Options in the Merge and Split submenus (Item menu) let you create complex Bézier boxes from existing boxes. For example, if a rectangular box overlaps an oval box, you can select the Item > Merge submenu and choose an option that will create a single box with the same content. If you merge two picture boxes, one picture will display in the combined box. If you merge two text boxes, the text flows as one story through both boxes.

To use the Merge feature, select two items and then choose one of the following options from the Item > Merge submenu:

• The Intersection command retains any areas where items overlap the back item, and removes the rest.
• The Union command combines all the items into one box, retaining all overlapped areas as well as nonoverlapped areas.
• The Difference command deletes the front items. Any overlapping areas will be cut out.
• The Reverse Difference command deletes the back item. Any overlapping areas will be cut out.
• The Exclusive Or command leaves all of the shapes intact but cuts out any areas where there is overlap. If you want to edit the points surrounding the cut-out area, you will notice that there are now two points at every location where two lines originally crossed.
• The Combine command is similar to the Exclusive Or command, but if you look at the points surrounding the cut-out area, you will notice that no points were added where two lines intersect.

The Split command either splits a merged box into separate boxes, splits a complex box that contains paths within paths into separate boxes, or splits a box that contains a border that crosses over itself (such as a figure eight). To use this feature, select two items and then choose one of the following options from the Item > Split submenu:

• The Outside Paths command works with a merged box that contains several, non-overlapping shapes. Outside Paths keeps all the outside path information and divides nonoverlapping outside paths into separate boxes.
• The All Paths command creates separate boxes out of every shape within a complex box.