What are components?

When we have made a figure that we want to use more than once in a drawing, we make a component of this figure.

Now I hear you thinking, I can do this with a group.

True, but the difference between a component and a group is that you can use a component in different files. Namely, a component is stored in a library.

Another difference is, when you have several copies of a component used in your drawing and you modify the component, all the components used in your drawing will be modified This is not the case with a group. If you copy your group several times, and modify one of these, only that copy is modified.

 

Create Component

This is what I have drawn till now.
I have just drawn the garden that i have imagined, plus two walk ways up to the house and the garage to work. And I have drawn a framework that I want to make a component.
By now, you know how you draw these all, how draw and color the garden and the rest we will see in a later lesson.

Ok, we go further.
The first thing you do when you want to make a component of part of a figure, select it.
Right click the selected, and select “Make Component” in the drop-down menu.

The “Create Component” dialog is divided into two parts.
The “General” section and the “Alignment” section.

In the General section in the upper part, we give a name for the component. Always easy to find it later.
In the second part we give a description.

The “Alignment” part refers to the securing, or in other words, the “Lock” of the component in the area over which the component moves.
I select “Any” in the “Glue to” and leave the two checkboxes “Cut Opening”, and “Replace selection with component” as checked.
I click the “Create” button.

We will discuss more options on the “Alignment”,  especially on the “Glue on:”, in Lesson 38.

This brings us back to the drawing area where the window is selected.

The purpose of a component is that we can use it repeatedly, so I copy it.
With the window selected, I click the Ctrl + C and then press Ctrl + V on my keyboard. This will copy and paste a second window on the cursor (1).
When we move on any surface in our drawing, it shows that the component will behave like a magnet, and it will “align” to the surface over which it is located (2).
This is actually becuase of the choice (Any) we had made for alignment, in the “Create Component” dialog.

Click again when you want to release the component from the mouse pointer (3).

In the next lesson we copy the window several times and align it correctly.

 

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