SketchAin the studio
Arc in the tile editor
Arc draws a curved joint inside a pattern's tile from its two ends and a point it passes through, or from its two ends and the height of its curve over the straight line between them. The arc must stay whole inside the tile: one that would leave it is refused, and your points stay in hand.
What it is
Arc draws one curved joint inside the tile, the kind a fish scale, a fan or an arched paver needs. You give it three points: its two ends, then a point the curve passes through. The tile's corners, the middles of its sides, its centre and its edges are magnets, and so are the ends, the middles and the length of the joints already drawn. Once drawn, the arc's ends, its middle and its centre become magnets for the next joints.
The arc stays a true arc everywhere it goes: in the editor, in the repeated preview around the tile, and on every surface that lays the pattern.
When to use it
- To draw a scallop, a fan or any joint that curves.
- When you know the two ends of a curve and one point on it, or the depth of the curve.
- For a full circle, use Circle instead. For an arc from its centre or its radius, use Arc by centre or Arc by radius.
The steps
Take the tool. Press
A, or click Arc on the bar. It shares its button with Arc by centre and Arc by radius. The hint at the pointer asks for the first end of the arc.
Place the first end. Click inside the tile, or type
x;yand pressEnter, measured from the tile's lower-left corner. A click outside the tile lands on its nearest edge.
Place the other end. Click where the arc ends. Until the third point, the ghost is a straight line between the two.
Shape the curve. Move the pointer: the ghost bends to pass through it, drawn as an arc, with the straight line between the ends shown as its reference. Click to place it. To be exact, type the height of the curve over that straight line and press
Enter: the arc bulges towards the side the pointer is on. If the ghost turns red, the click would be refused.
Step back or change your mind.
Escapeclears what you typed, then drops the second end, then the first.Ctrl+Zundoes the last arc.
Hand the tile back. Press Done on the bar at the foot, or
Enterwith nothing in hand.Escapewith nothing in hand and nothing selected closes the editor without writing anything.
What it refuses
- An arc that leaves the tile. If any part of the curve, its farthest bulge included, would stand outside the tile, nothing is drawn and the editor says a shape must stay inside the module. Your two ends stay in hand, so you can try another third point.
- An arc that is almost a full circle. An arc sweeping more than about 345 degrees is refused with that arc is too open. Draw a Circle instead.
- Two ends that are one point, or an arc under a millimetre. They are refused with a joint under 1 mm is refused.
- Three points on one line. They are not refused: they make a straight joint.
What it writes to the contract
Nothing while you draw: the arc stays in the tile editor, where Ctrl+Z takes it back. When you press Done, the whole tile is written to the project's patterns in one step you can undo. An arc is stored as its two ends, in metres from the tile's lower-left corner, with the curve between them, so it stays a true arc. 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.
Related
Common questions
How do I give an arc an exact curve?
Click its two ends, then type the height of the arc over the straight line between them and press Enter. The arc bulges towards the side the pointer is on.
Why did my arc turn into a straight joint?
The third point lay on the line between the two ends. Three points on one line make a straight joint.
Why was my arc refused?
An arc must stand wholly inside the tile, its curve included. One that would leave the tile is refused, and so is an arc that would sweep more than about 345 degrees.