Stretching Lines

[Anonymous]

I was asked the following question and was wondering if someone could help me out with this one:

-----
I have a line 12” long and I want to reduce its length by ½”.

For a while, I have been clicking on lines, then clicking the stretch icon in the pet palette and motion the mouse in the direction I would like to shrink the line. I enter ½” in the distance and the line is reduced in length by ½” to a total length of 11 ½”.

I must of modified some setting without knowing it because now when I try to do this the line will stretch to an entire length of ½”.
-----

So, would anyone know where to adjust that setting if possible? I have always had the habit of holding down the SHIFT+R key when inserting relative distances in order to reduce a length by 1/2". I already tried toggling the CAPS key to see if that made a difference and it didn't. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

[Anonymous]

hi...
have you tried to input 1/2- (Number follow by Minus)

Cheers

[Erich]

ksymons19,

If you don't already have it on, turn on the Coordinates pallet. For the behavior you are used to click the delta icon by the "r" and "a" so that it highlights.

HTH

[Barry Kelly]

As you start to stretch watch where the 'X' (temporary user origin) is located on the line.
All distances you enter will be measured from this.

If you don't hold the shift key then the user origin will be at the other end of the line that you are stretching.
So typing 1/2" will give you a line that long.
As Tranthainyugen said you can place the cursor over either end (or an point for that matter) and type 1/2"+ or - and it will adjust the line by 1/2" from that point.

Holding the shift key will force the user origin to snap to the end of the line that is closest to your curser when you press it.
That way you can control from which end the 1/2" is measured.
The shift will constrain the angle and the figure you type will be the distance from the user origin.
So you won't need the + or - after the distance.

Barry.

[David Maudlin]

Barry wrote:
As Tranthainyugen said you can place the cursor over either end (or an point for that matter) and type 1/2"+ or - and it will adjust the line by 1/2" from that point.

When using english measurement units, in some cases, the "-" has to be typed twice, the first "-" is interpreted as a separator between feet and inches, the second "-" is interpreted as the direction.

David