Working with Objects

Shaping Commands, including Combine and Weld

Combining two or more objects creates a single object with common fill and outline attributes. You can combine rectangles, ellipses, polygons, stars, spirals, graphs, or text so that they are converted to a single curve object. If you need to modify the attributes of an object that has been combined from separate objects, you can break apart the combined object. You can extract a subpath from a combined object to create two separate objects. You can also weld two or more objects to create a single object.

The two objects (left) are combined to create a single object (right). The new object has the fill and outline properties of the last object selected.

To combine objects

1 Select the objects to be combined.

2 Click Object  Combine.

Combined text objects become larger blocks of text.

You can also combine selected objects by clicking the Combine button  on the property bar.

You can close open lines in a combined object by clicking Object  Join Curves and choosing settings in the Join Curves inspector.

 

To break apart a combined object

1 Select a combined object.

2 Click Object  Break Curve Apart.

If you break apart a combined object that contains artistic text, the text breaks apart into lines first, and then into words. Paragraph text breaks into separate paragraphs.

 

To extract a subpath from a combined object

1 Click the Shape tool , and select a segment, node, or group of nodes on a combined object.

2 Click the Extract subpath button  on the property bar.

After you extract the subpath, the fill and outline properties of the path are removed from the combined object.

You can create irregular shapes by welding and intersecting objects. You can weld or intersect almost any object, including clones, objects on different layers, and single objects with intersecting lines. However, you cannot weld or intersect paragraph text, dimension lines, or masters of clones.

You can weld objects to create one object with a single outline. The new object uses the welded objects’ perimeter as its outline and adopts the fill and outline properties of the target object. All intersecting lines disappear.

You can weld objects regardless of whether they overlap each other. If you weld objects that do not overlap, they form a weld group that acts as a single object. In both cases, the welded object takes on the fill and outline attributes of the target object.

You can weld single objects with intersecting lines so that the object breaks into several subpaths, but its appearance remains the same.

Welding the leaves to the apple creates a single object outline.

Intersecting creates an object from the area where two or more objects overlap. The shape of this new object can be simple or complex, depending on the shapes you intersect. The new object’s fill and outline attributes depend on the object you define as the target object.

To weld objects

1 Select the source object or objects.

2 Hold down Shift, and click the target object.

3 Click Object  Shaping  Weld.

The new object has the fill and outline properties of the target object.

You can also weld objects by marquee-selecting the source and target objects and clicking the Weld button  on the property bar.

 

To intersect objects

1 Select the source object or objects.

2 Hold down Shift, and select the target object.

3 Click Object  Shaping  Intersect.

The new object, which is created from the overlapping parts of the source and target object, has the fill and outline properties of the target object.

You can also intersect objects by selecting the source and target objects and clicking the Intersect button  on the property bar.

 

To intersect multiple objects

1 Marquee select the source object or objects.

2 Hold down Shift, and click each target object.

3 Click Object  Shaping  Intersect.

You can also intersect objects by marquee-selecting the source and target objects and clicking the Intersect button  on the property bar.

Grouping and Ungrouping

When you group two or more objects, they are treated as a single unit but retain their individual attributes. Grouping lets you apply the same formatting, properties, and other changes to all the objects within the group at the same time. In addition, grouping helps prevent accidental changes to the position of an object in relation to other objects. You can also create nested groups by grouping together existing groups.

Individual objects retain their attributes when they are grouped.

You can add objects to or remove objects from a group, and you can delete objects that are members of a group. You can also select and edit a single object in a group without ungrouping the objects. For information on selecting objects in groups, see Select an object in a group. If you want to edit multiple objects in a group at the same time, you must first ungroup the objects. If a group contains nested groups, you can ungroup all objects in the nested groups simultaneously.

To group objects

1 Select the objects.

2 Click Object  Group  Group.

The status bar indicates that a group of objects is selected.

You can select objects from different layers and group them; however, after objects are grouped, they reside on the same layer and are stacked on top of one another.

You can create a nested group by selecting two or more groups of objects and clicking Object  Group  Group.

You can also group objects by dragging an object in the Objects inspector over another object. If the Objects inspector is not open, click Window  Inspectors  Objects.

You can also group objects by clicking the Group objects button on the property bar.

 

To add an object to a group

• In the Objects inspector, drag the object to the group.

If the Objects inspector is not open, click Window  Inspectors  Objects.

 

To remove an object from a group

• In the Objects inspector, drag an object outside the group.

If the Objects inspector is not open, click Window  Inspectors  Objects.

You can also remove an object from a group by clicking the Pick tool , holding down Command, clicking the object in the drawing window, and then pressing Delete.

To delete an object in a group, select the object in the object list, and click Edit  Delete.

