Panorama > Forms > Graphics Mode
 
Selecting Form Objects

Before you can modify an object (change its size, color, pattern, etc.) you must select the object. Selecting an object (or objects) tells Panorama that you want to work with that object.

Selecting a Single Object

To select a single object, click on it. To unselect the object, click outside of it.

When an object is selected, handles appear on the corners and edges of the object, as shown above. The handles let you know the object is selected and waiting for you to do something with it.

If an object is hollow, you must click on the border of the object to select it. Objects with thin borders may be difficult to click on. If you find it too difficult, remember that you can also select an object by dragging a selection marquee around it (see the next section).

It’s possible for one object to be hidden behind another object, making it impossible to click on. See Selecting a Completely Hidden Object below to learn how to select hidden objects.

Selecting Multiple Objects at Once

Sometimes you may want to modify several objects at a time. To do that, you need to select the objects first. One way to select multiple objects is to hold down the Shift key and click on each object.

Don’t forget to hold down the Shift key, or you’ll only wind up with one selected object.

Another way to select multiple objects is by dragging a selection marquee around the objects. Start by clicking on an empty spot on the form, then drag across the form until all of the objects you want are selected, then release the mouse.

To drag a marquee, you normally need to start on an empty spot on the form. If an empty spot isn’t available, just hold down the Space Bar and drag the marquee. When the Space Bar is held down, you can’t select objects by clicking them. Instead, clicking starts a selection marquee, even if you click on an object.

In this example there is a large light green rectangle behind the objects I want to select. By holding down the Space Bar, I can select the smaller objects while leaving the background rectangle unselected. (In the movie below you can see that the cursor arrow turns into a cross when the Space Bar is pressed.)

Selecting a Completely Hidden Object

If an object is completely hidden you can’t click on it. However, there are several ways to select hidden objects.

To find a hidden object, use the Select All Objects command in the Objects menu (or just press Command-A). This command makes handles appear for every object, including hidden objects. For example, at first glance the form shown below would appear to have only one object — an orange box. The Select All Objects command reveals that there are two hidden objects behind the orange box.

One way to see and work with hidden objects is by moving the object or objects in front out of the way, like this.

Once the obscuring object is out of the way, you can easily work on the underlying objects. Another way to temporarily get the obscuring object out of the way is to use the Arrange▸Send to Back command. Right click on the obscuring object to access the pop-up context menu.

When you are finished, use the Arrange▸Bring to Front command to bring the obscuring object forward again.

However, you may want to work on the underlying objects without moving the obscuring object out of position. One way to do this is using a selection marquee. Simply drag around the hidden objects but not the obscuring object. If necessary, hold down the Space Bar to make sure the obscuring object is not accidentally selected.

Once the hidden object (or objects) is selected, you can bring it to the front, change the object properties, or nudge the object with the arrow keys.

Another technique for selecting a hidden object is to hold down the Command key while you click. The first time you click, the topmost object will be selected. The next click will select the next object behind the top object (remember, you must hold down the Command key). Each time you Command click again the next object behind the current object will be selected.

When you reach the bottom of the pile Panorama will cycle back to the top and select the topmost object again. You can keep clicking around and around forever.

See Also

History

VersionStatusNotes
10.0UpdatedCarried over from Panorama 6.0, but objects now have eight handles instead of just four.