Presenta Getting Started

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Presenta provides a simple user interface for creating diagrams.

Loading, Saving and Printing Drawings

Use the application menu to open existing files, save and export to PDF.

Shapes

Shapes are stored natively as close Bezier Curves. The component lines and curves form a shape outline and interior components.

Clicking on a shape selects it and causes Select Handles to be displayed.

Use the mouse to drag shapes around and resize them by dragging the Select Handles.

The line thickness, dash style and colour of shapes can be altered and saved using the Shape Context Menu.

The Shape Context Menu can also be used to adjust the fill colour and transparency of the shapes. The fill colour can also be a gradient blend of 2 colours.

Connectors

Connectors are drawn as open Bezier Curves that connect the handles on two shapes. They are either straight, curved or angled.

By clicking on a connector, it can be selected which shows a dotted outline and Linking Handles at the ends.

Once connected, shapes remain connected if them are moved, resized or rotated.

You can link a connector to the middle of a shape so that it remains in the same relative position if the shapes are rotated.

Connector line thickness, dash style, end types and colour can be adjusted using the Connector Context Menu.

Editing Drawings

In order to edit a drawing you must either create a new drawing or open and existing drawing using the available menu options.

The Presenta screen provides a multi-page interface, with each page associated with the "Tab" buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Context sensitive menus provide much of the editing functionality to add or change the look of shapes. These menus can be displayed with a simple Control-Click on the page background, tabs or shapes.

Connectors can be created either from the context menu or by Cmd-Drag from a shape. To link a connector to a shape, click on it and drag the end handle to a connection handle on the target shape. The connector will then remain attached as the shapes are moved around.

The Shape Library

The shape library is a popup window providing a number of grouped geometric shapes. This window can be dragged and resized as required.

To apply library shapes to a diagram, just drag them to the required position on the page. Multiple library shapes can be dragged by holding shift or control when selecting the library shapes.

When library shapes are added to a diagram, the have a standard size and style. Once on the diagram, they can be moved, resized and rotated as required. Their visual style can also be adjusted using the Shape Context Menu.