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When the second tool button, i.e. event mode, is
not selected, the applet behaves similar to a typical drawing editor.
The third tool button through the thirteenth tool button ("line"
through "A") all create graphical objects that represent Vispatch
Figures. Selecting one of these buttons puts the applet in a
mode that creates the Vispatch Figure when the user performs a mouse drag
inside the drawing document. The fourteenth button toggles between
red and black. It allows the user to choose the color of newly created
figures. The Vispatch document below has an example of each of the figure types. Try creating some of the 11 types of figure by selecting the tool and dragging inside the document. After creating a figure, put the applet in select mode by clicking on the top tool button. Then try moving each type of figure using mouse drags. Also try resizing a figure by first selecting the figure and then dragging one of its handles. |
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The location and size of vispatch figures are defined
by characteristic points. The top seven figures are
defined with two characteristic points. Notice that when creating
these, a mouse drag defines the size, and sometimes the orientation of
the figures. When selected, these figures have two handles, each
corresponding to a characteristic point. The remaining four figures are defined by only one characteristic point. These figures only have one possible size and orientation. Therefore, the mouse drag only defines the location. When selected, these figures have only one handle, which corresponds to its one characteristic point. If you move the mouse above a figure, a small tool-tip window will appear with numbers in brackets such as [23], [44]. These represent the characteristic points of a figure. This feature can be useful to verify if two figures share a characteristic point. The text figure is created containing the text "Text" by default. To edit the figure's text, double click on it while in select mode. After editing, click elsewhere on the document or press the escape key. |