Adobe Illustrator CS4 - Manual (Page 214)

207 USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Selecting and arranging objects
Fill Expands fills.
Stroke Expands strokes.
Gradient Mesh Expands gradients to a single mesh object.
Specify Sets the tolerance for color values between color stops. Higher numbers help maintain a smooth color
transition; low numbers can create a more banded appearance.
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you choose Object > Expand to expand a gradient using the
settings last entered in the Expand dialog box.
Moving, aligning, and distributing objects
Move objects
You can move objects by dragging them with specific tools, by using the arrow keys on the keyboard, or by entering
precise values in a panel or dialog box.
You can use snapping to help you position objects as you move them. For example, you can snap the pointer to guides
and anchor points and snap object boundaries to gridlines. You can also use the Align panel to position objects in
relation to each other.
You can then use the Shift key to constrain the movement of one or more objects so that they move in a precise
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal direction relative to the current orientation of the x and y axes. You can also use the
Shift key to rotate objects in multiples of 45°.
Hold down Shift while dragging or drawing to limit movement to the nearest 45° angle.
See also
“ Use the grid ” on page 47
“ Rotate objects ” on page 211
“ Transform panel overview ” on page 224
Move or duplicate an object by pasting
1 Select one or more objects.
2 Choose Edit > Cut to move the selection or Edit > Copy to duplicate the selection.
3 To paste an object into another file, open the file. (To paste between layers, see “ Pasting objects between layers ” on
page 209.)
4 Choose one of the following commands:
Edit > Paste DEFINITION