06. Drawing tools

Select rectangle – define the selection

After choosing ‘Select area’ from the drawing tools icon bar or Drawing tools menu, move the mouse into the drawing area and click to set the first position of the first corner. Next, move the cursor and click a second time to complete the selection. Alternatively, you can also click and hold for the first position, then move the cursor and release at the second position.

A dotted rectangle will indicate which area is selected. This selection can be adjusted by dragging the purple markers around the selection. To reposition the selection, move the cursor over the rectangle, then click and hold to drag the selection to another position.

Alternatively, you can select ‘Size and position’ from the properties toolbar or context menu to adjust the selection.

Icons around the selection for easy access

A number of small icons along the edges of the selection give quick access to a few functions for editing the selected area.

Mirroring horizontally flips the selected image left to right, like turning a page in a book. Mirroring vertically flips the image upside down, like turning a page in a wall calendar.

Rotation and mirroring the area can be performed by simply clicking on the corresponding icons. The large red is used to move the selected area of the bitmap, whereas the blue marker allows you to move all objects and text labels that are (partially) within the selection.

The right vertical toolbar will show the full list of options for manipulating the selected section of the design.

Manipulate bitmap: crop, make selection white or fuse objects

To isolate the contents of the selected area from the rest of the design, select ‘Crop Area’. Only the content will remain as the design, as the area outside the selection will be removed.

Select ‘Paint Area White’  to fill the selected part of the bitmap with white. Any objects in the selection will not be affected and have to be fused first to make them white. You can either fuse all objects within the selection by selecting ‘Fuse the selected objects with the bitmap’, or fuse objects individually by selecting and then fusing them.

Edit selected area as figure (move and resize)

The selected area of the bitmap can be resized and moved by choosing ‘Convert to figure’. The purple markers around this figure can be used to resize the selection.

You can also choose ‘Save as figure (file)’ to save the figure to reuse it in other designs.

Apply filters

The selected content can be processed using the range of filters. These have the same functionality as the list of filters in the Filters menu, but will only be applied to the selection instead of the entire design.

See also Filters; editing an imported image (.jpg, .png, …)

Adding/removing a vertical or horizontal area

The function ‘Selected strips’ can be used to remove the selected vertical or horizontal area, or to add this amount of white space to the design. To use this tool, activate ‘Select area’, then ‘Insert or remove space’.

A crosshair cursor will appear when you move the mouse to the drawing area. By clicking once, the first outline of the selection is positioned, as indicated by the dotted green lines. Next, move the mouse horizontally or vertically and click a second time to complete the selection of the strip. Once again, you can also click and drag, then release at the second position to define the selection.

The width of the horizontal or vertical selection can be adjusted by dragging the purple marker on the green dotted lines.

A preview when hovering over the green plus sign will display the addition, whereas hovering over the red minus sign shows the design with the deleted area. Simply clicking on either sign will confirm the action.

The ‘Detect shape’ tool is used to add surface properties such as textures to selected parts of the design.

The ‘Detect Shape’ tool, as the name suggests, detects the shape of an area within the elements in the design. Select the ‘Detect shape’ tool from the left vertical toolbar, then click in the centre of the area in the design that you wish to edit. A red dotted line will indicate the contours of the detection.

Fine-tuning the selection

In some cases, the shape detection might need some fine-tuning to get the exact shape you need. You can use the purple markers to adjust the anchor points of the shape, or click on one of the line segments to add another anchor point.

In other cases, the detection may not be successful because the area is not fully enclosed by lines or other parts of the design. Small gaps cause other areas to be linked to the area you wish to detect.

You can compensate for small gaps by choosing ‘Change shape detection criteria’ from the toolbar or context menu. In the dialog that opens, you can readjust the levels for gap reduction. A higher will result in less gaps in the shape detection; however the detected shape will also have slightly more spacing around it.

You can apply shape detection to coloured images as well. In the detection criteria, you can adjust the range of colours that will be included in the shape around the detection position.

The detection criteria dialog contains a preview of the detected area, in which white signifies which area is part of the selection. Once you have adjusted the criteria, click ‘Re-execute detection’ to improve the detected shape.

Add properties

When you are satisfied with the detected shape, you can add several properties to it, such as textures or an outline around the shape, just like any of the other (blue) objects.

See: Editing object properties.

Images imported into TactileView need to be edited prior to printing using a combination of the filters and retouching tools. Because source images vary widely, it is helpful to experiment with the different filters to find out what works best for your image. If a filter does not produce the desired result, undo the action by selecting ‘Undo’ from the Edit menu or pressing CTRL+Z.
You can activate one of the filters by selecting ‘Filters’ icon in the left vertical toolbar, or selecting one from the Filters menu. For some of the filters, a horizontal slider allows you to adjust the extent in which it is applied. The filters are applied to the entire design and will fuse all objects in the design.

