Tracker in 10

[David Collins]

quoting from a thread on the new align tool

Matthew wrote:
.... But I still haven't given up the control and coordinates palettes, and I not sure that I will any time soon. They still do things that I haven't found substitutes for in the guidelines and tracker.

I'm puzzling over this myself. I thought the point of the tracker was to eliminate the coordinate box. I'm for anything that reduces the stuff on the screen to a minimum. I've found shortcuts for most of the other things on the coordinate box, but it seems the only way to switch from absolute to relative coordinates in the tracker is to go deep into Work Environment menus and uncheck a box. That's a deal killer for me. So I've kept the coordinate box, but then why have the tracker? Is there a shortcut I'm missing here?

[__archiben]

Brad wrote:
How did they get the user angle constraint back? I miss it so...

they didn't - they've just turned everything off in protest!

But I do like the pre-selection highlight. I'm afraid to get you started though.

like james i do use the surface selection highlight. i have it set to an un-obtrusive colour so that it doesn't bother me in a 2D window - its real benefit for me comes in the 3D window. however, in doing this i come to my dilemma (thanks to link for helping me figure this one out...): because surface selection highlight is on it prevents me from clicking 'through' an already selected surface to get to another element stacked over or under it. for example, if i have a text block over a slab element and my toolbox has the slab tool currently active, shift clicking over the text surface selects the slab. fine. i'm used to that and it's logical. however, with AC9 you could continue to shift-click and have first the text select and then the slab de-selects. or, more usefully, if you triple-click the text goes into edit mode . . .

this is impossible when surface selection hightlight is on - once a surface has the highlight it is impossible to select 'through' it . . . however: when preselection is on, you can TAB to additional overlapping elements. but i find the whole shift and TAB finger contortion a bloody unhelpful, awkward interface . . . not to mention all of that frustrating colourful flashing all over the screen.

i'm currently experimenting with preselection highlight on (with no bold contours ) and with the info tag set to pop up (like my guide lines) after 100 seconds. this pretty much ensures that the info tag stays hidden unless i want to use it (TAB) and also allows me to cycle through stacked elements.

graphisoft - i am very unhappy at having to use such long-winded flashy trash in order to get what was essentially a basic job for quick select in AC9 done. why did selection highlight have to break good, intuitive selection functionality? i'll tell you why: because true to form graphisoft found the job of building new features into existing ones too complicated and resorted to the simpler, cheaper, scissors-and-celloptape job of tacking something on the side. you cannot take advantage of just some aspects of the highlighting without switching over to an entirely new working method. the give . . . yet they also take away.

I had the tracker on but during a Graphisoft recommended reset had it accidently default to off and didn't miss it for days. I never did turn it back on. Any supporters out there?

i would support the tracker if it could replace the co-ordinates palette. i tried. i really tried. like a few others here i was party to the developer releases as far back as late last year. every time a new version was released for us to test i duly switched the tracker back on and the co-ords palette off . . . and every time i had to turn the co-ords palette back on in order to achieve something. and every time i (and others) told graphisoft what needed to be done to make the tracker worthwhile until i got sick of the sound of my own voice. the tracker could've been a great new feature . . . instead, like the whole selection debacle, it's just another half-implemeted feature that stands alone from (rather than complements) existing functionality.

~/archiben

[Anonymous]

Like changing car:
not neccessary to learn driving, but we must learn different things

If I select one, you see first through changing color (it takes second), and you see the information through tracker. It is more comfortable than click several times (even click several times it is difficult to select right one.)
Helpline (or guideline) is the best guideline. Guideline shows graphically and aditionaly the tracker shows datainformation.

Pleas use it. Now you have new programm.

[Rod Jurich]

~/archiben wrote:
/..............
graphisoft - i am very unhappy at having to use such long-winded flashy trash in order to get what was essentially a basic job for quick select in AC9 done. why did selection highlight have to break good, intuitive selection functionality? i'll tell you why: because true to form graphisoft found the job of building new features into existing ones too complicated and resorted to the simpler, cheaper, scissors-and-celloptape job of tacking something on the side. you cannot take advantage of just some aspects of the highlighting without switching over to an entirely new working method. the give . . . yet they also take away.

I had the tracker on but during a Graphisoft recommended reset had it accidently default to off and didn't miss it for days. I never did turn it back on. Any supporters out there?

/. . . instead, like the whole selection debacle, it's just another half-implemeted feature that stands alone from (rather than complements) existing functionality.

~/archiben

Well now I know what a presure cooker must feel like at times.

Good on you Ben.

I always wondered if you "beta testers" would really have the courage to send a real public blast to GS,
It's a bit like that old question, "which came first, the chicken or the egg?".

We cannot do without GS, but they must remember that they cannot survive without our $$.

They are just lucky that they do not sell cars. Would we all remain as polite?

Please do not think this is just another rant.

Wouldn't change software even if you paid me, there is nothing close to what we have.

I would really appreciate GS just fixing past sins before landing us with a product that has some real lemmon flavour about it.
The guys in Sydney don't want to hear from me, they just think I'm too emotional about having spent on 2 upgrades.

In fact the only time they resond is to say that one of the bugs is created by a 3rd party. Yet that same part all works perfectly in 9.

The current "computer geeks" in Hungary I feel have lost something that the originators gave us. They want to remember what it really is like to be at the "coal face!".

This is not some new way of playing a game, but our livelihood ':!:'

The silence that nearly always greets us after any announcement of a bug is a bit like the way politicians treat us, "keep quiet and eventually the problem might just go away or be relaced with something else that will occupy our time".

Just once it would be nice to get a response to say "we hear you and we are on to it"

Enough for now, I feel better, as I am sure you do Ben. ':)'

[Rod Jurich]

Seeing as I just graduated to being a "Junior Member", I thought I might say yippee!

We still love you GS, well I think most of us still do. ':)'

[Anonymous]

and, just for my information. Are any of you finding the tracker and guide lines and highlight pre-selection are slowing things down? Seems like my workflow has taken a bit of a hit (seconds at every action are adding up). All the new bells and whistles are causing the software to hesitate at each click...

When I work in 9 there is no lag or hesitation but in 10 we are noticing sluggishness. Feels like my machine is not up to the demands of 10 but I can't imagine that should be the case.

Any one else feeling a bit of drag?.....

[Brad Elliott]

I would say working on a relatively old and slow Mac I have been pleased with the speed on my machine. As I mentioned earlier I have the tracker turned off but guidelines and selection highlighting turned on (bold off).

I am not working on large projects right now but on a fairly complicated good sized house I haven't noticed any real speed hit. I will also say that the new section updates after modification are significantly faster and much appreciated.

[Thomas Holm]

Have to agree. even on my outdated hardware AC10 feels faster than AC9.

[Anonymous]

I am making many 2D working drawings, I use tracker, helpline and selection highlight. Tracker with guideline is really nice tool.
I agree, we must be used to. But it is very useful.

[Anonymous]

My rendering, 3d explore, elevation re-renender all work swiftly. I am having issues in 2d...

Just little micro hangs. Panning hangs a bit. Clicking an object and time till I can move it is longer than it used to be. I turned off the tracker and guidelines but the speed is pretty much still the same.