What's your beginners tip?
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Ever wonder why the screen navigates the way it does? Put your cursor where you want the action to happen. If you have one model in the foreground and another in the background, put your cursor over the one you want to spin & then orbit. If you are shrinking/expanding the view, you can travel through your scene by putting the cursor on the side you want to move away from. Shrink, then move to the opposite side to expand the view. Since everything moves around the cursor, you will move from one side of your scene to the other.
I work on a Macbook with a scrolling touchpad, so I can always shrink and expand my view easily, no matter what tool is up. This lets me get around without changing to a viewing tool.
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Yes, definitely ood tips, Jim!
One can so easily forget about such "evidences" even after a few months of using SU while it is obvious that simply navigating in/around a model also needs a (however small) learning curve.
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Although I am a beginner myself, my beginner tip would be:
First thing before you draw anything, make sure you are drawing in the right unit.
Same with importing a drawing. Make sure on the options tab under review icon, check if it selected the same unit style as your drawing, or else the imported drawing would be wrong scaled. -
In addition to setting your units first, if you're going to draw a small object, like a watch, for example, you may also want to disable length snapping, or set this number to a smaller value.
Window --> Model Info --> Units . . .
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In fact, I keep it off all the time.
BUT for a beginner, it CAN be useful until (s)he gets used to using precise vaues in the VCB/Measurement box and/or exploiting the full power of (other) inferences.
At the same time, when trying to trace something on an image, it can become a pain so turn it off immediately then.
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Required Newbie Watching.
Watch these great videos before getting too far. You may find one to answer your immediate question.
Experieced users will also learn things they never knew or forgot.
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I would have to say the single most important thing you can do with any software is go through every menu item until you understand what they do. I mean EVERYTHING. From the filemenu on... all the way to preferences and the help menu. You may not understand every menu items usage right away, but you will find later on that by familiarizing yourself with these options you will learn the software much quicker.
When i first started in computers--maybe 2 years ago, i am a late bloomer, i know
--i had no idea of usergroups, Usenet, chatrooms, much less how to find information on the net. I did not buy a video or read a book, i just opened the software and learned the damn thing.Get up close an personal with the user interface and your learning will be so much more fun
</2pesos>
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Exactly. This is what Jean (Johnny) Lemire also suggests at his 3D BaseCamp session in the "Tips & Tricks" panel (last presenter in this video). -
Do NOT assign shortcuts to the numberpad keys, especially if you ever use the Numberpad to enter Measuremensts (VCB) values.
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@jim said:
Do NOT assign shortcuts to the numberpad keys, especially if you ever use the Numberpad to enter Measuremensts (VCB) values.
And . . . don't use X as a shortcut key or you won't be able to create linear or radial patterns. -
Similarly, dont use "/" as a shortcut either as its already used for arrays.
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@greentoaster said:
And . . . don't use X as a shortcut key or you won't be able to create linear or radial patterns.Not true. I have used X as my x-ray shortcut for years and have never had a problem.
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Do this and it won't work - and I guarantee it:
Step 1
Select a group (very important)
Step 2
Window -->
Preferences -->
Shortcuts -->
Edit/Item/Flip Along/Group's Green -->
Add Shortcut (insert X in field) -->
Press the "+" button -->
OKStep 3
Copy the group -->
Now, the "x" function does NOT work
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Maybe Eric uses the * symbol for multiplying in arrays
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Brad you are correct. If I do that "X" will not work as a shortcut. I was simply responding to your general statement saying: "Don't use X as a shortcut..." because you can, and I do.
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I use X for explode. No problems there either. Even if I move/array a group. It will not explode the group.
Chris
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Another tip ... Some things that are very important for me, and probably helpful to others:
-- I have trouble controlling fine movements with my mouse, so I use a WACOM TABLET. It's wonderful for SU work. The stylus is easy to use. It has buttons I can set to whatever I want. I put the tablet on my lap when I am at my desk, and I also have a left mouse that I use sometimes, especially for Rclick.
-- And when I go to the local coffeeshop and work, I bring my laptop. I'm obsessive about lightweight. The Wacom Tablet is too heavy and I hate touchpads. I found just the thing: a V-MOUSE. http://www.v-mouse.com/ It is a very lightweight optical mouse that you hold like a pen. I also got a teeny-tiny mouse for my left hand that I use only for its buttons.
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@joelm3dm said:
-- I have trouble controlling fine movements with my mouse, so I use a WACOM TABLET. It's wonderful for SU work. The stylus is easy to use. It has buttons I can set to whatever I want. I put the tablet on my lap when I am at my desk, and I also have a left mouse that I use sometimes, especially for Rclick.
Id second that, i really like my wacom.
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While on the subject of hardware that can help, I would really suggest folks trying the 'Space Explorer' or 'navigator', it's not for everyone and does take getting used to, but once you get going it can increase productivity tremendously. I use it daily and owe my ability to model as fast as I do to it.
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This is my first post to this group. I've found that using a wireless KB/trackball has been a great help. For PC I use an Adesso WKB 3000UB (http://www.adesso.com/products_detail.asp?productid=336). It's like a 2 handed mouse so you can quickly toggle between orbit (scroll wheel in and trackball) and pan (scroll wheel in and L mouse and trackball) when moving around the model. I see they have many more models now. Some may be better (like programmable function keys) but I find this KB to be ergonomic heaven. Anyone else using it or other input tools like this?
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