About drawing

You can draw in any AppleWorks document type. However, sometimes it is better to start with a drawing document, and sometimes it is better to paint instead of draw.

In a drawing document, you work with objects. An object can be a shape, line, or curve that you create with the drawing tools. Objects can also include items such as frames, clip art, photographs, movies, or sounds. Working with drawing documents is like creating a collage, with objects that you can easily position, layer, and rearrange.

When to draw instead of paint

Drawing is better than painting when:
You want to rearrange layers of objects (in a painting, you cannot move layered items forward or backward)
You want to draw shapes, lines and curves, and simple freehand objects (painting is better for more complex freehand images)
You want to easily reselect and manipulate objects (everything added to a painting becomes part of the overall canvas and is not as easily selected and manipulated)
You do not need to use painting-only features, such as blending colors, tinting, lightening, or darkening (you can add a painting frame to a drawing document if you need these effects in a portion of your document)

For more information, see "Differences Between Painting and Drawing in AppleWorks" in Chapter 2 of the "Getting Started With AppleWorks 6" manual.

Note: In database documents, you can draw only in Layout mode.

When to start with a drawing document

A drawing document is best for projects, such as newsletters, that include a mixture of text and graphics. You can add table, text, spreadsheet, or painting frames to a drawing document, and you can use the Arrange menu commands to position and layer frames, text, and graphics. Of course, a drawing document is also the best choice if you need only to draw objects in the document.

Example of a project created in a drawing document

Related topics

  Adding and removing pages in a drawing document
Entering and editing text
Drawing shapes
Drawing straight lines, arcs, and curves
Drawing freehand objects
Painting images

 
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