 

To edit an object in a group

1 Click the Pick tool .

2 Hold down Command, and click an object in a group to select it.

3 Edit the object.

You can also select an object in a group by clicking the object in the Objects inspector. If the Objects inspector is not open, click Window  Inspectors  Objects.

You can use Focus mode to facilitate the selection and editing of a specific object within an object group. When you bring an object into focus, it is temporarily brought to the front of the stacking order. For more information, see Edit objects in Focus mode.

 

To ungroup objects

1 Select one or more groups.

2 Click Object  Group, and click one of the following commands:

• Ungroup — breaks a group into individual objects, or a nested group into multiple groups

• Ungroup All — breaks one or more groups into individual objects, including objects within nested groups

Choosing Ungroup All also ungroups all nested groups. To preserve nested groups, select Ungroup.

You can also ungroup objects by clicking the Ungroup button  on the property bar.

You can also ungroup all nested groups within a group by clicking the Ungroup all button  on the property bar.

Alignment Commands and Alignment Guide

CorelDRAW lets you precisely align and distribute objects in a drawing.

You can align objects with each other and with parts of the drawing page, such as the center, edges, and the closest grid line. You can also align objects with a specified point by entering its exact x and y coordinates. You can align objects by their edges (left, right, top or bottom) or by their centers.

Distributing objects automatically adds spacing between them based on their width, height, and center points. You can distribute objects so that their center points or selected edges (for example, top or right) appear at equal intervals. You can also distribute objects so that there is equal space between them. You can distribute objects over the extent of the bounding box surrounding them or over the entire drawing page. In addition, you can distribute objects by specifying the distance between them.

Scattered objects (left) are vertically aligned and equally distributed (right).

To prevent blurry edges in objects designed for web use, you can align the objects with the pixel grid. This feature realigns the nodes or edges of the object to position them correctly on the pixel grid.

Align objects with the pixel grid to prevent blurry edges.

To align objects

1 Select the objects.

2 Click Object  Align and Distribute  Align and Distribute.

3 In the Align and Distribute inspector, choose a reference point by performing a task from the following table:

 

To	Do the following
Align an object with a specific object	Click the Selected objects button . If you select the objects one at a time, the last object selected is the reference point for aligning the other objects. If you marquee select the objects, the object that is positioned in the upper-left corner of the selection is used as a reference point.
Align an object with the page edge	Click the Page edge button .
Align an object with the page center	Click the Page center button . To align the center of the object with the page center, make sure that the Align center horizontally button  and Align center vertically button  in the Align area are enabled.
Align an object with the closest grid line	Click the Grid button .
Align an object with a specified point	Click the Specified point button , and type values in the X and Y boxes. You can also specify a point interactively by clicking the Specify point button, and clicking in the document window.

4 In the Align area of the inspector, click one of the following buttons to use an object edge or center for aligning.

• Align left  — to align the left edges of objects

• Align center horizontally  — to align object centers along a vertical axis

• Align right  — to align the right edges of objects

• Align top  — to align the top edges of objects

• Align center vertically  — to align object centers along a horizontal axis

• Align bottom  — to align the bottom edges of objects

To align objects from their outlines, enable the Use object outline check box.

 

You can also
Set an alignment option for text objects	Before clicking one of the alignment buttons described in the previous step, click one of the following buttons in the Text area: • First line baseline  — aligns and distributes text by the baseline of the first line • Last line baseline  — aligns and distributes text by the baseline of the last line • Bounding box  — aligns and distributes text by its bounding box

 

You can also align objects with another object quickly, without using the Align and Distribute inspector, by clicking Object  Align and Distribute and clicking any of the first six alignment commands. The keyboard symbol and letter next to a command name indicates the keyboard shortcut that you can use to align objects.

You can also align all objects with the page center, vertically and horizontally, by pressing P.

 

To distribute objects

1 Select the objects.

2 Click Object  Align and Distribute  Align and Distribute.

3 To choose the area over which the objects are distributed, click one of the following buttons in the Distribute to area of the Align and Distribute inspector:

• Selected objects  — distributes the objects over the area of the bounding box surrounding them

• Page edge  — distributes the objects over the entire drawing page

4 To distribute objects horizontally, click one of the following buttons:

• Distribute left  — evenly spaces the left edges of the objects

• Distribute center horizontally  — evenly spaces the center points of the objects along a horizontal axis

• Distribute right  — evenly spaces the right edges of the objects

• Distribute space horizontally  — places equal intervals between the objects along a horizontal axis

5 To distribute objects vertically, click one of the following buttons:

• Distribute top  — evenly spaces the top edges of the objects

• Distribute center vertically  — evenly spaces the center points of the objects along a vertical axis

• Distribute bottom  — evenly spaces the bottom edges of the objects

• Distribute space vertically  — places equal intervals between the objects along a vertical axis

Top row: Options for distributing objects horizontally. 1) The Left option evenly spaces the left edges. 2) The Center option evenly spaces the center points. Bottom row: Options for distributing objects vertically. 3) The Top option evenly spaces the top edges. 4) The Center option evenly spaces the center points.

