How to move objects by very small amounts?
Does dia have a mechanism for moving objects by very small amounts? Many programs I have used have the ability to use the arrow keys when you want to move an object by a few pixels. Can dia do something like this? -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Getting the middle of an object to snap to grid - how?
I'm finding some of the component objects in dia (like the resistor objects) very annoying to use because the centre of the the object doesn't snap to grid. I.e. if you get a resistor and shrink it to be fairly small then it's the top edge of the resistor that snaps to the grid which is quite useless when you have circuit wired on the grid as you can't connect the wires to the resistor. Is there any way to change the resistor (and other object's) properties so that the centre of the object snaps to the grid? -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: How to move objects by very small amounts?
On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 04:52:12PM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: >It works for me: Pick item, press cursor key, item moves. > >On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 4:45 PM, Chris G <[1...@isbd.net> wrote: > Ah, oops, so it does. I was trying to use the wrong cursor keys! I tend to use the numeric keypad keys by default and they don't work to move objects. There's a similar 'gotcha' with the delete key, the Del key in the numeric keypad doesn't delete objects either, only the Delete key does. Thanks, you made me look again and find what I wanted! :-) -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Getting the middle of an object to snap to grid - how?
On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 05:05:40PM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: >If I place a resistor, and then a zig zag line, then I move an end of the >zzline near an end point of the resistor the resistor get a red outline >indicating there is a connection between the "grips," if I let the line >go while the red outline is present then when I move the resistor the line >tracks it. If I move the line the resistor does not track the line. >The four extents for the resistor symbol snap to the grid. If you want >the center of the resistor to snap exactly just so to the grid, you will >have to size the grid so that when you place a corner the leg of the >resistor is on a grid line. With the grid the way I have it I can't even get to connect the line to the resistor because the centre line of the resistor is between grid lines. I have to turn 'Snap to Grid' off to connect the line to the resistor, then turn it back on and it acts as you say. >Sorry you don't like this functionality, but it makes sense to me, the >grid is essentially arbitrary so there is no particular reason why the >symbols should be constrained to it. If you really need it to be just so >then you can control the size and shape of the symbol and grid to produce >the result you are after. I prefer the more general solution that is >implemented where any symbol of any size has connection points to which a >line will glom onto it and move with the symbol. That's OK if *every* symbol you want has a ready made representation with connection points, however I've found I always want quite a few extra symbols (e.g. in the current circuit I'm drawing I have several multiway switches) and then it begins to get clumsy. Maybe I simply need to reduce the grid size so that sensibly small resistors are two grid lines wide and thus their centre lines are on a grid line. >If you can make a good case for the function you want, then perhaps the >developers will be able to implement it. or you can implement it >yourself. This is free open source software so you can learn to program >it to do as you wish. Of course, but it's a long term way of getting what I want. It's always good to ask knowledgeable people on a list such as this because very often there are ways to get what one wants which are not immediately obvious. Thanks for all the help. I'm off to play some more and see if I can get closer to what suits me. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Page Breaks - what are they for?
I'm confused (no change there then!) about what the 'Page Break' markings do for me. It took me a while to realise that the solid blue lines *were* the Page Breaks and that I could remove them using the Preferences settings. That's good as I find them distracting because they sit very close to some of the major grid lines on my system. However I also don't understand what they're for, they don't appear to indicate actual paper size blocks on the diagram, on my system they seem to be just over 15cm wide (hence the blue line is very close to the 15cm grid line) and 24cm high. The default paper size on my system is A4 so those dimensions are nothing like the paper size. Playing a bit further I'm now also confused by the Dynamic grid setting and the general usage of the rulers and grid lines. When I set a diagram to Dynamic grid and zoom in and out the grid lines change sometimes but not other times, does it just do its best to keep the grid lines at about the same size? Final question - is it possible to reset the top left corner of a diagram to 0:0 on the rulers? -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Getting the middle of an object to snap to grid - how?
