Edited: December 13, 2023
The Combine tool provides four actions – Unite, Subtract, Intersect, and Exclude – which allow you to combine objects in Design Space to make completely new shapes, while keeping all shapes in the group completely editable – every action can be adjusted or undone. Find instructions on how to use these features below.
Combine is located at the bottom of the Layers panel on Desktop, and in the Actions menu on Mobile. It will activate when you have two or more objects selected on the Canvas. Select Combine to open the tool menu.
Desktop
Mobile
Unite
Unite joins two or more shapes together into one new shape.
Subtract
Subtract removes shapes from the last or bottom layer of any selected group of objects. Unlike Slice, you can Subtract multiple objects all at once.
Intersect
Intersect gives us a new cut shape consisting of only the overlapping parts of two or more shapes.
Exclude
Exclude gives us a new cut shape consisting of only the non-overlapping parts of two or more shapes. It "excludes" or removes the overlapping sections.
Editing a Combine group
Once a Combine action is completed, you can see in the Layers panel that you can still access each object within the group. To edit size, rotation, position, or even hide or delete an object, simply select it in the Layers panel, then perform the desired edit.
You can also simply double-click / double-tap on the group on the Canvas to access and edit the shapes within the group.
Desktop
Mobile
When you’re done editing and release your mouse or click/tap out of the group, the Combine action will again take effect and show you your new cut shape.
Undo a Combine action
To revert objects in a Combine group to their original state, select the group on the Canvas, then select Combine > Undo [action].
Note: Objects do not return to their original color when you use Undo, but you can reassign colors through the Edit bar.
Desktop
Mobile
Merge Layers
Merge Layers allows you to make a Combine action permanent, and turns a Combine group into a single-layer object. Once Merge Layers has been applied, the shape will no longer function as a Combine group.
Desktop
Mobile
Weld
Weld allows you to join two or more shapes on the Canvas into a single-layer object. While the resulting cut shape is similar to that of a Unite result, unlike Unite Weld is a permanent action - objects used in a Weld are no longer editable after Weld is applied.
Desktop
Mobile