4. The Screen Setup of PhotoLine
4.8 The Attributes Dialog
The Attributes Dialog is used to get a quick overview of the settings and
attributes of the active document, the active page and the active layer
respectively.

Most
properties can be edited by double-clicking or by clicking the
Edit-button and can be deleted by clicking the paper basket. But not all are
editable or deletable. Some can only be edited and so can only be deleted.
The document tab shows always the following properties:
- the size
- the working mode (see chapter 2.10)
- The Attributes Dialog is the only way to switch from the picture mode to
the document mode explicitly. The other way round from the document
mode to the picture mode is only possible, if the first layer in the
document is an image having the same size as the document.
- position and size of the lasso
- If there is a lasso, its size and position are shown. Double-clicking this
entry allows to change the lasso size numerically.
- text register
- Text register allows to overlay the pages of the document with a line
raster. A paragraph can be aligned to this raster by using "Text in
Register" (see chapter 6.2.7, "The Tool Settings Of The Text Tool",
subpoint "Paragraph Settings"). This results in a better looking text, if
there is multiple columns or both sides of a sheet of paper are used for
printing.
Beside that a document often contains print options (see chapter 5.8).
Layers offer many more settings. There are always the following properties:
- the layer type
- By double-clicking Convert Layer Type (see chapter 7.5.2) is called.
- the layer position and size
- The position and size can be edited directly.
Often layers contain additional attributes. Most common are:
- fill and line styles of vector layers
- If the active layer is a vector layer, the fill and line styles are shown and
can be edited.
- The Edit-button duplicates the active style. If there is more than one
style, the active style can be deleted, too. By dragging the order of the
styles can be changed.
- the vector attribute
- This attributes only appears in combination with vector layers. It
contains information which kind of geometric figure the vector layer is.
The vector attribute can only be deleted.
- distortions and layer styles
- Any layer style (see chapter 2.5 an chapter 7.8.41) or layer distortion
(see chapter 2.6) assigned to a layer is listed.
- adjustment layers
- Adjustment layers (see chapter 2.9) show the assigned work. This work
can be turned off temporarily in order to edit the accompanying layer.
- clipping properties
- If a layer is a clipping layer the clipping properties (see chapter 2.7 and
chapter 7.5.19) are listed.
- shape flow properties
- If a text layer flows around or inside another layer (see chapter 6.2.7),
the shape layer is shown. Shape flow can be deleted here.
- ICC Color Profile
- If a color profile is assigned to a layer (see chapter 7.6.11), it will be
listed. The color profile can be deleted here, too.
- Additional Picture Data
- If a JPEG-file is opened, PhotoLine attaches the original JPEG-data to
the newly created layer. If the layer is saved again as JPEG without
being modified, the file will contain the original JPEG-data without new
compression losses. This is useful, if the metadata of a JPEG-file - like
the ICC color profile or IPTC information - have to be changed.
- The additional data will be automatically removed, if the image layer
itself is modified.
- If an image layer has JPEG-data, these data will be used when saving as
PLD-file. Therefore PLD-files containing JPEG-images will be much
smaller than in previous version of PhotoLine (see chapter 5.5 "Working
With JPEG-Files" for more information). JPEG-data have an effect on
creating PDF- and SWF-files, too.
- Draw Isolated
- This entry is only used in combination with groups. If turned off - which
is standard behaviour - the display mode of a group is ignored and its
intensity is transferred to to its children. But this may lead to unexpected
results, if a group contains overlapping layers.
- An example may make this problem clearer. Let's use a group with two
circles. The first image shows this group with 100% opacity, the second
one with 50% opacity and the third one with 50% opacity, too, but also
with "Draw Isolated" activated:

- "Draw
Isolated" gives the expected result.
- Additionally isolated groups allow the creation of adjustment layers, that
affect only the content of their group.
- Aside from that advantages there are disadvantages, too. Drawing
isolating groups is significantly slower. Furthermore no file format -
with the exception of the native PhotoLine-format PLD - can save
isolated groups. Therefore they will be converted to images on export.
Print
Turning off this switch the layer is still displayed onscreen but no longer
printed. If a layer is made invisible by using the Layer-dialog, the layer
won‘t be printed, even if Print is turned on.
Align Patterns
This switch has the same meaning as Align Patterns in Layer Properties
(see chapter 7.5.48).
Antialiasing
Antialiasing defines whether layers will be antialiased/smoothed when
displayed onscreen, when printed and when saved. Default means that
layers will only be antialiased, if Antialias (see chapter 7.10.2) is turned
on. Onscreen the layer will only be antialiased, if it doesn‘t cost too
much time, on printing and saving always. Never means that the layer
will never be antialiased even if Antialias is turned on. When using
Always it will always be antialiased even if Antialias is turned off. and
even if displaying onscreen is slow.