Position and Orientate

Common Functionality User Guide

Model Editor : Location Handle : Position and Orientate

The Locator Handle consists of a family of graphical manipulation handles, each of which applies a constraint to the way in which the Graphical Selection is moved.

The Locator Handle provides three ways to move or rotate a Graphical Selection:

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dragging the linear, planar or rotation handles freehand with the mouse pointer

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aligning with points, P-points, P-lines or straight lines (edges) on other displayed Plant items

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typing in offset distance or angular displacement values

Automatic Scrolling

If the target location for a drag operation is outside of the 3D view, the mouse pointer can be moved to an edge of the view, where the view will pan automatically up, down, left or right according to the 3D view edge that the mouse pointer hits. The mouse pointer must move in order for the panning to continue which may necessitate the user making a small movement of the pointer near to the view edge to keep the pan operation going.

Linear Movement Handles

The Linear Movement handle allows the user to move the Graphical Selection constrained in the direction of the linear handle axis.

Dragging a linear handle with the left mouse button moves the Locator Handle and Graphical Selection in the direction of the linear handle.

To initiate a linear drag, press the left mouse button down over one of the linear movement handles. With the left button still pressed, moving the mouse drags the Graphical Selection constrained in the selected direction, in steps defined by the movement increment.

If the movement increment is small relative to the magnification of the 3D view, it can be difficult to move the mouse freehand to a precise displacement from the Locator Handle’s original position. Fine control over positioning can be achieved by dragging with a linear handle so that it is close to the required position then, while continuing to hold down the mouse button, press the plus (+) or minus (-) key on the numeric keypad. This moves the Graphical Selection by one movement increment in the direction of the linear handle if + is pressed, or in the opposite direction if - is pressed.

Using the arrow keys in this way moves the Graphical Selection by 0.1 of the current movement increment for each press of the key.

When moving a selection in a constrained direction, the Locator Handle changes to a cut-down version of the full handle to show the direction of movement. The current World position of the Locator Handle is displayed on the status bar, and an offset from the original position of the handle is displayed on the 3D View.

As the mouse moves over a linear handle, the pointer symbol changes to the linear drag pointer.

Right-clicking on a Linear Handle displays a pop-up menu giving the user options on how to re-position the selected element.

Clicking Enter Value displays the Move Selection window.

The field corresponding to the selected axis is activated for input. Enter a value into the field. Clicking Preview refreshes the 3D View to show the proposed change. Click OK to accept the change or Cancel to return the 3D View back to it’s original position.

Clicking Align with Feature allows the user to position the Graphical Selection in relation to another object in the 3D View, but forces the Graphical Selection to move only along the selected axis. The user must move the cursor to the target feature. The target feature is then highlighted and the cursor changes shape to indicate that the Graphical Selection will be aligned with the target position if the mouse button is clicked.

Point feature Alignment

When positioning the Graphical Selection to a point feature, the origin of the Locator Handle is aligned with the target point such that the target point is projected onto the line of movement.

Alignment with a Line or P-line Feature

There are two cases to consider:

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Selected line feature is orthogonal to the line of movement

If the line selected line feature is orthogonal to the line of movement, then the feature line is treated as a feature point. Any position along the feature line projects onto the same point on the movement line.

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Selected line feature not orthogonal to the line of movement

If the line selected line feature is not orthogonal to the line of movement, then the intersection of the extended feature line with the line of movement becomes the new Locator Handle origin position. If the extended feature line and the movement line do not intersect in 3D, then the point chosen is the nearest point on the line of movement to the extended feature line.

Alignment with a P-point Feature

There are two cases to consider:

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P-point as point feature

A P-point feature may be treated as a point feature, and works as described above for points.

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P-point as a Line feature

A P-point has a direction, which is indicated by the arrow on a P-point feature symbol. If the mouse pointer is moved over the P-point arrow, then the intersection of the P-point direction with the line of movement becomes the new Locator Handle origin position. If the P-point direction and the movement line do not intersect in 3D, then the point chosen is the nearest point on the line of movement to a line projected from the P-point position in the P-point direction.

Offset From Feature allows the user to position the Graphical Selection at an offset from a selected feature in the 3D View. The Graphical Selection is constrained to move in the plane of the Linear Handle.

The user must make a Graphical Selection in the 3D View with Model Editor selected and then right-click the required linear handle and select Offset From Feature from the menu to display the Offset From Feature window.

