2013

Object Handling 103
Object Handling
Moving objects
To slide an object across the page
1. Choose the SELECTOR TOOL.
2. Drag the object to the required position. Hold down "Ctrl" to restrict the
direction of movement to one of the constrain angles.
The constrain angles are user definable. Refer to "Customizing Page & Layout
Designer (on page 345)"
Hold down "Ctrl + Alt" and you can drag the selected object even if the pointer is not
over it. This is useful when the selected object is hidden behind another object or part
of a group. Release "Ctrl" and "Alt" after you start the move unless you want to
constrain the move.
You can also move objects using the arrow cursor keys. This is described on the next
page.
Object snapping is a very powerful way of accurately aligning lines, points and the
edges of objects to any other object so they exactly touch. It also helps you align to
the horizontal and vertical center lines of the page.
To toggle object snapping, click the SNAP TO OBJECTS button or right click and
choose "
SNAP TO" > "SNAP TO OBJECTS". You can also choose "WINDOW" >
"
SNAP TO OBJECTS".
Click and drag on the object you want to snap. As you drag, Page & Layout Designer
displays a magnet icon whenever you are near a "point of interest" or potential
snapping site relative to a visible object on the page.
To snap in a path relative to the page center (both horizontally and vertically), move
the object over the lines that appear as you drag on the page. A red dot on the line
also indicates potential "point to path" snapping points, so that you can snap the
object to a point such as the center or center line of the page.
See Snapping (on page 114) for details on snapping to grid and snapping to objects.
Drop copy
During a move (and while still holding the left mouse button down) click the right
mouse button or press + on the numeric keypad to drop a copy of the object. The
original object doesn’t move. You can do this as many times as you wish to create a
series of duplicated objects.