Snap Options

Form: Snap Options

The Draw menu > Snap Options command accesses the Snap Options form, which has the Snap To options as well as snap increments and spacing and tolerance settings

The ETABS snap options allows drawing and editing operations to "snap to" various items in the model. The six snap options can be toggled on or off in any combination using the Draw menu > Snap Options command or by clicking one of the six snap feature toolbar buttons, or right clicking in the background (not on an object) of a display window and selecting the Snap Options command. Use the following procedure with the snap commands:

If the appropriate snap tool is not already activated, select the corresponding toolbar button or the Draw menu > Snap Options command. Some options do not work in some views. If a command does not appear to be working, switch to another view and try again.

Move the mouse pointer in the graphics window. When a snap location is found close to the mouse pointer, a dot appears at the snap location as well as a text field describing the snap location (see the Screen Snap To Tolerance bullet in Settings, below).

When the desired snap location is found, click the left mouse button to accept it.
Modify the snap options if necessary and continue drawing or editing objects.

Note: When the options have been selected on the form, click the Apply button to implement the changes. The Snap Options form will remain open until the Close button is clicked.

Snap To check boxes. Check an option to turn it on; uncheck it to turn it off. Any combination of options can be used for simultaneous action. In an active window, if more than one snap option has been activated and the mouse pointer is located such that it is within the screen ”snap to” tolerance of multiple snap features, switch to a different snap by pressing the ”N” key (N for Next) on the keyboard. Continue to press the ”N” key until the mouse snaps to the desired item.
Joints - Snaps to joints.
Line Ends and Midpoints - Snaps to the midpoints and ends of existing line objects and to the midpoints and ends of edges of shell objects. Note that the end of an edge of a shell object is a corner joint of the shell object.
Grid Intersections - Snaps to grid line intersections.
Lines and Frames - Snaps to lines and frame objects.
Edges - Snaps to edges of shell objects.
Perpendicular Projections - First draw the first point for a frame or shell object. Then, with this snap feature active, place the mouse pointer over another frame object or edge of a shell object and left click. A frame object or edge of a shell object will then be drawn from the first point perpendicular to the frame object or edge of a shell object that the mouse pointer was over when the second point was clicked.
Intersections - Snaps to the intersections of frame objects with other frame objects and with the edges of shell objects. It does not snap to the intersection of the edge of one shell object with the edge of another shell object.
Fine Grid - Finds and snaps to the intersections of the fine grids in a Plan View.
Extensions - Finds and snaps to extensions of frame objects and edges of shell objects in a plan view.
Parallels - Snaps frames and shells parallel to frame objects and edges of shell objects in a plan view. The frame object or edge being used as a parallel guide for the object being drawn is highlighted.
Intelligent Snaps - Features a selective set of snap functions that are activated automatically when drawing a column or beam. When drawing a column or beam object, pass the mouse cursor over an existing column and the program snaps to imaginary lines passing through the column that are parallel to the X- and Y-axes, and the snaps are displayed at the increments specified in the Snap Increments area of the form. Move the cursor onto a beam or shell edge, and the program also will snap to these lines at displayed increments. This option greatly facilitates the drawing of column and beam objects because it seeks out the snaps that are deemed most appropriate (i.e., it is intelligent based on the object type).
Arch Layer - Snaps to geometry in an architectural plan, which is imported into ETABS using the File menu > Import > .DXF/.DWG File of Architectural Plan command.
Select All and Deselect All buttons. Use these buttons to quickly activate all options or deactivate all of them.

