PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

94 Painting and Drawing
• A QuickShape or straight outline can be drawn directly as a shape layer, path
or as a filled bitmap. The Context toolbar hosts three buttons which allow you
to decide how your lines and shapes are to be drawn, i.e.
Shape Layer—create your QuickShape or outline on a new shape
layer or add to an existing shape layer, depending on the
combination button setting (see below) also hosted in the Context
toolbar. New shape layers are added above the currently selected
layer.
Paths—add your shape or outline directly as a path rather than as a
new/existing shape layer. (See Using paths on p. 103).
Fill Bitmaps—creates a filled bitmap of the shape or straight
outline on a raster layer (e.g., the Background layer).
Freehand or curved outlines cannot be drawn as filled bitmaps.
Assuming you’re working on a non-shape layer when you create a shape, the new
shape appears on a new shape layer. But what about the next shape you create?
Shape layers can store more than one shape, and it’s up to you where the next one
will go.
This decision is made easy by use of the Context toolbar when the QuickShape or
outline tool is selected. The toolbar displays a series of combination buttons
which determine the layer on which the shape will be placed and the relationship
the new shape will have on any existing shapes on the same layer. Only one
combination button can be active at any one time so it’s important to ensure the
correct button is active in advance of drawing the object.
New—Adds the shape to a new shape layer.
Add—Adds the shape to the currently selected layer.
Subtract—removes overlap region when a new shape is added over
existing shapes on the currently selected layer. The new shape itself is not
included.