In drawing, you can use connectors of two types: the Smart Connector and the Direct Connector. They are handy for depicting various connections, and their intelligent behavior makes it easy to work with the objects in your document.
And moreover, you can make any object behave as a direct connector and use it for presenting various relations.

 

Smart Connector

The Smart Connector is composed of vertical and horizontal lines, which form a solid path. The connector rebuilds automatically when the objects are moved: it keeps them connected, always facing the points of connection, and does not overlap other objects.

The middle control handles on the connector let you adjust its shape. The connector will keep its shape until you move one of the connected objects.

Use the Connector tool  to create a Smart Connector. To get two objects connected straight away, start and finish drawing the connector over the connection points of the objects.

 SmartConnecting.gif (1960 bytes)

Another way is to draw a connector first, and then glue its endpoints to the objects as you need.

Note: You can also use the the Tools / Draw / Connector menu to switch to the Connector tool.

Ctrl + 9 Cmd + 9

 

Direct Connector

The Direct Connector lets you connect objects with straight lines, and rebuilds when the objects are moved.
You can draw it with the help of the Direct Connector tool . To get two objects connected straight away, start and finish drawing the connector over the connection points of the objects.

DirectConnecting.gif (3023 bytes)

Another way is to draw a connector first, and then glue its endpoints to the objects as you need.

Note: You can also use the the Tools / Draw / Direct Connector menu to switch to the Direct Connector tool.

 

Using an Object as a Connector

You can turn any object into a connector by simply changing it into a 1D object. As a result, you obtain an Object-Connector which behaves in the same way as the direct connector (see above).

An object-connector can be created by turning any 2D object into a 1D object. Select the object and use the Format / Behaviour menu to call its Behaviour dialog. In the Interaction style section of this dialog, select Line (1-Dimensional). The object will show the begin point and the end point which appear in the middle of the left and right sides of the object's alignment box.

For a 1D object, dragging the endpoints affects its width and angle at once. By dragging the size handles, you control its height. If the Rotate tool is on, the endpoints are substituted with rotation handles.

 

Tools for Multiple Connection

ConceptDraw also offers you handy tools for connecting one object to several other objects at a time, by way of  connecting to the entire objects:
the Connect Figures tool ConnectFigureTool.gif (162 bytes)  and the Direct Connect tool DirectConnectTool.gif (151 bytes).

To connect an object to one or more others:

  1. Select the object you want to connect to other objects (it will display green handles - for primary selection).
  2. Then, with the Shift key held down, select the objects to which the first object will be connected (they will display blue handles - for secondary selection).
  3. Click the Connect Figures or Direct Connect button. The object with primary selection will be connected to the other selected objects.

The Connect Figures tool ConnectFigureTool.gif (162 bytes) uses smart connectors:

The Direct Connect tool DirectConnectTool.gif (151 bytes) uses direct connectors:

  

Auto-Connection Modes

In ConceptDraw, you can use the two modes for connecting objects automatically:
the Smart Connection Mode SmartMode.gif (133 bytes) (which uses Smart Connectors)
and the Direct Connection Mode DirectMode.gif (127 bytes) (using Direct Connectors to tie the objects).

When in an auto-connection mode, any object that you add to the document (draw or drop on the page, paste from another application, take from a library etc.) gets automatically connected to the previously selected object by an automatic connector.

Auto-connection modes are very useful for quickly sketching large schemes. You do not need to think about connecting objects, you just arrange them on the page.
For example, you can switch to the Smart Connection Mode and draw or select the initial element of the scheme. Then you draw other elements of your scheme, and each new object you add will be connected automatically to the previous selected object. You can select an object and then start creating a new one which should be connected to it.

 

See also:

Connecting Objects
Connection Points


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