Place a Resource an Exact Distance from Another

This task shows you how to place one resource a precise distance from another.

1. Define a plane to use as a temporary reference point from which to measure distance. Click on the Offset Plane button tboffsetplane.gif (1221 bytes) and then on the resource on which you want to place the temporary reference. This will place a blue square on the resource. See Using Offset Planes for more detail.
2. Enter an appropriate figure in the steps input box (mbstepsinputbox.gif (1424 bytes)). When you are moving your resource, the distance from the second resource will be shown in multiples of the figure in the steps input box. You can use this feature to display the exact distance - for example, if you want to place your resource 11.3 feet from a second resource enter this figure in the steps input box.
3. Click on the resource to be moved. This displays an arrow. Place the mouse pointer on the base of the arrow and drag it. A white square displays. Place this white square on whichever surface you want to use as the point from which distance is measured.

The default measuring point is the middle of the resource that is being moved. In the example below the distance is measured from the forward surface of the robot to the blue square.

measdistance.gif (15016 bytes)

4. Place the mouse pointer on the arrow. This displays the distance from the blue square to a white square that is displayed. The distance is displayed in multiples of the figure you entered in the steps input box. You can now move the resource to place it a precise distance from the temporary reference plane. Click and drag the tip of the arrow to do this (do not drag the base of the arrow for this function).

aendtask.gif (1477 bytes)