 

To distribute objects by a specified distance

1 Select the objects.

2 Click Object  Align and Distribute  Align and Distribute.

3 In the Distribute to area of the Align and Distribute inspector, click the Object spacing button .

4 Type values in the H and V boxes.

5 To distribute objects horizontally, click any of the horizontal distribution buttons.

6 To distribute objects vertically, click any of the vertical distribution buttons.

 

To align an object with the pixel grid

1 Select an object.

To view the results, click View  Pixels, and adjust the zoom level to 800% or higher.

2 Click Object  Align and Distribute  Align and Distribute.

3 In the Align and Distribute inspector, click Align with Pixel Grid.

The object bounding box is aligned with the pixel grid.

The Align with Pixel Grid feature works with basic curves and shapes. It is unavailable for complex objects and effects such as symbols, text, symmetry groups, vector effects, and PowerClip objects.

Alignment Guides

You can align objects interactively on the drawing page by using alignment guides. Alignment guides are temporary guidelines that appear when you create, resize, or move objects in relation to other nearby objects. While dynamic guides provide precise measurements for creating technical illustrations, alignment guides are useful in page layout to align text or graphic elements quickly and accurately.

Alignment guides help you align the center of an object with the center of another object (center to center) or the edge of an object with the edge of another object (edge to edge). In addition, you can align the edge of an object with the center of another object (edge to center).

Alignment guides appear as an object is moved.

If you want to align an object at a set distance from the edge of another object, you can set margins for the alignment guides. After you specify the margins, you can choose how the edge guides appear: they can follow either the margins, or both the margins and the edges of the object.

Margin alignment guides let you use offset margins, inset margins, or both. There are separate controls for horizontal and vertical margin alignment guides, so you can modify settings for one without affecting the other.

You can offset (left) and inset (right) margin alignment guides.

Alignment guides are turned off by default. You can easily enable or disable alignment guides, or modify their default settings, including the color and line style. You can choose whether alignment guides appear for individual objects in a group, or for the bounding box of the group as a whole.

The Intelligent Spacing feature lets you precisely arrange and position an object in relation to other onscreen objects, and the Intelligent Dimensioning feature lets you intuitively scale and rotate an object in relation to other onscreen objects.

Intelligent Dimensioning displays indicators when an object is rotated to the same angle (top) or scaled to same size as the closest object (bottom).

Intelligent Spacing displays indicators when an object is equidistant between two other objects (left) or has the same spacing as the closest onscreen objects (right).

To enable or disable alignment guides

• Click View  Alignment Guides.

A check mark beside the Alignment Guides command indicates that alignment guides are enabled.

You can also enable alignment guides by pressing Shift + Command + A.

 

To modify alignment guide settings

1 Click Window  Inspectors  Live Guides.

2 In the Live Guides inspector, click the Alignment guides button .

3 Perform any of the following tasks.

 

To	Do the following
Enable or disable alignment guides	Enable or disable the check box in the top-right corner of the Alignment guides section.
Change the color of alignment guides	Open the Line color picker, and choose a color.
Change the line style of alignment guides	Open the Line style picker, and choose a line style.
Set guides to align the edge of an object with the edge of another object	Click the Object edges button .
Set guides to align the edge of an object with the center of another object	Click the Object centers button .
Set guides to align to individual objects in a group	Click the Individual objects in a group button .
Distribute objects using the same spacing as the closest onscreen objects	Ensure that the Intelligent spacing button  is enabled, and drag the object until indicator arrows appear.
Position an object equidistantly between two other objects	Ensure that the Intelligent spacing button is enabled, and drag the object between two other objects until indicator arrows appear.
Scale objects to the same dimensions as other onscreen objects	Ensure that the Intelligent dimensioning button  is enabled, and scale the object until indicator arrows appear.
Rotate objects to the same angle as other rotated onscreen objects	Ensure that the Intelligent dimensioning button is enabled, and rotate the object until rotation indicators appear.

