When you select the Expand Toolbox icon at the right edge of PODIUM's custom toolbox, PODIUM will expand the toolbox to reveal a set of drawing and graphing tools. Clicking the Expand Toolbox icon again will contract the toolbox into its basic form. Here is the expanded toolbox:
Proceeding from left to right across the second row of the expanded toolbox, here is a description of what the graphics tools do:
Drawing Points.
To draw points, click on the Point Drawing icon. Your cursor will
take on the shape of the point of a pencil. Click on the screen
to draw a point in the default shape, thickness, and color. You
can change the defaults by clicking on the shape, thickness, and
color icons, as described below. To draw continuously, you can
drag the Point Drawing icon across the screen. However, it is
usually more efficient to use the line, curve, and shape tools
described below.
Drawing Lines.
The Line Drawing tool is a click-and-drag tool. To draw a line
with it, click on the Line Drawing icon. Your cursor will take
on the shape of the point of a pencil. Move your mouse to the
point at which you want to start drawing the line. Click and hold
the mouse button down as you drag the mouse to the point where
you want the line to stop. Let up the mouse button to complete
drawing the line.
Drawing Curves.
To draw a curve, click with your left mouse button on the Curve
tool icon. Mouse to the point on the screen where you want the
curve to start. Click and hold the mouse button down as you drag
the cursor to the point at which you want the curve to stop. Now
move your mouse to set the amount of the curve. Click when the
curve has the shape you want. Notice how such a curve is defined
by three points: the two endpoints, and the third point that defined
the shape of the curve. To reposition a curve, use the Move Tool to click and
drag one of the endpoints or shaping points on the curve.
Drawing Polyurves.
The Polycurve Tool draws a curve in five stages. After you click and drag to set the start and stop points, you move and click three times to define the shape of the curve. The result is a fifth degree canonic polynomial.
Point Shape.
Points drawn by PODIUM can be circular, elliptical, diamond, or
square shaped. To set the shape before you draw a point, click
on the Point Shape icon. A dialog box will let you choose the
shape you want.
Drawing Thickness.
Objects drawn by PODIUM can have different amounts of thickness.
To set the thickness, click on the Drawing Thickness icon. A dialog
box will let you specify the thickness.
Rectangles.
The transparent and filled rectangles are click-and-drag tools.
Click once on the Rectangle icon to select the tool. Then mouse
to the point on the screen where you want to begin drawing the
rectangle. Click and drag to create and shape the rectangle; then
release the mouse button. The result will be a rectangle in the
default first color and thickness. For a perfect square, hold
down the shift key as you begin drawing. To center the rectangle
on the point where you begin drawing, hold down the alt key as
you begin drawing. For a perfect square centered on the point
where you begin drawing, hold down both the shift and alt keys
as you begin drawing. To create a three-dimensional button that
uses the first color on top and the second color on the bottom
with a black outline around the button, hold down the Control
key as you begin drawing.
Rounded Rectangles.
The rounded rectangle tools work just like the rectangle tools
except that the corners of the rectangle will be rounded.
Ellipse.
The ellipse is a click-and-drag tool. Click once on the Ellipse
icon to select the tool. Then mouse to the point on the screen
where you want to begin drawing the ellipse. Click and drag to
create and shape the ellipse; then release the mouse button. The
result will be an ellipse in the default first color and thickness.
For a perfect circle, hold down the shift key as you begin drawing.
To center the ellipse on the point where you begin drawing, hold
down the alt key as you begin drawing. For a perfect circle centered
on the point where you begin drawing, hold down both the shift
and alt keys as you begin drawing.
Polygon.
The polygon is a multi-stage tool. You begin by clicking and dragging
to draw the first side of your polygon. Then you move the mouse
and click once on each successive endpoint of the sides in the
polygon. To stop drawing, either double click with the left button,
or click once with the right button.
Floodfill. To
use the floodfill tool, click with your left mouse button on the
floodfill icon. Then click on the point where you want PODIUM
to begin the floodfill. PODIUM will change the color of the point
where you click to the fill color, along with all other contiguous
pixels that have the original color.
Graph. The
graph tool is a click-and-drag tool. Click once on the graph tool
icon, and your cursor will assume the shape of a little graph.
Mouse to the point on the screen where you want the graph to begin.
Click the left button and hold it down while you drag the mouse
to the opposite corner of the graph. As you drag the mouse, you
will see how large the graph will be. When you release the mouse
button, the Graph dialog will appear as illustrated below. The
Graph dialog lets you set the range of values for the X and Y
axes, the grid spacing, and the color of the grid, the axes, and
the graph's outline. After a graph has been created, if you use
the drawing tools to draw objects inside the graph, they will
get plotted on the graph in coordinates relative to the grid on
the graph, instead of drawn on the screen in coordinates relative
to the screen. All objects drawn on a graph will automatically
snap to the grid of the graph unless you hold down the Control
key when you begin drawing them. PODIUM allows you to have multiple
graphs on the screen at once.
Pinpoint.
The pinpoint tool is used to draw attention to items on a graph.
To use this tool, click once on the pinpoint icon, then click
on a point on the graph. PODIUM will draw parallel lines to that
point from the X and Y axes, in the color and thickness defined
by the color and thickness tools.
Variable.
The variable tool is for advanced authors. It lets you replace
the drawn or plotted values of graphics objects by numeric variables.
To use the variable tool, click once on the variable icon, then
click once on the object you want to modify. A dialog box will
provide you with a list of your variables and let you assign them
to different points in the object. When PODIUM draws the screen,
the graphics will get positioned based on the values of these
variables. This enables you to create highly interactive applications
that can model situations and let the user interact with them.
There is an example of an interactive graph that you can download
in the demo section of this document.