T-FLEX Parametric CAD. Fundamentals. 2D Design

Fundamentals. Two-Dimensional Design
MOVING AND COPYING DRAWING ELEMENTS.
ARRAYS. USE OF CLIPBOARD
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T-FLEX CAD provides two main mechanisms for creating new 2D elements based on existing ones.
The first mechanism relies on moving, copying and array creation commands. This group of commands
unites all functions related to translating, scaling, using symmetry and rotating arbitrary 2D elements, as well
as creating various types of associative and independent copies, including linear and circular arrays.
Moving/copying of elements can be done within the current page of a T-FLEX CAD document or from one
page to another one.
The second mechanism uses copying via the clipboard that is a somewhat extended functionality in T-FLEX
CAD as compared with the standard Windows clipboard management. This mechanism only supports nonassociative
(independent) copies. However, it supports copying between different documents within the same
T-FLEX CAD environment, as well as exchange with other applications.
Any T-FLEX CAD 2D elements can be handled by either of the moving/copying mechanisms, except those
specifically mentioned in the respective sections (for example, multi-page text and BOMs cannot be copied
or moved).
Moving, Copying and Array Creation Commands
A family of commands is provided in T-FLEX CAD for moving, copying and array creation. These
commands are used for transforming existing drawing elements and making various types of copies,
including multiple (arrays). All commands have similar interface and underlying mechanism that allow easy
switching from one command to another while keeping the same set of selected objects. These commands
also interact with object snapping described in the chapter “Sketch. Creating a Non-parametric Drawing”.
Upon calling any of the commands, the toolbar is displayed for object snapping management.
The commands are divided into three large groups by their purposes:
• The commands for moving (for modifying the existing elements – translation “TM: Move”, rotation
“TT: Rotate”, scaling “TA: Scale”, symmetry “TS: Symmetry”);
• The commands for creating copies (copying with translation “XM: Create Copy”, copying with
rotation “XT: Copy and Rotate”, with scaling “XA: Copy and Scale”, creating copies
symmetrical to the original elements “XS: Create Symmetry”);
• Array creation commands (linear “XL: Create Linear Array” and circular “XR: Create Circular
Array”).
Since the interface of all the commands is identical, the further description will be as general as possible,
covering all moving, copying and array creation commands.
Calling the Commands
The commands for moving elements are available under the textual menu entry “Edit”:
Keyboard Textual Menu Icon
“Edit|Move|Translate”