Working with Objects
These commands are in the Object menu, in the canvas right-click menu, and — for the most common ones — in the toolbar's dynamic zone while something is selected.
Position and size
The inspector's Position and Size section gives exact numeric control over the selection:
| Field | Range |
|---|---|
| X, Y | Position of the object's top-left corner |
| Width, Height | Between 1 and 4000 points |
| Lock Aspect Ratio | Keeps width and height in proportion when you change either |
| Angle | Rotation, from −360° to 360° |
| Opacity | 0 to 1 |
Transform
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| Flip Horizontally | Mirrors the selection left to right |
| Flip Vertically | Mirrors the selection top to bottom |
| Rotate | Turns the selection 90° clockwise |
| Rotate Counterclockwise | Turns the selection 90° counterclockwise |
Grouping
Group (⌘G) combines the selected objects into a single object that moves, resizes and restyles as one. Ungroup (⇧⌘G) reverses it.
Double-click a group with the Select tool to reach a single child without ungrouping.
Frames
Use as Frame turns the selection into a container that clips its contents. Qwing uses the reference shape — or the bottom-most shape if there is no reference — as the container, places the rest inside it, and clips them to the container's outline.
A frame is the right tool when you want to crop a group of objects to a shape: build the shape, put the objects on top of it, select everything, and choose Use as Frame.
Masks
A mask uses one object's outline to control what is visible from the objects above it.
| Command | Shortcut | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Use as Mask | ⌃⌘M | Makes the bottom-most selected object a mask for the others |
| Release Mask | — | Removes the mask, restoring the objects |
| Ignore Underlying Mask / Respect Underlying Mask | — | Toggles whether the selection is affected by a mask below it |
The inspector's Mask section sets the mask mode:
- Alpha — the mask's transparency decides what shows through, so a soft-edged or semi-transparent mask produces soft edges.
- Outline — only the mask's outline matters; anything inside it shows.
Boolean operations
Boolean commands combine the selected shapes into a single new shape. They need at least two shapes selected.
| Command | Result |
|---|---|
| Union | Everything covered by any of the shapes |
| Difference | The first shape with the others subtracted from it |
| Intersect | Only the area covered by all of the shapes |
| XOR | The area covered by an odd number of shapes — overlaps are cut out |
| Combine Paths | Joins the shapes into one path without changing the covered area |
The result is a boolean group, which keeps its operands. Double-click it to enter the group and select or restyle an individual operand; the combined result updates as you go. Flatten bakes the boolean group down into a plain path, after which the operands are no longer separately editable.
Arranging
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| Bring to Front | Moves the selection above everything else |
| Send to Back | Moves the selection below everything else |
| Bring Forward | Moves the selection up one layer |
| Send Backward | Moves the selection down one layer |
Aligning
Align commands need at least two objects selected. Everything moves to line up with the reference object — the one you selected first.
| Command | Aligns |
|---|---|
| Align Left / Align Right | Left or right edges |
| Align Horizontal Centers | Horizontal midpoints |
| Align Top / Align Bottom | Top or bottom edges |
| Align Vertical Centers | Vertical midpoints |
The same six buttons appear as a grid in the inspector's Align and Distribute section whenever two or more objects are selected.
Distributing
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| Distribute Horizontally | Spreads objects evenly left to right |
| Distribute Vertically | Spreads objects evenly top to bottom |
| Distribute Evenly | Evens out the spacing between objects |
Paths
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| Convert Text to Path | Turns text into editable vector outlines |
| Outline Stroke | Converts a stroke into a filled shape following the stroke's outline |
| Text on Path | Runs the selected text along the selected path |
| Remove Text from Path | Detaches text from its path, returning it to a normal text object |
To put text on a path, select the text and the path together and choose Text on Path. The inspector's Text section then gains start, spacing and flip controls for positioning the text along the path. See Text.
Convert Text to Path is worth knowing about because fonts are the one part of a document that depends on what is installed on the machine. Converting to paths guarantees the letterforms survive, at the cost of no longer being editable as text.
Fractal patterns
Generate Fractal Pattern… builds a repeating pattern from the selected shape. It appears in the Object menu, the canvas right-click menu, and the Layers right-click menu.
| Setting | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Preset | Spiral, Radial, Sierpinski | |
| Depth | 1 to 8 | How many generations to draw |
| Scale | 0.3 to 1 | How much each generation shrinks; not used by Sierpinski |
| Angle | 5° to 90° | Spiral only |
| Copies per Generation | 3 to 16 | Radial only |
The sheet shows how many shapes the current settings will produce before you commit. Very deep or very wide settings can generate a lot of objects — the generator stops at 800 shapes.
Each preset suits different source shapes: Spiral rotates around the centre and shrinks with each generation, which works well for stars, arrows and ellipses; Radial repeats around a centre; Sierpinski subdivides triangularly.