Panels Reference

Logos InkPen's right panel system provides context-sensitive controls for every aspect of your design. Access panels through tabs or keyboard shortcuts.

Layer Panel

Shortcut	⌘⇧L
Menu	Panel > Layer
Icon	Square stack

Layer Management

Purpose: Organize your artwork into logical layers for easier editing and organization.

Layer Controls

• Add Layer (+): Create a new layer above current
• Delete Layer (−): Remove selected layer and its contents
• Duplicate Layer: Copy layer with all objects
• Merge Down: Combine with layer below

Layer Properties

• Visibility Eye Icon: Show/hide layer contents
• Lock Icon: Prevent editing of layer objects
• Name: Double-click to rename layer
• Opacity: Adjust entire layer transparency
• Blend Mode: How layer interacts with layers below

Layer Organization

• Drag layers to reorder (top layer is frontmost)
• Click to select active layer for new objects
• Shift-click to select multiple layers
• Option-drag to copy objects between layers

Special Layers

• Canvas: Background layer (always bottom)
• Pasteboard: Temporary storage outside page
• Template: Locked reference layer for tracing

Paint Panel

Shortcut	⌘⇧P
Menu	Panel > Paint
Icon	Paintbrush

Fill Properties

Purpose: Control the interior appearance of shapes and text.

Fill Options

• Color Picker: Click to choose fill color
• No Fill: Remove fill (transparent interior)
• Solid Color: Single color fill
• Gradient: Multi-color gradient fill
• Pattern: Repeating pattern fill

Fill Settings

• Opacity: 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque)
• Blend Mode: How fill interacts with objects below
• Overprint: Print color on top (for CMYK)

Stroke Properties

Purpose: Define the outline appearance of objects.

Stroke Settings

• Width: Thickness in current units (0.5pt to 100pt)
• Color: Click to set stroke color
• Opacity: Stroke transparency
• Position: Center, Inside, or Outside path

Stroke Style

• Cap Style:
  • Butt: Square ends at path endpoints
  • Round: Rounded ends extending past endpoints
  • Square: Square ends extending past endpoints
• Join Style:
  • Miter: Sharp corners
  • Round: Rounded corners
  • Bevel: Flattened corners
• Miter Limit: Maximum sharpness for miter joins

Dash Pattern

• Solid: Continuous stroke
• Dashed: Regular dash pattern
• Dotted: Dot pattern
• Custom: Define dash and gap lengths

Shadow Effects

• Enable: Toggle shadow on/off
• Color: Shadow color and opacity
• X/Y Offset: Shadow distance and direction
• Blur: Shadow softness (0 = sharp)
• Spread: Shadow expansion

Grade Panel (Gradient)

Shortcut	⌘⇧G
Menu	Panel > Grade
Icon	Gradient circle

Gradient Editor

Purpose: Create smooth color transitions for sophisticated effects.

Gradient Types

• Linear: Straight-line color transition
• Radial: Circular transition from center
• Angular: Rotational sweep around center
• Diamond: Diamond-shaped transition

Gradient Bar Controls

• Color Stops: Click below bar to add stops
• Move Stops: Drag left/right to adjust position
• Delete Stops: Drag stop away from bar
• Stop Color: Double-click stop to edit color
• Stop Opacity: Click stop, adjust opacity slider

Gradient Settings

• Angle: Rotation for linear gradients (0-360°)
• Scale: Size of radial gradient
• Aspect Ratio: Stretch gradient oval/ellipse
• Reverse: Flip gradient direction
• Repeat: Tile gradient pattern

Gradient Application

• Apply to Fill or Stroke independently
• Use Gradient tool (G) to adjust on canvas
• Save gradients as swatches for reuse
• Import/export gradient libraries

Ink Panel (Color)

Shortcut	⌘⇧C
Menu	Panel > Ink
Icon	Color wheel

Color Selection Methods

Color Wheel

• Drag in wheel to select hue
• Drag in triangle for saturation/brightness
• Precise visual color selection

Color Sliders

• RGB: Red, Green, Blue (0-255)
• CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black (0-100%)
• HSB: Hue (0-360°), Saturation, Brightness (0-100%)
• LAB: Lightness, A axis, B axis

Color Libraries

• Pantone: Industry-standard spot colors
• Web Safe: 216 browser-compatible colors
• Apple System: macOS/iOS system colors
• Material Design: Google's color palette
• Custom Swatches: Your saved colors

Color Tools

• Eyedropper: Sample any screen color
• Hex Input: Enter web color codes
• Color History: Recently used colors
• Complementary: Generate color harmonies
• Tints/Shades: Create lighter/darker variants

Path Panel

Shortcut	⌘⇧O
Menu	Panel > Path
Icon	Path nodes

Boolean Operations

Purpose: Combine shapes to create complex forms.

Path Operations

• Unite: Merge selected shapes into one
• Subtract: Remove top shape from bottom
• Intersect: Keep only overlapping areas
• Exclude: Remove overlapping areas (XOR)
• Divide: Split at all intersections
• Trim: Remove hidden portions

Path Commands

• Outline Stroke: Convert stroke to filled path
• Offset Path: Create parallel path at distance
• Simplify: Reduce anchor points
• Clean Up: Remove stray points
• Reverse Direction: Flip path winding
• Join: Connect selected endpoints
• Average: Align selected points

Compound Paths

• Make Compound: Combine paths with holes (⌘8)
• Release Compound: Separate into individual paths (⌘⌥8)
• Fill Rule: Non-zero or even-odd winding

Font Panel

Shortcut	⌘⇧F
Menu	Panel > Font
Icon	Text format

Typography Controls

Font Selection

• Family: Choose typeface family
• Style: Regular, Bold, Italic, etc.
• Size: Point size (6pt to 720pt)
• Preview: See font sample

Character Formatting

• Leading: Line spacing/height
• Tracking: Overall letter spacing
• Kerning: Space between letter pairs
• Baseline Shift: Vertical position
• Horizontal Scale: Stretch/compress
• Vertical Scale: Height adjustment

Paragraph Formatting

• Alignment:
  • Left: Align to left edge
  • Center: Center each line
  • Right: Align to right edge
  • Justify: Align both edges
• Indents: First line, left, right
• Space Before/After: Paragraph spacing
• Hyphenation: Auto-hyphenate long words

Text Effects

• All Caps: Convert to uppercase
• Small Caps: Smaller capitals
• Superscript: Raised smaller text
• Subscript: Lowered smaller text
• Underline: Add underline
• Strikethrough: Add line through

Text Operations

• Create Outlines: Convert to vector paths (⌘⇧O)
• Text on Path: Flow text along shape
• Area Text: Flow text within shape
• Linked Text: Connect text frames

Panel Tips

Related Topics

• Interface Overview
• Drawing Tools Reference
• Working with Color
• Layer Management

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