Working with shapes

Every document is made up of shapes, or Shape objects, which are created by using the drawing tools. Any changes that are made to the properties of a shape — such as by moving the shape, changing its size, or giving it a new fill — are immediately visible to the object model.

The shapes on a document page are stored on layers. Each shape is a member of the Layer.Shapes collection for the layer on which it appears. The shapes in a Layer.Shapes collection appear in the order in which they appear on that layer — the first shape is the one at the top of the “stack,” and the last shape is the one at the bottom. If shapes are added, reordered, or deleted, the affected Layer.Shapes collection is immediately updated to reflect the new shape order of that layer.

CorelDRAW provides a number of properties, methods, and events for working with shapes, the most useful of which are listed in the following table.


Class	Member	Description
AddinHook	ShapeCreated event	Is triggered when a shape is created For more information, see Creating shapes.
Application	CreateCurve method	Creates a line or a curve “in memory” For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Application	SelectionChange event	Is triggered when a selection is deactivated For more information, see Deselecting shapes.
Application	SymbolLibraries property	Contains the collection of all external symbol libraries for the application For more information, see Creating symbols.
Color	CopyAssign method	Copies a color from one shape fill or shape outline to another For more information, see Working with color.
Color	Type method	Specifies the color model for a shape color For more information, see Working with color.
Curve	CreateSubPath method	Adds a subpath to a line or a curve For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Document	ClearSelection method	Deselects all objects in a document For more information, see Deselecting shapes.
Document	Selection method	Returns, as a single Shape object, all selected objects in a document For more information, see Accessing selections directly.
Document	SelectionChange event	Is triggered when a selection is deactivated For more information, see Deselecting shapes.
Document	SelectionRange property	Returns, as a ShapeRange object, all selected objects in a document For more information, see Accessing copies of selections.
Document	ShapeChange event	Is triggered when a shape is deselected For more information, see Deselecting shapes.
Document	ShapeCreate event	Is triggered when a shape is created For more information, see Creating shapes.
Document	ShapeDelete event	Is triggered when a shape is deleted For more information, see Deleting shapes.
Document	ShapeDistort event	Is triggered when a shape is distorted For more information, see Applying distortions.
Document	ShapeMove event	Is triggered when a shape is positioned For more information, see Positioning shapes.
Document	ShapeTransform event	Is triggered when a shape is transformed For more information, see Transforming shapes.
Document	SymbolLibrary property	Returns the internal symbol library for a document For more information, see Creating symbols.
Fill	ApplyFountainFill method	Applies a fountain fill to a shape For more information, see Applying fountain fills.
Fill	ApplyHatchFill method	Applies a hatch fill to a shape For more information, see Applying hatch fills.
Fill	ApplyPatternFill method	Applies a pattern fill to a shape For more information, see Applying pattern fills.
Fill	ApplyPostScriptFill method	Applies a PostScript fill to a shape For more information, see Applying PostScript fills.
Fill	ApplyTextureFill method	Applies a texture fill to a shape For more information, see Applying texture fills.
Fill	ApplyUniformFill method	Applies a uniform fill to a shape For more information, see Applying uniform fills.
Fill	Fountain property	Specifies the fountain-fill properties for a shape For more information, see Applying fountain fills.
Fill	Hatch property	Specifies the hatch-fill properties for a shape For more information, see Applying hatch fills.
Fill	Pattern property	Specifies the pattern-fill properties for a shape For more information, see Applying pattern fills.
Fill	PostScriptFill property	Specifies the PostScript-fill properties for a shape For more information, see Applying PostScript fills.
Fill	Texture property	Specifies the texture-fill properties for a shape For more information, see Applying texture fills.
Fill	Type property	Specifies the type of fill that is applied to a shape For more information, see Coloring shapes.
Fill	UniformColor property	Specifies the uniform-fill properties for a shape For more information, see Applying uniform fills.
FountainColor	Move method	Moves a color in the fountain fill for a shape For more information, see Applying fountain fills.
FountainColors	Add method	Adds a color to the fountain fill for a shape For more information, see Applying fountain fills.
FountainColors	Count property	Counts the number of colors between the start color and end color in the fountain fill for a shape For more information, see Applying fountain fills.
GlobalMacroStorage	SelectionChange event	Is triggered when a selection is deactivated For more information, see Deselecting shapes.
Layer	CreateArtisticText method or CreateArtisticTextWide method	Creates an artistic-text object on the specified layer For more information, see Creating text objects.
Layer	CreateCurve method	Creates, on the specified layer, a line or a curve that is created “in memory” by using the Application.CreateCurve method For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Layer	CreateCurveSegment method or CreateCurveSegment2 method	Creates a basic curve on the specified layer For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Layer	CreateEllipse method, CreateEllipse2 method, or CreateEllipseRect method	Creates an ellipse on the specified layer For more information, see Creating ellipses.
Layer	CreateLineSegment method	Creates a basic line on the specified layer For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Layer	CreateParagraphText method or CreateParagraphTextWide method	Creates an paragraph-text object on the specified layer For more information, see Creating text objects.
Layer	CreateRectangle method, CreateRectangle2 method, or CreateRectangleRect method	Creates a rectangle on the specified layer For more information, see Creating rectangles.
