All components in CET Designer are picked from the Components area on the left-hand side of the program window and placed in the drawing area. You can decide if you would like to place the components in the 2D view or in the 3D view. This article will describe component symbols and basic component behavior.

Picking and placing components

The program components are on the component tabs on the left side of the program window.

To place a component in the drawing area, follow these steps: 

1. Click once with your left mouse button on an icon in the component tabs. The corresponding component appears on your cursor.
   
   A preview of the component appears in the preview area at the bottom of the component tab area. Collapse this with the arrows in the upper right-hand corner of the preview.
2. Move the cursor with the component to the 2D or 3D drawing area.
   
   Do not hold down your mouse button while in the drawing area.
3. Click where you want to place the component. The component will be placed in the drawing area and an identical component will automatically appear on your cursor. To continue placing components, continue to left-click.
4. To stop inserting components, press the Esc key on the keyboard or move the mouse outside the drawing area.

Releasing an active component

Whenever you have placed a component or used a tool in the CET Designer drawing area, the component or command always remains on the cursor. Release the component/tool from the pointer in one of the following ways:

• Move the cursor outside of the drawing area.
• Press the Esc key on the keyboard.

Applying properties for components

When you place a component in the drawing area and select it, a green Quick Properties box appears in the upper left corner of the active drawing view where you can enter the component’s attributes:

Depending on the property, you enter the information directly into the active field. In others, you only need to select a predefined value.

Navigate through the Quick Properties box while placing components, or once the component is placed and selected in the drawing.

• Enter values using the keyboard.
• Move to the next line using the Tab key. To step up to the above line, press Shift + Tab.
• For lines with predefined options, move between the different values on one line by pressing the Spacebar key. To return to a previous value on the same line, press Shift + Spacebar.
• Select/deselect a value by pressing the Spacebar or by single-clicking on the desired value.

Movement Aid

When moving or copying objects, dotted lines make it easier to move them in straight lines without having to resort to tools. This aid is triggered automatically when moving objects horizontally or vertically in a straight line. When the aid is active, it displays as a dotted pink line, while when merely moving objects, you will see a dotted gray line to indicate the origin of the object being moved. With the aid active, it is also possible to enter the exact value for the distance you wish to move the objects.

Aid active

Aid inactive