Move

The move command translates selected entities from a base point to a destination point. The displacement applied to every selected entity is the vector from base to destination. After the move all entities remain selected at their new position, ready for further edits.

Two ways to start

Pre-select, then move — select entities first, then activate:

1. Select one or more entities on the canvas.
2. Type move in the terminal or click the Move toolbar button.
3. Click the base point, or type X,Y and press Enter for an exact coordinate.
4. Click the destination — all selected entities shift by the base→destination vector. Coordinate entry works here too.

Activate, then select — start the command with nothing selected:

1. Type move or click the toolbar button.
2. Select objects — click to toggle individual entities, or drag to select by area.
3. Press Enter or Space to confirm the selection.
4. Click the base point, then click the destination (coordinate entry available at both steps).

  Before:                    After:
  ● base                       → ● destination
  [entity A]                      [entity A moved]
  [entity B]                      [entity B moved]

A ghost preview of all selected entities follows the cursor from the base point to the destination, showing the result before you click.

Coordinate entry

At the base-point or destination step, type an exact position instead of clicking:

1. Type the X value.
2. Press , — the terminal shows [X], [Y{cursor}].
3. Type the Y value.
4. Press Enter to confirm.

Angle locking and exact distance

After the base point is set the command watches for a 45° snap axis (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, …). The direction locks when the cursor is far enough from the base and within one grip width of the axis. While locked:

• The ghost preview snaps to the axis.
• Type a distance and press Enter to move exactly that far along the locked direction.
• Clicking projects onto the axis, so the destination always lies exactly on it.

Key	Action
0–9, .	Append to the distance value
-	Negative distance — reverses direction along the axis (first character only)
Backspace	Delete the last typed character
Enter	Apply the move at the typed distance

Keyboard reference

Key	Action
Enter / Space	Confirm selection and advance to base-point phase
0–9, ., -	Start X coordinate entry, or distance when angle-locked
,	Lock X and move to Y entry
Backspace	Delete last typed character
Enter	Confirm coordinate or apply move at typed distance
Escape	Cancel and reset

Activating Move from a grip

Clicking the midpoint grip of a selected Line launches Move automatically, with the midpoint already set as the base point and the move phase active. This is the fastest way to reposition a single line without going through the selection step.

Selection during the command

When the command starts in selection phase:

Method	Behaviour
Click	Toggles the entity under the cursor in/out of the selection
Drag right (strict)	Adds entities fully inside the box
Drag left (crossing)	Adds entities that intersect the box boundary
Enter / Space	Confirms the selection and moves to the base-point phase

After the move

The moved entities remain selected at their new position. This means you can immediately:

• Run Move again to nudge them further.
• Run Copy, Rotate, or Scale without re-selecting.
• Press Delete to remove them.

Move vs Copy

	Move	Copy
Original position	Vacated — entities are no longer there	Kept — originals stay in place
Result count	Same number of entities	One additional set per operation
Selection after	Moved entities selected at new position	Copied entities selected at new position
Best for	Repositioning geometry	Duplicating geometry

Supported entities

Move works on every entity type: Line, Polyline, Rectangle, Circle, Arc, Ellipse, Text, Spline, Dimension, Leader, and all others. All entities implement translate(dx, dy) so none are excluded.