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The Eye Candy 4000 interface contains dozens of new controls and yet remains compact, clearly organized and easy to use. New mouseover help strings have been added for all elements of the preview window, encouraging users to quickly master each filter. If a filter has a large number of sliders, they have been organized onto tabs for ease of use. Lighting, Color and Bevel Profile tabs are used in several filters. After much consultation with our users, we have aimed for a more host-like appearance and functionality in the Eye Candy 4000 interface.
Bevel Profile Editor
A Bevel Profile editor is now included in Bevel Boss, Chrome and Glass. Users now have complete control over the shape of bevel and carve effects. Bevel Profile settings can be named and saved for later use. In addition, we have included a variety of presets to help users take full advantage of this feature.
Color Gradient Editor
A Color Gradient editor is now included in Fire, Gradient Glow, Smoke and Star. Users can now create a stunning variety of color effects. The color and opacity of each color stop in the gradient can be controlled, producing multi-hued glows, halos, rainbows and more. The eyedropper tool allows users to quickly select any color in the preview window.
Real-world Absolute Parameter Units (Photoshop users)
One of the most important changes in Eye Candy 4000 may not be apparent to a casual user. You can now specify absolute units for your Eye Candy settings in order to create effects that are resolution-independent. Slider parameters are now based on the measurement unit the user has chosen in Photoshop (inches, centimeters, etc.), which means a setting created and saved at 300 dpi will look the same when used at 72 dpi. This is an enormous time-saver for graphic designers who regularly move from print to the Web, or who create proofs at screen resolution before going to print. This feature is something many users will appreciate learning about.
Seamless Tiling
Seamless tiling is now available in the following texture effects: Fur, HSB Noise, Jiggle, Marble, Swirl, Water Drops and Wood. Creating textured backgrounds for Web pages, games or multimedia presentations becomes extremely easy with Eye Candy 4000.
Unlimited Undo/Redo
We have added an unlimited Undo and Redo capability within the preview window of each filter. It is available via commands in the “Edit” menu or by using standard keyboard shortcuts.
Menus from the Filter Window
Command menus accessible from the preview window offer new options to users. For instance, the “Filters” menu allows users to switch from one Eye Candy filter to another from within the preview. Other menus included are Edit, View, Settings and Help.
Huge Preview with Underlying Layers Visible
The preview window has been dramatically enlarged, and is fully resizable. The “Show All Layers” command from the “View” menu allows users to preview the effect with all layers in the image visible.
Settings Now in the “Settings” Menu and Tradable Via Email
Presets and settings are now available in the “Settings” menu. All filters allow users to name and save their favorite settings; users can also edit the presets included as part of each filter. Settings are now tradable via email, and are also usable across both Mac and Windows platforms.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Wherever possible, we have implemented keyboard shortcuts identical to those used in Photoshop to streamline the production process.
In-preview controls
We have added new controls inside the preview window in Shadowlab and Star. In-preview controls are enabled by clicking the arrow tool in those filters, and allow for direct control over the position, size and shape of the effect.
Filters work as “Live Effects” in Fireworks 3 and Canvas 7
All Eye Candy 4000 filters will work as “Live Effects” in Macromedia’s Fireworks 3 and Deneba’s Canvas 7. This means that when a filter like Bevel Boss is applied to text, for example, the bevel effect will automatically update if the user makes a change to the original text. In addition, effects can be modified even after the filter has been applied. Simply double-click on the effect and the filter window will reappear. Alien Skin has worked closely with Macromedia and Deneba to facilitate this powerful functionality.
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Linear Mode
