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Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
 
OK, here's the computer novice again, asking one of the eye rolling questions.

Lately, whenever I try to "Combine" a line of copy it reverses the order of the letters. It hasn't done this before so I'm sure that I've punched the wrong button somewhere. So, what do I "unpunch".

Thanks in advance for the help. I never had to worry about my brush reversing the order of the letters....but I'll admit pushing a button is a lot easier than pushing a brush - just not as much fun.

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Chapman Sign Studio
Temple, Texas
rchapman@vvm.com
 

Posted by Judy Hilliker (Member # 236) on :
 
I've always had that problem in Corel. I don't know what the purpose of "Combine" is. If I type in 3 words on the same line and then break they apart - I have 3 separate words. But if I decide that I want them combined into one line again - I highlight them, then click "combine" then my words are all attached in one line but not in the same order. The first word will now be the last word. I still have never figured it out. Judy

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Judy Hilliker/owner
Hae Jude Custom Signs
Silver Creek, NY
www.haejude.com
 

Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
 
Hi Guys...if you want to combine a line of text just highlite the text and hit "arrange/convert to curves" and then you can "combine". Actually, if you convert to curves then the text becomes a "curve" that can be recognised by any other computer evwen if the actual font is not installed on that computer. The same would apply to sign programs if you are importing.

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Dave Grundy
AKA "applicator" on mIRC
"stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!"
in Granton, Ontario, Canada
1-519-225-2634
dave.grundy@quadro.net
www.quadro.net/~shirley
 

Posted by Bob Darnell (Member # 27) on :
 
Hi Raymond,

This may or may not answer your question... try it and see.

It might have to do with the order that you select the text you are combining.

Deselect everything and then select the text you want at the front FIRST and so on, then hit combine. That seems to work here.

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Bob Darnell
London, Ontario, Canada

Portfolio: www.members.home.net/bob.darnell
Where I work: Excellent Signs and Displays Inc.
 

Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
 
Raymond, I thought I knew a lot about Corel - but what you are saying is a mystery to me. I can't figure out why you'd use 'combine' on text. I don't think I ever tried it on purpose or by accident. But whenever you do something that doesn't work, hit 'ctrl-z' on the keyboard to undo. Control-z is your friend. As is ctrl-c (copy) and ctrl-v (paste), and all the other keyboard commands.

As far as I know 'combine'ing a piece of text with another object (or presumably another piece of text) will change it from editable 'artistic' text into an object. Then you can no longer change the font or kerning - it's not text anymore.

The difference between combine and group was one of the hardest things to figure out back in the day. Grouping doesn't change any of the properties of the individual pieces - text is still editable and every object keeps it's same fill and outline, etc. But combining will make every selected piece into an object with the properties of the last item selected. There are some cases where grouping will change the stacking order of individual elements*, but I can't think of how or why either command would rearrange the order of letters in a word. You got me.

*if you have five items overlapping and you select items 1, 2, 3 and 5 and group them, item 4 will have to be either behind or in front of the new group - it can't go between anymore.

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Joe Rees
Cape Craft Signs
(Cape Cod, MA)
http://www.capecraft.com
e-mail: joerees@capecraft.com

[This message has been edited by Joe Rees (edited August 23, 2001).]
 

Posted by Robb Lowe (Member # 2121) on :
 
Raymond, I've admired your work for years in the sign rags, so I feel a little like the grasshoppa attempting to tell the showlyn monk how to grab a pebble! (however you spell showlyn, shaulin, etc.)

"Combine" is a different animal than "Group". Combining objects locks them together in a way that effects are spread over the entire selection evenly... versus grouping, which treats each object individually yet applies the same treatment to them all at the same time.

For a quick example, draw two circles and combine them. Apply a yellow-orange fade from left to right. Break them apart, and group them. The results should be noticable.

When you are combining a line of text, the computer arranges the parts in the order in which they were created or aligned originally. I may be wrong here, but I'm 99% sure thats the reasoning for some elements coming forward, and others going back. There is a timeline/fingerprint on everything, the same way a Roland plotter driver cuts the first element in a drawing versus the linear way a dedicated sign program might.

I'd like to know more of your reason for combining in the first place, as this is a rarely used tool in plotting, at least for my uses. Chances are, you're adding a step that we might be able to eliminate all together, saving your time, grief and problems in the future.

A quick tip I can add is learning to work in outlined versus filled fonts. The centers or filets in a font dont care who's in front that way.

I've assumed in this post you're talking about just cutting versus printing. If you're printing, then I've beaten a dead horse here, eh?

Give us some details, and we'll smooth it out.

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Robb Lowe
Hub City Graphics
Spartanburg, SC


 
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
 
Thanks all for the advice.

Dave, you hit it right on the head, as usual. Thanks.

Glenn Taylor gave me a lesson on the difference between Group and Combine earlier in the year when we were at Charlotte. Of course, I don't remember a lot of the reasoning for using Combine, but I know that when I'm printing it keeps the centers of the A's, O's and such the way they are supposed to be.

Robb, thanks for the nice words. We are all grasshoppers, just in different areas. And yes, I was printing, but I appreciate your fine lesson. We all learn something every day, even at the expense of a dead horse.

You all have a good day.

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Chapman Sign Studio
Temple, Texas
rchapman@vvm.com
 

Posted by dpsign (Member # 1769) on :
 
Raymond,
The differance in the combine command verses the group is kind of what joe was refering to except for one more thing: Example: If you take an "O" which is like a donut, it has a hole in it. If you break it apart you now have two separate circles that you can fill and munipulate. You can group them even if they have separate fills to them. However if you take those two circles and lay them on top of each other and combine them, you are essentially turning it back into a donut again....it has a hole in it that cannot be filled of munipulated without breaking it apart.

I hope I didn't confuse anyone.

Rich Litzenberger
Dorney Park Sign Dept.
Allentown, PA
rlitzenberger@dorneypark.com

"People have more fun than anyone!"

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