Visual Thought User's Guide
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Chapter 19

Menu Reference

This chapter explains each Visual Thought command. It is divided by menu. If examples or further discussion occurs elsewhere in the text, the location of that reference is included.

Menu Summary

Visual Thought commands are arranged in the following menus:

Menu Name

Function

File

Perform basic file functions: New file, Save, Save As, etc.

Edit

Edit objects: Undo, Copy, Paste, Clear, etc.

View

Change your view of the diagram: Zoom, Fit In View, Hide Rulers, etc.

Arrange

Move objects around in the diagram: Bring To Front, Align, Group, etc.

Text

Edit selected text in an object: Bold, Justify, Superscript, etc.

Windows

Manage your Visual Thought windows: Close, Iconify, Raise Palettes, etc.

Services

Access various X Window services, including xgrab.

Options

Mail suggestions to Confluent, check the status of your license, see the About dialog, etc.

Key Accelerators

Each command is followed on a menu by a key accelerator. Choosing the command from the menu and pressing the key accelerator are functionally equivalent.

Key accelerators are also discussed throughout the manual when appropriate.

File Menu


How to use a key accelerator is explained in the section entitled
"Conventions" on page 2.

This menu allows you to perform the basic file functions on a diagram: you can open a new file, save, close, print, etc. You can also quit Visual Thought from this menu.

New

Create a new Untitled View window.

New Palette


For an example of how to use the Basic palette, see
"Creating Shapes from a Palette" on page 59.



For a description of all predefined Visual Thought Palettes, see the appendix
entitled "Predefined Palettes" on page 231.

Create a new Palette window. You can create a new Palette window and add custom shapes to that window; you can then reuse these shapes over and over. You could, for example, add various company logos to a new palette.

Open...

The Open command allows you to open a previously created Visual Thought document. Choosing this menu option brings up the following file chooser:

Save


For further discussion on saving files, please see
"Examples of Saving, Closing and Opening a Diagram" on page 48.

Save the document of the focused View to a file.

Save As...

Save the document of the focused View under a new name. The current document is closed and left in its last saved condition.

Export...

Save a selection or an entire diagram out to either a GIF or an Encapsulated PostScript file. Choosing this menu item brings up the following file chooser:

Revert...

Revert the focused View back to its last saved condition.

Close

Close the focused View. You will be prompted if there are unsaved changes.

Page Layout...

Define the layout of your Visual Thought pages. Choosing this menu option brings up the Page Layout dialog.

Print...

Print your document. Choosing this menu item brings up the Print dialog.

Save a File as PostScript

Save your document as a PostScript file.

The PostScript file that is saved when you click on the Save PostScript... button is exactly the same as if you printed the file. It has pagebreaks, margins, etc.

This file is different from the results of the FileExport... menu item (if you export EPS). The Encapsulated PostScript output by exporting is meant to be included in other documents. It cannot be directly printed, and it does not have pagebreaks.

When you enter a filename in the Save As field, the .ps suffix is automatically added.

Quit

Quit the entire Visual Thought application. You will be prompted if there are unsaved changes.

Edit Menu

This menu allows you to perform the basic editing functions: Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, etc.

Undo

Reverse the last action you performed. Visual Thought will reverse any action you performed in a window.


Note that Visual Thought does not undo actions regarding the windows themselves. You can undo a copy or a paste, for example, but you cannot undo the resizing of a window.

One of Visual Thought's most powerful features is its 100-step undo. You can undo up to 100 steps back or to the last time you saved, whichever is the most recent.

Make Ctrl-Z part of your working habits: your diagrams will improve markedly.


For further information on Undo and Redo, see the chapter entitled
"Undo & Redo" on page 107.

Redo

Undo the undo. This command redoes the last undone action.

Cut

Remove whatever is selected in the diagram and place it on the Clipboard.

Copy

Place a copy of whatever is selected in the diagram on the Clipboard. The original diagram remains unmodified.

Paste

Place a copy of whatever is in the Clipboard into the current window. Paste and Duplicate are different actions: see the discussion of the Duplicate command below.

Clear

Remove whatever is selected in the diagram. The removed material is not placed anywhere. Use Undo to retrieve material you have accidently cleared.

