Hagen Höpfner
This Handbook describes Kontour Version 0.7.1 by Kai-Uwe Sattler.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The goal of the Kontour project is to create a freely available vector-based drawing program with an interface comprable to that of Corel Draw(R) or with Adobe Illustrator(R).
History of Kontour
From the official Kontour home page:
"I have started this project because I am tired of switching to Windows in order to design illustrations for papers or slides with a modern drawing tool. Now, for the Linux operating system and of course for other Unixes the Qt toolkit and the KDE project provide a perfect foundation for this kind of application."
Revision history:
25/03/1998 first preview version released
21/04/1998 second preview version released
23/04/1998 snapshot 0.2.1 (bug fixes only)
02/06/1998 snapshot 0.3 released
10/08/1998 snapshot 0.4 released
28/08/1998 snapshot 0.4.1 released
06/11/1998 snapshot 0.5 released
05/01/1999 snapshot 0.6 released
29/01/1999 snapshot 0.6.1 (bug fixes only)
09/02/1999 snapshot 0.6.2 released
24/02/1999 snapshot 0.6.3 released
06/04/1999 snapshot 0.6.4 released (bug fixes only)
09/04/1999 snapshot 0.6.5 released (bug fixes only)
07/15/1999 snapshot 0.7 released
10/19/1999 snapshot 0.7.1 released
About the handbook
This handbook refers mainly to the "stand-alone version" of Kontour. Special information regarding the Kontour component of the KOffice package is not considered. However, the information presented here applies in many respects to the KOffice component also.
This documentation is a translation of the original German text by Hagen Höpfner.
The current version can be found on his home page.
Original German version: Hagen Höpfner, Hagen.Hoepfner@gmx.de
English translation: Ben Skelton, skeltobc@elec.canterbury.ac.nz and Winter Laite, winlaite@lobo.net
Installation
The most current version of Kontour is in the CVS repository at the KDE Internet site.
System Requirements
Kontour is still strongly in the development phase, and often utilises the latest package versons. The required software packages themselves require some set of minimum hardware which is not repeated here.
For installation the prerequisite packages are:
KDE 1.1
QT 1.41
gcc 2.8.x or egcs 1.x
Compilation and Installation
To compile the source code for Kontour, proceeds as follows:
Unpack the tar archives tar xfvz Kontour.tar.gz
Change to the source code directory cd Kontour
Check for required packages and create the Makefiles ./configure
Compile the source code make all
If the installing user has ROOT privileges, installing Kontour into the KDE directory tree is done by make install.
The following platforms were successfully tested:
RedHat 5.1 (Hagen Höpfner)
RedHat 5.2 (Hagen Höpfner)
SuSE 6.0 (Hagen Höpfner)
SuSE 6.1 Cebit Beta (Hagen Höpfner)
SuSE 6.1 (Hagen Höpfner)
SuSE 6.2 (Joachim Ansorg)
If you encounter problems, please direct them to Hagen.
Installation of binary packages
The installation of precompiled packages under Linux depends on the package format used. Kontour is available in rpm and deb package formats. For a successful installation be sure to select the package for your system. First, some definitions:
FILENAME = name of the package file (e.g.: Kontour_0.6.5-1_i386.deb)
PACKAGENAME = the created package name (usually Kontour)
To install an rpm package use the command rpm -i FILENAME.The package may be deleted later using the command rpm -e PACKAGENAME.
Usage
The operation of Kontour is intuitive and easy to learn. It is very similar to other graphical programs. Kontour uses key bindings which are KDE standards.
Additionally pressing the CTRL key while moving the mouse constrains the movement to one in one direction or in equal amounts in both directions. For example, pressing the CTRL key while drawing a rectangle, draws a square.
Some functions can, of course, be used on more than one selected item at a time.
