Grids 1.08 (18-Jun-03)

Name:     ArtWorks Grids module
Purpose:  ArtWorks module providing additional grid types
Author:   Martin Wrthner
Requires: RISC OS 3.5 or higher, ArtWorks 2
Status:    2003 Martin Wrthner; all rights reserved; see [4] below
WWW:      http://www.mw-software.com/

Welcome to the Grids module. This module provides rectangular, isometric and
circular grids for ArtWorks.

1) The Grids module
-------------------
The new grid types are set up using the "Extra grids" dialogue box. To display
this dialogue box, choose "Extra grids..." from the "View" submenu or press the
keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-G.

In contrast to the ArtWorks grid settings, the extra grids are set on a
per-document basis, not on a per-window basis. This means, that multiple views
of the same document always have the same grid settings.

1.1) Grid types

The Grids module provides three grid types:

Rectangular grid
----------------
  This is similar to the standard ArtWorks grid, but you can set the spacing
  and the number of subdivisions separately for the horizontal and vertical
  directions. You can also set the grid origin. By default, this is the page
  origin (as is always the case with the standard ArtWorks grid), but with the
  Grids module you can choose any origin position you wish.

Isometric grid
--------------
  This is the same as the isometric grid in Acorn's Draw application. An
  isometric grid is useful for perspective drawings because it makes it easy to
  draw lines at angles of multiples of a 60.

Circular grid
-------------
  The circular grid is displayed as concentric circles around the grid origin.
  The "Spacing" parameter controls the distance between neighbouring circles
  (as with the other grid types, this spacing can be subdivided by minor grid
  points). The Segments parameter determines the number of major grid points on
  each of the circles (subdivided into segment subdivisions by minor grid
  points).

1.2) Common parameters

The Spacing, Subdivisions and Origin X and Y parameters are common to all grid
types. Spacing controls the distance between two major grid points (these look
like crosses). This distance can be subdivided by minor grid points (dots). The
Subdivisions parameter controls the number of subdivisions. The number of minor
grid points between each major grid point is one less than the number of
subdivisions (e.g., if you have two subdivisions, one minor grid point will
appear between two major grid points).

The Origin X and Y parameters control the grid origin. For the rectangular and
isometric grids, this only means that the grid is aligned in such a way that a
major grid point is on the origin. For the circular grid, the origin is the
centre of the grid, or you could say it is the point from which the grid rays
originate.

1.3) Grid type specific parameters

This section of the dialogue box is only needed for rectangular or circular
grids. If your currently chosen grid type is "Rectangular", then you can change
the vertical spacing and number of subdivisions. For "Circular", you can set up
the number of circle segments (i.e., into how many rays the circle is divided)
and the number of segment subdivisions (i.e., into how many parts each segment
is divided by minor grid points).

1.4) Switching the grid display and locking on

The Show and Lock options are the same as for the standard ArtWorks grid: Show
means that the grid is displayed. By default, the grid is displayed underneath
your objects. However, if you prefer, you can move the grid to the foreground,
so it appears on top of your drawing. See "Technical details" below. The Lock
option makes the grid points magnetic, so whenever you drag objects or click on
the page, your mouse movements are snapped to the closest grid point.

Click on OK to apply the grid setup to the current document. Please note that
you will not notice anything unless you have at least one of the "Show" and
"Lock" options selected. Whenever you bring up the dialogue box for the same
document again, you will see the current settings displayed.

1.5) Technical details

- The grid automatically adapts to the current window scale in order not to
  obscure the view too much. This adaptation is done is such a way that what
  you see on screen is always a subset of the actual grid. This means that
  at small scales major grid points may be displayed as minor grid points or
  that grid points are omitted completely.
- The grid is implemented using a separate layer, the "Grid layer". This layer
  is in the background, so it is not printed. Even if the grid is switched off,
  the grid layer remains in the document in order to keep the grid settings
  for the document. They are then available in the "Extra grids" dialague box.
  You may delete the grid layer manually if you do not need the grid any more,
  but this should only happen when both Show and Lock options of the grid are 
  switched off (although even deleting the layer while the grid is on does not
  do any harm). You can display the grid on top of you drawing if you prefer:
  Simply move the Grid layer in front of your foreground layer(s). To do this,
  drag the layer in the layer list using Adjust.
- You can switch on both the standard ArtWorks grid and one of the additional
  grid types provided by the Grids module, but if you switch on "Lock" for both
  grids, the Grids module will overrule the ArtWorks standard grid, so locking
  only takes place to the new grid.

2) History
----------
Version 1.08 (18-Jun-03)
- uses correct location when looking for its !Help file

Version 1.07 (03-May-03)
- 32-bit version for ArtWorks 2

Version 1.05 (13-Aug-02):
- If a document saved with "Lock to grid" on is reloaded, then the lock is
  immediately activated for it
- The Grids help file can be displayed conveniently by clicking a small Help
  button in the Grids dialogue box

Version 1.04b (10-Aug-01):
- documentation update
- Dutch messages added (thanks to Dick Tanis for translating them)

Version 1.04 (09-Jan-01):
- clicking on the OK button of the Grids dialogue box with Adjust now works
  correctly (grid is switched on/off and redrawn correctly)

Version 1.03 (17-Sep-00):
- submenu arrow removed from "Extra grids..." entry as the temporarily opened
  dialogue box closes when the grid type menu is opened
- keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-G introduced

Version 1.02 (11-Sep-00):
- first release version


3) Contacting me
----------------
Martin Wuerthner
Mannheimer Str. 18
67655 Kaiserslautern
Germany

Phone: +49-(0)631-3608205
Fax:   +49-(0)631-3608203

e-mail: martin@mw-software.com
WWW:    http://www.mw-software.com/


4) Copyright
------------
The ArtWorks Grids module, related documentation and files are  Copyright
2000-2003 by Martin Wrthner. All rights reserved. The software and
documentation may not, in  whole or part, be copied or transmitted by any means
without the  explicit written consent of the copyright owner. Unless you have
purchased a site licence for this  software, it may be used on only one
stand-alone computer system at any time.

In order to use this software, you need a licence from the copyright owner.
If you do not have such a licence, you must delete this software, the Grids
module and its related files, now.
