Modes ( Modeling & Drawing Editor -- a topic)

  • Modes are user configurable . Since mode-related instructions in this help manual are based on defaults which user configuration can change, you should view such instructions as generally true, but not true under all conditions.

On this page :

Special modes :

Also see :

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What modes are available?

Modeling :

Add Grid Mode
Bolt Mode (for bolts )
Construction Circle Mode ( con circles )
Construction Line Mode ( con lines )
Hole Mode (for holes )
Isolate Group Member Mode
Isolate Member Mode (for isolation )
Isolate Material Mode (for isolation )
Material Mode (for material)
Material Fit Mode ( cutting operations )
Member Mode
Member Sequence Mode
 
Navigation Mode (to view the model)
Reference Drawing Mode
Select Item(s) (for in-tool selection)
Select Items (for preselection)
Select One Item (for in-tool selection)
Solids Mode ( stick & solids display)
Surface Mode (to snap to surfaces)
User Mode #1 , etc. (blank modes)
Weld Mode (for welds )

Drawing Editor :

Arc Mode (for arcs )
Area Mode (for area )
Bevel Mode (for bevel symbols )
Bolt Mode (for 2D bolts )
Bolt Symbol Mode
Circle Mode (for circles )
Cloud Mode (for clouds )
Construction Circle Mode (for con circles )
Construction Line Mode (for con lines )
Detail View Mode
Dimension Mode (for dimensions )
Evu Cleanup Mode (for evu cleanup )
Hole Mode (for 2D holes )
Hole Sym Mode
Label Mode (for labels )
Lasso Select Items
 
Layer Mode (for layers )
Line Mode (for lines )
Navigation Mode (to get around)
Pointer Mode (for pointers )
Rebar Item Mode (for rebar items )
Rebar Run Mode (for rebar runs )
Select Items (for pretool selection)
Select One Item (for in-tool selection)
Select Item(s) (for in-tool selection)
Sheet Items Mode (for placing details on sheets)
Symbol Mode (for placing details on sheets)
User Mode #1 , etc. (blank modes)
Viewport Mode (for viewports )
Weld Mode (for weld symbols )
Workpoint Mode (for workpoints )

Manual Erection View Detailing :

Solids Mode ( stick & solids display)
 
others are the same as in Modeling

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What is a mode?

A mode is a collection of related tools with bindings to particular mouse buttons. When you press a particular mouse button that is bound to a particular tool (or mode), you activate that tool (or mode).

Arc Mode mouse bindings

With no key pressed, the default mouse bindings for Arc Mode are Edit-Add-Erase . Left-click ( Edit ) invokes Arc Edit ( Tip : Before you click, place your mouse pointer over the arc). Middle-click ( Add ) invokes Add Arc . Right-click ( Erase ) invokes Arc Erase .

Arc Mode with Ctrl pressed

When you hold down the Ctrl key, the default mouse bindings for Arc Mode are Edit All-Erase All . Left-click ( Edit All ) invokes Arc Edit All . Right-click ( Erase All ) invokes Arc Erase All .

For a mouse wheel: Zoom In to Pointer is bound to roll forward; Zoom Out to Pointer is bound to roll backward. This applies to most modes.

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Advantages of modes :

  • Modes group commonly used tools together.
  • Modes are user-configurable using Mode Configuration .
  • Many tools work more efficiently in modes. For example, point to a surface and left-click ( Surface ) from Surface Mode to simultaneously invoke the command ( Snap to Surface ) and snap to the pointed-to surface (with a single point and click).

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Disadvantages of modes :

  • When you are done with the mode, you have to manually Mode Return or Clear Mode Stack or press the Esc key to get out of the mode. See " How do I exit a mode? " An exception to this is Navigate Once mode, which returns out of the mode as soon as you complete an operation invoked from that mode.
  • To begin an operation from a mode, you have to first be in that mode.

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How are modes configured?

To change mouse bindings associated with a mode, use Mode Configuration .

To get default mouse bindings, clear the entry to the appropriate field in User and Site Options > Toolbars (so that the field is blank).

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How do I activate a mode?

Method 1 : Check the box ( ) for the mode on a drop-down menu such as the " File " or " Navigate " menu in Modeling or the Drawing Editor.

Method 2 : On your toolbar, select a mode icon (an icon with on it).

Method 3 : Use a keyboard shortcut .

Method 4 : If you have nested the mode inside another mode using Mode Configuration , you can invoke the mode's mouse bindings from within that other mode by clicking the appropriate mouse button. To bring back the mouse bindings of the original mode, use Mode Return .

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How do I exit a mode?

If you activate a tool while in a mode, the mouse bindings for that mode become active when you are done using the tool. To get out of the mode, you can:

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Special cases: some tools function differently in modes

  • Most tools work exactly the same way when they are invoked from a mode as they do when invoked from a menu or by pressing an icon on a toolbar.
  • However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, when you Snap to Surface from Surface Mode , you point at the surface then click (two steps in one). When not in a mode, you invoke the tool (step 1), then click the surface (step 2).

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Can I configure the various selection modes?

  • Select Items mode (in Modeling ) or Select Items mode (in the Drawing Editor ) are the preselection modes of Modeling and the Drawing Editor . SDS2 programs default to these modes when no tools or other modes are active. You can use them to select items that you want acted on by a particular tool.
  • Select Item(s) mode and Select One Item mode are in-tool selection modes . They are invoked automatically when you start up a tool that requires selection of particular items only if items of that type are not currently selected.
  • Mode Configuration can be used to configure both preselection and in-tool selection modes.

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