Edit Bar controls: Interactive, X, Y, Marquee, Angled, Apply.

This tool allows you to stretch entities by translating the entity ends.

Regardless of which other modes are being used, you can specify the distance to move the end points in two different ways. With the Interactive option switched on you should pick two points to define the offset. With this option switched off you can enter the required X and Y offset in the edit bar or use the Nudge keys to adjust them interactively.

The Angled option has the same effect regardless of the other options. Any entity whose start and end point have both been identified to move will be moved by the chosen offset. Any entity that is connected to one of these entities (i.e. only one of its start and end points has been identified to move) will be stretched. If Angled has been selected, then Impact will attempt to keep the angle of all connected entities unchanged. Otherwise the entity will simply be stretched by the specified amount.

TIP: The tool behaves differently depending on whether or not the Marquee is active.

The Marquee is positioned using Edit - Select - Marquee.

With an active marquee

Before activating the tool, indicate entities to be transformed by placing the marquee around the entity ends which are to be stretched.

If you are not using Interactive mode, enter the X and Y offset distances and press Apply. When using Interactive mode there is no Apply button. The Stretch will be applied as soon as the offset has been defined.

The ends that are within the marquee are translated by the offset values. Any ends which are outside the marquee are unchanged.

Without an active marquee

You now have the Marquee option on the edit bar. With this option switched on you should identify the required entities by defining a rectangle around them. If the option is switched off you just need to identify a single entity to be transformed.

If you are using Interactive mode, you need to pick the two points to define the offset. Otherwise you should enter the X and Y offset distances.

There is no Apply button. The Stretch is performed as soon as it has all the necessary information.

How Entities Are Stretched

Any line, arc, circle or Bezier having both ends within the marquee is simply translated.

Any line having one end within the marquee has that end translated, the other end remaining fixed.

Any arc having one end within the marquee has that end translated, the other end remaining fixed; the radius and centre point change but the sweep remains constant for this operation. A circle should be considered as an arc with both ends coincident at zero degrees from the centre; if the marquee encloses these points then the circle is translated, otherwise it is unaffected.

If a Bezier has only one end within the marquee it will not be transformed.

Any block/symbol inserts partially within the marquee are not affected; inserts fully enclosed by the marquee are translated; the entities within the block/symbol are not modified.

Constraint Manager

If you have the Constraint Manager active whilst using this tool you will experience the following differences:

• All constraints and dimensions on the transformed entities are preserved, as long as they are still satisfied
• In Interactive mode, if the second click is on an entity and any transformed entities join onto that entity at that point, then a coincident constraint is added

Related topics: Edit - Transform - Stretch Points