How to Use the Manipulator in BricsCAD
Quick answer: The Manipulator is a grip tool for quickly moving, rotating, scaling, or mirroring selected entities, right where you clicked. Hold Ctrl during an action to copy instead of move. By default it appears when you select an entity with a slightly longer click, and it supports typing exact distances, angles, or scale factors directly.
What the Manipulator Does
Four trigger zone types, each triggering a different action:
- Axis: click and drag to move along that axis.
- Rotation arc: click and drag to rotate.
- Plane swatch (the squares at the anchor point): click and drag to move freely within that plane (XY, XZ, or YZ).
- Arrowhead: click to mirror.
Hold Ctrl when starting any of these to copy the selected entities rather than move the originals. If dynamic dimensions are active, a field appears letting you type an exact distance, angle, or scale factor instead of dragging freehand.
Displaying the Manipulator
The MANIPULATOR system variable controls when it appears automatically:
0: never displays1: displays whenever entities are selected2: displays only if you hold the left mouse button longer thanMANIPULATORDURATION(this is the default behaviour)
To use it with multiple entities selected, either select them one by one or with a window and long-click the last one, set MANIPULATOR to 1, or build your selection and then run the MANIPULATE command directly.
Where the Manipulator Anchors
Where the anchor point lands, and which way it’s oriented, depends on the entity type and exactly where you clicked:
| Entity Type | Where You Click | Anchor Point | Orientation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line | Near an endpoint | At that endpoint | X-axis through the other endpoint |
| Line | Near the midpoint | At the midpoint | X-axis through the nearest endpoint |
| Polyline segment (line) | Near a vertex | At that vertex | X-axis through the segment’s other vertex |
| Polyline segment (line) | Near the segment midpoint | At the segment midpoint | X-axis through the nearest vertex |
| Polyline segment (arc) | On the arc | At the arc’s centre | X-axis through the nearest vertex |
| Arc | Anywhere | At the arc’s centre | X-axis through the nearest endpoint |
| Circle | Anywhere | At the circle’s centre | X-axis parallel to the current coordinate system’s X-axis |
| Spline | Anywhere | At the nearest endpoint | Through the other endpoint |
| Region | On a line segment | At the nearest endpoint of that segment | X-axis through the other endpoint |
| Region | On an arc segment | At the arc segment’s centre | X-axis through the nearest endpoint |
| Text, MText, Block, Xref | Anywhere | At the entity’s origin | X-axis at the entity’s rotation angle |
| 3D Solid or solid face | On a face | At the nearest vertex | X-axis along the nearest edge; XY plane matches the selected face |
| Multiple entities | Anywhere | At the geometric centre of the selection | Parallel to the current coordinate system’s axes |
Adding more entities to an already-built selection doesn’t move the anchor point.
Moving, Rotating, and Reorienting
Moving: long-click anywhere on the Manipulator and drag, or, depending on MANIPULATORHANDLE (0 = single click, 1 = long-click), interact with the manipulator handle directly, or right-click and choose Move. Any of these let you snap to a precise new location.
Rotating: select one of the axis handles, then pick a point or type an angle in the dynamic entry field. Hold Shift to rotate exactly 90 degrees around the Manipulator’s Z-axis.
Reorienting: right-click the Manipulator and choose Reorient Manipulator, then follow the prompts: pick a new origin point, pick a point to define the X-axis (or accept the current one), then pick a point on the XY plane with a positive Y value to finish.
Aligning the Manipulator
With a coordinate system: right-click and choose Align with WCS to force it parallel to the World Coordinate System, or Align with UCS to align with whichever UCS is currently active.
With a solid’s face: requires Dynamic UCS (DUCS) to be on. Right-click, choose Move, then hover over the face you want; the Manipulator’s XY plane aligns to it automatically. Snap to a point on or near that face to finish, or hold Shift and snap outside the face to lock the XY plane to it first.
Precision: Adaptive Snap Step
If SNAPTYPE is set to 2, the Manipulator’s ruler step size automatically adjusts to your current zoom level, the smallest step it’ll use is set by ADAPTIVEGRIDSTEPSIZE. This lets you nudge entities to precise values just by zooming, without typing numbers manually.
Manipulator Settings and Layout
Settings live in the Settings dialog under Program Options > Manipulator, or right-click the Manipulator itself (while it’s displayed) and choose Manipulator Settings.
For layout, tick Classic Color in the right-click context menu for the older, classic look, or leave it unticked for the default. When your current view is parallel to one of the coordinate system’s main axes, like a plan view, the Manipulator automatically simplifies to a 2D version.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I copy an entity instead of moving it with the Manipulator? Hold Ctrl when you start the move, rotate, scale, or mirror action.
Why doesn’t the Manipulator appear when I select something? Check the MANIPULATOR system variable. If it’s set to 2 (the default), you need to hold the click slightly longer than MANIPULATORDURATION, a quick click alone won’t trigger it.
Where does the Manipulator anchor when I select multiple entities? At the geometric centre of the whole selection, and that position doesn’t shift if you add more entities afterwards.
Can I align the Manipulator to a face of a 3D solid? Yes, but Dynamic UCS needs to be on first. Right-click, choose Move, then hover over the face; its XY plane aligns to that face automatically.