Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
lar geometric constraints. The difference between these relations as object snaps and
geometric constraints is that constraints are
persistent.
For example, you can draw a line at any angle, start another line, turn on parallel object
snap, and create a second line that's parallel to the first. But then you can easily rotate
either line so they're no longer parallel. If, however, you apply a parallel
constraint
to the
second line, it will rotate with the first line, always maintaining that parallel relation until
you delete the constraint.
There are 12 geometric constraints you can apply to your drawing objects, and the easi-
est way to apply them is by clicking buttons on the Geometric panel of the Ribbon's
Parametric tab. Table 19-2 presents a list of the geometric constraints and explains what
they do.
Table 19-2 Geometric Constraints
Button
Icon
Constraint
Name
Description
Forces two or more points, such as endpoints or midpoints, to coincide; can also con-
strain a point to lie anywhere on an object
Coincident
Collinear
Forces two or more lines to lie along an infinitely long projection of the first line selected
Forces the centers of two or more arcs, circles, ellipses, or arc segments of polylines to
coincide
Concentric
Locks the location of an object or a point on an object to a specific location in the draw-
ing
Fix
Forces two lines to be parallel; the second line selected becomes parallel to the irst
line
Parallel
Perpendicular Forces two lines to be perpendicular to one another
Horizontal
Forces a line or two points to be horizontal relative to the current coordinate system
