The other day I was showing a user the Instant3D on-screen rulers when they asked me about its precision. I was asked what is to keep users from arbitrarily creating models without any regard to the values being selected. This is definitely a possibility and probably will happen with less experienced users but the on-screen rulers allows for precision without extra steps. The on-screen ruler is a great tool that is extremely easy to use that will decrease your design time without sacrificing precision.

What is the on-screen ruler?

When you drag geometry or dimension manipulators using the drag handles while in Instant3D mode, the on-screen ruler is displayed. The on-screen rulers allow for users to select a value, with precision, while dragging features.

Ruler Display

The ruler display…well…looks like a ruler. The major increments, the longer hatch marks, are labeled with a number depending on the units and the zoom scale. As you zoom in, the increments become finer allowing for more precise dimensions. When you zoom out the increments are greater. The minor increments, the shorter hatch marks, are not labeled but instead equally divide the major increments, also depending on the scale.

The origin is marked with a yellow line on the ruler; this is to show the origin of the extrusion before you dragged the feature. The current value is displayed in green and a green line indicates its location on the ruler. A yellow highlighted path shows the difference between the origin and the current position as you drag the triads.

Precision Snapping

When your mouse pointer is away from the ruler, the values change freely depending on your mouse position. This is great you are building a rough model with no real hard dimensions but should not be used when you are starting to finalize your design.

As you move the pointer over the numbers and major increments on the ruler, the value will snap to the numbers on the ruler. If you are zoomed into far enough into the view you might be able to find the value you need at this level.

If you require a more precise value, move the pointer while dragging the arrow over the minor increments. These increments are not labeled but the current value in green reflects the current position on the ruler. As mentioned earlier the minor increments equally divide the major increments based on your zoom scale. If you require a value to 2 or 3 decimal places you may be required to zoom in quite a bit.

On-screen rulers for angles

When modifying revolves or drafts, an angular ruler is shown. Despite its appearance the function is the same as that of the directional ruler.

Note that there are times when an entity is not draggable. If a sketch is fully defined or when a feature is unsupported, the handle will turn black or an icon will appear.

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