When you think of the Combine (Ctrl + L) and Break Apart (Ctrl + K) commands in CorelDRAW, you typically think of graphic objects. One of the most powerful uses for these commands is when working with Artistic Text.

If you have several lines of Artistic Text and you use the Break Apart command, each line of text will become a separate object. Select one of those lines and Break Apart again and you’ll find that each word is a separate object. Now choose one of those words and Break Apart once more to find that every letter is a separate object.

You can do just the opposite with Combine. Letters can be combined into words, words into lines of text and lines into “paragraphs.” There is one big difference. When Combining, the order of selection is very important. Each of the pieces will be combined in the order they were selected.

I had a project come in yesterday where I receive a block of text in an e-mail. In order to format it as I desired, I had to use variations of these two commands. Sure, I could have re-typed everything but it would have taken much longer than using Ctrl + K and Ctrl + L a few times. Give this tip a try and I think you’ll soon add it to your regular arsenal of tools!