In the Distance field, enter in the required offset distance. Click OK to close the window, or Cancel to discard any inputs and close the window.

The user must now select the feature on the screen to position the Graphical Selection at an offset from.

When the correct feature to offset from has been selected, click the left mouse button to move the graphical selection.

Snap To Point allows the Graphical Selection to be moved to a Point feature. The Graphical Selection is not constrained to move along the direction of the Linear Handle. The user must make a Graphical Selection in the 3D View with Model Editor selected and then right-click the required linear handle and select Snap to Point from the menu.

When the correct feature to snap to has been selected, click the left mouse button to move the graphical selection.

Clicking Move Handle displays a sub-menu with the same movement commands as the main Linear Handle menu, but these commands move the Locator Handle only. They do not move the Graphical Selection.

The Locator Handle may be moved independently of the Graphical Selection in order to change the datum position for the next operation on the Graphical Selection.

Clicking Cancel returns the handle and graphical selection back to its original state before the drag.

Planar Movement Handles

Each of the planar movement handles constrains the drag operation such that the Graphical Selection moves only in the plane of the selected handle.

To initiate a planar drag, press the left mouse button down over one of the planar movement handles. With the left button still pressed, moving the mouse drags the Graphical Selection constrained in the selected plane, in steps defined by the movement increment.

A triangle is displayed on the current constraint plane, between the original position of the handle and the current position. The relative movement distances are shown on the sides of the triangle. The current World position of the Locator Handle is displayed on the status bar. All values are shown in the current selected units.

The Locator Handle changes to a simple version of the full handle to show the plane of movement as shown below.

As the mouse moves over a planar handle the pointer symbol changes to the planar drag symbol.

Right-clicking on a Planar Handle displays a pop-up menu giving the user options on how to re-position the selected element.

The options on the menu are the same as for the Linear Movement Handles.

Rotation Handles

The rotation handles allow the user to rotate the Graphical Selection around the relevant axis.

Dragging a Rotation handle with the left mouse button rotates the handle and the Graphical Selection about the axis of rotation. To perform a rotation, press the left mouse button over the relevant rotation handle. With the left button still depressed, drag the mouse to perform the rotation.

The angular movement from the original orientation is shown as the Locator Handle is rotated. The angular displacement is also shown in the status bar.

As the mouse moves over a rotation handle, the pointer symbol changes to the rotation drag symbol, and half of the Rotation Handle arc changes to show two arrows. This feedback indicates which of the axes will be aligned with a feature when feature alignment is used.

Rotation Handle

A Rotation Handle has the following movement operations on its shortcut menu.


Enter Value	Displays the Rotate About X, Y or Z window which allows the user to specify an angle through which to rotate the Rotation Handle.

	Clicking Preview allows the user to see the proposed change in the graphical view. Click OK to accept the rotation or Cancel to close the window without rotating the element.
Orient to Point	Allows the user to pick a p-line through a point with which to orient the Rotation Handle.

Align with Direction	Allows the user to identify features with which the handle is to be aligned.
Align with	Displays the Enter Direction For X, Y or Z Axis window which allows the user to align the handle with a specified direction, or as close as possible to the given direction, about the axis of the pipe.

	Clicking Preview allows the user to see the proposed change in the graphical view. Click OK to accept the change or Cancel to close the window without changing the element.
The Rotate Handle submenu provides the same rotation commands as the main Rotation Handle menu, but these commands rotate the Locator Handle only. They do not rotate the Graphical Selection. The Locator Handle may be rotated independently of the Graphical Selection in order to change the frame of reference for the next operation on the Graphical Selection.
Rotate Handle >	Enter Value	Displays the Rotate Handle About X, Y or Z window which allows the user to rotate the Rotation Handle origin.


	Orient To Point	Allows the user to rotate the Rotation Handle origin through a point.

	Align with Direction	Allows the user to rotate the Rotation Handle origin, aligned to a feature.

	Align With	Displays the Enter Direction For X, Y or Z Axis window which allows the user to rotate the handle with a specified direction, or as close as possible to the given direction, about the axis of the pipe.

		Clicking Preview allows the user to see the proposed change in the graphical view. Click OK to accept the change or Cancel to close the window without changing the element.
	To World	Aligns the Locator Handle with the World co-ordinate system without rotating the Graphical Selection.
Cancel	Returns the handle back to its original state before the drag