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Object selected with the Object Selector. Resize with
the handles on the perimeter.
Rotating a vector object.
Creating a new vector layer.
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You have just been through a tour of all the vector drawing tools in
Paint Shop Pro. There are some pretty impressive capabilities in the
drawing, but the power of vectors only becomes truly evident when you
start to edit the shapes you have drawn. We will start with the basics
to make sure that you have perfect control of the major items like resizing,
fill and stroke, and then move to editing nodes.
Editing a Vector Shape
Many of you may have wondered, and possibly still do, what benefit using
vector shapes has over drawing a selection and filling, especially for
simple shapes like rectangles and ellipses. Even without the node edit
that we will tackle on the next page, vectors are much easier. Let's
prove it by changing some of the parameters.
To work with a vector shape of any type, you must select the Object
Selector, as shown at the left. When the object is selected, you will
see handles around the perimeter, and a rotation handle in the center
of the object.
To resize, click and drag on any outside handle. The corner handles
allow you to resize in any direction, while the top and side handles
allow resizing for that direction only.
 To
move the object, hold your mouse over any outside border, between the
handles, or on the center point until the move symbol, as shown here,
appears. Click and drag to move.
To rotate the object, click on the handle point beside the center point
and drag to rotate the object. Release the mouse when the object reaches
the desired position. You can constrain the rotation to 15° increments
by holding the Shift key down as you rotate.
Keep in mind that you can edit vector objects across layers. It does
not matter what layer is active, when you are working with the Object
Selector, you can select any vector object without selecting that layer.
This is very handy for working with objects across layers, but for those
who are used to working with raster layers, a little caution is necessary.
Note: Although you can add, and edit, many objects to one vector
layer, it is often a good idea to place vector objects on individual
layers. Before you add any effects, you must change the layer to raster
format, which, of course, combines any vector objects into pixel format
and removes individual object editing properties. If you will be converting
vector layers to raster, make sure that you plan accordingly and create
objects on separate layers.
To create a vector layer, right click on any layer in the Layers Palette
and select New Vector Layer from the menu.
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Editing Color and Stroke
A double-click gives you access to editing all parameters for a vector
object. With the Object Selector active, double-click on any vector
object (or right click and choose Properties from the flyout menu).
The Vector Properties window will open and provide access to fill and
stroke color, stroke width and textures. The effect will show on your
canvas as you make the changes in the Vector Properties window.
Note: Occasionally, the effect does not show if the edited object
layer is not selected when you make your edits. If this happens, simply
make your changes and accept. Activate the layer containing the object
you edited, and the changes will show on the canvas. Once you have selected
the object layer, you can return to the Vector Properties window to
make changes and the edits will show live on the canvas. (Just one of
those little quirks that all programs have occasionally.)
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You can edit the stroke color and thickness of a vector line in the
same way. Double-click on any vector line. In the sample at the left,
I clicked on the stroke arrow to bring out the flyout menu, choosing
the gradient option. Clicking on the Stroke sample chip brought me to
the stroke gradient menu, where I chose a preset gradient.
Note: The gradient and pattern stroke options were added with
PSP 7. If you are working with earlier versions, you can follow the
instructions here, but you will be limited to solid color choices.
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Custom end caps on a line.
Custom dash screen. The red and blue lines in the drawing
screen correspond to the results in the viewing screen.
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Editing Line Style
In addition to the stroke thickness and color, you can state how you
would like line segments to join. The three choices for the Join option
in the Vector Properties window are Miter, Round and Bevel. The sample
at the left shows the three types. I have turned off antialiasing for
this sample and used a wide line thickness to show the variations.
With PSP 7, you also have nearly unlimited options to create line style
variations. Line styles, like dots and dashes, as well as line ends
are very easy and are controlled through the Vector Properties window.
 To
choose a preset line style, simply choose the desired effect from the
Line Style option. To create a custom line, like the one shown at the
left, click on the Custom button to open the Styled Lines window. Add
line start and end symbols by choosing from the drop-down selector in
the Styled Lines window as shown at the right. (The line at the left
has the Tulip cap chosen for the First Cap, but to save space, the sample
from the Styled Lines window shows the Round end cap as the selection.)
You can also customize a dashed effect for your line. Click the Custom
button for Line Style in the Vector Properties window. The image at
the left shows the custom dash drawing screen. The raised portion represents
the dash (red arrow), and the area between the raised portion and the
icon at the top represents the space (blue arrow). I have used the red
and blue arrows to show the relation between the drawing area settings
and the preview screen below. Click and drag on the icons in the drawing
screen to adjust dash and spacing width. You can add more dashes by
clicking on the Add button and setting the size and spacing as for the
first dash. Try out a few options. This can be a handy feature when
you are looking for a very specific look for your lines or vector shapes.
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