First, we need to understand some of the underlying Punch! concepts and definitions.
Punch! objects come in a variety of forms according to their function and are perceived as lines drawn on the 2D plan. A line drawn from one point to connect to another point is called a "segment" or "edge". The ends of each segment are called "points" or "corners".
A "closed" ended object must form a loop when they are drawn. Berms, decks, excavations, fills, floors, cutouts, freehand roof panels and property lines are always considered closed. An "open" ended object always remains unlooped when they are drawn. Edgings, fences, pathways, railings, and stairs are always considered open. In the case of paths and stairs the active "segment" is found running down the centerline of the pathway or staircase. Although you can bring the two ends of edgings, fences or railings together to form what looks like a loop, Punch! at this point in time does not connect the two end points to form a true loop; they remain open ended regardless of how they are drawn. Walls, on the other hand can be drawn either open or closed.
Curved segments are straight segments with a tension applied at the corners. Pathway segments, by default, are curved throughout its entire length; if a path segment is changed to straight, then all of them will become straight. Curved walls on the other hand, regardless if created from a curved shape, are a group of several small straight segments projecting the illusion of curves.
Editing An Object: The user normally selects an object to edit by clicking on one of it's edges. For paths and stairs, the selection is made on the line running through the center of of the pathway or staircase. Whenever a segment is selected, small squares appear on the end points. These are called "handles"; as you would grab the handle of a door to open it, you grab the handles of a segment or the segment itself to begin editing. The order of selection is as follows:
Important: When drawing open-ended objects it is important to remember from which point you started. If a segment is drawn from left to right, the point highlighted on the left side of the segment indicates that the entire segment following it can be edited. Selecting the rightmost end point of an open object will only produce an invalid error. It is best therefore to select a segment's edge to ensure proper editing and avoid selecting the final point of an open ended object.
BreakAll performs two functions: it can be used to add one or more points to an edge, and it can also be used to remove points. Once points are added they can be effectively moved like any other handle in Punch!. Multiple points can be added at once but only one point can be removed at a time. When points are deleted from a segment, the nearest adjacent corners then become the endpoints of the modified segment. This may sound simple but there are complexities to be further explained.
If three or more points are selected, BreakAll finds the first point drawn with its following segment then break or remove points from that segment and ignore the rest of what's selected. In some instances when selecting all the points in a closed object, such as an elliptical fill, adding a segment may result in undesirable results; therefore it is advisable to select one point, two at the most, or one segment when using BreakAll.
Briefly mentioned above, a problem arises when selecting the final point of an open ended object. The final point is not a full-fledged point; it simply provides a location for the end of last segment and is incomplete. Therefore, an open ended object contains one more point than it has segments. For instance, if you draw a fence with three segments you will have four points. The last point drawn is incomplete and cannot be edited; therefore it is considered illegal to select the final point and attempt to call BreakAll to add another point there. An invalid error will result from such an action. In the case of a closed ended objects there are as many points as there are segments and all points are legally editable.
Alongside the convenient ability to break other objects besides walls, and to break walls in several places at once, BreakAll's ultimate feature is its ability to break, add, and remove points around existing doors, windows, and other attachments; a feature well worth its function in gold. Any wall containing an attachment can now be broken and/or otherwise have points added to and removed from it.
BreakAll is named for its ability to create or remove a break in many of Punch!'s objects. BreakAll's actions for 'breaking a segment" is synonymous with "adding a point"; they're one in the same.
BreakAll and the contents of this help file are
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