How to measure from the center point of a line
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For the life of me, I can't figure out how to take a measurement from the center point of a line. The tape measure always just reads "0". Is there a reason for this, and is there some other way one is supposed to measure from that point? I find myself wanting to do that quite a bit, and it's really annoying to have to work around-- I usually draw in a dummy line perpendicular to the the line I'm measuring and then deleting it afterwards.
Thanks for the help.
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Hi folks.
Measuring from the center of a line to where ?
Measuring or dimensionning ?
Can you be more precise or post a model with some identification of the points you want to measure ?
See attached SU file for ideas.
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PS you just need to TAP CNTRL, you don't need to keep it depressed. THis is new with SketchUp 6
Also new with SketchUp 6: Tap Up or Down arrow key to lock drawing a line or moviing something in the blued axis dirextion. Tap left arrow key for green direction, Tap right arrow key for red direction.
You no longer need to depress and keep depressing ALT to get autofold. The tapped arrow key will accomplish the same thing.
When doing a move/copy or a rotate/copy you no longer need to depress CNTRL BEFORE you the first click of the action, you just need to TAP CNTRL and you can do it even after you have started the move or the rotate and switch in midstream to copy mode.
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@jean lemire said:
Hi folks.
Measuring from the center of a line to where ?
Measuring or dimensionning ?
Can you be more precise or post a model with some identification of the points you want to measure ?
See attached SU file for ideas.
Thanks for the advice, and sorry I wasn't clear enough in the OP. What I want to do is measure, and put down a mark, from the center of a line along that same line. The tap measure trick doesn't seem to work. It does allow one to measure along the line, but it doesn't mark the spot that you measure to so that you can come back to it later and place something there.
I'm just wondering if there is some reason why the center point is treated differently from the end points. Seems to me they should be the same.
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There is a reason, sort of. You make construction 'segments" perpendicular to a start point measuring from End Points and you "Pull Out" a parallel Guideline from along any other point on the line. Presumbably you can't get a construction line parallel from an endpoint because SketchUp has no way of knowing what you wish to be parallel with. ( imagine the convergance of a square at an endpoint). I suppose that could be changed by a little more programming and adding a third toggle, such as DEPRESS SHIFT when You Want a Constuction Segment/Point and at all other times you will get a parallel construction line except at endpoints.
As a work around, You could make your contsruction segment at the endpoint and Move it to the centre point.
Eric, Off hand I can't think of any other 'TAP' type things. You still need to depress Shift and keep it depressed, for instance, to lock an inference for the rotate or protractor tool.
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