In the latest beta I am having trouble with snaps.

Working on an architectural model with feet and inches.

Draw a line of any length ... no problem

Draw a perpendicular from the end ... no problem

Draw a perpendicular line from the end, parallel with the first line ... no problem

Try to snap this new line in the making to the end of the first line ... perpendicular to it ... does not give me a construction and a snap point.

I think it used to in earlier versions ???

thanks,
eric

Hi Eric - if I understand what you are doing, you need to create a construction line to align the last point.

Construction lines like that are not created automatically - you create them when you want by clicking and holding down the mouse button and dragging away from a point.

Here's an example - is this what you trying to do?



So to create that construction line coming off from the end point, press the mouse button down and hold it down on that endpoint and drag upwards, to pull out a construction line. With the construction line in place there will then be a snap point you can grab.

- Michael

Hi Michael ..

Yes, that's exactly what I am trying to do ... but it does not seem to work here.

I will try again this morning.

thanks
eric

Duh ...

Got it. I was not holding the mouse button down but just showing MoI the reference point and expecting it to place the construction line automatically.

thanks,
eric

Hi Eric, yeah MoI won't create the line if you just "hover" the mouse over a point, you need to press and hold down the mouse and drag out a line if you want one.

Most other systems use the hovering method.

The hover method works pretty nice with very simple and sparse drawings, but once things get a bit more complex it can tend to fill your screen with so many snap zones that you no longer have any freedom of movement for placing points.

So that's one reason why MoI uses that "press and drag" gesture with the mouse to activate a line rather than just hovering. That way you have more control over when they are activated.


There is another reason though too, which is that MoI's method allows you to define a line by 2 points by where you started the drag from and where you released the mouse at. This allows for various additional kinds of snaps, like getting the point half-way (or at 1/3 increments, etc..) between any 2 existing points, mirroring a point to the other side of a centerline, capturing a distance and applying it to a different location, and many others.

See here for some more information on how all that works:
http://moi3d.com/1.0/docs/moi_command_reference10.htm#constructionlines

Much of that functionality is not possible with lines created in the "hover" type system since that makes a line that radiates out from only a single base point and does not have a distance component to it.

- Michael

Hi Michael ...

Yes, that makes a lot of sense ... and I have experienced exactly what you are talking about. Logically your approach sounds better and more reliable ... I just have to get used to it.

As MoI has been developing I have been switching back and forth quite a bit but now that MoI is more mature, or at least more suited for my needs, I will be switching less and less for modeling. I really do like working with MoI.

I will probably be using other software for quite awhile, though, as a lot of my work flow includes 2d dimensioned drawings with line types ... and architectural renderings, too.

cheers,
eric