yorik wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 1:50 pm
the "more tools vs. less tools" question
I don't know if i'm too specific, but i'd to share some thoughts also if i''ve been just using freecad for a month...
I'd like more tools, but grouped by common behaviour or result you expect, or... else? It is to say i'd like less tools, but more powerful:
on the create toolbar for example: just one arc, but with tasks pannel showing the possibility to create it from center point, from end/end/mid, from end/mid/end. or in alternative a dropdown button that let you chose which tool to use, but in the toolbar definitely just one arc.
in the modification tools:
- i'd like to group copy clone and unclone, or at least clone and unclone in one dropdown button
- move, rotate, scale, mirror, stetch are ok by their own, since are the most used/recognizable
- Offset should be grouped again into one tool with the possibility to select different behaviours
then here we come to special commands:
- TRIMEX: i like how it works, but i'd like to make it more consistent: to me it's a tool that operate on just ONE object and modify it along one of it's axes (don't create new objects). this could work on lines, rectangles, arcs (moving end points along circumference), circles (transforming into arcs or making the circle tangent to selected destination shape and keeping center point fixed), boxes, spheres (like circles), walls, wires, slabs (stretching it), ecc. (this could have a special mode to select a destination line and trim/extend lot of other lines like autocad, but thats not necessary). Reference behaviour could be sketchup push/pull. I think this tool could also incorporate the "cut object with a plane" command since that's actually a trim or an extend to a plane.
- JOIN: it's a tool that operate on two ore more object (eventually joining them at one end with fillets or chamfers), working as trimex on more object as possible
DraftEXTRUDE: it's a tool that operates on one object and upgrade it into a new object: points became line, line became rectangles, rectangles became boxes, faces works like actual TRIMEX on solids (creating a new extruded solid). reference behavioud could be blender extrude.
I can imagine those tools are more complex to mantein, but i think they are also more intuitive for the user that dont have to look for the one he need.
in the end i'd like to give some love to the draft edit tool (i already fixed some behaviour on the arc and circle edit), and i'd like it could be activated every time an object is selected, without having to launch it every time, same with the boxSelection.
Also i noticed in the tooltip the "ctrl to snap, alt to copy, shift to constrain" but it sound strange to me that later is P to copy in many commands.
The topic Mould proposed is really really interesting, i'm just afraid of it could lead to really untidy drawings if the drafter is in a hurry for a deadline or just don't care much about it... think about autocad layers... there are still many people around using just 3 layers according to lineweight. Maybe we have to create a preset with a good default grouping tree... (?). Revit for example have this approach just with LOCAL MODEL tool, that makes you choose what you are drawing (wall, window, etc) before creating the geometry. But that would be really annoying to have to choose that for every object you are creating.
sorry if i've been too long-winded