Tape measure tool

deanlegg · 31 Mar 2011, 16:06

Hi All

I've been having a problem with this tool sometimes
As i zoom in the dotted line disappears and another time I have a solid wall but the dotted lines go through it to infinity ( and beyond )
Any ideas
Thanks

mitcorb · 31 Mar 2011, 16:19

The dotted lines for the Tape tool are guidelines and they are supposed to display as endless.
The other issue, when I see it is due to the limitations of either my graphic card or OpenGL. That is, if I understood your issue.

I assume you understand that these lines by definition are not intended to be permanent elements of your model. But maybe you want them to be, and that's ok.

deanlegg · 31 Mar 2011, 16:40

Please see the attached file for what I mean
Normally the line would stop at the wall and not show through it

atrium 1.skp

Dave R · 31 Mar 2011, 22:05

See the screen shots. The guidelines do not show through the walls on my screen. I would conclude its your graphics card or the drivers for it.

In the second image, I orbited a bit lower so you can see the guidelines better. I also switch to Monochrome view. You should really fix the face orientation on your model. All those blue faces are back faces.

deanlegg · 1 Apr 2011, 13:49

Thanks for the tips
I'm running one Nvidea GTS 240 1GB with 2 27" screens do you think this could be the problem/
I upgraded the drivers only 2 months ago
Also what card would you recomend, I was thinking of getting a second card anyway

mac1 · 1 Apr 2011, 15:41

Boy and all these years I thought that was SOP. Isn't the result based on the type of guide line you create. I can make an infinite guide line or one at spec length??

Dave R · 3 Apr 2011, 21:06

A guideline can be infinite and deanlegg's are or the can end in a guidepoint. It depends upon what you use as the reference for the guide geometry. Even if the are infinite in length, though, they shouldn't be visible through faces unless those faces have transparent materials applied to them. If they are visible through an intervening face it would suggest that the graphics aren't displaying things correctly.

mac1 · 4 Apr 2011, 01:30

@dave r said:

A guideline can be infinite and deanlegg's are or the can end in a guidepoint. It depends upon what you use as the reference for the guide geometry. Even if the are infinite in length, though, they shouldn't be visible through faces unless those faces have transparent materials applied to them. If they are visible through an intervening face it would suggest that the graphics aren't displaying things correctly.

So I think the bottom line is they don't stop at the face but will appear on the other side and the only issue is how the transparency is set

Dave R · 4 Apr 2011, 01:34

I gathered from the OP's comments that he was seeing the infinite guidelines through the face although it's material is not set to transparent.

The guidelines wouldn't stop at the face unless they end in a guidepoint which his don't.

Alan Fraser · 4 Apr 2011, 08:15

If you infer from an edge, you'll get a guideline...which is infinite in length, but which should not be visible through solid surfaces.
If you infer from a point, you'll get a short dotted line of whatever length you measured, terminating in a construction point. Again, not visible through solid surfaces. These processes are the same whether you're inferring from raw geometry or geometry inside a group/component.
If you get anything else, it's most likely a graphics card issue.