Options: SmartTrack
SmartTrack™ is a system of temporary reference lines and points that is drawn in the Rhino viewport using implicit relationships among various 3-D points, other geometry in space, and the coordinate axes’ directions.
Temporary infinite lines (tracking lines) and points (smart points) are available to object snaps very much like real lines and points. You can snap to intersections of the tracking lines, perpendiculars, and directly to smart points as well as intersections of tracking lines and real curves. The tracking lines and smart points are displayed for the duration of a command.
You can add or ‘capture’ new points as needed up to the current maximum after which the oldest smart points disappear as new ones are added. Captured smart points can be cleared at any time if they are not proving useful.
Capture smart points
Automatically
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Capture smart points automatically by hovering briefly over an object snap point.
Manually
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Press the Ctrl
key once to place a manual smart point anywhere in space. This makes it easy to for example to place smart points along curves.
-
Press the Ctrl
key twice to clear all smart points.
Notes:
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Captured smart points are drawn in their own color and styles: gray with a cross for captured, but not currently active points (that is they are not sending out any tracking lines), and blue for active smart points.
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Tracking lines are drawn once a smart point is captured and the cursor is in a predictable relation with the captured point(s).
-
In this case, predictable means that the cursor is along or near an ortho line through the point, at or near the intersection between ortho lines from two smart points. Ortho tracking lines pay attention to the OrthoAngle
setting. -
When a single smart point is highlighted and you see the ortho cursor with a distance, type a distance or enter relative coordinates to place a point relative to the active smart point.
Object snaps
Perpendicular
Tracking lines can also appear when the cursor is at or near a smart point perpendicular to a tracking line if the perpendicular
object snap is active.
Tangent
A tracking line can appear at a tangent to a curve if the tangent
object snap is active.
Note: Perpendicular and tangent tracking lines are drawn in a different color from the ortho tracking lines.
Options
General
Toggles SmartTrack on and off.
Smart point activation delay
Hover time, in milliseconds, for a smart point to be captured.
Max number of smart points
The maximum number of smart points held at any one time.
Appearance
Dotted lines
Sets the tracking line style to dotted.
Line color
Sets tracking line color.
Tan and perp line color
Sets tangent and perpendicular tracking lines color.
Point color
Sets the captured but inactive smart points color.
Active point color
Sets the active smart points color.
Behavior
Implied From
When a single Smart point is highlighted, and you see the ortho cursor with a distance, you can either type a distance or enter relative coordinates to place a point relative to the active smart point.
Note: Press Alt
+Enter
to activate the normal distance constraint from the last picked point.
Example
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Start the Polyline command.
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Place some points.
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With Point object snap on, hover over one of the previous polyline vertices (or any other snap) to wake up a smart point and pull the cursor away along an ortho tracking line.
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You should see the cursor tooltip
telling you a distance from the Smart point and an angle. -
Type a single number and press Enter
to place the next point on the polyline that number of units away from the Smart Point in the direction you are pulling along the tracking line.
-
Type rx,y,z then the r will make the point relative
to the active smart point.Note: This only works along a tracking line from a single active smart point.
Example
-
Start the Polyline command.
-
Place some points.
-
With Point object snap on, hover over one of the previous polyline vertices (or any other snap) to wake up a smart point and pull the cursor away along an ortho tracking line.
-
You should see the cursor tooltip
telling you a distance from the Smart point and an angle. -
Type a single number and press Alt
+Enterto activate distance constraint for the next pick.
-
Without Alt
the pick will be finalized number units away from the active smart point rather than the last point picked.
Sets Smart ortho on or off. Smart ortho automatically draws ortho tracking lines from the last point picked without the need to specifically go back and capture that point. It is independent from the Ortho
setting.
Smart ortho is like having ortho on and off at the same time. When the cursor is away from ortho directions or object snapped to something, it works like a normal pick. When the cursor is near ortho directions, it works like an ortho pick.
Enable Smart tangents
and persistent perpendicular
object snap. Draw a polyline. Every time you click, a smart point is generated at the current end point of the polyline. Snap to a curve end, the ortho tracking line appears.
Turns on and off the ability to draw tangent tracking lines when the tangent
object snap is active.
Enable the persistent tangent
and end
object snaps. Draw a curve or a polyline. When you snap to a curve end, you can see the smart tangent tracking line.
Turns on and off the ability to draw parallel tracking lines when the tangent
object snap is active
Enable Smart tangents
and persistent tangent
and end
object snaps. Snap to a curve end and another point with a different type of object snap. You will see the parallel tracking line (when the mouse cursor is close to the parallel tracking line).
Toggles the retaining of captured Points for the duration of a command as opposed to discarding them after each mouse click. For example, when you use the Copy
command, clicking the mouse to place an object does not clear the existing smart points.
-Options
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Standard > Options Tools > Options Properties > Options (Right click) Standard > Options (Right click)
Tools > Options
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