Object Browser

Here we introduce objects and the Object Browser:

About objects

In ActivInspire, everything you add to a flipchart is an object of one kind or another. For example, if you write something with the Pen , draw a shape, add a picture, or add a link to a sound file, each of these items is an object. You can add many different types of objects to a flipchart. The Object Browser helps you to keep track of the number and types of objects in your flipchart and to quickly get to grips with objects in a flipchart created by somebody else.

About layers and stacking

The Object Browser shows details of the objects on the current page. Although a page is flat, a flipchart page actually has four layers!  These are like transparent sheets which only contain certain object types unless you move objects from one layer to another. Within a layer, you can stack objects on top of each other.

By default:

This layer...

Contains...

Top

Annotations: anything you draw with the Pen , Highlight , or Magic Ink , a secret weapon which we introduce later.

Anything you draw with the Connector .

Middle

Images, shapes and text objects.

Bottom

You can drag and drop objects onto this layer.

Background

Backgrounds, grids and page color.

By selecting objects listed in the Object Browser you can drag and drop them between the first three layers in the Browser, but not the background layer. This directly alters their layering on the flipchart page. Layers are completely separate from each other. In other words, you can replace the background without affecting your images or annotations. Or you can annotate over your photographs and background without affecting other layers.

For more details, see Using layers and stacking.

View objects

Use the Object Browser to see at a glance:

Work with objects

Use the Object Browser to:

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Example

The picture shows details of the objects on the current flipchart page.

You can see in the Browser, that all the objects are identified by:

  • The icon of the tool that created them

  • Their name.

The Browser shows clearly which objects are on which layer:

There are eight objects in the top layer. These are the annotations written with the Pen

There are four objects in the middle layer:

The printed text created with the Text Tool.

Note the lock next to the Text object in the Browser. This indicates that the object has been locked in place. The lock is a toggle switch that allows you to quickly lock and unlock objects.

The triangle and squares created with the Shape Tool are in the middle layer by default. Note the crossed-out eye next to the object in the Browser. This indicates that the triangle is a hidden object. As you can see on the flipchart page, the triangle is not visible. The eye is a toggle switch that allows you to quickly show and hide objects.

There is only one object in the bottom layer, a square created with the Shape Tool. In the Object Browser, we dragged this object down from the middle layer, where it was created.

The yellow page background is on its own layer. We inserted this background with the Page Browser.

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