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MonArchY
Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:04 pm Post subject: Guidelines and Guidegrids for a new user |
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Please help.
I am having trouble with the use of guidelines. At present I have been trying to switch from AutoCAD to PowerCADD in order to work more effectively with my employer. The process is slow since I’ve never worked with Apple before. Comparing the two has been very interesting BUT I miss the construction line and tracking features available with AutoCad. Is there a comparable feature with PowerCADD? So far I have been able to toggle guidelines on and off but cannot get rid of what seems to be a grid made up of guidelines. It does offer a dropdown in Layout but the Remove GuideGrid is not available, (it’s not bolded). I need the guidelines but can only use them if the entire grid is visible. Frustrating to say the least.
Any suggestions? Thank you for your time. |
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CJH
Joined: 24 Apr 2004
Posts: 351
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Click and drag from inside the ruler on the top or left of the drawing window and a guideline will pull out. |
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Damon
Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 46
Location: Vancouver, BC
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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Hi MonArchY,
I'm not familar with the construction line system in ACAD (though some here are), but I wonder if the grid that you are referring to 'that won't go away' is the grid that is controlled by the Drawing Setup controls under the Layout menu.
On the right hand side of the 'Units' section of Drawing Setup are the settings for the dimensions of the grid. If you then click on the 'Show' button, you will see a checkbox that controls wether or not that grid is visible. BTW, the 'snap to grid' button in the 'Snap' section of Drawing Layout will determine wether or not the cursor snaps to the grid established in the 'Units' section.
In the Layout menu, the Remove Guidelines' command refers to the (usually) blue lines that the user pulls out from the horizontal or vertical ruler bars at the side and top of the drawing window.
These blue guidelines can also be set to adopt the angle of any other line in your drawing- drag a guideline and then hold the option key as you drag the guide to a line that has the angle you want to adopt.
Very good luck. Call anytime. We're always hanging around here.... |
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Derek
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 598
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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MonArchY,
There are three entities: Guidelines; Guidegrids and; Gridlines. I suspect the lines you can't remove are Gridlines. Here is some info:
Guidelines are light blue in colour and can be placed and removed individually. There are several ways to add them. Their visibility can be toggled on or off in Layout Menu-->Drawing Setup-->Show-->Guidelines.
Guidegrids are light blue in colour and can be placed and removed as a single item under Layout Menu-->Guidlines-->Makegrid... or Remove Guidegrid. Their visibility can be toggled on or off the same as Guidelines.
Gridlines are light grey in colour and these just show you a grid on the page. They can be shown or not as a single item in Layout Menu-->Drawing Setup-->Show-->Gridlines.
So what's the difference between these?
Guidelines and Guidegrids can be snapped to during drawing operations and behave like other drawing lines in that respect but they don't print.
Whereas Gridlines are merely a visual representation of the underlying grid in the drawing. This grid is setup in Layout Menu-->Drawing Setup-->Unit-->Grid. As you zoom in and out of a drawing, the representation of these lines will change so that when you're zoomed out, you don't see all the lines of the Grid. You can, if you choose, have all drawing operations snap to this grid by setting the snaps that way: Layout Menu-->Drawing Setup-->Snap-->Grid. This 'default' grid snapping is overridden if some other snap is invoked during the drawing process.
--
Another thing you may be used to are what we call "Long Crosshairs". These are long lines that extend from the mouse pointer to the edges of the drawing all the time as you move the mouse. You turn these on or off in PowerCADD Menu-->Preferences-->Tools-->Long crosshair.
I hope I haven't confused you more!
Derek
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GaryV
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 282
Location: Walnut Creek, CA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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Is it possible you are seeing page breaks based on your selection of a small sheet size in Page Setup? Are they are black "dashed" lines. You can check this by changing the paper size in page setup and see if they change location. You can also go into drawing setup and under the "size" tab, deselect "show page breaks".
Given the paradigm difference I could see a ACAD user being confused by this.
-Gary |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 393
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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You mentioned TRACKING --- drawing at certain angles -- and along paths aligned to these angled items ...
This is accomplished using numerous tools or methods.
Here are a few -----
To start with, try the Baseline Tool palette.
In particular, look for the first tool in this palette that looks like a drafting machine (BL Base Angle Tool)
Select this first tool, make a deliberate (not real fast) click on some corner point or wherever in the drawing, then click on some other point in the drawing to set an angle. Now select a different tool in this Baseline palette, and draw at this angle you set.
With many tools in PowerCADD, there can be more than one way to use it. For instance, instead of setting the angle as described above, you can alternatively hold down the option key and click on this Base Angle Tool. This will open up a tool options dialogue box where you can type in whatever angle you want for that group of tools. Or, while this Base Angle Tool is selected, you can hold down the option key and click on a line in the drawing.
As Damon mentioned --- drag a guideline out of one of the rulers, and while dragging, move over an angled line in the drawing and tap the option key (don't let up on the mouse button yet). This will rotate the guideline to match the angled line. While continuing to hold down the mouse button, hold down the S key and move over this angled line to "S"urface snap to the line. Let up on the mouse button. Now you could use numerous tools to draw along this angled guideline.
Try the Square Polygon Tool.
If drawing a lot at certain angles, go to the Layout Menu - Drawing Setup - Snap.
Set the Constrain Angles to whatever you want.
If a tools option is set to constrain, the tool will snap to one of these angles you set.
If a tool is not set to constrain, hold down the shift key while using the tool, to constrain to one of these angles.
If the tool is set to constrain and you want to override the angle, hold down the shift key. |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 393
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:18 am Post subject: |
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Re. Tracking --
When an object is not on an angle, and you want to align to it, use the A snap -- the Align Snap.
Say you have an existing rectangle, and you want to draw another rectangle that aligns with the top and bottom of the existing rectangle. Hold down the A key and move your mouse up and down the screen. You will see some alignment snap lines appear as your cursor aligns with the existing object.
When your aligned with the top of an existing rectangle (for instance), click to start your new rectangle, then drag down till the bottom snap appears. |
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pbacot
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 959
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:20 am Post subject: |
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I like to use the WT Offset Line tool set to guidelines. Although the tool has other uses, I have it set that way most of the time, because most of my uses of guidelines are offsets of other lines. This will automatically adopt the angle of the original line. I use the WT delete tool to remove them one or several in one action (while leaving others intact). I think the guidelines commands could be better organized--and I never use rulers so I find tying them to rulers is useless.
Remember you can surface and perpendicular snap to guidelines, but other object snaps ( as forced by key) don't make sense--and I think should be made to "not see" guidelines.
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Peter B |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 393
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:03 am Post subject: |
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| pbacot wrote: | | I like to use the WT Offset Line tool to set guidelines. Although the tool has other uses, I have it set that way most of the time ... |
If you see a tool in a floating palette that has two dots in the lower right hand corner, that means that the tool has OPTIONS which you can modify.
To get into a tools options, hold down the option key and click on that tool. |
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Derek
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 598
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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| pbacot wrote: | | ... but other object snaps ( as forced by key) don't make sense--and I think should be made to "not see" guidelines. |
I use intersect snap with guidelines and wouldn't want that to disappear.
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pbacot
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 959
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:03 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
I use intersect snap with guidelines and wouldn't want that to disappear. |
oh, OK, that one makes sense too. 
I just don't like the guidelines interfering with key snaps they have no business with!
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Peter B |
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