Libraries and Movers

What are Libraries?

A library is a saved collection of similar items that can be loaded into a selector. For example, the built-in brushes (and their variants) are contained in the default brushes library, which is loaded when you open Corel Painter. You can find more brush libraries in the Corel Painter folder. As you customize brushes and other resources, you can save them into your own libraries.

Libraries are available for paper textures, patterns, gradients, weaves, brushes, looks, nozzles, layers, selections, lighting, and scripts. You can have any number of libraries, but only one of each type can be open at a time.

When you want other items, you can load alternate libraries. Libraries allow you to extend the Corel Painter tools and resources, without overloading a selector.

The methods for working with all libraries are the same, except for brushes. You can create new libraries, add items, or move items between libraries.

The methods for working with the libraries for Brushes, their categories, and variants are different. Brushes are loaded into memory when you open Corel Painter, so adding brushes to the default brush library increases the need for RAM. If you're working close to the memory threshold, you'll want to organize new brushes into secondary libraries. When you want a different brush set, just switch libraries. This helps Corel Painter be more efficient with memory usage. See "Using Brush Libraries" for more information.

It is a good idea to limit the number of resources in each library. This makes it easier to find a particular tool and helps Corel Painter manage memory.

What are Movers?

The tools for creating libraries and managing their contents are contained in the Movers. A Mover is provided on the selector menu and/or the palette menu for each resource supported by libraries. Selectors and/or palettes with Movers are: Papers, Gradients, Patterns, Weaves, Nozzles, Looks, Scripts, Image Portfolio, and Selection Portfolio.

Adding Resources to the Current Library

As you work with Corel Painter and create new resources, you can save them to the current library.

To add resources to the current library

1. Click the selector menu arrow or palette menu arrow for the resource you want to add to the library.
2. Choose Save [Resource Name].
3. In the Save dialog box, type a name in the Save As box.

• Over time, with additions and deletions, library file sizes are compounded. For best results, save new items into new libraries.

Loading Alternate Libraries

When you want to use the items of a different library, you must load the alternate library.

To load an alternate library

1. Open the selector or display the palette from which you want to load an alternate library.
2. Click the selector menu arrow or the palette menu arrow, and choose Load Library.
3. In the Load Library dialog box, locate and choose the library you want to open.

Corel Painter loads the resources from that library into the selector and palette.

• When you save an item, Corel Painter puts it in the current library. If this is not where you want it, be sure to switch libraries before saving the resource. You can move items between libraries, but switching libraries before saving the resource will spare you that extra step.

Creating a Library

To create a new library

1. Click the selector menu arrow or palette menu arrow for the resource you want to use to create the new library.
2. Choose [Resource Name] Mover.
3. In the Mover dialog box, click New.
4. In the New Library dialog box, browse to the location where you want to save the new library.
5. Type a descriptive name in the File Name box, and click Save.

The new library's name appears on the right side of the Mover window. The area above the name is blank because this new library is empty. To put items in it, you can move them from other libraries.

• It's a good idea to save libraries in the same place. This makes them easy to locate and load when you want them.

Customizing Libraries

The tools for creating libraries and managing their contents are contained in the Movers. A Mover is provided on the selector menu and/or palette menu for each resource supported by libraries.

Brush libraries are created and managed differently. See "Using Brush Libraries" for procedures.

Moving Items Between Libraries

Movers copy resources from the library on one side of the Mover window to the library on the other side of the Mover window.

When you open a Mover, the resources of the current library are listed on the left. This is the library you'll move items "from." If this is not what you want, you can open a different library as the source.

When the source library is open on the left side and the destination library is open on the right, you are ready to move resources.

To open a new library as the source

1. Click the selector menu arrow or palette menu arrow for the resource you want to use.
2. Choose [Resource Name] Mover.
3. In the Mover dialog box, click Close to close the current library.
4. Click Open.
5. In the Open Library File dialog box, choose a library to use as the source library.

To open a new destination library

1. Click the selector menu arrow or palette menu arrow for the resource you want to use.
2. Choose [Resource Name] Mover.
3. In the Mover dialog box, click Open.
4. In the Open Library File dialog box, choose a library file to use as the destination library.

To move an item from one library to another

• In the Mover dialog box, drag the item from the source library to the destination library.