Hello
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to change the background color of the application window ?
I would like the whole area outside the drawing window (the drawing page) to be grey, so that it can be clearly distiinguished from the actual drawing page, which is white, with a shadow line around the drawing page.
Is this possible?
Thanks for any tips.
toymaker1 said: Hello Can anyone tell me if it is possible to change the background color of the application window ? I would like the whole area outside the drawing window (the drawing page) to be grey, so that it can be clearly distiinguished from the actual drawing page, which is white, with a shadow line around the drawing page. Is this possible? Thanks for any tips.
Hi.
This question has come up many times. Work arounds have been suggested in the other posts but tend to be more hassle than they're worth.
Hopefully this simple feature will be added to X6.
-John
Thanks Runflacruiser
Hi Toymaker and others,
I just made a macro for you after reading your enquiry. It adds a 20% grey background around your ACTIVE page. There is one sub to add the background and another to remove it any time. I made it work on a page-by-page basis for coding simplicity in case you have pages of different sizes/orientations within the same document and add more later on. Open or create a document, run the AddGreyBackground code and then do the same when you get to the 2nd and 3rd pages....etc. Run the DeleteGreyBackground code any time you want to delete it from a page.
The grey background appears on its own layer at the bottom of the stacking order and is set to non-editable and non-printable.
Can someone please test it and let me know if it works the way you want it to?
Best regards,Brian.
Brian,
Thanks a million for the macro -- I hate having to stare at a white background! The macro works OK here in CDR X5 on Win7x64.
The only thing I don't like is that after running the "AddGreyBackground", the Active layer is set to the new non-editable "Grey Desktop" layer. I keep getting the error message about an uneditable layer when I forget to activate the page's other layer before trying to draw an object. I'm thinking that the "AddGreyBackground" module needs to first store the currently active layer's info before creating the "Grey Desktop" layer, then reset the previously active layer as the current active layer.
... I'm thinking that the "AddGreyBackground" module needs to first store the currently active layer's info before creating the "Grey Desktop" layer, then reset the previously active layer as the current active layer.
Hi Ken,
thanks for reminding me!! That is precisely what I had intended to do and forgot. I was making that macro after midnight (something I have been doing a lot lately), so I was in a hurry. I tested the background was working and in my excitement to post a solution to the issue, I forgot to go back and finish off the last step. I will do so later today and post the revised version then.
Ahh, what the heck.....I just changed it now, revised macro is attached. Please let me know if there are any issues.
Excellent! Tested the new macro on a page with a few initial layers and the active layer was preserved. Thanks again.
P.S.: Code written at 3 a.m. is always the most wonderful. It might not always work, but practicality always pales in comparison to coolness!
Oops, spoke too soon -- the "Grey Desktop" layer doesn't go below a Master Layer.
Hi Brian, I have just had a look at the background layer and it looks good I will use it this coming week and show all my students next week
watch out that you do not burn out with all these early mornings
Joe
Wow!
I seem to have started something really interesting here with my query about changing the background color of the application window.
The trouble is I dont seem to be able to open the macro file myself.
Brian - There is no need to run the GrayDosktop macro for every page, just enable Edit (the small pencil) and drag the GrayDesktop layer into the Master page.