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Grid background

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 6:54 pm
by Hotter
Is it possible to have a scaled grid background while drawing? Most of my architectural design work is 1/4" = 1' and the grid that was on claris was very handy to have while creating.

Re: Grid background

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2020 5:23 pm
by Eric Pousse
Bonjour Hotter,

I don't use feet and inches so I'm not comfortable with it.
1/4" = 1' = 12" => 1" = 48 "
So you have probably to set the scale at 1/48 and the grid as you want.

Thanks.

Re: Grid background

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:41 pm
by debenriver
1. In Window >> Layers/Pages, set the scale to 1/48

2. In Preferences >> General set "Unit of the drawing" to one of the US units (Decimal inches, Decimal feet, fractional inches or fractional feet and inches)

3. Set "Snap to grid" to the distance you want to be away from a grid line for Snap to work

4. In Preferences >> Dimensions>>Linear, set "Units" to the same as in Step 2.

5. In Preferences>>Display check the box "Display the grid"

6. Enter a figure in ∆x and ∆y for the spacing of the main grid lines

7. Enter a figure in Divisions for how many intermediate grid lines you want

8. You can also chose the pen colour of the grid lines and whether the main grid is solid or dotted; the division lines are always dotted.

9. Check Save as default if you wish to make these your default settings

10. Make sure that Grid (G) is selected in the Snap pallet

Depending on the size of your grid, it may disappear as the Zoom gets smaller.

And I've always had a bit of trouble with the divisions of the grid and the Snap to grid setting.

For example I set up (at 1/48 scale) the main grid at 12" spacings with 4 divisions (thus 3" spacings). Snap to grid I set at 2".

Drawing a line or whatever, snaps nicely to the main grid from 2" or less away both starting and ending the line. But if you try to start a line from a division, it will only start 1" away either side of the division grid line, though you can finish OK on a division line. And if you try to elongate the line after it's drawn it will only elongate to 1" each side of the division lines.

I've never been able to quite work out why this is?? I'm probably doing something stupid!!

Perhaps Eric can explain this better and how Divisions work?

Cheers -- George

Re: Grid background

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:42 pm
by Eric Pousse
Thank you George for your much more detailed response than mine...

Re: Grid background

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2020 11:58 am
by debenriver
Eric - could you explain how the Divisions in the grid work coupled with the Snap grid in Preferences. I can't seem to work it out!

Cheers -- George

Re: Grid background

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2020 4:15 pm
by Eric Pousse
The Snap grid is not automaticaly coupled with the division in the grid.

Re: Grid background

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:14 pm
by debenriver
Ah - that would explain why I couldn't make it do that!!

If you can't snap to the divisions, I don't really understand why you would use them at all?

Because of what I do, designing yachts mainly, I don't use a grid anyway, so I've never really got familiar with it – either with old Claris, or with RealCADD. I will try to understand it better as I'm updating my manual to v. 5

Cheers -- George

Re: Grid background

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:12 pm
by Eric Pousse
George,

I wrote that Snap grid is not automatically coupled with the division of the grid but you can do it manually...

For example with a scale of 1/50, drawing in meter, grid with Delta x = Delta y = 1 meter and 4 divisions, I have divisions each 0.25 m.
If I choose a snap grid = 0.05 m, I will have attractions on the grid and each division.
If I choose a snap grid = 0.10 m, I will have attraction on the grid (1 meter) and only on middle division (0.5 meter) but not on 0.25 and 0.75...

Cordialement.

Re: Grid background

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 11:29 pm
by debenriver
OK - Got it :mrgreen:

So – at the sort of scales and units I use If I set the scale to 1:10, units to mm, set the grid to 100mm with 4 divisions (25mm each) and set the Snap grid to 5mm, I can snap to the main grid lines and the four division lines.

That's because the Snap to grid figure (5mm in this case) will in fact snap to any multiple of 5 (so 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 etc.)

And if I set the Snap grid to 10mm, I can snap to the main grid lines and the 50mm division line, but not the 25mm division lines. Because the Snap to grid will snap to any multiple of 10 – and 25 is not a multiple of 10.

I think I've finally understood how the Grid and the Snap to grid work. I hadn't realized that Snap to grid would snap to multiples of itself. That makes much more sense now.

I've only been using RealCADD for about 10 years ..... :oops:

Cheers -- George