Layer	Shapes property	Contains the collection of shapes for a layer For more information, see Selecting shapes.
Outline	Color property	Specifies the color of the outline for a shape For more information, see Applying outlines.
Outline	Style property	Specifies the dash settings (that is, style properties) for the outline of a shape For more information, see Applying outlines.
Outline	Type property	Specifies whether an outline is applied to a shape For more information, see Applying outlines.
Outline	Width property	Specifies, in document units, the width of the outline for a shape For more information, see Applying outlines.
Segment	AddNodeAt method	Adds a node to a line segment or a curve segment For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Shape	CreateBlend method	Applies a blend effect to a shape For more information, see Applying blends.
Shape	CreateContour method	Applies a contour effect to a shape For more information, see Applying contours.
Shape	CreateCustomDistortion method	Applies a customized distortion effect to a shape For more information, see Applying distortions.
Shape	CreateCustomEffect method	Applies a customized effect to a shape For more information, see Applying customized effects.
Shape	CreateDropShadow method	Applies a drop-shadow effect to a shape For more information, see Applying drop shadows.
Shape	CreateEnvelope method, CreateEnvelopeFromCurve method, or CreateEnvelopeFromShape method	Applies an envelope effect to a shape For more information, see Applying envelopes.
Shape	CreateExtrude method	Applies an extrusion effect to a shape For more information, see Applying extrusions.
Shape	CreateLens method	Applies a lens effect to a shape For more information, see Applying lenses.
Shape	CreatePerspective method	Applies a perspective effect to a shape For more information, see Applying perspective.
Shape	CreatePushPullDistortion method	Applies a Push-and-pull distortion effect to a shape For more information, see Applying distortions.
Shape	CreateSelection method	Creates a selection from a single shape For more information, see Selecting shapes.
Shape	CreateTwisterDistortion method	Applies a Twister distortion effect to a shape For more information, see Applying distortions.
Shape	CreateZipperDistortion method	Applies a Zipper distortion effect to a shape For more information, see Applying distortions.
Shape	Duplicate method	Duplicates a shape For more information, see Duplicating shapes.
Shape	Evaluate method	Returns the result of a given expression that evaluates the properties of the current shape For more information, see Searching for shapes.
Shape	GetBoundingBox method	Returns the size of a shape based on the size of its bounding box For more information, see Sizing shapes.
Shape	GetPosition method	Returns the horizontal and vertical position of a shape For more information, see Positioning shapes.
Shape	GetSize method	Returns the size of a shape For more information, see Sizing shapes.
Shape	PlaceTextInside method	Places the selected text inside the specified shape For more information, see Creating text objects.
Shape	PositionX property	Returns, or sets, the horizontal position of a shape For more information, see Positioning shapes.
Shape	PositionY property	Returns, or sets, the vertical position of a shape For more information, see Positioning shapes.
Shape	Rotate method or RotateEx method	Rotates a shape For more information, see Rotating shapes.
Shape	Selected method	Specifies whether a shape is selected For more information, see Selecting shapes.
Shape	SetBoundingBox method	Sets the size of a shape based on the size of its bounding box For more information, see Sizing shapes.
Shape	SetPosition method or SetPositionEx method	Sets the position of a shape For more information, see Positioning shapes.
Shape	SetSize method or SetSizeEx method	Sets the size of a shape For more information, see Sizing shapes.
Shape	SizeHeight property	Returns, or sets, the height of a shape For more information, see Sizing shapes.
Shape	SizeWidth property	Returns, or sets, the width of a shape For more information, see Sizing shapes.
Shape	Skew method or SkewEx method	Skews a shape For more information, see Skewing shapes.
Shape	Stretch method or StretchEx method	Stretches (or scales) a shape For more information, see Stretching shapes.
Shape	Type property	Returns the type for a shape For more information, see Determining shape type.
ShapeRange	CreateSelection method	Creates a selection from a range of shapes For more information, see Selecting shapes.
ShapeRange	Duplicate method	Duplicates a range of shapes For more information, see Duplicating shapes.
Shapes	All method	Returns all shapes from the specified collection of shapes For more information, see Selecting shapes.
Shapes	FindShape method	Returns a single shape that has the specified properties For more information, see Searching for shapes.
Shapes	FindShapes method	Returns, as a shape range, all shapes that have the specified properties For more information, see Searching for shapes.
SubPath	AppendCurveSegment method or AppendCurveSegment2 method	Adds a curve-type segment to a subpath For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
SubPath	AppendLineSegment method	Adds a line-type segment to a subpath For more information, see Creating lines and curves.
Symbol	Definition property	Returns the definition of a symbol For more information, see Creating symbols.
SymbolDefinition	NestedSymbols property	Contains the collection of all nested symbols for a symbol definition For more information, see Creating symbols.
SymbolLibrary	Symbols property	Contains the collection of all symbol definitions for a symbol library For more information, see Creating symbols.
Text	FitTextToPath method	Attaches the specified artistic text to the outline of a shape For more information, see Creating text objects.
Text	Frames property	Represents a series of text frames (or TextFrame objects), each of which has its own text range (or TextRange object) For more information, see Creating text objects.
Text	Story property	Represents a text range (or TextRange object) that includes all text in a series of text frames (or TextFrame objects) For more information, see Creating text objects.

Working with shapes

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