MACROMEDIA FREEHAND MX 11, Use Manual

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CHAPTER 4
Working with Objects
Macromedia FreeHand MX lets you manipulate objects in a number of ways. You can group
objects to treat them as a single unit and nest groups within a group. You can move objects using
the mouse or keyboard or by specifying a precise location. You can align objects to each other or
align them to the page. You can also transform objects by rotating, scaling, skewing, and
reflecting. In addition, you can alter, combine, inset, and expand paths, as well as create a clipping
path, or mask, that exposes only part of an object behind it.
FreeHand provides enhanced cut-and-paste functions that let you control how objects are copied
to and from your drawings. You can also clone or duplicate objects.
You can make global selections or replacements within a drawing by searching for graphics with
particular attributes, such as stroke width or shape.
Using the Object panel
The Object panel is a context-sensitive panel that lets you view and change properties for selected
objects and text. Each kind of object has different properties.
The Object panel is part of the Properties panel group, which is open in FreeHand by default. To
show or hide the Object panel, select Window > Object.
The top portion of the Object panel displays the Properties list, a hierarchical list that contains
the properties applied to a selected object. The attributes of a selected property appear on the
bottom half of the Object panel. The contents of the attributes section change depending on the
property selected in the Properties list.
Properties list
Attributes
Add Stroke
Add Fill
Add Effect