2018

THE USER INTERFACE
A Guide to QuarkXPress 2018 | 5
Use the Convert Point tool to automatically convert corner points to curve•
points, and curve points to corner points. Click and drag to change the position
of a point, the curve of a curved line segment, or the position of a straight line
s
egment. Select this tool and click a rectangular box or straight line to convert
the item to a Bézier box or line.
Use the Scissors tool to cut an item into distinct paths.•
Use the Select Point tool to select curves or points so that you can move•
them or delete them. Press Shift and click to select multiple points. Option-
click/Alt-click a point to make it symmetrical.
Use the Freehand Drawing tool to draw any shape line or box you want. If•
you don’t close a freehand box, it remains a line. To automatically close a
freehand box, press Option/Alt.
Use the Item Format Painter tool to copy all attributes applied to one item•
and apply them to any other item.
Use the Tables tool to create a table.•
Use the Zoom tool to enlarge or reduce the document view.•
Use the Pan tool to reposition the active layout.•
You can use key commands to declare the box content type as you draw using the

Rectangle Box tool: Press R while drawing to declare Picture content or press T
while drawing to declare Text content. To change the content type of an existing
box, right-click on the box and choose Content > Text, Picture or None
For more information about Bézier boxes and lines, see “Creating Bézier boxes“ and 
“Creating Bézier lines.”
To pan the layout while a Pen tool is selected, press Shift+Space and then click and

drag.
To add text to a line or path, select the Text Content tool and double-click the

line or path.
For more information about Composition Zones, see “
Creating a Composition Zones 
item.”
Users can display the Tools palette (Windows menu) horizontally, as well as

vertically. To display the palette horizontally, on Windows Ctrl+double-click the title
bar and on Mac OS X dock the tool palette to the top edge.
Tool key commands
When no text box or text path is active, you can switch tools quickly using the
following key commands:
Tool Windows Mac OS X
Item tool V V
Text Content tool T T
Text Linking tool T N