June 23rd, 2010
SolidWorks 2010 SP4 was just released yesterday. Why install SP4? If the Dimension Pie (Rapid Dimension Manipulator) gets in your way while you make drawings, then SP4 is for you. What does SP4 give you?
Banishment
The ESC key now banishes the Dimension Pie. This allows users to dismiss the Dimension Pie any time it shows up (presumably when it is in the way). The user doesn’t have click around it anymore, nor do they need to perform a mouse dance to make it go away. In my opinion, this drastically improves the usability of the Dimension Pie.
Rapid Dimension toggle
Toggle
There is another Dimension Pie improvement in SP4. A new toggle now resides in the Dimension PropertyManager under the Dimension Assist Tools section called Rapid dimensioning. If it is checked, the Dimension Pie shows up all the time. If it is unchecked, the Dimension Pie is completely turned off. This toggle is system level so it is remembered across multiple SolidWorks sessions. The user doesn’t have to keep selecting it every time they start SolidWorks.
Further development unlikely
To me, these solutions should have been included with the initial release of SolidWorks 2010 SP0.0. Additionally, I think there is more that can be done to improve Dimension Pie usability.
More improvements are doubtful at this time. Tom Spine stated:
No further development is planned on Rapid Dimension Manipulator after SP4.
This is unfortunate. I think the Dimension Pie could be improved by changing its shape to a slimmer rectangular or pill shape. Or, maybe SolidWorks would allow users to customize the shape as they see fit. You want Micky Mouse’s silhouette? Why not? How about a four-left clover? That would would’ve been cool.
Four rules for the Product Definition Team
I would like to offer four new rules to the SolidWorks Product Definition Team.
- When adding new pop-up functionality to the user interface, ALWAYS provide a method for immediate banishment (i.e., allow the user to use the ESC key to dismiss the pop-up).
- When adding any new user interface functions, ALWAYS provide a system level setting that allows the user to turn it off.
- Never completely delete existing functions. Instead, simply add on-off toggles at the appropriate level for that function.
- TEST TEST TEST in the real world. Maybe leverage the behind-the-scenes activities of the LetsGoDesign.tv program to discover issues with new functions before they are released to the public.
If SolidWorks Corp follows these four rules, they will have far fewer headaches after any SP0.0 release.
Conclusion
If the Dimension Pie has been bugging you, I highly recommend upgrading to SolidWorks 2010 SP4.
Categories: Complaints, Drawing, Product Review |
Tags: dimension pie, letsgodesign.tv, rapid dimension manipulator | No Comments
June 15th, 2010
SolidWorks 2010 saw several cool interface improvements that may have been prematurely included. One of these was the Rapid Dimension Manipulator (or as I like to call it, the Dimension Pie; it’s just easier to say). The Dimension Pie appears at the mouse cursor location when the user inserts a dimension in a drawing view. It allows the user to quickly place dimensions along a chosen side at evenly spaced intervals.
The Problem
Although the Dimension Pie does speed up certain dimensioning activities, it also burdens the user by being in the way a lot. This prevents the user from quickly making additional selections by requiring a mouse dance. In case you’ve not upgraded to SolidWorks 2010 yet, a mouse dance is when the user is forced to move the mouse cursor away from one location and to bring it back again just to dismiss some pop-up.
As I see it, the shape and size of the pie take up too much real estate on the view pane. The pie shape is just the right sort of shape to be equally annoying in almost every situation. In my opinion, a rectangular bar shape would’ve much less intrusive. Another problem is that there is no way to quickly banish the Dimension Pie or to turn it off completely.
Temporary Solution
As of right now, SolidWorks 2010 SP3 (and SP3.1, I presume) allows for the use of a registry key to turn off the Dimension Pie. If someone is interested, this key is posted somewhere in the SolidWorks Forums (search for “Rapid Dimension Manipulator”). I’m not providing that solution here because I just don’t like it. It requires the use to upgrade to SP3 and then to apply the registry key. A permanent solution is planned for SP4 anyway, so if you haven’t already upgraded, you may wish to wait a week or two.
Categories: Complaints, Drawing |
Tags: dimension pie, rapid dimension manipulator | 1 Comment
February 22nd, 2010
Some SolidWorks users feel like guinea pigs. SolidWorks implements all kinds of new and wonderful improvements that end up being a pain-in-the-neck for one person or another. Two new SolidWorks 2010 user interface additions have been received as such. These are the Dimension Palette and the Rapid Dimension Manipulator (or Dimension Pie, as I like to call it).
