Drawing with Snap Options

Snap options can help you draw objects in precise positions relative to other objects; e.g., use Snap options to draw lines that are parallel or perpendicular to other lines, to draw circles contained inside other objects, and to start drawing from the center points of objects. You can also draw guide lines that run to a vanishing point for illustrating perspective.

Objects Drawn with Snap Options

Tangent	Included	Perpendicular	Parallel	Center

Snap options appear in the context menu, in a Snap submenu. You can select Snap options when you use the following tools: Line, Smart Lines, Oval, Circle 3 Points, Circle Radius, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Arc, Arc 3 Points, Arc Radius, Curve, Polygon, Text, Spiral, Gridmaker, and Annotations.

Snap options are most useful when you draw with the Line tool. You can draw lines to be parallel, tangent, or perpendicular to other objects. You can also snap lines to start at the center of an object, and constrain lines to the interiors of objects.

Snap options (especially the Center and Included options) are also useful for drawing ovals, rectangles, and arcs. For these objects, some Snap options constrain the first point you draw; other Snap options constrain the start and end points when you draw an object.

To Use Snap Options:

1. Select the Line tool or another tool. (The available tools are listed previously.)
2. Point to the object to which you want to snap. (To use the Vanishing Point option, skip this step; you do not need to point to an object.)
   • To draw parallel to a line: Place the pointer anywhere on the line.
   • To draw parallel to a rectangle or polygon: Point to the side to which you want to draw parallel.
   • To draw perpendicular to an object: Point to the side to which you want to draw perpendicular.
   • To snap to the center of an object: Place the pointer anywhere inside the object.
3. Right-click to open the context menu and choose an option (described below) in the Snap submenu.

4. If you chose Parallel or Perpendicular, a reference line appears. Move the mouse and then click to set the reference line.

   For the Parallel option, in the dialog box, accept or change the indicated offset from the object, and then click OK to continue.

5. Move the pointer to where you want to start drawing. Depending on the tool you are using, either drag to draw an object, or click to set the points of the object.

Objects that should be two-dimensional might appear one-dimensional if you try to draw using certain Snap options; e.g., if you snap a rectangle to a line using the Included option, two opposite corners of the rectangle will snap to the line. If the line is vertical or horizontal, the rectangle will appear as a line.

Snap Submenu Options

To choose a Snap option, make sure the pointer is on the object or the object side that you want to use as a reference, then open the context menu and choose an option in the Snap submenu.

• Parallel: Lets you set a reference line parallel to a line or the side of an object. After selecting this option, move the mouse to position the reference line, then click to set it. In the dialog box that appears, you can enter the distance you want the reference line to be offset from the object. Click OK to continue. Begin drawing and the object will snap to the reference line.
• Perpendicular: Lets you set a reference line perpendicular to a line or the side of an object. After selecting this option, move the mouse to position the reference line, then click to set it. Begin drawing and the object will snap to the reference line.
• Tangent: Lets you set a reference line tangent to a circle, an oval, or an arc. After selecting this option, move the mouse to position the reference line, then click to set it. Begin drawing and the object will snap to the reference line.
• Included: Snaps an object’s start and end points to the outline of an object or to a line. For example, you can use this option to snap the bounding box of a circle to the inside of a rectangle.
• Center: Snaps the first point you draw to the center of an object or a line.
• Vanishing Point: Snaps the first point of an object to the document’s vanishing point. If you draw with the Line tool, the line will snap to the vanishing point and run to the location of the pointer when you begin dragging.

You can draw perspective lines with the Vanishing Point option, and make the lines into alignment guides with the Object | Make Guide command.

There is one global vanishing point in a document. The vanishing point is used by the commands in the Effects | Perspective submenu, as well as the Snap | Vanishing Point command. The default vanishing point is at ruler coordinates 0,0. You can use the Effects | Perspective | Vanishing Point command to apply perspective to selected objects and establish the vanishing point. Using the 1 Side and 2 Sides commands will also affect the location of the document’s vanishing point.

See also:

• Using Virtual Guides for Precise Vector Placement
• Using Smart Mouse for Precise Alignment