Combine Shapes (Boolean Operations)
Boolean operations build a new outline from two or more overlapping shapes. Use them to cut holes, merge pieces into one silhouette, or keep only the area where shapes overlap — without drawing the path by hand.
The Four Operations
| Operation | Result |
|---|---|
| Union | Merges all selected shapes into one outline |
| Subtract | Keeps the bottom-most shape and cuts every shape above it out of it |
| Intersect | Keeps only the area where all selected shapes overlap |
| Exclude | Keeps the areas covered by an odd number of shapes — the overlaps become holes |
Combining Shapes
- Select two or more shapes that overlap
- Choose an operation:
- Edit → Combine → Union / Subtract / Intersect / Exclude, or
- Right-click the selection and choose Combine → an operation
Union also has a keyboard shortcut: Option+Cmd+U.
The result is a single vector path, selected and ready to edit. The whole operation is one undo step.
What Can Be Combined
- Vector shapes — rectangles, circles, polygons, paths, and freehand drawings
- Notation symbols — a symbol is combined using its outline; a symbol without a defined outline is treated as its bounding rectangle
Connectors, images, tables, and groups can't be combined. The Combine submenu only appears in the context menu when at least two eligible shapes are selected.
How the Result Looks
- Stacking order matters — shapes are processed from the bottom of the stack up. For Subtract, the bottom-most shape is the one that is kept; adjust the stacking order first (for example by dragging items in the Layers list) if needed.
- Style — the result takes the fill, stroke, and effects of the bottom-most shape, and keeps that shape's text.
- Holes — results can contain holes (for example a ring made by subtracting a small circle from a large one).
Keeping the Originals
By default the original shapes are replaced by the result. Hold Option while choosing the menu item to keep the originals and add the combined shape on top.
Tips
- Combine first, then refine: the result is an ordinary vector path, so you can edit its nodes afterwards
- Use Subtract with text-free shapes to make cut-outs, badges, and speech-bubble tails
- Use Exclude for checkerboard and interlocking-ring effects
Related Topics
- Vector Drawing — drawing the shapes you combine
- Vector Path Editing — reshaping the result
- Groups — keeping shapes together without merging them