Selecting Entities and using Nodes

If you are new to Event Floorplan Designer one of the main things to get the hang of is selecting entities and adjusting them using the Nodes attached to them. It is actually quite easy to do both of these things but it does take some practice to get the hang of it.

Selecting Entities

There are various ways of selecting entities and each method is described below.

In general though, when entities are selected they show as dotted and nodes will appear just like in the picture below, however the type of nodes that appear may change depending on the type of entity you select.

1

Single click selection - This is the most common way of selecting things and is as simple as just hovering you mouse over an object then clicking your left mouse button.

If you want to select multiple entities using this method, press and hold the CTRL key while clicking on entities. You can also deselect entities by clicking on them again while CTRL is held down.

NOTE: If there 2 entities under your mouse cursor when you click, a little menu will appear asking you which entity you would like to select as shown below.

2

Double click selection - Double clicking on some entities takes you into an editing mode, for example when you double click on a stand it takes you to the Stand Properties dialog, allowing you change options for a stand. You can only double click on one entity at a time.

3

Click and Drag selection - There are 2 click and drag selection methods, dragging to the Left and dragging to the Right. Dragging to the right gives you a Blue selection box (called a Window) and dragging to the left gives you a Green selection box (called a crossing), both are explained below.

Dragging to the right (Blue box called Window Selection) - Using this method of selecting allows you to only select items completely contained within the Blue box. Anything touching the edge or outside of the box will not be selected. In the example below, only the circle will be selected, even though the Window box overlaps the other entities. Also note that the Stand Dimensions are attached to the rest of the stand so they are not selected either.

Dragging to the left (Green box called Crossing Selection) - Using this method of selecting allows you to select items that are completely contained within the Green box and also touching the edge of the box. In the example below, all of the entities that are touching the edge of the box are selected, which in this case is everything.

This method of selecting multiple entities is the most used and is sometime more preferable than using the single click method described above.

TIP: You can mix selection types, for example you can select multiple entities using the Green (Crossing) box and then deselect individual entities using CTRL and single clicking.

Using Nodes

Nodes are used for editing the shape/size and position of entities. Nodes only appear when an entity is selected.

NOTE: To select a Node you must click and then let go of your mouse button, so click and release. This takes a bit of getting used to but you'll soon get the hang of it.

There are 3 main types of nodes as shown in the picture below (Red, Blue, Green). They can appear in different places depending on the type of entity selected. Each Node type is explained below.

1

Red Nodes (square)

These nodes are always square and are used for moving entities around on your screen. They can appear in the centre of an entity or in the case of stands they appear on the corners as shown in the picture below.

To move an entity using the Red Nodes, click and release on the Node then move your mouse to the required position and then click again. here is an example of moving a Stand:

2

Blue Nodes (square)

These nodes are always square and are used for changing the shape of entities or for moving text items. They appear on the ends and corners of entities as shown in the main picture above. The Red Nodes in the corners of stands can be swapped for Blue Nodes by pressing the Space Bar on your keyboard, this then allows you to change the shape of the stand.

To change the shape of an entity using the Blue Nodes, click and release on the Node then move your mouse to the required position and then click again. here is an example of changing the shape of a Stand, the bottom left Blue Node was moved upwards.

NOTE: Remember that if the Node are Red in the corner of your stand, press Space Bar to make them Blue and vice-versa.

3

Green Nodes (circular)

These nodes are always circular and are used for changing the size of Stands, Zones and Gross areas/Hall Boundaries. They appear on the edges of Stands, Zones and Gross areas/Hall Boundaries.

To change the size of Stands, Zones and Gross areas/Hall Boundaries using the Green Nodes, click and release on the Node (it then changes to Orange) then move your mouse to the required position and then click again. Here is an example of changing the size of a Stand, the left Round Node is being moved to the right.

TIP: If you select 2 adjoined stands and their Round nodes are in the same position, it will adjust the size of both stands.

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