# VASSAL Reference Manual

Home > Module > Game Piece Palette > Game Piece > Marker

## Place Marker

A Game Piece with this trait will have a menu command that places a different piece (the "marker") on at the same location as this one. You can select any existing piece for the marker or define a new one from scratch. A new piece will be placed each time this trait is activated.
NOTE: This trait should not be confused with the Marker trait which allows a piece to be assigned a Property with a static constant value.
Description: A brief description of this trait that will appear in the Piece Definer window.
Command: The right-click context menu entry for this trait, if desired. If left blank, this trait will not produce a context menu item but may still be activated by the Key Command, below.
Keyboard Command: A keyboard shortcut or Named Key Command to initiate placing a new piece.
Define Marker: Use the Define Marker button to open a Piece Definer to create a new definition of the marker from scratch.
Select: Use the Select button to use the definition from an existing piece in the module. This acts as a pointer to an existing definition: if the original piece is changed, the piece created by the Place Marker trait will also change.
Horizontal offset: The new piece will be placed this many pixels to the right of the original piece. Any value other than zero will prevent the new piece from stacking with the original piece.
Vertical offset: The new piece will be placed this many pixels above the original piece. Any value other than zero will prevent the new piece from stacking with the original piece.
Match Rotation: If selected, and both the original piece and the new piece have the Can Rotate trait, then the rotation angle of the new piece will be adjusted to match that of the original piece.
Place marker: Choose whether the new piece should be placed on the top of this piece's stack, on the bottom, or directly above/below the triggering piece.
Keystroke to apply after placement: Optional key command or Named Key Command to be applied automatically to the new piece immediately after being placed. This Key Command can be used to activate a trait in the new piece, for example to move it to a different location.
EXAMPLE: If a game uses a fortification counter to indicate fortified status of an army counter, this trait could be given to the army counter to place a fortification marker on the army with the right-click context menu or a keyboard shortcut, as an alternative to dragging the a fortification counter from the Game Piece Palette.
SEE ALSO: Replace with Other trait.