Getting Started
The Welcome window
Qwing opens with a Welcome window. From here you can:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| New Document | Opens the new-canvas sheet described below |
| Open Document | Opens a .zdraw file |
| Open Image | Opens a bitmap or SVG as a new document, sized to fit it |
| New from Clipboard | Creates a document from an image on the clipboard |
| Recent | Reopens a document you worked on recently; Clear empties the list |
| Sample Documents | Opens a bundled example, if any are installed |
| Feedback | Opens a pre-addressed email to the developers |
| Help | Opens this guide |
You can also drag a .zdraw, .svg, or image file straight onto the Welcome window.
Creating a document
Choose File ▸ New (⌘N) to open the new-canvas sheet.
Presets. Pick one of the built-in canvas sizes, or one you have saved yourself. The built-in presets are:
| Preset | Size (points) |
|---|---|
| 横屏 HD (Landscape HD) | 1280 × 720 |
| 全高清 (Full HD) | 1920 × 1080 |
| 方形 (Square) | 1080 × 1080 |
| A4 纵向 (A4 Portrait) | 827 × 1169 |
| A4 横向 (A4 Landscape) | 1169 × 827 |
| US Letter | 850 × 1100 |
Custom size. Type a width and height. Values may range from 100 to 40000 points.
Background. Pick the canvas background colour.
Saving your own preset. Set a size you like, then choose Save Current Size as Preset…, give it a name, and it joins the list under your own presets. To remove one, right-click it and choose Delete — built-in presets cannot be deleted.
From the clipboard. If the clipboard holds an image, the sheet offers to create a document from it. The canvas is sized to match the image and the image becomes its first layer. The same thing is available from the menu as File ▸ New from Clipboard, without opening the sheet.
Opening documents
| Command | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open… | ⌘O | Opens a .zdraw document |
| Open Image… | — | Creates a new document from the chosen bitmap or SVG, sized to fit it |
| Open Recent ▸ | — | Recently opened documents; Clear Menu empties the list |
| Import SVG… | — | Adds SVG files to the current document as shapes |
Import SVG accepts several files at once. Each file is placed on the canvas as its own shape. If some files fail to import, Qwing imports the rest and tells you which ones it skipped.
Saving
Qwing saves your document in place as you work, so you never have to remember to save. The File menu still offers the usual document commands:
| Command | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Save | ⌘S | Writes your changes now |
| Duplicate | ⇧⌘S | Makes a copy of the document and switches to it |
| Save As… | ⌥⇧⌘S | Saves a copy under a new name |
| Rename… | — | Renames the current document |
| Move To… | — | Moves the document to another folder |
| Revert to Saved | — | Discards your changes and reloads the last saved version |
| Close | ⌘W | Closes the document window |
The window
A document window has four parts:
- Toolbar across the top — the Add menu for creating things, the pointer tool, a dynamic zone that changes with what you are doing, the zoom menu, the export button, and a button to show or hide the inspector.
- Left sidebar — the Stencils library and the Layers list. Switch between them with the tabs at the top of the sidebar.
- Canvas in the middle. This is where you draw.
- Inspector on the right — properties of whatever is selected, or of the canvas itself when nothing is selected.
The toolbar's dynamic zone
The middle of the toolbar changes to suit the moment:
- While a tool is active, it shows that tool's own actions — for example the corner-radius control while the rounded-rectangle tool is selected.
- While something is selected, it offers the handful of object commands you are most likely to want: transform, group and ungroup, use as frame, and arrange.
- When nothing is selected, it offers the pencil, pen, text and eraser tools plus a Shapes menu.
The Add menu
The + button in the toolbar is the fastest way to reach every drawing tool:
- Shapes ▸ — the eight shape tools
- Pencil, Pen, Text, Eraser
- Mosaic, Blur, Magnifier
- Image…
Choosing a tool from the Add menu makes it the active tool, ready to draw.