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DataCAD 15 wishlist

1. Add the ability to use Measure/incl./excl. angles on smart walls - presently these commands only work on 2D line entities,

Wishlist for the updated Sunshader/NX:

1. Allow transparencies to fills/alpha matt to make background colors invisible,

2. Add a toggle or two to streamline the ability to fit an image to a polygon or vice versa. DataCAD's Visual Reality which came out with v8 made this very easy where all you had to do was select a image (person, tree, car etc.) and drop it into the program and it automatically assigned a polygon to suit the images dimensions so that using the example below, the palm tree would be centered to the polygon and at the correct scale.

Mark Bell wrote:Allow transparencies to fills/alpha matt to make background colors invisible

If possible would be nice to get support for 32 bit PNG with actual transparent alpha channels vs. an additional seperate alpha channel images or 1 bit color masking.

...and transparent and gradient fills

The above would be able to do just that! Purdy neat huh?

Another wishlist item for KNOCKOUTS:

Add the ability for knockout's used on text (with or without a border) to:

1. include a color fill behind the text as part of the knockout box/border,

2. allow different border effects (similar to PowerPoint etc.) ie. shadows, border thickness, line style, line color etc.

3. have the ability to ignore existing color fills but still knockout linework or hatch patterns - this helps remove the white cutouts around text over fills on printed drawings which can often detract from the presentation of the drawing. In these instances the preference would be to knockout line work/graphics but ignore bitmaps and fills when toggled on,

4. add the ability to customize the shape of the knockout - similar to the polyline editing features,

5. add the ability to change to preset knockout shapes, ie. circular wit horizontal line for door reference tags, hexagonal for window reference tags, etc. so the knockouts can also be used as text tags for door/window schedules/elevations and other notes.

6. add the ability to include 'smart tags', ie. when numbering a multi-storey carpark presently each parking bay is numbered using typical text. If the design changes and spaces are added/deleted, then each bay needs re-numbering. Add 'smart tags' so that a user can use a 'number tag' that increments with each new tag placed on the drawing. This allows each bay to be numbered with each new tag incrementing accordingly. If bays are later added/deleted then all 'smart number tags' adjust accordingly so that the total numbering remains accurate.....and I don't have to go back and re-number several hundred bays Multiple 'smart tags' should be able to be used so each tag may require its unique name when creating the tag. The tag field should be editable so it can be used for say hotel room or apartment type numbering etc. with perhaps a later option to printout or create a quick spreadsheet/list?

Another wishlist:

When identifying text, the command line info includes its z-base and z-height.

If you make a self-reference using a GTV, it would be great to have it automatically linked to that GTV. (Or does it do this already?)

I seem to remember something similar already in place for XRef's, so that when you open the file from the Control-Right Click menu, you get the GTV used in the instance?

Adding onto my previous wish, I would love to have XRef's (and self references) that are showing a GTV be linked to that GTV so that if you Update the GTV, it updates the XRef view automatically.

When I use the Tangents to rotate the cursor, it would be lovely to have the Show X/Y indicator show up, so I can use the Shift-Snap to use Get X/Y and not have to guess which axis is which. Or, at least the Show X/Y toggle should be in the Tangents menu so I can manually turn it on?

I use Direction/Distance so I think the Show X/Y should be the indicator for me and for anybody using Relative Cartesian. If you are in the Relative Polar mode, then the Show Zero option would make sense, I think?

Ooo-ooo!!

Can the Tangents (rotated cursor) be saved as part of the GTV?

Did I ever say that GTV's are the BEST thing since the invention of CADD?

....well maybe not the best thing, but certainly way ahead of anything in second place. That would be multi-scale plotting or p text.

Neil Blanchard wrote:When I use the Tangents to rotate the cursor, it would be lovely to have the Show X/Y indicator show up, so I can use the Shift-Snap to use Get X/Y and not have to guess which axis is which. Or, at least the Show X/Y toggle should be in the Tangents menu so I can manually turn it on?

I use Direction/Distance so I think the Show X/Y should be the indicator for me and for anybody using Relative Cartesian. If you are in the Relative Polar mode, then the Show Zero option would make sense, I think?

I just wish it worked the way it used to. When positive x was always in the upper right quadrant. Then I always knew which way was x and which was y. The way it works now sucks in my opinion.

Neil said "Did I ever say that GTV's are the BEST thing since the invention of CADD?" - I'll second this, DataCAD's combination of GTV's, MSP's clipcubes, xrefs, keyboard flexibility et al is what makes DataCAD one of the best all round systems available....

Similar to how we are able to suppress smart wall hatch & fill in Xrefs, adding the ability to suppress normal hatch and fills in xrefs via Ctrl+Right Click would be a nice speedup option.