dropPointOnLine()

Synopsis

Returns the point on line defined by startPoint and endPoint that is nearest to another point p.

Syntax

dropPointOnLine ( p As Point, _
                  startPoint As Point, _
                  endPoint As Point, _
                  Optional useSegment? As Boolean = False ) As Point 

Argument	Type	Description
p	Point	The point to drop.
startPoint	Point	The start point of the line.
endPoint	Point	The endpoint of the line.
useSegment?	Boolean	Optional; when True the point is dropped on the line segment defined by startPoint and endPoint, even if the resulting point is beyond the start or end point ; default is False .

Example 1

Intent >dropPointOnLine(point(1,1,1), point(2,0,0), point(3,0,0)) 
--> Point_(1.0, 0.0, 0.0, WorldFrame()) 

The example shows a point at 1,1,1 being dropped on a line aligned with the x axis.

Example 2

Intent >dropPointOnLine(point(1,1,1), point(2,0,0), point(3,0,0), useSegment? := True) 
--> Point_(2.0, 0.0, 0.0, WorldFrame()) 

In this example, the point at 1,1,1 is dropped to the same line segment as in the previous example. Because useSegment? is True and the drop point is beyond the end of the line segment, the point is 'snapped' to the nearest end of the segment.