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Constrain drawing/drag?

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:15 pm
by bobmumm
Hello...

Not a new user, but rarely need assistance for the simple stage scenery drafting I do with RealCADD. I love it, I love it, I love it.

But...(you knew that was coming, right?)

I've searched through the forum, and played with the program endlessly, but can't find the way to constrain a drawing angle or drag angle.

I want to draw a line. Click and drag...to the point I want to stop. But in many evil Windows programs, holding down control or shift or some other modifier constrains the line to go either straight horizontal, or straight vertical from the starting position.

Likewise, dragging a group of selected objects while holding down the modifier restrains the movement in the same way, horizontally or vertically. Very useful when doing quick 3 views.

When I try any of the modifier keys while using RealCADD, I get unexpected results; like the object suddenly vanishing as I drag, a group of objects that will suddenly start growing in size as I drag...anyway I've tried all the combos I can see, with no success.

Am I missing something simple? I don't find anything about these topics in either manual...

Thanks in advance!

Bob M

Re: Constrain drawing/drag?

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:00 pm
by Eric Pousse
Bonjour Bob,

You can do what you want with the shift key held down after beginning to move the object(s).
Like this, the move is done with the constraints defined in the tools constrained line.
This constrains are also used if you draw a side of a polygon with the shift key held down.

Thank you for your comment about RealCADD.

Cordialement.

Re: Constrain drawing/drag?

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:46 am
by bobmumm
Thank you very much, sir...that solution works brilliantly to draw or move objects horizontally, provided I hit shift after I start to move the object, as you say. And I feel pretty stupid to not think of waiting to hit shift. So accustomed am I to windows.

However, when I try the same method and attempt to do the same vertically, a number of things can happen.

-the objects are not constrained at all, but move as the mouse does
-objects not constrained, then suddenly vanish from view. They may return, they may not. If they do, they may be the same size and shape as when they vanished, or not.

What did you mean by 'the constraints defined in the tools constrained line?' I'm thinking that I'm missing a setting of some kind.

Thanks again in advance...

Bob M

Re: Constrain drawing/drag?

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:43 am
by Eric Pousse
Bob,

If Shift key is down, the move is constrained.
If Shift key is up, the move is free.
While moving objects, held the shift key alternativly down and up.
If in the constrained line preferences you have entered 45° for example, with the Shift key is down, you can move the objects along a line of this angle.

Be careful to not take the objects on a handle, because like this you don't move them but you deform them.

Cordialement.

Re: Constrain drawing/drag?

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:50 pm
by debenriver
Hi Bob

You probably need to go to Preferences >> Constraints angles ... and set the constraint angles that you wish to use either generally or for a particular drawing.

The shift key will then constrain an object you are drawing, or moving, to the various angles you set there – see also http://www.whisstock.com/realcadd/page_ ... ub_page=03

AS Eric says, you do have to hit the shift key after you select the object etc. And be careful not to grab it by a handle (the little black squares at ends, corners etc) else you will change its shape, length etc, rather than move it.

With an existing line, drawn to a constrained angle or not, you can extend or shorten it, maintaining the exact drawn angle, by holding down the Option key, after you have selected it (by a handle) but before you begin to drag. Extending or shortening holding down the Shift key will change the line to one of the set constrained angles.

See also http://www.whisstock.com/realcadd/page_ ... tool_id=03 - the section on "Dragging a line with its handles"

You can also use Snap to move or extend objects to line up with, or snap to, endpoints, centers etc of other objects.

Cheers -- George

PS - after reading you post I realized that I had not mentioned in the manual that constraints worked for both drawing a line (or polygon) and moving any object – I have now added that information to the Preferences >> Constraints section.

Re: Constrain drawing/drag?

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 1:11 am
by bobmumm
Thank you both for chiming in, that did indeed solve my issues. Now ... back to work.

Bob M