Is there a way to select say a little "Solid sphere" entierely inside a big "Solid box"?
I don't found except move the big box on the side :)

There's a few different ways:

1 - window select from left to right to only capture the sphere that is inside the box, starting from outside the box. Make sure you start on the left side and move towards the right - this creates a window selection that only captures objects that are strictly inside the window, this type of window will show a box with a solid color outline. If you go from right towards the left for the window, it will capture anything that intersects the window at all - this type of window shows with a dashed outline.

2 - select the big box first and use hide, then select the sphere, then show the box.

3 - select the box and do an invert.


But this is the type of situation where a wireframe display mode would come in handy. I don't think that a wireframe mode will be available for V1 though, it's relatively complex to provide different display modes since it has a major effect on selection code.

- Michael

thx for the reply

In another domain
Yes Guides lines are pretty useful
In the 3D view maybe the vertical axe from a point of a start of guide lines will be useful

Another curious question on the image linked always about drawing Guide lines :)

> In the 3D view maybe the vertical axe from a point of a start of guide lines will be useful

You mean vertical as in the z direction up from the plane? You can create such a one by doing a second guideline snapping the first point on to the start of the original guide line.

Construction lines are the way that you can place points in the 3D view up off the plane - just drag it along the zaxis line to create a z guide line. Let me know if this doesn't make sense.

> Another curious question on the image linked always about drawing Guide lines :)

That shows up after you create a construction line and gives you some more options - move the mouse over it to highlight it, and press and hold down on it for a moment to activate the menu. It doesn't activate on a simple click so that it doesn't interfere with regular picks, you have to hold down on it for a moment.

That menu lets you relocate the construction line somewhere else or also reorient it to point towards a new location. This allows you to use the construction line as a type of measuring stick - you can capture a line and then relocate it somewhere else for parallel constructions, or capture a distance and point it towards somewhere else to provide the same distance in a different direction. The last option is to project the next point - this can be used for example to match the elevation of an existing object. Say for instance you have a cube and you want to draw a line that starts somewhere else on the plane but comes up with the same elevation as the top of the cube. Pull up a z construction line in the 3D view, and then activate projection, then you can move to snap to a point on the cube and it will be projected to that line.

Let me know if you want more details on any of this. This is an area that I'm planning on doing one of those Camtasia screen captures to help illustrate, there is actually even more precision drawing features available with these construction lines, like you can use them to mirror a single point around a particular axis.

- Michael

< you have to hold down on it for a moment.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa never think of that! :)

<You mean vertical as in the z direction up from the plane?
Yes :)

< You can create such a one by doing a second guideline snapping the first point on to the start of the original guide line
Sorry don't find yet this in the 3D view :(

It's not a problem else now I can draw another vertical in the Front or Right view and move it with your curious "cline" cursor :)
(after press it a moment of course:)

All the rest seems make sens :)

> < you have to hold down on it for a moment.> Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa never think of that! :)

In earlier prototype versions, I had it so just a regular click on it would open it. But it was too easy to accidentally trigger it even if you weren't really noticing it was there.

The construction line mechanism in general is designed to stay out of your way until you explicitly trigger it with the drag - this is unlike many other CAD systems that tend to pop up similar types of things a little bit too automatically (for my taste), which tends to interfere with freeform point placement.


> Sorry don't find yet this in the 3D view :(

Hmm, you mean if you draw a simple line (just with the regular Draw curve/line tool) in the 3D view, you get the x and y straight snaps if you move nearby the x and y axes, but not the z?

Go to Straight Snap options, it's on a menu that pops up over the "Straight snap" button on the bottom bar - is "Vertical snapping" (the first option) checked? It can be enabled or disabled there.

Also, Straight snap must be enabled on the bottom bar (highlighted in yellow) for this to be active.

- Michael

< Straight snap must be enabled
It was not ! Haaaaaaaaaaaa!

I suppose that is not possible to keep the guides lines for a next tool drawing?
(a sort of layer of guides lines)

Thx for all your precisions

> I suppose that is not possible to keep the guides lines for a next tool drawing?

No, not yet. I have thought about having some button that would make them stick around, but then there would have to be some mechanism to allow you to select them or remove them later and I haven't spent any time to figure that part out yet.

- Michael