You can also apply filters to a selected area only, without affecting the rest of the design; see ‘Select area; editing parts of the design’. Please note: in the images on this page, the filters are only applied to the right-hand side of the image to show the effect compared to the original image on the left.

Convert to line drawing

One way to process the image so that it can better be embossed is to convert it to a line drawing. Select the Convert to Line Drawing option from the Filters menu. A slider bar will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. Drag the slider left or right until the image looks as desired.

Convert to black and white

Some images can come out better when converted to black and white rather than to a line drawing. Select the Convert to Black and White option from the Filters menu. A slider bar will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. Drag the slider left or right until the image looks as desired.

Change line thickness

Use this filter to increase or decrease line thicknesses in the image all at once. If your image contains a lot of light, thin lines or a dark, thick lines, this filter is helpful to make them all thicker or thinner at the same time. Select Change Line Thickness from the Filters menu. When the slider appears at the upper left corner of the screen, slide it to the right to make lines thicker or to the left to make them thinner.

Add contours

This option allows you to add outlines around each different colored area in an image. Contours (black lines) are added at the transition point between one color and another and the thickness of the contour lines is controlled using the slider that appears at the upper left corner of the screen when you select the filter. This filter can be helpful for simple drawings that have well-defined areas in distinct colors, but is less useful when applied to photos or other images where color fades from lighter to darker without a distinct transition point.

Blur image

The use of this filter lets you soften or sharpen edges between areas of color in an image. Select Blur the Image from the Filters menu, then use the slider that appears at the upper left corner of the screen to adjust the image. Sliding the slider right will soften edges and sliding it left will sharpen the edges.

Replace colours

This filter is mostly used to remove certain colours in the image by converting them to white or black. In the dialog that appears, you can select which colour should be replaced from the list of colours that are present in the design. You can also adjust the colour range to include similar shades in the colour replacement. Once you are finished replacing the desired colours, click ‘OK’ to confirm the changes.

Negative

This option is mostly used when an image has a lot of black area. Choosing Negative from the Filters menu will exchange all colors in the image file with their opposites. Black areas become white, blue areas become orange, red areas become green, etc.

Rotating, mirroring and scaling the image

To rotate the entire image, select either ‘Rotate Clockwise’ or ‘Rotate anticlockwise’ from the Filters menu. The image will rotate 90 degrees in the direction you selected.

To mirror the image, select ‘Mirror Horizontally’ or ‘Mirror Vertically’ from the Filters menu. Mirroring horizontally flips the image left to right, like turning a page in a book. Mirroring vertically flips the image upside down, like turning a page in a wall calendar.

To scale the image, select it and then drag the blue square in the lower right corner of the design area diagonally to scale the image smaller or larger.

Retouching

To draw freehand lines that are automatically part of the bitmap and not editable, select the ‘Retouching Adding lines’ icon from the toolbar on the left side of the screen, or select ‘Retouching: Adding lines’ from the Drawing Tools menu. Select the line thickness you would like to use prior to starting to draw by using the slider next to the properties toolbar. You can use Shift+scroll wheel for more convenient size adjustment while drawing in the design. In the properties toolbar or context menu, you can choose between a round or a square pen or eraser shape by selecting ‘Apply circular tip’ or ‘Apply square tip’. You can also choose to draw straight or curved lines by choosing ‘Use straight lines’ or ‘Free style (follow the mouse)’.

You can now use the mouse to draw in the design area. Anything you draw with this tool will automatically be part of the bitmap and will not be editable unless you select an area containing your drawing and convert it to a figure or use the ‘Detect shape’ feature to create an editable object from a freehand closed shape. The retouching mode will continue until you select another mode or drawing tool, or until you press the escape key on the keyboard.

Eraser

To erase lines in the bitmap, select the ‘Retouching: Erase’ icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen, or select ‘Retouching: Erase’ from the Drawing Tools menu. The eraser width and shape can be adjusted in the same way as the line thickness of the pen, as well as using straight or curved lines and a circular or square eraser.

Begin erasing by dragging the mouse over the lines you would like to erase. The retouching mode will continue until you select another mode or drawing tool, or until you press the escape key on the keyboard. You can only erase any lines fused to the bitmap. Therefore, if you wish to erase a part of a blue object or inserted image, you will first need to fuse them with the bitmap. You can read more in the manual section Working with fused bitmaps.

Drawing straight lines

To draw a straight line, choose the ‘Draw Straight Line’ icon from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. In the design area, click the starting position for your line, then click the end position.

Drawing squares and rectangles

To draw a square, choose the Draw Square-Rectangle icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. Click in the design to mark the position of the first corner, then move the mouse to determine the size of the square and click a second time to confirm. Alternatively, you can click and drag, then release at the opposite corner.

By dragging the markers in one of the four corners the size can be increased or decreased. Dragging inwards or outwards with the markers in the middle of the four sides will turn the square into a rectangle.

