Finding points on a rectangle at a given angle

Question

I\'m trying to draw a gradient in a rectangle object, with a given angle (Theta), where the ends of the gradient are touching the perimeter of the rectangle.

Answer 1

Javascript version:

function edgeOfView(rect, deg) {
  var twoPI = Math.PI*2;
  var theta = deg * Math.PI / 180;
  
  while (theta < -Math.PI) {
    theta += twoPI;
  }
  
  while (theta > Math.PI) {
    theta -= twoPI;
  }
  
  var rectAtan = Math.atan2(rect.height, rect.width);
  var tanTheta = Math.tan(theta);
  var region;
  
  if ((theta > -rectAtan) && (theta <= rectAtan)) {
      region = 1;
  } else if ((theta > rectAtan) && (theta <= (Math.PI - rectAtan))) {
      region = 2;
  } else if ((theta > (Math.PI - rectAtan)) || (theta <= -(Math.PI - rectAtan))) {
      region = 3;
  } else {
      region = 4;
  }
  
  var edgePoint = {x: rect.width/2, y: rect.height/2};
  var xFactor = 1;
  var yFactor = 1;
  
  switch (region) {
    case 1: yFactor = -1; break;
    case 2: yFactor = -1; break;
    case 3: xFactor = -1; break;
    case 4: xFactor = -1; break;
  }
  
  if ((region === 1) || (region === 3)) {
    edgePoint.x += xFactor * (rect.width / 2.);                                     // "Z0"
    edgePoint.y += yFactor * (rect.width / 2.) * tanTheta;
  } else {
    edgePoint.x += xFactor * (rect.height / (2. * tanTheta));                        // "Z1"
    edgePoint.y += yFactor * (rect.height /  2.);
  }
  
  return edgePoint;
};

Answer 2

Let's call a and b your rectangle sides, and (x0,y0) the coordinates of your rectangle center.

You have four regions to consider:

    Region    from               to                 Where
    ====================================================================
       1      -arctan(b/a)       +arctan(b/a)       Right green triangle
       2      +arctan(b/a)        π-arctan(b/a)     Upper yellow triangle
       3       π-arctan(b/a)      π+arctan(b/a)     Left green triangle
       4       π+arctan(b/a)     -arctan(b/a)       Lower yellow triangle

With a little of trigonometry-fu, we can get the coordinates for your desired intersection in each region.

So Z0 is the expression for the intersection point for regions 1 and 3
And Z1 is the expression for the intersection point for regions 2 and 4

The desired lines pass from (X0,Y0) to Z0 or Z1 depending the region. So remembering that Tan(φ)=Sin(φ)/Cos(φ)

    Lines in regions      Start                   End
    ======================================================================
       1 and 3           (X0,Y0)      (X0 + a/2 , (a/2 * Tan(φ))+ Y0
       2 and 4           (X0,Y0)      (X0 + b/(2* Tan(φ)) , b/2 + Y0)

Just be aware of the signs of Tan(φ) in each quadrant, and that the angle is always measured from THE POSITIVE x axis ANTICLOCKWISE.

HTH!

Answer 3

Ok, whew!, I finally got this one.

NOTE: I based this off of belisarius's awesome answer. If you like this, please like his, too. All I did was turn what he said into code.

Here's what it looks like in Objective-C. It should be simple enough to convert to whatever your favorite language is.

+ (CGPoint) edgeOfView: (UIView*) view atAngle: (float) theta
{
    // Move theta to range -M_PI .. M_PI
    const double twoPI = M_PI * 2.;
    while (theta < -M_PI)
    {
        theta += twoPI;
    }

    while (theta > M_PI)
    {
        theta -= twoPI;
    }

    // find edge ofview
    // Ref: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4061576/finding-points-on-a-rectangle-at-a-given-angle
    float aa = view.bounds.size.width;                                          // "a" in the diagram
    float bb = view.bounds.size.height;                                         // "b"

    // Find our region (diagram)
    float rectAtan = atan2f(bb, aa);
    float tanTheta = tan(theta);

    int region;
    if ((theta > -rectAtan)
    &&  (theta <= rectAtan) )
    {
        region = 1;
    }
    else if ((theta >  rectAtan)
    &&       (theta <= (M_PI - rectAtan)) )
    {
        region = 2;
    }
    else if ((theta >   (M_PI - rectAtan))
    ||       (theta <= -(M_PI - rectAtan)) )
    {
        region = 3;
    }
    else
    {
        region = 4;
    }

    CGPoint edgePoint = view.center;
    float xFactor = 1;
    float yFactor = 1;

    switch (region)
    {
        case 1: yFactor = -1;       break;
        case 2: yFactor = -1;       break;
        case 3: xFactor = -1;       break;
        case 4: xFactor = -1;       break;
    }

    if ((region == 1)
    ||  (region == 3) )
    {
        edgePoint.x += xFactor * (aa / 2.);                                     // "Z0"
        edgePoint.y += yFactor * (aa / 2.) * tanTheta;
    }
    else                                                                        // region 2 or 4
    {
        edgePoint.x += xFactor * (bb / (2. * tanTheta));                        // "Z1"
        edgePoint.y += yFactor * (bb /  2.);
    }

    return edgePoint;
}

In addition, here's a little test-view I created to verify that it works. Create this view and put it somewhere, it will make another little view scoot around the edge.

