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Command of the Week: Issue 7

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Move Origin

Menu Bar: View> Move Origin
(Text Equivalent: ORIGIN)

Icon: None

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Right Click Context Menu: None

Move Origin Command allows you to reset the Origin of a Drawing. To better understand how you can make use of this Command, you need to know what is the Origin. The Origin is where the X, Y, and Z Axis intersect. The Coordinates are 0,0,0 or for Campaign Cartographer just the X and Y, or 0,0.

By default, most CC Templates have the Origin at the intersection of the lower and left edge of the Map Border. Some design World Map Templates with the Origin at the intersection of the mid Latitude and center Longitude of the Map Grid, much like the intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian. The advantage to this is any Coordinate would relate to an Earth-like Coordinate System of Longitude and Latitude. If you modify a Template, you can reset the Origin. This comes in handy if you expand a Map beyond the current Borders, by redefining the Map Border (Drawing a New Border and deleting the old Border.) or if you take a section of an existing Map to make a more detailed Map, you will want to Move the Origin to the new lower left Corner of the Map Border.

To Move the Origin for Map Border, select the Command and then select the Endpoint Snap and select either the Left edge or lower edge of the Map Border near the Corner. If you have several Lines that merge with the Map Border, you will want to Hide all Layers after setting the Map Border as the Current Layer.

Once you place the Origin at the lower Left Corner of a Drawing, you can use the Grid in most Drawings as a guide for the coordinates, depending on the specific Grid chosen. The exception to this is Perspective Drawings. Perspectives in CC do not use a true Perspective Grid, so though they appear to have an a Grid that you could label, the program itself sees it as a 2D Drawing just like any other CC Drawing.

Entities other than Maps have Origins in CC. Symbols have an Origin set when you create them. This is where the Symbol will attach to the Cursor, and it is the location where the Symbol will attach, if using one of the Snaps to place the Symbol or if Snap to Grid is activated in a Drawing. Some Symbols work better if the Origin is the Center, while others work better if the Origin is one of the outside Corners. You can set the Origin using Snaps for precision when Defining a Symbol.

Make sure you do not overlook this command when Mapping.

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