Flip, Flap, Flop

[Benson Shaw]

OK, getting used to new OS and vwx2015.

1st wish of the new version:

Tools which provide a protractor to define a user plane often cannot find the normal to a surface. A guide object has to be added to accomplish the normals. I wish for a keystroke or other control to flip, then flop if needed, the protractor through it's 90° plane rotations to set it normal to the easy to find planes. Normal plane should until the protractor is pinned, tool direction/axis is set, and the tool action is complete.

Example shows intended bend of the green planar object. Prior to placing the brown guide object, hovering the protractor around the green surface and its edges produced options on or parallel to the xy plane, and xz plane, but none normal to the xz plane.

2nd wish to correct a Minor Annoyance:

I keep my OS dock on the right side, auto hide. VWX pref for palette margins is set to Both Sides. New drawings emerge with drawing occupying entire screen, palettes both sides concealing portions of the drawing. I wish the palette margin setting was effective. (I know, use a template).

-B

Edited October 9, 2014 by Benson Shaw

[Kevin McAllister]

+1 to all of this...

KM

[Bruce Kieffer]

Benson,

I'm all in with your 2nd wish. I too keep my dock on the right, but not auto hide. When opening Vectorworks files, the main window will almost always bypass the right palette margins and go to the edge of the dock. This has been a problem for a long time.

[PVA - Admin]

2nd wish to correct a Minor Annoyance:

I keep my OS dock on the right side, auto hide. VWX pref for palette margins is set to Both Sides. New drawings emerge with drawing occupying entire screen, palettes both sides concealing portions of the drawing. I wish the palette margin setting was effective. (I know, use a template).

Benson,

I'm all in with your 2nd wish. I too keep my dock on the right, but not auto hide. When opening Vectorworks files, the main window will almost always bypass the right palette margins and go to the edge of the dock. This has been a problem for a long time.

This has been driving me nuts for a long time, especially since I reset all of my VW prefs nearly every day for troubleshooting, I'll add this thread to that request.

Submitting first request now, excellent suggestion.

[Kevin McAllister]

The first request sort of ties in to a bigger issue - the VW programming needs to have a sense of intuition. I'm not sure how else to communicate it. VW seems to mostly default to the opposite of what I want to do in 3d. The rotate tool is a prime example. Often I want to rotate things around an axis (ie. perpendicular to a surface) rather than on a surface. Everything in VW focusses on doing things on a surface. Not sure how to fix it, but it definitely is a problem, which would solve Benson's issue and a lot of others.

KM

[Benson Shaw]

VW seems to mostly default to the opposite of what I want to do

I get that feeling, too! Probably not every time, but it is definitely noticeable. I chalked it up to being left handed, or karmic debt payment:

• Add spline vertices to a polyline w/ reshape tool - which side of exist point will it land? Will next added point land on same side?

• EAP - Is the profile flipped? located as desired? Did the tool invert my intended path/profile choices and obscure them both with the dialog box?

• Tangents - well, not opposite, but almost anywhere other than intended tan.

• Normals - often can't find desired normal.

• Extract or shell surface - Can't get to those occluded ones (maybe in v2015. Haven't tested yet.)

• Flyover to align a perspective view along the horizon - just about there, and it zips past the target view.

• Look at Working Plane - it picks the underneath side?

• 3d views, OGL - ambient light shades the near side (maybe that works best?).

• whine whine whine. I sound like an ingrate!

For all that, vwx works REALLY well. These are details of "working my way", and require experience to overcome. Ironic sometimes, annoying, but manageable.

-B

[Kevin McAllister]

Benson,

That's a pretty great list. I've encountered all of those idiosyncrasies and thought the same thing. I was probably supposed to be left handed (my father is left handed and I do lots of things equally well with both hands) but I doubt that's why they don't feel right....

Kevin

[zoomer]

+ 1

[VincentCuclair]

Tools which provide a protractor to define a user plane often cannot find the normal to a surface. I wish for a keystroke or other control to flip, then flop if needed, the protractor through it's 90° plane rotations to set it normal to the easy to find planes.

https://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=203301#Post203301

I think these 2 should be considered as the same issue.

I propose an enhancement in 3D snapping to enable this.

I suggest a sticky 'orientation' snapping function where, when active, selected object planes and/or edges align with any and all available planes and edges that are encountered?

[Benson Shaw]

Nice. Sticky is good.

I still wish for a key or other function to force the "flip" and lock it until dismissed.

Similar to Shift key for 2d lock on x or y directions.

Reminds me. Add to my list above:

• Elongate a rectangle in x or y direction. Press shift to lock the axis - Doh! it rescales symmetrically in x and y (locked to 45°)!

-B

[zoomer]

Similar to Shift key for 2d lock on x or y directions.

That does not work for me.

It unlocks as soon as I move some degrees from the current angle.

I think it is very important to have a working lock to move in

one axis only.

Beside that I think that in an orthogonal view, the snap should

never jump to the third Dimension that you can't control at all.

Just in non orthogonal views only (optional).

Edited October 10, 2014 by zoomer

[mike m oz]

Being able to lock to a plane would also help significantly with bending tubes accurately as well.