Looking for CorelDraw equivalents
Bob Flisser
* In Corel, if I press the Plus key on the keypad, it creates an exact duplicate of the selected object in the same exact location (new object directly on top of the original object).
* One way I can duplicate a selected object in Corel is simply to press Ctrl + D. I know in Illustrator, I can duplicate an object by Alt + dragging or copying/pasting, but is there a single-keystroke command for this? Illustrator's Ctrl + D will only repeat a transformation after I do one manually.
* When I paste an object that I've copied, it always gets deposited in the center of the current view. Is there a way of defining a default for horizontal and vertical offsets?
* If I want to copy attributes from one object to another, I know I can drag the little circle in the Layers palette. Is there an easier or more direct way to do this, or is there a keystroke equivalent?
* When I nudge an object with an arrow key (or Shift + arrow key), the object moves a fixed amount. Is there a way of adjusting how far an object moves when I use these keystrokes? The ability to do this is a great time saver.
* In CorelDraw, I can quickly align objects with single-letter commands. For example, if I have 2 objects selected, pressing C will horizontally center the first object I selected to the 2nd object I selected. I haven't used Corel's alignment palette in 2 years.
* In Illustrator, I can reflect (mirror) objects more-or-less the same as in Corel, by dragging a middle sizing handle across the opposite handle. But I don't see any way of keeping the object's size constant. With Corel, I hold the Ctrl key to do that, but I can't find any way to do it in Illustrator. And is there a way to mirror an object and duplicate it at the same time? In CorelDraw, I'd press Ctrl + Shift while dragging the sizing handle.
Robert Oliver
# In Corel, if I press the Plus key on the keypad, it creates an exact
duplicate of the selected object in the same exact location (new object
directly on top of the original object).
Quickest way that comes to mind is to select the object, hit CTRL+C (copy), and then hit CTRL+F (paste in front).
# but is there a single-keystroke command for this? Illustrator's Ctrl
+ D will only repeat a transformation after I do one manually.
Keep in mind that you can redefine your own set of shortcuts (Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts). You might be able to change things and make them more similar to CD.
# When I paste an object that I've copied, it always gets deposited in
the center of the current view. Is there a way of defining a default for
horizontal and vertical offsets?
You do have the option of pasting in front (CTRL+F) and pasting in back (CTRL+B).
# If I want to copy attributes from one object to another, I know I can
drag the little circle in the Layers palette. Is there an easier or more
direct way to do this, or is there a keystroke equivalent?
Pretty darned easy in my opinion :)
# When I nudge an object with an arrow key (or Shift + arrow key), the
object moves a fixed amount. Is there a way of adjusting how far an object
moves when I use these keystrokes?
Yes, you define this in Edit > Preferences > General > Keyboard Increment. You can also hit CTRL+K and the keyboard increment option is right there at the top.
# I haven't used Corel's alignment palette in 2 years.
Don't think there are keyboard equivalents in Illustrator.
# In Illustrator, I can reflect (mirror) objects more-or-less the same
as in Corel, by dragging a middle sizing handle across the opposite handle.
But I don't see any way of keeping the object's size constant.
Not sure why reflecting an object would change its size?
And is there a way to mirror an object and duplicate it at the same time?
Yes, if you select the object you want to mirror, select the reflect tool and then Alt-click on the axis where you want the object to mirror/reflect, you will get a dialog box that allows you to copy an object while mirroring/reflecting it.
A second method is to select your object, select the reflect tool, click on the axis, and then click on the Alt key while dragging a duplicate object out of the original (you can add shift to constrain it as well).
# Is there a quick way to add or delete control points midway between
existing points?
None that I'm aware of.
Alexander Kogan.
If I want to copy attributes from one object to another, I know I can
drag the little circle in the Layers palette. Is there an easier or more
direct way to do this, or is there a keystroke equivalent?
There's the Eyedropper tool ("i" key) that allows you to copy nearly all the atttributes from one object to another. You can also use the Paint Bucket tool ("K") to "flood" objects with the style picked up with the Eyedropper.
Note that you use the Eyedropper by selecting the object you want to change and then using the tool on the object you want to copy the attributes from.
You can calibrate the Eyedropper and Bucket tools to transfer only the attributes you need. Double-click the tool's icon in the Tools bar to bring up the Options dialog (which also works for any tool that has adjustible options).
