Joined: May 12, 2013
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Magnetism / snap to distance / symmetry
I do struggle with getting the measures accurate and achieving symmetry. I think maybe there could be a relatively easy solution:
Adjustable magnetism to default lengths (user defined, overridden by ALT+move as usual).
- Walls would snap to fixed user determined distances. - Windows and doors aligned to same distances so they are easy to place symmetrically.
But then, maybe I am missing some function that would solve this (?)
ok
PS This would for instance be useful for wooden constructions where studs and rafters are placed at exact intervals (local standard: 60cm). Centring windows and doors to the studs improves structural strength and reduces building cost. For a local builder, I would set the magnetism to 30cm and voila, elements could be placed accurately without a whole lot of editing later.
PPS For me this would also solve 95% of the "Wizard" issue mentioned in the preceding post.
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Joined: May 17, 2015
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Re: Magnetism / snap to distance / symmetry
YES! This is the most frustrating aspect about Sweet Home 3D -- all the walls NEVER ALIGN EXACTLY. So much time is wasted getting corners to align exactly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but it seems like the author just doesn't use the software to design walls a lot or they have some other tricks that aren't obvious.
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Joined: May 15, 2017
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Re: Magnetism / snap to distance / symmetry
I also like the idea of a snap-to-grid magnet.
While it is sometimes nice to have 1/8" precision, the majority of the time I am happy with 1" or 1/2" accuracy and WASTE a lot of time and concentration trying to get the lengths correct. I do know I can manually enter numbers when creating a wall, or double click properties for an existing wall, but this is very slow and I prefer a point & click grid method.
Another thing that would be nice, is if the current magnet points were bigger. So many times I try to use the magnet but miss by 1mm. With how easy it is to alt-click bypass the magnets, I would like to see the magnet area be stronger/bigger.
Joined: May 12, 2013
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Re: Magnetism / snap to distance / symmetry
With a new plan, it is possible to: - Start with drawing one wall. - Modifying this wall to accurate co-ordinates. - Draw from that wall (using ENTER and numeric values when possible). That helps a lot with precision. And the Advanced Editing plugin is perfect for moving many walls.
Playing around with the XML file (thread 7674), I realised that it was easy to inspect wall co-ordinates and spot the ones that are off (and even to round all wall start and end points to the nearest cm if one dares edit xml). Specifically, it was useful in finding that one wall I had moved accidentally. Alas, this approach is probably of little use to most users and the cm values in the sh3d Home.xmel file may be of limited help in your case working with feet and inches.
But the tidy presentation of the xml file, makes me think that it might not be too hard for someone to create a plugin with a list of walls with properties.