Adding lines

[Duchess Of Montrose]

David,
now in the process of actually building my layout, so less work with Anyrail at this time.

I was trying to add some features to my design using the Add Line function.  I was holding down the shift key while moving the end point of a line hoping it would keep it straight while extending (as Anyrail does for changing the length of a piece of Flexible Track).  It did not do this, rather it extended the line at both ends.  This is a good function, but it means you are using the same function for two different activities.  Would it be better to change one of them to use a different solution?  Personally I found it easier to just have the line straight and only extend in the direction I wanted it to go, as this meant I could better judge where I was trying to put it.

Charlie

[David]

Hi Charlie,

I see what you mean.

'Shift' is used for special cases, such as keeping a flex straight when resizing it. On the other hand, when drawing figures, it scales the figure. For just a line, it seems it shortens it at both ends, but when you've a more complicated line or surface, you'll see what I mean.

A similar thing happens when you hold down Shift while dragging a line segment.

Indeed, 'Shift' is used in many, sometimes very different situations. But we figured it would be simpler to just try 'Shift' to activate a special function than to have a different hotkey for everything.

A list of special keys can be found here:

AnyRail hotkeys.

Hope this explains it. I still agree that it could be confusing for a line with only two points.

David.

[Duchess Of Montrose]

Thanks David.

Would it be possible to have a function in Anyrail where when changing the length of a line, you can do this and it will remain straight?

Charlie

[David]

Hi Charlie,

Of course we'll take a look at your wish. Could you explain a bit more in which case you would like to do this? With a bit more background information we can make a better decision on this.

David.

[Duchess Of Montrose]

David,
I am now using Anyrail to add scenery to my layout.  This includes roads, rivers, houses, industrial units etc.  I know the size of the buildings I want to create and I know where I want to fit them into the layout.
When adding a building, I start at the point where I would like a corner to be and measure the line out to where it should end.  (I must admit I then ran into another difficulty (this is not meant to be a strong word) as I cannot work out where Anyrail will put the next point when I ask it to add a point.  Is there any guidance you could give on this?)  I was trying to move the end of the line with the shift key depressed, to keep the lines straight and have them end where I wanted them.
I was also using this for adding roads, where the straight lines are longer then those for a house.  Again, being able to move the end point to where I wanted it was important.  This was where I really wanted to have control over the one point, as the first point was already fixed, and I wanted to move the second point, while keeping it straight, to where I wanted it.
Currently moving the end point of a line with the shift key depressed resulted in both the end points moving out from the middle of the line at the same time.  This means I have to find the middle of the distance between the two positions I want the end points to occupy and depress the shift key while moving the end point to get the 2 end points into the right positions.  The alternative is to determine the position of the two points and to set their "x" and "y" points manually.

I must admit I am having difficulty finding the right words to best explain the process I was following, but hope this helps.

Charlie

[David]

So, if I understand you correctly, you only want to do this with the endpoints of the line.
In that situation it makes sense. For a point with two neighbors or for closed figures I'm not sure.

We can change the behavior that when you move an endpoint with SHIFT down, it can only be moved in a straight line, while keeping the behavior as it is in all other cases.

David.

[Duchess Of Montrose]

Thanks David.

[David]

To keep a line straight, drag its endpoint while keeping the SHIFT key down.

Please note that this feature only works for endpoints of the line. For other points, you will scale the complete line or surface instead if you drag a point while pressing SHIFT.

David.