Tutorials ModelCraft help Walkthroughs
Dimension and resize what you drew
Place dimensions between corners, then type a new length to resize the model. Retype an edge's length or a group's width, depth and height in Entity info.
Written for ModelCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
Sizes in ModelCraft are not fixed once something is drawn. A dimension shows a length on the model, and typing a new length into it resizes the model to match. You can also retype an edge's length, or a group's width, depth and height, in Entity info.
Place a dimension
- Press DD, or click Dimension in the toolbar.
- Click a corner to measure from. It snaps to corners, midpoints and edges, as drawing does.
- Click the second corner.
Or click once on an edge (the tip says "On edge") to dimension that whole edge in one click.
- Move the pointer to where the dimension line should go, and click. You can also type the offset, such as
0.5m, and press ReturnEnter.
The dimension line stays level for a level edge, unless you are looking at it from the side. For an upright edge it stays in the upright plane that faces you best.
The status bar says "Dimension 4 m." Dimensions show their length in the model's unit and update when you change the unit in the picker.
Resize the model with a dimension
Right after placing a dimension, type a new length and press ReturnEnter: 6m, 12', 3500 in a millimeter model. The model changes to that size.
Later, at any time:
- With Select, click the dimension's text or line. Entity info says Dimension and shows its Length.
- Type the new length and press ReturnEnter. You can type straight into the value box, or into the Length box in Entity info.
What moves
The second corner you clicked moves, and so does everything beyond it:
- Both corners on one piece (a box's width, a wall's height): the side at the moving corner slides out or in, and faces joined to it stretch. A box stays a closed solid, and anything sitting wholly on that side, such as a window component, moves with it.
- The corners on two separate pieces (the gap between two boxes): the moving corner's piece moves whole, and the gap changes.
- The moving corner inside a group or component that the other corner is not in: the whole group moves.
- Both corners inside the same group or component: it is stretched inside. A component changes everywhere it is placed, as editing it always does.
To change which end moves, select the dimension and choose in Moves in Entity info:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Second end (the default) | The end you clicked second moves |
| First end | The end you clicked first moves |
| Both ends (centered) | Each end moves half the change, so the middle stays put |
When a resize is refused
ModelCraft changes nothing and says why in the status bar:
- "a face would bend out of its plane": the dimension runs at a slant across the shape. Dimension along an edge, or along red, green or blue.
- "a face would shrink to nothing or turn inside out": the new length is too short for the shape.
- "the end that moves is not on a corner of the model": that end was placed in empty space or on the middle of an edge. Choose the other end in Moves, or place the dimension on two corners.
- "a length must be above zero".
Every resize is one step: ⌘ZCtrl+Z undoes it.
Retype a size in Entity info
You don't always need a dimension:
- An edge: select it. Its Length in Entity info is a box you can type into. Typing a length into the value box works too. The end further along red, then green, then blue moves, and what is joined to it stretches. For example, retyping the front bottom edge of a box makes the box wider to the right.
- A group or component: select it. Width (red), Depth (green) and Height (blue) are boxes. Its far side (right, back, top) moves. These are the group's own axes, before any rotation you gave it.
Press ReturnEnter to apply, or EscEsc to put the old value back.
Dimensions follow the model
A dimension is attached to the two corners it was placed on. Move, push/pull or resize the geometry, and the dimension follows and shows the new length. It stays attached when you make the geometry into a group or component.
If an end was placed somewhere that isn't a corner (on a face, or in empty space), or its corner is erased, that end stays where it was. The dimension still measures, but it can only resize from its other end.
Remove dimensions
- One dimension: select it and press fn DeleteDelete, or click it with the Eraser.
- All dimensions: with nothing selected, click Delete all dimensions in Entity info.
Dimensions are saved in the .modelcraft file. They are not exported to other formats, which carry only the 3D model. A file with dimensions still opens in an older ModelCraft, without them.