The ultimate guide and construction point guide

I'm a addicted fan of this marvel of programs and enjoy using it almost daily. It helps me visualize designs ideas and concepts very easily and fast. It has a suprisingly intuitive interface not like any other 3D programs out there. But there is one dark cloud that shadows this shiny beast. The Tape Measure tool... This one gives me so many frustrating moments and sometimes its logic seems totally incomprehensible. This guide is somehow a collection of these moments that will hopefully hold me sane and help me remember how the he** did I do that the last time.

So this is also a guide on how to NOT design an intuitive tool, but I have a proposal for a better tool concept in the end.

It is by far any complete guide since there are countless dark logic corners in the Tape Measure tool.

This is made in the hope it might be useful and save some frustrating moments. Also a plea to make a better tool next release.

Making construction points that follows any direction and end in the air, on a face, line or edge (except midpoint or endpoints):

Starting from an endpoint, corner, face center point or construction point:

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it on

3. Left-click to mark the start point

4. Move mouse pointer to the desired length and direction

5. Left-click

Variant using the VCB:

1. Make steps 1-3 above

2. Move mouse pointer in the desired direction

3. Manually type the length on the keyboard and press ENTER

Starting in the air, on an edge, line or face (except midpoint):

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is not visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it off

3. Left-click to mark the start point

4. Move mouse in any direction until the line turns blue, green or red

5. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

6. Move back to the initial point, make sure the length is zero in VCB

7. Without moving the mouse double left click

8. Release the SHIFT-key

9. Move mouse pointer to the desired length and direction

10. Left-click

Variant using the VCB:

1. Make step 1-8 as above

2. Move mouse pointer in the desired direction

3. Manually type the length on the keyboard and press ENTER

Starting from an edge or line in the midpoint:

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is not visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it off

3. Left-click to mark the start point

4. Move mouse in any direction except in the edge orientation until the line turns blue, green or red

5. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

6. Left-click

7. Move to one of the endpoints on the edge or line

8. Left-click

9. Release the SHIFT-key

10. Move mouse pointer to the desired length and direction

11. Left-click

Variant using the VCB:

1. Make step 1-9 as above

2. Move mouse pointer in the desired direction

3. Manually type the length on the keyboard and press ENTER

Making infinite guides

Following a line or edge:

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it on

3. Move mouse pointer to the line or edge except on the endpoints and make sure no snapping guides is visible.

4. Without moving the mouse double left click

Parallel to a line or edge:

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it on

3. Move mouse pointer to the line or edge except on the endpoints and make sure no snapping guides are visible.

4. Left-click

5. Move mouse pointer and the parallel line to the desired location

6. Left-click

Parallel to a face (locked in the axis orientation):

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Left-click to mark the start point

3. Move mouse pointer in the desired direction until the line turns red, green or blue

4. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

5. Double left-click

6. Move mouse pointer in any opposite direction until the end arrow is marked by a little red square

7. Left-click

8. Release the SHIFT-key

Parallel to a face in any direction:

1. Select the Protractor tool

2. Left-click to mark the start point anywhere on the face, make sure that the tool does not tilt on the edges

3. Move the mouse pointer in any direction except the desired

4. Left-click

5. Move the mouse pointer in the desired direction

6. Left-click

Perpendicular (90 degree) to a line or edge:

1. Select the Protractor tool

2. Click and hold left mouse button to mark the start point anywhere on the line

3. Move the mouse pointer along the line or edge

4. Release the left mouse button

5. Move the mouse pointer in any direction except the desired

6. Left-click

7. Move the mouse pointer in the desired direction

8. Left-click

Perpendicular (90 degree) to a face:

1. Select the Protractor tool

2. Click and hold left mouse button to mark the start point anywhere on the face

3. Move the mouse pointer along the face in any direction

4. Release the left mouse button

5. Move the mouse pointer again along the face in any direction

6. Left-click

7. Move the mouse pointer so the line points 90 degrees from the face

8. Left-click

Starting on a corner, endpoint, face center point, construction point or snapped guidepoint except on lines or midpoints (locked in the axis directions):

