Working inside a group with isolation mode in Vectornation

Grouping is one of the best habits in vector work. It keeps a logo together, keeps a character's face with its head and stops a label falling apart when you move it. The trouble comes when you need to change something inside the group. Isolation mode in Vectornation by Zaweba is the answer: it opens a group so you can work inside it without ungrouping.

To enter it, double-click a group with the Pointer. The rest of the drawing is dimmed and locked, and the group you chose is what you work on. A breadcrumb bar appears and shows the path to where you are.

What changes while you are inside

Because everything else is locked, you cannot accidentally select or nudge the background, a neighbouring illustration or anything else on the page. That alone makes small edits much calmer.

New artwork goes into the group too. Draw a shape while in isolation and it becomes part of the group rather than landing loose in the drawing. This is the easy way to add a detail to an existing piece, such as a highlight on a button, an extra leaf on a branch or another line in a set of icons, and know that it will move with the rest.

Dimming the other artwork matters as well. You can still see it, so you can judge the piece in context, but it is clearly in the background and does not compete for attention.

Finding your way back

The breadcrumb bar is your map. It shows the path from the drawing down to the group you are in, which is reassuring in files from other people, where a single shape may be buried several groups down.

To leave, you have three choices. Click a crumb in the bar to go back to that level. Double-click an empty part of the canvas to come out. Or press Esc. Which one you use is a matter of taste; clicking a crumb is handy when you only want to go up part of the way.

Jobs it suits

Isolation mode shines when you are fixing a detail in a finished piece. Changing the colour of one element in a grouped logo, correcting one part of a grouped badge or redrawing one icon in a set of many are all quicker inside the group than outside it.

It is also good for building. Make a group for a component, isolate it and draw everything that belongs to it. When you leave, the whole component is already grouped and ready to place. Building a set of map symbols or a family of buttons this way keeps every piece in its proper home from the start.

Things to watch

It is easy to forget you are in isolation mode, especially if the dimming is subtle on your artwork. If you cannot select something that should be selectable, look for the breadcrumb bar; you are probably still inside a group. Press Esc and try again.

Also remember that new shapes go into the group. If you meant to draw something separate, leave isolation first, or you will find the new shape moving with the group later. And because isolation only opens groups, it will not help with objects you have locked or hidden yourself; deal with those first.

Used well, isolation mode means you can keep your files neatly grouped without paying for it every time you need a change, which is exactly why it sits on a simple double-click in Vectornation by Zaweba.