Draw Guide 7.2

Chapter 5,
Combining Multiple Objects

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Contributors
To this editionPeter Schofield

To previous editions
John Cleland
John A Smith
Claire Wood

Martin Fox
Peter Schofield
Winston Min Tjong

Jean Hollis Weber
Hazel Russman

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Published January 2022. Based on LibreOffice 7.2 Community.
Other versions of LibreOffice may differ in appearance and functionality.

Using LibreOffice on macOS
Some keystrokes and menu items are different on macOS from those used in Windows andLinux. The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this document.
For a detailed list, see the application Help.
Windows or LinuxmacOS equivalent

EffectTools > Options
menu selection

LibreOffice > Preferences

Access setup options

Right-click

Control+click or right-click
depending on computer setup

Open a context menu

Ctrl (Control)⌘ (Command)

Used with other keys

F11

⌘+T

Open the Styles deck in the Sidebar

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at https://documentation.libreoffice.org/en/Contents
Copyright............................................................................................................................2
Contributors.............................................................................................................................. 2
Feedback.................................................................................................................................. 2
Publication date and software version.......................................................................................2
Using LibreOffice on macOS.....................................................................................................2

Grouping objects...............................................................................................................4
Temporary grouping..................................................................................................................4Grouping................................................................................................................................... 4
Ungrouping............................................................................................................................... 4
Editing individual group objects.................................................................................................5
Nesting groups.......................................................................................................................... 6

Combining, splitting, breaking, and connecting............................................................6
Combining objects..................................................................................................................... 6
Splitting combined objects........................................................................................................ 7
Breaking objects....................................................................................................................... 7
Connecting lines....................................................................................................................... 8
Closing objects.......................................................................................................................... 8

Merging, subtracting, or intersecting objects................................................................8
Merge........................................................................................................................................ 8
Subtract.................................................................................................................................... 9Intersect.................................................................................................................................... 9
Practical example.................................................................................................................... 10

Duplication and cross-fading.........................................................................................10
Duplication.............................................................................................................................. 10
Cross-fading............................................................................................................................ 12

Positioning objects.........................................................................................................13
Arranging objects.................................................................................................................... 13
Aligning objects....................................................................................................................... 14
Distributing objects.................................................................................................................. 15

Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects | 3

Grouping objects
Grouping of objects is similar to putting objects into a container. Objects within a group are
moved together as one object and any changes made are applied globally to the objects within
the group. A group can always be undone and the objects that make up the group can always be
manipulated separately.

Temporary grouping
A temporary grouping is when several objects are selected. Any changes to object parameters
are applied to all of the objects within the temporary group. For example, a temporary group of
objects can be rotated in its entirety.
A temporary group is created using one of the following methods:•

Click and drag the cursor over several objects surrounding the objects with a selection
rectangle (this selection rectangle is also known as a marquee). Release the mousebutton when all the objects required for a temporary group are selected.

•

Click the first object, then hold down the Shift key and click on the remaining objects forthe temporary group.

To cancel a temporary group of objects, simply click outside of the selection handles displayedaround the objects.

Grouping
When objects are grouped, any editing operations carried out on the group are applied to all
objects within the group. Click on one object in a group, and the whole group is selected.
The objects within a group retain their own individual properties and can be edited independently.
See “Editing individual group objects” on page 5 for more information.
1) Select the objects for a group using one of the following methods. Selection handles
appear around all the objects selected for the group (Figure 1).
– Click on each object in turn while holding down the Shift key.
– Make sure Select on the Drawing toolbar is selected and draw a selection rectangle
around the objects required for the group using the cursor.
– To select all the objects in a drawing, go to Edit > Select All on the Menu bar or use
the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A.
2) Create the group of selected objects using one of the following methods:– Right-click on an object within the selected group and select Group from the context
menu.
– Go to Shape > Group > Group on the Menu bar.
– Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+G.

Ungrouping
1) Select the group of objects and selection handles appear around the objects within thegroup (Figure 1).
2) Ungroup the group of objects using one of the following methods:– Right-click on the selected group and select Ungroup from the context menu.
– Go to Shape > Group > Ungroup on the Menu bar.
– Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G.

4 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects

Figure 1: Example of grouping objects

Figure 2: Example of editing objects within a group

Editing individual group objects
An object within a group can be edited individually without ungrouping the objects.
1) Select a group, then enter the group using one of the following methods. After entering agroup, objects outside the group cannot be selected for editing.
– Right-click on the group and select Enter Group from the context menu.
– Go to Shape > Group > Enter Group on the Menu bar.
– Use the keyboard shortcut F3.
– Double-click on the selected group.
2) Once inside the group, click on any object to select and individually edit it (Figure 2).
3) After making changes to an individual object, exit the group using one of the following
methods:– Right-click on the group and select Exit Group from the context menu.
– Go to Shape > Group > Exit Group on the Menu bar– Use the keyboard combination Ctrl+F3.
– Double-click outside the group.

