Operation Manual

82 Working with Objects
Combining lines and shapes
Combining curves is a way of creating a composite object from two or more
lines or drawn shapes. As with cropping to a shape, the object in front clips the
object(s) behind, in this case leaving one or more "holes" where the component
objects overlapped. As with grouping, you can apply formatting (such as line or
fill) to the combined object and continue to edit individual nodes and segments
with the Pointer Tool. Unlike those other methods, a combined object
permanently takes the line and fill properties of the front object. Combining is
reversible, but the component objects keep the line and fill properties of the
combined object.
Combining is a quick way to create a mask or stencil cutout:
QuickShapes Convert to
Curves
Combine
Curves
Drop Shadow
Added
To combine two or more selected lines or drawn shapes:
1. Draw your two lines or QuickShapes.
2. Place the "clipping" object in front of the object to be cut out.
3. Select each object and choose Tools>Convert To>Curves for both.
4. Select both objects.
5. Choose Combine Curves from the Arrange menu.
To restore the original shapes from a combined object:
• Select it and choose Split Curves from the Arrange menu.