Aligning shapes by reference point

[YossiD]

Is there a way to align a shape based on a defined reference point instead of
top, center, bottom, etc?

 

[Philippe C.]

This is a question that could use a drawing.
Have you tried to select also the reference point ?

 

[Chris Roth [MVP]]

Hi Yossi,

Do you mean abutting the shapes end-to-end, with no space in between?

--
Hope this helps,

Chris Roth
Visio MVP

Free Visio shapes:
http://www.visguy.com/category/shapes
Visio programming info:
http://www.visguy.com/category/programming/
Other Visio resources:
http://www.visguy.com/visio-links/

 

[YossiD]

Actually that's not what I meant here though I did ask that in another post
and would like the answer to that too.

In this post, I'm asking something else. I sometimes want to align two
shapes by their connection points so I can connect them with a straight
horizontal or vertical line. If the connection points are in the center it's
no problem, but if they're elsewhere it's a pain to align the shapes
precisely.

Or let's say you want to align the bottom of one shape with a point 1/3 of
the way up another one. You get the idea.

Is there a way to do this without drawing a dummy line and aligning to it,
or without doing a bunch of arithmetic and positioning shapes by the numbers?

Thanks much,

YossiD

 

[J Kallay]

Guides work well for the aligning a top with a bottom or a left side with a
right side (drag a guide off the ruler). Theoretically, a guide is similar
to a "dummy line," but it's setup to have the edge of a shape easily snap
and glue to it.

For connection point alignment, how about making the connection points
inward/outward while you're positioning the shapes, glue the connection
points to each other, and then move the shapes horizontally or vertically
back to their proper position with the arrow keys?

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

You might also try using dynamic glue so that you don't need to have
connection points on the shapes. Dynamic glue is created by dragging a
connector end to the middle of the shape. You should see a red rectangle
around the entire shape. If there are no connection points in the way, the
connector should be straight.

--
Mark Nelson
Office Graphics - Visio
Microsoft Corporation

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[YossiD]

Outstanding. Both your suggestions work perfectly for me.

I had forgotten about guides, and they're certainly more convenient than
drawing a temporary line and then performing an align operation.

I had never come across inward/outward connection points before, and I see
that they are very useful. Is there a way to change the default for all
connection points to be Inward & Outward (using Visio 2003), or is there some
disadvantage to doing that ?

Thanks again,

YossiD

 

[YossiD]

Thanks for your reply.

I tried dynamic glue as you suggested, but the connector didn't really glue
to the target shape. Even though a small red rectangle appeared at the
intersection of the shape and the connector, it didn't stay put when I moved
the shape.