Moving Objects in 3D and locking axis of movement

[Michael Siggers]

Hi

 

Slowly getting to grips with Vectorworks, and currently in the middle of my First Project using it.

 

However, I am really struggling with moving objects in 3D, and constraining to either X, Y, or Z axis. The guide states to hold the Shift Key, but I can honestly say this makes no difference and does NOT lock the axis. I am used to using Sketchup where pressing one of the arrow keys locks the axis of movement. I am simply trying to move a line along the X axis so that it sits on the face of a 3D object.

 

Some forum posts mention pressing the 'T' key to lock the axis, but this activates the Trim command.

 

Any help would be appreciated. It's these little things which frustrate me.

 

Mike

[Jeff Prince]

Have you watched the Core Associate training videos on Vectorworks University?  There’s a whole section there on how snaps work.  Pretty sure they covered the hot keys, modifiers, and temporary suspension of snaps.  A little time invested in training will eliminate hours of frustration.

[Andy Broomell]

But let's not gaslight him...

 

Vectorworks is NOT great in this respect. It's not possible to lock an axis of 3D movement in the same easy way that any other modern 3D program does such as SketchUp or Blender. 

 

The "T" thing sometimes works if you happen to be able to reliably move on that axis for a bit without other snaps getting in the way. But any sort of complex scene and this isn't really helpful and rarely works. (By the way, Mike, I'm guessing you're using a customized workspace which is why T is Trim for you. To see what key you should use instead or to set one up, go to Tools > Workspaces > Edit Current Workspace, go to "Keys" tab and enter a key for "Set Smart Point, Edge, or Vector Snap Lock.")

 

That being said, Vectorworks desperately needs to add:

1) a 3D dragger for basic moving of objects in 3D space (I've heard talk of this happening in the future), and also

2) hotkeys to lock the movement to an axis without having to click on said dragger (like the arrow keys in SketchUp, or x y z keys in Blender). Sadly I haven't heard talk of this happening, but it's been often requested, and will be the only way Vectorworks will ever be taken seriously as a 3D app.

 

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Andy Broomell

[rDesign]

Vw2023 SP3 did introduce the 3D Dragger to more objects like NURBS curves and 3D polygon based objects. That functionality has not been extended to all objects, but hopefully it will be.

 

https://university.vectorworks.net/mod/overview/view.php?id=5183

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

That is a great improvement and function.  I declined 2023 as I would have had to upgrade my OS.  If I known this, I would have upgraded.

[Elite Exhibits]

Look at this Thread in the Forum Restrict object move to one 3D direction

 

I use what Eliot Hartzler described. 

 

As Andy notes, VW still needs a real tool to do this

 

Peter

 

[Jeff Prince]

1 hour ago, Andy Broomell said:

But let's not gaslight him...

 

Vectorworks could improve a lot of things, but object snaps is not one I have any difficulty with.

 

Holding shift locks you onto the X,Y, or Z axis.

Clicking 'T' locks you onto a variety of objects and gives a nice visual display of the extension line.

It works along a line, arc, and even a 3D poly.

 

Here's a video of activating the Smart Edge with 'T' to activate extension line snapping.

 

It doesn't get much easier, but a 3D dragger would be nice 🙂

 

 

 

[Elite Exhibits]

FYI

 

My take on the New 3D Dragger ? ... interesting, though it is seen as a tool that does NOT add to our workflow.

 

Peter

[Michael Siggers]

Many thanks for the replies.

 

Disabling the Angle Snaps has made it a lot easier.

 

Mike

[zoomer]

57 minutes ago, Michael Siggers said:

Disabling the Angle Snaps has made it a lot easier.

 

I have not disabled them.

I think they are essential.

But I restricted them to 90°.

[zoomer]

1 hour ago, jeff prince said:

Clicking 'T' locks you onto a variety of objects and gives a nice visual display of the extension line.

 

And that is the problem of the "T", my only straw in the water.

 

It seems to be mostly meant as a way to grab an angle of an element

to give a helper line to snap too.

