How can I disconnect line segments in order to delete them?
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Here I am again. I've collected a bunch of questions, as they came up, but in working through some things the answers revealed themselves. Others were solved by watching more tutorials. However, this one is still a puzzlement, to me.
In my current case of this problem, I'm dealing with the support structure of a deck. I've drawn all the beams and columns underneath the decking. Now I want to shorten the deck, and am beginning by eliminating faces of beams, below the deck. After deleting pieces of the faces, I am left with all the connecting lines. When I erase some of them, they delete entire faces -- sometimes attached to the lines, and sometimes from beams that are perpendicular to the beam I'm working on!
I've had this problem in just about all of the drawings I've made, and it's always frustrating. In many cases, I end up redrawing large parts of my drawing. In this case, I've decided to come to you for an answer because this structural part is so complicated that I don't want to find myself having to redraw the entire deck just to shorten it by three feet!
I've tried drawing lines that attach to the point at which I want the segment to end, hoping that the usual SU tendency to form segments that way will take effect, but it doesn't. So, IS there a way I can detach a line segment from a longer line that is foolproof and works every time?
I can't wait to see your answers to this one.
Gratefully,
Gigi -
Hi Gigi,
A picture or two would be extremely helpful (not to speak about an annotated example file).
However, you can always "split" a line by drawing another one over it.
Say you have a line from A to B and it is 10 yards long but you only need a nine yard line (shorter from the end of B).
Now place your line tool onto B and start drawing a line exactly along the line AB, type 1 yard and hit enter (or just click onto the line wherever you want). It will create a C endpoint which will make two segments of the original line: AC and CB. Now you can safely delete this latter one.
(Note that I used "yard" in the example but you of course use your own units)
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I don't know if this will help but you can shorten (or lengthen) shapes with complicated ends.
I have attached a tut to have a look at.
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For complex assembly that needs updating, you really should be using simple envelope component as filler. When design finalizes or stabilizes, use the “Replace Selected” in the Component dialog box to replace your filler component with the detailed component.
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Son in hospital. Surgery tomorrow. Promise to respond fully to everyone when I get back in a couple of days. Thank you, all! Gigi
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Hi Gigi,
Not sure I understand, but sounds like section and slice may it for you. It allows you to cut a couple of sections in your deck, remove the portion between and join the balance. Check out Su help and search by "section".
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Hope it all goes well Gigi
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I'm so sorry I left some of you hanging like that. As quick an update on my son as possible -- it was a most harrowing ordeal. I planned to stay one night, since he and his fiancee have a house about two hours from my house, just to be with him through the day of his surgery. He had every complication one can have; terrible, awful things that I won't go into, and I ended up staying three weeks. I had to buy clothes because I couldn't go home. He was sent home on oral antibiotics, and after a few days was readmitted to the hospital for a bedside procedure and more IV antibiotics for another three days. He's not out of the woods yet, and is still recuperating at home. We don't expect him to be able to return to work (he's a lawyer) until early January -- if all goes well.
Thank you for your responses to my problem. I was able to shorten the deck with a lot of redrawing of line segments, but it was a very time-consuming process, and I have to believe there was probably an easier way to do it. However, I didn't have internet access most of the time and couldn't ask you for more advice about this. Below is a screenshot of the deck I had to shorten -- not an easy thing to do, eh? Tedious, but now, done.
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Hi Gigi - sorry to hear all these troubles! I honestly hope he will get better soon!
As for the deck - nice job! With SketchUp 7 now line splitting is even easier (BTW - have you got the new SU 7 already)?
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No, Gaieus, I haven't downloaded it yet, although I plan to. Time and other worries are not the reason, but an overloaded hard drive is. I have an external drive, but my HD is so full that it won't recognize it! My computer guru has me putting all my photos onto DVD's, so that I can clear up enough space. Otherwise my external HD won't do me much good.
Thanks for the compliment! And the good wishes.
Gigi
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