![]() ![]() If you want to get more creative, you can change the shape of the mask using the Shape tray within the stroke panel. From there you can drag and scale the object within the space. Choose the "Natural Size" button, which is the first one in the top row. Simply create your object or group of objects, then Copy as PDF. This is especially nice for those cases where you need to show a bit of an object – but overlaying a white object on it won't work. Bonus: Masking an objectĮxtending the capabilities of Master Objects, you can also mask those objects. Just select the objects you want to make a master, right-click them and choose "Copy as PDF". Have a footer that’s positioned different on all pages – but has the same content? Make a master. You can create objects that remain globally editable in Omnigraffle. I wrote about this before, but I think it’s freaking awesome. Then select them all, copy and choose "New from clipboard". Just draw out and color a set of boxes in Omnigraffle. Instead, I created a custom palette based on a limited set of colors I use. The swatch drawer is a fair place to keep these, but I find the little squares hard to distinguish. Despite the limited palette, it's still hard to keep the the shades and tints straight. Like most wireframes, mine are rendered in shades of gray with occasional splashes of color. Continue to do this with other tabs as you like. Double-click the tab and a small lock will appear in the bottom right. Succinctly, you can open multiple tabs concurrently within a palette. Learning to pin them open won’t solve your problems, but will make you less of a spectacle among your co-workers. Omnigraffle's palettes are the polar opposite of the double-rainbow, driving people to bouts of Tourette’s and uncontrollable sobbing. ![]() I use Indesign's version: Command-Shift-V. The keyboard command is funky, but you can override this in OS X's Keyboard Shortcut preferences. This saves you from having to sanitize it through Textmate first. “|>” and “” and “ Paste and Match Style.“lor” generates a sentence of “Lorem ipsum” text.In the left panel you can add new text substitutions. Just go to the Language & Text control panel and choose Text. Once these are set up, you can type a short abbreviation and have the system replace that with the chosen alternative. Using character replacements, however, puts these fiddly bits at your fingertips. Or you could build these little bits into a stencil. And the arrow. You could spend the time wading through the Characters palette each time. It’s a pain for me to find the little black triangle dingbat. Tip 3: Use character replacements as shortcuts Right-click one object and choose Select > Similar Objects. Provided you've been pretty consistent about using stencils, you can quickly select those objects that have the same traits. Perhaps you want to change the border and shadow on all your sitemap's boxes at once. Sometimes you want to monkey with the styling for a set of similar objects. Tip 2: Select similar objects to operate on Just drag the chicklets you want to the destination object. The others are fill, stroke, image, shadow, shape, font, font color and text alignment respectively. The first chicklet represents all styles for the shape. When you select an object, its styles are shown in a tray at the bottom of the canvas. Here's where the chicklet tray comes in handy. Sometimes you just want the gradient and the stroke – but not the text or shadow. Occasionally, you want to apply all of one object's styles to another. ![]() Tip 1: Use style chicklets to clone styles If you've got any of your own, post them in the comments. ![]() If you're a grizzled 'graffle veteran or someone who reads manuals, some of these might be old hat. During that time, I've collected a small set of tricks that make wireframing and diagramming easier. Over the past four months, I've been using Omnigraffle as my go-to diagramming app. ![]()
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