On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 05:34:26PM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: > With the grid the way I have it I can't even get to connect the line to > the resistor because the centre line of the resistor is between grid > lines. > > I have to turn 'Snap to Grid' off to connect the line to the resistor, > then turn it back on and it acts as you say. > >I can always get a line to snap to the leg of a resistor regardless of the >size of the grid and how it lines up with the leg - even when the leg is >between grid lines. Yes, but you then get lines which are at funny angles unless the *other* end of the same line also happens to be connected to a resistor at the same level. Ah, but it *does* work sensibly with a zigzagline. I guess if one uses zigzaglines for everything it would be OK, I must start doing that. Thanks for all the help here, I'm getting to what I want now. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Getting the middle of an object to snap to grid - how?
On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 03:24:01PM -0700, Arv Evans wrote: > Hello > > One reason for having resistors, and other electronic components, > snap to the grid is to make it easy to snap a connecting line or > component to the end of that resistor. For this reason it makes > more sense for the resistor ends to snap to the grid than to have > it's center snap to the grid. Yes, this is exactly what I was expecting/wanting. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Page Breaks - what are they for?
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 02:00:26PM +0100, Maciej Jaros wrote: > Chris G (2010-12-29 13:08): > >I'm confused (no change there then!) about what the 'Page Break' > >markings do for me. > > > >It took me a while to realise that the solid blue lines *were* the Page > >Breaks and that I could remove them using the Preferences settings. > >That's good as I find them distracting because they sit very close > >to some of the major grid lines on my system. > > > >However I also don't understand what they're for, they don't appear to > >indicate actual paper size blocks on the diagram, on my system they seem > >to be just over 15cm wide (hence the blue line is very close to the 15cm > >grid line) and 24cm high. The default paper size on my system is A4 so > >those dimensions are nothing like the paper size. > > Page Break lines indicate where will the page end if you will print > your diagram. You can change settings in Page Setup. > Yes, but that's the issue/problem. In Page Setup it says I'm using A4 paper which is 21cm x 29.7cm but the page breaks are marked on my diagram at 15cm x 24cm. The margins aren't *that* wide! :-) > >Final question - is it possible to reset the top left corner of a > >diagram to 0:0 on the rulers? > It's not possible to align elements relative to pages in Dia. If you > really want to you can make a group of elements to be aligned, place > another element in 0:0 and then select the element and the group and > align to left and to top... But you'll probably just want to select > everything and move it. > > Or you can use Page Setup and select "Fit to", but it will not move > your elements it will move page breaks (meaning your diagram, when > printed, should start from upper left corner of the page). > OK, thanks, it wasn't a big problem anyway. I just happened to move something off the the left (so the top left of the diagram became (say) -25:0 and wanted a way to get it back to 0:0 when I brought the element back. I've found that if I exit and restart dia then it does get back to 0:0. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Page Breaks - what are they for?
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 04:06:03PM +0100, Maciej Jaros wrote: > Chris G (2010-12-29 14:17): > >>>It took me a while to realise that the solid blue lines *were* the Page > >>>Breaks and that I could remove them using the Preferences settings. > >>>That's good as I find them distracting because they sit very close > >>>to some of the major grid lines on my system. > >>> > >>>However I also don't understand what they're for, they don't appear to > >>>indicate actual paper size blocks on the diagram, on my system they seem > >>>to be just over 15cm wide (hence the blue line is very close to the 15cm > >>>grid line) and 24cm high. The default paper size on my system is A4 so > >>>those dimensions are nothing like the paper size. > >>Page Break lines indicate where will the page end if you will print > >>your diagram. You can change settings in Page Setup. > >> > >Yes, but that's the issue/problem. In Page Setup it says I'm using A4 > >paper which is 21cm x 29.7cm but the page breaks are marked on my > >diagram at 15cm x 24cm. The margins aren't *that* wide! :-) > > Sorry, but I would suggest you use a calculator. > I'm not *quite* that silly (not to do the sums first I mean). The blue lines on my on screen diagram show 'pages' 15.4 x 24.0 cm. Page Setup shows:- Paper Size - A4 - 21 x 29.7cm Top margin - 14.35mm Bottom margin 14.35mm Left margin 10.00mm Right margin 10.00mm Now my simple arithmetic says that 15.4cm + 10.00mm + 10.00mm is 17.4cm, quite a lot less than A4's 21cm wide. Similarly the height is 24cm + 14.35mm + 14.35mm which is a less than A4's 29.7cm high. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Page Breaks - what are they for?
