Education_005 – Snapping

Snapping
Snapping in Vectorworks means that you use other objects on the screen to draw accurately.
All the snaps are shown on the Snapping palette.

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The four most useful snaps are; Snap to Object, Snap to Intersection, Angle Snaps, and Smart Points.

We will only do exercises on the most common constraints.

• Open the file Snaps.sta from the exercises folder.
• Click on this link for the Imperial Exercises
• Click on this link for the Metric Exercises

Snap to Grid
Only use this when you need to snap to a grid.

• Turn off all the constraints except Snap to Grid – the top left constraint.

• Choose the line tool.
• Click once to start the line and then move the mouse.  Notice how the line is always a whole number of meters long; and you can’t draw the line at any angle that you choose.
• The line always jumps to the nearest grid.  Click once to finish the line.

• To change the grid spacing double click on the Snap to Grid constraint.
• This opens the snap grid dialog box.  The snap grid is the matrix of dots on the screen and the reference grid is the grid of blue lines on the screen.
• Close this dialog box by clicking on the OK button.

 
The Snap to Grid can be troublesome, if you are not careful, snapping to the grid instead of snapping to the object that want it to snap to.  Turn this constraint off unless you need it.
Snap To Object

• Turn off all the constraints except Snap to Object – the top right constraint.

• You have a line on your screen, move your mouse to the end of this line.
• The screen hints will say Endpoint.  Don’t click.

 

• Move your mouse to the center of the line and the screen hints will say Midpoint.
• Don’t click.

• Move to the other end of the line and the screen hints say Endpoint.

 

Tip: Leave the Snap to Object on.  This is one of the most useful constraints to leave on all the time.

Angle Snaps

• Turn on the Angle Snaps constraint by clicking on it once.  The Angle Snaps have options that can be turned on or off.

• To change the Angle Snap options double click on the Angle Snaps constraint.
• This opens the Angle Snaps dialog box.
• If you want to be able to snap to 30/60º when you are drawing then make sure that this option is checked.
• If you want to snap to 45º when you are drawing make sure that this option is ticked as well.
• The Alternate Coordinate System is used to set up a snap coordinate similar to the horizontal or vertical lines but turned to an angle that you choose.
• Click on the OK button.

 

• Click once to start a line.
• Move your mouse across to the right and if the line is horizontal you will get a screen hint that says “Horizontal”.

 

• If the line is close to 30º then the line will snap to 30 and the screen hints will say 30º.

• Hold your finger on the Shift key and the line will be constrained to snap to the horizontal, vertical, 30/60º, 45º and your Alternative Coordinate.
• Click once to finish the line.

Tip:This constraint also allows you to find perpendicular and parallel snaps, which make this constraint really useful.  Keep this constraint on most of the time.

Smart Points
The Smart Points are really useful and it is one of the constraints that you should keep on all the time.  Smart Points are also known as the Smart Cursor.  It allows you to draw an object in line with other objects on the screen without having to measure where they are.  What you might call this a visual align tool. 
Smart Points has options that can be turned off or on.

• To change these options double click on the Smart Points constraint.  This will open the Smart Points dialog box
• Turn on Horizontal/Vertical Extensions.  With out this you can’t line up with other objects on the screen horizontally or vertically.
• Turn off Extension Lines.  This option will allow you to line up with other objects using the Alternative Coordinate.  Too many helpful hints can be confusing, so leave it off.
• Turn off the Use Floating Datum.
• Click on the OK button.

 

• To line with an object on the screen move your mouse to the end or corner of the object that you want to line with, but do not click the mouse button.  Just touch the end of the line.

 

• Move the cursor down the screen and you will get a screen hint to show that you are lined up with the start points.

 

• You can line up with two points if you want to, touch the first point that you want to line with, then touch the second point that you want to line with.  You will get screen hints that tell you that you are lined with both points.

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©Jonathan Pickup 2013