DadakiBoolean shape operations, non-destructively
Almost every icon you have ever admired is a few rectangles and circles that were added and subtracted from each other. Boolean operations are how simple shapes become a considered one.
Open the editorNo sign-up, no download. It opens on a blank canvas.
The four operations
- ⌥⌘U
- Union — fuse the selection into one outline
- ⌥⌘S
- Subtract — cut the shapes above out of the one below
- ⌥⌘I
- Intersect — keep only the overlap
- ⇧⌥⌘X
- Exclude — keep everything except the overlap
If you have come from Figma: Exclude is ⌥⌘X there. Here that chord makes a Live Paint group, so Exclude moves to ⇧⌥⌘X.
Non-destructive, which is the useful part
A boolean result is a group, and the shapes that made it are still inside it, still editable. Move the circle you subtracted and the hole moves with it. Change its radius and the hole changes. You are not committed to the decision at the moment you make it.
That is the difference between a pathfinder that flattens and one you can keep working in. When you do want to commit — to hand a single clean path to something else — ⌘E flattens the selection into one path.
What people build with these
- Icons. A rounded rectangle minus a smaller rounded rectangle is a frame. A circle minus an offset circle is a crescent.
- Logotype marks. Intersecting two letterforms, or knocking one out of a field.
- Counters and cut-outs. Subtracting text from a shape gives you a knockout you can put a photo or a gradient behind.
- Cleaning up traced artwork. Union a pile of overlapping fragments into a single outline before exporting.
How to do it
- Draw the shapesR for rectangles, O for ellipses, P for anything else. Overlap them the way you want the result to read.
- Mind the stacking orderSubtract cuts the shapes above out of the one below. ] and [ move a shape forward and backward; ⌘] and ⌘[ send it all the way to the front or back.
- Select them allShift-click, or drag a marquee with the Select tool (V).
- Run the operation⌥⌘U, ⌥⌘S, ⌥⌘I or ⇧⌥⌘X.
- Adjust after the factDouble-click into the result to reach the operands and keep nudging them until the silhouette is right.
Dadaki is free and the editor is open source under the MIT licence — the whole thing is on GitHub. There is no watermark, no export limit and no paid tier gating the drawing tools. An optional account adds cloud sync and shared team files; everything else works signed out.
Open the editorNo sign-up, no download. It opens on a blank canvas.
Questions
What is the difference between union and flatten?
Union creates a boolean group whose result is a single merged outline while the original shapes stay inside and editable. Flatten (⌘E) collapses the selection into one literal path and discards the structure.
Why is subtract removing the wrong shape?
Subtract cuts everything above out of the shape below, so it depends on stacking order. Use ] and [ to move a shape forward or backward, or ⌘] and ⌘[ for front and back, then run it again.
Can I still edit the shapes after combining them?
Yes. Double-click into the boolean group to reach the operands. Moving or resizing one updates the combined result live.