Grouping objects

A group is a rectangle that encloses a number of objects in a design diagram and lets you treat the objects as a unit. You can move, copy, or delete the objects in a group by moving, copying, or deleting the group. You can also close a group to temporarily unclutter the diagram.

The objects in a group must be located within the group rectangle, but they don't have to be in any logical relation to one another.

To group selected objects:

1. In the design view, select the objects.
2. Choose Edit > Group, or click the Group button  in the Transform palette.

A group rectangle encloses the selected objects. If Collision Avoidance is selected, any unselected objects that would be enclosed by the rectangle move out of the way automatically.

To create an empty group in a particular location:

1. Drag a Group icon from the Diagram set of the Objects palette to the design view. If Collision Avoidance is selected, any objects at or near the icon's position move out of the way automatically.
2. Do one or both of the following as needed:
• Resize the group by dragging one of its corner handles.
• Reposition the group by dragging its title bar or border.

To set group options:

1. Select the group by clicking its title bar or border.
2. In the Group Inspector, do any of the following:
• Enter a name. It appears in the title bar if the title bar is displayed. You can also enter the name directly in the title bar.
• Click an Align button to left-align, center-align, or right-align the group name.
• Select or deselect Display Title Bar.
• Select or deselect Auto Resize. With Auto Resize selected, the group rectangle is only as large as it needs to be to hold its contents, growing or shrinking as needed.

To add objects to a group:

Drag the objects into the group rectangle. If the rectangle is too small to hold the objects and you have selected Auto Resize in the Group Inspector, the rectangle enlarges automatically.

To ungroup grouped objects:

1. Select the group.
2. Choose Edit > Ungroup, or click the Ungroup button  in the Transform palette.

To work with a group:

Do any of the following:

• To collapse or expand a group, click the collapse/expand button  in the group's title bar.
• To move a group and its contents, drag its title bar or border.
• To delete a group and its contents, select it and press the Delete key.