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EazyDraw Grid Panel
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Grid Panel
Minor Grid
Grid Snapping
Grid and Guides Menu
Guide Snapping
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Major Grid EazyDraw for macOS palette controls

The Major Grid is a an array of perpendicular lines drawn at uniform intervals as a drawing aid. The Major grid has a larger interval than the Minor Grid. It may be shown and/or used as snap points for graphics and drawing actions. The grid is usually drawn in a faint color that is visible but doesn't compete with the graphics of the drawing.

The parameters for the Major Grid are presented on a tab view on the Grid Panel which is accessed from the Grids submenu found on the Format main menu. Select the "Major" tab on the Grid Panel to access these parameters.

The small view shows an example of the appearance of the grid as determined by panel’s selections.

The "Show" checkbox is used to turn the Major Grid ON or OFF. If checked the grid is shown, if not checked the grid is not shown. The grid does not need to be shown to use the Snap feature.

The "Snap" checkbox is used to turn the snap aspect of the Major Grid ON or OFF. If checked the new object drawn will be forced to the intersections of the grid lines. The snap requirement is also enforced when moving graphics. This snap action will not affect graphics previously drawn or positioned. If you need to perform an immediate "Snap" action on existing graphic(s) use the Snap Graphics to Major menu action.

The "Print" checkbox is used to include the grid when printing. If checked the grid is printed, if not checked the grid in not included when printing the drawing.

The numeric parameter "Spacing" determines the spacing for the Major Grid. It is specified in the Units of the drawing. You may change the value by selecting and typing a new value, or use the slider. If Link to Rulers is checked, this value is set automatically and may not be changed. Selecting Link to Rulers checkbox will set the value in accordance with the rulers' settings.

The color of the Major Grid may be changed by clicking the Color Well found to the left of the checkboxes. The current color is shown in the small window. Any color may be selected using the color selection panel. Opacity is used with this color, this may be applicable if the grid is placed above the graphics.

The thickness of the Major Grid lines is set with the Grid Line Width parameter. Set the value in current palette units (points, mm, or inches). The value entered is provided directly to the printer when printing, the actual thickness drawn may depend on pens available or printer resolution. On the screen a minimum line with computed by EazyDraw may override your setting in order to keep the grid visible, this would happen when "zoomed-out". The line width used on your display will depend on display quality and resolution, if the line is thinner than the resolution available, anti-aliasing will make the line appear fainter to give the appearance of thinness.

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If "Link to Rulers" is selected the minor grids will sequence with the ruler tick stepper. This stepper control is found in the upper left corner where the rulers meet. Use this stepper to select the interval for the tick marks. The stepper sequences through the various tick interval options, like quarters, tenths, or fifths.

The Print checkbox does not control inclusion of the grid when exporting the drawing. If a PDF is generated via the Print panel then the choice of Save As PDF, then the setting on this panel defines inclusion of the Grid. Each of the Export formats has an independent control for including the Background color and Grid, that setting is found on the Background popup menu selection on the upper right of the export control panel.

Notice that the Units of the Major grid are those of the drawing, while the units for the grid line width are those of this palette’s Fine Scale . This can be somewhat confusing, but the distinction is fundamental and indeed indicates the value of having a "Fine Scale" independent from the drawing scale. To clarify the situation abbreviated units are always shown for the X and Y spacing parameter.