Manipulating Objects

Manipulating objects is essential for positioning and arranging elements in your design. You can select, move, resize, rotate, copy, and delete objects to create the perfect layout for your CCTV or low-voltage system design. Understanding these basic manipulation techniques will help you work efficiently and precisely.

When to use this

• When you need to reposition cameras, devices, or other objects in your design
• When you want to adjust the size or orientation of objects like rectangles, legends, or obstacles
• When you need to move multiple objects at once to reorganize your layout
• When you want to duplicate objects by copying and pasting them
• When you need to remove objects from your design

Selecting objects

To select an object, simply click on it. The object will be highlighted, indicating that it's selected and ready for manipulation. Once selected, you can move, resize, rotate, or perform other operations on the object.

Moving objects

After selecting an object, you can move it by dragging it to a new position. Click and hold on the selected object, then drag it to the desired location on your canvas. This works for cameras, devices, obstacles, and other objects in your design.

Resizing and rotating objects

Some objects support additional manipulation beyond moving:

Resizing objects

Objects like rectangles and legends can be resized. When you select such an object, resize anchors (handles) appear around it. Drag these anchors to stretch or shrink the object to your desired dimensions.

Rotating objects

Some objects, such as obstacles, can be rotated. When you select a rotatable object, a rotation anchor appears above the object. Click and drag this anchor to rotate the object to the desired angle.

Multi-selection

You can select multiple objects at once to manipulate them together. There are two ways to enter multi-selection mode:

Selection mode

Activate selection mode by clicking the Selection Mode button on the lower middle toolbar, or hold the Shift key. When selection mode is active, you can draw a selection rectangle by clicking and dragging on the canvas. All objects within the rectangle will be selected.

Control-click selection

Hold the Ctrl key and click on objects one by one to add them to your selection. This allows you to selectively add objects to your selection without entering full selection mode.

Copying, cutting, and pasting

Once you have one or more objects selected, you can copy or cut them for duplication:

Copy and cut

• Right-click menu – Right-click on the selected object(s) and choose Copy or Cut from the context menu
• Keyboard shortcuts – Use Ctrl+C to copy or Ctrl+X to cut the selected objects

Paste

• Keyboard shortcut – Press Ctrl+V to paste the copied or cut objects
• Right-click menu – Right-click on an empty area of the canvas and select Paste from the context menu

Pasted objects will appear at the current cursor position or near the original location.

Deleting objects

To remove objects from your design:

1. Select the object(s) you want to delete
2. Press the Delete key on your keyboard, or right-click and select Delete from the context menu

The selected objects will be permanently removed from your project.

Tips

• Use multi-selection mode when you need to move or modify multiple objects at once to save time
• Hold Ctrl and click to selectively add objects to your selection without entering full selection mode
• Use keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V) for faster copying and pasting operations
• Resize anchors appear automatically for objects that support resizing - look for them when selecting rectangles or legends
• The rotation anchor appears above rotatable objects like obstacles - drag it to rotate the object
• Use the selection rectangle in multi-selection mode to quickly select multiple nearby objects

Related topics

• Quick Start Overview
• Drawing Obstacles
• Adding Cameras
• Adding Devices