How to change color in a gel button?

[Lahoreh]

Hi all,

I'm new to Xara and I find it very interesting. Infortunatly, after viewing the video and tutorial from Xara, I can't change the color using the color editor and hue color bar with gel buttons. I really don't understand what's up. I'm french and my bad english is probably not helping me... Peraps I'm not selecting correctly the objects/shape? Any suggestions are welcome top help me to find the good ways. Thanks

[Bob Hahn]

The Xara movie in the 'Colours' section, "Using Tints" may help.

The gel button is made using linked colours. It has a main 'parent colour' and uses shades and tints of that parent colour. When the parent colour is changed, the tints and shades that are linked to it adjust as well.

To create a new 'parent' colour, in the colour editor, there is a button, 'New named colour.' Use the colour editor to make the gel button the colour of your choice, then name that new colour "Button 1" (or whatever name you like)

When making shades (darker) or tints (lighter) colours in the gel button make them shades and tints of the parent colour you created "Button 1"

Hope that helps a bit.

-Bob.

[Bob Hahn]

Here's a gel button that you can easily change colours.

In the colour gallery, you will find the named colours of each button. Edit that colour and the button's colour will adjust.

If you want to add another button with it's own unique colour. Just copy a button, paste it in a new document and make it the colour you want. Copy button and paste it back in your original document. You will find a new named colour for that button. You can rename that colour 'button 5' if you choose.

-Bob.

[gwpriester]

Bon Jour Lahoreh and welcome to the Xara Conference

Your English is sure better than my French.

So, a picture is worth a 1000 words (in French or English) :-)

Select the object, open the Color Gallery and find the named color.

Click Edit (this opens the color editor).

Modify the color and the modifications will automatically apply to the selected object.

Gary

[Lahoreh]

Thank you very much for your help

My error was in the color editor and the linked color system. I forgot to choose the named color. Now I understand how the color system is working

Thanks again!

[Hwy101]

Gary, I am having trouble with the Parent Color and Getting Name: Button (to show) - then to have all the colors (tints/shades) Linked to where, when the Parent color is changed they all do... can you do a step thru (maybe with pix) showing Parent choosing and getting the 'Button' to show in Colors or is it Parent? I am lost on this. Thanks

And how do you get such pronounced shodows? Dup one of the 'inside' colors and use the transparency slide to make it great shadow?

Bon Jour Lahoreh and welcome to the Xara Conference

Your English is sure better than my French.

So, a picture is worth a 1000 words (in French or English) :-)

Select the object, open the Color Gallery and find the named color.

Click Edit (this opens the color editor).

Modify the color and the modifications will automatically apply to the selected object.

Gary

[gwpriester]

First the easy question, the shadows are True Color bitmaps of the gel button with Stained Glass transparency. The bitmap has been blurred using Xara Picture Editor. If you place the bitmap in front of the gel button you also get the impression that you are seeing the shadow through the transparent button.

There is a short tutorial on editing named colors in WebXealot 29, Page 7. I plan to revisit this topic in a future Workbook because it is one I tend to forget how to do and a topic which is asked about frequently.

The WebXealot was the forerunner of the Workbook series and is kind of an on-line manual among other things.

Gary

[Hwy101]

[QUOTE=gwpriester]First the easy question, the shadows are True Color bitmaps of the gel button with Stained Glass transparency. The bitmap has been blurred using Xara Picture Editor. If you place the bitmap in front of the gel button you also get the impression that you are seeing the shadow through the transparent button.

There is a short tutorial on editing named colors in WebXealot 29, Page 7. I plan to revisit this topic in a future Workbook because it is one I tend to forget how to do and a topic which is asked about frequently.

The WebXealot was the forerunner of the Workbook series and is kind of an on-line manual among other things.

Gary

WoW - I had not thought of Bitmaps with a Transparrency applied! (learning)

Great! I will go Look -guess it will go Better once I get the Naming down -lol

Please let me know when you re-visit, I'd like to get as a workbook item as my Printer is fighting with me and I cannot Print so I can walk thru - If an Item, I can grab for printing later ;-) Again, Thanks! Appreciate the Help & Tutorials Very Much!

I hope to be Posting the Results of somethings I am working on -with the Help of Everyone's Posts Here

- Tom

[Hwy101]

Say Gang - one last thing - I noted that the Gels I see in the examples and mine (sadly) look spectled down the middle (thinking pixels on something that I did wrong in the building) What might do this? (guess I'll tear apart the button and see which part if the offender -and see if I can figure what went wrong)

And, is there a easy way to step thru the layers/items of a Gel-Button? (old finger & eyes have trouble getting the right piece selected sometime)<sigh> MyBad - wishing for a Select next layer/item or something)

Tom

[gwpriester]

If you hold down the Alt key and click, each click "drills" down one layer. In the example below I have 4 layers. The status bar shows I have drilled down to the text object and the color box indicates the text is green and has no outline. To be honest, drilling down to the text is more difficult because if you are not clicking on a portion of the text, it will not be selected.

The status bar in the lower left of the screen tells you what is selected. If the selection is a bitmap for example, it will say bitmap. If the object is a solid color text, it will say Text Object and show the color of the text.

Another method is to press the Tab key which will select each item in the reverse order in which is was created. Again the status bar will reveal the attributes of the selected object.

Gary