You can erase straight lines by clicking where you want to start erasing, and then clicking where you want to finish erasing. Press Ctrl if you want to constrain the line’s angle.

You can also erase an area of a selected object by double-clicking the area with the Eraser tool.

To delete a virtual line segment

1Open the Shape edit flyout , and click the Virtual segment delete tool .

2Move the pointer to the line segment you want to delete.

The Virtual segment delete tool snaps upright when positioned properly.

3Click the line segment.

If you want to delete multiple line segments at one time, click the pointer to drag a marquee around all line segments you want to delete.

The Virtual segment delete tool does not work on linked groups such as drop shadows, text, or images.

Trimming objects

Trimming creates irregularly shaped objects by removing object areas that overlap. You can trim almost any object, including clones, objects on different layers, and single objects with intersecting lines. However, you cannot trim paragraph text, dimension lines, or masters of clones.

Before you trim objects, you must decide which object you want to trim (the target object) and which object you want to use to perform the trimming (the source object). For example, if you want to create a star-shaped cut out of a square object, the star is the source object because you are using it to trim the square. The square is the target object because it’s the object you want to trim. The source object trims the part of the target object it overlaps.

The target object retains its fill and outline attributes. For example, if you trim a rectangle that is overlapped by a circle, the area of the rectangle that was covered by the circle is removed, creating an irregular shape.

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CorelDRAW lets you trim objects in different ways. You can use a front object as the source object to trim an object behind it, as well as use the back object to trim a front object. You can also remove hidden areas of overlapping objects, so that only the visible areas remain in the drawing. Removing the hidden areas can reduce file size when you convert vector graphics to bitmaps.

Trimming can be used to reduce the number of objects in a drawing. Instead of adding eyes and spots to the bug, areas (shown on the left in gray) are trimmed to reveal the black background (right).

The letter “A” is the front object used to trim the back object. A partial silhouette of the letter is created in the logo (right).

To trim an object

1 Select the source objects.

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2Hold down Shift and click the target object.

3Click Arrange ` Shaping ` Trim.

If you marquee select the objects, CorelDRAW trims the bottom-most selected object. If you select multiple objects individually, the last object selected is trimmed.

You can also trim objects by marquee selecting the source and target objects and clicking the Trim button on the property bar.

To trim front and back objects

1Marquee select the source and target objects.

2Click Arrange ` Shaping, and click one of the following:

•Back minus front — removes the front object from the back one

•Front minus back — removes the back object from the front one

You can trim the control object of a PowerClip object so that the object inside the PowerClip object will assume the new shape of the PowerClip container. For information about PowerClip objects, see “Creating PowerClip objects” on page 130.

Linked objects such as drop shadows, text on a path, artistic media, blends, contours, and extrusions are converted to curve objects before they are trimmed.

To trim overlapping areas among objects

1Marquee select the objects you want to trim.

2Click Arrange ` Shaping ` Simplify.

You can trim the control object of a PowerClip object, so that the object inside the PowerClip object assumes the new shape.

Linked objects, such as drop shadows, text on a path, artistic media, blends, contours, and extrusions, are converted to curve objects before they are trimmed.

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