Corda® Builder™ projects, and the resulting Image Template files, consist of one or more object components. Supported object types include graphs, maps, textboxes, legends, shapes, and imported images. Manipulate and configure these objects within the project using Corda Builder.
To add an object to a project, select Edit > Create <object type>, where <object type> is the type of object you want to add.
The following sections provide information on working with objects:
Corda Builder supports several common actions for any object that has been added to a project:
Select an object by clicking on it in the Project Canvas, or in the Object List. If an object is currently selected, use the <Tab> key to cycle among the objects in the Object List.
Note: To select a single shape in a map object, or grouped shape object, use the Select a Point cursor from Shape Tools. For more information, see Select a Point.
Corda Builder identifies the selected object by highlighting it in the Object List, and by surrounding the object with a blue, dashed outline in the Project Canvas.
Note: You can also select individual components of a graph or map. To deselect an individual graph or map component, click any white space around the graph or map.
Corda Builder also allows you to select multiple objects by pressing the <Ctrl> key while selecting the desired objects, either on the Project Canvas or in the Object List. This allows you to move several objects at once.
Move a selected object by clicking and dragging it to the desired location with the mouse, or by using the arrow keys on the keyboard to shift the object to the desired location.
Resize a selected object by using the mouse to drag the blue "handles" at the corners and sides of the selected object outline, until the object reaches the desired size, or by holding the <shift> key and using the arrow keys on the keyboard to resize the object.
To match the width or height of an object to that of another, first select the object that is at the desired width or height; then select the object(s) whose width or height you want to change. From the Align view, select Same Width (to match the width) or Same Height (to match the height).
After an object is selected, access the object's properties and attributes from Object Properties. More information about objects is available in the Corda 7 Object Reference.
To copy a selected object, select Edit > Copy, or press <Ctrl>+C.
To paste a copied, or cut, object into the Project Canvas, select Edit > Paste, or press <Ctrl>+V.
To delete a selected object, select Edit > Delete, or press <Delete> or <Backspace>.
Alternatively, cut a selected object and place it on the system clipboard by selecting Edit > Cut, or pressing <Ctrl>+X.
Corda Builder lets you align objects to each other. Aligning objects includes such actions as: positioning objects relative to each other; resizing one or more objects relative to another; and moving objects forward or backward in a project’s layers.
Note: Alignment settings such as position and size are not preserved in the project. Once aligned, individual objects can still be sized and moved.
To align objects
Select the object you want to align other object(s) to.
Select the object(s) to be aligned.
If necessary, select View > Align to open the Align view.
From the Align view, select the desired alignment option.
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Align Left: Aligns the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, with the left edge of the first selected object. |
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Align Top: Aligns the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, with the top edge of the first selected object. |
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Align Center: Aligns the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, with the horizontal center of the first selected object. |
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Align Middle: Aligns the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, with the vertical middle of the first selected object. |
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Align Right: Aligns the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, with the right edge of the first selected object. |
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Align Bottom: Aligns the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, with the bottom edge of the first selected object. |
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Evenly spaces the selected objects horizontally across the Project Canvas. |
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Evenly spaces the selected objects vertically across the Project Canvas. |
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Resizes the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, to the same width and height as the first selected object. |
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Overlay: Resizes the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, to the same width and height as the first selected object, and then overlays the resized objects on top of the first object. Note: Overlaying simply changes the height, width, and position of the affected objects. The overlay setting is not preserved in the project—meaning that overlayed objects can still be moved or resized independently, if desired. |
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Resizes the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, to the same width as the first selected object. |
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Resizes the second object, and any subsequently selected objects, to the same height as the first selected object. |
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Moves the selected object to the project’s back layer. |
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Moves the selected object to the project’s front layer. |
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Moves the selected object back one layer in the project. |
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Moves the selected object forward one layer in the project. |
Anchors are used to specify the position of graph, map, legend, text box, and image objects as they expand.
For example, if additional text is added to a textbox, the anchor points determine how the textbox adjusts for the additional text. To keep the top left corner of the textbox stationary so that the textbox expands down and to the right as text is added, specify the Vertical Anchor as Top, and the Horizontal Anchor as Left. then as you add text to the textbox.
To anchor an object
Select the object to be anchored.
In Object Properties, select the Common > Anchor property.
Select the desired anchor setting.
The anchor setting is a combination of one vertical and one horizontal anchor point. Vertical anchors include: Top, Middle, and Bottom. Horizontal anchors include: Left, Center, and Right.
Relative positioning is a special use of object anchoring that preserves the location of objects relative to one another. Instead of specifying a fixed position on the Project Canvas, use a mathematical expression to specify the object’s position relative to another object. Similarly, relative sizing lets you specify how one object grows or shrinks proportionally to another.
To specify relative positioning or sizing, use mathematical expressions in the object’s position attributes to describe how the object should be placed in relation another object. The relative position expression always begins with an equals sign (=).
Relative positioning supports use standard arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /) in the relative position expression. For example, to specify that the selected object be positioned 20 pixels past the vertical middle of the object named Map, use the following expression:
=middle(Map) +20
Similarly, use the division (/) and multiplication (*) operators to specify that the width or height of an object be proportionally linked to the size of another object. For example:
=width(Map) /2 or =height(Map) *2
Because this relationship is saved as part of the project, the objects remain related as defined by the relative position expression.
To position or size an object relative to another
Select the object to position.
In Object Properties, specify the appropriate relative positioning expressions in the Common property.
The following properties accept relative positioning expressions: Top, Left, Width, Height.
Press <Tab> or <Enter> to see the results of the positioning expression(s) in the Project Canvas.