 

To add margin alignment guides

1 Click Window  Inspectors  Live Guides.

2 In the Live Guides inspector, click the Alignment guides button .

3 Perform any of the following tasks.

 

To	Do the following
Add margin alignment guides	Enable the Margins check box. If the Margins check box is not displayed, click the arrow button  located at the bottom of the Alignment guides section.
Change the line color of margins	Open the Margin line color picker, and choose a color.
Change the line style of margins	Open the Margin line style picker, and choose a line style.
Set horizontal margins	Type a value in the Horizontal margin box, click the Horizontal margin button, and choose one of the following options: • Offset horizontally  — creates a margin of the specified distance around an object • Inset horizontally  — creates a margin of the specified distance within an object • Offset and inset horizontally  — creates margins of the specified distance around and within an object
Set vertical margins	Type a value in the Vertical margin box, click the Vertical margin button, and choose one of the following options: • Offset vertically  — creates a margin of the specified distance around an object • Inset vertically  — creates a margin of the specified distance within an object • Offset and inset vertically  — creates a margin of the specified distance around and within an object
Lock the ratio between vertical and horizontal margins	Click the Lock ratio button .
View only margin alignment guides	Disable the Object edges button , the Object centers button , the Intelligent spacing button , and the Intelligent dimensioning button .
Disable horizontal margins	Click the Horizontal margin button, and choose No horizontal margin.
Disable vertical margins	Click the Vertical margin button, and choose No vertical margin.

Copying vs Duplicate and Paste Special

CorelDRAW provides you with several ways to copy objects. When you no longer need an object, you can delete it.

You can cut or copy an object to place it on the Clipboard and paste it into a drawing or another application. Cutting an object places it on the Clipboard and removes it from the drawing. Copying an object places it on the Clipboard but keeps the original in the drawing.

Duplicating an object places a copy directly in the drawing window and does not use the Clipboard. Duplicating is faster than copying and pasting. When an object is duplicated, there is a distance between the duplicate and the original object along the x and y axes. This distance, known as duplicate offset, can be changed in the Preferences dialog box.

You can apply a transformation, such as rotating, sizing, or skewing, to the duplicate of an object while keeping the original object intact. If you decide that you want to keep the original object, you can delete the duplicate.

You can create multiple copies of objects simultaneously, while specifying their position, without using the Clipboard. For example, you can distribute object copies horizontally, to the left or right of the original object; or you can distribute copies of objects vertically, below or above the original object. You can specify the spacing between copies of objects, or you can specify the offset at which copies of objects are created in relation to each other.

You can use other methods to create copies of objects quickly, without using the Clipboard. You can use the plus sign (+) on the numeric keypad to place a copy of an object on top of the original object, or you can create copies instantly by pressing the Spacebar or Control-clicking while dragging an object.

To cut or copy an object

To paste an object into a drawing

• Click Edit  Paste.

You can use this procedure to paste an object from another application.

To paste an object from an unsupported file format, or to specify options for the pasted object, click Edit  Paste Special.

 

To duplicate an object

1 Select an object.

2 Click Edit  Duplicate.

Duplicating an object is useful for creating cuttable drop shadows for devices such as vinyl cutters and plotters.

You can also duplicate a selected object by pressing Command+ D.

To change the default duplicate offset, click Layout  Document Preferences. On the General page, type values in the Horizontal and Vertical boxes.

• Offset values of 0 place the duplicate on top of the original.

• Positive offset values place the duplicate up and to the right of the original.

• Negative offset values place the duplicate down and to the left of the original.

 

To create copies of an object at a specified position

1 Select an object.

2 Click Edit  Step and Repeat.

3 In the Step and Repeat inspector, type a value in the Number of copies box, and click Apply.

 

To	Do the following
Distribute copies of objects horizontally	In the Vertical settings area, choose No offset from the Mode list box. In the Horizontal settings area, choose Spacing between objects from the Mode list box. To specify the spacing between object copies, type a value in the Distance box. To place the object copies to the right or left of the original, choose Right or Left from the Direction list box.
Distribute copies of objects vertically	In the Horizontal settings area, choose No offset from the Mode list box. In the Vertical settings area, choose Spacing between objects from the Mode list box. To specify the spacing between copies of objects, type a value in the Distance box. To place the copies above or below the original, choose Up or Down from the Direction list box.
Offset all copies of objects by a specified distance	In the Horizontal settings and Vertical settings areas, choose Offset from the Mode list box, and type values in the Distance boxes.

Multiple copies of an object are offset by a specified distance.

 

To create copies of objects quickly

1 Select an object by using the Pick tool .

2 Press the Spacebar while rotating or transforming the object.

 

You can also
Place a copy of an object on top of the original	Press the plus sign (+) on the numeric keypad.
Create a single copy by using a mouse or stylus.	While moving, rotating, or transforming the object, Control-click and then release both mouse buttons.

 

To transform the duplicate of an object

1 Select an object.

2 Click Window  Inspectors  Transform.

3 Choose the settings you want in the Transform inspector.

4 Type 1 in the Copies box.

5 Click Apply.

You can clear a transformation by selecting an object and clicking Object  Clear Transformations.

 

To delete an object

1 Select an object.

2 Click Edit  Delete.

To retrieve a deleted object, you must use the Undo command. For more information, see Undo, redo, and repeat actions.

You can also delete an object by selecting it and pressing Delete.