Drawing 2D-Primitives
The procedure to draw any 2D-Primitive, consists of the following steps:
Select the type of object which can be drawn
Draw the object
The second step varies with each of the different 2D-Primitives. Therefore these are dealt with separately in the following where the operation is shown with the icon button to be pressed to select that function.
left-click (and hold) on the canvas where the freehand line is to begin
draw the line by moving the mouse with the left mouse button still pressed
release the left mouse button when the final point of the line is reached
left-click on the canvas at the point where the line is to start
release the left mouse button and draw the line by moving the mouse
right-click on the canvas at the point where the line is to finish.
left-click at the point where the polyline is to start
release the left mouse button and draw the first line
left-click at the point where the current line ends and the next line starts
release the left mouse button and draw the next line
continue with previous two steps until the final line is drawn, then terminate this line with a click of the right mouse button
left-click on the canvas at the point of origin of the Bezier curve
determine the rise of the curve segment at this point with the help line - left-click when satisfied
left-click at the end point of this line segment
position the help line to achieve the desired rise, if further curve segments are to be drawn, left-click otherwise right-click to complete the curve
left-click (and hold) on the canvas at the point where a corner point of the rectangle is to be
draw the rectangle by moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button
release the left mouse button to complete the rectangle
left-double click on the regular polygon tool button
a dialog opens where the polygon parameters are set
make the appropriate adjustments
left-click the OK button when finished
left-click (and hold) on the canvas at the point of origin *
scale the polygon to the desired size by moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button
release the left mouse button when the desired size is achieved
left-click (and hold) on one corner point of the bounding box * of the ellipse
draw the ellipse by moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button
release the left mouse button when the ellipse is the desired size
* The bounding box of the ellipse is a rectangle which is just big enough to contain the ellipse - the edges of the rectangle are tangents (parallel to the x- and y-axes) of the ellipse.
Transformation of 2D-Primitives
Kontour offers tools that allow the easy modification of drawn primitives, such as scaling, rotating, and shifting tools. This section describes how to perform these transformations.
left-click on the object to be rotated. The selection frame appears around the object. Left-click again and the transformation frame appears.
left-click (and hold) over one of the corner arrows and rotate the object by moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button.
release the mouse button
left-click on the object to be scaled---the selection frame appears.
left-click (and hold) on a point in the selection frame in the direction the object is to be scaled.
scale the object by moving the mouse with the left button held down.
release the mouse button.
left-click on the object to be shifted
with the left mouse button pressed move the mouse to reposition the object
release the left mouse button
left-click (and hold) on the point to be shifted
with the left mouse button held move the mouse to reposition the point
release the mouse button
select the object to be filled.
right-click on the object---a popup menu appears.
select the "Properties" menu entry.
select the "Fill" tab in the dialog.
choose to fill with a solid color, a pattern, or a gradient color.
Positioning objects
Kontour offers many ways to assist in the positioning of objects.
The grid is an aid allowing the user to work on a drawing precisely. Grid behaviour can be controlled by three functions (parentheses show the menu entries used to access the fuctions):
Show Grid (View -> Show Grid), show the grid in the drawing.
Align to Grid (Layout -> Align to Grid), objects now snap to the grid.
Grid setup (Layout -> Grid), setup the grid.
Helplines provide a further mechanism to the Grid when precise drawing is required. The advantage of using helplines is that the distance between individual helplines can be varied. The proceedure for Helpline use is identical to the Grid.
NOTE: At the time of writing not all functionality of "Align" has been implemented. It is hoped that further functionality will be added soon.
select the text to be aligned
choose "Text along Path" from the arrange menu
select the object to be used as the path with a left-click (the right mouse button cancels).
The following Objects can be used as Paths:
Individual objects can be grouped together. This is useful of one wants to assemble complex drawings from individual objects and then treat these compound objects as one object. Objects are grouped as follows
select the objects to be grouped. Multiple objects can be selected by enclosing them inside a selection box by using the selection tool and/or selecting objects while holding down the SHIFT key.
choose "Group" from the "Arrange" menu.
The Layer Concept
Layers may be thought of as sheets of transparent paper with different pieces of the overall drawing on each. Together the layers form the overall drawing, but each layer may be edited independantly of the others. Layers are controlled via the Layers dialog (View -> Layers...). Each layer has three characteristics represented by the eye, pen, and printer icons respectively:
Visible: allows the in/visible.
Editable: determines whether changes may be made to the layer.
printable: allows the layer to be printed.
Working with Files
There are two main ways to save a file, either via the "File" menu item, or by clicking on the Diskette icon in the list of icons. If you've just created the drawing you're working on, and haven't saved it yet, you will be taken taken to a dialog where you can choose a name. This will happen regardless of which of the two methods you choose.
