I'm not sure why you couldn't make those suggestions before I revealed my ignorance.., but thanks very much for them. I'm going to have to do some of that job over just for the joy of feeling the depth of it.

Alas, I was going from an imported JPG with 2d contours and creating a 3d model (I need a vectorizer). I think your tips assumed I was wanting to generate 2d contours from a 3d model.

@unknownuser said:

I take it you are referring to the Freehand Tool in the glitch report - try the Line Tool [Polyline] instead...
I was not clear here either: I was using the 2d line tool (which is the pline tool?) as I assumed the freehand would be more memory hungry, esp when the contours being created were 'sandboxed.'

Since I haven't found a smarter way, I spent a long while tracing raster contours into a model and found the Z set and line tool to be good friends in that context.

Two items: 1. it would be nice to have a step-back, undo the last segment (only) that could be invoked without exiting the routine, and 2. that curious unwanted mini-segment that keeps inserting itself on occasion while drawing a series of connected 2d lines, perhaps that result of something I'm doing but such is not apparent.

OK, yeah, most Windows apps that print have a page setup dialogue in which margins may be set, but so far I cannot find it in SU Win F. SU's 'print setup' has nothing and neither do the printer specific settings accessible there through 'properties'.

Thanks very much for your reply. You give me some good things to explore. To this point try as I may have I could not find the printer specific margin/border dialogues you showed in SU (and I pray they are not limited to Pro) but I will explore this further per your flow.

(Yes, the border was drawn in SU - I'm trying to stay within the one program...)

While you perhaps sleep, I'll be robotically tracing raster contour lines into a model and will get back here soon.

Thanks again.

Well, I know that. And I have wondered, of course, as have most, if leaving the print functions inadequate was/is and will forevermore be an 'encouragement' for users to roll the dice and go Pro. Given the beauty of the thing we know as SU, I find this apparent contrivance sad, if not altogether unique or unusual in the industry.

Well, I'm inclined to think you point me in the right direction, translated be me that means SU is making problems with it's assumptions about the blank space in the display and the desired blank space (border space) desired in the print.

This is perhaps more than a bit dumb as PDFs are often used exclusively for soft copies, without any intention of being put to paper.

I'm thinking also that if I were running Pro I would be even more woefully disappointed by this issue.

Architectural C size sheet is 18x24", the size of my outer border line. I guess you are saying SU thinks I want the blank space but it gives me no way to tell it that I don't, e.g., by a window selection or something like displayed extents; I'll try (again) a more oversized sheet to allow for the blank area on the display. To clarify, my model extents are far larger than that portion of the model I have displayed or want printed, so asking SU to print to the model extents will likely make for many more pages. I'm running SU free; is your suggestion to print to PDF via an add-on like PDFCreator or with the native SU Pro facility?
I will try also to shrink my screen to my border!!!

SU should make no assumptions about the appropriate blank space around; that is deficient. Seems that the print engine needs a fix.... too many loopholes.

Thanks much for your tips.

I have become so frustrated with SU's print to scale functions that I wanted to post, even though I know it is already a tried and tired subject to many, esp. those who have no problems. I have found the time consuming work-arounds, but they should not be required (SU PrnScrn --> paste somewhere --> crop --> paste into OOO Draw --->export PDF. A direct print PDF converter doesn't work as it depends on SU's highly irregular print output.).

I have a standard arch C border sheet at the outer limits of my display image in every parallel view I try to print. Check current view (I wish I could window what I wanted to print); uncheck fit to page; uncheck model extent; set the scale as desired (4' SU = 1" print). Even on an oversized output sheet print preview produces very mixed results: always with excess blank space on 2 pages (at best); often with fractured bits on 10-12 pages; sometimes these bits disappear as I page through them!!). Back in modeling mode, if I pan the displayed image into a corner to try to trick it to give me what I want it shifts the output in whatever way it needs to to defeat me. Sly SketchUp!! Perhaps this is related to my dual display setup? I'll check. Tips appreciated, and/or I'd be happy if you found my blindness(es).

Attached are images of

1. the SU model screen
2. the print preview result
3. print dialogue 1
4. print dialogue 2
5. print dialogue 3

Finally getting to know SU's native text tools, 3D included, and have a confirmed sense of appreciation for the functionality your tool set provides.

(As far as your contemplated line style enhancements, I say progress shouldn't wait on sleeping dogs.., er.., or.. snoozin' sailors or whomever.)

I think that would be terrific as me thinks it would improve the utility greatly.

On another front, if the text window would accept a paste larger than one line that also would be terrific.

For reasons unknown to me, I experienced a lot of bug splats yesterday (display driver faults and recovers, but not SU) while occasionally using the line tool (EDIT: Thinking back, I think it more likely was the hatching tool). I know such info is of no or limited use but I mention it in case it might be more than that.

Thank you.

I had occasion to use it a few times today and found it quite handy. As a matter of chance, I was grateful for the lingering edges as they made it easier to make progressive pulls in which intermediate sections could be readily deleted, as desired. Face colors did not track the original, which would have been preferred, and as, no doubt, you are aware.

Thanks much for sharing.

I saw the dashed and hidden types: hidden has the longest segment and that is what I'm using; the others, of course have, changing segment lengths. I have only the one pure dot. Thanks.

RE: line styles - Is there a chance or a way unknown by me of making the apparent line segment length independent of the width? E.g., for indicating overhead stuff in plan I want a longer segment with a narrower width than I can get with the current interdependent relationship.

@unknownuser said:

Regarding the 'Draw' menu... The Help Introduction makes it clear that the 2D Tools are accessible from the Draw > 2D Tools menu, or probably easier the View > 2D Tools Toolbar - it does say to read the help file first...
OK, thanks, sorry, I missed that. I read the help first, though apparently not very well.

Uh... I don't get it. Yesterday the below comments applied. Today, without closing the model, hatch is working on both faces and bound areas.

@unknownuser said:

@unknownuser said:

As I said in a recent post, I am looking at why 2D Hatching isn't working in some Group edit contexts
That's why I mentioned it was not working for me in an un-grouped situation; I now say it is not usually working but it is sometimes, which makes me think I'm doing something wrong. The patt_line produces what appears to be a face... and this is what the entity info indicates (iah thought perhaps it is a scaling issue of some kind). At times it seems I was making the mistakes of thinking that if a patt was shown as picked in the selection box that hitting <enter> was the way to accept it; not so, sometimes it seems it must be explicitly loaded. When attempting to hatch a face, a face is created instead of a hatch. when attempting to hatch a bounded area, a hatch results.

Generally, if the hatch is not working, say because I don't call a pattern explicitly with 'open', and I invoke some other command and come back to hatch, it does work. Uh, sometimes double clicking makes the patt call, sometimes not.

Sorry, I'll keep practicing.

I'm relatively new to DL'ing and installing custom plugins and it took me a while to find that the 2dtools were in the drawing menu, logically enough, rather than the plugin or tools menu. Perhaps some other greenhorns might appreciate a note to that effect in the help file.

~ Brooke

Having having tried to 2dt hatch on a group for a while, I saw the caveat. Running the latest, just DL'd. Context menu sometimes shows, more often not. Can't get hatch to work outside of group, either on a face or bounded area. I am just getting started with the 2DT commands but the others seem to be working as far as I have tested. Perhaps I missed a note in the discussion.

Thank you very much. I look forward to getting a handle on things.

~ Brooke
SU7, MSV