PagePlus

Applying 2D filter effects

PagePlus provides a variety of filter effects that you can use to transform any object. “3D” filter effects let you create the impression of a textured surface and are covered elsewhere. Here we’ll look at 2D filter effects exclusively. The following examples show each 2D filter effect when applied to the letter “A.”

Drop Shadow	Inner Shadow	Outer Glow	Inner Glow
Inner Bevel	Outer Bevel	Emboss	Pillow Emboss
Gaussian Blur	Zoom Blur	Radial Blur	Motion Blur
Color Fill	Feather	Outline	Reflection

 

The Studio’s Styles tab offers a range of 2D filter effects that are ready to use. Its multiple categories each offer a gallery full of predefined effects, such as Shadows, Bevels, Reflections, Blurs, and more. Each category offers subtle variations of the category effect. Click any thumbnail to apply the effect to the selected object.

PagePlus additionally provides the Shadow Tool for applying a shadow to an object directly in your publication (or website). Control handles let you adjust shadow blur, opacity and color.

Shadows, Glows, Bevels and Embossing effects

• Drop Shadow adds a diffused shadow “behind” solid regions of an object.

• Inner Shadow adds a diffused shadow effect inside the edge of an object.

• Outer Glow adds a color border outside the edge of an object.

• Inner Glow filter adds a color border inside the edge of an object.

• Bevel and Emboss/Inner Bevel adds a rounded-edge effect inside an object.

• Bevel and Emboss/Outer Bevel adds a rounded-edge effect (resembling a drop shadow) outside an object.

• Bevel and Emboss/Emboss adds a convex rounded edge and shadow effect to an object.

• Bevel and Emboss/Pillow Emboss adds a concave rounded edge and shadow effect to an object.

Additional blur, color fill, feather, outline and reflection effects are covered later in this topic.

To apply 2D filter effects:

1. Select an object and click the  Filter Effects button on the Attributes toolbar.
   – or -

   Choose Filter Effects… from the Format menu (or via the right-click menu). The Filter Effects dialog appears.

2. (Optional) If needed, expand the preview pane by clicking the  Show/Hide Preview button. When expanded, the effects are applied only in the preview window. While the pane is collapsed (click the button again), filter effects are applied directly to the object on the page. The former approach lets you work on your effects in isolation without other page objects interfering while fine-tuning your effects. Use zoom in/out buttons or a percentage magnification for detailed work.

3. To apply a particular effect, check its box in the list at left.

4. To adjust the properties of a specific effect, select its name and vary the dialog controls. Adjust the sliders or enter specific values to vary the combined effect. (You can also select a slider and use the keyboard arrows.) Options differ from one effect to another.

   They include:

   Blend Mode controls how the effect influences the appearance of the underlying object’s pixels.

   Opacity controls the opacity of shadow pixels.

   Blur controls the “fuzziness” of the effect.

   Intensity is used to vary the strength of the effect.Color changes the base highlight or shadow color from its default (white or black).

   Lock makes a drop or inner shadow basic (Center) or skewed (to Left, Right, Top, or Bottom edges).

   Soften blurs the lighting (Bevel and Emboss only).

   Scale X scales a drop shadow on its X-axis, Shear Y controls the extent of Y-axis shearing on edge-based skewed shadows (from Left/Right edges only).

   Scale Y scales a drop shadow on its Y-axis, while Shear X varies shearing on the X-axis (from Top/Bottom edges only).

   Distance controls the apparent separation between the original shape(s) and the plane on which the shadow is cast. With 0 depth and a larger extent, you can achieve a unique “glow” effect.

   Adjust the Angle dial, or enter a value, to control the direction of the effect. An Elevation setting can also be set for Bevel and Emboss effects.

   For the Inner Glow effect only, select Center or Edge as the origin of the glow color.

5. Select the Scale with object check box if you want the effect to adjust in proportion to any change in the object’s size. With the box unchecked, the effect’s extent remains fixed if you resize the object.

6. Click OK to apply the effect or Cancel to abandon changes.

Creating reflections

A simple way to add creative flair to your page is to apply a vertical reflection on a selected object. The effect is especially eye-catching when applied to pictures, but can be equally impressive on artistic text, such as page titles or text banners. A combination of settings can control reflection height, opacity, offset and blurring.