Duplicate


For an example of how to use the Duplicate command, see
"Duplicating an Object" on page 77.




For further information on how to use the Selection dialog, see "Selection Dialog" on page 201.

Copy the currently selected objects, then paste them. Duplicate is equivalent to Copy then Paste.

SelectSelection Dialog...

Opens the Selection dialog.

SelectSelect All

Selects all objects in the current window. Ctrl-A is a very useful command when you are starting your diagrams.

View Menu

This menu allows you to change the way you look at your diagram(s). You can zoom in and out, change the size of the diagram and display or hide various tools.


To change the size of the diagram itself, use the Page Layout command. Page layout is discussed in the section entitled
"Page Layout" on page 159.



For further information on zooming, including examples of using various other Visual Thought window tools, see "Zooming" on page 129.


The Zoom, Unzoom, and Set Zoom commands also appear on the menu at the
bottom of each View.

Zoom

Change the perspective of the document. The Zoom command allows you to magnify the view of the diagram; the diagram itself is unaffected.

Each time you Zoom a diagram, the magnification is doubled. To set the magnification to a specific value, use the Set Zoom... command.

Unzoom

The Unzoom command allows you to shrink the view of a diagram. Each time you Unzoom a diagram, the magnification is halved.

Set Zoom...

Set a specific zoom factor. This command displays the Zoom dialog.

Fit in View


The Fit In View command also appears on the menu at the bottom of each View.



A quick way to create a second window with an overview of your document is to choose New Window from the Windows menu and press Ctrl-'.

This command changes the zoom factor of the focused View so the complete document is displayed inside the View. The zoom factor is determined only by the page size and the number of pages, not by the number of objects in the diagram.

Actual Size

Returns the zoom factor of the focused View to 100%.

Scroll to Selection


Scroll to Selection works only if the selected object is inside the document boundaries; if the object is outside the document, the view will not change.

Scroll the View to make the selected objects visible. If you have an objected selected that is currently not visible, use this command to change the view of the diagram so that the selected item can be seen.

Hide/Show Rulers

This command is a toggle. Use it to hide and show the Rulers in the focused View. You can have the Rulers displayed in one View and hidden in another.

Hide/Show Tools


For further information on the Tool bar, please see
"Individual Drawing Tools" on page 53.

This command is a toggle. Use it to hide and show the Tool bar in the focused View.

Hide/Show Page Breaks


Notice the easy-to-use
keyboard accelerators for each tool; some users find these accelerators allow them to hide the Tool bar and thereby get more drawing space.


Use the Page Layout command to set the number of pages in a diagram.

This command is a toggle. Use it to hide and show the page breaks in a window. A diagram should have more than one page to have meaningful page breaks.

Page breaks appear as red lines on a color monitor.

Arrange Menu

This menu allows you to arrange objects in your diagram. You can change their layering, lock and unlock them, group and ungroup them, align them, size them, flip them, and more.

Bring to Front

Move selected objects to the front of the diagram. Objects can be stacked in front of one another. Use this command to rearrange the order in which they are stacked.

For example, you may create a diagram with several objects overlapping one another and then change your mind about which object should be uppermost. Select the object and then choose Bring to Front.

Send to Back

Move the selected object to the back of the diagram. For example, if you have a diagram and you want to create a backdrop, you can create a object, change its color, etc., and then use the Send to Back command to move it behind all the other objects.

Lock

Make selected objects uneditable. Locked objects cannot be edited, changed, or grouped in any way.

To edit a locked object, you must first Unlock it.

Locked objects have different selection handles from unlocked, or regular, objects.

Unlock

Unlock a previously locked object.

Group


For further information on grouping, see the chapter entitled
"Grouping Objects" on page 103.

Make a selected number of objects be treated as a single object. Objects can be grouped in a variety of ways.

Ungroup

Return a grouped set of objects back to their original states as individual objects.

Align


Notice that the last four Align key accelerators are the Ctrl key and a number

Arrange selected objects in a variety of ways.

AlignAlign Dialog...


For information and examples about how to use the Align dialog, see
"Using the Align Dialog" on page 96.

Display the Align dialog.

AlignAlign to Grid

Arrange selected objects on the window's grid. The grid does not need to be visible for this command to be executed. For further information, see the Grid command below.

