The toolbar contains numerous tools with which new objects can be created and existing objects can be edited. The currently selected tool is highlighted in color.
A small triangle is located at the lower right-hand corner of some buttons. This means more tools are hidden behind this button. These can be displayed by clicking on the respective tool and briefly holding down the mouse button. You can then select the desired tool as you normally would.
The tools can be selected not only by clicking on them, but also by entering a letter; the keys assigned to each tool can be found in the table below.
The toolbar with the hidden tools displayed
The various tools
Selection tool (V)
Use the Selection tool to select individual or multiple objects.
In order to select multiple objects, activate the first object with the Selection tool and activate further objects by simultaneously pressing the <Shift> key and activating the next object.
Double-click on one object of a chain to select all objects linked to it.
You can also activate multiple objects by drawing an activation rectangle with the Selection tool. In doing so, all objects touching the activation rectangle are selected.
To deactivate all activated objects, use the Selection tool to click on the drawing area or press <Esc>.
Hold down the <Shift> key and click on the object you wish to deactivate in order to deselect individual objects from an activation.
If several objects are layered underneath or behind each other, you can activate the respective underlying object by holding down the <Ctrl> or <Cmd> key and clicking on the activated object again. This enables you to activate individual objects within the Z-order without changing the order of the objects themselves. Once you have activated the last object in the order, the next click activates the top object.
Image content tool (A)
Once an image has been assigned to an image frame, the part of the image located inside the frame can be determined using the Image content tool. To do this, select the tool, then click on the image while pressing down the left mouse button and move the image section within the frame. The invisible part of the image is displayed less clearly, allowing you to also see the image contents not displayed within the image frame.
By moving the image content using the Image content tool, the section of the image outside the image frame is displayed less clearly.
Text content tool (T)
If you wish to insert text in a text frame or edit existing text within the frame, select the Text content tool and click inside the text frame. Then you can insert text or make corrections. Use the Text content tool to select texts you wish to format differently.
Selecting the Text content tool activates the editing mode for text.
Table tool (C)
The program comes with a powerful table tool, which enables the creation of even the most complex tables. When you activate a frame and then click on the Table tool in the toolbar, this frame is converted into a table. The same applies for linked frames.
Rectangle Image Frame tool
Use the Rectangle Frame tool to create new rectangular image frames on the page. Press <Shift> while creating an image frame to create square frames. Size and appearance of the image frame can then be specified via the frame properties or the control panel.
Per default you can insert images but not text when creating an image frame. However, using the Object > Content Typemenu option, or the frame properties, allows you to change the possible content of an image frame retroactively. This means an image frame can later be converted into a text or object frame. Choosing the Text option in an image frame allows you to load an image and insert text in the same frame.
Further information on working with frames is available in the Working with frames section.
Ellipse Image Frame tool
Use the Ellipse Frame tool to create new elliptical image frames on the page. Press <Shift> while creating an image frame to create elliptical frames. Size and appearance of the image frame can then be specified via the frame properties or the control panel.
By default you can insert images but not text when creating an image frame. However, using the Object > Content Type menu option, or the frame properties, allows you to change the possible content of an image frame retroactively. This means an image frame can later be converted into a text or object frame. Choosing the Text option in an image frame allows you to load an image and insert text in the same frame.
Further information on working with frames is available in the Working with frames section.
Polygon Image Frame tool
Use the Polygon Frame tool to create new polygonal image frames on the page. Press <Shift> while creating an image frame to create an polygon with the size of a square. The size and appearance of the image frame can then be specified via the frame properties or the control panel.
By default, you can insert images but not text when creating an image frame. However, using the Object > Content Type menu option, or the frame properties, allows you to change the possible content of an image frame retroactively. This means an image frame can later be converted into a text or object frame. Choosing the Text option in an image frame when loading an image allows you to insert text in the same frame.
Further information on working with frames is available in the Working with frames section.
Text Frame tool (T)
Use the Rectangle Frame tool to create new rectangular text frames on the page. Press <Shift> while dragging a text frame to create square frames. The size and appearance of the text frame can then be specified via the frame properties or the control panel.
By default you can insert text but not images when creating a text frame. However, using the Object > Content Type menu option or the frame properties, allows you to change the possible content of a text frame retroactively. This means a text frame can later be converted into an image or object frame. Selecting the Image option allows you to insert an image in the frame in addition to the text.
Further information on working with frames is available in the Working with frames section.
Ellipse Text Frame tool
Use the Ellipse Frame tool to create new elliptical text frames on the page. Press <Shift> while creating a text frame to create a circular text frame. The size and appearance of the text frame can then be specified via the frame properties or the control panel.
By default you can insert text but not images when creating a text frame. However, using the Object > Content Type menu option or the frame properties, allows you to change the possible content of a text frame retroactively. This means a text frame can later be converted into an image or object frame. Selecting the Image option allows you to insert an image in the frame in addition to the text.
Further information on working with frames is available in the Working with frames section.
