Hi, is there an UNERASE function for the ERASER tool? Thanks.
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Hi, is there an UNERASE function for the ERASER tool? Thanks.
Yes, there is. Press and hold SHIFT.
To erase - select object, click Erase Tool, press and hold left mouse button, 'paint' over the part you want to erase.
To unerase - select object, click Erase Tool, press and hold left mouse button, PRESS AND HOLD SHIFT KEY, 'paint' over the part you want to unerase.
UN-erase, De-erase, Anti-erase, Reverse-erase? Non of them seem like real words :D
I may be doing something wrong, but I think what chris suggests gives you the shape builder tool function, not an unerase; in other words it may work fine with an image as they have defined boundaries, but with a shape it will 'just keep going' - and it works at the defined nib size for the tool
if you want to unerase straight away ctrl+z should work
You are more than likely correct.Quote:
Originally Posted by handrawn
I use the method constantly when erasing, usually in this order: 'I'll just remove a tad more...Oh (dearie me, what a shame)' Holds Shift. 'Oh, now I've put even more back than before'. Let's go of shift. Repeat for an hour, then press delete and go walk the dog.
Thanks so much. Yes indeed it works perfectly with images. But not in shapes. If its the limitation of Xara then I will have to be contented with this, but hey maybe some xara developer/s happens to reads this and will consider this feature in the future version. :)
you are welcome :)
@Chris M
if I want precision I might use intersect [or slice] function.... especially as I have no dog to walk :D
This is all arbitrary as we don't know what 12345joy is doing. But...if I were cutting something out, I would use the Shape Tool to draw around the shape I wanted, or mask off the area with Mask Painter. Then either cut, or Erase Background depending on what I think has the best chance of success. THEN I would fire up the eraser, with a bit of Softness dialled in, to clean up.
Here's me walking Mr Poopah. I used nothing but the Erase tool for this project.
Attachment 132105 Attachment 132106
sure thing if you are editing continual tone images such as photos, but I would not do that in xara anyway [which is also unlikely to be helpful to the OP]
the difficuly in unerasing a vector shape is that once it is erased it is redrawn, so it's original boundaries are lost [unlike a bitmap matrix] - so the program has no idea where to go back to, all it can do is just add to the shape ad hoc
you can get round this with a script up to a point, but xara does not do scripting...
nice work on the photo
interesting name ;)
In XPro+, the Erase Tool is not erasing anything, it is creating a set of Opacity Masks in a group with the object being erased.
These can be selected individually in the Page & Layer gallery.
They are all Black Fill, which you can change.
They have no Line width, to which you can add.
They are all Shapes, which you can move, rotate, scale, contour, bitmap fill,...
They can all be edited with the Shape Tool.
Acorn
If you want to erase part of a shape, then you will use the Shape painter tool. Hold the Shift key and left mouse button, move the cursor over the area you want to erase.
Ray
@Acorn
Is that so... well it is a different approach to intersect, and I dare say useful if you are creating an image effect and wish to preserve the original shape without going to the hassle of making a clone first
but for creating vector asset it would not be much use at all to me
handrwn, you are doing Opacity masks a disservice.Quote:
Originally Posted by handrawn
The OP asked for an Undo. With an Opacity Mask, you just Detach Opacity Mask and you get the mask object and the original.
Tweak the Mask object group by adding or deleting things in it. You can even Erase parts of this.
Reapply Opacity Mask. Repeat.
When satisfied, detach all Masks and Combine Shapes > Intersect All.
This preserves shapes as SVG in XPro+, hence vector.
As far as I can see a Hard Erase does not preserve a vector shape as a vector for output but you can still use the Shape Tool to edit it.
If you have cut through the shape, it is grouped so you may need to unpack it.
Kick-starting an Opacity Mask is the hard bit.
You can use the Erase Tool with a Softness initially and set it back to 0px.
You can create a Black blob and create an Opacity Mask with it.
Acorn
I do not presume to know what the OP needs this for
I went through a thread where i made the case for keeping things simple with another member ages ago - all this non destructible editing stuff is not keeping it simple for me
my point - I would use the shape tool in the first place to intersect; I don't need all the restQuote:
As far as I can see a Hard Erase does not preserve a vector shape as a vector for output but you can still use the Shape Tool to edit it.
no I am appling the principle of william of occam in the general sense: never do something in a complicated way when a simpler way will doQuote:
handrwn, you are doing Opacity masks a disservice.
handrawn, the OP asked a question.
He was given a Yes.
It did not fit the OP's needs so he assumed there was a Xara limitation.
For that Tool - yes.
For a suitable mechanism or workflow - no.
You seem to have a different or further need.
No worries.
All I was trying to show was there was a non-destructive workflow that had its own richness.
Knowing a more versatile approach and understanding its nuances nourishes the soul.
Occam's Razor cuts skinny for a specific solution.
You don't need to use it.
If others didn't know about it and now do and it helps them, then that is an achievement in my book.
In my case, I rarely use it as the Opacity Mask HTML output is a bitmap, which is why I did a final cut.
It should be Xara rethinking this last bit to make for a HTML vector output, keeping it non-destructive.
Acorn
I know what you are doing Mr G and I admire you for it - TG used to be populated with informative posts about different ways of achieving 'the same thing', some of which suit one particular workflow and some others - but the world moves [staggers?] on...
but actually I am hard pressed to think of any situation where I would want to unerase which is not covered by ctrl+z
for some reason 'painting the roses red' came to mind just now, I hope it does not presage either of us losing our head ;) :D