Canvas 9 — the integrated application for drawing, image editing, document design, presentations, and Web graphics design — is now available from ACD Systems of America. The update version contains “some very cool things” of interest to Mac users, especially the GIS (Geographic Information System) capabilities, company spokesperson Curtis Christensen told MacCentral.
“With version 9, we keep all the features we had in Canvas 8 and deliver a vast number of high precision, behind-the-scenes technologies with an almost AI [artificial intelligence] type interface,” he said. “The internal core has been rewritten and now has 64-bit precision. Canvas 9 can import a large quantity of schematics, which can be used — among other things — for manuals, for distributing to a work force, or distributing to sales personnel.”
Whereas in the past, Canvas has come in one version only, it now comes in three: the US$399.95 Professional Edition, the $599.95 Scientific Imaging Edition, and the $599.95 GIS Mapping Edition.
New features
The Canvas 9 series offers CAD level precision features, Christensen said. There’s virtually unlimited zoom to +/- 114,000 percent, a larger maximum document size (now 2,000 by 2,000 miles), a two billion object limit per document, and a two billion control point limit per polygon or Bezier curve.
Canvas 9 boasts a one-step Image Crop and Scale command. You can choose from a range of standard photo paper sizes or define your own; options for hard and soft crops are available. There’s a new advanced Red Eye reduction tool that removes unwanted redeye effects automatically — or which you can manipulate manually. Eyedroppers have been added to the Levels image filter.
A new Image measurement filter performs quantitative analysis images, and lets you to copy the results to the clipboard. It works on grayscale channels and gives information on the current selection: Standard Deviation, Average, Histogram, Area, Perimeter, Maximum, Minimum, and more.
The Smart Toolbox constantly tracks and displays all drawing tools that are related to the last tool chosen. Tool sets can be resized and locked so that they’re always available.
The new Properties Bar keeps track of what objects and tools are selected and displays the most relevant options at all times. “The Properties Bar alone is a new feature that will make Canvas 9 worth consideration by graphics professionals,” Christensen said.
The new Attributes Manager provides one-stop access to: all fill and stroke inks (colors, gradients, hatches, textures, symbols, and patterns ); pen styles (plain, calligraphic, neon, and parallel); dash settings; and arrow styles.
If you like to use predefined colors and line styles, the new Attribute Preset Palettes makes them available directly from the main tool box and simplifies access to Canvas’ of predefined fill and stroke inks, pen styles, dashes, and arrow styles. You can also define, save, and share your own preset collections via the Add to Preset button.
A new Tab interface offers access to all document layers. Also, many pages are easier to control and navigate using a new pop-up menu interface. Layers and pages can be renamed by clicking and typing on their labels.
The Attribute History strip attached to the Presets palettes offers quick access to the most recently used fill and stroke inks, pen styles, dashes and arrow styles. And the new Attribute Styles Palette manages application-based styles and replaces the old favorites and object styles managers. Canvas’ Docking bar can now be docked on the left or right of the drawing window and not just on the top (as in earlier versions).
The new Configuration Center now handles all program preferences, tool and command settings from a central location. Canvas 9 also sports other new features, including an Object Path Editor, a math expression 2-D plotting tool, the Page Cropping Tool, interactive Print Preview, rewritten Auto Dimensioning tools, Annotation Tools, and more.
Canvas 9 Professional Edition
The Canvas 9 Professional Edition is the foundation for the Canvas 9 series of products, Christensen said. It delivers a technical illustration application that blends a micron-precise drawing engine with integrated image editing, presentations, print, and Web publishing features.
The Pro edition offers 100 new features and enhancements, including: greater drawing precision (double-floating point); the new intelligent user interface; new technical drawing features; an expanded Imaging Editing architecture; more scripting options; and support for more file formats. This edition is the default upgrade path for all prior versions of Deneba Canvas.
Canvas 9 Scientific Imaging Edition
The Canvas 9 Scientific Imaging Edition offers all the features of the Professional Edition and adds specialized tools that enable scientists and researchers to measure, analyze, import, and export digital image data with up to 32-bits of information per grayscale channel.
An open plug-in architecture plus an array of more than 12 NIH-compliant scientific and binary filters, and direct import of the DICOM file format and RAW file data support are reasons why ACD Systems is promoting the Scientific Imaging Edition to biotech, medical imaging, geological exploration and forensics professionals.
The Scientific Imaging Edition adds support for 8/16/FP32 depth images. You can directly import and export 8-bit, 16-bit, and FP32 real image data in RAW format using ASCII or Binary options.
The new Image Data viewer provides direct numeric access to image data. You can define the area of interest, edit values, copy and paste and view data in hexadecimal, signed, and unsigned decimal, FP-2, FP-4 and FP-8 decimal formats.
Canvas 9 GIS Mapping Edition
The Canvas 9 GIS Mapping Edition also sports all the technologies and features of the Professional Edition and integrates them with GIS specialized (latitude/longitude) data management tools.
In what ADC Systems describes as an industry first, the GIS Mapping Edition adds native support for GIS data to Canvas. You can take measurements in geographic coordinates, import industry standard SHAPE and GeoTIFF files into unlimited numbers of automatically aligned overlapping layers and choose among the following options: 2,104 coordinate reference Systems; 67 operation methods (like Mercator, Albers Conic Equal Area, etc.); 1,052 map projections; 302 geodetic datums; 21 angular units; and 45 length units.
Targeted users include professionals in such fields as cartography, oil, gas and mineral exploration, transportation, city planning, building and zoning, law enforcement, wildlife management, emergency services, and more.
“The Canvas GIS Mapping Edition lets Mac users work in GIS documents and do such work well,” Christensen said. “And since Canvas 9 blows away the desktop publishing constraints inherent with other DTP products, we’re offering a product that can meet the needs of all mapping professionals.”
System requirements for the Canvas 9 line are a Power Mac G3, Mac OS X (10.2 or higher), 128MB RAM, 100MB of free hard disk space, and 16-bit color or higher display (24-bit color and 1024×768 or higher screen resolution is recommended).
In case you’re wondering why Canvas is now being offered by ACD Systems and not Deneba, it’s because the companies merged in April. ACD Systems of America is a wholly owned division of ACD Systems International, which is based in Victoria, British Columbia.