Ben
Lamb

    kde@zurgy.org

# Basic Usage

## Starting &kivio;

Like other &koffice; applications, on startup &kivio; presents a Create Document dialog. The three tabs offer a choice of creating a new document, opening a saved document or choosing a document from a list of recently saved files.

If you're new to &kivio; begin by creating an empty document by double-clicking on the Empty Document template.

&kivio;'s main window contains a view of the current document. The page outline and margins are shown, as is a grid. Surrounding this view are horizontal and vertical rules. By default a tools toolbar is placed on the left-hand side and beneath the document view is a page selector. Beneath that is the status bar which shows the current position of the mouse pointer as a location on the page.

At the top of the window are the two main toolbars. These contain buttons for the most commonly used features of &kivio;.

## Using Stencils

Diagrams are created by placing different pre-drawn shapes called stencils on the page. Stencils can represent many different things and &kivio; comes with a wide selection. For ease of reference they are grouped into collections known as stencil sets. To use a stencil set select Tools Add Stencil Set. The stencil sets have been sub-divided into several groups; a sub-menu lists these. The shapes in the stencil set are shown on the left-hand side of the document view.

Stencils are grouped into stencil sets for organizational purposes only; it is perfectly okay to add several stencil sets to a document and &kivio; allows you to mix and match stencils from different sets freely.

To place a stencil onto the document simply drag it from the stencil area to the page.

### Selecting Stencils

&kivio; identifies the stencil currently being edited by displaying six green rectangles on the corners and edges of a square around the stencil. Stencils shown in this manner are described as being selected. The green rectangles are known as handles. To change the currently selected stencil move the mouse pointer over the stencil you wish to select and press the &LMB;. To select all the stencils in the current document select Edit Select All. To deselect all stencils select Edit Select None.

### Moving Stencils

To move a stencil to another position on the page, move the mouse pointer over the stencil, note the pointer will change to a cross with four arrows. Hold down the &LMB; and move the stencil to the new position. Release the mouse button.

### Resizing a Stencil

Move the mouse pointer over one of the handles and note the mouse pointer change. Hold down the &LMB; and move the mouse. The size of the stencil will be adjusted continuously as the mouse is moved. When you are happy with the new size release the mouse button.

### Undoing a Mistake

If at any time you are unhappy with a change you have made to the document you can select Edit Undo to revert the change. There is also an icon on the toolbar.

If you undo an action and decide that was a mistake, select Edit Redo to restore the change. &kivio; stores multiple actions to undo/redo several changes.

### Limitations of the Stencils

Note that stencils cannot currently be rotated.

### Labeling Stencils

Stencils can contain text to describe their function. To add text to a stencil move the mouse pointer over the stencil and double-click it. A dialog box will appear prompting for some text. Enter some text and click OK. The text should be shown inside the stencil.

The font, size, alignment and style of the text can be adjusted by selecting Format Text. Alternatively use the buttons on the Format toolbar. The adjustments will only affect the currently selected stencil.

### Selecting Several Stencils

There are two ways to select multiple stencils in &kivio;.

1. Click once inside the first stencil you wish to select. Hold down shift as you click inside subsequent stencils. All the stencils will be shown with handles around them.

2. the mouse pointer to a blank area of the document near the stencils you want to select. Hold down the &LMB; and move the mouse to the other side of the stencils you want to select, drawing a square around them. The square must completely encompass the stencils for them to be selected.

### Adjusting the Fill Color and Line Color

Stencils can be filled with a solid color and the color of the outline can be changed. Select a stencil then select Format Stencils and Connectors.

There is also a Set Background Color button on the Format toolbar. Clicking on the arrow to the right-hand side of this button will display a drop-down color selector. Clicking on the button itself will display a color palette allowing you to choose any color. A similar toolbar button exists to adjust the line color.

### Adjusting the Line Thickness

The width of a stencil's border can be adjusted by selecting Format Stencils and Connectors or by using the Line Thickness spinbox on the Format toolbar. The line width can be entered in millimeters or increased/decreased using the arrows next to the text box.

### Connecting Shapes Together

&kivio;'s connector tool allows lines to be drawn between shapes. The lines remain connected to the shapes even when the shapes are moved to new positions on the page.

The Connector tool is available from the Tools toolbar; by default shown on the left-hand side of the window. Click on this tool to begin using it; the mouse pointer will change shape.

Notice that all stencils have little blue crosses around their edges. These crosses mark points where connectors can be attached.

To connect two stencils move to one of the connection points on the first stencil, hold down the &LMB; and drag a line to one of the connection points on the second stencil. The green square at the end of the line will change to red when it is over a connection point indicating that the line is attached to a stencil.

When you have finished using the connector tool, click on the Arrow tool to regain normal selection functionality.

A stencil can have multiple connectors attached to it, even at the same connection point.

Various properties of the connector can be adjusted including line thickness and color, this is done in the same way as for stencils.

Connectors may also be labeled with text. To add text to a connector simply double-click on it and enter the text in the dialog that appears. The text will be shown with a green handle next to it. Use this to modify the position of the text.

