PathUtils 1.03 (17-Jul-03)

Name:     ArtWorks PathUtils module
Purpose:  Controlling line lengths and angles
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 PathUtils module. This module allows you to control line
lengths and angles.


1) The PathUtils tool
---------------------
In order to use the PathUtils tool, you have to use the Selector tool to
select a path object first. Then, activate the PathUtils tool by clicking
on its icon in the tool box.

While the PathUtils tool is active, you can only select/deselect points of
the currently selected path. In order to select another path, you have to
switch back to the Selector tool (e.g. by holding down the left Alt key).

The PathUtils module operates on line segments, so in order to change a
line's angle or length, select the line by selecting its two endpoints.
The info bar then  shows the currently selected line segment's angle and
length. You can edit the values in the info bar for the coordinates of the
first point of the line, the angle and the length of the line. The
selected line then changes accordingly.

What is displayed in the 'Angle' field is the angle between the line
segment and the x axis, i.e. a horizontal line has an angle of 0, a
vertical line pointing upwards has an angle of 90. Note that the angle
depends on the path order, i.e. the direction of a line depends on the
order you gave the path when creating it (you can reverse the path order
by clicking on the "Reverse path order" button in the Line/Shape info
window). The start point of a line segment is always the one which comes
earlier in the path. While a line is selected, an arrow appears. At the
moment, the only purpose of the arrow is to indicate the direction of the
line. Future versions of the module might allow you to drag the arrow
directly in order to lengthen/trim the line.

1.1) Knowns bugs and limitations

Currently, selecting the first point of a closed path does not work
correctly. The red square indicating point selection will not appear but
the point will be selected nevertheless so the functionality of the module
is not affected.

PathUtils does not work correctly when used with *closed* paths. It should
only be used with open paths.


2) History
----------
Version 1.03 (17-Jul-03):
- added help message for tool

Version 1.02 (03-Jun-03):
- 32-bit compatible version for ArtWorks 2
- added help message to Info Bar
- added Dutch messages (by Dick Tanis), help message still in English

Version 1.01b (27-07-00):
- documentation update

Version 1.01 (26-06-97):
- minor redraw bugs fixed (sometimes the arrow was drawn outside the window,
  arrow was not updated correctly when active window changed)
- new Sprites file by Paul Reuvers (old file still present as SpritesO, so
  if you prefer the old look of the tool, use that instead)

Version 1.00 (16-03-97):
- first public release to registered users of Polygon


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

Phone: +49-(0)631-3608205
Fax:   +49-(0)7034-928915   (slow response!)

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


4) Copyright:
-------------
The ArtWorks PathUtils module, related documentation and files are  Copyright
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 PathUtils
module and its related files, now.
