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jol  
#1 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 2:02:19 AM(UTC)
jol

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Tim's making great progress in making part history water-tight

However ..

What our feature tree system is missing is a method for getting to the feature you need to change ... and fast !

Sure, go ahead and scan through the feature list to find that feature you need to edit .. but good luck !

It's very hard to navigate .. If your object is anything other than simple, you'll know it's not an easy process.

(Features frequently fail to light up in the drawing window when clicked in the tree)

What's required here IMHO is a second ambiguity pop-up list, (including feature icons) :

.. right click your part and choose "pinpoint feature" from the contextual menu. A chronological list of features (with icons) should then appear for you to scan through. (earlier features higher in the list, later features lower)

Mouseover a list item and that feature in the model should light up .

Click that feature and the feature list should disappear : The topmenu and edit object dialog box should refresh ready to accept changes to that precise feature. Feature Tree should expand to show that feature highlighted

.. edit feature and get on with your life

thoughts welcome
jol  
#2 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 2:22:38 AM(UTC)
jol

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What would also be useful is an option to show the feature tree in a simple "Chronological View". This would show one part only at a time

As mentioned above, finding your feature in the feature tree (for a complex object) requires patience and luck. ESP and witchcraft may also help

All I want to see here is a list of features going back in time to genesis

If we did this, it could sow the seeds for potential new features like "Rollback" where you could easily take your part back to a given state (based on order of creation), say before you started your shelling and rounding operations

(I find the current implementation of Feature Tree very frustrating to deal with .. others may not .. that's why I'm suggesting this as an alternate simple or chronological mode)
jlm  
#3 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 2:55:20 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: jol Go to Quoted Post
finding your feature in the feature tree (for a complex object) requires patience and luck. ESP and witchcraft may also help
All I want to see here is a list of features going back in time to genesis

It is true that it is extremely dificult to find a feature fruit in a big tree.
Yes a mini "Time Machine" or just a "Photoshop history" for each part would be great !

JL
ttrw  
#4 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 6:20:58 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: jol Go to Quoted Post

What our feature tree system is missing is a method for getting to the feature you need to change ... and fast !

Sure, go ahead and scan through the feature list to find that feature you need to edit .. but good luck !

It's very hard to navigate .. If your object is anything other than simple, you'll know it's not an easy process.

(Features frequently fail to light up in the drawing window when clicked in the tree)

What's required here IMHO is a second ambiguity pop-up list, (including feature icons) :

.. right click your part and choose "pinpoint feature" from the contextual menu. A chronological list of features (with icons) should then appear for you to scan through. (earlier features higher in the list, later features lower)

Mouseover a list item and that feature in the model should light up .


I'd be more than happy with just these extra features alone, Jol/ Tim :D. The highlight feature with a mouse-over is spot on! Solidworks has this. Why not Shark?

Originally Posted by: jol Go to Quoted Post

Click that feature and the feature list should disappear : The topmenu and edit object dialog box should refresh ready to accept changes to that precise feature. Feature Tree should expand to show that feature highlighted

.. edit feature and get on with your life

thoughts welcome


I would prefer if the feature list 'greys out' rather than dissapears (if I've understood you correctly?) I've got such a terrible short term memory- lol! :o
ttrw  
#5 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 6:23:22 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: jlm Go to Quoted Post
It is true that it is extremely dificult to find a feature fruit in a big tree.


Yes, and equally too when these entities are all called "ACIS Solid_528598881" etc!! :D
jol  
#6 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 6:33:27 AM(UTC)
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Yep .. you're quite right TT !

These numbers are ridiculous

These crazy numbers can perhaps stay - but need abstracting from the user's perspective to become "entity_1", "entity_2" etc
ttrw  
#7 Posted : Saturday, March 14, 2009 7:55:06 AM(UTC)
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Yes I quite agree Jol :)


Tim?
jol  
#8 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 3:16:32 AM(UTC)
jol

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We need some action on this in V6

.. the time of rooting around amid hundreds of feature tree entries for the one you need must come to an end !
jol  
#9 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 3:50:30 AM(UTC)
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something like this !
jol attached the following image(s):
find feature.jpg (90kb) downloaded 5 time(s).

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jdi000  
#10 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 5:16:36 AM(UTC)
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I like the idea of being able to select a feature with the selection tool and rt clicking to the menu and having the mini menu like feature finder or what if...

adding a command in the right click menu to "open feature tree" and the feature tree would open to the feature you have selected with the selection tool and would be highlighted. Very similar to rt click object info... but instead it would open the feature tree to the location of the object selected?


Jason
Windows 11, 10
jol  
#11 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 5:38:53 AM(UTC)
jol

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JD .. Sorry, I don't understand (.. think I may have missed something ?)