As many are aware, the Dimension Pie pops up while the user is adding a dimension on a drawing. This gives them the ability to semi-automatically place their dimension.
The Dimension Palette pops up each time a dimension is created. This gives the user the ability to quickly edit dimension content and style. The problem is that the graphical display of these new functions often pops-up at very annoying locations on screen. Multiple complaints about these functions are on the SolidWorks Forum.
The complaints
A common complaint with the Dimension Pie is that when it pops-up, it covers portions of the drawing view. Many linear dimensions require two clicks to complete. The Dimension Pie will often cover the location required for the second click, preventing the user from completing the action to add the dimension. It appears that the visual representation of the Dimension Pie was designed for simple or clean drawings. Individuals with crowded or complex drawings find this user interface improvement to be more of a hindrance. The workaround is to move the mouse away from the Dimension Pie until it completely disappears. This simple act can drastically slow down experienced users.
The complaint with the Dimension Palette is similar. A user often does not need to customize the content or style of dimensions on their drawing. The problem with Dimension Palette is that when it pops-up, it can cover over a portion of the drawing view where the user may wish to add their next dimension. It slows down users by preventing them from creating several dimensions in quick succession. It seems the Dimension Palette was designed under the assumption that users are applying Imported Dimensions (dimensions that are automatically pulled in from the model). Again, the workaround is a time wasting movement the mouse until the Dimension Palette disappears.
Solutions?
SolidWorks Corp was some solutions underway that allow users to turn off these functions. (I’ll have more information about these at a later date.) However, my personal opinion is that these functions also need to be smarter. The Dimension Palette should be made so that it does not cover drawing object lines. As for the Dimension Pie, perhaps it shouldn’t be a pie shape at all. Maybe it should be a narrow band that covers much less viewing area. This would thus drastically reduce the chances that it will cover potential counterpart object lines or points.
Banishment
Additionally, I would also like to see the addition of a banishment shortcut that will allow the user to immediately remove both the Dimension Palette and Dimension Pie when they are in the way.
Categories: Complaints, Drawing, Editorial, News |
Tags: dimension palette, rapid dimension manipulator | 8 Comments
September 14th, 2009
Adding dimensions to parts on drawings is now quicker in SolidWorks 2010 with the addition of Rapid Dimension. Once the user enters the Dimension command, Rapid Dimension allows the them to quickly position dimensions (almost automatically) as they are added. Not only will dimensions automatically space out correctly as they are inserted, they will be inserted at the correct location, even without that location in view.
Now, each time a dimension is added to a drawing, SolidWorks will pop up with a pie, divided into two pieces for linear dimensions or four pieces for radial dimensions. (Technically, these pies are called the rapid dimension manipulators.)
Each piece of the pie represents the direction (which side of the part) that the user can choose to place their new dimension. When the user selects the half or quarter, the dimension is placed in the correct location on that side of the part within the drawing view.
Two methods can be used to select the dimension location using the pie. The user can simply LMB click on the portion of the pie in the desired direction. The user can also use a mouseless method, by pressing tab to toggle between the pieces of the pie; then press the spacebar to select. Additionally, the user can choose the ignore the choices offered by the pie to manually place the dimension, just as they would in previous versions of SolidWorks.
The auto-spacing between dimensions is determined by the user’s settings in Tools>Options…>Document Properties>Dimensions within the Offset distances field. The ability to set default dimension line offsets has been in SolidWorks for quite some time, but it’s never been quite so useful as it is in Solidworks 2010.
Within a few minutes of using Rapid Dimensions, many users will likely become instantly addicted to the new function, as it promises to be a major time saver when detailing drawings in SolidWorks 2010 and beyond.
Deleting Dimensions
One additional item about dimension placement is SolidWorks behavior when a dimension is deleted. If the user deletes a dimension or even just removes text from a dimension, SolidWorks has the ability to automatically realign the spacing of the neighboring dimensions to get rid of gaps caused by that deletion. The user has the option to turn this ability on by going to Tools>Options…>Document Properties>Dimensions to select the Adjust spacing when dimensions are deleted or text is removed checkbox.
Categories: Drawing, News, Product Review |
Tags: delete, deleting dimensions, dimension, dimensioning, dimensions, pie, rapid dimension, rapid dimension manipulator | 4 Comments