Grouping objects | 5

Nesting groups
A group of groups can be created and this is commonly known as nesting groups. When nested
groups are created, Draw retains the individual group hierarchy and remembers the order inwhich groups were selected. That is, the last individual group selected will be on top of all theother groups within a nested group. Ungrouping and entering a nested group works in exactly thesame way as for individual groups.

Tip
If group and ungroup commands are regularly used, or any other command, tools
can be added to a toolbar so that they are readily available. See the Getting Started
Guide for more information on customizing the user interface.

Combining, splitting, breaking, and connecting
Combining objects
Combining objects is a permanent merging of objects creating a new object. The original objects
are no longer available as individual objects and cannot be edited as individual objects.
1) Select several objects for combining.
2) Combine the selected objects into a single object using one of the following methods:– Right-click on the selection and select Shapes > Combine from the context menu.
– Go to Shape > Combine on the Menu bar.
– Use the keyboard combination Ctrl+Shift+K.
At first glance, the results can seem rather surprising, but the following explains how combining
objects works.
•

The attributes (for example, area fill) of the resulting object are those of the object
furthest back. In Figure 3, it is the ellipse and Figure 4 it is the yellow rectangle.

•

Where the objects overlap, the overlapping zone is either filled or empty depending onwhether the overlap is even numbered or odd numbered. Figure 4 shows that where theoverlap number is even, an empty space is created and where the overlap number isodd, a filled area is created.

Figure 3: Combining objects

6 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects

Figure 4: Example of area fill when combining overlapping objects

Figure 5: Example of splitting a combined object

Splitting combined objects
An object which has been combined from several objects can be split into individual objects.
However, the original objects retain the formatting of the combined object and do not revert backto their original formatting.
Select the combined object and use one of the following methods to split the combined object:•

Go to Shape > Split on the Menu bar.

•

Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K.

In Figure 5, the left graphic is the original example of overlapping area fills before combining. The
right graphic is the result of splitting the combined object. The individual overlapping objects havetaken the formatting of the object (Rectangle 1) at the back of the overlapping objects.

Breaking objects
An object that consists of more than one part can be broken into its individual parts as follows.
For example, a star is broken into separate lines and the area fill is lost, as shown by the center
graphic in Figure 6.
1) Select an object that consists of more than one part.
2) Convert the object to a curve or polygon using one of the following methods:– Go to Shape > Convert > To Curve or To Polygon on the Menu bar.
– Right-click on the object and select Convert > To Curve or To Polygon on thecontext menu.

Combining, splitting, breaking, and connecting | 7

Figure 6: Example of breaking objects
3) Go to Shape > Break on the Menu bar and the object is broken into individual parts.
4)Move, format or delete the individual parts as necessary, as shown by the right object inFigure 6.

Connecting lines
The individual parts of an object or more than one line can be connected together as follows:
1) Select all the objects that are going to be connected.
2) Go to Shape > Connect on the Menu bar. Individual lines or lines in a border are
converted to curves and the end points of each line connected.

Note
The shape created when connecting individual parts or lines is not a closed shape.
The new shape has to be closed using “Closing objects” to create an area fill.

Closing objects
Closing objects creates an object that can use an area fill.
1) Select an object that has a gap in its border.
2) Right-click on the selected object and select Close Object from the context menu toclose the gap.
3) Format the area fill created to requirements. See Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes
for more information on working with area fills.

Merging, subtracting, or intersecting objects
After selecting more than one object, the merge, subtract, and intersect functions become
available. This allows creation of a new object with a new shape.

Merge
When merging objects, a new object is created with a shape that follows the shape of the merged
objects. The area fill of the merged object is determined by the area fill of the object that is at therear of all the other objects, as shown in Figure 7.
After selecting several objects, use one of the following methods to merge the objects:•

Go to Shape > Merge on the Menu bar.

•

Right-click on the selected objects and select Shapes > Merge from the context menu.

8 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects

Figure 7: Merging objects

Subtract
When subtracting objects, the objects at the front are subtracted from the object behind. This
leaves a blank space that the subtracted objects occupied creating a new shape, as shown in
Figure 8. After selecting several objects that overlap each other, use one of the following
methods to subtract objects:•

Go to Shape > Subtract on the Menu bar.

•

Right-click on the selected objects and select Shapes > Subtract from the context menu.

