Stone Design Forums

So far as I read, the definitions of 'Group Scalable' and 'Mask Group' are identical in the Manual. Is there a reason to use one or the other? I am new to graphic design. Is there a simple description of the situations in which each of the four groups is most useful?
Scot

A scaleable group is a classic group where the bounding box is total of all the graphics.

A mask group is a way different beast. The TOP element's path is used to clip the elements below it. So if you had a star over a picture, and chose "Mask Group" - you get a star-shaped cutout of that picture.

I use the "Mask Group" a lot for printing out pictures that are supposed to fit in non-standard size photoframes. For example, we have a wooden cube which can fit 4 photos of 2x2 inch each.

I tried to print these pictures first using Photoshop or my printer's software, but with Create it's done much easier and faster.

In Create I just draw 4 squares of 2x2 (no fill). I drag in 4 pictures and scale them so the part of the picture I want to be printed fits into a square. Then I move the squares to the front (top) and I choose "Mask Group" with both the square and the picture selected. Et voilà !

This way, you can quickly fill an entire page with pictures in all different forms and shapes. In this way, you can economize on paper by maximizing the number of pictures on 1 page (good for wallet & environment).