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All objects, including Pictures, Drawing Shapes and Text Boxes interact with each other in
predictable ways. For example objects can be:
• Grouped together so they can be manipulated/formatted as one object
• Arranged in a different stacking order
• Aligned with each other in specific ways
• Spaced apart from each other at specific intervals
• Flipped horizontally and/or vertically
• Positioned at a specific spot on the slide
• Rotated in different ways
• Slanted in different directions
Group/Ungroup Objects
All objects can be Grouped together regardless of their type. When objects are grouped together
they stay in the same relative position to each other. Clicking on any of the objects in the group
selects the whole group. Any number of objects can be grouped. It doesn't matter if the objects
overlap each other or not. When objects are grouped they act as one object.
When objects are Grouped together:
• The selection handles are applied to the group.
Grouping/Ungrouping Objects
When the objects are grouped together, their Selection Handles are green. Objects can be Grouped
or Ungrouped by:
Enter/Exit Group
A common problem with ungrouping objects to make a quick change is that objects can get
accidentally moved out of position, particularly if they overlap each other. The Enter Group
command allows you to enter the group and modify each object individually within the group
without affecting the other objects within the group. Any modification can be done including
changing their colour/outline, scaling, changing the stacking order, and even deleting objects within
the group. You can still use the Shift key or Selection Net to select multiple objects within the group
to modify multiple objects at the same time.
To Enter and Exit a Group:
• Right click Context Menu
• Modify Menu: MODIFY->ENTER GROUP or MODIFY->EXIT GROUP
• The Keyboard Shortcut: F3 to Enter Group and CTRL+F3 to Exit group
• Double click on the slide to Exit the Group
Arrange Command
Arrange Button
Every object added to the slide is placed on a separate stacking order. Each
new object added is placed one higher in the stacking order. In other words, the first object placed
on the slide is at the bottom of the stacking order and the last object placed is at the top of the
stacking order. No two objects can occupy the same stacking order even if grouped. Regardless
where an object exists in the stacking order it can be moved up or down the stacking order.
Objects are moved through the stacking order with the Arrange command. To access the Arrange
command:
• Right click for the Context menu
• Modify Menu: MODIFY-> ARRANGE
• The Arrange Button on the Drawing toolbar
• Keyboard shortcuts, there are a variety of Arrange shortcuts with the two most common:
Bring to Front - "CTRL+SHIFT+ +" and Send to Back - "CTRL+SHIFT+ -".
Red Circle 1: Bring Forward, the Circle moves up one level in the stacking order
Red Circle 1: Bring to Front, the Circle moves to the top of the stacking order.
Blue Square 4: Send Backward, the Square moves down one level in the stacking order
Blue Square 4: Send to Back, the Square goes to the bottom of the stacking order
Reverse: all objects reverse their stacking order
There are four basic Arrange commands, two selectable Arrange commands and one Arrange
command to completely reverse the stacking order. The four basic Arrange commands are self
explanatory: Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward and Send to Back. The two
selectable commands: In Front of Object and Behind Object allow you to place an object
specifically in Front or Behind any other object in the stacking order. The Reverse command does
exactly that, it reverses the stacking order.
Aligning Objects
Alignment Button
Objects can be aligned with each other either vertically or horizontally . The objects to be aligned
need to be selected but not grouped. If the objects are grouped the Align command will apply to
grouped object and its alignment to the slide. The Alignment Commands can be accessed through:
• Right click Context menu
• Modify menu: MODIFY-> ALIGN
• The Alignment Button on the Drawing toolbar
Horizontal Alignment
The Horizontal Alignments move objects left or right not up and down. The vertical
positioning of the objects remain the same. There are three Horizontal Alignments:
• Left: all objects are aligned to the object that is furthest to the left. In other words all the left
edges of the objects are aligned to the left edge of the object that is furthest left.
• Center: all objects are aligned to the centre point of the object that is most centred amongst
them.
• Right: all objects are aligned to the object that is furthest to the right. In other words all the
right edges of the objects are aligned to the right edge of the object that is furthest right.
Vertical Alignment
The Vertical Alignments move the objects up or down not left and right. The horizontal positioning
of the objects remain the same. There are three Vertical Alignments:
• Top: all objects are aligned to the top object. In other words all the top edges of the objects
are aligned to the top edge of the object that is furthest to the top.
• Center: all objects are aligned to the centre point of the object that is most centred amongst
them.
• Bottom: all objects are aligned to the object that is furthest to the bottom. In other words all
the bottom edges of the objects are aligned to the bottom edge of the object that is furthest to
the bottom.
Spacing Distribution
The Distribution Command distributes space amongst selected objects. If the objects are all the
same size then the empty space between then will be equal. When distributing space amongst
objects, the first and last objects remain in position and all the other objects are spaced between
them.
