Is there a quick way to clip the current view to show only what's on the page (the part within the dimensions set in the document)?

I usually end up creating an Overlay layer, but it's a bit of work and size finagling to get right. I'm hoping there's an easier way to do this.

I'll try to figure out the meshes thing. Mimicking the look won't be sufficient I'm actually producing some game assets that need a rather precise fill on this region.

How can I fill a shape with a gradient that follows the border of the shape? I have an image like this: http://i.imgur.com/GQe3Ne6.png And want it to look something like this (just the inside fill): http://i.imgur.com/CujfAEm.png Essentially I want to mark the beginning and end of the path and have ...

How can I apply the current color to an object? I am using the color picker to select a color from a bitmap and then wish to apply that color to an existing object. Any attempt to select the other object results in its current color becoming active (in the color bar). I cannot copy/paste the style s...

Okay, maybe I figured out something. Instead of using gradients I can use the masking tool. I create an object and a mask object (grayscale). I then apply the mask. This lets me copy this object and quickly change the color and still have the mask apply.

Is this a good approach? Are there other ones?

I want to create a radial gradient, with 3 stops, on a series of objects. Each object however is a different color. How can I simply switch the gradient to be a different color? I don't want to have to modify all the stops on each copied gradient individually.