Edit objects using Boolean operations

You can combine simple shapes to create compound shapes and objects. Select the shapes that you want to combine and use one of the following options in the Property Inspector:

Adds the area of the component to the underlying geometry.

Cuts out the area of the component from the underlying geometry.

Uses the area of the component to clip the underlying geometry as a mask would.

Uses the area of the component to invert the underlying geometry, turning filled regions into holes and vice versa.

Mask objects

Masking helps in hiding or revealing parts of an image. Intelligent use of masks can help you draw focus on required parts of an image, or blur or sharpen an image or change opacity of layers. You can use masks to get circle icons from a square or rectangle image.

You can also use masks to hide portions of images, and vector objects. Consider a scenario where one vector object needs to be masked with another. In this case, the top object in the stack acts as a mask. 

Want to learn how to use masks to hide portions of your object? For more information, see Create a mask with shapes.