Panorama > Forms > Graphics Mode
 
Grouping Objects

Grouping gathers several objects together and combines them into a single object. Once the objects are grouped together, they act as a single unit. The group can be selected, moved, copied, or resized just as if it was a single object.

To group several objects together, first select the objects, then right click on one of the objects and choose Group from the pop-up menu. (You can also choose Group from the Objects menu.)

Once the objects are grouped, they act as if they were a single object.

When objects are grouped together, you can no longer examine and modify their individual properties – you can’t change the color, font, formula or other options. If you need to change individual properties you first have to separate the group. To separate a group object back into individual objects, click on the group, then right click on one of the objects and choose Ungroup from the pop-up menu. (You can also choose Ungroup from the Objects menu.)

Resizing a Group

When you resize a group, Panorama normally expands or shrinks each object within the group proportionally. For example, if you double the height of a group, Panorama will normally double the height of each individual object within the group. In this example you see the original group object on the left, with the same object on the right but enlarged 2x. As you can see, all of the individual components in the group have been enlarged 2x, the star is twice as big, and each rectangle is twice as thick as well as twice as long.

You can use the Elastic Mode attribute in the group’s Special Object Properties Inspector (see Object Inspection Panel) to change the way objects are resized when the size of the group changes. The default elastic mode, Proportional, works as described in the previous paragraph.

The Slide mode divides the group into four quadrants. When the group is resized, Panorama checks each corner of each object within the group to determine what quadrant it is in.

If a corner is in the upper left hand quadrant, it remains fixed in place.

If a corner is in the upper right hand quadrant, it slides left or right to remain a fixed distance from the right edge of the group.

If a corner is in the lower left hand quadrant, it slides up or down to remain a fixed distance from the bottom edge of the group.

If a corner is in the lower right hand quadrant, it slides both up and down and left and right to remain in a fixed position relative to the bottom right corner of the group.

The Special Object Properties Inspector allows you to specify the point where the four quadrants intersect. The v parameter is the vertical position of this point. If positive, it specifies the distance below the top edge of the group. If negative, it specifies the distance above the bottom edge of the group.

The h parameter is the horizontal position of this point. If positive, it specifies the distance from the left edge of the group. If negative, it specifies the distance from the right edge of the group.

See Also

History

VersionStatusNotes
10.0UpdatedCarried over from Panorama 6.0, but now with the Slide elastic mode (in addition to Proportional).