You just saw the first new feature when you clicked the First Look button, Page Transitions. There are 22 different
page transitions that provide a bit of animation and pizazz when your visitors go to a new page or even leave your
site to visit an external link.
There are also 10 transition effects for layers including Fade demonstrated above. Each of the transitions with the
exception of Instant can be set for a specific duration so the transition can be very quick, or very leisurely, or
anything in between.
I’ll cover the web and presentation features later on. But first here are some of the new non-web features.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this video speaks volumes. Watch the video above and then we’ll discuss
what is taking place.
Magic Erase - What you just witnessed in the video above is a new feature called Magic Erase. Magic Erase is a
function of the Clone Tool. As you can see, you draw an outline around an object that you want to eliminate, Press
Magic Erase and in seconds the object is removed. Not only that, if you press the Magic Erase button again a
different algorithm is employed and produces a slightly different result. And you can repeat this and audition
different results and pick the one that works best. You can use Undo/Redo to review your results. Magic Erase works
better with some images than others, such as the image above.
Object Snapping has been totally reinvented. When you drag a selected object around the page, a red dashed
outline indicates the point from which the object was dragged. As you approach another object a series of snapping
guides appear and offers the most appropriate options. In the example shown above, the center of the text is
aligned to the center of the circle and is also aligned to the center of the page (two snapping options.)
There are three snapping modes which can be toggled on and off while you are dragging a selection: S (toggles the
snap lines on and off), G Group Snapping, the default setting minimizes the number of snap lines, and A Angled
Snapping which can snap parallel lines no matter what their angle.
Snapping feedback visually displays your options. The blue lines represent a snapping opportunity, red dots indicate
actual snapping points. An orange line appears to indicate a selection is being aligned or snapped relative to the
page such as a corner, center, etc. Object Snapping provides a very efficient method of intuitive alignment.
New Document Tabs - It just got easier to keep track of open documents or Views. Every open document and view
now appears with its own tab just over the screen rulers and/or at the bottom of the Infobar. If you mouse over the
tabs a tool tip tells you if the document has not been saved or provides the complete path to where the document
has been saved. Tab icons identify the type of document. And while we’re here, notice how clean and sharp and
easily readable the text is.
Live Copy - Live Copies are like Repeating Objects
and can appear throughout a document. You can also have several
live copies on the same page. But unlike a repeating object, Live
Copies are not location dependent. If you edit part of a Live Copy
the other copies update intantly.
Edit Groups in a Separate Window While we are
speaking of groups, a new feature lets you edit the
contents of a group without using Ctrl click to select
the objects within the group. It works like this,
double-click on a group and a new window opens (that looks just like the
current window except the tab on the Infobar reads Edit Inside and the document
name). If you have groups inside of groups you can double-click and open another Edit
Inside window. Grouped objects are un-grouped and easy to edit. And you can add new
objects to the group in the Edit Inside window. You can edit Mould Tool enveloped
shapes as well.
When you are finished editing, press Ctrl s or click the Save disc icon on the Infobar to
close the Edit Inside window and return to your document.
Hit Detection Change - If you are like me, you have experienced extreme frustration when trying to select a narrow
line or object that is on top of other lines or objects (or maybe it’s just me). Now the selection area is a 3 x 3 pixel
area so selection is more hit than miss.
Cut/Copy Page - Sometimes you want to cut pages from your document and paste them into a new page or a new
page in a new document. Now you can. Press Esc to de-select everything on the page. Copy the page (Edit > Copy or
Ctrl c). Go to your new page or the new page in a new document and simply paste Ctrl v or Edit > Paste. The page is
automatically pasted in place.
NOTE: If the option All Pages in Document Are Same Size is checked in Page Options, and the page being pasted is
larger than the current page size, the pasted page will be truncated to fit the new page size.
© Gary Priester
[Mouse Over Image]
Docked Galleries The galleries are now
docked on the right side of the screen.
Mouse over any gallery tab and the gallery
flies out. There is a small push pin icon at
the top of the gallery that pins the gallery
open. Click the X to close the gallery.
The Locate button in the Page and Layer
Gallery lets you select any object on any of
the layers and then select that object or
text object on the page.
In Page View,
thumbnail images
make it easier
to identify
your content
Press the
button to expand
to Layer view
Drag and drop
pages into new
positions