THE XARA XONE | XARA.COM | THE XARA CONFERENCES

As always, we will be using Pixels as our units of measure. Right click on the screen and select Page Options... from the pop up menu. In the Units tabbed section, select Pixels for the Units and 0-255 for the Color Units. In the Grid and Ruler tabbed section set the Major Spacing to 100pix (key it in exactly like this please) and the Number of Subdivisions to 10. Press OK to close the dialog and apply the changes.

NOTE: You will notice from time to time I apply arbitrary colors to objects. I do this to make the objects easier to see. If I do not specify a fill for an object, you do not have to apply a fill or outline color.

When I show an ellipse or rectangle that has just been created, that has no fill, it is because I have set the fill to none before I exported the illustration. By default, all ellipses, rectangles and Quick Shapes have a black outline and a black fill. There is nothing wrong with your copy of Xara.

Naming Conventions. I use bold face to indicate the names of tools, galleries, keyboard shortcuts, and dialogs. Items such as unnamed icons and drop down lists, which have names when you let your cursor rest over them for a moment, are displayed in italics.

The Infobar is the context sensitive menu at the top of the screen and changes to reflect the options for the selected tool.

Some of the tool icons have changed in Xara X1, and this may cause some confusion for new users. If you are using an older version of Xara, click here to see my Rosetta Stone for translating the old buttons into the new.

New Users? I have created some quick start mini-tutorials to get you though the basics. Workbook 20, Workbook 30, and Workbook 31 cover the main things you need to know to get started.

While you should be able to create all the steps in previous versions of Xara, some of the tool icons have changed, and this may cause some confusion for new users. If you are using an older version of Xara, click here to see my Rosetta Stone for translating the old buttons into the new.

Select the QuickShape Tool (Shift F2). On the Infobar change the Number of Sides to 3. Drag a small triangle. In the Size text entry box, key in 60pix and press Enter (or Return ) to apply the change.

Double click on any of the 3 pointed corners to change to Curved Corners. You can also apply Curved Corners by pressing the Curved Corners icon on the Infobar.

Switch to the Selector Tool (the arrow pointer). Select the triangle, and from the Arrange menu select Convert to Editable Shapes or use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl Shift s.

Drag the bottom center control handle down until the height is about 215 pixels.

With the shape selected, switch to the Shape Editor Tool (F4). Select the two control points shown above in red outline, and move them one at a time towards the center. You can do this using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.

Drag the flat top upwards to create a curve as shown.