Positioning guide assistance in Draw

[l0f4r0]

I haven’t noticed any magnetic positioning guide assistance in Draw.

I mean the lines that help you visually to align or distribute on the fly your shapes into your canvas while you are moving them.
Of course there is the “Helplines while moving” feature but I’m not speaking about that. Indeed this existing feature only extends the shape border lines while the shape is moving. What I’m asking about is rather lines that are only displayed when some alignment characteristics requirements are met.

To visualize what I’m talking about, you can watch the first minute of the following video: https://support.office.com/en-ie/article/video-align-and-position-shapes-9ad5e1f4-9f49-4189-8229-6503f6d76699 (it’s about Visio)

Do you know if this feature exists in Draw please?

NB: I’m using LibeOffice 6.1.5.2 on macOS 10.14.3

[RGB-es]

The closest you can get to that is to hold the Shift key while dragging: the object will “jump” between the different snapping points. Also, explore the different option on Tools → Options → LibreOffice Draw → Grid where you can select more “snap types” for your objects and make the resolution of the grid a lot better than the default.

[l0f4r0]

Thanks but it doesn’t seem to be enough for me unfortunately. Indeed, there is no magnetic or visualized help related to the canvas limits or the other existing shapes. If I’m not wrong, the Shift key while moving only helps to position a given shape regarding its current position (vertical/horizontal/diagonal alignment)… It has nothing to do with already positioned shapes.

[RGB-es]

Of course, you are right. Draw has its limitations and I think it was never intended as a high precision tool. You can fill a feature request asking for more features, but for the time being maybe you’ll be better trying with Inkscape: it’s been some time since I last used it, but I remember a full toolbar dedicated to snapping (the “snap control bar” or something like that). The SVG files generated by Inkscape can be used without problems on any LibO document.

[l0f4r0]

Too bad because from my point of view it’s a really basic feature. Actually, on similar software (Visio) I use exclusively this feature to set my shapes into the canvas (then I don’t really need the specific align action buttons). I love moving my shapes with my own eyes without calculating anything or referring to the ruler.

Anyway, I’ve just created a new feature request ticket

From what I know, Inkscape is a very powerful but complex tool so it has a long learning curve.
That’s why I would have liked LibreOffice to have that feature ^^