QFX 8 from QFX

Graphics & Drawing Digitizing Software

QFX combines the features of both a paint and a draw program in a single integrated graphics environment. QFX makes it easy to build complex layouts with impressive speed by utilizing an object-oriented paradigm, complete with floating layers, transparent and soft edge masking, multiple complex effects and real time photographic compositing. QFX supports industry standard Photoshop^® plug-ins, TWAIN scanners and digital cameras and the most popular file formats. QFX is powerful, mature and easy to use, yet has not succumbed to becoming "bloat-ware" to maintain its state-of-the-art features. It is equally suited to creating or editing large images for prepress applications or modest size images for the web site or other Internet or multimedia applications.
QFX supports Windows 95/98/Me/XP and Windows NT and 2000.

QFX™ 8 builds on the already impressive features of QFX. QFX 8 adds new power to our Queue (batch) operations by adding a complete BASIC-like scripting language. We have included WebFolio, a web tool that makes it easy to create a web-based portfolio or on-line catalog of images. It will even upload all the necessary files to your web site automatically. WebFolio is written entirely in the new QFX scripting language and serves as a demonstration of the power of QFX 8. We have enhanced the Thumbnails Browser to make working with images from digital cameras much easier. Both the Thumbnails Browser and the Open Image dialogs allow you to set the correct rotation for each image so it appears upright regardless of how the camera was held and will open each image automatically rotated to the correct orientation. Furthermore, using the Thumbnails Browser you can select multiple images and open them all at once. We have beefed up our Draw features too. Now you can copy and paste properties from one object to another. This makes it a snap to change one or more objects to have the same attributes as another. You can copy and paste a single property or several, which include object fill type, softness and transparency as well as edge, shadow, text, effects, size and location properties. We also have made dozens of other improvements in the program to make it easier and more productive to use. For example, the Page Up/Down, Home, End and arrow keys now scroll the image window. This makes it easy to move through a large image doing detailed touch-up work. There are more helpful changes and they are detailed on the New Features page.

New Features Introduced in QFX 7 and 8

Enhanced Thumbnails Browser for Digital Camera Images

Both the Thumbnails Browser and the Open Image dialogs allow you to set the correct rotation for each image so it appears upright regardless of how the camera was held. And the image will open automatically rotated to the correct orientation, saving you the extra few steps of rotating it after opening. When you print out your thumbnails the images are rotated correctly as well. This makes creating contact sheets of images from your digital camera even better than with a film camera since all your images will appear upright regardless of how you shot them. Furthermore, using the Thumbnails Browser you can select multiple images and open them all at once. The rotation selected for each image is stored in the thumbnails catalog so the image appears correctly rotated each time you open the Thumbnails Browser or the Open Image dialog.
 

BASIC-like Scripting Language Added to Queue

A complete scripting language has been added to the Queue that is similar in style and syntax to the familiar BASIC programming language. It is complete with variables, expressions, conditionals, branches, subroutines, forms, message boxes, error handling and more. Included are several sample Queues including one called WebFolio (described below) that serves as a demonstration of the power and features of the Queue scripting language and is fully commented to help you understand how it works. Whether you want to do something as complex as WebFolio or just pop up a message box and get a response before executing a command, the programming features make QFX the most flexible and powerful image editor ever.

Sample Queue Scripts are available in our Tips and Tricks section, just click one of the links below, read about what the script does and download it: Create a tiled array of images Downloading Digital Camera Images Sending Images using "Anonymous" Web Pages Creating Photo Packages for Printing Adding Watermark Text to Images

WebFolio Web Tool

WebFolio is a Queue script that makes it easy to create a web-based portfolio or on-line catalog of images quickly and easily. WebFolio has its own Help documentation accessed by clicking the Help button in the WebFolio dialog. WebFolio not only generates all the images but also creates the HTML document (web page) with options for background and text color as well as header and footer text and the layout of the thumbnail images. You even have the option to add drop shadows to your images to enhance the look of your page. WebFolio will also upload all the images and files to your web site automatically. Whether you want to put some family photos on your personal web site or create a catalog of product images for a commercial site, this easy-to-use tool will do the job for you. And because its written in Queue script, you can modify it to suit your taste or add more features.
 

Copy and Paste Object Properties

You can copy the properties from a Draw mode object or Paint mode Lasso and paste them to one or more objects or Lassos. This lets you change one or more objects or Lassos to match the properties or attributes of another. You can paste a single property or several by selecting which properties to paste in the Paste Properties dialog (shown at the left). Properties include the object fill type, softness and transparency as well as edge, shadow, text, effects, size and location properties. Use this feature to resize objects to match the size of another.
 