Polygon Text Frame tool
Use the Polygon Frame toolto create new polygonal text frames. Press <Shift> while creating an image frame to create a polygon with the size of a square. The size and appearance of the text frame can then be specified via the frame properties or the control panel.
By default you can insert text but not images when creating a text frame. However, using the Object > Content Type menu option or the frame properties, allows you to change the possible content of a text frame retroactively. This means a text frame can later be converted into an image or object frame. Selecting the Image option allows you to insert an image in the frame in addition to the text.
Further information on working with frames is available in the Working with frames section.
Draw Line tool (L)
Use the Draw Line tool to draw new horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines. After selecting the tool, click on the position in the document from which the line should start and drag the mouse in the desired direction. During this process the line is displayed in red. It ends at the position where you release the mouse button and then appears on the page.
Creating a line with the Draw Line tool
In order to draw lines at a 45° angle with the Draw Line tool, hold down the <Shift> key while drawing the line.
Draw Line Orthogonal tool
Select the Draw Line Orthogonal tool to draw horizontal or vertical lines at a right angle or draw lines at a 45° angle. After selecting the tool, click on the position in the document from which the line should start and drag the mouse in the direction the line should go. While doing this, the line is displayed in red. The line ends at the position where you release the mouse button and then appears on the page.
Creating an orthogonal horizontal line with the draw line orthogonal tool
Bézier Shape (N)
With this tool you can freely create line elements or frames.
Further information on editing paths is available in the Editing Bézier paths section.
Edit Bézier Elemets (M)
With this tool you can edit lines, frames or freely created Bézier elements.
Further information on editing paths is available in the Editing Bézier paths section.
Rotate tool (R)
You can rotate selected objects on an axis defined by you at an exact angle via the control panel or frame properties.
You can freely rotate an activated object on the page using the Rotate tool. Left-click on the desired position to define the pivot point. Hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse in the desired direction. This creates a pivot lever with which you can move the object around the selected pivot point. The bigger the distance of the tool to the pivot point, the more precisely the rotation can be controlled. While rotating, the outline of the object is displayed. By releasing the mouse button you place the object at the indicated position.
Free rotation of an activated object using the rotate tool.
Eyedropper tool (P)
The Eyedropper tool enables you to assume and transfer the properties of a text, paragraph or frame to other objects. This is explained in detail in the Working with the eyedropper section.
Link tool (K)
The Link tool enables you to link multiple frames together. Any frames can be linked together. The order in which they are linked defines the text flow in text frames.
Linking frames
Select the Link tool from the toolbar to link multiple frames and click on the frames in the desired order. Either left-click on an empty area on the page, or select a different tool to complete the linking process. Arrows indicate the linking order while linking objects.
When creating the linking order, the currently selected frame is indicated with a green border. All frames already linked together are displayed with cyan-colored border.
Fig. left: Selecting the first frame to be linked; Fig. right: Selecting the last frame to link additional frames
This is explained in detail in the Linking of frames section.
Move tool (H)
The Move tool enables you to move the current image section on the displayed page. After selecting the tool, the cursor transforms into a hand, which you can now use to left-click anywhere. Now hold down the mouse button and drag the section to the desired position.
You can also use the tool to switch from one page to the next.
Hint: You can also temporarily call up the move tool without leaving your current tool by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl> / <Cmd> and the <Alt> key and moving the image section. The previously selected tool is activated again upon releasing the mouse button.
Magnify tool (Z)
Use the Magnify tool and the option for maximizing and minimizing to zoom in or out of any desired area in the workspace. The current zoom factor is shown in status bar in the bottom left corner.
To maximize the current view, select the tool, then left-click on the area to be maximized. Every click of the mouse maximizes the magnification by the value predefined in the preferences. The default value there is set to a magnification factor of 10%- This value can be increased up to 100%. To do this, select the Extras > Preferences > Edit menu option and switch to the View tab. Enter your desired factor in the Increment of Magnifying Glass (+/-) entry field.
In the Preferences of MarkStein Publisher, the increment of the magnifying glass can be set in the View tab in the Zoom section.
Click with the right mouse button or press the <Ctrl> or <Cmd> key while clicking with the left mouse button to minimize the view by the value defined in the preferences.
You can also draw a selection rectangle with the Magnify tool. After releasing the mouse button, the selected area is then magnified until it fills the entire workspace window.
Another way to change the view size is to use the Zoom In and Zoom Out menu items in the View > Zoom menu. These menu items have keyboard shortcuts assigned to them, so you can perform these functions with <Ctrl> key (Win) or <Cmd> key (Mac) and + (plus) or - (minus).
Hint: You can also temporarily use the magnify tool without leaving your current tool by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl> (Win) / <Cmd> (Mac), <Shift> and <Alt> key and zooming in the image section as described above. The previously selected tool is activated again upon releasing the mouse button.
An area selected with the selection rectangle of the magnify tool is magnified once the mouse button is released.
