SpaceClaim Online Help

Snap options

You can set snapping options for sketching and editing solids. Units for snap options are set by your Units options for all new documents.

To customize snap options

1. Select SpaceClaim Options from the File menu to display the SpaceClaim Options window.

2. Click SnapConstrain to objects, angular and linear increments, or grid points while you are sketching or editing solids. You can customize the snapping behavior in File>Options. Pressing Shift while dragging snaps the tool based on your snap settings. You can use the Snap to grid tool to constrain or lock all drawing to grid points only. from the navigation panel on the left.

3. Modify the options on the page.

4. Click OK to save all your changes and close the window.

If you try to enter a value that is out of the allowed range in the Options panelArea of the user interface that enables you to modify functions specific to tools. or the SpaceClaim Options dialog, you will see a red exclamation mark icon next to the field. You can hover over the icon to see a tooltip that will explain the valid values for the option.

To set incremental options for sketching on the sketch grid

1. Check Angular snap to snap to objects while sketching.

2. Enter the angle increment you want to snap to when you select the Snap to angle option in Select, MoveA tool used to translate or rotate geometry., and Sketch tools.

To enable snapping to objects when sketching on the sketch grid

1. Check Enable snapping in sketches to snap to objects while sketching.

   While you sketch, objects you can snap to are highlighted. The points to which the sketch tools are snapping appear as messages in the status bar.

2. Check the box next to each item in the list to determine which objects you can snap to while sketching:

   • LineA straight line, arc, or spline drawn in Sketch mode or on a layout plane. Lines have length but no area. When you pull a sketch into 3D with the PullTool used to distort or deform geometry. Use the Pull tool to offset, extrude, revolve, sweep, draft, and blend faces; or to round, chamfer, or extrude edges. When converting a sketch to 3D, pulling a line creates a surface and pulling a surface creates a solid. tool, lines become edges. - Snap points along lines (at intersections with sketch grid) indicated by rectangles

   • End point - Snap points at all end points indicated by squares

   • Midpoint - Snap point at center of lines indicated by triangles

   • ArcCurved line of constant radius; part of a circle. See Sweep arc, Three point arc, Tangent arc./circle center - Snap points at center of arcs and circles indicated by circles

   • TangentLine that touches a curve (arc or circle) at only one point, without crossing over, and is perpendicular to the radius at the point of tangency. You can sketch a line tangent to a curve or you can sketch an arc tangent to a line or curve. from end point - Snap points at tangent angle to end points indicated by tangent guides

   • Perpendicular from end point - Snap points perpendicular angle to end points indicated by perpendicular guides

   • Tangent/perpendicular from line - Snap points at tangent and perpendicular angles along lines indicated by tangent and perpendicular guides

   • Parallel to line - Lines parallel to the sketched line indicated by highlighting

   • Parallel to grid - Snap enabled parallel to the grid when snap to grid is disabled

   • GridSee Sketch grid - Snap enabled to the grid

To set incremental options for editing solids

1. Check Linear snap to snap to constrain to a linear increment and set the linear interval for tool movements in the Incremental area.

   For example, if you set the Linear increment to 1 mm, you will pull to whole millimeters instead of fractions of millimeters.

2. Check Angular snap to snap to constrain to an angle increment and set the degree interval for tool movements in the Incremental area.

   For example, if you set the Angular increment to 5 degrees, you will move in larger increments than if set to 1 degree.

To set snapping options for editing solids

1. Check Enable snapping to solids with the Shift key to snap when you press and hold Shift using any tool.

2. Check the box next to each situation or object in the list to determine when a tool will snap while editing solids:

   • FaceSide or other surface of a solid. Some examples are the inside surface of a hole or the six sides of a rectangular solid. See Surface. parallel - Snap to a parallel face

   • RotateDesign: Using the Rotate tool to spin a design 90 degrees in the plane of the screen. You can rotate your design clockwise or counterclockwise. Object: Using the Move handle to spin an object around an axis. parallel to face - Snap to a parallel face when rotating

   • Rotate perpendicular to face - Snap to a perpendicular face when rotating

   • Edge3D object composed of a single outside boundary of a feature. A line sketched in 2D becomes an edge when you pull your sketch into 3D. - Snap to any edge

   • Cylinder radius - Snap to the radius of a cylinder

   • RoundRounded corner at the intersection of two lines or edges. Round refers to an exterior corner; an interior corner is known as a fillet. Rounds and fillets are both called rounds. See Fillet, Constant-radius round, Variable-radius round. radius - When creating a round, snap its radius the value of an existing round on the component

To set the nudge options

Nudging lets you incrementally change dimension values using the arrow keys.

Depending on what tool you are in, there may be only one dimension or there may be two.

The active dimension is considered the Primary dimension and the inactive is secondary. Which dimension is active can be changed using the Tab key.

For the primary dimension, you nudge the value up using the Up Arrow key and nudge it down using the Down Arrow key.

Nudge the secondary dimension vakue up with the Right Arrow key and down with the Left Arrow key.

You can set three nudge increment values:

• NormalThe vector that is perpendicular to a flat plane at the selected point. In the case of a non-flat plane, the vector that is perpendicular to the plane tangent to the surface at the selected point. - The nudge increment when you press Shift and an arrow key.

• Small - The nudge increment when you press Alt+ Shift and an arrow key.

• Big - The nudge increment when you press Ctrl + Shift and an arrow key.

Examples

Snapping to the midpoint of a line

Editing a solid with angular snap set to 15 degrees

Snapping to an existing diameter