Portal© has many
monitors and such, but it also offers you a customizable window which you can
use to setup however you like. This is
called the Portal© Canvas. You can
place buttons on it, each of which with their own commands. You can put static-text (non-changing)
labels, or even put labels on the Canvas that are associated with a variable.
Basically, the Portal© Canvas is a really cool display screen that’s completely customizable to your liking. You can position objects anywhere you like, and resize them however you want. One example of the infinite possibilities is show below.
Starting out, the
Canvas appears to be a pretty plain window with the word “Canvas” in the
caption bar. Please, try to contain
your excitement. It’s not much use
right now, heck, you cant even resize it at this point. To get actual use out of the Canvas, you
must edit it. Before we explain how
Canvas editing works, let’s first discuss a few basic things you can change
regarding the overall appearance of the Canvas. Right click anywhere on the blank Canvas and it will bring up a
small popup menu.
Then move the mouse
over the Canvas Properties item, and a submenu will appear:
This allows you to
change the background field color of the Canvas. Via a second submenu, you can choose from different colors. The current color of the canvas will appear
with a small checkmark next to it.
I realize “Canvas”
is one damn exciting title, but you may choose to call it something else. Select this menu item and you can rename the
Canvas title to anything you desire.
If this box is
checked, the Canvas will appear without a titlebar. This is useful if you’re trying to save desktop space on your
screen.
Note: If you choose to
hide the titlebar, you will not be able to manually move the Canvas until you
unhide it (you could always unhide it, move it, then hide it again). Also, normal anchoring rules apply. If anchored, the Canvas will move with the
Main screen whether the titlebar is showing or is hidden.
If this option is
checked, the Canvas will remain on top of other screens, even if not focused.
Closes the Canvas.
Canvas Editing
Now that we’ve
covered the basics of the Canvas properties, we’re ready to learn how to make
it actually useful. To begin editing
the Canvas, right click on it and select the Edit Canvas item. Once you do this, you will then see the
appearance of the Canvas change somewhat.
There’s now a small toolbar at the top, alone with a dotted grid on the
blank field of the Canvas. You can also
resize the window now. We’ll discuss
the toolbar first.
Canvas Toolbar
This displays the
current position and dimensions of the currently selected object.
An example of the
display is: (6x,12y) 18w X 42h
6x The object is 6 pixels away from the left
side of the Canvas
12y The object is 12 pixels down from the top of
the Canvas
42w The object is 42 pixels wide
18h The object is 18 pixels high
These buttons
determine what happens when you click on the blank canvas. Only one can be down at any time.
Pointer Normal pointer/selection mode
Label Add a label object
Button Add a button object
When you are
selecting to add an object, it will appear wherever you click on a blank area
of the Canvas, and you will be asked to define the basic usage properties of
the object. We’ll discuss this more
below. In the meantime, remember the
following points:
· Once an item is
placed, the Canvas automatically returns to pointer mode
· Only a maximum of 30 label objects can be placed
· Only a maximum of
10 button objects can be placed
Once you reach a
maximum number of objects placed, the corresponding button will be
disabled. To be able to add another,
you will need to delete an existing one first.
Variable Button (@
symbol)
Label objects, as
mentioned previously, can be associated with a variable. Pressing this button and holding it down
will temporarily display which labels are currently linked with a
variable. Once you release the button
the objects will return to normal.
Help Button (yellow
? mark)
Displays this help
file.
Close Editor Button
(down arrow)
Closes the Canvas
editing mode and returns it to normal usage.
Adding
a Label Object
Now we’re ready to
add something. Press the Label Button
and then click somewhere on the grid.
You will see a label appear and the Properties screen will quickly
popup. Since this is a label object,
the corresponding section is enabled.
The label will
appear as static text. It will not
change until you manually change it.
If
the label is being used as plain text, enter the text you want displayed here.
Associate Label with a Variable
The label will
display the current value of whatever variable you desire to associate with
it. If there’s nothing currently in the
variable, the label text will remain blank until there is.
Use the dropdown to
select any variable you desire to display.
Any variable Portal© uses can be displayed
Develop
Variables (on the fly)
Pressing this
button bring up the Variable Maintenance screen. It allows you to create any new variables you like to use with
the label.
Once you’ve
selected the desired display, press the Accept button and your new label is
read to go. You’ll notice four small
gray rectangles around the label. This
indicates that the label is “selected.”
When an object is selected, you are able to move it, resize it and more.
To move a selected
object, simply left click on the object, move it around, then release the mouse
button. When you do, you’ll notice that
as you move it around, it “clicks” to the grid. This allows you to easily align multiple objects.
Resizing Objects
By clicking and
dragging on any of the small rectangles, you can modify the height and width of
the selected object. Try it and see.
Adding
a Button Object
The process is
similar to adding a label, but you will press the Button Button instead. Also, the Button Object area of the
properties screen will be enabled.
Just like with
label objects, buttons can have text associated with them. Whatever you enter in this field will appear
on the button itself.
The purpose of the
buttons is to allow you do perform a command if you press it. Enter the command you wish to perform upon
pressing the button here. Sending a
command via a Canvas button press is the same as if you entered it directly
from the command line, so all aliases, macros,
etc. are available for you to use.
Note: While in edit
mode, pressing a button will not send the command. Commands are only sent when the Canvas is normal mode.
Manipulating
Objects
Moving and resizing
objects was described above, but there are other properties you can change
regarding the objects. These are
available by right-clicking on the object and selecting the desired menu
item. This can only be done in edit
mode.
Set Color (label
objects only)
Sets the color of
the background of the label object.
Setting the color to transparent will make the label transparent, but
the text of the label will still show.
Note: While in edit
mode, any transparent labels will appear as gray. This is simply to assist you in placing/resizing them. Once you exit edit mode, the label will
appear transparent.
Sets the font size
of the label/button text.
Sets the color size
of the label/button text.
Set Font Alignment
(label objects only)
Sets the alignment
of the label text, left, center or right justified.
Deletes the
currently selected object.
Miscellaneous
Edit Mode Stuff
Here is a couple
other edit mode popup menu items:
Exits edit mode
If this item is
checked, the objects will “snap” to the grid coordinates when
moving/resizing. If it is not checked,
the objects will move around freely.
Importing/Exporting Canvas Profiles
You can import and export canvas profiles using the F9 and F10 hotkeys respectively (when the canvas is in focus) or by right clicking on the canvas and selecting the appropriate values. This allows you to share canvases between users as well as have multiple canvases stored up for different situations.
You can also use the ;canvas command (; is used here, but reflects the currently selected activator character) to open up an exported canvas file also. Simply use ";canvas c:\canvas1.canvas" and it'll open up the canvas profile stored in c:\canvas1.canvas.
Canvas Keyboard Shortcuts
F1 Brings up this
help file
F12 Toggle edit mode
on/off
Del Deletes the
currentl selected object
Ctrl+F4 Closes the Canvas
Ctrl+Arrow
Key Moves the currently
selected object one pixel in the desired direction
Shift+Ctrl+Arrow
Key Moves the currently selected object to
the next grid “snap” point in the desired direction
Shift+Arrow Key Stretches the currently selected object one pixel in the desired direction
F9 Imports a canvas profile
F10
Exports a
canvas profile