User Guide

Chapter 4: Drawing And Vector Effects
Smart Mouse constraints
When this constraint is
active
Smart Mouse snaps objects and constrains the pointer to
Angle A specified angle
Diagonal Straight diagonal movement — all multiples of 45°
Horizontal Straight horizontal movement— 90° and 270°, or 0° and 180°,
depending on the current coordinate system
Vertical Straight vertical movement — 0° and 180°, or 90° and 270°, depending
on the current coordinate system
Length A specified length in points (based on 100% magnification)
Multiple Angle All multiples of the specified angle
Tangential &
Perpendicular
Movement in a straight line, tangent or perpendicular to vector objects
Object Bounds The bounding box of vector objects
Object Bounds
Fractions
A specified division of vector objects; e.g., specify 1/2 to snap to the
center of objects
Object Points Any anchor point on the paths of vector objects
Object Paths Edges of the paths of vector objects (not their bounding boxes); when
Object Paths is active, other constraints don’t affect the pointer
Object Paths
Fractions
Specified divisions of the paths of vector objects; e.g., the pointer snaps
to the midpoints of paths if you specify 1/2
Parallel Mainly used to facilitate drawing parallelograms. When drawing a
polygon, the Parallel constraint checks all previously drawn lines and
attempts to make the next line parallel with some of them.
To add and activate constraints:
When you add a constraint, it appears in the Smart Mouse palette.
1. To add a constraint, select New Constraint from the palette or click the New Constraint
button.
2. In the New Constraint dialog box, select a constraint from the Constraint type menu. The
individual constraint settings at the bottom of the dialog box change according to the
constraint selected in the menu.
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