Figure 8: Subtracting objects

Intersect
When intersecting objects, the front objects and the exposed area of the object at the rear are
removed. This creates a new object from the area of the object at the rear that was covered by
the objects at the front, as shown in Figure 9.
After selecting several objects that overlap each other, use one of the following methods tointersect objects:•

Go to Shape > Intersect on the Menu bar.

•

Right-click on the selected objects and select Shapes > Intersect from the context
menu.

Figure 9: Intersecting objects

Merging, subtracting, or intersecting objects | 9

Practical example
The following example shows how to use the merge, subtract, and intersect functions to create aknife with a wooden handle.
Draw an ellipse and then a rectangle
overlapping half of its width.

Select both shapes, right-click, and selectShapes > Subtract from the context menu.

Draw another rectangle and put it over the top
half of the ellipse.

Select both shapes, right-click, and selectShapes > Subtract from the context menu.
Draw a small ellipse covering just the lower
right corner.
Select both shapes, right-click, and selectShapes > Subtract from the context menu.
The knife blade shape is now complete.
To make the handle, draw a rectangle and an
ellipse.
Merge the shapes together.
Position the handle on the blade. Select thehandle and blade, then group together tocreate a drawing of the knife.

Duplication and cross-fading
Duplication
Duplication makes copies of an object while applying a set of changes (such as color or rotation)
to the duplicates.
1) Select an object or group of objects, then use one of the following methods to open the
Duplicate dialog (Figure 10):– Go to Edit > Duplicate on the Menu bar.
– Go to Shape > Duplicate on the Menu bar.
– Use the keyboard shortcut Shift+F3.
2) Select the number of copies, placement, enlargement, and the start and end colors for
duplicate copies.

10 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects

Figure 10: Duplicate dialog

Figure 11: Duplication example
3) Click OK and duplicate copies are created. An example of a duplication is shown in
Figure 11. Each duplicate object is a separate object.
4) To group the duplicate objects into one group, see “Grouping objects” on page 4.
5) To combine the duplicate objects into one object, see “Combining, splitting, breaking, andconnecting” on page 6.
Duplication and cross-fading | 11

The following options are available when using the Duplicate dialog:•

Number of copies – enter the number of copies required.

•Placement – sets the position and rotation of duplicated objects in relation to the original
object.
– X axis-- enter the horizontal distance between the centers of the selected object andthe duplicate objects. Positive values shift the duplicate object to the right andnegative values shift the duplicate object to the left.
– Y axis – enter the vertical distance between the centers of the selected object and the
duplicate objects. Positive values shift the duplicate object down and negative values
shift the duplicate object up.
– Angle – enter the angle (0 to 359 degrees) required for rotating the duplicate object.
Positive values rotate the duplicate objects in a clockwise direction and negativevalues in a counterclockwise direction.

•

Enlargement – sets the size of the duplicate objects.
– Width – enter the amount to enlarge or reduce the width of the duplicate objects.
– Height – enter the amount to enlarge or reduce the height of the duplicate objects.

•

Colors – sets the colors for the selected object and the duplicate objects. For more than
one copy, these colors define the start and end points of a color gradient.
– Start – select a color for the selected object.
– End – select a color for the duplicate object. If making more than one copy, this color
is applied to the last copy.

Cross-fading
Cross-fading transforms one object shape into another object shape. The result is a new group ofindividual objects that includes the start and end objects. The intermediate steps show thetransformation from one object shape to another object shape. The cross-fading is carried out
from the first object selected to the second object selected.
1) Select two objects and go to Shape > Cross-fading on the Menu bar to open the
Cross-fading dialog (Figure 12).
2) Select the number of Increments for the transformation.
3) If necessary, select Cross-fade attributes and Same orientation.

Figure 12: Cross-fading dialog

12 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects

Figure 13: Cross-fading example
4) Click OK to cross-fade the selected objects and close the Cross-fading dialog. An
example of cross-fading is shown in Figure 13 with Same orientation deselected. The
object created is a group of objects.
5) To ungroup this group of objects and use the individual objects, see “Ungrouping” onpage 4.
The following options are available in the Cross-fading dialog:•

Increments – enter the number of steps to be created between the selected objects.

•

Cross-fade attributes – applies cross-fading to the line and fill properties of the selected
objects. For example, if the selected objects are filled with different colors, a colortransition between the two colors is applied.

•Same orientation – applies a smooth transition between the selected objects.

Positioning objects
Arranging objects
When combining, merging, subtracting, or intersecting objects, the end result varies dependingon which object is at the front and which object is at the back. Each new object placed on a
drawing automatically becomes the front object and all the other objects move backwards inpositioning order. Arranging objects changes the order in of a group of objects.
To change the arrangement position of an object, select one or more objects and then use one of
the following methods•

Right-click on the selected object(s), then select Arrange from the context menu and oneof the available options.

