New user needs a little help

[JamieM]

I want to superimpose a bitmap picture onto a photo of a laptop screen. To do this I need to change the perspective of the picture so it "fits" the laptop screen. I have discovered how to scale the picture and rotate it so it is approximately in the correct plane, but I cannot find a way of distorting the perspective of the photo so it matches the perspective of the photo of the laptop screen. Is it possible to distort a bitmap picture by dragging the corners or edges? Sorry, I don't know all the correct technical terms to describe this – I hope I have managed to make it clear. Any help much appreciated.

[stlewis]

Hi Jamie - and welcome

A nice easy one... use the Mould Tool. Click on the photo and then Shift+F6 - or click on the 4th tool button up.

[JamieM]

Hi,
Okay, it was easy - and thanks for the help - even I have managed to do it! Is there anyway of distorting the bitmap without the image disintigrating! After I made it fit the laptop screen the picture wasn't recognisable!

[Daniel]

As with most things in Xara, there will be lots of ways of doing it.

This is the way I've always used - it's not very friendly and the mould loses its editability (something I really dislike), so keep a copy of the original mould before you try this:

• Mould your bitmap as you need it
• Enlarge the mould, say to 3 or 5 times the size you need it
• Make a bitmap copy of your mould (that is CTRL+SHIFT+C, or Arrange -> Create bitmap copy, or right click and select Create bitmap copy)
• Resize the bitmap back down to your required size
• Delete the original mould (or move it out of the way)

Your resized bitmap copy of the moulded bitmap (long winded I know) will look like my first attachment, but when you export it, it'll look like the second. I know Xara is supposed to work and export as you see/expect it, but this seems to be one area where it doesn't.

[JamieM]

Thanks Daniel, that is absolutley brilliant!