To apply a reflection:

1. Follow the basic steps above to display the Filter Effects dialog, and check the Reflection effect in the list.

2. Adjust the properties of the effect by varying the dialog controls. Adjust the sliders or enter specific values to vary. (You can also select a slider and use the keyboard arrows). They include:

3. Height sets the amount of reflection to display (full reflection 100, half reflection 50, etc).

4. Opacity controls the opacity of the reflection’s pixels.

5. Offset controls the separation distance between the original object’s edge and where the reflection begins.

6. Blur controls the “fuzziness” of the resulting reflection.

3. Click OK to apply the effect to the selected object, or Cancel to abandon changes.

Creating outlines

PagePlus lets you create a colored outline around objects, especially text and shapes (as a filter effect). For any outline, you can set the outline width, color fill, transparency, and blend mode. The outline can also take a gradient fill, a unique contour fill (fill runs from the inner to outer edge of the outline width), or pattern fill and can also sit inside, outside, or be centered on the object edge.

As with all effects you can switch the outline effect on and off. You’ll be able to apply a combination of 2D or 3D filter effects along with your outline, by checking other options in the Filter Effects dialog.

To create an outline on a selected object:

1. Follow the basic steps above to display the Filter Effects dialog, and check the Outline effect in the list.

2. From the Blend Mode drop-down menu, pick a blend mode, which controls how the outline color and underlying pixels blend to make a combined resulting color. Select the percentage Opacity for the outline when blending.

3. Choose a Width for the outline, and whether the outline Alignment is “Outside” or “Inside” the object’s edge (or placed in the “Center”).

4. To set a fill for your outline, pick from the Fill type drop-down menu, one of: Solid, Linear, Radial, Conical, Square, Contour, or Pattern. Choosing Solid will display a color swatch which, when clicked, shows the Adjust Color dialog. For other fills, click the Gradient and Transparency fill swatch and apply/edit your gradient fill accordingly (see Editing the gradient fill spectrum). Pattern fills can be applied via a clickable Pattern swatch.

5. Check the Scale with object box if you want the effect to adjust in proportion to any change in the object’s size. With the box unchecked, the effect’s extent remains fixed if you resize the object.

6. Click OK. The outline appears around the object.

To switch off, choose Filter Effects… from the Format menu (or right-click the object), and uncheck Outline in the menu.

Color Fill

The Color Fill effect applies a color over any existing fill, and lets you achieve some effects that are not possible with other controls. For example, you can use Color Fill to force everything in a complex group to a single color, or recolor a bitmap in a solid color (effectively ignoring everything but the transparency).

To apply the Color Fill effect:

1. Follow the basic steps above to display the Filter Effects dialog, and check the
   Color Fill effect in the list.

2. Use the Blend Mode selector and Opacity slider, you can vary the interaction of the Color Fill with existing object coloration.

3. Click the Color button to choose a color from the scrolling swatch panel. You can click More Colors… to display the Color Selector for unlimited choices.

Feathering

Feathering is a filter effect that adds a soft or blurry edge to any object. It’s great for blending single objects into a composition, vignetted borders on photos, and much more. You can apply feathering in conjunction with other filter effects.

To apply feathering:

1. Follow the basic steps above to display the Filter Effects dialog, and check the Feathering effect in the list.

2. Adjust the sliders or enter specific values to vary the feathering effect. (You can also select a slider and use the keyboard arrows.)

3. Opacity controls the opacity of shadow pixels.

4. Blur controls the “fuzziness” of the edge.

3. Check the Scale with object box if you want the effect to adjust in proportion to any change in the object’s size. With the box unchecked, the effect’s extent remains fixed if you resize the object.

4. Click OK to apply the effect to the selected object, or Cancel to abandon changes.

Blur

Various blur effects can be applied to PagePlus objects. The types of blur include:

• Gaussian: the effect smoothes by averaging pixels using a weighted curve.

• Zoom: applies converging streaks to the image to simulate a zoom lens.

• Radial: applies concentric streaks to the object to simulate a rotating camera or subject.

• Motion: applies straight streaks to the object to simulate the effect of camera or subject movement.

To apply blur effects:

1. Follow the basic steps above to display the Filter Effects dialog, and check the Blur effect in the list.

2. Adjust the sliders or enter specific values to vary the blur effect. (You can also select a slider and use the keyboard arrows.)

