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48 Chapter 10: Precision and Drawing Aids
Marker group
Provides settings that affect the visual display of
the snap points.
Display —Toggles the display of the snap guides.
When off, the snaps still function, but there’s no
display.
Size—Sets the size, in pixels, of the snap "hit"
point. This is the small icon that indicates eithe r
thesourceortargetsnappoint.
Co lor—Click the color swatch to display the Color
Selector, where you can set the color of the snap
display.
General group
Snap fu nctionality includes several features that
enhance ease of use. When using Snap, if the
cursor comes within distance of a potential snap
point that’s less than the Snap Preview Radius
distance but g reater than the Snap Radius distance,
the snap cursor jumps to that p oint as a preview of
where the snap will occur, but no actual snapping
occurs.
Tousethepreviewpointasthesnappoint,click
orreleasethemousebutton,dependingonthe
context. If, instead, you then continue to move the
cursor toward the potential snap point so that it
comes within a distance equal to or less than the
Snap Radius value, the snap ta kes place.
Tip: For best results, keep the Snap Preview Radius
value 10 pixels or more higher t han the Snap
Radius value. This lets you preview any snap
before it ac tual ly occurs.
Snap Preview R adius—When the cursor is a
distance from a potential snap-to point between
the Snap Preview Radius value and the Snap
Radius value, the snap marker jumps to the closest
potential snap-to point, but no snap occurs.
Default=30.
When a snap-to preview point is highlighted,
release or click the mouse button (depending on
the context) to snap the current select ion to that
location. Alternatively, before using the displayed
snap point, you can cycle though any other
available prev iew and snap points by pressing and
holding
Alt+Shif t and then press S repeatedly.
Note: TheSnapPreviewRadiusvalueshould
generally be set higher than the Snap Radius va lue,
so that previewing occurs before snapping. If you
attempttosettheSnapPreviewRadiusvaluelower
than the Snap Radius value, the software lowers
the latter so that the two are equal. This effectively
turns off previewing, so that only snapping is in
effect.
Snap Radius—Sets the size of the area around the
cursor, in pixels, within which snapping occurs
automatically. Default=20.
Note: TheSnapRadiusvalueshouldgenerallybe
set lower than the Snap Prev iew Radius value, so
that previewing occurs before snapping. If you
attempt to set the Snap Radius value higher than
the Snap Preview Radius value, the s of tware raises
the latter so that the two are equal. This effectively
turns off previewing, so that only snapping is in
effect.