Working with colors in bitmaps

CorelDRAW lets you change colors in monochrome images, apply PostScript halftone screens to optimize color and black-and-white bitmaps for printing, hide and show colors, and mask colors. Monochrome bitmaps have two colors: black and white. You can replace the black and white pixels with any color on a color palette.

If you plan to print to a PostScript printer, you can optimize color or black-and-white printing by applying a halftone screen to an image. Halftone screens break down an image into small dots or lines for clearer printing, continuous tones, and special effects. However, you can see the effect of the screen on the bitmap only after you print it on a PostScript printer. For information about making changes to halftone screens, see To customize a halftone screen.

You can hide and display selected colors by masking them. Hiding colors in a bitmap lets objects or backgrounds show through the image. Hiding a color can also alter the apparent shape of a bitmap. For example, if a bitmap shows a person on a black background, you can hide the background so that the bitmap appears to take on the shape of the person rather than a rectangular shape. Also, hiding colors in bitmaps can increase the speed at which objects are rendered on the screen. You can also display certain colors in a bitmap to change the appearance of the image or to see where a particular color has been applied. You can mask as many as 10 colors in a bitmap.

Color masking also lets you change selected colors without altering the other colors in an image. You can also save a bitmap color mask to a file and open the file for future use.

To color a monochrome bitmap

1 .	Select a bitmap by using the Pick tool .

To apply a screen to a bitmap

1 .	Select a bitmap by using the Pick tool .

2 .	In the toolbox, click the Interactive fill tool .

3 .	On the property bar, click the Uniform fill button , and then click the Edit fill button .

4 .	In the Edit fill dialog box, click the Palettes tab .

To hide or display a color in a bitmap

1 .	Select the bitmap by using the Pick tool .

2 .	Click Bitmaps Bitmap color mask.

6 .	Click the Color selector button .

Higher tolerance levels target a broader range of colors around the color you select. For example, if you select baby blue and increase the tolerance, CorelDRAW hides or displays such colors as pastel blue or electric blue.

To open a bitmap color mask

1 .	Click Bitmaps Bitmap color mask.

2 .	Click the Open mask button .

Files containing bitmap color mask have the filename extension .ini.

To change a masked color

1 .	Click Bitmaps Bitmap color mask.

3 .	Click the Edit color button .

You can also change a masked color by clicking the Color selector button , selecting another color from the bitmap, and clicking Apply.

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