Image Constructor 2.0 helps you to create beautiful illustrations,
structural schemas and diagrams, simple geographical maps and location plans in the form of small images (objects) over some
background with picture or gradient fill.
You can use sets of objects and background pictures enclosed to Image Constructor or create your own,
for example with the help of Active GIF Creator.
Key features: support of BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, ICO, PCX, PSD and Windows Metafiles image formats; use
prepared or your own image collections; options for object(s) edition: duplication, re-sizing, rotation, movement
and alignment on background picture, support of clipboard operations; options for image edition: re-sizing and
coordinate dimensioning; illustration scaling; export to BMP, JPEG, PNG or GIF- files.
Given tutorial introduces you to the detailed information about creation and editing of
illustrations with the help of Image Constructor.
To view demo examples select menu item File. It contains list of recently used ic- files (up to 9).
Version 2.0 also supports projects with old extension .img.
You can select any of these files by click of the left mouse button. During work with the program this list is
changing. To view demo examples you can also select menu item File / Open or click the toolbar button
and select any file from
the folder samples with the help of standard Windows dialog box.
At first you can set working parameters. Dialog File / Preferences defines view of the
main window and initial parameters for new image and inserted objects.
Page New defines size of new image and parameters of
its background.
You can select background style: Color, Gradient or Picture.
.
To have colored background you should click the radiobutton Color and
select wanted color with the button Color.
To set background with gradient fill press the radiobutton Gradient and
any radiobutton in the group Gradient style. Select colors of a gradient with the help of colored
panels From color and To color.
It is also possible to use any picture from BMP, JPEG, GIF, WMF, EMF, PNG, ICO, PCX, PSD- file
as a background. For this purpose press the radiobutton Picture, the button
Browse and select wanted picture from standard Windows dialog. You can also select picture placing
style with the help of radiobuttons in the group Picture style.
To create new image select menu item File / New or click the toolbar button
.
Later you can change attributes of the current image (size, background and coordinates)
with the help of menu item Image / Properties or the toolbar button
. It is more convenient to change image size with the help
of markers placed around image- just drag them by the mouse.
Note: default coordinates for new project have range from 0 to 100.
Select menu item Object / Add or click the toolbar button .
Appeared dialog Object(s) attributes helps you to select new object for the image:
from a set of basic objects in the right part of this dialog (you can also add basic object
directly from main window);
from BMP, JPEG, GIF, WMF, EMF, ICO, PCX, PNG and PSD- files by pressing the button
Browse;
from clipboard by pressing the button ;
you can form an object as a text line image. For this purpose press the button
and set parameters of the text in
the dialog Text image;
you can form an object as a coordinate axis image. For this purpose press the button
and set parameters of the coordinate axis
in the dialog Axis image.
Irrespective of a method of object choice, you can set attributes of the selected object with the help of
checkboxes and spinedits in the left part of this dialog. Finally press the button OK and wanted
object will be pasted in the left top corner of image. It is marked by the rectangle with 8 markers on a
perimeter. Thus you can add necessary number of objects.
Note: initial attributes for new objects (Transparent, Center, Stretch) are defined in preferences
dialog on page New.
Panel with a set of basic objects is placed in the right part of the main window. Set of basic objects
is a bitmap strip of pictures with sizes 32x32. You can use sets enclosed to Image Constructor or your
own created with the help any image editor (for example, Active GIF Creator).
Set of basic objects is selected in the dialog File / Preferences (page View). For this purpose
uncheck flag Default, press the button Browse and select file with wanted image set from
the standard Windows dialog. Object Empty always goes first in a set of basic objects, meaning
absence of selected object for pasting. To add an object to image select it by the left mouse button,
then click by the left mouse button in the desired place of the image. If you select a basic object
with a pressed button Shift, this object will be selected for a multi-times paste. It means:
when you place the object to image, the button with this object remains selected and you can continue
to paste this object to image. To stop multi- times paste select object Empty or any other basic
object.
You can want to use objects from different sets of basic objects. Image Constructor has such tool in
menu item File / Image collections.
