Hello! I’m using OmniGraffle to plan landscaping for our back yard. While trying to use lines to define the dimensions of our house and our property, I’m frustrated by OmniGraffle’s automatic adjustment of the line lengths.
I’m new to OmniGraffle, so my lack of familiarity is likely getting in the way of figuring it out, sorry. Or I’m just hopelessly dim-witted!!
I’ve searched the forum (both old and new) and learned things that come tantalizingly close but nothing specific.
Many thanks for any advice you may be able to offer!
Peter
Update: As a workaround, I dragged ‘guide’ lines from the rulers onto the canvas and used them to measure and mark the distance so I could force the lines to stay at the required length. As I type this it occurs to me that there may be an option to disable automatic ‘snapping’ of lines to nearby existing lines (which changes the length). Caffeine may be destroying my brain…
I had exactly the same issue when I started the OmniGraffle learning curve. I read a tip that seems to work - rather than lines, create rectangles which are very thin. That maintains the length as you set it and gives you the control I think you are looking for.
If you create a line that isn’t connected to other objects, it will have its own length. You can turn off “Allow connections” in the properties inspector for lines you’d like to have a fixed length. You can turn off “Allow connections from lines” or hold your Option key to temporarily turn off snapping to nearby lines.
It isn’t obvious at first, but a line is either a “connection” between 2 graphics (so it has no fixed measurements), or it is a line graphic that is defined by it’s size and it isn’t connected to other graphics. These lines can be converted to a shape in OmniGraffle Pro by choosing Edit>Object>Convert Line to Shape, which then allows you to Unite, Intersect, or Subtract with a multiple object selection.
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