@interface DebugEdgeView()
{
    int degrees;
    UIView *dotView;
    NSTimer *timer;
}

@end

@implementation DebugEdgeView

- (void) dealloc
{
    [timer invalidate];
}


- (id) initWithFrame: (CGRect) frame
{
    self = [super initWithFrame: frame];
    if (self)
    {
        self.backgroundColor = [[UIColor magentaColor] colorWithAlphaComponent: 0.25];
        degrees = 0;
        self.clipsToBounds = NO;

        // create subview dot
        CGRect dotRect = CGRectMake(frame.size.width / 2., frame.size.height / 2., 20, 20);
        dotView = [[DotView alloc] initWithFrame: dotRect];
        dotView.backgroundColor = [UIColor magentaColor];
        [self addSubview: dotView];

        // move it around our edges
        timer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval: (5. / 360.)
                                                 target: self
                                               selector: @selector(timerFired:)
                                               userInfo: nil
                                                repeats: YES];
    }

    return self;
}


- (void) timerFired: (NSTimer*) timer
{
    float radians = ++degrees * M_PI / 180.;
    if (degrees > 360)
    {
        degrees -= 360;
    }

    dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
        CGPoint edgePoint = [MFUtils edgeOfView: self atAngle: radians];
        edgePoint.x += (self.bounds.size.width  / 2.) - self.center.x;
        edgePoint.y += (self.bounds.size.height / 2.) - self.center.y;
        dotView.center = edgePoint;
    });
}

@end

Answer 4

Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) C++ Version.

Note: This is based off of Olie's Code. Based on Belisarius's Answer. Give those guys upvotes if this helps you.

Changes: Uses UE4 syntax and functions, and Angle is negated.

Header

UFUNCTION(BlueprintCallable, meta = (DisplayName = "Project To Rectangle Edge (Radians)"), Category = "Math|Geometry")
static void ProjectToRectangleEdgeRadians(FVector2D Extents, float Angle, FVector2D & EdgeLocation);

Code

void UFunctionLibrary::ProjectToRectangleEdgeRadians(FVector2D Extents, float Angle, FVector2D & EdgeLocation)
{
    // Move theta to range -M_PI .. M_PI. Also negate the angle to work as expected.
    float theta = FMath::UnwindRadians(-Angle);

    // Ref: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4061576/finding-points-on-a-rectangle-at-a-given-angle
    float a = Extents.X; // "a" in the diagram | Width
    float b = Extents.Y; // "b"                | Height

    // Find our region (diagram)
    float rectAtan = FMath::Atan2(b, a);
    float tanTheta = FMath::Tan(theta);

    int region;
    if ((theta > -rectAtan) && (theta <= rectAtan))
    {
        region = 1;
    }
    else if ((theta > rectAtan) && (theta <= (PI - rectAtan)))
    {
        region = 2;
    }
    else if ((theta > (PI - rectAtan)) || (theta <= -(PI - rectAtan)))
    {
        region = 3;
    }
    else
    {
        region = 4;
    }

    float xFactor = 1.f;
    float yFactor = 1.f;

    switch (region)
    {
        case 1: yFactor = -1; break;
        case 2: yFactor = -1; break;
        case 3: xFactor = -1; break;
        case 4: xFactor = -1; break;
    }

    EdgeLocation = FVector2D(0.f, 0.f); // This rese is nessesary, UE might re-use otherwise. 

    if (region == 1 || region == 3)
    {
        EdgeLocation.X += xFactor * (a / 2.f);              // "Z0"
        EdgeLocation.Y += yFactor * (a / 2.f) * tanTheta;
    }
    else // region 2 or 4
    {
        EdgeLocation.X += xFactor * (b / (2.f * tanTheta)); // "Z1"
        EdgeLocation.Y += yFactor * (b / 2.f);
    }
}

Answer 5

There's a good (more programmatic iOS / Objective-C) answer to this question at Find the CGPoint on a UIView rectangle intersected by a straight line at a given angle from the center point involving the following steps:

1. Assume that the angle is greater than or equal to 0 and less than 2*π, going counterclockwise from 0 (East).
2. Get the y coordinate of the intersection with the right edge of the rectangle [tan(angle)*width/2].
3. Check whether this y coordinate is in the rectangle frame (absolute value less than or equal to half the height).
4. If the y intersection is in the rectangle, then if the angle is less than π/2 or greater than 3π/2 choose the right edge (width/2, -y coord). Otherwise choose the left edge (-width/2, y coord).
5. If the y coordinate of the right edge intersection was out-of-bounds, calculate the x coordinate of the intersection with the bottom edge [half the height/tan(angle)].
6. Next determine whether you want the top edge or the bottom edge. If the angle is less than π, we want the bottom edge (x, -half the height). Otherwise, we want the top edge (-x coord, half the height).
7. Then (if the center of the frame is not 0,0), offset the point by the actual center of the frame.

Answer 6

For Java, LibGDX. I've let the angle be a double to increase precision.

public static Vector2 projectToRectEdge(double angle, float width, float height, Vector2 out)
{
    return projectToRectEdgeRad(Math.toRadians(angle), width, height, out);
}

public static Vector2 projectToRectEdgeRad(double angle, float width, float height, Vector2 out)
{
    float theta = negMod((float)angle + MathUtils.PI, MathUtils.PI2) - MathUtils.PI;

    float diag = MathUtils.atan2(height, width);
    float tangent = (float)Math.tan(angle);

    if (theta > -diag && theta <= diag)
    {
        out.x = width / 2f;
        out.y = width / 2f * tangent;
    }
    else if(theta > diag && theta <= MathUtils.PI - diag)
    {
        out.x = height / 2f / tangent;
        out.y = height / 2f;
    }
    else if(theta > MathUtils.PI - diag && theta <= MathUtils.PI + diag)
    {
        out.x = -width / 2f;
        out.y = -width / 2f * tangent;
    }
    else
    {
        out.x = -height / 2f / tangent;
        out.y = -height / 2f;
    }

    return out;
}