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Force move command?


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Hello all,

 

I'm a newer Vectorworks user but have some background in CAD. When moving an object, having selected the pointer (x), I will select it, then hover the cursor near, but not on a corner, and it will usually change to a move icon, where I can then grab the object and, using snap, align it to another object (corner of a square to another square). Sometimes its a struggle to get the cursor to change into a move icon. Ill float around a selected targets corners, but the move key wont pop up. Is there a key I can press to force the cursor into a move mode? That would save time on hovering around to get where I want.

 

Thanks!

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The answer to your question is "not that I know of"

 

But this might help.

 

There are actually 4 curser shapes involved with moving and resizing objects.

 

1. Black arrow.  Used to select objects.

2. Hollow arrow with no stem.  used to move objects, but not by grabbing a vertex, midpoint, etc.

3. Tire iron.  Used to move an object by a vertex, midpoint, etc without resizing.

4. Diagonal arrows down left and up right.  Used to resize an object but not move it.

 

You can turn off the resize cursor by switching to the 3rd mode of the selection tool.  There will be a warning you have to agree to and all the blue handles will go away.  This often makes it easier to grab a vertex.

 

You can also control the sensitivity of the cursor.  Go to Preferences > Interactive.  There is a slider for the size of the selection area of the cursor and the snapping size.

 

It also helps to have all the snapping options turned on (except for snap to grid and possibly snap to tangent) and the options for those snap settings with reasonable things turned on.  Double click on any button in the snapping palette to get the options.

 

HTH

 

PS.  ESPECIALLY make sure you have Snap to Grid turned off.  I don't know what the current default right out of the box is these days, but it used to be 1/8".  That means that with Snap to Grid on and a 1/8" grid snap your cursor is just as happy to snap to a point 1/8" away from what you want as well as snap to nothing points every 1/8" as you move the cursor. 

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You can use the U key to toggle between the three cursor selection modes.   Set it to the first mode. 

 

799693803_SelectionTool.thumb.png.2d52fa9f1e6627adae7c3987b9280099.png

 

The first time this dialog box appears checkmark it before hitting the YES button so it doesn't come up every time you get to the first mode.

 

577235918_Selectionkeytoggling.thumb.png.f2517c3b42d3f8526f48347d676b1d51.png

 

The U, I, O and P keys toggle between the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th modes of tools on the tool bar respectively.  These keyboard shortcuts work with all tools that have multiple modes and choices.

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Also check out the VW Preferences, Interactive tab. There you can set the size of the Selection Box and the Snap box (as well as the color and thickness or the boxes). By making the Selection Box (inside box) smaller and the Snap Box (outside box) larger you can make it easier to snap to points without accidentally selecting those objects.

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