CorelDraw 101: Basic Toolbox pg 2: Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com

CorelDraw 101: Basic Toolbox

Pick Tool Overview

Choose the Pick Tool
Click on the Pick Tool in the Toolbox. The Pick Tool is the main selection tool in CorelDraw. When using any other tool, you can change to the Pick Tool by pressing your keyboard spacebar (CTRL spacebar when using the Text tool in Edit Mode).

Resize Object with Pick Tool
Draw a rectangle and fill with any color. Click and drag on the corner handles to change the size of the rectangle proportionately. Click and drag handles in the middle of any side to change the size of the rectangle in that direction only.

Move Object with Pick Tool
Click and drag anywhere the rectangle to move. The outline of the object will follow the mouse on the screen for easy positioning. Release mouse button when object is in desired position.

Status and Property Bar Features
As you move or otherwise transform your objects, pay attention to the property bar above your workspace. In the sample above, note the % value which represents transformation as you are resizing an object. As soon as you release your mouse button, this value returns to 100%. It is excellent practice to pay attention to this information, as you will learn to use it for fast, precise positioning and resizing work.

Resize Text with Pick Tool
Choose the Text Tool from the Toolbox. Type the word "Sample." Choose the Pick Tool. Click and drag on the bottom right corner handle to increase the size of the text. Note the Property Bar as you resize the text. The Object Size, Position and Scale Factor changes, but toward the right end of the Property Bar, the Font Size changes as well. You can also change text size with the Text Tool.

Pick Tool Properties
Right click on the Pick Tool to open a pop-up menu. Choose Properties. You can control personal choices for the Pick Tool from this screen. Choose Treat All Objects as Filled for easy selection of objects with no fill. If you are just learning CorelDraw, it is advised to leave the other features as they are. Tutorials and the manuals assume the default settings are in place.

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CorelDraw 101: Basic Toolbox Tutorial Index

Object Overview
Pick Tool Overview
Shape Tool Overview
Zoom Tool Overview
Freehand Tool Overview
Rectangle Tool Overview
Ellipse Tool Overview
Spiral Tool Overview
Polygon Tool Overview
Graph Paper Tool Overview