Apply effects and filters on Draw objects

Apply any of the effects from the Efx menu and any of the filters from the Filters flyout menu. And, you can stack up multiple effects on each object, like Emboss plus Glow as shown in the example at the left. Effects and filters work on all objects, including text and bitmap objects. Preview windows in all the effects and filters dialogs show you exactly how each effect and filter will appear when rendered. All effects and filter settings are saved automatically with each object.
 

Lens effect objects

Lens effect objects project or focus their effects in selected areas onto other objects, images or the background. Selectively create highlights or glows, apply filters to sharpen or blur images or create special effects like pixellate, motion blur or displacement mapping. Lens effect objects can focus on several objects or only on the objects you select. Just like all other objects in QFX, lens effect objects can have soft edges and variable transparency for subtle effects.
 

Photoshop^® 5.0 plug-ins support

QFX supports plug-in filter, format, acquire, export, selection and color picker modules and has been updated to conform to the current Photoshop 5.0 plug-in specification. QFX also supports selection and color picker plug-ins. Selection plug-ins create masks, alpha channel or Lassos automatically, depending on the type of plug-in. Color picker plug-ins can replace the QFX Color Palette with a custom color picker dialog. We have also added support for controlling scriptable plug-ins via the Queue. Some of the plug-ins we have tested include those from ULead (GIF, JPEG and PNG plugins), Live Picture (FlashPix), Adobe (Gallery Effects), MetaCreations (KPT 3 and KPT 5), Chroma Graphics (MagicMask, Chromatica), Andromeda, Alien Skin Software and Flaming Pear.
 

Automatic kerning

Automatic kerning places text characters as close together as possible, without overlapping other characters. This improves the spacing between character pairs like 'V' and 'a' and creates more professional looking text automatically. Furthermore, we have added an option to control the amount of spacing between words.

Layers toolbox

The QFX Layers toolbox features a tree view display that shows the complete object hierarchy, including the object type and name. Use drag-and-drop to rearrange objects and layers, move objects in and out of groups, and rearrange objects within groups or composite objects. Rename individual objects as well as layers. Select or deselect one or more objects by clicking in the Layers toolbox. Make layers invisible or protect them from being edited with a single mouse click.
 

Object and Lasso Properties Dialog

Using the Object and Lasso properties dialogs you can set the explicit size, scale, position, rotation and skew for Lassos and objects. Furthermore, for all Draw mode objects you can change the fill, edge and shadow characteristics from within the Object Properties dialog.
 

Export Lassos and objects as Adobe Illustrator (.AI) files

QFX can export Draw mode objects or Paint mode Lassos as Adobe Illustrator AI format files. This makes it easy to exchange graphics created in QFX with programs like CorelDRAW™, Adobe Illustrator, 3D Studio MAX™ and other vector based programs.
 

Align Lassos and Objects

The Align feature lets you align Lassos or objects relative to each other or to the overall image canvas. Options include alignment by the left, center, right, top, middle or bottom of Lassos or objects and to align to the selection boundary.
 

Distribute Lassos and Objects

The Distribute feature offers various ways of distributing or spacing Lassos or objects. Lassos and objects can be aligned with equal spacing, even spacing or exact spacing, set in pixels, inches, millimeters or points.
 

Lassos, objects and Text on a Path

The Objects on a Path feature places Lassos or objects, including text, along the path of any curve or shape that you draw. Options are included for aligning the objects above, below or centered on the path as well as controls for setting the spacing and offset and maintaining the baseline of text.
 

Thumbnails Browser for Objects

The Objects Thumbnail Browser lets you see an entire folder of your object files and open or merge object layouts. A thumbnail image is displayed for each object file and you can print out the thumbnail images to your printer or to the clipboard or to metafiles for inclusion in other programs. The QFX object file format saves a thumbnail image with each file so thumbnails display quickly in the browser. And, the Objects Thumbnail Browser works with your older object (.QFO) files too, because it automatically generates thumbnails for object files that don't have an embedded thumbnail.
 

Select and drag multiple nodes

Editing complex shapes is now easier than ever because you can select and drag multiple nodes at one time. Just hold down the SHIFT key and click several nodes or click and drag a box around several nodes. Click on any highlighted node and drag and all the other highlighted nodes follow along!
 

