Stykz • Help - Setting Segment Properties

# Working With Segments (Subselect Tool)

## Setting Segment Properties

Last updated on 11/14/2010

To set properties for one or more segments, you will need to make sure that the Properties palette is displayed (Window > Properties), and that you have selected one or more segments with the Subselect tool (the segments will be red to indicate they are selected). This will make sure the Segment Properties are shown in the Properties palette.

## Setting the Segment Type

The controls at the top of the Segment Properties palette let you change the type of the selected segment(s).

For example, you can select a line segment and convert it to a circle segment by clicking on the circle button in the palette:

## Setting Line Segment Attributes

Hidden

Hidden segments are those that will not appear at all during playback. To hide a segment, make sure it's selected and click the Hidden checkbox (1). While you're in Edit mode, the hidden segment will appear as a partially transparent (to see an example of this, see How Do I Make a Segment Hidden?).

Static

Static segments are ones that cannot be pivoted. This is useful to "freeze" one or more segments in place to make it easier to manipulate or rotate. For example a common way this is used is to make all of the segments other than the segment that connects to the drag node. This allows you to rotate a figure without accidentally selecting a different pivot node and changing the figure. Here's an example of what I mean:

To make a segment static, make sure it's selected and click the Static checkbox (2). The static segment will appear with a gray end node (if selected), or will change to gray (if not selected). To see an example of his, see H ow Do I Make a Segment Static?.

NOTE: Static segments are not able to be pivoted only when the Select tool is in operation. If you have the Subselect tool active, you can still adjust segments any way you like.

Width

To change the width (thickness) of one or more selected segments, you can do one of the following:

- Click in the Width field (3) and type in a new value and hit the Enter or Return key, or

- Use the spinner control (4) to the right of the field to raise or lower the width on the fly. If you just click on one of the arrows, it will increase or decrease the value by one. If you click on an arrow and hold down, it will adjust the scale slowly at first, but then accelerate after a few seconds to jump in larger increments. Release the mouse button to stop the adjustment.

NOTE: The value for Width can be any number (integer) from 1 to 256. Circle segments have an additional restriction on the maximum value - the width of a circle cannot be larger than its length. or more information on circle segment width, see Working With Circle Segments.

PIVOT COMPATIBILITY NOTE: In Pivot, you can set the thickness of a segment to 0 to make it disappear. To do the same thing in Stykz, just click the Hidden checkbox (see above).

Length

To change the length of one or more selected segments, you can do one of the following:

- Click in the Length field (5) and type in a new value and hit the Enter or Return key, or

- Use the spinner control (6) to the right of the field to raise or lower the length on the fly. If you just click on one of the arrows, it will increase or decrease the value by one. If you click on an arrow and hold down, it will adjust the scale slowly at first, but then accelerate after a few seconds to jump in larger increments. Release the mouse button to stop the adjustment.

NOTE: The value for Length can be any number (real) from 1 to 1000.

Angle

To change the angle of one or more selected segments, you can do one of the following:

- Click in the Angle field (7) and type in a new value and hit the Enter or Return key, or

- Use the spinner control (8) to the right of the field to raise or lower the angle on the fly. If you just click on one of the arrows, it will increase or decrease the value by one. If you click on an arrow and hold down, it will adjust the scale slowly at first, but then accelerate after a few seconds to jump in larger increments. Release the mouse button to stop the adjustment.

NOTE: The value for Angle can be any number (real) from 0 to 359. Changing the angle of a segment will cause any other segments attached to the target segment to rotate as well, just as if the pivot node of the target segment had been dragged to the angle entered.

Color

To change the color of one or more selected segments, simply click on the color swatch (9) and select a color. If you want to restrict the color selection to only Web Safe colors, click the Web checkbox. For more on selecting colors and the purpose of the Web checkbox, see Selecting Colors.

## Setting Shape Attributes

The only "shape" currently in Stykz is the circle segment, so the Shapes area of the Segment Properties palette only becomes enabled when a circle segment is selected.

Circle segments are by default drawn filled with a white color. This makes them opaque, so the Opaque checkbox (1) is on by default.If you don't want to show the fill color, uncheck the Opaque checkbox.

To set the fill color of the circle segment, click on the color swatch (2) and select a color. If you want to restrict the color selection to only Web Safe colors, click the Web checkbox. For more on selecting colors and the purpose of the Web checkbox, see Selecting Colors.