General View Creation

[cturk]

In order to make drawings with several parts on a sheet, I end up using the general view creation tool A LOT!. (Of course I have to create a view showing only that part of the assembly first) I use the standard view buttons when I can, but often times I want a certain orientation I can't achieve with those tools.

 

Sure, I could go back to my isolated view (my term for a view with all but one part suppressed) and flip the piece around so that the starndard views provide what I want, but that would be even more work (lots of little pieces). Instead, I tend to crank the increment to 90 and just flip the piece around until I get what I want. I don't like using the "from scene" option because it tends to get upset if I look at the part again and then update the drawing. Co-workers have run into that problem as well.

 

My main problem is I get sick of typing 90 over the default 5 degree increment all the time. Is there somewhere I can adjust the default? Other work arounds anyone?

 

Also, wouldn't it be nice if you could rotate the view direction in the view creation windows just like the scene? i.e. middle click and drag or view perp to face? The programmer in me says that would be almost impossible, but the engineer says everything that hasn't been done yet is almost impossible, and thats not a reason not to try it anyhow!

[Mike Allen]

If you don't physically rotate the part when you are looking at it (orbit the camera instead), it won't affect your General Views. Selecting "From Scene" gives you the camera orientation in the scene at that momemt, but if you move the camera later, it won't affect existing drawing views when you update them. The view will only change if you physically rotate the part.

 

We use General Views with the "From Scene" option all the time because it is usually easier to get a decent camera angle directly in the scene, rather than using the orientation tools in the General View dialog box. One tip we have learned is to use the Walk Camera tool to click once in the scene to straighten the vertical edges after orbiting the camera.

[cturk]

Thanks Mike,

 

That is a great tip for getting good iso views in the scene.

 

I could swear that my from scene views were altered when orbiting the camera and then updating, but it wasn't my drawing (was showing a student how to do multiple parts); I'll have to give it another whirl.

 

 

[krowell]

The look at camera tool (f7) is also very usefull for aligning the view before using "sandard view". (dont forget the reset and from scene buttons)

 

I will present the request for more view orientation interface options for the general view dialog to R&D. I think it's reasonable to expect software with such a great interface to have a great dialog interface as well.