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it on

3. Left click to mark the start point

4. Move mouse pointer in the desired direction until the line turns red, green or blue

5. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

6. Move mouse pointer outside the face and away from the line until the end arrow is marked by a little red square

7. Left-click

8. Release the SHIFT-key

Starting on a corner, endpoint, face center point, construction point or snapped guidepoint except on lines or midpoints (ending locked by various snapped guide point, except endpoints or construction points):

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it on

3. Left-click to mark the start point

4. Move mouse pointer to the desired snapping guide

5. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

6. Move mouse pointer away from the line until the end arrow is marked by a little red square

7. Left-click

8. Release the SHIFT-key

Starting from a midpoint on an edge or line (locked in the axis orientation):

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Make sure the + is not visible on the mouse pointer, if not press the CTRL-key to toggle it off

3. Left-click to mark the start point

4. Move mouse in any direction except in the edge orientation until the line turns blue, green or red

5. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

6. Left double click

7. Move mouse pointer away from the line until the end arrow is marked by a little red square

8. Left-click

9. Release the SHIFT-key

Starting on a face except on edges (ending locked by various snapped guide point, except endpoints or construction points):

1. Select the Tape Measure tool

2. Left click to mark the start point

3. Move mouse in any direction until the line turns blue, green or red

4. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

5. Move back to the initial point, make sure the length is zero in VCB

6. Without moving the mouse double left click

7. Release the SHIFT-key

8. Move mouse pointer to the desired direction or point (axes, or vaurious snapping guides, except endpoints and construction points)

9. Press and hold down the SHIFT-key

10. Move mouse pointer away from the line until the end arrow is marked by a little red square, make sure the line does not glide away from the desired point

11. Left-click

12. Release the SHIFT-key

This is what I've found out so far, after countless hours of trial and error I might add. Help and correct me if there is some better way to do it.

Proposal to a new and improved toolset:

The Tape Measure tool really needs to be split into two new tools:

a Guide tool and a Point tool. Each tool will have three modes of operation (preferably toggled by the CTRL-key):

1. normal point-to-point mode let me place guides or construction lines like drawing a normal line.

2. parallel mode (noted by a '=' sign) lets the guides or construction points lines become parallel to a plane, edge or line

3. perpendicular mode (noted by a 'T' sign) lets the guides or construction points lines become perpendicular (90 degrees) to a plane, edge or line

May these tools never ever deny me the right to place a guide or point at the shown place. Let me place construction points without a distance, preferably by double-clicking using the Point tool. Apply all the fancy automatic snapping features that are so addictive. I think this would cover 99% of the usage and be much more intuitive and faster.

I Hope the involved see this as constructive criticism, and I don't mean to step on anybody's toes, but here you have it. Please make the best of it and keep up the good work.

Ryde et al,

You may be delighted to learn that there is a Ruby script that turns ordinary lines into construction lines (now known as "guides")

available for free download at Smustard at

http://www.smustard.com/script/Xline

The ruby is called Xline.rb.

Now you can use all the inferencing tricks available for lines and edges to create guides.

-Gully

edit 8/2/21: TIG's xLine2Line makes xlines into lines.

Yes, used it a couple of times, when I, in frustration reverted to draw a line. But it lack infinite guide support. It also have problems with edges as the face will be destryed when converted to a construction line. It is also somewhat bulky when I need to draw a line select it, then convert it (maby not compared to the tape measure but that tool did'nt have to be that way in the first place).

Thanks anyway

Ryde,

It would help if you can give a specific, simplified example demonstrating the cause of your frustration.

Ryde,

I was just thinking that between the out-of-the-box functionality of guides and c-points and the added capabilities of being able to turn a line into an x-line, you must be 90 percent of the way to where you want to be. (Obviously, if you need to preserve a particular face, don't turn its edges into guides.)

Personally, I'd like to see the SU developers concentrate on some areas of functionality that are missing altogether, such as a Loft tool, or a 3D Deformation Envelope tool.

-Gully

Jim,

My guide was a collection of these moments (except the obvious ones).

But you can have a simple example:

Draw a line, make one construction point 10 mm above midpoint (solution #6 in my list).

Gully,

Well, yes, I think I'm able to get it to work in most situations (sometimes very inconveniently, but yes). But I'm not entirely convinced that the "microsoft style" of development of adding features after features before fixing functionality of core components is the best choice. But that's just me, and I'm not an pro or advanced user who might need the fuctionality you mention (I don't even know what it is).