Align Connector Shapes

Started by ajocius, February 19, 2012, 12:08:26 AM

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ajocius

I'm a test engineer and make custom shapes not found on the internet.  A big problem I experience is with lines.  I make a custom connector and its connection point many times is just a tad off from the drawing.  How can I ensure that shapes I make will line up correctly on drawings?   

Tony

vojo

I believe you are mixing two issues here

For making sure connector, on a given shape, is consistently where you want it
    rt click==>shape sheet==>add section==>connection.    Go to the X and Y cells and specify location of connection point realitive to width/height of shape
        E.g   X= width - 4mm   Y = hieght + 5mm*sin(30 degee)....etc.......use guard() to make sure user cant move points around

for making sure shapes align as you want
    many ways to do this....my fav is:      select all shapes.....goto shapes==>align==>vertical or horizontal or or or
    Lots of people do like the automated layout methodology...so could try that

Visio Guy

Auto Align & Space on the Home tab in Visio 2010 does a good job of straightening out connectors. It nudges shape positions to reduce connector kinks.

If the size of your custom shapes isn't dictated by any real-world size constraints, try to make them of uniform grid sizes, (ie: 1" x 1" or 4cm x 2cm, etc.) so that they naturally line up well, and connection points in the middle of sides will also line up.

You get kinks in connectors when shapes aren't uniform or similar in size. Say you have a shape that is 1.2" tall, and another that is 1" tall. Without doing a vertical-center alignment, middle connection points won't line up and you'll get bends in connectors between them. Often times, there's no good reason for shapes to not to have similar sizes.
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