The QuickTrace tool allows you to quickly trace graphic images such as bitmaps stored in BMP, JPEG or GIF format.

The main features of the QuickTrace tool are shown and described in the picture below.

As shown, you simply select a image file, choose a trace mode, make a few adjustments, and then either Show it now, or drag and drop the image to a cue for playback later.

To select an image file, click on the Open image button. This will display a standard Windows file dialog box, where you can navigate to and select the image to trace.

The QuickTrace tool offers three separate tracing modes:

1. Color separation mode (best for high-quality company logos and business card graphics)
2. Highlight separation mode (best for lower-quality images and continuous-tone photographs)
3. Centerline mode (best for line-art such as hand drawn images)

The QuickTrace tool has a check box that will apply a Noise reduction filtering. This may be handy for images that have small specks or severe JPEG compression artifacts. Just try checking and un-checking the box to see which way provides the best looking output image.

When the tracing mode is set to Color separation, you can choose the number of colors that QuickTrace will try to find in the image. The default is four. This is another control where you simply can increase and decrease the number of colors until you get the best looking output image.

When the tracing mode is set to Highlight separation or Centerline, the Separation Level slider will be available for adjustment. Simply click and drag your mouse in the slider area, and move the slider back and forth until you get the best looking output image.

The four buttons under the preview window allow you to control the size, position, and rotation angle of the shape. These work in exactly the same way as the Live Performance Tools within a cue. Simply click down the mouse over one of the controls, and then drag the mouse either upward or downward to affect the image.

To display the traced image that you have created, simply click on the Show it now button.

You can save the QuickTrace to a cue for more permanent storage or for use later. Simply drag and drop the preview window (or the QuickTrace tab itself) to a cue. Everything about the QuickTrace will be saved into the cue, including the size, position, rotation, speed, color and font as seen in the preview window.

Once you drag and drop the traced image to a cue, you can use the Frame/Animation editor to edit the traced image. For example, you could recolor all or part of the traced image, you could select and then delete certain parts, etc.

See Also

• QuickTools Overview
• Cue Grid
• Live Performance Tools

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