AlignAlign in Row

Arrange selected objects in a single row. Use the Align dialog to determine if you want the objects aligned by their center point, left side, etc.

AlignAlign in Column

Arrange selected objects in a single column. Use the Align dialog to determine if you want the objects aligned by their center point, left side, etc.

AlignSpread along Row

Evenly distribute selected objects along a row. Visual Thought takes the total length of the row and evenly distributes the objects within that distance.

AlignSpread along Column

Evenly distribute selected objects along a column. Visual Thought takes the total length of the column and evenly distributes the objects within that distance.

Grid

Turn on or off the grid on a window.

GridGrid Dialog...

Display the Grid dialog. The options for this dialog are explained in the diagram below.

Note that Snap On? and Show Grid? commands are independent of one another. You can have objects snap to an invisible grid and you can move objects freely with the grid visible. Or you can have both commands activated and snap objects to a visible grid.

Grid Size to Grid

Change the size of the selected objects to fit on the grid.

GridShow/Hide Grid

Display the grid or make it invisible. This command is a toggle.

GridTurn Snap On/Off

Make objects "snap" to the grid or not. This command is a toggle.


For further information on attachments, see
"Adding an Image to an Object" on page 155.

Size to Image

Resize the selected shapes to fit the images displayed within them. Has no effect on selected shapes that do not contain images.

Size Width to Text

Resize widths of selected objects to fit their displayed text. Has no effect on selected objects that are not showing text.

Size Height to Text

Resize the heights of selected objects to fit their displayed text. Has no effect on selected objects that are not showing text.

Flip Horizontally

Flip selected objects across their vertical axes.

Flip Vertically

Flip selected objects across their horizontal axes.

Turn AutoConnect On/Off


For further information on how to use connections, see the chapter entitled
"Using Connections" on page 67.

Control whether connection ends are "live" or "dead." This command is a toggle.

Text Menu


For further information on using the Text commands, see the chapter entitled
"Using Text" on page 111.

This menu allows you to edit the selected text in an object. These menu options perform many of the same functions as the Text panel options in the Inspector.

.

Font Chooser...

Change font families, faces, and sizes for selected text. Choosing this menu item brings up the font chooser.

Smaller

Make the font size of selected text one point smaller.

Larger

Make the font size of selected text one point larger.

Plain

Remove any formatting on selected text.

Bold

Make the selected text bold.

Italic

Italicize the selected text.

Underline

Underline the selected text.

Strikethru

Run a line through the selected text.

Left Justify

Move all paragraphs containing the selected text to the left side of the text box.

Center Justify

Center all paragraphs containing the selected text in the text box.

Right Justify

Move all paragraphs containing the selected text to the right side of the text box.

Superscript

Raise the selected text to superscript.

Unscript

Return selected super- or subscripted text to its original position.

Subscript

Lower the selected text to subscript.

Windows Menu

This menu gives you various options for managing Views, Palettes, and other windows.

New Window


For an example of how to use two windows, see
"Multiple View Windows" on page 125.

Create a new View, showing the same document as the currently focused View. A useful function of this command is to create a second window for your current window; resize the second one and change its zoom factor so that it provides you with a macro view of your work.

Close Window

Close the currently selected window. If there is unsaved work, you will be prompted.

Iconify Window

Shrink the window to an icon. Keyboard accelerators for this command vary by window manager.

Raise Application

De-iconify or bring to the front the Visual Thought Main window. When this window is raised, all other Visual Thought windows are raised as well.


For further information and examples on how to use the Inspector, see the chapter entitled
"Editing Objects Using the Inspector" on page 81.

Inspector

This window allows you to edit selected objects.

InspectorRaise Inspector

De-iconify or bring to the front the Inspector window.

InspectorAttachments Inspector


For further information on the Attachments panel, see the chapter entitled
"Adding Attachments" on page 149.

Display the Attachments panel in the Inspector window. Attach files, images or sounds to an object using this panel.

InspectorShape Inspector


For further information on the Shape panel for shapes, see
"Creating Shapes from the Shape Tool" on page 60.
For further information on the Shape panel for connections, see "Examples of Formatting Connections" on page 71.

Display the Shape panel in the Inspector window. There are two Shape panels; one is displayed if shapes are selected; the other is displayed if connections are selected.