Isn't this the point ? Without a location aware ambiguity pop-up - which is what I'm proposing, there is NO way to select a feature .. only a part - (or a part thereof with hollow arrow) - other that by trapsing through the feature tree, which I think we're all agreed can get exceedingly complex very quickly

How are you suggesting that you select that one radius blend feature that you made whilst you were making say 127 others ?

Sorry if I'm getting confused
ZeroLengthCurve  
#12 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 12:36:40 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: jol Go to Quoted Post
As mentioned above, finding your feature in the feature tree (for a complex object) requires patience and luck. ESP and witchcraft may also help



LOL....

How about runes?

I Rooll mY Neck and wiGglE my hanDs...
I hoPe the surFacing GOES as PLANNED

THe U and V are NOT coPLANAR...
But to ME this is a NO BRAINER...
jol  
#13 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 12:48:41 PM(UTC)
jol

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: )

There was a young wiz from Wisconsin
A career in CAD he decidedon
To rewrite the rules
And fox all those fools
For a paper and pen they dependedon

Well .. I like yours more !
jdi000  
#14 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 6:21:16 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: jol Go to Quoted Post
JD .. Sorry, I don't understand (.. think I may have missed something ?)

Isn't this the point ? Without a location aware ambiguity pop-up - which is what I'm proposing, there is NO way to select a feature .. only a part - (or a part thereof with hollow arrow) - other that by trapsing through the feature tree, which I think we're all agreed can get exceedingly complex very quickly

How are you suggesting that you select that one radius blend feature that you made whilst you were making say 127 others ?

Sorry if I'm getting confused


Jol

this is a good subject but it gets wordy to describe..

I understand having the ambiguity pop menu but, dosen't the program already recognize features by where you select for example...

if you use selection tool and double click on the feature you want yes the whole part highlights but it does open the object info box and update the data entry fields at the top with the correct feature you clicked on to modify but its confusing seeing the whole part highlighted instead of only the selected feature highlighted.

if you use the selection tool and single click on a feature like a particular fillet/chamfer,hole the whole object highlights and if you rt click and pick object info it opens object info with the last created feature selected not the one you click on??? I am not sure if this is how its supposed to work?

I like your suggestion of the feature tree opening up to the selected feature and selecting it and then it should be the only highlighted feature on the object, but is the submenu necessary? If you double click on an object's feature the object info box opens to the correct feature so it knows this by where you click with the selection tool.

so if you click on say a fillet then right click -->contextual menu and have a option -->open feature tree and it automatically opens as you described in your 1st post opens to the correct place in the feature tree highlights the feature and then the feature should be the only highlighted thing on the model with the data entry bar updated and ready to go. Currently the data entry bar at top does not change to the item selected in the feature tree??? not sure why not?? and conversely if you just double click on a feature the object info opens and the data entry box updates with correct fields but it the name stays part_203 instead of the name of the feature you are modifying???

or are you saying you would like the ambiguity pop because its too hard to click with the select tool and hit the exact feature you want? what are you thoughts...

i am sure others should jump in also and comment because this is important part of using the interface!!!
Windows 11, 10
jol  
#15 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 6:32:43 PM(UTC)
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Sorry - I have absolutely no idea it did this

Not bad for 10 years : (

It's very clever .. but

A. I'm guessing nobody else knows that's how it works (or is it just me ?) - so it's not clear that's how it works

B. It doesn't work properly in exactly the ways you say : ie the body lights up - not the feature .. and nothing lights up in the feature tree
jdi000  
#16 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 6:52:05 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: jol Go to Quoted Post
Sorry - I have absolutely no idea it did this

Not bad for 10 years : (

It's very clever .. but

A. I'm guessing nobody else knows that's how it works (or is it just me ?) - so it's not clear that's how it works

B. It doesn't work properly in exactly the ways you say : ie the body lights up - not the feature .. and nothing lights up in the feature tree



yes the part b you describe would be an enhancement idea to make it easier.. you see what I propose?
Windows 11, 10
jol  
#17 Posted : Thursday, March 19, 2009 6:57:03 PM(UTC)
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Yes, I'm right with you !

Your mission .. should you choose to accept it .. is to get it across to Timbo

: )
jol  
#18 Posted : Friday, March 20, 2009 3:55:21 AM(UTC)
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It shouldn't be for me to do QA or to have to prove that something doesn't work. However .. JD .. it doesn't work !

In this example, I can click anywhere on my object and I get to change the 7mm radius blend at one end of the object ONLY

Tim .. I finally find that we do indeed have a pinpoint feature .. As ever though, real world and the lack of QA belies it's useful function

- feature must feedback visually on mouseover .. suggest surface tone change or similar
- feature tree must light up clicked feature .. ideally highlight mouseover'd feature on-the-fly
- it must work reliably

Added - it does appear to select features more reliably if you zoom right in, then click
jol attached the following image(s):
1.png (55kb) downloaded 5 time(s).

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