Edit 2D Primitives Graphically

As with Labels and Dimensions, 2D primitives can be edited graphically.

1. To carry out this editing, select the Model Editor icon on the Drawing Display Window toolbar to enter Modify mode.

2. The general action is to select the primitive and then select and drag one of the hotspots until the required result is achieved. Then click on the background.

3. (Optional) Select the icon again to leave the Modify mode.

   The individual primitives, and how they may be modified, are described as follows:

   Arcs

   

   • A hotspot at the centre of the arc, to allow the whole arc to be moved.

   • A hotspot at each end of the arc, to allow the corresponding end of the arc to be repositioned. The repositioning will be such that the bulge factor remains the same.

   • A hotspot mid way round the arc. This may be moved anywhere, and the bulge factor will adjust appropriately.

   • A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The arc can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

     Circles

     

   • A hotspot at the centre of the circle to allow the whole circle to be repositioned.

   • A hotspot on the circumference, which will allow the radius of the arc to increase or decrease as it is moved, while the centre remains fixed.

     Diamonds

     

   • A hotspot in the centre of the diamond to allow the whole diamond to be moved.

   • A hotspot at each end of the axes. These hotspots can be moved along their axis, and the axis will alter length as it moves.

   • A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The diamond can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

     Ellipses

     

   • A hotspot at the centre of the ellipse to allow the whole ellipse to be moved, with its major axis parallel to its original position.

   • A hotspot at one end of the major axis. This hotspot can be moved along the major axis. The length of the major axis changes as the hotspot moves.

   • A hotspot at one end of the minor axis. This will be constrained to move only perpendicular to the major axis, and can be used to increase the length of the minor axis.

   • A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre. The ellipse can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

     Hexagons

     

     A hotspot in the centre of the hexagon to allow the whole hexagon to be moved.

     A hotspot at each corner. These enable the hexagon to be resized.

     A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre—the hexagon can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

     Lines

     

   • A hotspot in the middle of the line to allow moving of the whole line parallel to its original position.

   • A hotspot at each end to allow the associated end of the line to be moved. This may involve rotation or lengthening of the line. The other end of the line remains fixed.

     Rectangles (and Tables)

     

   • A hotspot in the centre of the rectangle to allow the whole rectangle to be moved parallel to its original position.

   • A hotspot in the centre of each of the edges. These will enable the rectangle to be stretched in that direction. The opposite edge will remain fixed, and the opposite sides remain parallel.

   • A hotspot on each corner. This will enable the rectangle to be enlarged in such a way that the opposite corner remains fixed, and the opposite sides remain parallel to each other.

   • A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the centre—the rectangle can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

     Symbols

     

   • A hotspot in the centre of the symbol to allow the symbol to be moved.

   • A dotted line cross and four hotspots round the symbol’s origin - the symbol can be made to rotate about its origin by rotating this hotspot.

     Text

     

   • A box round the text. Picking and dragging this box causes the text to move.

   • A dotted line circle and four hotspots round the centre. The text can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating any of these hotspots.

     Triangles

     

   • A hotspot in the centre of the triangle to allow the whole triangle to be moved parallel to its original position.

   • A hotspot at two of the edges of the triangle. Moving either of these enables the triangle to be resized while the other hotspot remains fixed. (Note that the triangle remains equilateral.)

   • A dotted line cross and three hotspots round the centre. The triangle can be made to rotate about its centre by rotating this hotspot.

     Views

     

   • If view frames are not visible, you can select the View Frames on/off option on the right-click popup menu from the main display.

   • Hotspots on view frames cannot be snapped to construction points, but they can be snapped to the grid.

     Outlines

     Outlines are created on the Draw form:

     There are two types of outline:

There are two types of outline:

• Polyarc - A series of connected arcs and lines

• Spline - A smooth bi-cubic curve connecting the points on the outline

  An outline may be closed, but this property is not preserved if you choose to move one of the ends and not the other.

  Both types of outline may be picked and dragged to a new position. The detailed modification behaves differently, as described below:

  Polyarcs

• A hotspot at each end of the arc or line. Moving either of these will move the endpoint of that arc or line (in the same way as for arcs or lines above), and will also move the endpoint of the next arc or line connected to that same endpoint.

• A hotspot at the mid point of the arc/line. Moving this will change the bulge factor of the arc/line and could thus change a line into an arc.

• If you select a hotspot, it becomes selected and changes colour to be white. You can then select from the pop-up menu either:

  Delete point:	If it is an endpoint, the whole arc or line is deleted. If it is a mid point, the arc becomes a straight line. The first point cannot be deleted.
  Insert After:	You can pick a new position on the screen, and a new straight-line span is created from the end of the currently selected span, and connected to the following one.

  Splines

• A hotspot at each vertex. Moving any of these will cause the curve to be recalculated dynamically.

• If you select a hotspot, it becomes selected and changes colour to be white. You can then select from the pop-up menu either:

  Delete point:	The point is deleted, and the curve recalculated without it. The first point on the outline cannot be deleted.
  Insert After:	You can pick a new position on the screen, and a new curve is calculated which includes this point positioned after the selected hotspot. A new point cannot be placed before the first one.