Entity Snap and coordinates shown

#1
In either Autocad or Intellicad, the coordinates can be toggled to move with the cursor.

However, a very helpful feature in Autocad is that when you select an entity with one of the snap settings, the coordinates shown also "snap" in that they show the exact location of where the snap was made.

Intellicad, however, just shows where the cursor is even when a snap is made which can be really confusing since a snap to an entity can be anywhere inside the selection box. This means that I can't determine (easily with a simple snap) the exact location of a particular point on an entity.

Am I just missing a simple setting somewhere, or is this not a feature I can expect to find in Intellicad?

#2
I'm not sure of the answer to your question, but you can ID a selected point by selecting ID Coordinates from the "Inquiry" toolbar or by typing ID at the command prompt.

#3
I know Dave, but when you're moving along pretty good in a drawing, things happen fast.

I need to know that I have a particular point at a particular location like, RIGHT NOW.
Having to stop and play with menus to get information isn't my idea of a fun session when it's automatic in Autocad.
I was just hoping that there might be some kind of setting I'm missing that would make it work that way but, as seems to be usual, Intellicad works great but keeps falling short of the mark.

I'm not asking Intellicad to BE Autocad in any advanced feature way; I'm just wanting it to work LIKE Autocad while performing the simplest tasks in order to make my sessions as productive.
I thought that was what the whole idea of Intellicad was, i.e., to emulate Autocad in at least the basics?

#4
Skypilot,

Are you looking for the COORDS variable?

Set it to 0 and the coordinate display will change only when you pick a point.

ssc

#5
That still won't indicate the snap point, just the pick point even though snap is used. It has never been a problem for me, but now I see what Sky means. With coords running if you rest the mouse immediately after picking a point the coords remain stationary at the last picked point. Can't imagine how the coords information would be useful though?

#6
John,

I export to DXF for use in a CNC machine so I have to be careful that the entities exported are exactly at 0,0,0.

I'm too smart to not verify that EVERY time because being off can crash my CNC into a fixture.
In Autocad, all I do is to DIST and simply pick the first point I want to be sure is at 0,0,0.
The moment I snap, the coords show the location of the snapped point (NOT the location of the cursor as does Intellicad) which verifies it's position for me so I can then just cancel out of DIST, export my DXF entity, and have at it.

Yes, an earlier responder pointed out that I can simply ID the point by going through the menus, but it's aggravating to see such a simple feature overlooked when Autodesk had it all figured out for Intellicad to emulate.

#7
I see, though I'm not sure how each behaviour affects, or is affected by other things. For instance, what would you expect "lastpoint" to return, how does snap affect the answer and which offers less surprises for new users or lisp routines?
Just to say there might be a reason and it's perhaps a bit harsh to say it's not identical to Acad so it's not as good.
However there is one booby trap (at least in some versions) - chamfer D1 & D2 default to 0.5 which could cause real problems.
Could I suggest using options>crosshairs>grip attraction. You can highlight the line then pick on the grip point to display its coords the way you want?
Or start the first line by typing 0,0.
Or put it on a function key - "ID endp".

#8
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Skypilot:
I'm not asking Intellicad to BE Autocad in any advanced feature way; I'm just wanting it to work LIKE Autocad while performing the simplest tasks in order to make my sessions as productive.
I thought that was what the whole idea of Intellicad was, i.e., to emulate Autocad in at least the basics?[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sounds like you're just asking Intellicad to be Autocad in as far as the features you want. What about the features someone else wants? The point of Intellicad was not to be a duplicate of Autocad, it was to give Autocad users an alternative at a better price. It was (is) intended to be enough like Autocad so users wouldn't have a hard time adapting. BTW, my solution to the "problem" is to put the inquery toolbar up. Two mouse clicks and you know where you're at.

#9
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by john gaunt:
Or put it on a function key - "ID endp".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks John, that's pretty close to what I wanted and would improve accuracy although requiring a (simple) extra step.

I'll do that and keep marching along.