Bitmap fills are bitmaps that you can use to fill an object or image. You can fill an area with a single bitmap. You can also tile, or repeat, a smaller bitmap across an area to create a seamless pattern.
You can fill images with preset bitmap fills, or you can create custom bitmap fills from saved images or editable areas. For more information about defining editable areas, see “Defining editable areas.”
It is best to use less complex bitmaps for fills, because complex bitmaps are memory-intensive and slow to display. The complexity of a bitmap is determined by its size, resolution, and bit depth.
Bitmap fills can be used to create interesting backgrounds and textures.
To apply a bitmap fill
1.
In the toolbox, click the Fill tool .
If you want to fill an object, you must select it by using the Object pick tool before applying the fill.
2.
Click the Bitmap fill button on the property bar.
3.
Click the Edit fill button on the property bar.
4.
In the Bitmap fill dialog box, open the Bitmap fill picker, and click a fill.
5.
Specify the attributes you want.
6.
Click OK.
7.
Click where you want to apply the fill in the image.
You can also
Specify a value for the opacity of the fill
Type a value in the Transparency box on the property bar. Higher values increase the transparency.
Specify how the fill spreads based on the color similarity of adjacent pixels
Type a value in the Tolerance box on the property bar. A value of 100 fills the entire object or area.
Change the way colors are combined
Choose a merge mode from the Mode list box on the property bar.
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Merge modes control the way the foreground or fill color blends with the base color of the image. You can change the merge mode setting from the default (Normal) for specific blending purposes. For more information about merge modes, see “Understanding merge modes” in the Help.
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To apply a fill to a text object, you can first render the text as an editable area by selecting the text object with the Text tool and clicking the Create text mask button on the property bar. This produces a text-shaped editable area to which you can apply fills.
To tile a bitmap fill
1.
In the toolbox, click the Fill tool .
2.
Click the Bitmap fill button on the property bar.
3.
Click the Edit fill button on the property bar.
4.
In the Bitmap fill dialog box, open the Bitmap fill picker, and click a fill.
5.
In the Size area, disable the Use original size and Scale bitmap to fit check boxes.
6.
Type values in the Width and Height boxes to specify the size of bitmap tiles.
You can also
Fill an image with the default tile size
In the Size area, enable the Use original size check box.
Maintain the width-to-height ratio of the bitmap
Enable the Maintain aspect check box.
Specify the horizontal and vertical offset of the first tile
In the Origin area, type values in the x and y boxes. Offset is determined by the top left corner of the fill area.
Specify the angle of tile rotation and skew
In the Transform area, type values in the Rotate and Skew boxes.
Specify the center offset of rows and columns of tiles
In the Row/column offset area, enable the Row or Column option, and type a value in the % of tile slide box.
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To fill an image with a single, large bitmap, enable the Scale bitmap to fit check box in the Size area.