Horizontal Distribution
As the name implies the spacing is applied Horizontally (left/right) amongst the selected objects.
The four options are:
• Center: This
spacing measurement is taken from the Centre of all objects. If the objects have different
widths then the actual empty space between each object will not be the same even though
their horizontal centres are evenly spaced from each other. In the first example the blue
square and the green circle have the same width and as such the empty space between them
and red rectangle is identical. In the second example all three shapes have different widths
and although they are still evenly spaced from their horizontal centres, the actually empty
space between each object is not the same.
Vertical Distribution
As the name implies the spacing is applied Vertically (top/bottom) amongst the selected objects.
The four options are:
• Top: This spacing measurement is taken from the Top edge of all objects. If the
objects have different heights then the actual empty space between each object will not be
the same, even though their top edges are evenly spaced from each other.
• Center: This spacing measurement is taken from the Centre of all
objects. If the objects have different heights then the actual empty space between each object
will not be the same even though their vertical centres are evenly spaced from each other. In
the first example the blue square and the green circle are almost the same height and
therefore are almost evenly spaced from the red rectangle with almost the same amount of
empty space. In the second example all three shapes are different heights and although they
are still evenly spaced from their vertical centres, the actually empty space between each
object is not the same.
• Spacing: This spacing measurement Evenly distributes the Vertical empty space
between each object regardless of their heights. Therefore all object will have the same
amount of empty space between them.
• Bottom: This spacing measurement is taken from the Bottom edge of all objects.
If the objects have different heights then the actual empty space between each object will not
be the same, even though their bottom edges are evenly spaced from each other.
In this illustration demonstrating the 4 options of Horizontal Distribution, two sets of objects are
compared: objects with different widths (top row of objects) and objects having the same width
(bottom row of objects). In the top row of objects, the only way to get the same empty space
between each object is with the Spacing options. In the bottom row all objects have the same
amount of empty space regardless of the Distribution option used because all the objects have the
same width.
Top
Flipping Objects Horizontally/Vertically
The Position and Size dialogue box allows you to precisely scale, position
and rotate objects on the slide. You can also slant objects (skew) and apply rounded corners to a
rectangle created via the Rectangle tool. This box contains 3 tabs:
• Position and Size: Allows for the exact positioning and/or precise sizing of an object.
Objects can also be "Protected" (locked) from being moved and/or resized.
• Rotation: Allows for the precise rotation of an object around a "Pivot Point".
• Slant & Corner Radius: Precisely slants an object and also allows for a corner radius to be
applied to a rectangle that was created using the Rectangle tool.
Position and Size Tab
Position
The red circles placed over the sizing handles indicates the object's Base Points. The Position X and
Y for each Base Point were set at 0 which is the top left corner of the Text Boundary box. Note how
the different Base Points truly effect the object's positioning.
Size
Protect
The Protect section locks the size and/or position of an object. There are two
options:
• Position: If the Position option is checked the object can neither be moved nor resized.
Checking the Position option automatically checks and greys out the Size option so that the
Size option can not be unchecked.
• Size: If only the Size option is checked then only the size is Protected (locked) not the
positioning.
When the mouse pointer is placed over any sizing handle on a Protected object, the pointer changes
to the Protect icon.
Rotation Tab
Pivot Point
In this illustration the Original sample shows a blue Arrow Shape placed inside a red Square of
equal size. The Arrow is then rotated 45 degrees using five different Pivot Points. The small red
circles mark the Pivot Points. As shown the different Pivot Points clearly influence the Arrow
Shape's position as it rotates around the Square.
Rotation Angle
The 8 Default Rotation Settings applied to Top Left Pivot Point indicated in red.
The Corner Radius is applied in small increments, the amount used depends on whether the shape is
a Square or Rectangle and the shape of the rectangle. In this example anything under 1cm will
produce a corner radius. Anything over 1cm will just produce an oval shape as shown.
Slant
The second section is the Slant option. Just about any vector object can be
slanted except a text box created with the Text tool. Ironically, if a Drawing Shape containing text is
slanted the text will slant also. Positive numbers slant to the Right, Negative numbers slant to the
Left. If the angle of degree goes beyond 80, most object will slant down to almost a flat shape that
resembles a very long line. Pictures can not be slanted unless they are first converted to a Curve. If
a shape contains a Bitmap Fill, the shape will slant but not the Bitmap fill.
As shown in this illustration, as the degree of slant increases so does the elongation of the shape to
the point where it becomes almost a line at 90 degrees. The 90 degree line is shown here in a
truncated form, as it actually becomes a very long flat shape resembling a line.
Conclusion
Basic commands such as Group, Align, Distribution and Arrange are essential when working with
objects. A fundamental knowledge in these areas go a long way in making your next project easier
to handle.