Improved Interface for Creating Ramps

The patch track interface in the Ramps Palette dialog makes it a snap to create complex linear and circular ramps (gradients). Drag and drop color patches into the track to add additional colors. Click and drag the patches in the track to move the colors and change the color spread. You can set the transparency for each patch in the track just by clicking a patch and adjusting the slider just above the track. When you save a palette in QFX all the ramps settings are saved also.
 

Other Features Added in QFX 8

• ObjRect, ObjOval, ObjPoly, and ObjText Queue commands create Rectangles, Ovals, Polygons and Text in Paint or Draw mode.
• Drop down list box in the Queue Edit dialog lists the most recently opened or saved Queues. Select a name from this list to open or merge that Queue.
• Set the font style and size for the Queue Edit dialog Current Queue edit window.
• Allow blank lines in the Queue and spaces and tab characters may precede commands.
• Drag and drop a Queue file onto the Queue Edit dialog to open or merge it in the Current Queue edit window. Dropping a Queue file anywhere else still plays that Queue.
• TAB key in the Current Queue edit window in the Queue Edit dialog enters tab characters.
• Improved Find and Replace operations in the Queue Edit dialog..
• WindowCloseAll Queue command now closes all image windows without a warning message box appearing.
• Color Picker tool works in Draw mode for sampling colors from objects as well as the background
• Additional caption alignment buttons in Page Setup dialog for aligning the caption along any of the four edges of the printed image.
• Split caption text when printing into two or three parts that are automatically aligned with the image.
• Multiple or batch scans from TWAIN enabled scanners and digital cameras.
• Nudge keys (arrow keys and Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys) now move the Frame tool automatically without having to hold down the TAB key with the cursor over the Frame tool selection. Furthermore, if nothing is selected, these same keys will scroll the image window.
• Monochrome palette option for saving 1-bit images. This saves an image that is all solid black or white with no dithering or halftoning.
• Preserve Alpha Channel Warp check box in the Warp Options dialog. When this box is checked, the Warp is applied to the image Alpha channel or mask in the same way as the image.
• Warn if doing a Crop and the Lasso has anti-aliasing enabled or a Softness value that is greater than zero.
• Paint mode Edit accelerator (shortcut) key commands can be selected to apply to Lassos rather than to the image itself.
• Implement support for multi-monitor systems. Toolboxes and dialogs will now restore to their last positions regardless of which monitor they were last on and the QFX application window can be extended across multiple monitors.

Other Fixes...

• Improve support for plug-ins, especially those that are poorly written or do not follow the Adobe plug-in specification rigidly.
• The [DIALOG] keyword now works correctly with plug-ins.
• Fix problem where Bitmap Options dialog would not open when the Bitmap button was clicked in the Toolbox.
• Fix previews of CMYK bitmap objects not displaying correctly for Remap, Posterize, HiCon and Monochrome effects.
• Fix problem with rendering CMYK objects with effects in an RGB canvas causing a program crash.
• Fix Draw mode object effects preview windows to show same as visible area as displayed in image window.
• Fix problem that could cause 1-bit and 4-bit images to display incorrectly by being shifted horizontally.
• Fix selected objects transparency and softness not being changed even though changes made in Object Properties dialog.
• Fix problem that occurred when an object without effects was used to Crop or Drill an object with effects.
• Fix group object Drill or Crop with shadows.
• Fix problem that caused a program crash if the Frame was dragged completely off-screen.
• Fix problem with soft objects rendering squashed in the horizontal direction.
• Fix problem with Final Render when objects with effects had negative offsets (were located with all or part of the object off-screen to the left). This problem caused other objects to render offset to the right or be clipped.
• Eliminate the little box (or other strange character) that would print in the caption when the @TODAY option was included.
• Change the alignment of footer text in Print Thumbnails so it is aligned with top of bounding rect. This ensures that footer text gets printed on printers that have a large unprintable area at the bottom of the page.
• Fix abnormal program termination when opening corrupted JPEG files.
• Fix problem with reading LZW compressed TIFF files where 'unexpected end of file' error returned.
• Fix problem with opening TGA files that have bogus header information.
• Fix problem where empty fill objects exported as AI objects were not closed.
• Improve RGB to CMYK conversion for exported AI objects.
• Improve virtual memory allocation when rendering crop and drill objects.
• Fix problem with size of effects parameters for Lens Effect objects on bitmap objects.
• Do not put up Save Options dialog when saving 8-bit grayscale images to the same file name.
• Fix problem that could cause a program crash when brushing with Window Link enabled.
• Fix grayscale images not saved correctly in some cases.
• Fix Scitex CT (.SCT) image type not appearing in Save Image File dialog Save as Type: list.

