Locking vector objects

**Xhris** · 17 February 2009, 05:00 PM

Analogously to locking LEs, the ability to lock any vector object turning it into a bitmap (thereby avoiding the need to create bitmap copies and storing the origin vectors elsewhere) could be useful. This would help when exporting to PDF say, where advanced Xara features are not supported and are rendered incorrectly in PDF, such as pressure profile lines etc. Being able to select the locking resolution would also be useful, ala LEs.

**Xhris** · 17 February 2009, 08:17 PM

Actually, a work around is to use the liquid paint LE, click once in the paint dialogue without dragging (no change is made), and click ok. The object becomes effectively locked as desired and remains editable (as it's a LE and not a bitmap).

**haakoo** · 17 February 2009, 10:31 PM

Why is it important to achieve the locking.
please elaborate?

Hans

**Xhris** · 17 February 2009, 11:16 PM

Hi Hans, your question is answered in the second sentence of my first post. To elaborate, there are times when exporting to PDF that objects don't load/export correctly. I did wonder whether this was a PDF export bug actually, but I'm not sure. See xar file for demonstration. Export it as a PDF.

**haakoo** · 17 February 2009, 11:18 PM

hi,
I answered my own question in the free pdf readers thread here
http://talkgraphics.com/showthread.p...ewpost&t=36421
if you re import into Xtreme it is still vector but only it has a clip wrapping,
which is easily removed

Hans

**haakoo** · 17 February 2009, 11:28 PM

Sorry,
was to hasty with my comment on it still being vector.
after removing clipview it is a png file

Hans

**Albacore** · 18 February 2009, 09:21 AM

It is because your are using the wrong export settings for your PDF. If go go onto the advanced settings and choose PDF/X-3 under PDF Compatible Options then select the 2003 version it will export it. The normal PDF doesn't include transparencies and under this type of export the transparency area is rendered as a bitmap.

**Xhris** · 18 February 2009, 03:09 PM

Oh yes, so it was a PDF export issue afterall. I now can't immediately think of a use for locking objects then.

**Albacore** · 19 February 2009, 10:22 AM

The way I would do that is lock the vector details in another layer and then hide it if I was creating a bitmapped copy of the vector details! You don't have to in this situation as your vector information is rasterised by using the correct PDF version that can handle transparencies.