PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

Creating outlines
Painting and Drawing 101
Two approaches to creating outlines are available within PhotoPlus—creating an
outline from any current selection and creating outlines around layer objects,
especially text and shapes (as a layer effect). You'll primarily create outlines
around text and other objects so the latter method is predominantly used (but we'll
cover both!).
Selection
(before and after)
Text
(before and after)
For any outline, you can set the outline width, solid colour, opacity, and choose a
blend mode. The outline can also sit inside, outside, or be centred on the selection
or object edge.
An outline layer effect can also take a gradient fill, a unique contour fill (fill runs
from the inner to outer edge of the outline width), or pattern fill; another
advantage over outlines made from selections is the ability to switch the layer
object outline off/on, and complement the outline with other layer effects such as
Drop Shadow, Glow, Bevel, etc. at the same time.
To create an outline from a selection:
1. Create a selection. (See Making a selection on p. 43).
2. Either:
• Right-click and select Outline....
OR
• Pick the same option from the Edit menu.
3. From the dialog, choose a Width for the outline.
4. Select an outline colour from the drop-down list. The Foreground option sets
the currently set foreground colour; Background sets the current background
colour. (See Choosing colours on p. 73). For a Custom colour, click the
Colour swatch, and select a colour from the displayed Adjust Colour dialog.