Changing the shoulder offset of ties

You can change the shoulder offset of individual ties, independently of your project-wide settings. For example, you might want to change the shoulder offset of a few very short or very long ties in your project to improve their shape. 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 one of the control point handles on each of the ties whose shoulders you want to adjust in any of the following ways:

    • Select a whole tie and press Tab to cycle through the handles until the one you want to move is selected.

    • Click the handle you want to move.

    • Ctrl/Cmd-click individual handles on multiple ties.

    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 a standard amount to the right, left, up, or down, press Alt/Opt plus the corresponding arrow key. For example, press Alt/Opt-Left Arrow to move handles to the left. This moves handles by 1/8 space per press.

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

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

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

    • Click and drag them in any direction.

  3. Optional: Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the other control point handle on the ties whose shoulders you want to adjust.

Result

Moving tie offset handles further apart reduces the shoulder offset, while moving them closer together increases the shoulder offset. If the property scope was set to Locally, this change only takes effect in the current layout and frame chain.

Tip

  • The following properties in the Ties group of the Properties panel are activated automatically when you move the corresponding tie handles:

    • Start handle offset moves the left control points of ties. X moves them horizontally, Y moves them vertically.

    • End handle offset moves the right control points of ties. X moves them horizontally, Y moves them vertically.

    You can also use these properties to change the shoulder offset of individual ties by changing the values in the value fields.

    Deactivating the properties resets the corresponding handles on the selected ties to their default positions.

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