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The Move Button: Move Objects

The Move button in the Modify Menu is used to move objects. This command is redundant, as objects can be moved with a basic button 1 operation. If objects are previously selected, the group will be moved. If no object has been selected, the user is requested to select an object to move. Responding to the prompts, the user points to a reference point, then to a destination point, using either hold and drag, or two clicks. If either the Shift or Ctrl key is held, the angle of translation is constrained to multiples of 45 degrees. The object is moved such that the reference point falls on the destination point. The orientation is altered according to the current transformation.

When the Move command is at the state where objects are selected, and the next button press would initiate the move operation, if either of the Backspace or Delete keys is pressed, the command will revert the state back to selecting objects. Then, other objects can be selected or selected objects deselected, and the command is ready to go again. This can be repeated, to build up the set of selections needed.

At any time, pressing the Deselect button to the left of the coordinate readout will revert the command state to the level where objects may be selected to move.

The current transform is saved in Register 0 then cleared after every move operation. Pressing the Forward Slash key will swap the current and saved transforms, allowing the last-used transform to be retrieved. The current transform is saved and cleared when Deselect is pressed, and cleared when the Move command exits.

The undo and redo operations (the Tab and Shift-Tab keypreses and Undo/Redo in the Modify Menu) will cycle the command state forward and backward when the command is active. Thus, the last command operation, such as initiating the move by clicking, can be undone and restarted, or redone if necessary. If all command operations are undone, additional undo operations will undo previous commands, as when the undo operation is performed outside of a command. The redo operation will reverse the effect, however when any new modifying operation is started, the redo list is cleared. Thus, for example, if one undoes a box creation, then starts a move operation, the ``redo'' capability of the box creation will be lost.

The substructure of cell instances being moved is highlighted to the depth shown in the main window. This facilitates alignment with other objects. One can change the display depth to reveal more or less of the substructure.

While in a move operation in physical mode, while the objects are ghost-drawn and attached to the pointer, pressing Enter causes the reference point to shift to the lower left corner of the bounding box containing the objects being moved. Pressing Enter will cycle the reference point through the corners of the bounding box, and back to the original reference location. Note that this allows objects that have somehow gotten off grid to be returned to the grid.

It is possible to change the layer of objects during a move operation. During the time that objects are ghost drawn and attached to the mouse pointer, if the current layer is changed, the objects that are attached can be placed on the new layer. Subcells are not affected.

How this is applied depends on the setting of the LayerChangeMode variable, or equivalently the settings of the Layer Change Mode pop-up from the Set Layer Chg Mode button in the Modify Menu. The three possible modes are to ignore the layer change, to map objects on the old current layer to the new current layer, or to place all objects on the new current layer. If the current layer is set back to the previous layer before clicking to locate the new objects, no layers will change. Note that layer change is only possible for ``click-click'' mode and not ``press-drag''.

Move operations can be also performed through the command line interface with the !mo command.


next up previous contents index
Next: The Copy Button: Copy Up: The Modify Menu: Modify Previous: The Erase Under Button:   Contents   Index
Stephen R. Whiteley 2024-09-29