If the file already has a name, it will be used unless you select the menu item "Save As". You should ALWAYS use the file extension .kil. This is the only way to ensure that Kontour doesn't run into problems when it tries to find the file again.
Just as in saving files, there are two ways to load them. You can click on the corresponding icon from the list, or you can use the "Open" item from the "File" menu. Either way brings you to the "Open" dialog.
Since this dialog form conforms to the KDE standard, we won't go into the workings of every button. If you've selected the file you want to open a preview appears on the right side of the dialog box. Now you can load it by double-clicking the file name, or by clicking on the "OK" button.
Regrettably, perhaps, one measure of a program's worth seems to be how many other programs' formats it supports. This does, however, afford a degree of flexibility to a piece of software; such import and export filters are necessary. Kontour can import a number of file formats:
Kontour Drawings (.kil)
XFig Drawings (.fig)
Windows Metafiles (.wmf)
GIF Images (.gif)
JPEG Images (.jpg)
PNG Images (.png)
X11 Bitmaps
X11 Pixmaps (.xpm)
GIF Images (.gif)
X11 Pixmaps (.xpm)
Encapsulated Postscript (.eps)
PPM Images (.ppm)
Importing objects into a Kontour drawing doesn't work quite the same for all formats, unfortunately. You will find most of the import filters in the "Edit" menu under "Insert". The submenu item "Clipart" lets you insert .wmf files.The filters for pixel-oriented images are under the submenu item "Bitmap". To import XFig drawings or another Kontour drawing, you have to use the "Import" item from the "File" menu. Dialogs are similar to those for opening files.
Undo / Redo
Previous operations in the drawing can be undone easily by using "Undo" from the "Edit" menu. If the undone step is then wanted again in the drawing this can be achieved by using "Redo". Kontour remembers all steps made to a drawing from when it was started. One should consider, however, that Undo and Redo steps work on operations in the order in which they were performed on the drawing.
Zoom tool
50%
100%
150%
200%
400%
600%
800%
1000%
Handling colors
select the object whose colour is to be changed.
right-click on the object and choose "Properties" from the menu.
choose to change the fill colour or the outline colour from the dialog.
press the colour button and the following dialog is displayed:
left-click in the multi-coloured window and select the desired colour by moving the mouse.
release the left mouse button.
left-click (and hold) on the small triangle next to the shaded-grey window to the right of the multi-coloured window.
select the desired brightness by moving the mouse up and down.
release the left mouse button.
the colour may be saved in the Custom Colour palette by clicking in one of the custom colour squares and pressing the Add to Custom Colors button (this is optional).
press OK.
Changing the standard parameters
Frequently Asked Questions
- Question:
How can I use EPS files, which were exported from Kontour, in LATEX?
- Answer:
This is possible using the clip option (\epsfig{file=graphics.eps, width=9cm, clip= })
- Question:
How can I import ASCII text into a Kontour document?
- Answer:
The importing of text is performed by copying/pasting. Copy the text from (as an example) a text editor. In Kontour select Paste from the File menu, and position the text as desired.
- Question:
I can't find the Kontour package in my SuSE distro!
- Answer:
SuSE didn't compile the different packages as separate applications. Use the complete package.
Appendix
Some functions can be applied to several selected objects. This is noted by "selected objects" in the "Meaning" column.
Key: Meaning: ------------- ---------- CTRL-A Align selected object(s) CTRL-PageDown Move selected object(s) back one CTRL-PageUp Move selected object(s) forward one CTRL-C Copy selected object(s) CTRL-D Duplicate selected object(s) CTRL-G Group selected objects CTRL-N Create a new drawing CTRL-O Open a new drawing CTRL-P Print CTRL-Q Quit Kontour CTRL-S Save current drawing CTRL-U Ungroup selected objects CTRL-V Paste copied object from clipboard CTRL-W Cut the selected object(s) CTRL-X Close the current drawing CTRL-Y Toggle Align to Grid CTRL-Z Undo DEL Delete selected object(s) F1 Help SHIFT-PageDown Move selected object(s) to the back SHIFT-PageUp Move selected object(s) to the front
TO DO
There is surely much more than can and should be improved upon in this handbook. Here is a short list:
Correct spelling and grammar ;-)
Aligning to objects
Layers
Printing
Copyright
Kontour is Copyright 1998-99 Kai-Uwe Sattler, kus@iti.cs.uni-magdeburg.de This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.