Selection and everyday editing
Last updated: October 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Select and move objects while keeping control of what you edit.
Selecting an object is different from editing its text or cropping its image. Check the current editing state first.
- Layers, groups, and locks
Control stacking and group objects that should move together.
- Align and distribute objects
Align object edges or equalize the gaps between them.
- Duplicate, step and repeat
Duplicate objects at even spacing and make copies by dragging.
- Using the command palette
Run menu and panel commands by typing their name.
- Find and replace text or fonts
Update repeated text or fonts across the catalog.
Follow these steps
- 1
Select an object
EditorCanvas
Click an object once; the selection frame and the Properties panel show the selection. Double-click to edit text or crop a photo. Locked objects cannot be selected on the canvas; reach them from the Layers panel.
With several objects selected, a double-click goes to the object under the pointer: it enters the text or opens the image for cropping.
- 2
Select multiple objects
EditorCanvasMultiple selection
Hold Shift and click objects to extend the selection. Drag a selection rectangle from empty canvas or the surrounding pasteboard. Check the resulting frames. Start from empty space because dragging over an object can move it.
- 3
Reach overlapping objects
EditorLayers
Select the object from Layers. On the canvas, Tab can cycle overlapping objects; inside text or a form field the key may have another purpose.
- 4
Move or enter a position
PropertiesTransform
Drag the selection or use the X, Y, W, H and angle fields at the top of the Properties panel. Fields accept arithmetic (120+15, 300/2); the value applies when you press Enter or leave the field. You can also drag left or right over a field label to change the value. With several objects selected, a field writes to all of them and shows Mixed when the values differ. The angle field rotates a multiple selection as one.
Arrow keys move by 1 px, or 10 px with Shift; holding Shift while dragging keeps the move on one axis. To work in millimetres or points, see Choosing measurement and type units.
- 5
Copy and undo
EditorEdit
Use the Edit or context menu for Copy, Cut and Paste. Cmd/Ctrl+D duplicates the selection; move the copy and press it again to continue at the same spacing. Undo a mistake with Cmd/Ctrl+Z and redo with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z. While editing text, copying applies to the text.
- 6
Set opacity from the keyboard
EditorCanvas
With an object selected, press a digit: 1 gives 10 percent, 5 gives 50 percent and 0 gives 100 percent opacity. Press two digits in quick succession for an exact value; 4 then 5 gives 45 percent. While typing text or inside a field, digits go into the text.
- 7
Export the selection as an image
EditorContext menu
Select one or more objects, right-click and choose Export as PNG. The file downloads at twice the resolution with a transparent background and takes its name from the layer name.
Shadows are clipped at the bounding box of the selection. To export whole pages, use PDF and image export.
Result
Clear the selection and inspect the page, checking that unrelated objects were not changed.