The handles on the manipulator are color coded to help the user understand which property of the Box is being modified.

• Green handles represent the Direction / Length of the Steel.
• Blue handles represent the Orientation / Width of the Steel.
• Red handles represent the Unnamed Direction / Height of the Steel.

This manipulator is used for the I-Shape, L-Shape, T-Shape and U-Shape elements. Even though all the screen shots below depict an I-Shape being manipulated the behavior is the same for all the other elements.

Rotation

• An I-Shape element can be rotated by clicking and dragging on one of the spheres attached to the ends, the top, or the bottom of the manipulator.
• During a rotation the angle through which the I-Shape has been rotated is displayed in the Asset View.
• Dragging the mouse in one direction will rotate the I-Shape about one axis and dragging the mouse in the other direction will rotate the I-Shape about the other axis.
• Rotations made using the spheres at the ends of the manipulator are performed around the opposite end of the I-Shape from the selected sphere.

• Rotations made using the spheres on the top and bottom of the manipulator are performed around the center of the I-Shape.

• During a rotation the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to cycle through the different rotation modes.

• By default during a rotation the manipulator will snap to the following common angles, 30, 45, 60, 90, etc. To disable this snapping the user must press and hold the ‘Control’ key while rotating.

Translation

• An I-Shape can be translated by clicking and dragging on one face of the manipulator.
• Dragging the mouse in one direction will translate the I-Shape in one direction and dragging the mouse in the other direction will translate the I-Shape in the other direction.

• During a translation the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to cycle through the different translation modes.

Dimensions

• The dimensions of an I-Shape can be changed by clicking and dragging on one of the cubes located on the faces of the I-Shape's manipulator.
• While a dimension is being changed its new value is displayed in the Asset View. The dimension is displayed using the current dimension units.
• The cubes at the center of each end of the I-Shape will only move the face to which it is attached, i.e. the other end of the I-Shape will remain unchanged.

• The other cubes at the edges of each end of the I-Shape will scale the I-Shape from the center.

• While changing a dimension the user can press the 'X' key while dragging the mouse to switch to the other mode. For example if the user is changing the Width or Height then the center will be fixed, pressing 'X' will switch to the opposite edge being fixed.

General

• In situations where the I-Shape being manipulated is occluded by other Assets the user can press the ‘H’ key to temporarily hide all other Assets in the scene. Releasing the ‘H’ key will redisplay the hidden Assets.

• Additionally, if the Steel Shape itself occludes some of the manipulator handles, the user can press the 'A' key to temporarly hide the Shape and all other Assets in the scene. Releasing the 'A' key will redisplay the hidden Assets.
• At any time during a manipulation the user can press the ‘Esc’ key to cancel the current action and return the I-Shape to its original position and/or orientation.