokes.

I guess the real complaint is that I can't even customize Paint to act like that.  There's no access to the specific alignment options within the customization dialog.  All I can do is assign a hot key to the Align & Distribute dialog.  (Which, always opens to a default of aligning something with the screen.  95% of the time, I'm aligning objects to each other.  And I can't even tell Paint to keep the "To Active" guy as the default setting as opposed to the "To Document" option.  So we just need finer control over the assignable actions, I guess.

 I haven't gotten too far into customizing with macros, but I suppose I could assign something like "centering all selected to the active" to a macro, no?  And then assign a keystroke to the macro?

J

 I was not taking anything personal, it is just my estimation of why it is the way it is. Personally, I change the hotkey of every single function that I use to a linear, anal retentive (almost compulsive) order. And that goes for everything, not just Corel. The fact that you can't actually even change what you want to change is the real bummer. At first I thought "why not just change the keys to your style?", but you cannot and that is more like a limitation problem than an integration problem. I'm sure there is a way around this through scripting but, yeah, this is functionality that should be there already.

Edit:

Also, about the eyedropper picking from something other than the document itself, I belive that only works in Draw. Something else that should conform but does not, hmm.

rlrcstr:

If it's possible, Foster, it's not very well advertised.  How do you do it?  If I select the eye dropper, it disappears if I move off the Corel window... (not unexpectedly...)

Press the "Select from Desktop" button in the property bar while the Eydropper tool is selected.

Regarding a hexadecimal palette I have been suggesting this for many years now, including in the beta group. But nothing happens. I have also been asking for eydropper in every color dialog so it would be easy to choose colors from anywhere. No response. I suggest you guys with great ideas apply for beta testing next time. If enough people ask for things it might happen.

**If it's possible, Foster, it's not very well advertised. How do you do
it? If I select the eye dropper, it disappears if I move off the Corel
window... (not unexpectedly...)**

It is a function of CorelDRAW, not Corel PHOTO-PAINT. You didn't specify
which app in your original post. Clicking the Select from Desktop button on
the Property Bar will activate it.

As for advertising, you'll have to ask the marketing folks at Corel. I
certainly cover the feature in my books and classes.

Yes...  Now that everyone mentions it, I do see that option in Draw.  I guess I just never needed it there.  Seems to me that Paint is a better place for it.  Because that's where I need it.  And everyone else must be using these apps the same way I do, right? 

 J

Lars Forslin:

If enough people ask for things it might happen.

I have asked for things regarding colors here; maybe you would like to comment. One of features became available in X4, but with a bug!

Here's a thread about Hexadecimal color values.

When I need to sample a color from a webpage, I

 

1. Select the Eyedropper.
2. Press the 'Select from Desktop' button on the Property bar.
3. Press Alt+Tab to switch to the browser window.
4. Click the color.

 

But in this way, I often do not succeed to sample the color. Using Alt+Tab is faster than the other way below; this should be fixed.

 

 

To sample successfully

 

1. Restore CorelDRAW window down so you can reach both; the webpage spot you want to sample from, and CorelDRAW 'Select from Desktop' button, without switching between windows.
2. Select the Eyedropper.
3. Press the 'Select from Desktop' button on the Property bar.
4. Directly sample the color from the spot.
5. Maximize CorelDRAW window.