direction snap while drawing a line (like rhino)?

[stefan_laub]

Hi dear Formz Team,

 

i am a very old formz user from v2.x times, and after many years are pleased to come back, the v8.6 proofs very nice so far and i like it much and can imagine to use it for many modelling tasks here, for which i used rhino over the last years. many things i feel are actually better solved in formZ (rounding, work flow, interactive work planes etc) with also V-Ray coming to formZ i can imagine it gets more attraction again and you did a great job with v8,6- so thanks a lot for it!

 

one question i have though after testing if it fits as my tool set:

a<feature i i am very used to at modelling, and which i cannot find in formZ is how i can look the current direction of a line or like moving objects etc (not the length only the direction)

 

this is one of the most important rhino commands used all time. there it works simply by hitting the "tab" key.

 

is this feature somewhere available in formZ?

i found many great snapping features, but this basic one seems missing yet, or do i just oversee it?

 

i try to give an example:

i draw a line in a free angle(not via numeric input)

then i would like to lock exact this angle, to have the directions, but be able to snap to other points or objects(that might not be in exact line direction where i am drawing.

 

the closest i found is at extruding a shape, where i can keep that vertical but still can snap to other object point on the side to get the right high interactively. but this seems not possible for other operations

 

this is a very intuitive tool and speeds up modelling a lot. i see how i can make temporary guidelines to other objects, but not how to make the for the direction of the current operation.

 

i hope i did explain it ok enough so it is understandable?

 

thanks for help!

 

best greetings

Stefan

 

p.s if that not exist this would be a big feature request from my side:)

attached a simple example from rhino. this is in axis directions but that also works in free angles or vertical to plane there which is very helpfull

[Des]

Hi Stefan,

The cursor will automatically stick along the Guide Snap line (dotted lines when you draw something) if you hold the shift key down.

Then you can snap to points or whatever along the original guide line similar to what you described above..

 

Des

[stefan_laub]

thanks for answering!,

the problem is that there is no guideline yet when i draw a new line or move an object interactive.

 

 

the question is exactly if there is a feature or shortcut how to get a guideline at the current direction i am working on

 

shift only locks here to vertical or horizontal lines and not keeps it locked when i snap to an object on the side p.e

 

cheers

+Stefan

[stefan_laub]

p.s what i mean is a reallysimple direction lock.

 

it works in rhino like:

 

i start drawing a line(or start moving an object), then hit "tab" abnd the current direction is locked.

i can still  move it along the line to set the lenght of the4 line or the move p.e

 

 

thats mainly what i search for.

 

formZ has many complex plane and guidelocks, but i miss this simple one(hope i over see it)

[setz]

Currently, if the ortho guides switch is turned on you can hold down shift and the direction will be locked allowing you to snap to other objects as in the image below.  Having a way to lock this (without having to holding shift) would be beneficial in certain situations and would be a welcome addition.

[palarsen]

Guide lock works fine in principle. But it has an annoying bug: Holding the shift key will NOT lock to an ortogonal snap guide if there is some model geometry aligned and overlapping the guide. You'll have to zoom out and find a place in the window where the guide is not covered by an overlapping edge, and then lock to the guide, and then snap to the distant point, or whatever is the desired reference. I can find no reason for this behaviour. Locking to guide with shift should be strong. Not weak!

[setz]

I heartily agree the geometry overlap is an annoying issue that should be high on the list for ADS to address.

[palarsen]

When you draw a line, all sorts of helping guides are applied while drawing. You can for example continue to draw in the same direction if you place a point and want to continue in the same direction. Use the object doctor when finished to eliminate colinear segments (remove that extra point)

So this is a workaround. Holding shift while snapping to a point could have the effect to create a temporary guide, just like the one you get if you actually click to draw the point. Helpful, speedy, and typical for cad drawing

[palarsen]

Oh. And of course also while moving!