Technical Library: Using the Object Manager to Order Your Vector Cuts

Have you ever had a project where you wanted to vector cut a group of objects in a very specific order?

Using Corel’s Object Manager, you can easily specify the exact order that objects will be cut with your laser system. This will cut down on the time the laser takes to cut out the project because the laser optics won't need to move back and forth across the table. You can use these same techniques on your own projects to better order your vector lines and save time and effort on setting up your next project! In this example we're going to show you how to tell in what order objects will be cut and how to change that order.

First, we want to open the Object Manager. Click on the Tools menu in the toolbar at the top of the screen.

Next, click on Object Manager in the drop-down list under Tools.

The Object Manager shows up as a docker window at the right side of your screen.

The objects we have on screen are all currently on Layer 1, so click the plus sign next to Layer 1 to expand it and show each object's cutting order.

By expanding Layer 1, the four objects that are on screen will be displayed in the object manager. The objects will cut in the order that they show up in the object manager from bottom to top. For our sample drawing, the star, which shows up as "Perfect Shape" will cut first.

Above the Perfect Shape in the object manager list are two rectangles, but we can't tell which is which. We need to know which is the inner rectangle and which is the outer rectangle so that the inner rectangle will cut before the outer rectangle.

When we select the bottom rectangle in the object manager, we can see in Corel's work area that the outer rectangle is selected. Now we know that the outer rectangle will cut before the inner rectangle because it is below the inner rectangle in the object manager. If that happens, the outer rectangle will drop out of our material before the inner rectangle can be cut.

Let's rename the two rectangle layers so that they are easier to keep track of. Double click on each layer name in the object manager and type in the new name.

We renamed these two layers "inner rectangle" and "outer rectangle." You can do the same to the Perfect Shape and Artistic Text layers as well, changing them to "star" and "vector cutting."

Since we want the outer rectangle to cut last, it needs to be above the inner rectangle in the object manager. We clicked on the Outer Rectangle layer and dragged it above the Inner Rectangle layer to change the cutting order.

Now our objects will cut in the correct order that we need so that the outer rectangle won't fall through before the inner rectangle can be cut.