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 10:13:01AM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: >If you want all your Dia to be on one page then just work within the page >breaks. >It won't matter if a particular page has 0:0 at a corner or not. > My diagrams are unlikely to be printed, they're for reference on the computer (possibly via web pages, possibly just using dia). Thus whether a diagram is "on one page" doesn't matter to me at all. However having the origin of the rulers at the top left *is* important because I sometimes want to place things at exact distances from the corner. For example (along with my circuit diagrams) I have a layout of the instrument panel, I want to place holes for instruments, switches, etc. at specific places (like say 1/3 and 2/3 of the way across). If the rulers are set so that the top left is 0:0 this is *much* easier to do quickly. Actually it might be even more convenient to be able to set 0:0 to be the *centre* of an object now I think about it. That would be ideal for laying out the instrument panel. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Page Breaks - what are they for?
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 12:05:16PM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: >On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 10:54 AM, Chris G <[1...@isbd.net> wrote: > > On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 04:06:03PM +0100, Maciej Jaros wrote: > > Chris G (2010-12-29 14:17): > > >>>It took me a while to realise that the solid blue lines *were* the > Page > > >>>Breaks and that I could remove them using the Preferences settings. > > >>>That's good as I find them distracting because they sit very close > > >>>to some of the major grid lines on my system. > > >>> > > >>>However I also don't understand what they're for, they don't appear > to > > >>>indicate actual paper size blocks on the diagram, on my system they > seem > > >>>to be just over 15cm wide (hence the blue line is very close to the > 15cm > > >>>grid line) and 24cm high. The default paper size on my system is > A4 so > > >>>those dimensions are nothing like the paper size. > > >>Page Break lines indicate where will the page end if you will print > > >>your diagram. You can change settings in Page Setup. > > >> > > >Yes, but that's the issue/problem. In Page Setup it says I'm using > A4 > > >paper which is 21cm x 29.7cm but the page breaks are marked on my > > >diagram at 15cm x 24cm. The margins aren't *that* wide! :-) > > > > Sorry, but I would suggest you use a calculator. > > > I'm not *quite* that silly (not to do the sums first I mean). > > The blue lines on my on screen diagram show 'pages' 15.4 x 24.0 cm. > > Page Setup shows:- > Paper Size - A4 - 21 x 29.7cm > Top margin - 14.35mm > Bottom margin 14.35mm > Left margin 10.00mm > Right margin 10.00mm > > Now my simple arithmetic says that 15.4cm + 10.00mm + 10.00mm is 17.4cm, > quite a lot less than A4's 21cm wide. Similarly the height is 24cm + > 14.35mm + 14.35mm which is a less than A4's 29.7cm high. > >The page breaks are NOT the paper size - they are the paper size minus the >margins you have set. > **EXACTLY** !!! Paper size - 21cm wide Margins - 1cm each side Therefore printable area (as should be shown by the page breaks) is 21cm minus 2cm which is 19cm. The page breaks I'm seeing in dia are close to 15cm. I.e. "paper size minus the margins you have set" *isn't* what I'm seeing. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Crossing wires on circuit diagrams - how to show?
How do people here show crossing wires on circuit diagrams in dia? Do you simply use the convention that a pair of wires crossing each other on the diagram are not connected and junctions shown as a T are connected? I prefer to show a little 'loop' where one wire crosses another and have tried a small arc to do this but it's clumsy for a couple of reasons - the arc doesn't have connection points on the ends and, if you add connection points I can't see how to make them transparent. Even if you don't use the 'loop' convention you then really need a way to offset connections where you really want crossing wires to be joined. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Page Breaks - what are they for?
