2015

You can also specify box color in an Item Style. For more about Item Styles, see "Item
Styles XTensions software."
Applying blends to boxes
A blend is a gradual transition from one color to another. To apply a blend to the
background of active boxes, do one of the following:
• (Windows only) Choose Item > Modify (Command+M/Ctrl+M), click the Box tab, and
then use the controls in the Blend area.
• (MAC OS X only) Use the controls in the Home/Classic tab of the Measurements
palette.
• Display the Colors palette (Window > Colors), click the Background Color button
, and then use the controls in the palette.
The blend-related controls available in this tab and palette are as follows:
• Style: Lets you control the type of blend.
• Angle: Lets you control the angle of the transition from one color to the other.
Blends have two colors, each of which can have its own shade and opacity. The color
in the Box area is the first color and the color in the Blend area is the second color.
In the Colors palette, click #1 to set up the first color and #2 to set up the second
color.
You can also specify blends in an Item Style. For more about Item Styles, see "Item
Styles XTensions software."
Merging and splitting boxes
Options in the Merge or Split Paths submenu (Item menu) let you create complex
Bézier boxes from existing boxes. For example, if a rectangular box overlaps an oval
box, you can select the submenu and choose an option that will create a single box
with the same content. If you merge two picture boxes, one picture will display in the
combined box. If you merge two text boxes, the text flows as one story through both
boxes.
To use the Merge feature, select two items and then choose one of the following
options from the Merge or Split Paths submenu:
• The Intersection command retains any areas where items overlap the back item, and
removes the rest.
• The Union command combines all the items into one box, retaining all overlapped
areas as well as non-overlapped areas.
• The Difference command deletes the front items. Any overlapping areas will be cut
out.
• The Reverse Difference command deletes the back item. Any overlapping areas will
be cut out.
• The Exclusive Or command leaves all of the shapes intact but cuts out any areas where
there is overlap. If you want to edit the points surrounding the cut-out area, you will
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BOXES, LINES, AND TABLES