Editing Points

Object such as fill regions, pictures, and masks are defined using an outline, called their shape. The Edit Points option is used to enable editing of the points that define the shape.

To enable point editing:

1.   Click Edit Points in the object's property window. The button will turn yellow and the object's points will appear in the view.

2.   Edit the points as desired (see the following topics for details).

When you are finished editing points:

1.   Click Edit Points. The button will turn blue, and the object's points will disappear from the view.

2.   You can then select and edit objects normally.

Important: When editing points, the move, rotate, and scale tools will only affect the selected points, not the entire object. Also, you will only be able to select points, not other objects.

Editing Curve Types

You can use straight lines, curved lines, or any combination in your shapes. You can specify the type of curve at each point.

Four types of curves are supported: Straight, Spline, Bezier, and Bezier Corner. Each type is illustrated below:

Straight

Use this option for a sharp corner.

Spline

Use this option for a smooth curve at the point. This option does not give you the ability to change the shape of the curve.

Bezier

Use this option for a smooth curve at the point. You can control the shape of the curve by dragging the blue dots, called handles. The distance between the handles controls the sharpness of the curve, and the angle controls the curve itself. The handles are linked, so when you move one, the other will be adjusted automatically.

Note: Unlike normal points, the Bezier handles cannot be selected. You can only drag them using the mouse.

Bezier Corner

This is similar to Bezier, but the handles are not linked so you can move each one independent of the other. This allows you to create a sharp corner, with a smooth curve on each side.

Scaling Bezier Handles

You can use the Scale tool to control the shape of Bezier curves.

To scale Bezier curve handles:

1.   Click Edit Points in the object's property window. The button will turn yellow and the object's points will appear in the view.

2.   Select the points you want to scale.

3.   Click the Scale tool.

4.   Move the cursor over any one of the handles (it doesn't matter which). The cursor will change to the scale icon.

5.   Click and drag to scale the handles.

In the example below, the shape on the right is a copy of the one on the left. The handles of the shape on the right have been scaled using the above technique.

Editing Points of Multiple Objects

A powerful feature of Realtime Landscaping Photo is the ability to edit multiple objects of the same type at once. This ability extends to their points. For example, suppose you are editing fill regions and want to adjust the points of multiple fill regions at once. You could select all of the region objects and click Edit Points. The points for all of the selected regions will appear and you can edit them normally. This feature only works with objects of the same type, however. For example, you cannot edit the points of a region and mask at the same time.

Tips:

•      You can select the two points that form an edge by clicking the edge.

•      Use the Undo and Redo feature to undo and redo point selection changes.

•      You can use the Rotate and Scale tools to rotate and scale the selected points.

See also:

Selecting Points
Moving Points
Rotating Points
Scaling Points
Inserting & Deleting Points
Undoing and Redoing Changes