Creating or Making new Stencils

[berchman]

Hi,
I'm wanting to create a new stencil that I can share with others to work on projects.

Is there a how-to-guide anywhere that will show me step-by-step how to do this?

Thanks,
berchman

[Ken Case]

You can find these instructions in OmniGraffle's online help (under "Stencils"):

You can make your own stencils. Just select New Stencil from the Stencils menu; a document window appears. Add objects to it just like you would in a normal OmniGraffle diagram. A preview of the stencil appears in the stencil window as you work. Once the stencil looks just how you want it, select Save from the File menu; the default location for saving is the Application Support folder inside your Library.

To share your stencil with others, just give them a copy of your saved stencil file.

I can't really think of any other steps, but we'd be happy to answer any further questions you might have. Hope this helps!

[berchman]

That's exactly what I was looking for Ken.

Once its completed I may send it in to share on the site with all users.

Cheers,
berchman

[thesser]

I am also interested in making some stencils since I can't find any with customized printer icons (if you know of any, holler).

Are there any tips for making good stencils so that shadows work well etc.? Or is it just a matter of cut and paste?

Thanks!

[johnny0]

To share your stencil with others, just give them a copy of your saved stencil file.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but double-clicking a stencil only temporarily adds it to the stencil inspector.

Other than dragging a new stencil to Stencils folder in /Library/Application Support/OmniGraffle/ , is there a straightforward way to add a stencil to one's collection? (Could have sworn this happened automatically back in 2.x or 3.x.)

A "Import This Stencil" button on the Stencil Inspector would be a nice touch, and a lot easier than digging around for the stencil folder.

[rekrabm]

What sometimes helps me is to use the sidebar in a finder window: I drop the stencil folder in there so I can use it as a target repeatedly.

[dude]

I have some symbols made up in AutoCad '06 LT. I want to import them in as a stencil.

I know how to create a stencil and then save it in OGP. But how do you bring in a JPG/PNG file, that is what I export my ACAD drawing so when you apply a fill, it will fill in the shape correctly or is this not possible unless I draw it from scratch in OGP?

[ulysses]

i've bene looking everywhere for real, detailed info on creating new, original stencils.

telling me to "select Stencil > New Stencil" is, basically, useless. what i need to know is:

* how do i make stencil items that are resizable (have handles, etc.)
*what's the best way to create and import custom images for use in my new stencil? file formats? resolution? limitations?

isn't there a lot of useful detail like this missing? i see a lot of nice stencils out there, and i can see right away they weren't created strictly inside OmniGraffle...

thanks.