Drawing circles and ellipses

To draw a circle, choose the ‘Draw Circle-Ellipse’ icon from the left vertical tool bar on the left side of the screen. In the design area, click the location for the first position, then move the mouse until the circle is the desired size and click again to confirm. Alternatively, you can click and drag, then release at the opposite corner.

By dragging the markers in one of the four corners the size can be increased or decreased. Dragging inwards or outwards with the markers in the middle of the four sides will turn the circle into an ellipse.

Drawing triangles

To insert a triangle into your drawing, select the ‘Draw Triangle’ icon from the left vertical toolbar. Next, select what type of triangle to insert from the right vertical properties tool bar that appears.

The bottom four icons on this tool bar show the available types of triangles. From top to bottom, the triangle types available in the tool bar are right, isosceles, equilateral and scalene. Triangles may be changed from one type to another after you have placed them in your drawing, but it is easiest to select the appropriate triangle type prior to inserting the shape.

Once you have selected the type of triangle you want, click the point in the design area where you want one of the corners and then drag until the triangle is the desired size. Alternatively, you can click and drag, then release at the opposite corner.

The ‘Angles and lines’ dialog can be used for a more mathematically oriented notation. The corners of the triangle are marked with letters A, B and C.  By default they will only show on screen (green colour, not embossed). By checking ‘Characters A, B, C at corners’ in the ‘Angles and lines’ dialog, they will also be presented in braille characters once embossed.

The corners of the triangle can each be provided with 3 types of specific lines: altitude, median line and bisector, which will be embossed as dotted lines.

Drawing polygons

A polygon consists of several lines that are connected as one object. To insert a polygon, choose the ‘Draw Polygon’ icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. Click in a number of positions in the design area to draw a polygon. To finish the polygon, click on the first anchor point (first purple marker) to close the polygon. Alternatively, you can click again on the last placed anchor point to make an open shape. You can also choose these two options from the toolbar or context menu by selecting ‘Close polygon’ or ‘Finalize the polygon (leave the last connection open)’.

When you have an open polygon selected, two green plus symbols on screen allow you to continue drawing at the ends of the polygon. You can also choose ‘Continue drawing at first/last endpoint’ from the context menu. The red border around a selected polygon can be used to resize it by dragging the purple markers.

You can choose between straight and curved lines between the anchor points. This allows you to make use of rounded curves in your design.

Drawing freehand line or closed shape

To draw freehand lines or closed shapes, choose the Draw Freehand Line or Closed Shape icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. In the design area, click the desired starting location and drag the mouse to create the desired line. To create a closed shape, click the desired starting location and drag the mouse to create the desired shape, returning to the starting location before releasing the mouse button.

As with the polygon, you can choose between straight and curved lines between the anchor points. The dashed red border can be used to resize the entire object.

Drawing dots

To add round dots to your design, select the ‘Draw filled dots’ from the let vertical toolbar, then click in your design to position the dot. The size of the dot can be changed with the purple markers. The dot size can range from only one braille dot up to a large filled circle of multiple centimetres in diameter.

There are several ways in which you can add an image to your TactileView design.

• When you regularly use the same icons or images, ‘Add figure’
• Saved SVG image files can be added with ‘Import SVG’
• Saved jpg, png or other bitmap images are added with ‘Import image from file’

These import functions are activated by selecting ‘Import’ from the left vertical toolbar, then selecting the specific tool from the right vertical toolbar.

Add figure

Figures are image objects that are useful when you wish to reuse certain symbols and shapes (such as arrows, electrical symbols, more abstract shapes, etc) in multiple documents. Once you have activated the ‘Add figure’ drawing tool, a dialog will appear in which you can You can browse through the different categories and select the figure you wish to use.

Once you click ‘OK’ to confirm your choice, the figure will be visible at the position of your mouse. Click anywhere to place the figure as an object in your design.If the object is not the desired size when it appears in the design area, you can edit it by dragging the purple markers on the corners and sides.

Settings – personal figures folder
TactileView contains a set standard icons, symbols and other figures. By selecting ‘Figures’ from the Settings menu, you can also select additional folders that contain your personal sets image files that you can use as figures.

Select area – Save as figure
When using the Select area tool, you can select ‘Save as figure’ from the context menu or properties toolbar. This saves the selected area as a figure that can later be reused and will include the bitmap layer as well as any objects within the selection. Keep in mind that text labels are not included in the figure. See the manual section ‘Select area‘ for more information.

Import SVG and Import image from file

Vector graphics (svg files) as well as bitmap image files (jpg, png, bmp, etc.) can be imported in your design by selecting ‘Import SVG’ or ‘Import image from file’. In the dialog that opens, browse to the image file you wish to use and double click or select ‘Open’ to confirm the selection. Next, click anywhere to place the image as an object in the design. You can use the purple markers on the corners in case the image needs to be resized.