Basic Drawing - 3

Editing a right-Line 1.-

When an object is selected, it change the color of its contour lines to color red.  In this "state" the object can be edited (modified) or moved.
The basic of editing an object is just to change its defining points. For a line those points are the initial and final points. When the line is selected, the extreme points can be seen as very small protuberances at the ends of the line.
When the cursor is over one point of the object that can be edited it will change its shape to the select one and the "editable" point will change to a small circle, clearly visible, filled with color green.
In this situation the point can be moved in two ways:

The first possibility is preferred for quick, not-extremely-precise movements. The second is used when it is needed to be very precise.
Each time the arrow-key is tipped, the displacement of the point in the direction of the arrow-key is just one pixel of the screen, that is, 0.25 mm. of the final drawing. If it is wanted to have a bigger movement, the Shift-key should be pressed when tipping the arrow-keys. Then the movement is four times bigger: 1 mm. each time. (If maintaining the Shift and arrow keys both pressed, the movement of the point will be continuous and quick.)

The same kind of movement explained can be performed with the whole object. If the whole object (not "a point of the object"!) is selected, it will have a red color. In this state it is possible to click and drag the mouse and the whole object will be "glued" to the mouse cursor. Alternatively, the arrow-keys will be "actives" for the whole object and tipping them, pressing or not the Shift-key, will produce bigger or smaller movements in the direction of the arrow tipped.




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Madrid, January 2006