Content

• Create a new free polygon
• Working with predefined polygons
• Editing the Bézier curves of polygon vertices
• Joining and splitting polygons
• Properties of polygons

Create a new free polygon

Polygons can be created using the polygon tool under "New Objects".

Click the left mouse button (default) to create a polygon point. To complete the drawing of a polygon point, double-click the left mouse button. If the mouse pointer is near the starting point during the final double-click, a closed polygon will be created. The working method thus differs significantly from the creation of rectangles, ellipses, and also predefined polygons.

Procedure:

1. Press the left mouse button once at the desired starting point.
2. Move the mouse to the next polygon anchor point and click again there.
3. Repeat the process as often as necessary.
4. A double-click will set the last polygon anchor point. If this is near the first polygon anchor point, the polygon will be closed.

Working with predefined polygons

In the selection of graphic objects, various polygon objects are available. To use them, they must be activated in the configurator, as they are not enabled by default. The standard drawing objects are also available as polygons to allow editing as such.

The tool switches at the moment of selection and becomes a crosshair in the design layer. You can now draw the object.

1. Press and hold the left mouse button.
2. Now drag the mouse to the desired endpoint.
3. At the desired endpoint, you can release the mouse.

Polygon objects offer a variety of application possibilities in graphic editing. Similar to other graphic objects, they can be used as clipping objects. This means they can be used to cut out specific areas of an image or graphic, resulting in creative and appealing designs.

Furthermore, polygon objects can be filled with various colors and gradients.

Editing individual polygon anchor points

The individual anchor points of polygons can be edited. The corresponding tool for editing can be found in the floating toolbox.

With this special switch, you have the option to enable or disable the editing of polygon points. When editing is activated, the points that serve as handles for the polygon appear in a striking bright blue color.

When you hover the cursor over these polygon anchor points, you can simply click on them and move them to the desired position. This function allows for precise adjustment of the polygon shape, which is particularly useful when creating or editing complex geometric shapes.

It is possible to edit multiple anchor points simultaneously. To do this, press the Ctrl key. The points that are in editing mode will be marked in red.

In the editing mode of anchor points, a floating toolbox appears, in which the points can be edited. In this mode, the control points of the handles can also be selected and edited via the floating toolbox.

In this way, you can determine the x/y coordinates. Other actions include:

	Delete anchor point.
	Round off anchor point or make it angular.
	Create handle to the previous point. When activated, you can go to the point and start drawing the tangent. The order in which the polygon is drawn is crucial. Predefined objects are drawn clockwise.
	Create handle to the next point. When activated, you can go to the point and start drawing the tangent. The order in which the polygon is drawn is crucial. Predefined objects are drawn clockwise.

Add anchor point

To add an anchor point, first select the editing mode for editing polygons. Then you can move your cursor over the path and should see that the icon is complemented by a plus sign. Now you can add a new anchor point using the left mouse button.

Delete anchor point

Select the desired point with the cursor. The floating toolbox for anchor point editing will then appear. In the floating dialog, press the icon for deleting points.

Editing the Bézier curves of polygon vertices

If a polygon has anchor points that have been provided with Bézier curves, this will be displayed to you in polygon mode. The green lines with points represent the Bézier curves. In reality, only the handles of the selected anchor points will be displayed to you.

You have the option to grab the endpoints of the tangent to influence the Bézier curve. Through this interaction, you can actively influence the shape and trajectory of the curve. By pulling or moving the ends, you can adjust the curvature and direction of the curve, giving you precise control over the design.

Add a new control point

A tangent can have two control points – one for the previous anchor point and one for the next. Which is the previous or next depends on the order in which the anchor points were set. For the predefined polygon elements, the consideration is clockwise.

The control points are set via the floating toolbox for polygon anchor points. The right icon in the toolbox section refers to the next point (as seen in the small video), while the left refers to the previous anchor point.

Delete a control point

It is quite possible that you may want to delete a control point as well. In this case, select the control point (or multiple) with the cursor and choose the button for deleting points from the floating toolbox.

Joining and splitting polygons

Joining

It is possible to combine multiple separate polygons into a single polygon. This process is particularly useful when creating complex shapes or unifying existing geometric figures.

To select and edit the individual paths, the polygon tool must first be activated. Once the tool is activated, the desired anchor points can be selected by clicking and dragging. This selection allows the user to modify the individual elements as desired.

Unlike grouping, such objects can also be overlaid with an area that affects both paths. Joined objects have a common line thickness. If they previously had different line thicknesses, these will be automatically unified.

Splitting

A polygon that consists of multiple paths can be split into its individual path components. This means that the various lines and curves that make up the polygon can be edited or analyzed separately.

This flexibility is particularly useful in graphic and design software, where one often works with complex shapes.