On the other hand it is the only possibility to restrict to a single Axis in 3D

(thank god 2D Plan View allows reliable restriction to XY at least. But what

 about a "Side Plan XZ or YZ ?)

 

And if you find a clean space in your drawing, you can use "T" to lock to an axis

in 3D (= any non 2D Plan View = orthogonal, isometric or perspective))

pretty ok.

It is unreliable though, once you zoom too much in your view and it may lose focus.

[zoomer]

3 hours ago, Andy Broomell said:

a 3D dragger for .... everything !

 

I postulated that in VW 2014 already,

before there was any hint of a Sub D Tool coming.

Explained 3D Gizmos in 3D Apps.

With VW's SubD invention I immediately postulated the Gizmo

has to be overall and anywhere.

 

These and related things and much more I get offered in Bricscad first.

The "Manipulator" is offered anywhere, when you click selection a bit longer,

of course you can customize that timeframe in milliseconds.

It can Move, (Copy or Scale if you wish) and as in SubD you can reposition it,

rotate it, ....

(and it will appear auto oriented (same as Auto Plane) according to the angle of

the special Edge plus Face plane you entered the Object before selecting it)

 

Of course that 3D Gizmo has to be available anywhere.

 

If there are any patent issues (Accu Draw compass in MS) I have some

understanding. If just internal organization or priority, maybe less patience.

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by zoomer

[Michael Siggers]

29 minutes ago, zoomer said:

 

I have not disabled them.

I think they are essential.

But I restricted them to 90°.

Hi @zoomer

 

Yes, forgot to mention, I have restricted them to 90 degrees.

 

Mike

[Jeff Prince]

40 minutes ago, zoomer said:

 

And that is the problem of the "T", my only straw in the water.

 

It seems to be mostly meant as a way to grab an angle of an element

to give a helper line to snap too.

On the other hand it is the only possibility to restrict to a single Axis in 3D

(thank god 2D Plan View allows reliable restriction to XY at least. But what

 about a "Side Plan XZ or YZ ?)

 

And if you find a clean space in your drawing, you can use "T" to lock to an axis

in 3D (= any non 2D Plan View = orthogonal, isometric or perspective))

pretty ok.

It is unreliable though, once you zoom too much in your view and it may lose focus.

 

I guess I'm not understanding the problem.

 

"T" and helper geometry is a typical situation for me as I keep my layout geometry such as axis used to layout and build shapes.

I think this is pretty typical in other disciplines too like mechanical design and a center axis of a jet engine or in Architecture with a radial grid for a building.

 

"Shift" locks you to the XYZ of the current working plane

 

"Working Plane" give you the ability to alter the XY plane to any orientation and then use Shift to move in relationship to those axis.

 

"Clip Cube" to help isolate the object you are interested in, and then temporarily moving them to a different Design Layer (or use a "hide/unhide" tool) to carry out operations that would be otherwise too cluttered in their normal context.

 

Is there a situation where this is not enough?

[zoomer]

Usually I may have a crowded drawing and it may often hard to access "T" in general.

As I said I often lose "T" lock when zooming to my second snap point too much.

Activating perfect Clip Cube may be a bit tedious.

Setting a custom user workplane too.

 

In Microstation, how ever crowded the drawing, I could just move the cursor 

roughly in the right direction -  press Enter to (100% reliably) lock both other Axis,

do whatever view navigation I want and snap to another point.

 

E.g. SHIFT works great and super reliable for Walls (only ...)

 

VW is by far not the most bad CAD App in offering Axis constraints.

Overall I feel quite save in VW. But I have seen better though ....

But there already chimed in a 3D Gizmo, offering true Axis lock reliability (?)

finally extending to other tools, but the goal is, and how long will it take,

to appear everywhere ?

[Tobias Kern]

Hi,

the way Sketchup handle lockings, is for me personally the best way

that I have tried until today.

 

The 3D-Dragger is also a good choice, with more potential (e.g. scaling, …)

 

I would love to see both solutions in VW.

 

Greetings

Tobi