•

Click on the triangle ▼ to the right of Arrange on the Standard toolbar to open the
Position toolbar (Figure 14) and select one of the available tools.

•

Click one of the arrangement tools on the Line and Filling toolbar.

Figure 14: Position toolbar

Positioning objects | 13

•Click on Shape > Arrange on the Menu bar and select an arrangement option.

•

Use the Arrange tools in Position and Size panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar.

•

Use a keyboard shortcut given below.

The arrangement options available are as follows:•

Bring to Front (Shift+Ctrl++) – brings the selected object to the front of a group of
objects.

•

Bring Forward (Ctrl++) – brings the selected object forward one step.

•

Send Backward (Ctrl+–) – sends the selected object one step backward.

•

Send to Back (Shift+Ctrl+–) – sends the selected object to the back of a group of objects.

•

In Front of Object – moves the selected object in front of another selected object.

•

Behind Object – moves the selected object behind another selected object.

•

Reverse – reverses the order of the selected objects. This tool is grayed out if only one
object is selected.

Note
The positioning tools can be turned into a floating toolbar by clicking at the top of the
pop-up on the Standard toolbar and dragging it to a new position on a drawing, asshown in Figure 14.

Aligning objects
To make a drawing look more professional, objects can be aligned with each other. Select one ormore objects and use one of the following methods to align objects:•

Right-click on the selected object(s), then select Align Objects from the context menu
and one of the available options.

•

Click on the triangle ▼ to the right of Align on the Standard or Line and Filling toolbars toopen a pop-up toolbar (Figure 15).

•

Go to Shape > Align on the Menu bar and select the alignment required.

•

Use the Align tools in the Position and Size section in the Properties deck on the
Sidebar.

The alignment tools available are as follows:•

Left – aligns the left edges of the selected objects. If only one object is selected, the leftedge of the object is aligned to the left page margin.

•Centered – horizontally centers the selected objects. If only one object is selected, thecenter of the object is aligned to the horizontal center of the page.

•

Right – aligns the right edges of the selected objects. If only one object is selected, theright edge of the object is aligned to the right page margin.

Figure 15: Align Objects
toolbar•

Top – vertically aligns the top edges of the selected objects. If only one object isselected, the top edge of the object is aligned to the upper page margin.

14 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects

•Center – vertically centers the selected objects. If only one object is selected, the centerof the object is aligned to the vertical center of the page.

•

Bottom – vertically aligns the bottom edges of the selected objects. If only one object isselected, the bottom edge of the object is aligned to the lower page margin.

Note
The alignment tools can be turned into a floating toolbar by clicking at the top of the
pop-up toolbar and dragging it to a new position on a drawing workspace, as shownin Figure 15.

Distributing objects
Distributing objects allows three or more objects to be evenly spaced along a horizontal axis orvertical axis. Objects are distributed using the outermost objects in the selection as base points
for spacing.
Select at least three objects, then use one of the following methods to distribute the objects:•

Right-click on the selected objects, then select Distribute Selection from the context
menu and one of the available options.

•

Click on the triangle ▼ to the right of Distribute Selection on the Standard toolbar toopen a pop-up toolbar (Figure 16).

•

Go to Shape > Distribute Selection on the Menu bar and select a distribution option.

•

Right-click on the selected objects and select Distribute Selection from the context
menu, then select a distribution option.

The distribution options available are as follow:•

Horizontal Left – distributes the selected objects so that the left edges of the objects areevenly spaced from one another.

•

Horizontal Center – distributes the selected objects so that the horizontal centers of theobjects are evenly spaced from one another.

•

Horizontal Spacing – distributes the selected objects horizontally so that the objects areevenly spaced from one another.

•

Horizontal Right – distributes the selected objects so that the right edges of the objects
are evenly spaced from one another.

•

Vertical Top – distributes the selected objects so that the top edges of the objects areevenly spaced from one another.

•

Vertical Center – distributes the selected objects so that the vertical centers of theobjects are evenly spaced from one another.

•

Vertical Spacing – distributes the selected objects vertically so that the objects areevenly spaced from one another.

Figure 16: Distribute Selection
toolbar•Vertical Bottom – distributes the selected objects so that the bottom edges of theobjects are evenly spaced from one another.
Positioning objects | 15

Note
The distribution tools can be turned into a floating toolbar by clicking at the top of the
pop-up toolbar and dragging it to a new position on a drawing workspace, as shownin Figure 16.

16 | Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects