Move With Basepoint works with the following basic steps: 

1. Select objects

2. Invoke the function.

3. Hover the cursor over the basepoint location, then click when the snap marker is in the desired location.

4. Move the cursor to the destination location.

5. Hover the cursor over the destination object until the snap marker is in the desired destination location.

6. Click to place the objects. 

7. All the selected objects are moved from their original locations to the new locations. 

Designers who have used AutoCAD will note that this functionality is quite similar to the way AutoCAD works using commands such as move and copy. We at ExactCAD have been using AutoCAD for decades and like the way it works. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then we salute whoever it is at Autodesk who came up this way of doing things. Or whoever they copied it from. It’s a great way to do things. 

In this example, we want to move U166, R563, a testpoint, and the traces between them closer to U345. We want pin 4 of U166 to be directly to the left of U345 pin 4.  


The alternative is to move these parts and traces with the Hover Align mode in Xpedition turned on. The difference is that if we do that, the trace between U345 pin 4 and U166 pin 4 would have a jog in it.  



This is what the trace will look like if the parts are placed with the bottom edges aligned. Perhaps we don’t care if the trace has a jog in it, but maybe we do care.



So here is how we do it. First, with the Select Mode active in Xpedition, we select everything we want to move. We then invoke the Move With Basepoint command using a hotkey. Hovering the cursor over U166 pin 4 causes the snap marker to appear. Note: the snap marker will scale up or down with the zoom level of the Xpedition window. 



When the snap marker is on the center of the pin, we click it. This sets the basepoint.

A ghost image of the selected objects attaches to the cursor and follows it



We now hover the cursor over pin 4 of the other part, and the snap marker appears again. We don’t want to set the parts we are moving directly onto the pin, but to the left of it. So we move the cursor to the left. Once the cursor is off the last object it found as a reference point, it follows the nearest 45° axis away from that point, creating virtual snap points it can use as destination points. These virtual snap points are not persistent; they only exist as long as the cursor is in a particular location. As soon as it moves, the last point it had disappears and new ones are created. The ghost image continues to show the new location of all the objects. 



Once we are satisfied with the new location, we click again.  All the selected objects are moved to the new location. 

Now, when the trace is added, it goes straight from one pin to the other with no jogs, and no need to fight with it to get it to make a clean connection between the pins. 



The same methodology applies no matter what objects are selected for moving.  It works on all design objects, including parts, traces, vias, planes, conductive areas, obstructs, board outline, route border, text, and userlayer objects.