Have 2D guidelines appear along the edges of GDL Objects

[Anonymous]

Currently, there's a huge drawback, in my experience, to using objects for construction in the 2D windows: guide lines and cursor-snaps don't appear when positioning the cursor on of the lines of the object, or the points where it intersects any other line of any other element. It seems that guidelines only appear on an object's hotspots. The Mercedes cursor just doesn't appear along ANY lines of a GDL object!

Compare this to the drawing aids you get when constructing with built-in walls, slabs, etc, and it really becomes a let-down.

Now not knowing anything about the technical internals of AC - just being a user - this seems stupid and inconsistent.

It's my main reason why I don't use Objective for more things, such as all the framing members, for instance. There's a lot more panning and zooming needed to find the points needed to restrict construction lines.

I may be missing something in my knowledge, of course - so if I'm ignorant, please enlighten me!

[Erich]

This can already be done depending on how the object(s) are built. The Hotline2 and similar commands allow GDL object to exhibit the behavior you want. While this is often not required I do use this technique with a number of the object in my library.

I personally would not want this occurring globally as I suspect it would slow things down quite a bit as the system interpreted every object.

[Anonymous]

I will say as a man who knows the inside GDL.
You should not say so. The cursor can feel the line in object. Look at objects in the standard library. Such objects have a lot. Although, not enough. And the problem is that it needs to write the code twice. It is unattractive to developers.
Now the script is written as follows. First described by lines, which we see, but the cursor does not feel them. Then, describe the line that we do not see, but the cursor feels them.
I have a question. Why not make it easy to write a script? Where it was easier to have a GDL some improvement, eliminates double writing. For example, HOTLINE2 could replace LINE2. Or have a directive ALL_IS_HOT.

But the problem lies in the GDL another aspect than the sensitivity of the cursor to the lines of the object. Dimensions!
So, take for example the objects of the grid. Cursor feels the line grid. Users who put the dimensions of the lines of the grid, are caught in the situation. They begin to attach dimensions is not a hot point, but to these lines, by analogy with the method of working with the lines of the "Line" tool. Dimensions, placed this way, live only until the next open project

[Anonymous]

Valery wrote:
...For example, HOTLINE2 could replace LINE2. Or have a directive ALL_IS_HOT.

Or additional edges status codes which would give better control. (?)

[Erich]

I whole heartedly agree that scripting status lines takes extra, and often duplicate, code that makes the objects harder to read and maintain.

The idea of adding a status code to the existing commands to add the functionality, seems like a good one. If this existed I suspect we would see the use of status lines and arcs expand quite a bit. At least for newly written objects.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the technicalities of code, script & GDL, but have long wished for the AC guide lines to be as intuitive as in SketchUp. There, on selecting the measure tool (click 1), you can drag a guide line from any edge (drag/click 2) punch in a distance (input 3) and enter (input 4). In this manner, once you're in the measure tool (one less input per guideline now), you can lay out a whole matrix of guide lines from structure already created and from other guide lines. and then fill in new structure. Then delete all guide lines when you have completed that section and start again. What a pleasure!

With your knowledge of the internal workings is this an unrealistic wish for AC. I find this kind of preparation to laying out a design such a mission in AC - only really possible if you use the line tool with many more steps involved. Or am I missing something - this seems to me to be such a fundamental part of what we do, and yet so clumsy in AC

James

[Laszlo Nagy]

I think you can do similar things in ArchiCAD.
You can create a Guide Line.
Then you can create other Guide Lines that are perpendicular to this Guide Line. You can even use the Special Snap Points to set intervals.

E.g. I could draw a horizontal Guide Line Segment of 5 meters.
Then I could set Special Snap Points to "Distance" and set 1 meters for Distance.
Then I could go from one end of the drawn Guide Line, the Snap Point appears at 1 meter from its end and I can create another Guide Lines perpendicular to my first Guide Lines. Then I can create additional ones similarly.

Is this what you try to do?


About edges of GDL objects: there is a GDL command called HOTLINE2. If there is a HOTLINE2 command the line drawn by that command will be sensed by the cursor as a line when the object is placed.
So the library parts can be written to have this intelligence.