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ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS2
User Guide
Turn on Paste Remembers Layers if you’re pasting artwork between documents and you want to automatically place
it into a layer of the same name as that from which it originated. If the target document does not have a layer of the
same name, Illustrator creates a new layer.
See also
“About the Layers palette” on page 278
Grouping and expanding objects
Grouping objects
You can combine several objects into a group so that the objects are treated as a single unit. You can then move or
transform a number of objects without affecting their attributes or relative positions. For example, you might group
the objects in a logo design so that you can move and scale the logo as one unit.
Grouped objects are stacked in succession on the same layer of the artwork and behind the frontmost object in the
group; therefore, grouping may change the layering of objects and their stacking order on a given layer. If you select
objects in different layers and then group them, the objects are grouped in the layer of the topmost selected object.
Groups can also be
nested
—that is, they can be grouped within other objects or groups to form larger groups. Groups
appear as <Group> items in the Layers palette. You can use the Layers palette to move items in and out of groups.
See also
“About the Layers palette” on page 278
“About the stacking order” on page 282
To group or ungroup objects
1
Select the objects to be grouped or the group to be ungrouped.
2
Choose either Object > Group or Object > Ungroup.
Expanding objects
Expanding
objects enables you to divide a single object into multiple objects that make up its appearance. For
example, if you expand a simple object, such as a circle with a solid-color fill and a stroke, the fill and the stroke each
become a discrete object. If you expand more complex artwork, such as an object with a pattern fill, the pattern is
divided into all of the distinct paths that created it.
You typically expand an object when you want to modify the appearance attributes and other properties of specific
elements within it. In addition, expanding objects may be helpful when you want to use an object that is native to
Illustrator (such as a mesh object) in a different application that doesn’t recognize the object.