View Snap Points

View Snap Points The View Snap Points icon shows the snap points on each object. Snap points are useful in tying objects together with lines. For example, you can create a line between a text box description pointing to an object, such as a circle, by using a line to connect snap points on the text box description and the circle object. Then, like a leader line, when you move the circle to a new location, the attached line stretches and shrinks to accommodate the new position of the circle.

To use snap points as described in the above example, follow these steps:

  1. Create a circle object.

  2. Create a line object.

  3. In edit mode, select the View Snap Points icon from the Layout Bar. You will notice that objects on the grid that have an area displays blue-colored points. These blue points are snap points.

Sample circle showing five snap points

  1. Select the line and drag one end of it until the end rests directly on the desired snap point of the circle. Try moving the circle object. The line is attached to the circle object's snap point.

  2. Create a text object for a description for the circle and edit it with a brief description.

  3. Select the other end of the line and drag it until it rests on one of the snap points of the text object.

  4. Now select and drag either the text box description or the circle object. Notice that the line object gets longer or shorter and moves so that there's always a straight line between the used snap points of the two objects.

To detach objects attached to a snap point, simply drag the attached end of the object off of the snap point.

Snap Points vs. Leader Line objects

Most of the time you will probably use the Leader Line object instead of snap points. It has nearly all the same functionality as snap points and is easier to use (see the "Leader Line Object" topic). One advantage snap points have over the Leader Line object, is their ability to support more than one line between objects and their ability to fit the connecting line exactly to a snap point. For example, with snap points, you can create a more complex shape directly in the edit mode, as shown here:

Sample Cylinder created with two four lines fitted to snap points on the two filled circles.

Supported Objects

Only Line and Polyline objects can attach to objects that have snap points. Below are the objects that have snap points:

Viewing Attached Objects

On complex pages with a lot of objects, you may find it useful to use the View | Route menu option to see the chain of objects connected to the currently selected object. This menu option selects all objects connected in some way by snap points to the currently selected object.