9.3

Manipulating items
Items can be cut and then pasted in new locations, locked so they cannot move, duplicated
once or many times, stacked to create unusual visual effects, and manipulated in other
ways.
Selecting items
To manipulate items, you must first select them. Once selected, most kinds of items display
outlines and handles for reshaping.
To select an item, first select the Item tool , the Text Content tool , or the Picture
Content tool and move the Arrow pointer over an item. Click once to select a single
item or Shift+click individual items to select more than one item at a time. You can also
select multiple items by selecting the Item tool and drawing around an area that contains
the items.
With the Item tool selected, if you double-click a text box, the Import dialog box
displays. If you double-click an empty picture box with the Item tool or the Picture
Content tool selected, the Import dialog box displays. If the picture box contains a
picture, the Picture Content tool is selected.
To deselect an active item, click outside it. When the Item tool is selected, you can press
Tab to deselect any active items.
Moving items
You can move items by entering values in the Origin Across and Origin Down fields in
the Modify dialog box (Item menu), by entering values in the X and Y fields in the
Measurements palette, and by manually moving items using the Item tool . If you hold
down the mouse before moving a box or text path, you can see the contents as you move
the item. You can also "nudge" items by selecting the Item tool and pressing an arrow key
on your keyboard.
The box's item handles demarcate the bounding box. The best way to view the bounding
box clearly is to use the Item tool to select item handles on a Bézier box.
Cutting, copying, and pasting items
When the Item tool is selected, the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands (Edit menu) are
available for active boxes, lines, and text paths. Choose Edit > Paste (Command+V/Ctrl+V)
to place a copy of the items contained on the Clipboard in the center of the project window.
When the Item tool is selected, you can remove items with the Clear (Mac OS only)
and Delete commands. Cleared and deleted items are not copied to the Clipboard.
Controlling the stacking order of items
When two or more items overlap, each is either positioned in front of or behind the other
item. The term "stacking order" refers to the front-to-back relationship of the various items
76 | A GUIDE TO QUARKXPRESS 9.3
BOXES, LINES, AND TABLES