I've been keeping a list of all the things that I'd like to see changed or improved. I'm a structural engineer, so these items relate to my engineering work:
1. Beam diagrams with accurate, scaled load graph at the top. The current diagram shows only load locations with no values.
2. Today I tried to add dimensions as annotations to an isometric detail. The results were unfortunately incorrect. I would think you could scale the dimension value to fit the model, knowing that it's a standard isometric view. Alternatively, you could provide a scale factor in the Info box for the dimension that would allow us to correct for the angle of projection.
3. I like to draw my models at full scale (1:1), use viewports to create individual views to scale for my drawing sheets, and then dimension and annotate the viewports to produce the final details. So even though the dimension tool snaps to the viewport objects, the dimensions don't associate and won't automatically change size. I would like the dimensions to remember the points that they snapped to when dimensioning objects in viewports.
4. The break line tool produces a break line that does not obscure anything behind it. So if I put it on the edge of a rectangle, the rectangle still shows a continuous line through the break line. Could we have the break line produce a "white line" to obscure any continuous line behind it? Also, could we arrange to have the triangle inside an object white filled, and the triangle outside the object to match the hatch of the object?
5. I know how to copy model layers between drawings, but I use a lot of letter sized sheets where almost everything is the same from project to project. I'd like to be able to copy the model layer and the sheet with all the viewports for that layer into a new drawing file. At present, I'm putting all these sheets in separate files but then I have to duplicate the title block information in each VW file and I can't use Batch Print because they are in different files.
6. Add to fasteners:
1. Hilti Kwik Bolts or other generic wedge anchor,
2. Generic threaded rod
7. The page border can display a grid to help organize details. But I've noticed that the title block can take up a fraction of one gridded area, so we don't know directly how much to adjust the positioning of details within the remaining area. Could we have the title block area excluded from the grid? I'd like only the area outside the title block to show the grid outside the border.
8. When I override a linear dimension, it's easy enough to enter a " in the dimension field. How do I enter a degree symbol when I override an angular dimension?
9. Title blocks often have a field for CAD Filename. How about making it enter the file name automatically?
10. I often dimension specific distances on a building plan or elevation, but it is not necessarily associated. Then I want to create a worksheet having those dimensions. There does not seem to be a function to obtain a dimension length. If I use "=length" in a worksheet, I get the overall length including the slashes if in Arch format. So I usually change the dimensions to ASME format so the "length" is equal to the dimension value. This is kind of hokey because all the other dimensions will be in Arch format. It would be nice to be able to get more of the items on the object info pallet into worksheets.
11. If I use a spreadsheet to make a database of objects, and then use MAX to find the largest value in the database, I get the summation of the items, not the largest individual item. This makes MAX useless. Have not tried "min" or others, but they probably do the same.
I've been using this product since it was called MiniCad 4+. So it must be great or I would have moved on. Thanks for your consideration!
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WilliamK
I've been keeping a list of all the things that I'd like to see changed or improved. I'm a structural engineer, so these items relate to my engineering work:
1. Beam diagrams with accurate, scaled load graph at the top. The current diagram shows only load locations with no values.
2. Today I tried to add dimensions as annotations to an isometric detail. The results were unfortunately incorrect. I would think you could scale the dimension value to fit the model, knowing that it's a standard isometric view. Alternatively, you could provide a scale factor in the Info box for the dimension that would allow us to correct for the angle of projection.
3. I like to draw my models at full scale (1:1), use viewports to create individual views to scale for my drawing sheets, and then dimension and annotate the viewports to produce the final details. So even though the dimension tool snaps to the viewport objects, the dimensions don't associate and won't automatically change size. I would like the dimensions to remember the points that they snapped to when dimensioning objects in viewports.
4. The break line tool produces a break line that does not obscure anything behind it. So if I put it on the edge of a rectangle, the rectangle still shows a continuous line through the break line. Could we have the break line produce a "white line" to obscure any continuous line behind it? Also, could we arrange to have the triangle inside an object white filled, and the triangle outside the object to match the hatch of the object?
5. I know how to copy model layers between drawings, but I use a lot of letter sized sheets where almost everything is the same from project to project. I'd like to be able to copy the model layer and the sheet with all the viewports for that layer into a new drawing file. At present, I'm putting all these sheets in separate files but then I have to duplicate the title block information in each VW file and I can't use Batch Print because they are in different files.
6. Add to fasteners:
1. Hilti Kwik Bolts or other generic wedge anchor,
2. Generic threaded rod
7. The page border can display a grid to help organize details. But I've noticed that the title block can take up a fraction of one gridded area, so we don't know directly how much to adjust the positioning of details within the remaining area. Could we have the title block area excluded from the grid? I'd like only the area outside the title block to show the grid outside the border.
8. When I override a linear dimension, it's easy enough to enter a " in the dimension field. How do I enter a degree symbol when I override an angular dimension?
9. Title blocks often have a field for CAD Filename. How about making it enter the file name automatically?
10. I often dimension specific distances on a building plan or elevation, but it is not necessarily associated. Then I want to create a worksheet having those dimensions. There does not seem to be a function to obtain a dimension length. If I use "=length" in a worksheet, I get the overall length including the slashes if in Arch format. So I usually change the dimensions to ASME format so the "length" is equal to the dimension value. This is kind of hokey because all the other dimensions will be in Arch format. It would be nice to be able to get more of the items on the object info pallet into worksheets.
11. If I use a spreadsheet to make a database of objects, and then use MAX to find the largest value in the database, I get the summation of the items, not the largest individual item. This makes MAX useless. Have not tried "min" or others, but they probably do the same.
I've been using this product since it was called MiniCad 4+. So it must be great or I would have moved on. Thanks for your consideration!
--Bill
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