Tutorials CadCraft help Walkthroughs
Edit with grips and Properties
Stretch, move and resize objects by their grips, and type exact lengths, radii, angles and coordinates in the Properties panel.
Written for CadCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
What you will learn
Two quick ways to change an object without a command: drag its grips, or type new values in the Properties panel on the right.
Grips
When you select objects (up to 200 at a time) with no command running, small squares appear on them. These are grips:
| Object | Grips |
|---|---|
| Line | Both ends, and the middle (moves the whole line) |
| Circle | The center (moves it) and four points on the circle (change the radius) |
| Arc | The center, and both ends (change where it starts and stops) |
| Polyline | Every vertex |
| Text, point, block reference | The insertion point |
| Ellipse | The center |
| Dimension | Its defining points and the dimension line position |
| Viewport | The center (moves it) and the four corners (resize it) |
Move a grip
- Draw a line and click it. Three grips appear.
- Click the grip at one end. The status bar says "Click where this grip goes (Esc to cancel). Snaps and Ortho apply."
- Move the crosshair. A preview follows.
- Click the new position, or snap to a point on another object and click.
The end moves and the rest of the line stays put. You can also press on a grip and drag it, then let go where it should go.
Press EscEsc or right-click to cancel a grip move.
Properties
The right panel shows the properties of what is selected.
- Click a line. The panel heading reads "Line".
- Click in Length, type
2500and press ReturnEnter.
The line is now exactly 2500 long, keeping its start point and angle.
- Click in Angle, type
45and press ReturnEnter. The line turns about its start point.
Each field takes a plain number. ReturnEnter or clicking elsewhere applies it; EscEsc puts the old value back. Every change is one undo step.
What each type shows
| Selected | You can change |
|---|---|
| Line | Start X, Start Y, End X, End Y, Length, Angle |
| Circle | Center X, Center Y, Radius, Diameter (also shows circumference and area) |
| Arc | Center, Radius, Start angle, End angle (shows arc length) |
| Polyline | Closed, and the X and Y of each vertex for up to 12 vertices (shows length and, when closed, area) |
| Text | Text, Height, Rotation, X, Y, Justify |
| Block reference | X, Y, Scale X, Scale Y, Rotation |
| Dimension | Text and its style sizes; see Set dimension sizes |
| Viewport | Scale, view center, size and position; see Set up a sheet |
| Ellipse, hatch | Read-only facts |
Every type also has Layer and Colour at the top.
Change several objects at once
- Select several objects.
- The heading shows how many ("5 objects"). When they are of different types, a note lists them.
- Choose another Layer or Colour.
All of them change. "Varies" in a field means the selected objects differ.
Colors
Colour offers By layer (the object takes its layer's color, the usual choice), By block (inside blocks: takes the color of the block reference), and nine standard colors from Red to Light gray, including Ink (black or white). Colors that came in with an opened drawing are listed by number. Color 7 shows black on the light theme and white on the dark one, and plots black.
Common mistakes
- No grips appear. A command is running (press EscEsc), or more than 200 objects are selected, or the object is on a locked layer.
- The grip went to the wrong place. A snap caught it. Hold ⇧Shift while you click to ignore snaps.
- Typing in Properties did nothing. Press ReturnEnter or click elsewhere to apply. Zero or negative lengths and radii are refused.
- Typed letters went into a Properties field. While a field has the cursor, keys type there. Press ReturnEnter or EscEsc, then type the command.