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 12:26:16PM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: >I probably said that three different ways in the prior messages I sent. I >am not encouraged that you will read my replies with interest. > ... and I'm thinking exactly the same in the other direction! :-) Surely the page width as shown in dia plus the margins should add up to the actual page width of the A4 paper. It doesn't! That's all I'm saying. >On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 12:20 PM, Chris G <[1...@isbd.net> wrote: > > On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 12:05:16PM -0500, Michael Ross wrote: > >On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 10:54 AM, Chris G <[1][2...@isbd.net> > wrote: > > > > On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 04:06:03PM +0100, Maciej Jaros wrote: > > > Chris G (2010-12-29 14:17): > > > >>>It took me a while to realise that the solid blue lines > *were* the > > Page > > > >>>Breaks and that I could remove them using the Preferences > settings. > > > >>>That's good as I find them distracting because they sit very > close > > > >>>to some of the major grid lines on my system. > > > >>> > > > >>>However I also don't understand what they're for, they don't > appear > > to > > > >>>indicate actual paper size blocks on the diagram, on my > system they > > seem > > > >>>to be just over 15cm wide (hence the blue line is very close > to the > > 15cm > > > >>>grid line) and 24cm high. The default paper size on my > system is > > A4 so > > > >>>those dimensions are nothing like the paper size. > > > >>Page Break lines indicate where will the page end if you will > print > > > >>your diagram. You can change settings in Page Setup. > > > >> > > > >Yes, but that's the issue/problem. In Page Setup it says I'm > using > > A4 > > > >paper which is 21cm x 29.7cm but the page breaks are marked on > my > > > >diagram at 15cm x 24cm. The margins aren't *that* wide! :-) > > > > > > Sorry, but I would suggest you use a calculator. > > > > > I'm not *quite* that silly (not to do the sums first I mean). > > > > The blue lines on my on screen diagram show 'pages' 15.4 x 24.0 > cm. > > > > Page Setup shows:- > > Paper Size - A4 - 21 x 29.7cm > > Top margin - 14.35mm > > Bottom margin 14.35mm > > Left margin 10.00mm > > Right margin 10.00mm > > > > Now my simple arithmetic says that 15.4cm + 10.00mm + 10.00mm is > 17.4cm, > > quite a lot less than A4's 21cm wide. Similarly the height is > 24cm + > > 14.35mm + 14.35mm which is a less than A4's 29.7cm high. > > > >The page breaks are NOT the paper size - they are the paper size > minus the > >margins you have set. > > > **EXACTLY** !!! > > Paper size - 21cm wide > Margins - 1cm each side > > Therefore printable area (as should be shown by the page breaks) is 21cm > minus 2cm which is 19cm. The page breaks I'm seeing in dia are close to > 15cm. I.e. "paper size minus the margins you have set" *isn't* what I'm > seeing. > -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
What determines the size of a shape when you export a diagram as a shape?
I'm trying to create a very simple shape comprising two lines linked by a short arc. The trouble is that when I export to a .shape file the resulting shape is *much* too big, much bigger than its size on the diagram that I exported it from. Is there any way to control the size? -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Why do I always get warning pop-up after adding a shape?
After I export a diagram as a .shape file and then add it into one of my collections of shapes (using the Sheets and Objects window) then whenever I open dia I get an warning pop-up box saying:- Several object-types were named diagrams - xw. Only first one will be used. Some things might not work as expected. (of course the xw changes according to what I have called the shape) Am I doing something wrong when I export the shape or is there something wrong with dia's handling of shape export? While I'm at it I have yet to be able to export a shape that actually works as intended, the .png file doesn't show the shape properly and the shape often seems to lose its colour properties and so on. It all seems a bit flakey. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: What determines the size of a shape when you export a diagram as a shape?
On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 09:02:28PM +0100, Hans Breuer wrote: > At 11.01.2011 18:22, Chris G wrote: > >I'm trying to create a very simple shape comprising two lines linked by > >a short arc. The trouble is that when I export to a .shape file the > >resulting shape is *much* too big, much bigger than its size on the > >diagram that I exported it from. > > > >Is there any way to control the size? > > > http://git.gnome.org/browse/dia/tree/doc/custom-shapes#n104 > Thank you, apparently just what I need. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Why do I always get warning pop-up after adding a shape?
