CorelDRAW Help | Constrain objects

Constrain objects

To constrain objects while drawing or editing

You can restrict how objects are drawn and edited by using a constrain key while you draw. For example, you can press a constrain key to constrain a rectangle to a square, an ellipse to a circle, or a straight line to a perfectly horizontal or vertical line. By default, the application uses the Command key to constrain the shape or angle of objects, and the Shift key to draw shapes outward from their center of origin. However, you can change the default constrain key to Shift at any time.

You can use a control key to draw or rotate an object, or the nodes and control handles of an object, at a preset increment. This increment is known as the constrain angle. By default, the constrain angle is 15 degrees, but you can change it to suit your needs.

To constrain objects while drawing or editing

To	Do the following
Constrain a shape to equal width and height	While holding down Command, draw diagonally.
Use a preset increment (the constrain angle) to draw or rotate an object	While holding down Command, move the pointer to draw or rotate the object.

A rectangle is constrained to a square, an ellipse to a circle, and a polygon to a shape with sides of equal length.

To change the constrain key

1 Click CorelDRAW menu

Preferences

Tools.

2 In the left pane of the dialog box that appears, click Pick.

3 In the Modifier Keys Setup area, enable one of the following options:

• CorelDRAW defaults — lets you use the Command key as the constrain key, the Space key to duplicate an object, and the Shift key to draw shapes outward from their center of origin

• macOS — lets you use the Shift key as the constrain key and the Option key to apply transformations to the duplicate of an object while leaving the original intact

To change the constrain angle

1 Click CorelDRAW menu

Preferences

CorelDRAW.

2 In the left pane of the dialog box that appears, click Edit.

3 Type a value in the Constrain angle box.