Orient

The Orient submenu provides menu commands for common relative orientation actions for graphics.

More than one graphic must be selected for these menu selections to apply, the selections are disabled unless multiple graphics are selected.

For most of these actions, one graphic is used as the master to define the alignment of the others. The master graphic is the "first selected" and not related to the painting order, or top most graphic. This master graphic is visually identified by a small reference marker shown at the center of the graphic. See the example below.

The Orient submenu is found on the Format main menu, near the top.

The selections on this submenu are self descriptive. The action applies to multiple selected graphics. The first graphic selected is the key graphic. All the other graphics are moved in accordance with the selected action. The key graphic is not moved.

For graphics such as a line, the defining axis or angle is obvious. Others may be less obvious. Experimentation is the best approach in these cases, as undo always works. If the result is not right, simply undo and attempt another orientation or master graphic.

In some cases a construction line may be added to the drawing, oriented in the desired direction. This line will then have a clear orientation axes, use it as the master - first selected graphic. Then delete the construction line after it is used.