Since DRAW 8, this dialog box has seen decreasing action, as many DRAW users have discovered the one-touch commands for aligning. With two or more objects selected, you can align objects with the press of one key:

Also, be sure to experiment with the Arrange Ø Order commands of To Front, To Back, Forward One, Back One, Reverse Order, In Front Of, and Behind. Choosing either of the last two commands activates a heavy black arrow with which you choose the object that you want the selected objects to go “in front of” or “behind.”

Using Undo

DRAW’s Undo command has a very good memory, and you can make it even better. In Tools Ø Options Ø Workspace Ø General, you can set the number of levels for Undo. Let’s say you do the following to a circle: (1) change its color, (2) move it 2 inches away, (3) make it larger, and (4) delete it. You can undo each of those actions, starting with the most recent and working back in time. Each action is called a level, and the default number of levels for Undo is 99. That’s a lot; it seems unlikely you could remember that many actions to know you would want to undo them. You might want to cut it down to a more reasonable number like 20 or 30, particularly if memory is in short supply on your computer.

DRAW 8 introduced a second Undo function, specifically for bitmap effects. The default value is 2, but you can also set it as high as 99. Remember, however, that Corel uses your system’s RAM to store previous versions of objects, and keeping track of 99 incarnations of a bitmap will require a galaxy of memory. To keep your system memory from running out, keep the Undo setting for bitmap effects at a modest number.

For both regular and bitmap Undo operations, you cannot pick and choose the actions that you want to undo; they must be undone in precisely the reverse order in which they were done. For instance, in the example above, you cannot undo the color change without first undoing the move and the resize.

There are four actions that cannot be undone with Undo:

•  Changes to View settings

•  File operations such as Save, Save As, and Export (although DRAW does save backup files, so in the case of Save, you can retrieve the previous version under the name Backup_of_Filename.cdr)

•  Selection of objects

•  Printing (obviously)

By the way, our trusty technical editor reminds us that DRAW 8 and 9 can undo even after a save. Past versions would throw away the Undo list after a Save command.

Copying Properties

With two or more objects in a file, you can take the properties of one object and assign them to another using the Copy Properties From command on the Edit menu. To copy properties:

1.  Select the object(s) you want to change.

2.  To invoke the Copy Properties dialog, select Edit Ø Copy Properties From (or press Ctrl+Shift+A).

3.  Choose the particular component(s) you want to apply—outline pen, outline color, fill pattern, or text properties—and OK the dialog.

4.  When DRAW changes its cursor to an arrow, point to and click on the object that already has the attributes. The selected objects change immediately.

Using the Repeat Command

In conjunction with tedious tasks, such as applying special fill patterns or outlines to many objects, or even just careful placement of objects, nothing beats the Edit Ø Repeat command and its Ctrl+R hotkey. Here is a good illustration of how Repeat can be used:

1.  Create a small object.

2.  Drag the object a short distance away, and click on Button 2 before releasing Button 1. This creates a duplicate.

3.  Press Ctrl+R to repeat the action in step 2 over and over again.

Drag-and-Dupe (a.k.a. Leave Original)

The official name of this feature is Leave Original, but we prefer our own name, “drag-and-dupe.” It refers to the popular technique of making a copy of an object while moving or reshaping it. Let’s see how this works.

When you move, rotate, skew, size, or distort an object, it involves the following four basic steps:

1.  Select the object.

2.  Press and hold Button 1.

3.  Perform the desired action.

4.  Let go of Button 1.

To do a drag-and-dupe, tap Button 2 before you let go of Button 1, anytime after step 3. This automatically creates a copy of the object and applies the effect you are creating to the copy, not to the original. You can use this in many different ways:

•  To make an enlarged copy of an object, select it, begin dragging one of the corner selection handles, and tap Button 2 before releasing Button 1.

•  To rotate a copy of an object, select the object, click a second time to get the rotation handles, begin rotating the object, and tap Button 2 before releasing Button 1.

•  To stretch a copy of an object, select it, drag a side handle, and tap Button 2 before releasing Button 1.

You get the idea here: any type of transformation can be performed on a copy instead of the original by tapping Button 2 during the transformation. Button 2 acts like a toggle: tap it again and you are then changing the original object. Your cue is the little plus sign that will appear and disappear at the cursor position with each tap of Button 2.