Move to a point
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This is in the newbie section instead of the wishes forum because someone might know a good technique I'm unaware of. My problem is in drawings that depart from the rectilinear bias of SketchUp. Often my solids are complicated shapes and not referenced to the orthogonal axes. I need to move entities to arbitrary points in space, so what I really need is an ability to select an arbitrary destination point, select a group or component and a point within the group or component which is to coincide with the destination point.
The usual way I accomplish this is to align the viewing angle with each axis successively and do three separate moves. This is very tedious and sometimes impossible because the destination point is visible only from certain angles and the structure is too complex for x-ray or wire frame mode to be useful.
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Use guide-lines or points at the two locations.
You can input exact dimensions etc...
Then you simply Select what's to be moved and use the Move tool - pick the first [anchor] point then the destination point... done... -
@tig said:
Use guide-lines or points at the two locations.
I guess I wasn't clear enough. That's what I do. The problem has been that with the move tool engaged I've been unable to reach the destination point. I've discovered that with the move tool dragging the object around it's still possible to zoom, pan, and rotate the point of view. That has helped some, but I'm still constantly running into situations where I just can't seem to select the destination point, no matter the gyrations I try.
The main trouble is with destinations points surrounded by existing objects. The move tool doesn't like to allow movement into those tight spaces unless I do it in stages with the viewpoint nearly parallel with with each of the three axes.
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i can't picture the exact situation you're talking about but sometimes it helps if you're in X-ray mode..
if you find that it helps, you might want to set up a keyboard shortcut to toggle x-ray on/off.[edit] lol.. i guess i should of read all the way to the end of your first post prior to me saying anything
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If the objects are 'raw geometry' they can also stick to other things so use groups or components.
Why not move the grouped stuff near to where you want and then do the final snapping in place after getting to a view where you can see both points.
You can also enter absolute or relative points to snap to in the second step using [] or <> brackets - e.g. [1.2, 2.3, 0] knowing that is the point you want - if your locale uses ',' as the decimal separator use a ';' between the separate the XYZ value... -
You could also set up two scenes - one zoomed into your starting point and the other one to your finishing point. Start your move operation in one scene and simply switch to the other one and snap to the finishing point.
If you turn scene transition off, the two scenes will switch instantly in any complex model and you need not wait for that "travelling" camera.
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You could use cut planes with the scenes to expose the point you want to connect to, just make sure the cutting plane is above the point otherwise the inference engine won't find it!
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@blindleader said:
@tig said:
Use guide-lines or points at the two locations.
I guess I wasn't clear enough. That's what I do. The problem has been that with the move tool engaged I've been unable to reach the destination point.....
Gaieus's approach with scenes is helpful, so is the suggestion ArCAD-UK made, to work with a section plane, active in one scene, to approach the target.
To work along the line of TIG's suggestion: introduce a separate layer, say "complex-moves".
Assign add construction line(s) and/or point(s) to that layer.
Also temporarily assign the (grouped!) object to be moved to layer "complex-moves"
Make layer "complex-moves" the active one and the only one visible.
Now there is nothing that visibly obstructs moving the object to the target.
Be sure to make layer0 active again right after moving the object (to not forget).
Some of this can be done by using layerset saved scene(s) (without other stuff saved) and with shortcut key(s). Changing active layer FAIK has to be done manually (can't be saved). -
blindleader, I know what you mean about trying to move an entity to a specific point because of fighting the inferencing. Give the plugin referenced below a try. Hopefully it will be the solution to your problem.
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