Snap, Targeting, Connection

Connecting items on a Diagram allows you to move more quickly when illustrating your ideas.

Snap

Snapping allows you to align items quickly on the Diagram, as well as enabling targeting and connection behavior. Click the “magnet” button or press the N key to turn it on and off.

There are different types of items that interact in different ways:

• Center-based: uses a single center point to determine its position

  • Fixture, Camera, Actor, Point-based control point

• 1D-scale: resize in one dimension

  • Pipe, Text, Point-based segment

• 2D-scale: resize in two dimensions

  • Image, Stairs, Rectangle, Ellipse, Group

• Point-based: uses control points to determine its position and shape; also has sub-items (segments and points)

  • Wall, Arrow

When an item is dragging, it compares specific points of itself to points of other items that are visible on the screen:

• Center-based

  • Center point

• 1D-scale

  • Center point, two end points

• 2D-scale

  • Center point, rectangular bounds

• Point-based

  • Rectangular bounds

Note that some behaviors are case-specific:

• When a Point-based item is dragging a segment or control point:

  • It behaves like a 1D-scale or Center-based item

  • It does evaluate alignment with its own other segments and control points, as long as they’re not being changed

  • It does not evaluate against any connected items that are affected by its change (located on segments that are being changed)

Snap also increments values to round numbers when changing numerically, nudging items with keystrokes, etc

• Angle → Snap On = 5º changes, Snap Off = 1º

• Distance (feet) → Snap On = 1’ changes, Snap Off = 0.1’

• Distance (meters) → Snap On = 0.5 m, Snap Off = 0.1 m

Targeting

When Snap is on, items with crosshairs-based rotation (Actors, Cameras, Fixtures) can target other items. This means:

• When the “targeted” or “targeted” item moves, the “targeter” rotates to continue pointing at it