In contrast, it is not possible to split a polygon that consists of only a single path into separate parts. This is because the entire content of the polygon is inextricably linked, and there are no individual elements that could be considered in isolation.

Furthermore, the function is not available when complete constructs have already been created that consist of joined polygon paths, such as when applying fills or image backgrounds – it is impossible to revert them to their original individual parts. In such cases, the individual paths and their properties are so intertwined by the application of additional features that they can no longer exist independently. To allow for a breakdown into the individual components, it would be necessary to remove these additional features beforehand. Only then could the original path components be restored and edited individually.

The properties of polygons

Controls

Navigation

Through the navigation of the properties dialog, you can choose the various options.

Preview

Back to the original values

Close

Assign

The changes made will be assigned.

Base

x

Position of the objects in the horizontal.

y

Position of the objects in the vertical.

Width

Specify the width for the selected objects. The width of the display is not changed by increasing the width of an ellipse.

Height

Specify the height for the selected objects.

Bracket

If the bracket is activated, the width and height will be changed proportionally.

Proportions are considered:

Proportions are not considered:

Rotation

You can set the rotation angle of an object. Rotation occurs around the center of the object. To rotate, you can use the small point as a control element. It snaps in 45° increments. If exact values are to be entered, click on the value in the middle of the rotation input and enter the desired value there.

Polygon

Fill mode: Through this setting, you can specify how the inner object behaves in the case of a fill for a composite polygon. The default is "Separating" – in this case, the inner object is excluded from the polygon's fill and is transparent. If the fill should apply to the entire element – including the interior – the fill mode can be changed to "Filling".

Image

Fitting

This determines the mode of image fitting that should apply when inserting an image into a rectangle. The rectangle thus becomes an image frame:

In the example shown above, the initial image frame is square.

1

Do not adjust - the size and position of the image will no longer be automatically changed after the image has been manually scaled and positioned. Note: If an image is imported into an image frame with this mode, the mode is discarded and the image is always changed to "Frame Filling".

2

Center - the image is positioned in its original size (100%) centered to the clipping object.

3

Frame filling - the image size is proportionally changed so that the clipping object is completely filled. Image height or width matches the clipping object. The protruding part is centered to the clipping object. In this mode, the image can be cropped.

4

Proportional - the image size is proportionally adjusted to the clipping object. The remaining space in height or width is centered to the clipping object. In this mode, the image frame may not be completely filled.

5

Fully centered - the image is positioned in its original size (100%) in the clipping object. The image is positioned vertically upwards, horizontally in the center.

6

Variable frame height - the image is scaled to the width of the image frame, then the height of the image frame is adjusted. If two objects with the same Y position and height are grouped, both frames will adjust to each other. The smaller image is decisive, so that the taller image has a white border on the left and right. (see the following example)

The text below the image frames is displaced by the adjustment of the frame height.

7

Variable frame width - the image is scaled to the height of the specified image frame, then the width of the image frame is adjusted.

Position

Specify how the image should be aligned in the corresponding fitting mode in the image frame. This setting is only relevant for the fitting options "Frame Filling" and "Proportional".

Administration

Name

Enter the name of the object, which can be referenced when reformatting.

Crop

With these parameters, the crop can be specified by the display frame and the rectangle itself.

Three options are available. In the displayed examples, images are used, as the effect is easier to recognize.

Crop at the display frame

Normally, objects are cropped at the inner edge of the display frame. If you do not want this, you will find the switch at that point.

On (default):	Off:

Crop at the inner display frame

If you have a multiple frame as a display frame, you can specify that the object is not cropped at the outer display frame, but at the inner one. This option is usually disabled:

On:	Off (default):

Crop at the object's own inner frame

If the selected object has been assigned a multiple frame itself, you can specify that the content is not cropped by the outer frame, but by the inner one. This option is usually disabled:

On:	Off (default):

Graphic

Frame lines inside

The frames of new objects always grow inwards by default. If the default is turned off, the lines grow from the center inwards and outwards. This also makes the objects correspondingly larger, by one point for a 1pt line.

Influence on display height

If the option is set, a graphic object is considered when determining the height of the display. Otherwise, the object can also be placed in the bleed at the end of the display. Text frames have this property by default, all other graphic objects do not.

Rights

At this point, the rights can be set. The following rights are available:

Position

If set, the objects can no longer be moved. Stylo displays a symbol that makes this clear:

Size

Objects cannot be manually enlarged or reduced if this parameter has been set by you.

Content

The content cannot be changed if the option has been activated by you. The fact that the content is unchangeable is indicated by a red keyboard symbol.

Delete

If this option is set, the object cannot be deleted. If an object has been protected from deletion, this is indicated to the user by a lock symbol.

Please note that these modification restrictions are limitations that prevent the user from making manual changes (e.g., in dialogs, working with the mouse, or touch actions). Automatic changes, for example, through text input or because other elements influence this object, are not affected.