You can save a set of attributes as a Style (analog of Graphic Style in CD. No Text Styles yet...) by dragging an object with the needed attributes to the Styles palette (Shift-F5). You can apply the style to any object afterwards by selecting the object and clicking the Style's icon in the Styles palette.
In CorelDraw, I can quickly align objects with single-letter commands.
For example, if I have 2 objects selected, pressing C will horizontally
center the first object I selected to the 2nd object I selected. I haven't
used Corel's alignment palette in 2 years.
Usually, we use the palette (Shift-F7), but you can record an action (Window>Show Actions) and assign it a shortcut. The only thing is that the shortcuts for actions are resctricted to the functional keys with Ctrl/Shift modyfiers.
In Illustrator, I can reflect (mirror) objects more-or-less the same as
in Corel, by dragging a middle sizing handle across the opposite handle.
But I don't see any way of keeping the object's size constant. With Corel,
I hold the Ctrl key to do that, but I can't find any way to do it in Illustrator.
There's the Reflect tool ("O" key), which is rather powerful for it allows you to interactively select the point where the axis of reflection will be placed. The reflection axis is restrained to a 45 degrees rotation grid.
There's also the Flip Horizontal/Vertical commands in the Transform palette's (Shift-F8) menu. The palette's menu is under the black triangle in the upper-right corner of the palette. You can also record an action for both horizontal and vertical flips and assign shortcuts to them.
And is there a way to mirror an object and duplicate it at the same time?
Hold Alt while using the Reflect tool. Which is, BTW, the default method of copying nearly anything in Illustrator.
Is there a quick way to add or delete control points midway between existing
points?
Well, AFAIK, you can't add to a segment, but you can add to the whole path by applying the Object>Path>Add Anchor Points command.
Bob Flisser
If I have an object selected and Alt + click with the Reflect tool, what the dialog box does is straightforward. But if I drag with the Reflect tool, it seems to work exactly like the Rotate tool (and Alt + dragging it is the same as Alt + dragging the Roate tool). Is that supposed to happen? When I think of "reflecting," I think of flipping on an axis, like those commands in the Transform palette. What also confuses me is seeing a minus sign on the mouse cursor when I Alt + drag with the Reflect tool. It makes me think of Photoshop's "subtract from selection" cursor I get with the Alt key. Maybe I should keep that thought between me and my shrink. ;-/
Robert, are you saying that when you use the Selection tool to flip an object, its size doesn't change? If I drag the left middle handle (for example) to the right, the object gets more squished; as I continue dragging past the right middle handle, the object flips, but gets more and more elongated the farther I go. There's nothing that constrains this motion, so the object keeps getting longer the farther I drag. If this is supposed to happen, then I'll stick with the Reflect tool.
And one more question for either of you, while I'm at it: are there more built-in symbols than the 12 default ones I see in the Symbols palette? I installed almost every option, so I have to imagine there's a good symbols library here somewhere....
Alexander Kogan.
if I drag with the Reflect tool, it seems to work exactly like the Rotate
tool...
it seems but it does not.
With one click with the Reflect tool you set the Transformation Center (the cicle-with-the-lines small icon) where you want it to be. The Reflect tool traces an imaginable reflection axis through the Transformation Center. When you drag an object with the tool, it will reflect depending on your cursor position.
To see how it works, create a non-symmetrical shape (say, a letter) and see what happens when you drag with the Reflect tool.
If I drag the left middle handle (for example) to the right, the object
gets more squished; as I continue dragging past the right middle handle,
the object flips, but gets more and more elongated the farther I go. There's
nothing that constrains this motion, so the object keeps getting longer
the farther I drag.
Personally, I'm not aware of any "legitimate" way of constraining it in Illustrator. Even the Smart Guides don't snap to the "old" bounding box. I use my recorded Flip actions instead.
I installed almost every option, so I have to imagine there's a good symbols
library here somewhere....
Try Window>Symbol Libraries
Robert Oliver
Robert, are you saying that when you use the Selection tool to flip an
object, its size doesn't change?
Using the selection tool to move the bounding box around wouldn't be an accurate way to flip something. It can be done, but not with precision. Definitely best to stick with the Reflect tool.