Header Option Buttons

The Header Option Buttons are the buttons that are available at the top of screen during all Path constructions.

They are more general than the side Option Buttons which differ from tool to tool. The first is the Lock Button.

Lock Button

The Lock Button freezes motion input. When the path is locked, no future touch events will change it until it’s unlocked again. This is useful, for instance, if you’re trying to precisely place a path, set an angle, position a bezier point or vertex, etc. because even lifting your finger from the page can generate a stray motion event that might change your carefully constructed path. The Lock Button will prevent that. Simply toggle it ON and a rotation, for example, is suddenly frozen. Use the Lock Button whenever you’re having trouble getting something just right. Also, one important thing to remember is that you’ll still be able to use the side Option Buttons when motion events are locked. This can be particularly useful if you want to see how other construction options would affect your Path but you don’t want to change the attribute (rotation, location, etc.) that you’ve already fixed in place.

Snapping Button

Snapping is explained fully in the Snapping section. This button is where snapping is activated and its behavior defined. One of the things that makes constructing Paths easier in Doodleback is Snapping. This means that you can get close to a particular point and Doodleback will automatically snap to a nearby “important” point. This might be a vertex of a Polygon, a center of a Circle, an intersection point on a Grid, etc. However, since Paths exist in 3 dimensions, sometimes Doodleback can’t tell which important point you want to snap to. This button lets you prioritize snapping by top-most path, bottom-most path, or even by the age of the Path.

“Allow snapping by age” is an advanced option described in the Snapping section.

You can, of course, turn Snapping completely OFF here too.

Snap to Erasures Button

Using Erasing you can create holes in your models, that is, Paths that cut through other Paths and expose either the Paper below or other Paths that have been pushed beneath the hole. Most of the time you probably don’t want to snap to these holes, but by turning this option on, you can. Maybe you want to reposition a hole using the Move tool (Yes, you can move holes). Maybe you want to place another path in the center of a hole. This option would let you do those things.

Auxiliary Info Button

The Auxiliary Info Button doesn’t actually have any impact on the construction of a Path. This button exists simply to give you a better view of the canvas when the auxiliary information (dashed lines, angle measures, etc.) is getting in your way, that is, it lets you toggle the info ON and OFF.

Options Toggle Button

The Options Toggle Button is similar to the Auxiliary Info Button. It also doesn’t affect the construction of the Path, but sometimes the Options Buttons themselves obscure your view. This button lets you hide them. Of course, you can’t really do much without the Options Buttons so tap the button again to bring them back.

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