On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 09:46:56PM +0100, Hans Breuer wrote: > At 11.01.2011 19:23, Chris G wrote: > >After I export a diagram as a .shape file and then add it into one of > >my collections of shapes (using the Sheets and Objects window) then > >whenever I open dia I get an warning pop-up box saying:- > > > > Several object-types were named diagrams - xw. > > Only first one will be used. > > Some things might not work as expected. > > > >(of course the xw changes according to what I have called the shape) > > > >Am I doing something wrong when I export the shape or is there something > >wrong with dia's handling of shape export? > > > Probably the former, i.e. if you export your shape file to Dia's > standard shape search path and again "import" it to Dia via Shapes > and Object dialog you'll end up with two version leading to the > above message. > I'll check things out, maybe I should store the .shape file in /tmp when I export it and then bring it in from there. > >While I'm at it I have yet to be able to export a shape that actually > >works as intended, the .png file doesn't show the shape properly and the > >shape often seems to lose its colour properties and so on. It all seems > >a bit flakey. > > > Sounds like you are expecting too much. > > 1) with any non trivial shape it is usually necessary to edit the > created PNG to make it detectable with 22x22 pixels. > OK, that's not incredibly important as it's only what shows in the shape selection window isn't it. > 2) you are expected to edit the generated shape file for best results. > E.g. if by "losing it's color properties" you mean losing the > ability to modify the shape colors in the diagram you should adapt > the concrete colors in the shape file with symbolic names, see: > > http://git.gnome.org/browse/dia/tree/doc/custom-shapes#n143 > Well what happens with my simple "two lines and an arc" shape is that it often is totally invisible when I try and use it so it's either transparent or white even though the diagram I stored as a shape was three black lines. The .png file shows up as a white line too. I'll go and try all this out, thank you! -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Displayed page breaks?
On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 03:47:30PM -0700, Doug Wellington wrote: > Hi, > > Brand new, so forgive me if I'm asking something silly. I saw a discussion > about this in the archives, but there didn't seem to be any resolution. > > OK, I have opened a new diagram. I'm a Merkan, so I have set the page size > to "Letter" and I'm using landscape mode. The paper size says 21.6cm x > 27.9cm. The margins say top: 13.47mm Bottom: 13.47mm Left:10.30mm Right: > 10.30mm. If I understand correctly, then the page breaks should be 21.6cm - > 13.47mm - 13.47mm (189.06mm) tall and 27.9cm - 10.30mm - 10.30mm (258.4mm) > wide, right? Then why are they displayed at ~164mm tall and ~229mm wide > according to the rulers? > Exactly the question I asked a while ago and no one believed the numbers simply don't add up correctly. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Is it possible to force a 'grab' rather than a resize for small objects?
I have some small arc objects on some of my diagrams and they're very difficult to move as it's nearly impossible not to hit one of the resize end/mid points. Is there any way one can force a move rather than a resize? -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Text editing
On Tue, Feb 08, 2011 at 09:07:24AM +, Ismail Hameduddin wrote: >Hello, > >I was wondering if there is any development on the text editing >capabilities of Dia. I use Dia for technical purposes and it would be very >handy if I could subscript/superscript letters and numbers as well as use >the Greek alphabet. > It can be done already surely, I just use "Character Map", select the characters I want and paste them in as required. I suppose this requires using a UTF-8 character set but surely it's just about universal now. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Is it possible to force a 'grab' rather than a resize for small objects?
On Fri, Feb 04, 2011 at 03:21:01PM +, Chris G wrote: > I have some small arc objects on some of my diagrams and they're very > difficult to move as it's nearly impossible not to hit one of the resize > end/mid points. Is there any way one can force a move rather than a > resize? > No answers to this? -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Is it possible to force a 'grab' rather than a resize for small objects?
On Wed, Feb 09, 2011 at 04:00:19AM -0800, Octavio Alvarez wrote: > On Wed, 09 Feb 2011 03:23:32 -0800, Chris G wrote: > > >On Fri, Feb 04, 2011 at 03:21:01PM +0000, Chris G wrote: > >>I have some small arc objects on some of my diagrams and they're very > >>difficult to move as it's nearly impossible not to hit one of the resize > >>end/mid points. Is there any way one can force a move rather than a > >>resize? > >> > >No answers to this? > > > > Have you tried zooming in using Ctrl+Wheel to make it easier? > That's one possibility, yes, but everything else is a 'sensible' size when un-zoomed and I'd often want to move the little arcs off the edge of the zoomed view. It would make moving them a bit of a laborious process, zoom in, grab object, move it, find I can't move it far enough, zoom out, etc. It feels like there could be something like CTRL+click which forces a grab. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Is it possible to force a 'grab' rather than a resize for small objects?
