Corel DESIGNER Help | Cropping, splitting, and erasing objects

Quick links to procedures on this page:

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To crop objects

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To split an object

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To divide an object into equal segments

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To break a path

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To erase portions of an object

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To delete a virtual line segment

Cropping, s plitting, and erasing objects

You can crop, split, and erase portions of objects.

Cropping objects

Cropping lets you quickly remove unwanted areas in objects and imported graphics, eliminating the need to ungroup objects, break linked groups apart, or convert objects to curves. You can crop vector objects and bitmaps.

Cropping objects

When cropping objects, you define a rectangular area (cropping area) that you want to keep. Object portions outside the cropping area are removed. You can specify the exact position and size of the cropping area, and you can rotate and resize it. You can also remove the cropping area.

You can crop only selected objects without affecting other objects in a drawing, or you can crop all objects on the drawing page. In either case, the affected text and shape objects are automatically converted to curves.

Splitting objects

You can split a bitmap or vector object in two and reshape it by redrawing its path. You can split a closed object along a straight or jagged line. Corel DESIGNER lets you choose between splitting an object into two objects, or leaving it as one object composed of two or more subpaths. You can specify whether you want to close the paths automatically or keep them open.

The Knife tool creates two separate objects by cutting the ellipse in half. The two objects are separated and used to form the top of the screw.

Erasing portions of objects

You can erase unwanted portions of bitmaps and vector objects. Erasing automatically closes any affected paths and converts the object to curves. If you erase connecting lines, you create subpaths rather than individual objects. You can also delete portions of objects, called virtual line segments, that are between intersections. For example, you can delete loops from a curved line, or you can delete interior lines from overlapping shapes.

To crop objects

Select the objects that you want to crop.

If no objects on the drawing page are selected, all objects will be cropped.

In the toolbox, click the Deletion tools button, and click the Crop tool

Drag to define a cropping area.

Double-click inside the cropping area.


You can also
Specify the exact position of the cropping area	Type values in the Crop position boxes on the property bar, and press Enter.
Specify the exact size of the cropping area	Type values in the Crop size boxes on the property bar, and press Enter.
Rotate the cropping area	Type values in the Angle of rotation box on the property bar.
Remove the cropping area	Click Clear crop marquee on the property bar.

Objects on locked, hidden, Grid, or Guides layers cannot be cropped. Also, you cannot crop OLE and Internet objects, rollovers, or the content of PowerClip objects.

During cropping, affected linked groups, such as contours, blends, and extrusions, are automatically broken apart.

You can move, rotate, and size the cropping area interactively as you would any object. To move the cropping area, drag it to a new position. To size the cropping area, drag any of its handles

. To rotate the cropping area, click inside, and drag a rotation handle

You can remove the cropping area by pressing Esc.

To split an object

Click the Deletion tools button, and click the Knife tool

Position the Knife tool over the object’s outline where you want to start cutting.

The Knife tool snaps upright when positioned properly.

Click the outline to start cutting.

Position the Knife tool where you want to stop cutting, and click again.


You can also
Split an object along a freehand curve	Point to where you want to start the cut, and drag to where you want it to end.
Split an object along a Bézier curve	Hold down Shift, click where you want to start cutting an object, drag the control handle to where you want to position the next node, and click. Continue clicking to add more straight segments to the line. If you want to add a curved segment, point to where you want to place the node and drag to shape the curve. If you want to constrain the line to 15-degree increments, hold down Shift + Ctrl.
Split an object into two subpaths	Click the Keep as one object button on the property bar.
Split an object while keeping only one of its parts	Click the object’s outline where you want to start the cut, and point to where you want the cut to end. Press Tab once or twice until only the part of the object that you want to keep is selected, and then click.

By default, objects are split into two objects and paths are automatically closed.

When you use the Knife tool on a selected object, the object becomes a curve object.

To divide an object into equal segments

Select the object that you want to divide.

Click Arrange

Shaping

Equal divide.

In the Shaping docker, specify the following:

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Divisions — number of segments to divide the object into

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Gap — amount of space between segments

If you want to group the segments after the divide, enable the Group divisions check box.

If you want the segments to be combined as one object, enable the Combine divisions check box. Disable the check box if you want the segments to be individual objects.

If you do not want to delete the original object, disable the Delete selected object check box.

Click Apply.

This feature creates a copy of the object and applies the divisions to the new object. If you do not delete the original object, you will have two objects one on top of the other, and the object will appear unchanged.

The resulting object inherits the original object’s edge and fill properties.

You can divide curves, arcs, rectangles, and polygons. To divide other objects, you must first convert them to curves. You cannot divide images.

You can select multiple objects to divide at one time. If you also enable the Group divisions check box, all the objects that you divide are grouped into a single group.

To break a path


To	Do the following
Break a path	Click the Shape tool . Select a node, and click the Break curve button on the property bar.
Extract a broken path from an object	Click the Shape tool . Right-click a path, and click Break apart. Select a segment, node, or group of nodes that represents the portion of the path that you want to extract, and click the Extract subpath button on the property bar.

To erase portions of an object

Select an object.

Click the Deletion tools button, and click the Eraser tool

Drag over the object.


You can also
Change the size of the eraser nib	Type a value in the Eraser thickness box on the property bar, and press Enter.
Change the shape of the eraser nib	Click the Eraser shape button on the property bar.
Maintain all the nodes of the area that is being erased	Disable the Reduce nodes button on the property bar.

When you erase portions of objects, any affected paths are automatically closed.

You can erase in straight lines by clicking where you want to start erasing, and then clicking where you want to finish erasing. Hold down Ctrl if you want to constrain the line’s angle.

You can also erase an area of a selected object by double-clicking the area with the Eraser tool.

To delete a virtual line segment

Click the Deletion tools button, and click the Virtual segment delete tool

Move the pointer to the line segment that you want to delete.

The Virtual segment delete tool snaps upright when positioned properly.

Click the line segment.


You can also
Delete multiple line segments at the same time	Drag the pointer to enclose or intersect all target segments.
Delete a virtual line segment that intersects with a curve	Hold down Alt and drag to draw a curve.
Weld line segments	Hold down Shift, and click the two overlapping end points. You can also hold down Alt + Shift and drag to marquee select the overlapping nodes.

The Virtual segment delete tool does not work on linked groups (like drop shadows), text, or images.

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