v_ase constraint guide design preview

This is a standalone visual design sheet. It shows always-visible, local markers for constrained atoms without using a COM-centered plane. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom.

FixAtoms baseline

  1. Faceted / etched material: fixed slab atoms keep their element hue but use a rough, cut-stone surface state.

FixedLine candidates

  1. Axis filament: a short luminous line through the atom.
  2. Dual rail: two thin rails bracketing the allowed direction.
  3. Bead track: sparse beads along the allowed 1D channel.
  4. Direction ticks: center line plus small perpendicular tick marks.
  5. Glass sleeve: a transparent tube with a fine central rail.

FixedPlane candidates

  1. Local disk: small translucent disk, ring, crosshair, normal tick.
  2. Annulus only: clean halo ring plus normal pin, almost no fill.
  3. Tangent axes: two in-plane guide axes with direction caps.
  4. Sparse wafer: small plate with a sparse local grid.
  5. Contour lens: concentric local rings plus normal tick.
Recommendation: start with FixedLine #2 for dense structures and FixedPlane #1 or #5. They stay local to each atom, avoid COM ambiguity, and remain readable when several constrained atoms are visible.
FixedLine: left column / FixedPlane: right column / FixAtoms: faceted slab