This is Chasys Draw IES Artist’s main window. The topmost part is occupied by the menu, where you’ll find commands for doing most actions.
Below that is the link-bar (or shortcut-bar). Here, you find buttons for directly accessing some of the more commonly used menu options, such as new,
open, save, copy, paste, insert layer, undo, etc. You can change viewing options, such as showing guide lines, or the
workspace color scheme via the View menu. At the far-right there’s a flat button that displays and sets the current image-mode,
to the immediate left of which there’s a zoom control. Take special note of the image-mode button.
The bottommost part of the windows is occupied by the status-bar, which shows tips and general information, as well as a progress-bar when a lengthy
operation is in progress. The right side of the status-bar has a logo and a RAM usage indicator; this is provided as a convenience to show you how much more work-load
your system can take. When you are recording your actions or recording an animation, a blinking
“record” icon will be shown on the status-bar.
Chasys Draw IES Artist normally displays a tooltip that follows
the cursor around, giving help information and showing you what needs to be done
and how. You can turn this off by unchecking the corresponding option under the “View” menu.
Pressing the F1 key on your keyboard
always brings up the help page for the tool or feature you are currently using. If you get
stuck, just press F1.
The Workspace (Image Display Area)
The main window is dominated by the image display area, christened the workspace. The workspace has guide rulers help you align your work
as you draw and edit your image. See the blue lines on the rulers? Normally, each points to a tenth pixel (0, 10, 20, etc.). The longer ones point to hundredth pixels
(0, 100, 200, etc.). When zoomed out, this rule changes to hundredth and thousandth pixels (0, 100, ... 0, 1000, 2000, etc.). You may zoom in and out using the
mouse wheel. Basic image information is displayed at the bottom; this typically includes layer number and size, physical size, aspect ratio and pixel count.
The main (or reference, or bottommost) layer is always shown surrounded by a halo; the color of this halo is dependent on the current color scheme as
described below. The layer that is currently active (the one you are currently working with) is highlighted to draw attention to it and its position. If that layer is
a member of a layer group, the other group members are highlighted as well, albeit in a different color or style. Excluded layers, notably textures, are highlighted
in a different color.
Chasys Draw IES Artist allows you to choose the color scheme and style for the borders to match your own personal taste and your focus/attention requirements.
The following options are available and can be selected from the View / Workspace / Layer Borders menu (for illustration, the graphic shows a selection
combination that is not possible):
Default: Softly colored but prominent alternate-color border with weak alpha-blending logic.
Traditional: Strongly colored neon-halo border with alpha-blend logic; this is the border style that was the default in older versions of Chasys Draw IES
Greyscale: Mostly black-and-white alternate-color border with weak alpha-blending logic, texture borders are slightly aqua-marine.
Dotted: Single-pixel dotted border with alpha-blending logic, texture borders are tinted green.
Contrast: Single-pixel border with high-contrast max-difference blending logic, texture borders are green against dark backgrounds.
For reference, this is what the image above looks like with none of the layers highlighted.
Full-screen
Chasys Draw IES Artist can be run in full-screen mode. In this mode, the workspace expands to fill the entire screen and switches to a minimalist
display mode which removes most gadgets and toolbars from view. This makes it easier to work with pen input.
