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Bill Hopcraft
Inspiring
August 7, 2018
Answered

Parallel Strokes?

  • August 7, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 3491 views

My document has a series of strokes of various lengths.  How can I constrain them to be parallel to one another?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Colin Flashman

    Colin -

    I can't seem to duplicate your results.  When I try dragging an endpoint, it's free to move in any direction and the angular constraint is therefore lost.  Are you using some special selection tool or some combination of keystrokes?

    Thanks,

    Bill


    This worked for me.

    1. Draw a NEW horizontal line (i.e. running from left to right constrained to be straight by holding the shift key)
    2. go to the rotate item in the control panel and assign an angle
    3. from here, clicking and dragging on an endpoint will change the length of the line and constrain its angle.

    The following screengrab shows what happens when I select the line with my black arrow tool.

    If you have drawn a line that wasn't constrained by holding the shift key, and when the line is selected it displays a four corner box, the technique won't work and looks like this when selected with the black arrow tool

    3 replies

    FRIdNGE
    FRIdNGE
    August 7, 2018

    Hi,

    A simple matter of Maths! 

    Using cartesian equations in the plane defined by the rules and the point 0!

    Knowing the X/Y values of the beginning/end points (it's easy to write each stroke cartesian equation (by script)!) and …

    The lines with equation ax + by + c = 0 and a'x + b'y + c '= 0 are parallel if and only if ab' - a'b = 0!

    So:

    Select all the strokes on a page (spread), deselect one and select it again to make it the "reference" and run the script!

    Supposing the script takes as beginning point the "left" one, it will align the "right [end] point" so that the strokes are parallel to the reference!

    Have a good day!

    Best,

    Michel, for FRIdNGE

    B
    Bill HopcraftAuthor
    Inspiring
    August 7, 2018

    Michel - This sounds intriguing but is far beyond my skill level.  Can you provide step-by-step instructions?

    John Mensinger
    Community Expert
    John MensingerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 7, 2018

    https://forums.adobe.com/people/Bill+Hopcraft  wrote

    My document has a series of strokes of various lengths.

    There are several fundamental ways to create parallel paths, but you seems to suggest that you're dealing with paths that already exist. So please clarify whether you have parallel paths and you're asking about keeping them that way, or you have paths that aren't parallel and you need to make them parallel. As Barb suggested, screenshots always help eliminate guesswork.

    B
    Bill HopcraftAuthor
    Inspiring
    August 7, 2018

    Barb and John - Sorry, I really didn't give you enough information to work with.  Here's some more detail. I have an exploded view of a piece of machinery and I want to call out the names of the various components.  To do this, there are leaders connecting the components to text frames.  I want all of these leaders to be parallel, but I also want to be able to adjust their lengths.  I'm an InDesign moron and have no idea how post a screenshot.

    Colin Flashman
    Community Expert
    Colin FlashmanCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    August 8, 2018

    Colin -

    I can't seem to duplicate your results.  When I try dragging an endpoint, it's free to move in any direction and the angular constraint is therefore lost.  Are you using some special selection tool or some combination of keystrokes?

    Thanks,

    Bill


    This worked for me.

    1. Draw a NEW horizontal line (i.e. running from left to right constrained to be straight by holding the shift key)
    2. go to the rotate item in the control panel and assign an angle
    3. from here, clicking and dragging on an endpoint will change the length of the line and constrain its angle.

    The following screengrab shows what happens when I select the line with my black arrow tool.

    If you have drawn a line that wasn't constrained by holding the shift key, and when the line is selected it displays a four corner box, the technique won't work and looks like this when selected with the black arrow tool

    If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!
    Barb Binder
    Community Expert
    Barb BinderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 7, 2018

    Hi Bill:

    A screen shot would help us help you more precisely. Just guessing what you might want:

    1. Hold the Shift key to constrain a stroke to a 45˙ angle and add all the needed strokes, or
    2. Draw a single stroke and use Edit > Step and Repeat to add additional lines at the same angle

    ~Barb

    ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
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