Arrowheads can be added to either end of a connector. Select the connector and then select Format Arrowheads.

Limitations: Connectors do not currently reroute around stencils, you need to adjust them manually. Text is always displayed horizontally; rotated text is not currently possible.

### Grouping Stencils

Several stencils may be semi-permanently grouped together. Once this has been done any changes made to one stencil will affect the others in the group.

To make a group select the stencils and select Tools Group Selected Stencils.

The procedure can be reversed by selecting a group of stencils and select Tools Ungroup Selected Stencils.

### Overlaying Stencils

Stencils can be positioned on top of one another. A stencil drawn on top of another stencil will obscure the stencil underneath it. To adjust the drawing order select one of the stencils and select either Edit Bring to Front or Edit Send to Back.

Send to Back will cause the stencil to be obscured by any stencil which overlaps it. Bring to Front will cause the stencil to obscure any stencil which it overlaps.

### Locking Stencils

A stencil's properties may be locked to prevent accidental changes. To alter a stencil's protection using the Protection docker. This can be displayed by selecting View Docker Protection. Select the stencil or stencils you wish to protect and then tick the properties you want to protect on the protection docker.

The protections available are: width, height, aspect ratio, X position, Y position and deletion. Deletion prevents a stencil from being deleted from the document.

### Stencil Geometry

For accurately specifying the dimensions of a stencil use the Geometry docker. To display the docker select View Docker Stencil Geometry Panel. The panel contains four text boxes for specifying the horizontal and vertical position of the stencil and the width and height.

Although the measurements are displayed in points it is possible to enter other units into the textbox. For example, entering 2.5cm will be converted into points. Millimeters (mm) and inches (in) are also accepted.

## Viewing the Document

### Zooming In and Out

To adjust the zoom level select View Zoom Level. This sub-menu contains a list of percentages from 33% to 500%; selecting one of these will adjust the magnification to show that percentage of the document.

There is also a list of zoom levels on the Edit toolbar, by default shown at the top of the screen.

A second method of controlling the magnification is to use the zoom tool. This is available on the left-hand tools menu. This tool can be used in two ways. Clicking on the document with the zoom tool active will increase the magnification. Holding down the &Shift; key whilst clicking will decrease the magnification, &ie; zoom out.

Alternatively, holding down the &LMB; and dragging out a box then releasing the mouse button will increase the magnification so that that portion of the document fills the available space.

### Panning the Document

The pan tool lets you move the document around, adjusting the portion that is visible. This is very useful when working at high magnifications where the entire document is not completely visible. The pan tool shares a button with the zoom tool on the Tools toolbar. Once activated the mouse pointer turns into a hand. To move the document move the mouse over the currently visible portion, hold down the &LMB; and drag.

### The Bird's Eye View

The Bird's Eye docker provides a quick way of adjusting the zoom level and moving around the document. To enable it select View Docker Bird's Eye.

The docker has five buttons along the top, which are: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Show Page Border and two Autoresize buttons. One to resize up, the other to resize down.

A miniature representation of the document itself is shown underneath. A red rectangle indicates the portion that is currently visible. Clicking anywhere on this representation pans the view to that area. The rectangle can also be dragged.

At the bottom of the docker there is a slider for adjusting the zoom level and a box showing the current zoom level.

### Using Dockers

All dockers can have a handle on one edge which enables them to be moved around and positioned on any edge of the main view. They can also float anywhere on the screen. If they are not floating they shrink when not in use to remain unobtrusive, however, this behavior can be toggled by clicking on the icon that looks like a small pin. Next to this is a button marked with a cross that removes the docker.

### Multiple Views

It is possible to have multiple views of the same document displayed simultaneously.

Select New View from the View menu and a new &kivio; window showing the same document will appear. This is very useful for multiple monitor setups.

The additional windows can be closed and &kivio; will only prompt you to save the document when the last window is closed. All windows pertaining to a particular document can be closed simultaneously by selecting View Close All Views.

### Split Views

It is also possible to split the window into two or more portions which can be used to view two areas of a document at once. To split a window select View Split View. The orientation of the split can be changed from horizontal to vertical using View Splitter Orientation. To restore the window to its original state select View Remove Split.

### The View Manager

The View Manager allows you to store the current display settings, including zoom level and position. You can then adjust the view and still be able to revert back to the previous settings with a single mouse click. A number of different settings can be stored and given names for ease of reference.

To display the View Manager choose View Docker View Manager. The docker contains five buttons and a list of stored views.

The first button, Add Current View, stores the current display settings. Once the settings have been stored you can modify the display settings. To revert to any one of the stored settings click on its name in the list.

By default &kivio; labels the settings with the page number and the magnification level, to enter a more descriptive name click on the middle button, Rename Item; this lets you enter your own text.

The second button, Remove Item, removes the currently selected set of stored settings.

The final two buttons, Move Item Up and Move Item Down, allow the order of the settings in the list to be adjusted.

### Customizing the Display

The View menu contains options for toggling the display of: page borders, page margins, rulers, guides and the grid.