Changing objects’ properties

You can change an object’s properties. The properties you can change depend on the object you select. You can also select several objects and change their properties at the same time.

Changing the fill

You can change an object’s fill by selecting the object and then setting the fill in the Properties tab or by clicking Fill, setting the fill, and then selecting the object.

To change an object’s fill by first selecting the object

1. Select the object.

2. If the Properties tab isn’t visible, press Properties.

3. Press Fill Effects.

4. Select a fill style:

   Fill style	Procedure
   None (transparent)	Select No fill.
   Solid color	Select Solid fill. Do one of the following: Select one of the 40 colors in the palette. Press More, and then select a color in the dialog box. Press the eyedropper, and then select a color on the screen.
   Gradient of two colors	Select Gradient fill. For each color, do one of the following: Select one of the 40 colors in the palette. Press More, and then select a color in the dialog box. Press the eyedropper, and then select a color on the screen. Select an option in the Style drop-down list.
   Pattern	Select Pattern fill. Select a pattern.
   Picture	Select Image fill. Press Browse. Browse to and select the picture you want to use as a background, and then press Open. Note  If you insert a large picture, a dialog box may appear and prompt you to either reduce the picture’s file size or retain the picture’s file size. For more information, see Setting image optimization preferences. Select Keep image size to keep the picture’s size, regardless of whether the picture is larger or smaller than the object. OR Select Scale image to fit to resize the picture to fit the object.

5. Optionally, drag the Object transparency slider to the right to make the object transparent.

   Tip 

   You can also change an object’s properties using the property selectors on the toolbar.

To change an object’s fill by first pressing the Fill button

1. Press Fill, and then select a color.

2. Select the object.

3. Repeat step 2 for each object you want to apply the fill to.

Changing other properties

In addition to fill, you can change objects’ line style and text style.

To change an object’s line style

1. Select the object.

2. If the Properties tab isn’t visible, press Properties.

3. Press Line Style.

4. Change the object’s line style.

To change an object’s text style

1. Select the object.

2. If the Properties tab isn’t visible, press Properties.

3. Press Text Style.

4. Change the object’s text style (see Formatting text).

Saving tool settings

When you select a tool in the toolbar, you can change its default settings using the Properties tab and then save your changes by clicking Save Tool Properties.

When you save your changes to a tool’s default settings, the tool’s button displays those changes:

To restore the default settings, see Customizing the toolbar.