Modeless drawing windows for cad system

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, systems, and software for proposing a resolution to a position conflict between a graphic object within a drawing sharing a portion of, up to all of, the one or more locations of other graphic objects, comprising the steps of: identifying a proposed new location of the graphic object within the drawing that will resolve the conflict; creating a reflection of the graphic object depicting the graphic object as it would appear at the proposed new location without moving the graphic object from its location; and determining whether the proposed new location will clear the conflict by not sharing a portion of the one or more locations, including embodiments directed to the use of reflections, alert/conflict bubbles, modeless drawing windows, and clipping planes.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to at least create a modeless drawing window within a display of a computer system that includes a replica of at least a portion of a computer-aided design drawing displayed on the computer, the modeless drawing window displayed on the computer simultaneously with the drawing, the replica illustrating an exact copy of the portion the drawing that can be viewed by a user within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing. 
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least enable the user to move the replica within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing. 
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least enable the user to change a magnification or rotation of the replica within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing. 
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least enable the user to edit the replica without changing the drawing. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the drawing and the replica are comprised of graphic objects, and an edit includes adding, deleting, or modifying at least one graphic object in the replica. 
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least enable the user to edit the drawing based on edits made by the user to the replica. 
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:
 enable the user to select a point of interest within the drawing; and   place and center the replica around the point of interest within the modeless drawing window.   
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the drawing and the replica are comprised of a plurality of graphic objects, and wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:
 contract and expand the replica around the point of interest in response to a user input until the replica contains only one or more desired graphic objects among the plurality of graphic objects that the user wants to view or edit in the modeless drawing window.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the user input to contract and expand includes the user clicking on and dragging a slider. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the drawing and the replica are comprised of a plurality of graphic objects, and wherein the instructions for enabling the user to select a point of interest include:
 enable the user to select an object from the plurality of graphic objects in the drawing; and   determine the point of interest based on the selected graphic object.   
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include:
 enabling the user to specify at least one clipping plane; and   determine the portion of the drawing in the replica at least in part based on the at least one clipping plane.   
     
     
         12 . A method for creating a second display of a drawing, the method comprising:
 creating a modeless drawing window within a display of a computer system that includes a replica of at least a portion of a computer-aided design drawing displayed on the computer, the modeless drawing window displayed on the computer simultaneously with the drawing, the replica illustrating an exact copy of the portion the drawing that can be viewed by a user within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.   
     
     
         13 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to move the replica within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.   
     
     
         14 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to change a magnification or rotation of the replica within the modeless drawing window independent of the drawing.   
     
     
         15 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to edit the replica without changing the drawing.   
     
     
         16 . The method as recited in  claim 15 , wherein the drawing and the replica are comprised of graphic objects, and an edit includes adding, deleting, or modifying at least one graphic object in the replica. 
     
     
         17 . The method as recited in  claim 15 , the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to edit the drawing based on edits made by the user to the replica.   
     
     
         18 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to select a point of interest within the drawing; and   placing and center the replica around the point of interest within the modeless drawing window.   
     
     
         19 . The method as recited in  claim 18 , wherein the drawing and the replica are comprised of graphic objects, and the method further comprising:
 contracting and expanding the replica around the point of interest in response to a user input until the replica contains only one or more desired graphic objects that the user wants to view or edit in the modeless drawing window.   
     
     
         20 . The method as recited in  claim 19 , wherein the user input to contract and expand includes the user clicking on and dragging a slider. 
     
     
         21 . The method as recited in  claim 18 , wherein the drawing and the replica are comprised of a plurality of graphic objects, and the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to select an object from the plurality of graphic objects in the drawing; and   determining the point of interest based on the selected graphic object.   
     
     
         22 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , the method further comprising:
 enabling the user to specify at least one clipping plane; and   determining the portion of the drawing in the replica at least in part based on the at least one clipping plane.