InspectorPosition Inspector


To change the units of measurement in the Location and Size fields, use the Page Layout dialog.



For an example of how to use the Position panel, see
"Positioning Objects" on page 88.

Display the Position panel in the Inspector window. Specify the exact location, size and rotation of selected objects using this panel.

InspectorStyle Inspector


For an example of how to use the Style panel, see the Tutorial section entitled
"Change the Color of Objects" on page 30.

Display the Style panel in the Inspector window. Turn on stroking, set color and width, change the lines to various types of dashes, fill or shadow (in different colors) selected objects using this panel.

InspectorText Inspector


For further information on using the Text panel, see
"Using the Inspector Text Panel" on page 116.

Display the Text panel in the Inspector window. Display or hide text, change the font, strike-through or underline, italicize, bold, make plain, increase or decrease font size, change font, change the scripting, justify, change color and vertically align the text of selected objects using this panel.

Open Window Names

These menu options display the names of the opened windows. To change from one window to another, you can select the window name from this menu or you can click on the window itself.

Services Menu

This menu allows you access to various services, including the xgrab command.

The xgrab command allows you to take a snapshot of a selection or of any window on your screen. The snapshot does not need to be only of elements of the Visual Thought application.

The snapshot is then pasted directly into the active window. The snapshot becomes a Visual Thought object; you can then export this object, cut, copy, paste or treat it like any other object.

For further information on xgrab, see the xgrab man page, xgrab(1).

XGrabSelection

Take a snapshot of a selected portion of your screen and paste the snapshot into your Visual Thought diagram.

  1. When you choose this menu option, the cursor changes shape. It becomes a small inverted angle.
  2. Click-and-drag the cursor over the area you want to capture.
  3. Release the mouse.
  4. There will be two beeps and then the snapshot will be pasted into the diagram.

XGrabWindow

Take a snapshot of any window and have it pasted into your Visual Thought diagram.

  1. When you choose this menu option, the cursor changes shape. It becomes a small circle with a dot inside it.
  2. Click once in whichever window you want to capture. A beep will sound, followed by two other beeps. The snapshot is then pasted into the diagram.

XGrabRoot Window

Take a snapshot of your entire screen and have it pasted into your Visual Thought diagram.

  1. After you choose this menu option, there will be a single beep, followed a couple of seconds later by two beeps. Everything on your entire screen will be captured and the resultant snapshot will be pasted into your Visual Thought diagram.

XGrabTimed Selection

This command does exactly what the Selection command does, but it gives you ten seconds to decide what you want to select after you have chosen the xgrab command.

  1. When you choose this menu option, the cursor changes shape. It becomes a small inverted angle.
  2. Click-and-drag the cursor over the area you want to capture.
  3. Release the mouse. You now have ten seconds to decide what to place inside the selected area.
  4. There will be a single beep followed by two beeps and then the snapshot will be pasted into the diagram.

XGrabTimed Window

This command does exactly what the Window command does, but it gives you ten seconds to modify the contents of the selected window.

  1. When you choose this menu option, the cursor changes shape. It becomes a small circle with a dot inside it.
  2. Click once in the window you want to capture. You now have ten seconds to modify the contents of the selected window.
  3. There will be a single beep followed by two beeps and then the snapshot will be pasted into the diagram.

XGrabTimed Root Window

This command does exactly what the Root Window command does, but it gives you ten seconds to decide how you want your root window to look.

  1. After you choose this menu option, you will have ten seconds to compose your root window.
  2. There will be a single beep followed by two beeps and then the snapshot will be pasted into the diagram.

Options Menu

This menu allows you to mail Confluent suggestions about the software, verify the status of your license, and conveniently open palettes and examples.

About Visual Thought...

Display the About dialog. This dialog contains Copyrights, Credits and the version number of the software.

Suggestion...

Email suggestions for improvements directly to Confluent.

License...

Display the license information for your particular copy of Visual Thought.

Palettes...

Display the palettes directory in a file chooser. This directory contains all of the predefined palettes that are included with Visual Thought.

Examples...

Display the examples directory in a file chooser. This directory contains all of the examples that are included with Visual Thought.



Visual Thought User's Guide
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