Object Prototyping
An invisible, yet very useful, feature
When you first create an object, you control only two dimensions at a time. The third dimension -- the one you cannot see in the current view -- is supplied by what's known in Design Intuition as the prototype object.
What's a prototype object?
It's the object upon which new objects are based. It provides the size of the third, hidden dimension. That means you can create an object, switch to a different view where you can see the hidden dimension, adjust it to the size of the next few objects you want to create, and then set the object as the prototype via the Objects Inspector. The third, hidden dimension of all objects you create thereafter will be the same as that of your prototype.
Do I have to select a prototype object?
No. When Design Intuition opens a new document, the outermost group is the prototype. This works out rather well if, after you create one object, you switch to the hidden dimension and set it to the size of the next few items in your design. The outermost group will expand to fit your new object. As you create new objects, the hidden dimension for all of them will be identical.
You can at any time, of course, choose any single object to be the prototype. This is useful once the outermost group becomes bigger (in the hidden dimension) than the objects you are about to create.
How about an example?
Step-by-step instructions for designing a bookcase are available in the examples section. These instructions make heavy use of prototyping.
