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Grids and Alignment |
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Note that the grid is not displayed when it gets to be too dense. Thus, as you zoom out, the grid stops being drawn at some point. However, the fact that the grid should be on is remembered, so it reappears when you zoom back in.
The location of the grid dots is always aligned with the "grab point" of the facet. Since this is normally the lower-left corner, the dots will always pass through that point. If, however, a Facet Center node is placed in the facet (with the Facet Center subcommand of the New Special Object command of the Edit menu) then the grid dots will always pass through that point.
The Grid Options... command presents a dialog in which grid spacing may be set. It is possible to change the horizontal and vertical grid dot spacings (in lambda units). You can also change the default grid dot spacing for new windows, and the number of grid dots between bold ones. Finally, you can choose whether or not to align the grid with the circuitry. When aligned, the dots are drawn so that they always fall on the "facet center" (normally the lower-left corner of the circuitry). When not aligned, the dots are drawn in the same location, regardless of the circuitry. | ![]() |
![]() | The Alignment Options... command presents a dialog in which alignment control may be set. It is possible to change how finely the cursor snaps to the grid (when moving or creating circuitry). For example, the grid spacing can be 2x3, but the cursor alignment can be 0.5, indicating that there are up to six different positions for placement inside a displayed grid square. |
The Align to Grid subcommand of the Cleanup Facet command of the Edit menu cleans up the current facet by moving everything to the alignment value. This is useful for circuitry that has been imported from external sources, and is not placed cleanly for further editing.
A special grid setting is the alignment of edges, which initially is set to zero (no alignment). This alignment affects the edges of nodes and arcs (as opposed to their lower-left corner, where the grab-point resides). For example, if a 3 lambda wide wire is drawn into a 4x4 contact, the default will be to center that wire, which will place the edges of the wire on half-lambda grid locations. If, however, the edge alignment is set to 1 lambda, then that wire will be forced to one side of the contact so that its edges align. Note that it is not always possible to align edges properly, so you should always check your geometry if you insist on this feature.
Another aid to precise alignment is the Show Cursor Coordinates command of the Info menu. This command causes the X and Y cursor positions to be continuously displayed in the status area. This information appears where the Technology and Lambda used to be. To restore display of Technology and Lambda values, uncheck this menu entry.
If you wish to find the distance between any two points on the display, use the Measure Distance command of the Info menu. After this command is issued, you must click over the starting point of the measurement and hold the button down while dragging to the ending point of the measurement. While you are dragging, the total distance and the X and Y distances will be displayed. When you release the mouse, the distance measurement will disappear.
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