4.1.7. Default Color, Line Width, and Line Style

Figure 4.7. Default Color, Line Width, and Line Style

Below the special objects palette are controls for setting the default foreground and background color, line width, and line style. These controls all set default properties for new objects being added to the canvas. They do not affect the properties of existing objects already on the palette. These settings stay in effect for all future Dia sessions, until they are changed.

The two squares on the left allow you to set the default foreground and background colors for all new objects being added to the diagram. If you double-click on the upper square (i.e., the black one in the screenshot above), you can set the default foreground color for all new objects. Double-clicking on the lower square (white in the screenshot) allows you to select the default background color. See Objects / Colors for more information about selecting colors.

	Tip
	Figure 4.8. Restore Default Colors Button To set the colors back to the default, click on the black and white box to the bottom left of the color selector.

	Tip
	Figure 4.9. Reverse Colors Button To inverse the colors, click on the little arrow to the top right of the two boxes.

Figure 4.10. Default Line Width

To the right of the two squares are five lines of increasing width. To select the desired default line width, simply click on it. A dashed-rectangle indicates which width is currently selected.

Figure 4.11. Arrow and Line Style

At the bottom of the Toolbox are three buttons. The left button allows you to select the default arrow shape for the beginning of a line. In the screenshot this is defaulting to "no arrow". The right button allows you to select the default arrow shape for the end of a line. Since only lines have arrows, these buttons only affect line objects and have no effect on other shapes. The middle button allows you to select the default line style (solid, dashed, etc.).

	Note
	The line-width and line style settings affect all basic objects. For shapes, these settings determine the line properties of the shape outlines. These settings also are used for some special objects (e.g., Flowchart objects). Other special objects (e.g., AADL objects) have fixed line widths and are not affected by these settings.