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This allows you to use existing objects as a ‘palette’ of available styles. Click an object
to select it, then draw new objects in that style.
You can turn off this behavior in the
GENERAL TAB (on page 346) of the "UTILITIES" >
"
OPTIONS" dialog. Select the GIVE NEW OBJECTS MOST RECENT ATTRIBUTES checkbox.
Now the current attributes will only change when you set them manually, as
described above.
Attribute groups
Many designs consist of a combination of closed filled shapes and open shapes (lines
where the start and end points are not coincident). Normally it wouldn’t be desirable
to have the attributes of an open shape used for a closed shape, nor vice-versa.
Therefore the attributes for open and closed shapes are kept separate – these are
known as attribute groups. Setting the values of one group does not affect the other
group. So for example, selecting a filled rectangle with no outline will not change the
current line width to zero for open shapes.
For the same reasons, text attributes make up a third attribute group. The text
attribute group is only set when you select text objects, or when you set the attributes
manually while in the text tool.
Exempt attributes
Some attributes do not get set as current automatically even when ‘Give new objects
most recent attributes’ is on. This is because some attributes can cause problems if
they become current.
For example if you applied a 10 pixel feather to a large object (to blur the edges) and
then drew a new 10 pixel sized shape, that new shape would be invisible if the feather
attribute was copied to it, due to the amount of feathering!
Other attributes can adversely affect the way designs export, or significantly increase
the time taken to render the design and so should not be applied unnecessarily.
Examples of attributes which are copied automatically:
• Fill colors, fill styles, line width, line color, line style, line join style, line endcap
style, arrow heads/tails, text font, text font size, text margins.
Examples of attributes which are not copied automatically:
• Feather, transparency, shadow, bevel, contour, 3D extrude, live effects.
Resetting current attributes
You can reset all current attribute groups instantly by pressing "Esc" when you have
no objects selected. If you have objects selected, pressing "Esc" clears the selection,
so just press "Esc" again to reset the current attributes back to their default values.