On Wed, Feb 09, 2011 at 09:44:45PM +0100, Hans Breuer wrote: > At 09.02.2011 13:25, Chris G wrote: > >On Wed, Feb 09, 2011 at 04:00:19AM -0800, Octavio Alvarez wrote: > >>On Wed, 09 Feb 2011 03:23:32 -0800, Chris G wrote: > >> > >>>On Fri, Feb 04, 2011 at 03:21:01PM +, Chris G wrote: > >>>>I have some small arc objects on some of my diagrams and they're very > >>>>difficult to move as it's nearly impossible not to hit one of the resize > >>>>end/mid points. Is there any way one can force a move rather than a > >>>>resize? > >>>> > >>>No answers to this? > >>> > >> > >>Have you tried zooming in using Ctrl+Wheel to make it easier? > >> > That would be have me my answer, too ... > >That's one possibility, yes,but everything else is a 'sensible' size > ... but I thought it was too obvious that you ask about it. > I still don't get the use case of your request though. How do you > position the arcs if the only thing cou can see are it's handles? > What I do at present is drag one handle to the right place and then drag the other handle to its place. I then sometimes have to resize the arc as well by dragging the 'middle' handle. It's this rather laborious process that I'm trying to avoid. To use the little arcs I just Copy/Paste to create new ones and then move them (laboriously as above) to where I want it. It would be *much* easier if I could reliably drag them. > >when un-zoomed and I'd often want to move the little arcs off the edge > >of the zoomed view. It would make moving them a bit of a laborious > >process, zoom in, grab object, move it, > Having wildly different sized objects is tedious, yes. Feels like > you are getting what you asked for ;) > The arcs have to be small compared with all my other objects, it's just the way things are on these diagrams. > >find I can't move it far enough, zoom out, etc. > Are you aware that you can move further than the visible area and > Dia scrolls the view accordingly? > Yes, it's still not ideal. > >It feels like there could be something like CTRL+click which forces a > >grab. > > > Just adding more modifiers to the already complex combinations does > not sound like a viable option to me. As mentioned above I'm still > not sure if I completely got the use case. > But also I have doubts if you completely evaluated exisiting options > for selection - you do not need to 'grab' an object to move it, you > can move objects by cursor keys, ... > Yes, I do that sometimes, it's excellent for short moves but not so convenient for large moves. > It may also help, that handles in a group of selected objects are > not any longer resizing the objects when grabbed. Instead the whole > selection is moving. > The 'use' case is in circuit diagrams where I much prefer the use of little arcs to indicate that wires are not connected when crossing rather than the convention that crossing wires are not connected and T wires are connected. Thus I need quite a lot of 'little arcs' and often need to move them around extensively. They also need to be a lot smaller than the other circuit symbols. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
Re: Is it possible to force a 'grab' rather than a resize for small objects?
On Wed, Feb 09, 2011 at 06:38:50PM -0500, Ron Wilson wrote: > On Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 4:50 PM, wrote: > > Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 21:50:08 + > > From: Chris G > > > > The 'use' case is in circuit diagrams where I much prefer the use of > > little arcs to indicate that wires are not connected when crossing > > rather than the convention that crossing wires are not connected and T > > wires are connected. Thus I need quite a lot of 'little arcs' and often > > need to move them around extensively. They also need to be a lot > > smaller than the other circuit symbols. > > Are you familier with creating new shapes? > > Seems to me that creating a shape for this arc would acheive what you > are asking for. (You might need to create 2 versions of the shape, one > vertically oriented and the other horizontal.) Even a tiny shape > object is probably easier to grab than the arcs you have been drawing. I tried several times to create a new shape for this and failed miserably! :-) I'll maybe have another go at it. -- Chris Green ___ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
