SketchALin the studio

Align in the tile editor

Align places the joints you choose by pairs of points: a source point on them and the destination it should land on. One pair moves them, a second pair also turns them, and with S they are scaled so the two sources fit the two destinations.

What it is

Align places joints by points they already have. You choose the joints, then give pairs: a source point on the joints, and the destination where it should land. With one pair, the joints simply move so the source lands on the destination. With a second pair, they also turn about the first destination until the second source lies on the line towards the second destination. With scaling on, they are also resized so the distance between the two sources becomes the distance between the two destinations. A ghost of the result follows the pointer.

It is the same Align as in the other editors of the studio, acting here on the joints of the tile.

When to use it

To set a motif against another one by its own corners, when you know where two of its points should go.
To move and turn joints together in one action.
To fit a motif exactly between two points, with scaling.

The steps

Choose the joints. Select them before taking the tool, and Align uses them at once. Otherwise Align asks select objects: click joints to add them, or drag a box (to the right it takes what lies wholly inside, to the left what it touches), Shift takes a joint out, F draws a fence that takes every joint it crosses, and Enter ends the choice.
Take the tool. Type A then L one after the other, or click Align on the bar. The A opens Arc for a moment, and the L completes Align.
Pick the first source point. Click a point on the joints, such as a corner. The points snap as when you draw.
Pick the first destination. Click where that point should land.
Stop here, or give a second pair. Press Enter to move the joints by this one pair. Otherwise click a second source point on the joints, then its destination: the joints move and turn.
Scale to fit, if you want. Press S before the last click to switch on scaling. The hint shows scaling while it is on.
Align again or finish. After aligning, the same joints stay selected and Align asks for a first source point again. Escape takes back the last point given, one at a time, then leaves Align for Select. Ctrl+Z undoes the last alignment. Press Done on the bar at the foot to hand the tile back.

What it refuses

A shape that would leave the tile. If an aligned curved or closed joint would stand outside the tile, nothing changes, and the editor says a shape must stay inside the module.
A straight joint across the edge. It is not refused: it is cut at the tile's edge and only the part inside is kept.
Points with nothing chosen. With no joint selected, Align keeps asking select objects.

What it writes to the contract

Nothing while you work: the change stays in the tile editor, where Ctrl+Z steps back through it. When you press Done, the whole tile is written to the project's patterns in one step you can undo, every joint as its points in metres from the tile's lower-left corner, the aligned joints in their new place. A standard pattern is never changed: Done saves the project's own version of it under the same name, and every surface that lays it follows. Save as new writes a new pattern instead. Cancel writes nothing.

Common questions

How do I move and turn a shape in one go?

Select it, take Align, click a first point on it and where it goes, then a second point on it and the direction it should take. The shape moves by the first pair and turns about the first destination.

How do I make a motif fit exactly between two points?

Give the two pairs, and press S before the last click to switch on scaling. The distance between the two source points becomes the distance between the two destinations.

Can I use just one pair of points?

Yes. After the first source and destination, press Enter: the joints move by that pair, without turning.