Snaps and SmartTrack

Snaps pull the pointer to key points on the geometry, so you can draw precisely without typing numbers. SmartTrack extends guide lines from those points, so you can place new points in line with them. Snaps work the same way in every tool that takes points.

#Snap types

Atrium has these snaps:

• End
• Mid
• Center
• Quad
• Intersection
• Perpendicular
• Tangent
• Near
• Control point
• Grid

#Priority

• Control points first: The control point snap takes priority over all others and has its own marker.
• Points before Near: An edge's midpoint and endpoints are picked up from about 10 pixels away, before the Near snap takes over.

#SmartTrack

SmartTrack creates guide lines that extend from snap points, for example to place a point exactly in line with the corner of another part.

• Create a tracking point: Hover over a snap point (endpoint, midpoint, center, control point and so on) for half a second; guide lines extend from it. Near and Grid snaps don't create tracking points.
• Instantly with Ctrl: Tap Ctrl to make the point under the pointer a tracking point.
• Clear: Double-tap Ctrl to clear all tracking points.

#Turn snaps on or off

• Snaps are toggled with the pills at the bottom of the screen. Click a pill to turn its snap on or off.
• Right-click a pill to keep only that snap on.
• To draw without snaps for a moment, hold Alt.

#Planar snap (2.5D)

With Planar snap on, a point that snaps to a higher corner lands on the work plane instead, like Project in Rhino.

• In 3D views, Planar snap is off by default.
• In 2D views (Top, Front, and so on), it's always on.

#Snaps with a direction lock

When a direction is locked, the snap marker stays next to the pointer, and a dotted line shows where on the locked line the snap applies. Read about direction locks in Drawing and point input.

#Good to know

• Items hidden with the eye icon in the design tree don't provide snaps. See Selection.
• In locked isolate mode, the dimmed items outside the isolation provide snaps but can't be selected. See Groups, sets and isolate.
• When you draw on a part's face, snaps to that face's corners and edges stay on the same plane.
• The middle of a board's thickness edge also has a Mid snap.
• Snaps also work when you place a 0D part or sub-assembly from the library; see Library.