Connected Shapes

[nvictor]

dear Xara team,

i recently asked this question: can i create a base shape, duplicate it. then when i modify the base shape, all the duplicates are also changed? i was told no.

wouldn't it be a nice feature to have?

thanks.

[gwpriester]

Can you provide a scenario of how you would use this feature?

[ad1066]

I could see it possibly being useful in a situation where you're using a shape repeatedly in a drawing, such as a stylized drawing of sakura blossoms, for example. If you wanted to change some aspect of the pattern (other than the colors used), such as add shading to each one, or change the individual contours of the petals, it would be nice to be able to change one of them and automatically update the others.

That being said, I can also see the value in also having the ability to break a particular instance out of the group, so you can change it and NOT update the others.

-- Ben

[nvictor]

exactly useful for what ad1066 said.

i can upload some files later but here is my scenario. i recently discovered that i can draw diagrams and flowcharts with xara. and several entities are just the same in my diagram, and so when i update one i have to update all the other duplicates. (it is somewhat tiresome because my entities are a group of a shape+text+colors, so if i decide, ok the text should be this, i have to ungroup all others, change the text, regroup them, etc...)

[morphonius_821]

Hmmm thats what I thought Cloning was...
(Never used it obviously)
Makes me wonder what difference there is between duplicate and clone? (other than the duplicate being offset by default).
Just checked it and your right of course (no active update).

I.E that a cloned copy should mirror changes made to its parent or any siblings ETC...(this is what i assumed)
moving a clone should not effect the positioning of the other objects in a "clone set" but rotation and scaling is another matter, these could be options (changeable with options check boxes and with "hot keys" on the fly.)

IE this way you could create one leaf shape.... clone it a hundred times, each time customizing the scale, rotation and width or height etc creating a tree with clones of the same leaf shape in different sizes, angles etc...

then edit the leaf shape and the whole tree would be transformed....
Neat idea...

I don't know how much processing load this would burden the system with if you had hundreds of clones... could be pretty full on (don't know),
Would be handy for niche applications....

Probably not a high priority to be honest.

[Albacore]

If you had a page of Biz. cards which were duplicated and you wanted to change the address or there logo had changed if you edit it one they all change, like in this situation:http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...o-Do-Biz-Cards
I am not talking about the way Illy use the Transform effect but the way it is editable.

[amoore]

What you're asking for is called "instances" in some applications. Because I use the existing Clone function constantly, I don't want it messed with. However, a separate "Instance" function could be very useful. (I also use Duplicate, but less often.)

BTW, there is also a "Clone" tool in XDP6's photo kit, so adding a third function with the same name is probably not a good idea.