Monthly Archives: February 2012

Snap Distances

I thought I would follow up from the last post with a small little tip.  When the Nudge command is used it looks to the values that are set in the Dimension Snap setting dialog.

As the description in this dialog box states: When the mouse is moved 2mm on the screen it will snap to the length dimensions that are closest to that zoom resolution, this is also true for the Nudge command.  A little known trick to this dialog box is to adjust it often.  I have heard many times that AutoCAD Architecture or other programs are nice because when inserting doors I can set a desired value and the doors just snap to that distance.

  Revit can do the same if this dialog box is used, Change the 6″ value to say 5″ (127mm) and then start placing doors, they will snap this distance from a desired corner.  I will also change that value to 8″ when  I am working with a brick or masonry wall, now when I model the wall is the correct length.  Of course verify that the temporary dimensions are also set approiately to what you need as well.

Nudge

My tip today is a quick one.  This is something I managed to go years without knowing and so when I noticed myself using it today I thought I would share.  Everyone uses “Nudge”; simply select and object and use the arrow keys to move said object slightly.  But what if you want to move it more than just a little bit?  Hold down the shift key and the nudge distance will increase by a factor of 10.

Automation

When I was getting started in the industry I was paying off bills by being a woodworker.  During my time I was fortunate enough to be at the cutting edge of the business and seeing all of the machinery become computerized and in some cases automated.  So this topic has always interested me in all industries and as new things develop I am always in awe, so when I came across the following C|NET article I was impressed again.  It has a short video of flying robots assembling a tower of blocks per a specified design.  I know this is in a controlled environment and many of the comments in the post elude to this but think of the potential…