Editing with grips and Quick Properties

What it does

When you click an object, you see grips (blue squares) at its key points. Drag a grip to reshape the object without calling a command.

Steps

1. Click an object. The grips appear.
2. Click the grip you want and drag it. Object Snap works while you drag.
3. Click the new position, or type a distance in Smart Input.
4. While you drag a grip, press Space to switch the grip mode.
5. Press Esc to clear the selection.

Quick Properties

Turn on QPMODE ON or press Ctrl+Shift+P, then click an object. A properties box appears at the cursor (Layer, Color, radius, length and more).

Try it: Birdhouse front panel

The front panel of a small birdhouse in 6 mm plywood. Start with a plain box, then pull the roof peak up and size the entrance hole by dragging grips. No commands needed.

1. Type SNAP 5 so the grip drags land on a 5 mm grid.
2. Outline: PL, then 0,0 @120,0 @0,100 @-60,0 @-60,0 0,0, and press Enter. The extra point at 60,100 will become the roof peak.
3. Entrance hole: C, 60,60, 10, Esc. Perch hole: C, 60,30, 3, Esc.
4. Click the outline. Drag the grip in the middle of the top edge (at 60,100) up to 60,150. The box gets a gable roof.
5. Press Esc, click the entrance hole, and drag its right quadrant grip from 70,60 to 75,60. The hole is now Ø30.
6. Type SNAP OFF.

Challenge: With the entrance hole selected, press Ctrl+1 and type a Radius of 16 in the Properties palette for a Ø32 entrance, the size sparrows like.

See also

• PROPERTIES
• STRETCH