To get started, click New, then drag out a rectangle on the workspace.  Your first object will appear.
When using a slider, click the Left Mouse button to get the slider arm to move towards the pointer position, and click the Right Mouse button to get the arm to jump to the pointer position.
To work on details use Pan & Zoom action mode to zoom in and out.  Click the Left Mouse button to zoom in, Right to zoom out.
To load a bitmap, enter Edit action mode then drag out a rectangle and choose Load Bitmap from the menu that appears.
To remove spots on a bitmap, try making an Ellipse with a Solid Color chosen from the bitmap, or use an Ellipse Fade with a Blur.
A quick way to enter Edit action mode is F2  To toggle between action modes, press F3.
To apply an effect to a bitmap, select the bitmap, then click the Right Mouse button for the menu.  Duplicate the object, then change it to a Blur, Sharpen or Contrast.
To move your view, use Pan & Zoom action mode and drag the Right Mouse button.  Or use SHIFT+Right Mouse button in other action modes.
Contrast does more than just change the overall Contrast and Brightness.  It can also adjust the color in your photos using the color channels or even make a negative version of objects below.
To isolate a Wave effect on an object, like a text object, copy the object to the Clipboard and then make a Custom Region using that text from the Clipboard (in black) with a wave over it.
For a different effect use Contrast and Brightness, then draw a curve in the graph for Red, Green and Blue.
Easy projects begin with .ORC files, which are Object Archives.  Draw a rectangle in Edit action mode, then choose Load Object.
After pulling a dialog away from the Access Bar, you can roll up the box.  Double click on the Title bar with the Left Mouse button.  This will give you more space.  Repeat to unroll it.
You can push any button on the Access Bar to see the control it represents without fear of actually changing an object.
The Smooth Bitmaps setting slows Photo>Graphics rendering.  To speed things up, turn it off under the Output Settings dialog.
The Custom Region work area may be resized to provide a larger work area.
An easy way to apply an effect Tool to an existing, visible object is to duplicate the visible object and then change the Tool of the object on top.
Try adjusting the transparency of the embossed object.  This is especially effective when the Emboss object is placed over a bitmap image.
If you change your mind about manipulating an object and are in the middle of performing the action, you can cancel the operation by clicking on the second mouse button while still holding down the first one.
To create perfect circles and squares, open the Size, Position and Angle dialog by pressing its button on the Access Bar and set the object's width and height to the same value.
You can Zoom in on an area from the object Edit mode by pressing and holding the Shift key while dragging out a rectangle around a selected area with the Left Mouse button.
Check the TrueSpectra Web site for the availability of .GDO and .ORC collections and bitmap images -- www.truespectra.com.
For an airbrush effect, try using the roller with a softness setting about five times the pen size (ie. a pen size of 1 would need a softness of 5).