Draw Tools
by Andrew Hersee

updated by R.V. Williams

DrawTools version 2 is an extensively modified and updated version of the
original DrawTools application, originally published in RISC User volume 5
issue 1. DrawTools acts as a secondary toolbox to Draw and other drawing
packages, providing a quick and convenient method of creating shapes at the
required dimensions. In addition to the features of the original, DrawTools 2
now includes two new Arrow shapes, and the option of rotating any shape by a
specified angle before creating it.

To start DrawTools, double-click on the application in a Filer window.
Clicking on the DrawTools icon bar icon will open the DrawTools dialogue box.
To draw a shape, click the corresponding radio icon (the available shapes are
Line, Arc, Polygon, Sector and two forms of Arrow, one straight, the other
curved). The relevant attributes for the shape must now be entered. The Angle
field alters the angle of the shape, starting at zero for vertical. The Units
section of the dialogue box offers a choice of inches or millimetres for
length and radius dimensions, and a choice between degrees and radians for
angle sizes. Note that the size of a polygon is defined as the radius of a
circle which passes through its vertices. Circles can be drawn by selecting
the Arc option and entering 360 degrees for the angle.

To save the Draw file after entering the shape's attributes, either enter the
filename and click 'OK', or drag the icon to a Filer window. Alternatively.
you can drag the icon to an open Draw window, or to the Draw icon on the icon
bar. Dragging the Draw file into an open Draw document will place the shape at
the position where the Select button is released. For all shapes except the
line, it will be the centre of the circle which defines the shape. With a line
it will be the start point of the line. By switching grid lock on in Draw you
can ensure that all the objects have the same centre. Note that if you drag
the resulting Draw file directly to the Draw icon bar icon, the centre of the
selected shape will be positioned at the bottom left-hand corner of a new Draw
document, making only the upper right quadrant of the shape visible. It is
therefore better to drag the Draw file into an open Draw window instead.

 RISC User 1993
