Masking with Paste Inside

The triangles around the circle extend outside the circle. You want them contained within the circle. The problem is that the circle is curved around the edges, and the edges of the triangles are straight. To fit the triangles within the curve, you'll use a masking method called Paste Inside. Think of the circle as if it were a cookie cutter and you could use it to cut through the triangles. Then the cut edges would be curved, and the triangles would fit precisely within the circle. There are other ways to create a mask, which you will learn in later lessons.

1.

Select all the triangles. You can Shift-click each triangle to select it; an easier way is to choose Select > Select All. Select All will also select the circle, which you don't want selected. Hold down Shift and click in the middle of the circle to deselect it. Note When you hold down Shift and click an object, you alternately select or deselect the object. Tip The document title bar displays the number of selected objects; ten in this example.

2.

Choose Edit > Cut, select the circle, and then choose Edit > Paste Inside. The triangles are pasted within the circle.