Creating bitmaps from objects

You can create a bitmaps
from objects
in your document. The bitmaps can be virtually any size, use any number of colors and can even use a mask (include see-through areas).

To create a bitmap from objects

1. Select the objects.

2. From the Arrange Menu, choose Create Bitmap Copy.

3. In the dialog box, set the size you want the bitmap, set the number of colors and choose the dithering
and palette (browser
, WebSnap
or optimized)
.

4. If you select the Background Transparency option in the dialog box, only the area covered by the selected objects is exported.. Other areas are transparent.

Note: advanced users can also make selected colors in the bitmap transparent by selecting the color then clicking make color transparent. See Editing colors in the palette.

Masked (Transparent) Bitmaps

The effect of exporting the red star. On the left without background transparency - the green background and all the blue circle are exported. On the right, with background transparency - only the part of the blue circle covering the red star is exported.

Note that the actual bitmap is always rectangular even if it contains transparent areas.

Smooth Bitmap Edges

If your final bitmap has see-through areas, it will look better if the edges of the objects in the drawing are smoothed against the background color. This is easily achieved if you place a copy of the background behind the objects when you export them (do not select the background). This will create a bitmap with very smooth edges. Remember not to select the background object when you create the bitmap. You may find it useful to place the background object in a new, background layer.

In this example, in the left picture, the purple star was exported as a transparent bitmap with a black rectangle behind it. Notice how its edges look great on the black areas. In the right picture, the purple bitmap was exported with a white rectangle behind it, notice how much better it looks on the white background.

Tips

To create a bitmap copy quickly, right-click on one of the selected objects to open the pop-up menu and choose Create Bitmap Copy.

If you hold down Shift when you click the Create button in the dialog box, the bitmap will be created on top of the selected objects. Note that this may mean it looks like nothing has changed after the bitmap has been created.

Bitmaps can look like they are of a lower quality than normal if they are not shown at a high enough magnification.

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