Now we have the office group, we can use it to add similar kinds of objects to other cubicles. Simply copy the group created in the first cubicle and paste it in other cubicles, as shown:
If you want to add or remove objects from your group, then you can do so using the group edit tool. To explain this tool, I will remove the chair from our office group in the following example:
- Click the group edit tool of the Groups panel, as shown:
- Now click on any object from the office group in the drawing area and the command line will now change to this:
- As you can see, we have options for adding objects, removing objects, or renaming an existing group.
- Click the Remove objects option from the command line or type R and press Enter to select it.
- Now, click on the chair from the group you selected and press the Enter key.
You will notice that the group no longer has the chair in it. However, this change only happens to the selected group; the changes are not global and other cases of the office group remain unchanged—they will still have the chair as an object in the group.
If you want to explode a group so that all the objects of the group are again selectable separately, then you can use the ungroup option. To use it, click on the ungroup tool from the Groups panel, as in the following figure. Then, click on the group you want to explode, the group will break, and all the objects will now become separate once again:
When you select a group, a bounding box shows up enclosing the objects of the group, as shown:
If you don't want to see this bounding box, uncheck the Group bounding Box option in the Groups panel, as shown:
So, as you have seen, groups are like a miniaturized version of blocks, with far fewer properties than blocks but with some completely different uses as well. They are mostly used as a tool to make temporary selection groups in a drawing that can be later ungrouped. In the next section, we will discuss another tool that will enhance the usability of blocks even further, called attribute.