Modes ( Modeling & Drawing Editor )
- Modes are user configurable . This means that specific instructions that this manual provides for a specific mode may not be true given, for example, the choice made in User and Site Options > Toolbars . Specific instructions for modes are based on the defaults for that mode.
On this page :
- What modes are available in an SDS2 review station?
- What is a mode?
- Advantages of modes
- Disadvantages of modes
- How are modes configured?
- How do I activate a mode?
- How do I exit a mode?
- Special cases: some tools function different in modes
Special modes that are documented separately :
- Select Items ( Modeling )
- Select Items ( Drawing Editor )
- Lasso Mode ( Drawing Editor )
- Select Item(s)
- Select One Item
- User modes
- Navigate Once
Also see :
- Mouse binding reporter (shows mouse button to press)
- Mode Return (gets you out of trouble)
- Clear Mode Stack (to go back to Select Items mode)
- Select Items Mode (base mode in Modeling )
- Select Items Mode (base mode in the Drawing Editor )
- Mouse buttons ( User Option -- sets number of mouse bindings)
- User mode icons (let you create your own modes)
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What modes are available in an SDS2 review station?
In Modeling , the modes are:
Bolt Mode (for bolts ) Construction Circle Mode ( con circles ) Construction Line Mode ( con lines ) Hole Mode (for holes ) Isolate Member Mode (for isolation ) Isolate Material Mode (for isolation ) Material Mode (for material) Member Mode Member Sequence Mode
Navigation Mode (to view the model) 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 ) In the Drawing Editor , the modes are:
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 ) Dimension Mode (for dimensions ) 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) Symbol Mode (for placing details on sheets) User Mode #1 , etc. (blank modes) Weld Mode (for weld symbols ) Workpoint Mode (for workpoints )
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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Modes group commonly used tools together.
Modes are user-configurable using Mode Configuration .
Many tools work more efficiently in modes. 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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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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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 .
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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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If you activate a tool while in a mode, the mouse bindings for that mode will be active when you are done using the tool. To get out of the mode, you can:
Mode Return to go back to the mode you were in previously. Tip: The Esc key is bound to Mode Return .
Clear Mode Stack to go back to Select Items Mode (in Modeling ) or Select Items Mode (in the Drawing Editor ).
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Special cases: some tools function different 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 activate 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 . The program defaults 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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