[Feature request #4067] Sketcher - Auto Remove Redundants - disabling - Feature request

[HoWil]

Good evening,

Imagine you draw a sketch in sketcher. The shown one is just an simplified example sometimes there are x10 of constraints.
If one adds to many constraints than they get removed automatically as happened in the shown example when adding the horizontal constraints "50mm".

But sometimes its nice to temporarily add more constraints and deselect the unused ones afterwards. Originally, I expected that if I deselect "Auto Remove Redundants" I would be able to add the "50mm" constraint and simply get a warning that there are redundant constraints. But that did not work out. Is this a bug or do I simply not get the working principle right?

So here comes my feature-request:
Much more helpful for the user would be a message informing that there are redundant constraints while asking if the new one or the old and redundant one should be kept. The other one could be switched to "reference mode".

Thanks in advance,
BR,
HoWil

Screenshot from 2019-07-19 18-20-24.png (153.14 KiB) Viewed 919 times

[HoWil]

Here is also the model to start/play with and my version info:

OS: Ubuntu 18.10 (ubuntu:GNOME/ubuntu)
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.19.
Build type: Release
Python version: 3.6.8
Qt version: 5.11.1
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 7.3.0
Locale: English/UnitedStates (en_US)

[chrisb]

Is this a bug or do I simply not get the working principle right?

I would not call it a bug, but you are right, there is room for improvement. The behaviour you describe is implemented only for dimensional constraints. If you add a redundant geometric constraint it is just added and reported. You can continue, but the sketch is not updated anymore according to the constraints

[bejant]

Much more helpful for the user would be a message informing that there are redundant constraints while asking if the new one or the old and redundant one should be kept.

+1

The other one could be switched to "reference mode".

Do you want this to be done automatically by Sketcher or do you want the user to be asked first?
Or maybe you envision something else?

[HoWil]

A dialogue could looke like:
----------------------------
Would you like to add the constraint "50mm" with the index xy. This would set constraint "30mm" with the index yz to "reference mode".
Please select 'No' to add the new constraint constraint "50mm" to "reference mode".

Yes No Cancel
----------------------------

Ping

Abdullah, what do you think?
Thanks in advance,
BR,
HoWil

[chrisb]

It may not always be easy to find a single dimension constraint which creates the redundancy. What should happen in such a case?

[chrisb]

Here is such an example: I tried to add a horizontal constraint of 0mm to the selected points:

[abdullah]

Imagine you draw a sketch in sketcher. The shown one is just an simplified example sometimes there are x10 of constraints.
If one adds to many constraints than they get removed automatically as happened in the shown example when adding the horizontal constraints "50mm".

This should only happen with the Auto-Remove feature enabled.

The pop-up is not about the auto-remove mode, but FC cannot add it.

But sometimes its nice to temporarily add more constraints and deselect the unused ones afterwards. Originally, I expected that if I deselect "Auto Remove Redundants" I would be able to add the "50mm" constraint and simply get a warning that there are redundant constraints. But that did not work out. Is this a bug or do I simply not get the working principle right?

The way to temporarily remove constraints is the new icon to deactivate/reactivate constraints. For dimensionals, the reference mode may be an alternative.

So here comes my feature-request:
Much more helpful for the user would be a message informing that there are redundant constraints while asking if the new one or the old and redundant one should be kept. The other one could be switched to "reference mode".

Thanks in advance,
BR,
HoWil
Screenshot from 2019-07-19 18-20-24.png

As Chrisb indicates, there is generally no one-to-one relationship between a new inserted constraint and an old pre-existing one. Different sketcher constraints introduce a different number of constraints.

Aside, I am not confident that it is always the case that a user wants to enforce the new constraint. User do make mistakes from time to time. In case of a mistake the user wants that pop-up to be alerted of his misconception and trigger some extra sugar burning in its neurons.

[chrisb]

User do make mistakes from time to time.

Whenever I have seen this message I cannot remember wanting the new constraint, usually I simply had missed that it was already there, in rare cases I had missed that it could be derived.
The only way to handle this consistently would be an option to change the new dimension immediately to a reference constraint, like for external geometry. So the popup could be changed to a question "delete or keep as reference?".

[abdullah]

User do make mistakes from time to time.

Whenever I have seen this message I cannot remember wanting the new constraint, usually I simply had missed that it was already there, in rare cases I had missed that it could be derived.

This is generally the case for me too.

The only way to handle this consistently would be an option to change the new dimension immediately to a reference constraint, like for external geometry. So the popup could be changed to a question "delete or keep as reference?".

IMO this is actually the kind of things that add value. It would make a nice feature request.