 Other Features Added in QFX 7

• Right-click context popup menus. The right mouse button activates a variety of popup menus with items related to the object or window over which the mouse button is clicked. This provides quick access to commands related to the current task.
• More palette options for color mapped images. You now have the option of saving color mapped images (8, 4 or 1 bit images) with a variety of different palette generation options. Palette options include: dither, diffusion, halftone, mezzotint, median cut, popularity and optimize.
• Open and Save Object Scenes. When objects are saved, information about the background size, color and image are saved as well so you can open up your object layout with the same background on which it was created.
• Increment numbered file names. We have added a spin button to all the file open and save dialogs that will automatically increment or decrement the numbers in numbered file names. This makes it easy to save a series of numbered files because all you have to do is click the spin button once to create the next name in the series.
• Arrange menu for Lassos. Most of the items in the Arrange menu are active for Lassos, such as To Front, To Back, Group, Un-Group, Join and Break Apart. And, you can Align, Distribute and place Lassos on a Path as well. The ability to Join Lassos makes it possible to stitch multiple Lassos into a single Lasso.
• Show last file name opened or saved in File name edit control in all file open and save dialogs instead of a blank name. This change makes it much easier to save or open a file whose name is similar to the last file opened or saved.
• Thumbnail previews for Draw objects in the Open and Save Objects dialogs and an option to save a thumbnail of the object layout with the object file.
• Automatically switch the display of text object being edited to Outline view to make it easier to edit text when in Layout view.
• User option to stash Lasso or not after it is applied.
• Objects information dialog with expanded information on Draw mode objects.
• Drag and drop to open objects or Lasso files from Windows Explorer.
• Grouped, joined, unioned, cropped or drilled objects now remain in the same layer as the topmost selected object.
• After Undo, the previously selected objects are re-selected.
• Improve Grid and Ruler guides snap. Now all sides of the Frame tool and objects snap to the grid and guides. Node snap has been improved as well.
• Rulers displayed in 1/16" or 1/10" increments and rulers are now drawn across full width and height of the image window.
• Print tiled images. Now you can print banners or posters from your images. We also have enabled printing multiple copies for printers that do not support multiple copies directly (such as most inexpensive ink jet printers).
• Negative values for borders in Resize/Rotate dialog. Negative border values cause the image to be cropped by the border value amount.
• New lookup table format. The new format for saving Image Control lookup tables (luts) saves all the settings from the Image Control dialog as well as the table itself. Now when you load a lookup table, all the slider and button settings are restored.
• Improved selection of Displacement effect map image. A linked window is no longer required for this effect. The map image now is selected from inside the Displacement Options dialog, either from a list of current open edit windows or by selecting the browse button and selecting from any image file on your hard disk or network.
• Color patches added to the Hi-Con Effect and Relief Filter dialogs for selecting the colors for these effects.
• Improved Adobe Illustrator (.AI) import, including support for clipping paths.
• Easier selection of overlapping objects. Hold down the CTRL key while clicking to select the next object below the topmost object of overlapping objects.
• Modeless Queue Edit dialog. This dialog can remain open while editing and playing the Queue. Creating and testing Queues was never easier.
• Last Queue edited is saved automatically when the Queue Edit dialog is closed or you exit the program. The saved Queue is restored automatically when the program starts again.
• Queue Keywords may be entered without surrounding brackets (i.e. DIALOG instead of [DIALOG]).
• Plug-ins in sub-folders of the plug-ins folder are now found and installed.
• New Plug-in Preferences for controlling the behavior of Filter and Selection plug-ins.
• Other Fixes...
  • Crop and drill objects now work correctly when transparency is set to less than 255 and cast shadows correctly when "cast on objects" option selected.
  • Bitmap objects with soft edges now render correctly with all Calculate options.
  • Previously selected single plane button in Image Control dialog is restored when dialog reentered.
  • Fixed problems when saving images to drives larger than 4 gigabytes.
  • ImageResizeRotate command now sets DPI correctly.
  • The accelerator key combinations CTRL+C (copy), CTRL+V (paste), CTRL+X (cut), and CTRL+Z (undo) now work in spin buttons.

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