I am wondering if someone can help me create a dash circle?
Like this?
Yes but with thicker dashes so that I can cut them - there are 14 dashes in the circle>
Draw your circle and open the outline pen properties while it is selected. Under style, there are several different line types, many dashed, to choose from. Set the line thickness to what is appropriate. When you are happy with it, press ctrl+q to convert the line to an object if you are cutting out each individual dash.
I managed to do this with 14 rectangles blended along a path but there are some problems. The rectangles don't curve like they would with a custom dashed line using the pen/outline properties. In fact, you really need to specify the size of the finished product's circle you're looking for in order for this to work properly. Also, are you using Coreldraw X7? I am. Anyhow, I have attached the rectangles blended along a path (full path) with rotation applied, which I then converted to curves and broke apart in order for each object to be separate and hold a fill.
I have tried to attach it to this forum post but it's limited to 256KB of file size...how stupid is that? Mine is 348KB in file size. Who makes/moderates these forums anyhow? THE FILE SIZE ALLOWED ON FORUM POSTS NEEDS TO INCREASE TO AT LEAST UNDER 5MB!
Anyhow, I managed to export the coreldraw file as an .AI file and it's only 6KB, go figure. Adobe Illustrator to the rescue! How embarrassing!
Update: I originally did it the way Mike did and it curves properly, but you can not determine how many pieces you want exactly. It's arbitrary according to your circle size...which I mention is a potential problem.
SHowe said: Yes but with thicker dashes so that I can cut them - there are 14 dashes in the circle>
How do you intend to cut the lines?
George
I too am using a Corel X7. Thanks for your help.
Seems like an easy task but....
I agree. It's deceptive. Either method you use (blends along a path or with the pen properties) is not intuitive. I had to go to YouTube and watch some videos on how to use the blend along a path with rotation. I'd suggest you do the same since they're super useful once you figure out how to do it. But it lacks precise control in my opinion still.
There is the Blend docker in Coreldraw X7 which has changed slightly from earlier versions...make sure you expand the bottom panel or you'll never be able to fit a blend to a path. Basically, you draw the size of your circle first as a path. Then draw two rectangles the desired length and width. Then select BOTH of those objects and then blend them, selecting the number of steps you wish in-between. I selected 12. So you'll end up with 14 in total. Then, select blend along full path and also with rotation, the key to the final step is the blend along a path icon...select that icon and then select the circle path and voila. Much easier to watch a video to see how to do this though then it will make sense. Problem is, the rectangles are not curved properly like Mike's. Though he managed to make the circle have 14 parts to it, if you scaled his circle upwards, you'd get more line segments, scaled downwards and you'd get less segments. You can't control how many line segments you get with the pen properties...which kind of sucks because it's exactly what we want.