Snap buttons

Snap To Grid Intersections & Points button . Snaps to joints and grid line intersection of two grid lines in the same grid system. This button works in plan, elevation and three dimensional views.
Snap To Line Ends & Midpoints button . Snaps to the midpoints and ends of frame objects and to the midpoints and ends of edges of shell objects. This button works in plan, elevation and three dimensional views.
Snaps To Lines and Edges button . Snaps to grid lines, frame objects and edges of shell objects. This feature works in plan, elevation and three dimensional views.
Snap To Intersections button . Snaps to the intersections of frame objects with other frame objects and with the edges of shell objects. It does not snap to the intersection of the edge of one shell object with the edge of another shell object. This button works in plan view only. It does not work in elevation or three dimensional views.
Snap To Perpendicular Projections button . First draw the first point for a frame or shell object. Then, with this snap feature active, place the mouse pointer over another frame object or edge of a shell object and left click. A frame object or edge of a shell object is drawn from the first point perpendicular to the frame object or edge of a shell object that the mouse pointer was over when the second point was clicked. This feature works in plan view only. It does not work in elevation or three dimensional views.
Snap To Fine Grid button . Snaps to an invisible grid of points. The spacing of the points is controlled by the Plan Fine Grid Spacing item (see Settings, below). This feature works in plan view only. It does not work in elevation or three dimensional views.

Snap Increments - Choose an option to have the program snap to specific lengths when drawing any object using lines (beams, shell edges, walls, dimension lines).

(Imperial in Inches) Snap at length increments of - Enter the increments in inch units separated by a semi-colon; any number of increments may be specified. When drawing the object, the cursor will snap to any length dimension that is divisible by one of the specified increments. The length is displayed while drawing.

(Metric in mm) Snap at length increments of - Enter the increments in mm units separated by a semi-colon; any number of increments may be specified. When drawing the object, the cursor will snap to any length dimension that is divisible by one of the specified increments. The length is displayed while drawing.

(Degree) Snap at angle increments of - Enter the angle in degrees; only one angle increment may be specified. When drawing the object, the cursor will snap to any angle that is divisible by the specified increment. The angle is displayed while drawing.

Settings

Plan Fine Grid Spacing edit box. This is the spacing of invisible grid points that are used by the Fine Grid option. This item is entered in length units. The ETABS default for this item is 12 inches in English units or 0.3048 meter in metric units.
Plan Nudge Value edit box. This is the distance that a nudged object moves after you have pressed the appropriate key on the keyboard. This item is entered in length units. The ETABS default for this item is 12 inches in English units or 0.3048 meter in metric units.
Screen Selection Tolerance edit box. When clicking on an object to select it, your mouse pointer must be within this distance of the object to select it. This item is entered in pixels. The screen selection tolerance has no effect on selection by windowing. The default for this item is 3 pixels.
Screen Snap To Tolerance edit box. The Screen Snap to Tolerance item controls the distance within which the pointer must come to the target snap location before the "snaps to" can occur. The value is entered in length units. The default is 0.1 inch in English units and 1 mm in metric units. When a joint object is drawn or generated within this distance of another joint object, the drawn joint object is merged into the original joint object. If a joint object is within this distance of a frame object, the joint object is assumed to be supported by the frame object. When the analysis is run, the frame object is broken up at the joint object and connected to the joint object. Note that this might put a small kink in the frame object if the joint object is not exactly on the frame object. If a joint object is within this distance of being in a plane, it is assumed to be in the plane.

If more than one snap option is active and the mouse pointer is located within the screen snap to tolerance of two different model elements (i.e., grid intersections and points; frame ends and midpoints; intersections; perpendicular projections; lines and edges; and fine grid), ETABS will execute the snap to options in the sequence shown in the list of snap to options. Example. This is true even if the item associated with the other snap option is closer to the mouse pointer as long as both items are still within the screen snap to tolerance. When two model elements are within the screen snap to tolerance of the mouse pointer, the snap occurs to the first drawn item, which may or may not be the closest item.

Drawing Scale check box. If this check box is checked, select a drawing scale from the drop down list. The drawing scale selected affects line widths and the coarseness of the background horizon grid, reflecting how objects would look if they were actually drawn at the chosen scale. The drawing scale is also used as the default scale setting when using the File menu > Print Graphics command. Click thebutton to add a drawing scale.
Move Draft Helper Controls with Mouse check box. If this check box is checked, the drafting control box will move with the mouse cursor. For example, if you are drawing a line, the L,theta edit box will move with the cursor rather than being anchored in the lower left-hand corner of the view.