Snap Track Lock again

Tom Foster

Re-starting https://forum.bricsys.com/discussion/33956/snap-track-lock#latest which went off-topic a bit:

I'm really baffled by excellent, valuable Snap Track Lock - the places where it doesn't work.

Help says: "Hit the Shift key while a snap track marker line is displayed to lock a tracking path, any (snap)point that is picked will be projected perpendicularly onto the tracking path. Hit the Shift key again to unlock."
Ideal, if only it were true.
It works fine when drawing a Line.
It works nowadays with DIST, tho I'm sure I remember being frustrated by it often not working, in circumstances I couldn't discover.

With a raft of modification tools it doesn't seem to work - is there some gd reason?
e.g. MOVE, COPY in both 2D and 3D - click the 'from' point, move close to a Polar axis, snap track marker line is displayed, hit Shift, it locks, and all is well until the 'to' position turns out to be some snap point - then the locked tracking path is abandoned and the entity is moved/copied direct to the snap point, rather than to its projection onto the locked tracking path.
Doesn't work at all in BIMEXTRUDE, move solid mode.

Is there some setting?

I'd like to make this an urgent feature request if necessary.

Louis_Verdonck

@Tom Foster said:
With a raft of modification tools it doesn't seem to work - is there some gd reason?
e.g. MOVE, COPY in both 2D and 3D - click the 'from' point, move close to a Polar axis, snap track marker line is displayed, hit Shift, it locks, and all is well until the 'to' position turns out to be some snap point - then the locked tracking path is abandoned and the entity is moved/copied direct to the snap point, rather than to its projection onto the locked tracking path.

I cannot reproduce that: the tracking line is correctly locked and entity snap points are projected onto the locked tracking line.

Doesn't work at all in BIMEXTRUDE, move solid mode.

It is unclear what you mean here. I suppose you refer to DmExtrude? But there is no such thing as 'move solid' mode ...

Michael Mayer

It does work for me - as long as Polar Mode activated.

Ortho Mode switches Axis depending on dragging direction
and also leaves Ortho for any near snap point

Having none of Ortho or Polar activated, SHIFT locks similar
to Polar in 2D, but gives me no way to go in Z at all in an Iso.

Michael Mayer

Also activating DRAGSNAP makes strange behavior better
recognizable - before you click your to-point.

(At least in most cases but not all, e.g. defining Polysolid heights)

(I also think that DRAGSNAP on gives the default UI behaviour as used
anywhere else - why is it OFF by default ?
Which effects especially Shape, without settings control)

Tom Foster

Louis, looks like you're right about it working in MOVE etc. How weird - this has been frusrating me forever and now it's gone!

Michael, DRAGSNAP is valuable to know, setting it to ON. Surely you're right - ON should be default, is reassuringly what I'd hope. ON eliminates possibility of what I was experiencing i.e. not only displaying the dragged entity temporarily at the 'to' snap point (OFF) , but leaving it there.

Louis, sorry, I meant BIMDRAG in Solid>Move mode. But as per SR 84186 I can't presently get that to function at all so can't re-test it.

Michael Mayer

@Tom Foster said:
Louis, sorry, I meant BIMDRAG in Solid>Move mode.

That also works here well for me.
In ORTHO, POLAR and NOTHING Mode

BC Mac 18.2.23