Adding elements to the document tree

A forum for research and development of the user interface of FreeCAD
Forum rules
Be nice to others! Respect the FreeCAD code of conduct!
Post Reply
mtsinc
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 12:40 pm

Adding elements to the document tree

Post by mtsinc »

When I create a new Part or duplicate an existing one, the newly-created Part appears at the bottom of the Tree View.

I've got projects that have more parts than can fit without scrolling the tree, and I've been using (v0.18) Part and Group objects to organize stuff and to collapse parts of the tree for easier navigation.

But that's not good enough. Despite having an active Part/Group, the Part is still created at the bottom of the Tree View (hence, in the document root, not in the active sub-component), and has to be dragged each time to reside in the active component.

And all too frequently, despite having collapsed large segments of the document, the group or Part Object that I want to drag into isn't displayed in the Tree View Pane. Since this pane does not auto-scroll to track the mouse, what usually happens is that the component being dragged gets randomly dropped into some other (collapsed) group, and since there's not anything like an Edit/Find menu to ferret it out by name, type, or other distinguishing characteristic, I end up on a 10-minute "treasure hunt" trying to locate it.

Ideally, when I activate a Group or Part, it should become the default focus for new work, and components should be created there, not at the document root.

And making the Tree View auto-scroll when stuff is being dragged wouldn't be taken amiss, either.
mtsinc
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Adding elements to the document tree

Post by mtsinc »

That previous item probably doesn't make much sense, since I didn't have a good set of names to distinguish a Part as a component (primitive or operational result) from a "Part" as in "Create Part" from the toolbar/menu - meaning an aggregate part. If anyone has better terms to clarify that, I'd be glad to hear them.
vocx
Veteran
Posts: 5197
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:18 pm

Re: Adding elements to the document tree

Post by vocx »

mtsinc wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:23 pm That previous item probably doesn't make much sense, since I didn't have a good set of names to distinguish a Part as a component (primitive or operational result) from a "Part" as in "Create Part" from the toolbar/menu - meaning an aggregate part. If anyone has better terms to clarify that, I'd be glad to hear them.
The "Part to group things" (yellow icon) is called an App::Part because that's a type of object created internally in the C++ code. I also call it Std Part, as that's the name in the graphical interface, and the name it has on the wiki. Similarly, I talk about Std Groups (the folders). I like to refer to objects by the name they have on the wiki so the user can visit that page and immediately know what I'm talking about.

All other drawing items I call "bodies", or solids, or elements, or I use their specific name in the wiki, like PartDesign Body. I omit using "Part", except for a Std Part.

You can see what the name of a particular icon is by using the Std WhatsThis tool.
Always add the important information to your posts if you need help. Also see Tutorials and Video tutorials.
To support the documentation effort, and code development, your donation is appreciated: liberapay.com/FreeCAD.
vocx
Veteran
Posts: 5197
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:18 pm

Re: Adding elements to the document tree

Post by vocx »

mtsinc wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:20 pm ... and since there's not anything like an Edit/Find menu to ferret it out by name, type, or other distinguishing characteristic, I end up on a 10-minute "treasure hunt" trying to locate it.
...
View -> Panels -> Selection View.

It's an entry box in which you can type. It will automatically search the model by it's name as you type. Then of all the objects it finds, you can choose "Go to selection" to select it in the Tree View, or "Zoom to fit" to go to where the object is in the 3D viewport. It took me ages to find this, but it's quite useful! It definitely needs to be mentioned more in the documentation.
FreeCAD_selection_view.png
FreeCAD_selection_view.png (31.68 KiB) Viewed 985 times
Always add the important information to your posts if you need help. Also see Tutorials and Video tutorials.
To support the documentation effort, and code development, your donation is appreciated: liberapay.com/FreeCAD.
vocx
Veteran
Posts: 5197
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:18 pm

Re: Adding elements to the document tree

Post by vocx »

mtsinc wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:20 pm ... and since there's not anything like an Edit/Find menu to ferret it out by name, type, or other distinguishing characteristic, I end up on a 10-minute "treasure hunt" trying to locate it.
Also this
triplus wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 9:24 am
2. Searching objects in the projects tree

...

make a simple Find in the tree using object name.
In FreeCAD 0.18 such feature was already added. Right clicking on the top (document) item in the tree view (combo view) and select the Search menu entry.
Always add the important information to your posts if you need help. Also see Tutorials and Video tutorials.
To support the documentation effort, and code development, your donation is appreciated: liberapay.com/FreeCAD.
Post Reply