Basic image editing

[TXUSA]

I am still trying to get the hang of Photo and Graphic Designer 6 after working with Ulead Photo Impact for the last seven years. Switching software programs and re-learning the most basic tasks has to be one of life's the most frustrating things to deal with.

Consequently,I am having a couple of issues with the most basic of editing tasks. I've attached a doc/screenshot with a brief explanation of what I am trying to accomplish. Anyone's help is greatly appreciated.

[handrawn]

ok

technically a 'photo' in designer is a 'fill' - the vertical/horizontal arrows are there in order for you to move it around within its container - they appear automatically when you are in the fill tool mode - if they are there in selection tool mode it will be because you have them switched them on in the info toolbar at the top [third button from left looks like a bucket same as the fill tool]

if you want to drag and drop into designer you need to do it from a windows explorer window or the desktop, not the import box

more to follow.....

[handrawn]

if you place a rectangle quick shape over the text you dont want select both and go to arrange menu > combine shape > subtract shapes that will remove the text

also in this case you could experiment with moving your bitmap down in its container until the text disappears I cannot tell if that would work for sure from your post

next type the text in position

then you can select both and make a bitmap copy [arrange menu > create bitmap copy]- you will need to change the colour depth from 'true colour+alpha' to 'true colour', and make sure nothing else is behind either when you do it

alternatively you can just group cropped image and text - but in that case you may need to place an object such as rectangle behind it and include in the group, to replace the background

[TXUSA]

Thanks handrawn, subtracting shapes did the trick. Often times all I want to do is a quick edit on a graphic to clean up the edges, etc., and now I can do it quickly. Thanks for the time-saving trick.

On a side note, is there an in-depth reference book available for PGD6 that clearly and simply explains all the program's functions? Something similar to the various software "Bible" books that are published by Wiley. It is such a robust program and I spent over an hour just trying to figure out a resolution to my basic editing question that you kindly answered for me. The movies are somewhat helpful, but the help files and even the small PGD6 manual that I purchased really only skim over topics without going into detail. I'd really like to learn this program inside and out, but I have no detailed reference manual to rely on for assistance as I do with my other software programs. As it stands, I feel like I'm working on projects with one hand tied behind my back. Which means even simple design projects turn into tedious and time-consuming tasks. Again, thanks for your input and assistance.

[zaphodeist]

No. But Gary Bouton's Xara Xtreme 5 - the Official Guide covers almost everything that is in P&GD6 (except for the 'Pro' features of course and some minor version changes)

http://www.xara.com/uk/products/designer/guide/

[TXUSA]

Thanks for the resource neodeist. I found a copy on Amazon for $10.00 and just purchased it. It looks like something I've been searching for and I look forward to browsing through it. Ten bucks for even a little bit more knowledge, I figure I'll still come out ahead.

[zaphodeist]

Can't lose ... it's a smashing book!