Multiple image sets will be displayed as separate windows with image collections. You can move and resize
these windows. If you click on some image in a window with image collection it will be pasted to editing
picture in the left top corner.
Later you can drag image from image collection directly to the desired place
on the picture. Press left mouse button on it and move mouse pointer with pressed button
to desired place, then release the button.
In dialog Image collections you can add, delete and sort items in list of bitmap strips. You can also
make any image set visible or invisible with the help of checkboxes.
press left mouse button on wanted object directly on an image. The object will be marked
by a rectangle with markers (black frame);
select an item from the list of objects, located in the left part in the main window;
use menu items Object / Previous (Next) or click the toolbar buttons
();
if you want to select one of overlapped objects put mouse pointer in the necessary place
and search wanted object with the help of hot keys CTRL+TAB;
if you want to select all objects located on the image use menu item Edit / Select All.
The first object from the list of objects will be marked by a red frame, others by grey frames;
if you want to select group of objects use the left mouse button with the pressed
SHIFT key. The first object in this group of objects will be marked by a red frame, others by
grey frames. If you select some object that already included to the group, it will be removed from the
group.
Note: you can make some operations with selected objects only.
Select menu item Object / Edit or click the toolbar button .
The same result gives double click by the left mouse button on an object placed on an image. Also you can
select item from the list of objects in the left part of the program window.
In the appeared dialog Object(s) attributes you can:
change position of the object on image with the help of spinedits Left and Top.
The object (group of objects) marked by frame is more convenient to move directly on an image with the pressed
left mouse button;
change sizes of the object with the help of spinedits Width and Height
or directly on image with the help of markers, moving them by the mouse;
set background of object to be transparent or not (flag Transparent is applyed
for BMP- objects only) and a way how the object changes its sizes (flags Center and Stretch);
rotate object left and right 90 degrees, flip horizontally and vertically;
if some group of objects is selected, the attributes of the first selected object are displayed in this
window; the value of any modified attribute will be assigned to all objects in the group (attributes that
have the icon will be changed, and with
the icon will not be changed).
The icon under object image means
that this image is an attribute. Rotations and flips suppose that we assign this image to all objects in the group.
delete object (group of objects) with the help of menu item Object / Delete
or the toolbar button ;
create copies of objects with the help of menu item Object / Duplicate
or the toolbar button ;
bring selected object to foreground (send it to background) among all other objects with the
help of menu item Object / Bring to front (Send to back) or the toolbar buttons
();
cut object (group of objects) to clipboard with the help of menu item
Edit / Cut;
copy object (group of object) from a current image to clipboard with the help of menu
item Edit / Copy;
paste object (group of objects) from clipboard to a current image with the help of menu item
Edit / Paste ;
align group of objects on the picture with the help of menu item Edit / Alignment Palette
and opening dialog Alignment. The single object marked by a red frame (selected with the pressed key SHIFT)
you can align horizontally and vertically on background picture.
You can save created image as IMG- file. For this purpose select menu item File / Save or the toolbar button
. You can save your image in file with with different name
or to another folder by selecting menu item File / Save as.
You can export created image to BMP, JPEG, GIF- files with the help of menu item
File / Export or the toolbar button .
Image Constructor supports internationalization. Program interface may be seen in one of human languages. It includes menus,
screen messages, all texts used in interface. To change language use menu item Help / Language. Select a language and press OK.
and select any file from
the folder samples with the help of standard Windows dialog box.
.
. It is more convenient to change image size with the help
of markers placed around image- just drag them by the mouse.
.
Appeared dialog Object(s) attributes helps you to select new object for the image:
;
and set parameters of the text in
the dialog Text image;
and set parameters of the coordinate axis
in the dialog Axis image.
(
);
.
The same result gives double click by the left mouse button on an object placed on an image. Also you can
select item from the list of objects in the left part of the program window.
will be changed, and with
the icon 
will not be changed).
The icon 
;
;
(
);
.
. You can save your image in file with with different name
or to another folder by selecting menu item File / Save as.
.