Michael D Springer

US Patent:

20030206169, Nov 6, 2003

Filed:

Sep 26, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/962458

Inventors:

Michael Springer - West Chester PA, US
Brien Bastings - Glemoore PA, US
Gino Cortesi - Honey Brook PA, US
Josh Schifter - Exton PA, US

International Classification:

G06T011/20

US Classification:

345/442000

Abstract:

The present invention can include a method in a computer system for automatically connecting drawing elements to other drawing elements, which can include selecting one or more snap modes from a set of snap modes; drawing an element in a graphics file with a cursor; moving the cursor to a position within a distance tolerance of a second drawing element; automatically determining a set of snap points from the position of the cursor, based on the selected snap modes; visually highlighting a snap point; releasing the end of the first element; and automatically connecting the end of the first element with the snap point. The method can further include any of: identifying that the cursor is in a position within a distance tolerance of a trigger location in a drawing and automatically determining a snap point from the trigger location, where the snap point location is different from the trigger location; highlighting the snap point with an icon depicting the location of the snap point and a different icon depicting the mode of the snap point; excluding one or more types of drawing elements from snap point calculations; receiving a snap point or a snap mode from another software process; prioritizing the snap modes; or sounding an auditory indication that snapping has occurred.