Image Constructor - Tutorial
Image Constructor 2.5 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. Back to topAt first you can set working parameters. Dialog File / Preferences defines view of the main window and initial parameters for new image and inserted objects.
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. Back to topWhat objects you can add to the image? Select menu item Object / Add or click the toolbar button . Appeared dialog Object(s) attributes helps you to select new object for the 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. Back to topPanel 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. Back to topHow to select objects located on the image? There are some ways:
Back to topHow to edit object attributes? 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.
Back to topWhat else can you do with selected objects? You can:
What can you do with created illustration? You can:
Back to topYou 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. Back to top |