Learning Resources
 

One of the benefits of the drawing canvas is that you can easily copy, group, and rotate the images on it.

Copy

If you want to use an image more than once, you don't have to redraw or reinsert it; just click the image to select it, and then copy and paste the same way you do text.

Group

By grouping separate images, you turn them into a single unit that you can manipulate as a whole in relation to other things. For example, you might have two photographs that you want to always keep together on the page. Or you might have several shapes that you want to rotate by the same degree. Rather than rotating them all separately and painstakingly making sure that the rotation is the same for all three, just group them and rotate the group. Remember, images must be on the drawing canvas before they can be grouped.

To group objects, select them all by holding down the CTRL key as you click each object. Then right-click the selected objects, point to Grouping on the shortcut menu, and click Group.

Rotate

Usually when you insert an image, it's oriented vertically — but you're not stuck with that angle. When you click an image on the drawing canvas, you'll notice a green selection handle at the top: that's the rotation handle. When you position the pointer over it, a circular arrow appears that you drag to rotate the image to whatever angle you want.

You'll get a chance to practice all of this in the practice session.

Note    Diagrams (including organization charts) are placed on a special type of drawing canvas and therefore cannot be rotated. They can be copied in the way described in this section. To group diagrams, you must first turn them into floating graphics; you'll see how to do this in the next lesson.