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Connectors are used to connect two shape objects together. This is helpful when you want to move your shapes around the picture but keep them connected. If only one of the connector's ends is anchored to a shape object, whenever that shape is moved, the connector object follows it. If both ends of the connector are anchored to two shapes, it will stretch or shrink itself when one of the shapes is moved or resized. |
Line Connector
The Line Connector tool allows you to draw a straight line to connect two shapes, as illustrated in the following figure.
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Right Angle Line Connector
The Right Angle Line Connector tool allows you to draw a right angle line to connect two shapes, as illustrated in the following figure.
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Pipe Connector
The Pipe Connector tool allows you to draw a pipe connector between two shapes, as illustrated in the following figure.
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Moving Connectors
You can move your connector to any position simply by selecting it and dragging it to a spot anywhere in the picture. However, there will be times when you want to be more precise about positioning the connector. There are a number of ways you can do this:
- Click and drag a connector handle
- Hold down the ctrl key and click and drag a connector handle
- Use the arrow keys
- Hold down the shift key and use the arrow keys
- Hold down the Ctrl key and use the arrow keys
- Hold down the shift + ctrl key and use the arrow keys
- Use the + or - keys to rotate
- Use the shift and + or - key to rotate
Using the shift or ctrl keys, or a combination of both, while moving, scaling, or rotating your connectors provides you with an extra level of precision when performing these actions. You can change that level of precision by changing the settings for these actions by increasing or decreasing the number of pixels or degrees your connector moves, scales, or rotates. For more information about changing these settings, see the Changing the Nudge Settings section in Changing Picture Settings in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
Click and Drag a Connector Handle
When you click and drag a connector handle, only the selected end of the connector moves as you drag it, and the connector itself is stretched or shrunk, depending on how you move the connector. When you release the mouse button, the connector handle is placed at that position. However, if you place the connector handle near a connection point on an object, the connector handle snaps to that connection point. This is very useful when anchoring a connector. For more information about anchoring, see Anchoring Connectors.
CTRL + Click and Drag a Connector Handle
When you press the ctrl key and click and drag a connector handle the connector is moved, stretched, or shrunk similar to clicking and dragging; however, when you hold down the ctrl key and drag the connector in an arc formation, the connector only moves in 15 degree increments. That is, as you drag the connector handle through a 90 degree arc, there are only six positions it can be dropped on. As you drag it through 180 degrees, there are 12 positions it can be dropped on, and so forth.
If you drop the connector handle near a connection point on an object when you are holding down the ctrl key, it will not snap to the connection point; it will simply drop at the indicated position. If you want the connector handle to snap to a connection point, you must click and drag it without using the ctrl key.
The Arrow Keys
Use the arrow keys to move the connector horizontally and vertically in the picture. The number of pixels the connector moves each time you press an arrow key depends on the SlowNudgeMoveOffset setting in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
SHIFT + the Arrow Keys
When you press the shift key and one of the arrow keys, the connector moves horizontally or vertically, depending on the arrow key used. The number of pixels the connector moves is defined in the FastNudgeMoveOffset setting in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
CTRL + the Arrow Keys
When you press the ctrl key and the up or down arrow keys, the connector moves or scales vertically, depending on the position of the connector and the arrow key used. If you press the left or right arrow key while pressing the ctrl key, the connector moves or scales horizontally. For example, if you draw a horizontal connector, it will move vertically when you use the up or down arrow key with the ctrl key, and will scale horizontally when you use the left or right arrow key with the ctrl key. If you draw a vertical connector, it will scale vertically when you use the up or down arrow key with the ctrl key, and will move horizontally when you use the left or right arrow key with the ctrl key.
When scaling the connector, only the end moves. For example, if you draw a pipe connector from left to right, the right side of the connector (the end) stretches or shrinks when you use the ctrl key and left or right arrow key. If you rotate the connector 180 degrees, the left side becomes the end and the connector will be scaled from that side. The number of pixels the connector moves or is scaled when you use the ctrl key with the arrow keys depends on the SlowNudgeMoveOffset and SlowNudgeScaleOffset settings in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
SHIFT + CTRL + the Arrow Keys
When you press shift + ctrl and one of the arrow keys, the connector moves or scales horizontally or vertically, depending on the position of the connector and the arrow key used. For example, if you draw a horizontal connector, it will move vertically when you use the up or down arrow key with the shift +ctrl keys, and will scale horizontally when you use the left or right arrow key with the shift + ctrl keys. If you draw a vertical connector, it will scale vertically when you use the up or down arrow key with the shift + ctrl keys, and will move horizontally when you use the left or right arrow key with the shift + ctrl keys. The number of pixels the connector moves or scales when you use the shift + ctrl keys with the arrow keys depends on the FastNudgeMoveOffset and FastNudgeScaleOffset settings in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
The + or - keys
Use the + or - keys to rotate your connector. When you right-click the object and choose Rotate, four rotate handles appear around the object. Use the + key on the number keypad to rotate the connector in a counter clockwise direction; use the - key on the number keypad to rotate the connector in a clockwise direction. The number of degrees the connector rotates each time you press the + or - key depends on the SlowNudgeRotateOffset setting in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
SHIFT and + or - key
When you press the shift key and either the + or - key, the connector rotates either counter clockwise or clockwise, depending on the key used. The number of degrees the connector moves is defined in the FastNudgeRotateOffset setting in the FixUserPreferences.ini file.
Anchoring Connectors
You must add connection points to shapes or use the default connection points to anchor the connector. Anchoring a connector allows you to move the shapes around the picture until you are satisfied with their locations, while keeping them connected. The connector stretches and reshapes itself as you move or resize the shapes.
The following diagrams show you how to anchor a connector.
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In Figure 1, the green arrow points to the line connector and the black arrows point to connection points you added. For information about adding connection points, refer to Adding and Deleting Connection Points.
Figure 2 shows the anchored connector. When you select the connector and move the cursor over the handles, the cursor becomes a crosshair. Click and drag each connector handle to a connection point. The handles change to red and black when the connector is anchored.
NOTE: You can anchor a connector to default connection points.
Connected Shapes that Overlap
All shapes have a bounding box that defines the outside boundary of the shape. The bounding box is visible when a shape is selected and dragged. The following picture shows the bounding box of a pipe connector that is being moved. Only the bounding box moves while you're dragging the connector. When you let go of the mouse button, the shape then moves and the bounding box disappears.
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As you add shapes to your picture, the shape that was drawn last is always placed "on top." This means that the bounding box of the newest shape may overlap an existing shape. When you are adding pipe and line connector shapes to your picture, this overlap can prevent you from selecting the previously drawn shape.
For example, you have anchored both a pipe connector and a line (or right angle line) connector to two shapes, and the bounding box of the pipe connector is on top because you drew it last. As the following picture shows, the line connector is positioned within the pipe connector's bounding box; therefore, you cannot select it.
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NOTE: To allow shapes to be selectable at all times, regardless of the location of a shape's bounding box, clear the Always Show Connection Nodes check box on the Drawing Options tab of the User Preferences dialog box.
