Wave Grid Shapes

Wave grid shapes are parametric shapes containing a wave grid of horizontal waves and an optional clipping frame. Wave grids can be used as object shapes, or building blocks for more complex shapes.

The properties of a wave grid shape can be edited using the Node tool or the Shape panel.

Drawing Wave Grids

Wave grids can be drawn using the Wave Grid tool from the application toolbox. To draw a wave grid:

• Select the Wave Grid tool from the toolbox.
• Press the mouse on a starting location on the canvas, this will be the center of the wave grid.
• Drag the mouse to set the wave grid size. The size is adjusted to be a multiple of the wave grid spacing.
• Hold the Control key to draw the wave grid centered at the starting point.
• Hold the Shift key to draw the wave grid into a square box.
• Release the mouse to create the wave grid with the selected size.

If the document view is rotated, the wave grid shape will be drawn with the opposite rotation angle to the view.

The default wave grid options can be set by double clicking on the Wave Grid tool icon in the toolbox. For example: the spacing of the wave grid can be set before drawing.

To create a wave grid by setting the numeric properties of the shape, click at a point on the canvas. This will open the Wave Grid view (described below) that contains all the wave grid shape properties. Set the required values and press Ok to create a new object with a wave grid shape.

Editing Wave Grids

The Node tool can be used to interactively edit wave grid shapes:

• Select the object with a wave grid shape.
• Select the Node tool from the application toolbox.
• Three handles are shown to edit the wave grid size and rotation.
• The handle at the bottom right corner can be used to resize the wave grid in both horizontal and vertical direction.
• The handle at the right center of the wave grid is used to resize horizontally and to rotate the wave grid.
• The handle at the top center of the wave grid is used to resize vertically and to rotate the wave grid.
• Hold the Shift key to restrict the rotation to user specified increments.
• Hold the Control key to fix the wave grid angle and change only the size.
• Hold the Command (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key while moving the handle, to fix the wave grid size and change only the rotation.

Editing wave grids with the node tool (instead of just resizing) has the advantage that the wave grid can be resized without changing the space between the waves.

Wave Grid Properties

The properties of a wave grid shape can be edited in the Shape panel when the shape is selected, or in the Wave Grid view, either from the shape panel, or when editing a shape style.

The following properties can be modified for a wave grid shape:

• Size - Select the width and height of the wave grid.
• Spacing - Select the amount of spacing between the waves.
• Angle - Select rotation of the wave grid.
• Include Frame - Add a rectangular frame around the wave grid.
• Clip to Frame - Enable or disable the clipping of the rotated wave grid into a non-rotated frame.