Shapes

Shapes
Shapes can be used for venn diagrams, decorative borders, for geometry lessons, and for masking photos. Click on the shapes icon to see the shapes that are available in Pages. You'll notice the Inspector opens where you'll be able to change the color, the outline, the shadow, the reflection and opacity of the shape. **Creating a Venn Diagram**
 * Choose a blank page under Page Layout
 * Go to File/Page Setup and change the orientation to landscape.
 * Under the shapes icon, choose a circle. Make the circle a little less than half the page. Hint: hold the shift key down while you are dragging the handles of the circle in order to keep a circle, otherwise you'll end up with an oval.
 * Highlight the circle. In the Inspector under the graphic icon (shapes), change the fill to none.
 * To make a duplicate circle, hold down the option key and drag your circle. This little trick works in many applications.
 * Move the second circle so that it overlaps the first circle. Remember that text will be in the middle area so make sure you leave enough room.
 * Click on the Text Tool to add text to your Venn diagram.

Masking Photos

 * Using the Media icon, select a photo from your iPhoto library. Drag it onto your page.
 * Choose a shape that you'd like your photo to fit in. Click on the shape to get the handles. In inspector under graphic (shapes), change the opacity level at the bottom of that window. You want to be able to see through the shape.
 * Now drag the shape so it fits nicely over only the area of the photo you'd like to capture.
 * Next hold your shift key and select the photo and the shape. Holding down the shift key allows you to select more than one item at a time.
 * Under format, choose mask with selected shape.
 * Experiment with the slider bar in the editing tool. This brings your photo in closer or farther away. You can still move your photo around if necessary.
 * When you're happy with the selection, click outside the photo/shape.
 * That's it! If you're not satisfied with it, you can double click back on the photo and edit.
 * You might want to put a frame around your photo. That's pretty simple to do. Click once on the photo, then in the Inspector under Graphic (shapes), change the Stroke from none to Picture Frame. There are several to choose from. Explore and have some fun. You can always undo (Apple Z).

