Gradient shortcuts?

[carygee]

Just completed Gary's (very good) Jan 02 tutorial. Found the gradient setup a little laborious which made me think that perhaps there are some gradient shortcuts of which I am not aware.

Namely, is there a way to duplicate a color stop on a gradient path (I tried Alt|Ctrl|Shift combos to no effect), a way to instantly reverse the end stops and finally a way to save the gradient for later use?

Thanks!

[carygee]

Just completed Gary's (very good) Jan 02 tutorial. Found the gradient setup a little laborious which made me think that perhaps there are some gradient shortcuts of which I am not aware.

Namely, is there a way to duplicate a color stop on a gradient path (I tried Alt|Ctrl|Shift combos to no effect), a way to instantly reverse the end stops and finally a way to save the gradient for later use?

Thanks!

[gwpriester]

Not sure about duplicating the color stations but once you have a gradient the way you want it, you can copy it then Paste Attributes to any other object or text object. You can either select Paste Attributes from the Arrange menu or use the keyboard shortcut Shift Ctrl A

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://www.gwpriester.com">
www.gwpriester.com </a>


XaraXone

[carygee]

...but apparently the gradient cannot be saved for use on another day (or another session).

Thanks.

[Ross Macintosh]

Start a .xar document called coolgradients.xar or name it whatever makes you happy. When in any drawing session you create a cool gradient you want to save, simply open coolgradients.xar and paste in a copy of the gradient. When in a later drawing session you want to reuse a gradient, simply open coolgradients.xar and copy to the clipboard the object that has the gradient you like. Return to your current session's window and 'paste attributes' onto the selected shape you want to have the gradient fill. It is really pretty easy because xara allows you to have multiple .xar files open at the same time. You can toggle between them at the bottom of 'window' dropdown menu. (There is also the potential for keyboard shortcuts using alt-w-1 or alt-w-2 etc.).

The approach works well for any objects you might want to reuse - not just gradients. Keep a .xar file going with things like logos, titleblocks, etc. that you use frequently. Put such documents in a folder and then add the folder to the 'clipart gallery'. That can make the files a little bit more accessible.

Hope this helped...

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[Mickie]

Create a folder that contains shapes with the gradients you want to keep...each gradient a separate file. Then add the folder to the clipart gallery (using the "disc clipart" button in the gallery). Whenever you add a new file all you have to do is update the xara info (again, using the "disc clipart" button). Then when you need a gradient just drag it from the gallery.


Mickie

Well, I some how missed the last two sentences in Ross' message...but then it is monday morning...Oh well.

M.