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While not quite as sensational as fill patterns, outlines are every bit as fundamental to the way that DRAW operates. Perhaps even more soafter all, you can place an outline around every single object you create in DRAW. So first, lets define a few terms. Every object created in DRAW has an outer perimeter or path, but not necessarily an outline. In DRAWspeak, the outline is the visible line that follows the path of an object, and the Outline Pen is the tool used to create or modify visible outlines. So even though all objects have outside edges to them, they only are said to have an outline if you can see it.
Accessing DRAWs Outline ToolsDRAWs controls for creating outlines have remained notably unchanged in the last few versions. That means that either Corel got it right the first time, or its engineers have run out of creative ideas for it. Kidding aside, outlining remains a straightforward operation. To set the outline thickness for a selected object, do one of the following:
To set the color of an outline:
Finally, you can reach width and color settings from the Properties sheet, accessible from the objects context menu. The Outline flyout has seven preset outline widths, including no outline at all (shown as an ×). You can leave the Outline flyout connected to the toolbox, or you can detach, reshape, and move them into any desired position on the screen If you want to set the outline color of multiple objects, drag and drop a color from the on-screen palette to each outline. This is similar to your ability to drag and drop colors into objects to fill them, the difference being your drop point: as you approach the outline, the interactive cursor changes to a colored square outline, indicating that you will color the outline when you release the mouse. Penning an OutlineWhile the property bar is handy, we predict that force of habit and more complete services will compel most users to journey to the Outline Pen dialog. That one dialog (thanks to the Color button) is a literal one-stop shop for outlining objects. Here are the settings offered there. Outline WidthThe Width settings give you total control over the thickness of an objects outline. You can designate anything from an impossibly thin 0.001 millimeter to an absurd 36 inches. And you can use any of DRAWs standard measuring unitsinches, millimeters, picas and points, points, ciceros and didots, didots, feet, yards, miles (!), centimeters, meters, and kilometers. Additionally, our lead author whined and nagged and Corels engineers added pixels to this list for those who produce Web-based graphics and want to keep all their measurements in units that make sense to the screen. You can either dial up the numbers on the spin buttons next to the Width field, or place your cursor in the box and type the value yourself. To abbreviate the tip we gave to speed demons above, here is the fastest way:
Regardless of the route you choose to get there and the way you enter the values, the Width field provides the most flexibility for setting Outline Pen widths.
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