Changing the height of ties

You can change the height of individual ties independently of your project-wide settings; for example, to save vertical space on tightly-spaced pages. You can do this for the current layout and frame chain only, or for all layouts and frame chains.

Prerequisite

  • Graphic Editing Graphic Editing button is selected in the Engrave toolbox.

  • You have chosen the appropriate property scope for local properties.

Procedure

  1. In Engrave mode, select the tie height (middle) handle of the ties whose height you want to change.
    Tip

    You can show handles on all items, not just selected items, by choosing Engrave > Show Handles > Always. This can make it easier to select individual handles on multiple items.

  2. Move the handles in any of the following ways:

    • To move them upwards/downwards a standard amount, press Alt/Opt plus the corresponding arrow key. For example, press Alt/Opt-Up Arrow to move handles upwards. This moves handles by 1/8 space per press.

    • To move them upwards/downwards a large amount, press Ctrl/Cmd plus the standard key command; for example, Ctrl/Cmd-Alt/Opt-Up Arrow. This moves handles by 1 space per press.

    • To move them upwards/downwards a moderate amount, press Shift plus the standard key command; for example, Shift-Alt/Opt-Up Arrow. This moves handles by 1/2 space per press.

    • To move them upwards/downwards a small amount, press Ctrl/Cmd-Shift plus the standard key command; for example, Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-Alt/Opt-Up Arrow. This moves handles by 1/32 space per press.

    • Click and drag them upwards/downwards.

Result

The height of the selected ties is changed. If the property scope was set to Locally, this change only takes effect in the current layout and frame chain.

Note

  • To maintain a visually pleasing and symmetrical curve when changing the height of ties manually, you may need to move tie height handles to the right/left by a small amount, as well as upwards/downwards.

  • Moving tie height handles to the right/left affects the shape of the whole tie.

  • You can change the default height of all ties project-wide in Engraving Options > Ties > Design > Advanced Options. There are separate settings for short ties and long ties.