Grouping objects

A group binds several objects into one thing you click, move, style and resize together. It adds nothing to the drawing (a group is invisible until you select it) and it dissolves again the moment you ungroup.

Group and ungroup

Command	Shortcut
Group	`⌥⌘G`
Ungroup	`⇧⌥⌘G`

Both commands live in three places, all doing the same thing:

The Arrange menu, under the stacking-order commands.
The ribbon’s Arrange tab, in the Group section.
The right-click menu on a shape: Group appears once two or more shapes are selected, Ungroup once the selection touches a group. Right-clicking empty canvas gives the canvas menu, which has neither.

Group needs two or more selected objects and stays dimmed below that. Ungroup needs a selection that belongs to a group; it dissolves that group and leaves the objects it held selected, ready to be moved or regrouped. Each is one undoable step, so ⌘Z puts the diagram back exactly as it was. The status bar confirms the result, for example Grouped 3 objects or Ungrouped 1 group.

What each selection state looks like

Grouping and ungrouping are meant to be visible. The chrome around a selection tells you which of the two states you are in:

State	What you see
Several shapes selected, not grouped	Every selected shape carries its own handles. There is no line drawn around the set as a whole.
A group selected	One thin continuous outline around the group’s bounds, plus one set of handles for the group. The shapes inside show no handles of their own.
Straight after ungrouping	Back to the first row: the objects that were in the group are selected individually, each with its own handles.

So grouping replaces many handle sets with one outline and one handle set, and ungrouping reverses that. If nothing on screen changes when you group, the selection was a single object.

Working with a group

Clicking any member selects the whole group, wherever you click it.
Dragging a member moves every member, in formation, as one undoable step, with the usual snapping to the grid and to guides.
Dragging a handle resizes or rotates the whole group together.
Style commands, alignment and stacking order apply to every member at once.
The status bar counts a group as one selected object, not as the shapes inside it.
⌘-click adds or removes a whole group from the selection, the same as it does with a single shape.
A marquee that touches part of a group takes the whole group, so you never end up with half of one selected.

Nested groups

A group can hold other groups, to any depth. From outside, the nesting makes no difference:

A group of groups selects as one object: the outermost group’s outline and its single handle set, and no chrome at all from the groups or shapes inside it.
Ungrouping a nested group dissolves only that one level and leaves its contents selected. Each of them then shows the chrome its own kind calls for: a child group shows a group outline, a child shape shows shape handles.

To reach a shape several levels down without dissolving anything, step into the group instead.

Working inside a group

Editing one shape inside a group otherwise means taking the group apart. Rivoli Diagrams lets you scope into a group instead: the rest of the canvas dims, and selection and editing are limited to that group’s contents until you step back out.

Stepping in and out

Double-click a group’s background: inside its bounds but away from any shape or label: to step in. Double-clicking a shape still edits that shape’s label, so entering needs empty space.
Double-click outside the group you are inside to step back out one level.
Right-click the canvas and choose Enter Group or Exit Group. They lead the menu when they apply, and are absent when they do not.
The ribbon’s Arrange tab has Enter and Exit beside Group and Ungroup.
The breadcrumb in the canvas bar reads Canvas ▸ Group 1 ▸ Group 2, naming the page and every group you are inside. Click any rung to jump straight back to that level; click the page rung to leave group scope entirely.

What changes while you are inside

Everything outside the group is dimmed and cannot be selected, including a connector with only one end inside, which belongs to the level above.
A click now selects one level down rather than the whole group: a shape held directly by the entered group selects on its own, and a nested group inside it selects as a unit, with the group outline and one handle set.
Drilling happens one level at a time, so a deeply nested group is walked rung by rung and the breadcrumb grows with each step.
The status bar appends the breadcrumb: for example 1 selected: inside Canvas ▸ Group 1: because the dimming alone does not say which group you are in.
Stepping back out restores the selection you had before you stepped in.
If the group you are inside disappears: you ungroup it, or delete its last member: the scope falls back to the level above rather than stranding you.

Collapsing a group

Right-click a selected group and choose Collapse Group to replace its contents with a single small box, which is useful for putting a finished subsystem out of the way. Expand Group on the same menu brings the contents back.

A collapsed group cannot be entered (there is nothing on screen to edit), so expand it first.

Groups and containers are not the same thing

Both hold several shapes, and it is easy to reach for the wrong one.

	Group	Container
What it is	A binding over objects; nothing is drawn.	A shape in its own right, with a label, a fill and a border.
Membership	Fixed when you group, and ignores where the shapes sit.	Follows position: drag a shape in or out to change it.
On screen	Invisible until selected, then one outline and one handle set.	Always visible, and it prints and exports.
Connectors	Cannot attach to a group; connect the shapes themselves.	Can attach to the container itself, like any shape.
Use it for	“These things move together.”	“These things live in the payments subsystem.”

Containers, swimlanes and tables have their own page: Containers, swimlanes and tables. For the rest of the Arrange menu, see Arranging and automatic layout.