Moving and Copying
Choose General->Models->Add / Change / Delete.
Type model code 2008 and press OK.
You are now in the model window. Choose the menu option Item->Add Piece.
The mouse pointer has changed to + (crosshairs) and on the window title you can read: INDICATE BEGINNING POINT OF NEW PIECE.
Click with the left mouse button on 2-G.
A small red point has appeared there and on the window title you can read:
INDICATE END OF LINE.
Click with the right mouse button on 2-C.
A red line has been drawn between both points and on the window title you can read again: INDICATE END OF LINE.
Click with the right button on 10-C.
Click with the left mouse button on 16-G.
Press Esc or choose Drawing->Abort Current Operation.
The mouse pointer has changed to its original shape. You are no longer drawing the model.
The piece you have just drawn is in red, and on the window caption you can read:
DRAWING MODE, Working with ITEM: Piece[1]
There's a very important setting which has three possibilities: ITEM, MEMBER and VALUE. You can know which you are in by reading the window caption. Now ITEM is included in the caption, so we are in the ITEM setting.
You can toggle this setting with the menu option Drawing->Toggle: WORK with ITEM / MEMBER / VALUE. The setting will change in this sequence: ITEM->MEMBER->VALUE->ITEM->....
If the word ITEM isn't included in the window caption, press F2 until it is included.
This means we are working with an ITEM. The only type of item we have seen so far is the Piece, but we'll see more in the future. In this situation, all commands we give to the program will apply to the whole piece. For instance now we are going to use the move command. As we are in the ITEM setting, we will move the whole piece.
Before moving the piece we are going to tell the program what point of the piece must be taken as a reference. It is not strictly necessary, because if we didn't do it, it would take one.
If you click with the LEFT button on the beginning point OR END POINT of a member, then that point is the reference point for move/copy operations, AND IT BECOMES MARKED WITH A SMALL CIRCLE.
Click on 2-G. The point where you started to draw the piece is now the reference point.
Choose Item->Move or press any movement Key. ( down key, up key, left key or right key ).
The mouse pointer has changed to + (crosshairs) and has been placed on 2-G, because you have marked it as the reference point. On the window title you can read: INDICATE NEW LOCATION.
Click with the left mouse button on 4-F.
As you see the piece has moved. We could move it again and it would use the same reference point, but we are going to change it:
Click on the point where first and second member meet, which should be 4-B.
Choose Item->Move or press any navigation Key. ( down key, up key, left key or right key ).
The mouse pointer has changed to + (crosshairs) and has been placed on 4-B, because you have marked it as a the reference point. On the window title you can read: INDICATE NEW LOCATION.
Click with the left mouse button on 3-C.
Now we are going to use the copy command. As we are in the ITEM setting, we will copy the whole piece.
Choose Item->Copy.
The mouse pointer has changed to + (crosshairs) and on the window title you can read: INDICATE LOCATION OF COPY.
Click with the left button of the mouse where you want the copy.
Now we have two pieces. The new piece is in red, which is the selected one, and the old is in black. The commands such as move, copy and others we give from now on will only apply to the selected ( red ) piece.
We are now going to select the old piece. You can select a piece by clicking with the LEFT mouse button on it.
So to select the old piece click for instance on 3-C.
Try changing the selection from one piece to the other. If you choose Item->move or Item->copy you will see that only the selected (red) piece is moved or copied. Try that.
If you want to delete a piece it's very easy: just select it with the mouse so that it becomes red and then press the Delete key or choose Item->Delete.
Press F10 whenever you want to refresh the drawing.
Remember that we have done all these operations supposing we were working with the setting in ITEM. At the beginning of the chapter it is explained how to change it.
Once you have started a move or copy operation, when the mouse pointer is in crosshairs (+), you can abort it by pressing ESC or choosing drawing->abort current operation.
To mark the destination of move and copy operations we have used the mouse, pressing its left button. There are other ways. You can try them if you wish:
Choose File->Exit.
Answer Yes to the question: ¿ Do you want to save the information ?
Now you can test the model as is the previous chapters. You can either use the order you entered before or start a new one.