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Course Designer 3
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Dog Path

The Dog Path shape is used to indicate a path taken by a dog. It is also the tool used to measure the total length of a course, or to measure the curved distance between adjacent obstacles. It can also measure the lengths of segments of the path which only contain jumps, which can be useful for advanced dog performance analysis.

Fully automatic dog paths

Dog Path shapes are created differently than most shapes are. The most convenient way to create a dog path is to have Course Designer create the path automatically, based on a sequence of obstacle labels. To create a fully automatic dog path:
  1. Ensure these the course contains a sequence of obstacle labels indicating the obstacles the dog path is to go through.
  2. Click on the Dog Path icon on the shape creation toolbar.
  3. On the Dog Path Properties dialog box, under "Connection to obstacles", select that the path should be connected to the chosen sequence of obstacle labels.
  4. Click OK. The dog path will be created automatically.

Manually connected dog paths

If a course doesn't have obstacle labels on it, you can indicate which obstacles the dog uses along a dog path by "drawing" the dog path manually. To manually create a dog path going through a sequence of obstacles:
  1. Click on the Dog Path icon on the shape creation toolbar.
  2. On the Dog Path Properties dialog box, under "Connection to obstacles", select "Connect to obstacles manually."
  3. Click OK.
  4. Click on the course where you want the dog path to begin, and while holding the mouse button down, "draw" the path you want the dog to take. Release the mouse button at the end of the path.
It is recommended that you draw one dog path through all of the obstacles that the dog is to take, rather than create separate dog paths between each pair of obstacles, or between each pair of non-jump obstacles. That way, you can see the length of the entire dog path if you like, and you can select the entire dog path at once. Whereever the line you have drawn goes through an entrance to an obstacle and then through an exit for that obstacle, that portion of the path will not be displayed after you lift the mouse button.

Unconnected dog paths

When you create a dog path by either of the above two methods, the dog path is "connected" to the obstacles through which the path runs. Portions of the path going through a non-jump obstacle are hidden. If you move, rotate, add, delete, or otherwise change the obstacles along the path, the path will automatically be adjusted to still smoothly pass through the appropriate obstacles. If you do not want any of this behavior, you can create an "unconnected" dog path, that essentially ignores the obstacles on the course.

It is recommended that you always create dog paths that are connected to obstacles, either via obstacle labels or manually. Unconnected dog paths mainly exist to provide backward compatibility with dog paths created in Course Designer 2000.

Unconnected dog paths are created using the same steps above for creating a manually connected dog path, except that you select "Do not connect to obstacles" instead of "Connect to obstacles manually." Since parts of an unconnected dog path that pass though a non-jump obstacle are not hidden, it is not recommended that you draw an unconnected dog path through non-jump obstacles.

Bending a Dog Path

You can change the shape of a Dog Path shape after it has been created, by "bending" it. For more information, see Bending Shapes.

When bending a Dog Path shape, you can move any of the handles. However, with a dog path that is connected to obstacles via obstacle labels, you cannot move a dog path handle on an obstacle completely off of the obstacle. Otherwise, there are no limitations on moving dog path handles.

If you move a handle of a manually connected dog path off of an obstacle the path had been connected to, the dog path will no longer be connected to the obstacle at that handle. If you move a handle of a manually connected dog path onto an obstacle entrance or exit or jump center, the dog path will become connected to the obstacle at that handle.

You can add additional handles to a dog path by moving one of the handles so that it is far away from the one or two handles next to it on the path. Additional handles will be automatically created in between the handle being moved, and the adjacent handle(s). You can also delete handles, by moving a handle so that it coincides with one of the handles next to it on the path. The two handles will be merged into one.

See also: Handler/Judge Path, Straight Line, Creating Shapes, Bending Shapes, Obstacle Labels