3. Opacity controls the opacity of blur effect.

4. Blur Type sets the type of blurring. Choose from Gaussian, Zoom, Radial, or Motion in the drop-down menu.

3. Depending on blur type, you can set a range of settings:

4. Blur controls the “fuzziness” of the edge (Gaussian blur only).

5. Intensity varies the strength of the effect.

6. X sets the X-axis origin from which the effect is applied (Zoom and Radial blurs only).

7. Y sets the Y-axis origin from which the effect is applied (Zoom and Radial blurs only).

8. Distance controls the amount of blurring and the sense of movement (Motion blur only).

9. Angle controls the angle that the effect is applied at (Motion blur only).

10. Clip to object when checked will cut off the effect outside the selected object’s bounding box.
      

4. Check the Scale with object box if you want the effect to adjust in proportion to any change in the object’s size. With the box unchecked, the effect’s extent remains fixed if you resize the object.

5. Click OK to apply the effect to the selected object, or Cancel to abandon changes.

Notes

• Filter effects are applied to the entire object—in the case of text objects, to all the text in the container (i.e., frame or table cell).

• The Tools>Options… dialog includes a Drawing Quality>Raster Effects pane where you c
  an fine-tune your system’s performance. The Screen resolution and Print resolution settings determine the resolution at which effects are rendered on screen and paper, respectively. Check Raster effect smoothing under “Smoothing” to create smoother-looking effects without increasing resolution or memory usage (performance may be a bit slower).

Using the Shadow Tool

Shadows are great for adding flair and dimension to your work, particularly to pictures and text objects, but also to shapes, text frames and tables. To help you create them quickly and easily, PagePlus provides the Shadow Tool on the Attributes toolbar. The tool affords freeform control of the shadow effect allowing creation of adjustable basic or skewed edge-based shadows for any PagePlus object.

Basic (left) and skewed shadows (right) applied to a basic square QuickShape

 

Adjustment of shadow color, opacity, blur, and scaling/distance is possible using controllable nodes directly on the page (or via a supporting Shadow context toolbar). Nodes can be dragged inwards or outwards from the shadow origin to modify the shadow’s blur and opacity. For a different color, pick a new color from the Color or Swatches tab while the tool is selected. Depending on if a basic or skewed shadow is required, the origin can exist in the center (shown) or at the edge of an object, respectively.

(A) Blur, (B) Shadow origin, (C) Opacity, (D) Color, (E) Scaling

Once you’ve created a shadow, you can also fine-tune it as needed using the Filter Effects dialog.

To apply a basic or skewed shadow to a selected object:

1. Click the  Shadow Tool on the Attributes toolbar.

2. For a basic shadow, with your cursor over the object, drag away to create your shadow.
   – or -
   For a skewed shadow relative to the Left, Right, Top, or Bottom of the object, select an option from the Lock drop-down list on the context toolbar.

3. For either shadow type, continue to adjust shadow position by dragging the shadow around until it matches your requirements.

To change a shadow’s color, blur and transparency:

• For color adjustment, click on a color in the Color or Swatches tab while your Shadow Tool is still selected.
  – or -
  Pick a color from the context toolbar’s Shadow Color drop-down palette.

• For blur adjustment, drag the small white node further away from the origin for an increasing blur effect and vice versa.
  – or -
  Enter an amount in the context toolbar’s Blur input box (or use the slider or up/down arrows).

• For transparency, drag the black node between origin and the Color node further away from the origin for increasing opacity (decreasing transparency) and vice versa.
  – or -
  Enter an amount in the context toolbar’s Opacity input box (or use the slider or up/down arrows). Note how the node’s fill changes with opacity.

To change a shadow’s position and scaling:

• For positioning a basic shadow (Center option set in the Lock drop-down list), either:

• Drag the Color node at the end of the path to the shadow’s new position.
  – or -
  Increase the context toolbar’s Distance value to move the shadow away from the parent object and vice versa; you can also set a shadow Angle.

• For scaling a skewed shadow (Left, Right, Top, or Bottom option set in the Lock drop-down list), either:

• Drag the Color node at the end of the path to the shadow’s new position.
  – or -
  Change the X Shear (Y shear) value to shear the shadow by percentage. X shear shows for top/bottom locked shadows, Y shear for left/right locked shadows.

To remove the shadow from an object:

• Click the Remove button from the Shadow context toolbar.

• You can’t edit an object’s shadow with the Pointer Tool, or detach it from the object. As long as an object has a shadow property, its shadow will simply mirror any changes you make to the object itself.

Applying 2D filter effects